Not In Service

An image that has become increasingly frustrating to me over the last couple of weeks. So I thought, if it works for buses, why not for people? Ever had it up to "here" with your day? It's been a long one and your done? Next time that happens, just write "Not In Service" on a sticky note, slap it on your forehead, and you are free to go about your daily routine, no longer paying attention to anyone else OR their needs! For good measure, make sure you circle around the people that need you the most several times, avoid helping them at all costs (after all, you're Not In Service), and send your friends who are also Not In Service to meander around those who need assistance as well. Good idea? I thought so!

Sunday Gems

Last Sunday (well, September 18th), I hit the jackpot! I heard two really great talks:

The first was in church. Lay members of the congregation speak in LDS church services, which I LOVE. Not only does everyone get a chance to practice public speaking, we also get to hear different personalities and viewpoints expand on simple truths and doctrines of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. It's GREAT! Bro. Gordon Smith (former U.S. Senator from Oregon) spoke about self-identifying and defining yourself; something that is especially pertinent to me at this point in time: unemployed, not in school... :) Below are the highlights:


I would urge you to be defined by your gifts, not by your current job.
Your calling is to find your spiritual gifts.
Find your gift and give it away.
You make a living by what you get, you make a life by what you give. -Winston Churchill
Told the story of Joseph (sold into Egypt). Elaborated on how difficult things were for him at work: a slave, rather unpleasant situation with boss's wife, thrown in prison (multiple times), but he went to work to serve.
Also shared an experience about hiring two girls from BYU into his senate office, figuring he'd give them a chance. He said they came to work not because the work they were doing was extremely important; they came to make the lives of those they worked with better.


You know a talk is great when you start making a list at the bottom of your notes, outlining your own spiritual gifts. :)



The second talk was a part of the "Why I Believe" fireside series, Sunday evening talks sponsored in part by the Washington D.C. Temple Visitor's Center (open to the public daily, 10am to 9pm). Business executives and community leaders are invited to share the source of their faith in Jesus Christ and His restored gospel. Brad Bryan, an old bishop (pastor, congregational leader) of mine, shared the story of his conversion to the LDS (Mormon) Church. He is a powerful writer and speaker. I filled up a whole week of my tiny 3"x5" planner copying as much of what I thought applied to me as I could:

Three men are put in a room and told the one who can open the door will receive a great prize. Two of the men immediately begin doing complex calculations to determine the makeup and specifications of the mechanisms and hardware of the door. The third man walks over to the door, turns the knob, opens the door and walks out. We don't try and yet many things are in our very power.

The secret of life: be ready for opportunity.
It is not that we endeavor to get ahead of others, but to surpass ourselves.
"Facing up to reality" or "understanding our limitations" but it's giving up all the same.
Brad Bryan says the first reason he believes is because of the confidence the Church helped restore in him.

Of course, it is the responsibility of those who hear the talk to actually apply what they furiously write down into their lives...

Dream Diaries Part 1

What a nightmare the other night:


Driving down the road in my trusty 2001 tan Toyota Camry (not exactly my dream car but she is my dependable and loyal transporter, how I love her!) 

Meet Virginia

when suddenly I became aware of the fact that I was driving a YELLOW car!! Ahh! Not only do I feel that yellow cars are the height of ego-mania for attention seekers on the road, but they are not my personality and I will therefore never buy one. 


The details of how I happened to go instantaneously from driving Virginia to driving a monster, terrible, shouldn't even be purchasable, yellow car were not disclosed-it was a dream after all.

AHH!

All I know is I was thrilled to wake up, look out my window and see dear, reliable Virginia sitting just as I left her in front of the house. Someday I will replace her, but never, EVER with a yellow car!!

AHH!!!

Be the Hero!

So this resonated with me BIG-time! Mostly because the fact that USU students pulled a classmate out from under a burning car just makes my little Aggie heart scream with pride! However, it is also because I was reminded that what they did earlier this week is expected from all of us. Maybe we won't be presented with the situation of risking our lives to save someone else's but we probably will run into people lost trying to navigate streets or public transportation that could use a little help, a mother who just needs a break from her kids for a while, or roommates or family members who would really appreciate it if the house was extra clean when they got home...you get the idea. And almost certainly we will meet someone who could use a smile or a few kind and sincere words and YOU will be called on to be someone's friend when it seems they have no one else. So instead of awkwardly looking around for someone else to lend a hand or take control of the situation, go out there and just be the hero!


The first 2:12 are the best!

We ALWAYS choose our reaction!

Forgive me for being behind again, maybe I am unnecessarily adding a somber tone too late in the game, but I felt like I should add my 9/11 tribute and remembrances. 


I was sitting in my first period class in my second week of 10th grade. I was having a hard time adjusting to high school, I was worried about doing well in that particular class and I really didn't like that teacher very much :) My priorities seemed to change very quickly as I watched thousands of people lose their lives and their loved ones over the course of 7 periods. I don't remember much of what they had planned for us to learn in school that day and was trying to verify my Grandma, who was supposed to be flying out of Dulles, hadn't... (She hadn't. She didn't get to go where she had been attempting to for about another 3 days!) It was just about Biology (7th period) when they started putting faces of Al-Qaeda operatives up on the screen, linking them to the attacks.


Through all of the tragedy and horror of what happened 10 years ago, I have found the most comforting, fascinating and wonderful thing to be the positive things that came either immediately or slowly but surely over the course of the last ten years. I love to see the kiwi come out of people as a result of being faced with absolute dog poop. As President Thomas S. Monson recently said, "Destruction allows us to rebuild our lives in the way He teaches us, and to become something different than we were. We can make Him the center of our thoughts and His Son, Jesus Christ, the pattern for our behavior."


Below are two of the best examples I have EVER seen illustrating this principle:


BOATLIFT

Yankee Stadium gravel inspires memorial for 9/11 victim

Home Run!

Validation

CanNOT believe I've never seen this before! Probably just me behind on the times...again...but it rocks. Totally worth the 15 minutes of your life you'll spend watching it. Heck, it's worth at least an hour of your life :) Definitely falls in the kiwi category!

and remember, regardless of how good or bad your day was, there are always things that make you smile :)

Bottled Water and Ham Radios

Although you may call me "behind the times" posting this one week after the hurricane hit us, turns out as of yesterday, there were still over 580,000 people along the East Coast without power thanks to our friend Irene. So I'm really completely up-to-date on my current events.


Phew! Two natural disasters in one week. That should fill our quota for a while right?! I learned that I am NOT prepared for these types of unexpected events and that I should GET prepared!


Exhibit A: sitting at my desk on the 7th floor of a DC office building when things start to shake. I learned my reaction time in a potentially dangerous situation SUCKS! Approximately 15-18 seconds after initial shaking and rumbling of our 5.8 beauty began, I finally got up from my desk. It took at least another 8-10 seconds to get in the doorway. I definitely would have survived an earthquake higher on the Richter scale...not! The good news is, I now have another great story to share about my DC experiences! Any other survivors of the tremor can purchase their commemorative T-shirt here.


Exhibit B: staring open-mouthed at the completely empty shelves on the beverage aisle in the water section at Giant. It took me two stores and some shelf-climbing to reach a couple of the last liter bottles of water Friday afternoon to prep for Irene. I also plugged in all my electronics to brace for a power outage, parked my car on the most treeless street I could find, and actually turned on my Ham radio and broadcasted! Found a repeater, found a friend and assured myself that even if ALL other forms of communication failed, I would be among the biggest dorks in Maryland with radio communication capabilities: "this is KD7HEC, monitoring..."


Forty-eight hours later, we were enjoying a fair weather and sunny sky, churchless Sunday, having lost power for a grand total of about 45 seconds sometime after 1 am. I cleaned up our "hurricane damage" Monday when I mowed the lawn (about 8 small downed branches). 


While these events actually did cause damage on other parts of the coast, I think someone was just having fun...This is a test, only a test. If this were a real emergency...