my team

"In my life I have only in recent times consciously built a support team. For most of the last two decades, my inner mantra has been some crazy idea that I can do it on my own. Some heroic and impossible delusion. Finally I have woken up to this...the joy of life is doing things with great people. Partnering, supporting others, getting supported. Putting your hand up, asking for help, building a team...Solo is an illusion and just plain silly." -Christine McDougall


Christine got me thinking about various teammates of mine over the years.  Here are just a few.  I am so grateful for them!

Merry Christmas

Our Savior was born so we could live!  I am thankful for this time to celebrate Him, and I'm reminded that every day is a day to celebrate the gift of Christ in my life.


Today I enjoyed watching this beautiful video to remind me of some of the miraculous events surrounding the Savior's birth--and to remind me of the greatest miracle of all: His life.  


I also enjoyed listening to these songs:





Merry Christmas and God bless. 
May we always rejoice in Christ's light and love.

happy winter!

My roommates and I celebrated the beginning of the season back in November, and I'm finally getting around to posting some pics :) (Thanks to Ariel for the pics from her iphone)

After attending BYU's production of "White Christmas," Ariel and I enjoyed the first snow of the year as we walked home from the performance. 

Ariel baked yummy Christmas treats, including gingerbread houses for us to decorate.

We had an early Christmas party and decorated gingerbread houses with friends.

The beautiful, talented Norienne

Emily eating some of the "snow" 

Elise and me

Elise and Ariel

Chrissy decorating

Kaity Kait

Kait taking a nap

Ariel and I both love Christmas socks :)

finals week for a cat

Finals week and Ariel's cat, Kalamazoo, is busy at work.

not for smooth skin, but because we are God's

I looked up into the eyes of an elderly woman today.
I saw depth and light.
As her wrinkled face looked down on mine,
I wanted to keep looking into her blue eyes.
I wanted to hear her life.

"Thanks for coming," she said.
"You're beautiful."


I was thinking the same thing about you.

***
I looked straight into the mirror at my own eyes tonight.
I saw depth and light.
As my face looked back at me,
I wanted to keep looking into my hazel eyes.

I remembered the woman's presence.
(I want to hear her.)

I thought about
beauty, wisdom
youth, aging
living, dying.

***
Some young want their youth forever,
Some old want to take back their youth.

I'll welcome memories and seasons,
they're accompanying wrinkles
and wear.

A body will grow weary
A spirit will grow light.

***

We are beautiful, not for smooth skin, but because we are God's.


Listen!
He speaks, You are Mine. 

Happy Monday :)

Blessed be the name of the Lord

Warner Sallman, The Head of Christ

Isaiah, Isaiah 12:

O Lord, I will praise thee: though thou wast angry with me, thine anger is turned away, and thou comfortesdst me.  Behold, God is my salvation; I will trust, and not be afraid: for the Lord Jehovah is my strength and my song; he also is become my salvation...Praise the Lord, call upon his name, declare his doings among the people, make mention that his name is exalted.  Sing unto the Lord; for he hath done excellent things: this is known in all the earth.  Cry out and shout, thou inhabitant of Zion: for great is the Holy One of Israel in the midst of thee.  

David, Psalm 19:

The law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul: the testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple.  The statutes of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart: the commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes.  The fear of the Lord is clean, enduring forever: the judgments of the Lord are true and righteous altogether.  More to be desired are they than gold, yea, than much fine gold: sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb.  Moreover by them is thy servant warned: and in keeping of them there is great reward.  Who can understand his errors?  cleanse thou me from secret faults.  Keep back thy servant also from presumptuous sins; let them not have dominion over me: then shall I be upright, and I shall be innocent form the greater transgression.  Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight, O Lord, my strength, and my redeemer.  

Nephi, 2 Nephi 4:

Rejoice, O my heart, and cry unto the Lord, and say: O Lord, I will praise thee forever; yea, my soul will rejoice in thee, my God and the rock of my salvation.  O Lord, wilt thou redeem my soul?  Wilt thou deliver me out of the hands of mine enemies?  Wilt thou make me that I may shake at the appearance of sin?  May the gates of hell be shut continually before me, because that my heart is broken and my spirit is contrite!  O Lord, wilt thou not shut the gates of thy righteousness before me, that I may walk in the path of the low valley, that I may be strict in the plain road!  O Lord, wilt thou encircle me around in the robe of thy righteousness!  O Lord, wilt thou make a way for mine escape before mine enemies!  Wilt thou make my path straight before me!  Wilt thou not place a stumbling block in my way--but that thou wouldst clear my way before me, and hedge not up my way, but the ways of mine enemy. O Lord, I have trusted in thee and I will trust in thee forever.  

food for your brain and for energy

This week I ate a lot of processed, sugary food because I was too "busy" to prepare real food.  Well the thing is, I am never too busy to prepare real food--I just think I am--and besides, eating junk makes me function like junk, so I end up wasting time anyway.  Also I don't sleep well, get bags under my eyes, and my skin starts freaking out--yuck.

This finals week I am going to eat well so I can feel well, sleep well, study well, and have a clear brain that helps me do well on finals.  Here are some quick, easy, healthy, YUMMY meals that will fuel your brain and body:

My "Ultimate" Oatmeal
-Oatmeal
-1/2 cup frozen blueberries
-Honey
-1 Tbsp Ground flaxseed
-Almond milk

In the bottom of a bowl, place frozen blueberries and defrost.  Add prepared oatmeal, honey, flaxseed, and almond milk to taste.

My Favorite Green Smoothie
-water (1 cup to 2 cups, depending on whether you want more of a smoothie texture or more of a juice)
-Spinach (lots)
-1 Tbsp ground flax seed (optional)
-1 apple or pear
-1 orange
-1.5 cups frozen mangoes (you can find big bags of frozen mangoes at Sam's club.  You can also use frozen blueberries or strawberries instead of mangoes)
-a few ice cubes

(Makes 4-5 cups--a good breakfast, lunch, or pre/post-workout meal)

This is best made in a Vitamix or another powerful blender.  Mix water, spinach, flax together.  Add apple and orange; mix.  Finally, add mangoes and ice; mix.

Chocolate Almond Smoothie (Brenden Brazier, from his book Thrive: The Vegan Nutrition Guide to Optimal Performance in Sports and Life)

-1 banana

-2 fresh or soaked dry dates

-2 cups cold water (or 1 cup plus 1 cup ice) 

-1/4 cup almonds (if you don't have a Vitamix blender, use 2 tablespoons almond butter instead) 

-1 tbsp ground flaxseed 

-1 tbsp hemp protein 

-1 tbsp roasted carob powder

Blend.  Makes 2 servings.

Pumpkin and Bean Soup 

-2 cans of black beans, drained and rinsed

-1 can (14.5 oz) diced tomatoes   

-1 can pumpkin (16 oz) puree

-2 gloves of garlic minced

-1/2 C red onion chopped

-2 Tbsp olive oil

-4 C vegetable broth

1 Tbsp ground cumin

1 tsp salt

1 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp allspice

1/2 tsp ground pepper

3 Tbsp balsamic vinegar

Place oil, red onion, garlic and seasonings into large pot.  Cook on low-medium heat until onion and garlic brown.  Puree the beans and tomatoes with half of the vegetable broth. Add pureed ingredients, pumpkin and rest of broth to pot.  Simmer uncovered until thick, about 40-45 minutes. Before serving, stir in balsamic vinegar.

Italian Four Bean Soup

-1/3 cup water

-1 onion, chopped

-1/2 teaspoon minced garlic (or more)

-1 bunch kale, chopped (I have also used spinach)

-3 cups vegetable broth

-14.5 oz can chopped tomatoes

-15 oz can kidney beans, drained and rinsed

-15 oz can garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed

-15 oz can red beans, drained and rinsed

-15 oz can white beans (Great Northern Beans), drained and rinsed

-15 oz can white beans, drained and MASHED

-1 teaspoon Italian seasoning

-pepper

Place the water, onion, and garlic in a large pot. Cook and stir for 3 minutes. Add the kale and cook and stir for 2 minutes. Add the broth, tomatoes, drained beans, Italian seasoning, and pepper. Bring to a boil, cover and simmer for 10 minutes. Add the mashed beans.  Cook for an additional 10 minutes.  

Yams or acorn squash

The ultimate easy meals.  (And inexpensive.) You don't have to add anything to them.  For yams, cut the ends off them and poke them a few times with a fork.  Cook in the oven at 450 degrees for 1 hr to 1.5 hours.  

For acorn squash, cut in half, scoop out the insides, and cook at 375 degrees for 45 min to 1 hr.  If it's good squash, you shouldn't have to add anything for taste.  If it's not so great, a little butter, salt and pepper go a long way :)

Snack ideas:

Avocados

Almonds

Fill celery with Adam's all-natural peanut butter and raisins


Collard or Kale Chips (thanks, Kerri, for the recipe!)

Wash and dry collards or kale. Tear leaves into smaller pieces. Place on baking sheet and spray with olive oil spray. Add salt and pepper to taste.  Bake at 350 for 9-11 minutes till crispy.  Yummy :) 

the person as a gift

This video is simply beautiful.  I like how she compares a mother's unconditional love to God's unconditional love for His children.

The only thing I disagree with is how she says newborns have nothing to give.  The experience of holding a newborn is a gift in itself because it is an opportunity for us to feel God's love.  The newborn, then, gives a gift to her mother simply by existing.  

If I am right, this has important implications for God's love for us.  It would imply that although we have nothing visible to give God, our lives are gifts to God because we are His.  No wonder God's "work and...glory" is to "bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man" (Moses 1:39).

Could we say that God wants to live with each of us forever because each of our lives is a gift to Him?  

Perhaps this is why President Uchtdorf explained, "Every person...is a VIP to our Heavenly Father." (The whole talk is excellent, but for the specific quote, fast forward to 8 minutes into his talk.)

being human: an incentive to fight pornography

I try to cool down about certain issues, but I won’t calm down about pornography—and I find no reason to, no matter how many people choose to ignore the facts.  Due to the widespread, open acceptance of pornography in our society, many are reluctant to speak out against the topic—or even bring it up—because they fear offending the many people who view porn.

But regardless of whether or not a large portion of the human population indulges in any given practice, the practice is either acceptable or unacceptable.  Pornography is unacceptable.  Sociologists and psychologists have studied its effects; among the many sickening effects, a few that stand out to me are: Porn exploits women, men, and children; porn changes the way a person’s mind works—it leads to abnormal sex addictions; porn leads to criminal behavior; porn leads to the breakdown of the family unit (usually beginning with unfaithful husbands or wives).  Blatantly obvious from these facts alone, we see that pornography has caused, is causing, and will continue to cause societal decay.  (Apparently, though, the "societal decay" part hasn't sunk into people's heads because people are still seeking out porn, including 40 million regular American online viewers. The worldwide industry today is worth 4.9 billion.)

One of the most alarming things I realized about pornography from reading To Plead Our Own Cause: Personal Stories by Today's Slaves is that pornography keeps the human trafficking industry in booming business.  It's so obvious, but I guess I hadn't considered it until it was placed right in front of my face in a book.

But really, how many of us actually have even a small idea of what's going on? (If more of us did know, we'd be doing more about it, right?) Many people like me have no idea, so that's why I'm trying to learn more and get the word out.  If you want a wake-up call about the human slave trade (and not just the sex trade, but other forms of slavery as well), look into this book.  These are testimonies from our brothers and sisters whose voices should be heard.

I typed up one of the accounts because it is so important that each of us read real accounts of real people.  Many of us will never know this kind of suffering, so it is especially important that we listen to the actual sufferers so we can know what needs to be done to protect our fellow man--to work to protect all of God's children.  This is from a survivor whose name is changed in the book to protect her identity.  She is called "Christine."  Her words speak for themselves, standing as a powerful voice against the selfishness, filthiness, and absolute inhumanity of pornography and all other human exploitation and torture.

Christine says:

"I was born a slave.  I was born into sexual slavery in the state of Minnesota in the United States of American twenty-nine years ago. I was born into a prostitution ring, a family of pimps and pornographers and prostitutes.  The men pimped the women and girls and sometimes the boys.  They made pornography.  They sold us in whorehouses and at live sex shows.  The men used me in pornography in basements, barns, houses, warehouses, isolated wooded areas, and public buildings.

         I come from the farms and suburbs and cities of the United States of America.  I come from the strangled, suffocated, mangled voices of the raped, beaten, and starved.  I was trafficked throughout the country, from state to state by car, by bus, and by plane.  I am not alone standing here before you today.  I am not alone in my testimony, and I am not alone in my spirit.  I have many friends and acquaintances who have endured the tortures, rapes, beatings, and degradations that pimps and johns hand out like candy.

         In prostitution rings women and girls are taught to be sexually submissive by men who refer to themselves as masters, by men who are so cowardly as to rape, beat, and starve women and girls.  Women and girls raised in prostitution rings are sexually abused and otherwise tortured beginning in infancy.  They are trained to be prostitutes, to sexually service men.  The men are masters of torture and terror who are highly trained in torture techniques.  Sometimes these pimp masters are doctors and dentists in the ouside world.  They rape girls as young as one and two years old.

         I was one such girl.  I can tell you some of the things they did to me and other girls and women, but there is still much I cannot speak of.  These men gang rape us.  They rape us with dogs.  They rape us with knives and guns and beer bottles.  They tie us down, chain us to bedposts and basement poles and each other.  They make us eat shit and maggots and urine.  They rape us with masks on their faces.  They rape us in the name of Satan and Hitler and De Sade.  They rape us in front of our mothers and grandmothers; they rape our grandmothers and mothers in front of us.  They play games with us.  They force us to choose who will live, which child or aunt or grandmother will live and which one will die.  They hold mock executions. 

         But sometimes they do kill us.  You never know when they’re only joking, having some fun, or when they will pull the trigger.  These men want us, the women and girls being raped, to feel responsible for their actions.  They want us to feel like it is our fault that our mother, sister, daughter, grandmother is being destroyed in front of our eyes…

         The men who use us throw us away.  We are their garbage to piss on, to pile up in the corner.  We are their property, they own us.  The rest of you turn your backs, avert your eyes, pretend not to see, go on your way.  You leave us to the predators.

         But we endure…I stayed alive because my belief in something better than what they offered was greater than their hatred and destruction.  I stayed alive because I wanted to be free—more than anything, I wanted to be free.  I wanted to live in a world of respect.  I wanted to be free from them.  I wanted their hands off me; I wanted their bodies off me and their dicks out of me.  I wanted to not be sold.  I wanted to not be bought.  I wanted to not be raped and filmed and forced to smile and beg and plead for mercy.  I wanted them to stop telling me who and what I was.  I wanted to decide how I felt, what I thought, what I believed, and who I loved.  I wanted to eat the foods that I wanted to eat, run the way I wanted, be silly or thoughtful or serious.  Quite simply, I wanted a life of autonomy and agency…

         It is only recently that I have been free from their sexual and physical abuse, and to be honest, I don’t always know what to do with myself.  I was beaten and raped, or at least verbally assaulted, virtually every day of my life.  The intentensity of my emotions doesn’t match up to a normal life.  Other survivors talk about this, too.  Even though we have escaped, we live in the pimp’s world.  We have flashbacks and night tremors.  The pimps harass us, so we spend much of our time waiting, wondering when they’re going to hurt us again.  Our worldview is one of war, constant rapes, and beatings.  We may escape, but we will always be isolated, we will never be part of society.  We know too much, we have seen too much.  The world does not want to acknowledge the truth of women’s lives…

         There are many women, strong women brave women all across the world who are rising up to meet and to end the tidal wave of male violence against women.  We escape and we organize and we educate and we go back down into the trenches to pull out our sisters.  This is war, a battle of life and death…

         We must be on the lookout for eachother…As I go back, back into the brothels and porn houses, I will be on the lookout for you.  I hope I will never find you there, but if I do, you have my word that I will lend you my hand.”

***

We are not machines.  Lets not "turn [our] backs, avert [our] eyes, pretend not to see, go on [our] way" when we see injustice and immorality.  We are human beings with empathy.  Lets be the kind of humans willing to give up whatever it takes in order to correct something wrong--whether that be personal addictions or time and other personal resources needed to speak up against, combat, and prevent further wrongs against our fellow human beings.

Evidence of God: The Orion Nebula

(Thanks to NASA for the photo of this and many other beauties.)

Two short thoughts:

1. When I see things like this I wonder:  How could we doubt the existence of God?  He is The Creator.  Also I wonder how we could doubt the existence of life beyond where we are now?  As much as I love my life on planet Earth, there is clearly more in store.  If I believed this short experience on Earth is all there is to my existence, I'd feel considerably massively gypped.

2. When I see things like this I am terribly aware that I know close to nothing about what is and what will be.  But you know, that's okay.  It keeps a sense of wonder in my soul, and I think that's healthy.