Love is an amazing thing

Love is an amazing thing. I don't think that we truly understand what that word means or what it entails. I believe that if each one of us lived 'unconditional love', there would be no poverty, no homelessness, no war, no loneliness, no sorrow, no greed. All mankind would be at peace, and would have all things in common. There would not be a need to have more than what someone else has. We would be happy for all those around us and would not only give to our fellow man, but willingly receive the offerings from others. Unconditional love would lead to peace.

God is love. God is light. We are children of God. As we each have characteristics of our earthly parents, we also have within us characteristics of our Heavenly parents. Unfortunately, the noise and clatter of earthly matters, deafens us so we can't easily draw upon those characteristics. We forget who we are because we are so caught up in mortality. We forget that we are spiritual beings having a human experience, and in our flashes of spiritual recognition we think we are human beings having a spiritual experience. It takes a conscious effort and a lot of work to get ourselves back into the habit of seeing ourselves as the spiritual beings we are; and to get in tune with the Spirit of our Great Creator. It is possible though. And I believe that for us to survive the evils of our day, we must get in tune with His Spirit. God loves us. He didn't put us on this earth to fail. He put us on this earth to learn so we can become like Him. He does not intervene in the course of events that are put in motion by any of us. How else do we learn about consequences? If we don't have consequences for our actions, we'll never learn to change our actions. He does not intervene when somebody's stupid, or malevolent actions lead to harm to another being. If the perpetrator does not learn from and correct his actions, he seals his fate and will have to deal with his Creator at some point in the future. He may get away with it now, but ultimately he will not.

We were given an example to follow. God did not leave us here to struggle alone. Our great exemplar is Jesus Christ, the Son of God. Born of a mortal mother and and immortal father, He lived and taught unconditional love. We can BE like him. We just need to BE; and follow in his footsteps. He loves us unconditionally. He did such amazing things for us because of this love. He did not turn his back on anyone. He did not judge anyone, even the sinners, as undeserving of his love and attention.

We may not agree with the choices that other people make for their own lives. That's okay. But, we have no right to treat them as if they have no value because of their choices. We are not the judge of the human race. We don't know all of the facts that lead people to make their choices. So, we must learn to love them for the spiritual beings they are.

When my first three children were teenagers and rebelled against all of the things they had been taught, it was very stressful for me as a parent. I spent a lot of time in prayer and reading the scriptures. One day I realized that my Heavenly Father loves each one of us unconditionally. He does not love the sin, but He loves the sinner. How could I, who am a recipient of his grace, do any less? I made a conscious effort to look at my children as our Heavenly Father looks at them and me. I was able to love them, in spite of them at times being unlovable, because I knew how much Heavenly Father loves them. I did not put conditions on that love. Even if they didn't do what I wanted them to do, I still loved them. And I forgave them when I was hurt by their words and actions.

One of the hardest things for us to do is to love ourselves unconditionally. I think we are our worst judges. We expect perfection of ourselves, but allow for imperfections in others. We come to this earth completely innocent, full of light and love. What happens in our environment during our early years shapes how we see ourselves and the world around us. Do we learn love and trust? Or, do learn hate and fear? Is our world a safe and happy place? Or, is our world a place of dread and pain? The experiences in the first few years of our lives sets us up for how we feel about our place in the world. There's an overwhelming number of screwed up people in this world. Screwed up by abuse of all kinds, by not being given the love they deserved from birth, not being able to trust the very people who should have loved them the most. There ought to be a requirement that potential parents must pass basic parenting classes in order to be able to bring a child into this world. Not to mention refresher courses. The human being is a very complex being, and as a mother I can testify that no two children are exactly alike. One child may cry at the very thought than mom or dad are disappointed in their action, and another child could care less. We are all so different. Yet, our needs are so very similar. I don't think there is a person alive who would not want to be loved unconditionally.

One of the worst things we can do is to tell a child he is stupid. (We can fill in any number of negative words here) The effect is that the child grows up to see themselves as the negative thing they've been told. We may do stupid things every now and then but that doesn't mean we are stupid. It simply means we did something stupid. Period. It doesn't take long for the beautiful light and love that we came to this earth with to be stifled. The light dims, and we become full fo self doubt. We don't see ourselves as the beautiful spiritual being that we are. We don't trust; we feel unworthy, and then build walls around ourselves, to protect ourselves from further hurt. Oh, the walls we build! If we are in a house with the shutters drawn shut, and the sun is shining brightly outside, it won't get inside. Same with us. The light and love being sent to us by our creator won't be able to penetrate the walls we have put up. Those walls will have to come down. Sometimes that is a very difficult process, when we've had those walls from a very young age. But, they have to come down. And, chances are the process of tearing those walls down will be like peeling an onion. There are many many layers, and sometimes we will cry.

Northern Utah in the Fall

Back in 1988, our family moved from Wyoming to Las Vegas. What a huge adjustment that was. Having spent my entire life to that point in Wyoming, I loved being away from the snow and cold. I didn't care for the 100+ degree temperatures in Las Vegas, but was willing to trade the cold and snow for it. In 2004, the opportunity came for me to sell my home and move to the Salt Lake City area. There were pros and cons to the move, but I chose to follow the strong feeling I had that it was time for me to make the move. Besides, I missed the four seasons, and was tired of the hot weather. Since I have procured a great camera and a husband who knows Northern Utah like the back of his hand, I have been able to go places I wouldn't have gone on my own. I have been able to take pictures of some of the most beautiful scenery I have ever seen. I love the beauty of God's Great Earth, and capturing this beauty with my camera is a dream come true for me. Northern Utah has some of the most beautiful fall foliage I have ever seen.

Where we are headed

I received this interesting piece via email, and it made me shudder. I work hard for what I earn. It barely gets us by. But I will continue to work hard because that is how I was taught. I believe that there are times in people's lives when they deserve assistance and I have no problem being of assistance. But don't tell me that it doesn't matter how hard I work, and how much money I earn, that I will be having to share it with every one who chooses to not reach their potential and wants to sit on their butt and get a free ride. That is b@#& s@#$!!

THE GREAT EQUALIZER



An economics professor at a local college made a statement that he had never failed a single student before but had once failed an entire class.

That class had insisted that Obama's socialism worked and that no one would be poor and no one would be rich, a great equalizer.

The professor then said, "OK, we will have an experiment in this class on Obama's plan". All grades would be averaged and everyone would receive the same grade so no one would fail and no one would receive an A.

After the first test, the grades were averaged and everyone got a B.

The students who studied hard were upset and the students who studied little were happy.

As the second test rolled around, the students who studied little had studied even less and the ones who studied hard decided they wanted a free ride too so they studied little.

The second test average was a D! No one was happy.

When the 3rd test rolled around, the average was an F.

The scores never increased as bickering, blame and name-calling all resulted in hard feelings and no one would study for the benefit of anyone else.

All failed, to their great surprise, and the professor told them that socialism would also ultimately fail because when the reward is great, the effort to succeed is great but when government takes all the reward away, no one will try or want to succeed.

Could not be any simpler than that.

Ah ha Moment

Yesterday, a simple conversation in passing brought me to an ah ha moment. How many times are we chastened to not judge others? Of course, in a court of law it is a different story as it is up to us as a jury to make a judgment based on the information given to us. But individually in life, I have no right to cast judgment of others, especially when I do not have all of the facts. And that includes if I think I have the facts because I heard it in the news or from this person or that person. Gossip and lies have destroyed more than one life. We are surrounded by gossipers and spreaders of lies. Are we guilty of the same? It certainly gives one pause, to evaluate where we stand in that arena. Am I a perpetrator of lies and innuendos, or do I speak up to encourage the silencing of such destructive garbage? The media tells us what they want us to hear, and believe me, it's frequently not the truth. More often than not, it is a little taste of truth mixed in with a whole bunch of lies. And, we as the public get sucked in to the scandalous stories. Shame on me, shame on us.

I was a fan of Michael Jackson in the early years. And as the years have gone by I have basically forgotten about his music. I had forgotten, "We are the World" and "Heal the World", both songs from Michael Jackson that touched me deeply. All I knew of Michael Jackson was his plastic surgery and his strange change from black to white, and from masculine appearance to a strange, more feminine appearance. And the only things I heard through the media made me believe he had turned into a bizarre weirdo. So, with all of that preparation it wasn't difficult to think that the charges of child molestation might be true. So, I found myself judging him. What I believe now is that Michael Jackson was a tormented soul, who, because of being made fun of and being abused, grew up loathing himself. He changed his appearance over and over to become what he believed was beautiful. To make a long story short; I have no right to judge another human being. I don't know the facts, and I don't know if anything the news media feeds me can be believed. I've looked at photos of Michael and his children, and I don't see in his kids eyes what I have seen in the eyes of children who are sexually abused. I see innocence and beauty there. Shame on me, for jumping on the band wagon to be judge and jury on another being whom I don't even know. I am a firm believer that life goes on after this life is over. It is my hope that Michael Jackson is at peace. If he truly is the kind, loving person I want to believe he is, then peace should be what he gets. If the things that have been spread through the media and court are true, then it won't be. He is in God's hands....as are we all.

Every day I encounter people and experiences to which I react with judgments. I have made a conscious effort all of my life to be very careful and to not voice judgments. I have failed at times. I am, after all, merely a mortal. If all of us could master this mortal flaw...the tendency to judge, I can't even imagine what a change it would make in our society. We truly are created equal in the sight of God. It's when we begin to function in this mortal existence that limitations get slapped on us....by judgmental beings. At the drop of a hat I could become homeless, jobless, completely destitute. Where would I be then? I'm a good person with a college education and skills that make it possible to have a good job making a good living. All of that could change in an instant. Does that make me the scum of the earth, to be avoided, treated poorly and abused? If it does, then we (mankind) have entirely missed the boat. We are here to learn. We are here to make choices. We are here to experience joy. We won't be able to experience joy without experiencing some sorrow....how else would we know joy? We are here to see if we are willing to follow in the footsteps of our Creator.

A year ago, after completing an amazing training, I began to see life in an entirely different light. In fact I saw life itself as an amazing light. I saw the difference it made to someone when I made the effort to start a positive conversation with them when I didn't even know them. I saw frowns turn to smiles because I acknowledged them. We all crave acknowledgment. I saw a world full of zombies going from one place to another without even looking from side to side. I had been one of those zombies. I now wanted to sing and dance and jump up and down for joy. I had a smile on my face that would not go away. Life is amazing. It is an honor to have this moment in time to be here, to be experiencing all of the positive, uplifting gifts that come my way. Do I do this perfectly? No, I have to admit that this is not a constant in my life. Some days are better than others. But, did I mention that I am a mortal being? Well, that would explain my slip ups. I am a Spirit being first and foremost, but in this mortal experience I sometimes lose sight of that. And thus, the learning continues.

Never judge a book by its cover

I am continually amazed at the heartless way we humans treat one another, and how we judge one another. Just looking at the atrocities we see on the news leaves me wondering what the fascination is in causing pain and suffering to another human being. Where is love? Why is it so difficult to have love and compassion for our fellow beings? I cringe as I see people full of hate, reaching out to inflict it on others, as well as themselves. Sp much damage is done that affects many lives, when a child is abused and neglected.

Who, when looking upon the sweet innocence of a newborn baby, could harm that precious being? I believe that violence perpetuates violence. Courage to stop the cycle needs to be called forth so that these behaviors are not continued throughout generations. Our prisons are full of "broken children" who suffered at the hands of abusers and have lashed out in the only way they know. I am not excusing their behaviors, because I firmly believe that they are capable of choosing the actions they take. The problem is, their pain is deep and they don't believe there is a different way. And when you grow up full of hate, that is a difficult thing to let go of. But not impossible. I have seen children who were abused, grow up and make choices to not perpetuate that abuse. They made the decision ahead of time as to how they would respond to certain circumstances in order to avoid lashing out in anger. And they are raising some amazing children.

The purpose of life is to learn. We can take the opportunity to learn from what is presented to us, or not. Life is made up of choices. Sometimes we make bad ones. If we LEARN from those choices then we are succeeding. If we continue to make the bad choices over and over, then we have not taken the opportunity to learn. I tip my hat to all who have been brave enough to not continue with destructive behaviors, and who have sought a different, loving path.

Our society is sick. When people are judged first by their physical appearance, and if they don't "make the grade" are counted as worthless, it is destructive and wrong. Never judge a book by its cover. If you do you will miss out on some of life's greatest adventures. When you meet someone, look into their eyes. It really is true that the eyes are the window to the soul. Don't just look at the physical handicap or deformity, the size or dimensions, the skin color, or the style of dress. Look at the person. There is so much more to us as humans than what we see at first glance. To place ourselves in superiority over another human being because we are 'beautiful' and they are not, is making a judgment that none of us has the right to make.

I want to suggest a couple of things. Number one is to go to www.youtube.com and type in Susan Boyle. Take the opportunity to watch the videos of her performance on "Britain's Got Talent. It is very inspiring and speaks to exactly what I am saying. Number two is to go to www.impacttrainings.com. This is an amazing program that has assisted thousands in learning to love life and embrace who they are. It changes lives. It is time for us to make the difference so that love is perpetuated, not hate. It starts with one person and can have a ripple effect. Never think for a moment that you cannot make a difference.

Fall Colors at High Creek Canyon, Utah

I am constantly amazed at the absolute beauty of nature. When I take the chance to get away from the crazy, busy city life, and head to the mountains I love seeing the beauty God created for us to enjoy. The sights and sounds of nature are inspiring. I love the smell after the rain. I love the many shades of green that pop up out of the ground and on the trees as springtime is in full bloom. But one of my most favorite things is to see the many shades of fall foliage. What a sight!

I Love This Land

I love this country I live in. It amazes me that fifty states could belong to one union and not have wars going on daily. For the most part, we are a peaceful society. The majority of citizens are God fearing individuals who trust that those in charge are taking care of our freedom. We have been and are still a society to 'let be what will be' and believe that 'all is well'. We were founded on principals of freedom; with the belief that all men (mankind) are created equal. It doesn't matter what situation we are born in to, we are all created equal. We are born with the opportunity and ability to choose. What comes beyond that is because of choices.

Very few are willing to believe that our freedoms are being snuffed out; one by one. In just a few years, we as Americans, are going to throw our arms in to the air with the exclamation, "what the hell just happened here?" But it didn't happen suddenly. The wheels have been turning for over 100 years to make this great country subject to a one world government; to make you and I slaves to an "Elite Society". When the Federal Reserve Bank was formed in 1913, and when the collection of income taxes was initiated; was the beginning of the end for this great United States of America. Suddenly a private bank took control of the monetary exchange in our country. Our parents and grandparents knew nothing of the catastrophe that was set in motion at that time. I didn't even understand it until now.

All of my life I have heard the warning to 'stay out of debt, avoid the use of credit cards'. There used to be very strict rules for obtaining loans for homes. However, we witnessed in the last 20 years where the rules and restrictions were done away with. Laws were passed making it illegal for a credit card complany to require proof of employment and earnings to grant you a credit card. Anyone could get a credit card regardless of their ability to pay. Home mortgages became very creative, making it possible for someone who made less than $60,000 a year to buy a home that cost over $300,000. So, people were taking out mortgages that they really could not afford, and getting so many credit cards that they ended up owing as much for credit cards as most people owed on homes. And the illustrious secret societies who are in control of the international banking, sat back and watched their plans fall in to place. Now, the purse strings have been yanked. The goal was to get everybody so deep in debt that they would be owned by the bank. It was successful.

Our government has spent us into the deepest hole imaginable. Before the Federal Reserve Bank was formed, this country was not in debt. Now look at us. Shame on us! Shame on our elected government officials! Do you know that as we borrow money from China, you and I as citizens of this nation, are signed away as collateral for that loan? Our government will never be able to repay the debt. It's impossible without major changes in the government and divine intervention. Consequently, China (and any other country that has loaned our nation money) can call in the debt any time; and you and I are no longer free. You know that home you live in and have worked so hard to pay for? It will belong to a foreign entity.

What happened to "The Constitution" and the "Bill of Rights"? Are there many among us who even know what is contained in those documents? Read them. Please! The Constitution is an amazing document. But while you and I live in our dream land, thinking all is well, the Constitution is being eroded and thrown out the window; one step at a time.

It is not necessary to have a specific "hate crimes law'. We have laws in place to protect our citizens regardless of sexual orientation, gender, religion, nationality etc. There is no reason for one special interest group to be singled out as more worthy of protection under the law than any other. We are all deserving of the same protection. But as special interest groups force their agendas upon the American people as a whole, we lose sight of the basic foundation upon which we were planted. And the special interest groups then control the rights, and peace of the remaining populace.

I love this country. I want to see the United States of America be able to stand tall and free once again. How about you?

Sunset at Long Valley Utah

My husband is great! He has been just about everywhere you can go in this beautiful state of Utah. So, with his encouragement to pursue my life long dream of being a photographer; I have had the opportunity to take some photos of amazing sights. He has taken me to some very out of the way places that a lot of people never see. We ride four wheelers and have been able to be privy to some superb scenery. On a trip to southern Utah last summer, I was able to capture this most amazing sunset.

Early Childhood

This first photo was taken when I was 2 years old. Where did that curly hair come from??

The second photo was taken when I was 4 years old. It's too bad that these old photographs have deteriorated with age.

When this picture was taken, I was about 7 months old. It was taken out in the "middle of nowhere"; a place that you will read about later as I post episodes from my life story. Here I am with the "Best Mom in the Whole World".