The Greatest Gift

I wasn't sure what I wanted to write today, but I want to express some of the feelings I've had this season.

I've been watching some TV since I got home thanks to the lack of homework (yay!) and the commercials sicken me. All these things to buy and deals to not miss out on! Most take away from the real meaning of Christmas, they use the parts of Christmas carols that don't matter and so on.

But Christmas, as the Grinch says, doesn't come from a store.

This last week I've had the opportunity to do a lot of baking and decorating. And I've done my share of shopping, but I learned to have a different perspective than usual. This year I have reveled more in the memories of years past and have focused on the real reason for the season: the birth of the Savior.

There is an ornament on the Christmas tree that I love dearly. It is a wooden star with the nativity scene carved into it. When I first looked into it, I couldn't figure out what it was supposed to be, but then my eyes focused and I saw it. Every time I look at it I see what is carved there and it refocuses my mind to Christ.

He is the greatest gift we have ever been given. Without Him, we there would be no reason to celebrate. What greater gift could the Father have given us then His son who would perform His ministry and then experience the atonement. Through His sacrifice He reaches out to us with His redemptive power and His enabling power. He redeems us from sin and enables us to obtain eternal life! There is no greater gift.

Sure, it's nice to receive new gadgets and toys, clothes and shoes, but these things are not as important as the gift of Jesus. I have felt this season a sense of gratitude for His sacrifice and a desire to yield my heart to Him. The number of gifts or the type of gifts I receive have taken second place. I am so grateful for this perspective, for I feel more charity in my heart and this season has been much more meaningful than in the past.

You hear many stories of people's most meaningful Christmases. They are the ones when there are few presents but great happiness. I suppose I've never really experienced one of these but I'm glad to have found the right perspective in spite of it. I just wish I'd done more to be giving to others. . .

But there's still time. And there are still cookies to hand out and encouragement to give and service to my family and friends. This time is a time for giving and reflection and hope. It is my hope that you all will have a very merry Christmas and that the spirit will last beyond the single day.

Thanks for all you do.
Merry Christmas

You...

For a good friend of mine:

You...

You are of infinite worth.
Your grades are good enough.
Your spirit is bright and beautiful.
You are loving.
You are kind.
You are a good friend.
You have much to say.
You have faith enough.
You have trust enough.
You can achieve your goals.
You can succeed.
You may not know now, but you will.

Remember who you are. Remember whose you are. Remember that you are loved more deeply than you realize.

I love you my dear friend. Please don't disappear from my life.

Our True Identity

We are all of great worth to our Heavenly Father, and though we may feel unworthy, our worth never diminishes, never changes. He does not compare us to the brilliant pianist or the super model but sees the divine potential that is within us. He loves you; you are a son or daughter of God!

Consider this story: A young piano student's mother, wishing to encourage him, “bought tickets for a performance of the great Polish pianist, Paderewski. The night of the concert arrived and the mother and son found their seats near the front of the concert hall. While the mother visited with friends, the boy slipped quietly away.

“Suddenly, it was time for the performance to begin and a single spotlight cut through the darkness of the concert hall to illuminate the grand piano on stage. Only then did the audience notice the little boy on the bench, innocently picking out ‘Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star.’

“His mother gasped, but before she could move, Paderewski appeared on stage and quickly moved to the keyboard. He whispered to the boy, ‘Don’t quit. Keep playing.’ And then, leaning over, the master reached down with his left hand and began filling in the bass part. Soon his right arm reached around the other side, encircling the child, to add a running obbligato. Together, the old master and the young novice held the crowd mesmerized.

“In our lives, unpolished though we may be, it is the Master who surrounds us and whispers in our ear, time and time again, ‘Don’t quit. Keep playing.’ And as we do, He augments and supplements until a work of amazing beauty is created. He is right there with all of us, telling us over and over, ‘Keep playing.’” (As quoted by James E. Faust, Oct. 1999 General Conference, General Releif Society Session.)

Never forget your true identity. Never forget your divine worth.

All Creatures of Our God and King

This is one of the harder hymns to play in the hymnbook, but I think it is all the more beautiful for it. The music to which this inspiring text is set is magnificent. So here is a video I found featuring this wonderful hymn for your Thanksgiving enjoyment.

Oh, praise Him! For He is our Creator, our Help, and our Salvation. Alleluia!

Happy Thanksgiving!

More Slow Practice!

Earlier this semester my school hosted a short conference. We had two guest artists come. One of the artist's main bit of advice for us was "more slow practice!"

Elder Dieter F. Uchtdorf Also told us to slow down in his recent conference address:

"Professional pilots understand that there is an optimum turbulence penetration speed that will minimize the negative effects of turbulence. And most of the time that would mean to reduce your speed. The same principle applies also to speed bumps on a road.

"Therefore, it is good advice to slow down a little, steady the coarse, and focus on the essentials when experiencing adverse conditions." (emphasis added)

Taking it slow is no easy task. It takes a lot of motivation to practice something that goes by in 5 seconds for an hour or more. I must consider how important music is to me and how important playing the bassoon is to me.

In the subsequent weeks since the Round-up, I have striven to implement more slow practice into my rehearsal time. I also resolved to concentrate more on my fundamentals, even though I have etudes and other music I could be working on. But I know that my playing is important to me so I need to take the time to work on my fundamentals and slow practice. By doing these things, I will progress much faster in my abilities, and I won't have to spend as much time on the etudes and such. Even now there is a difference in my playing.

Uchtdorf continues, "when stress levels rise, when distress appears, when tragedy strikes, too often we attempt to keep up the same frantic pace or even accelerate, thinking somehow that the more rushed our pace, the better off we will be."

Instead we need to "focus on the things that matter most (Uchtdorf)."

"[D]o 'all these things...in wisdom and order; for it is not requisite that [we] should run faster than [we have] strength. [But] it is expedient that [we] should be diligent, [and] thereby...win the prize.' " (Mosiah 4:27)

Let's slow down and focus on the basics. it is not about how fast we can play a passage or the number of things on our to-do lists. It's about how diligent we are in the things we do. No matter how fast we climb the path to heaven, be diligent.

If you are worried about reducing your productivity by slowing down, don't! "Quality always leads it increased productivity." (Glasser, The Quality School. p. 8)

"Strength comes not from frantic activity but from being settled on a firm foundation of truth and light." (Uchtdorf)

So, how important to you are the things you do? . . . MORE SLOW PRACTICE!

Uchtdorf, Dieter F. Of Things That Matter Most.

My Bracelet

I have a bracelet filled with small charms
Each a reminder of a year among farms

A pendant with my name and one with the year,
A cake for my birthday, my dating year :)

The rest stand for values and things special to me
One for music, one for Christmas, and a cute little bee

A pendant for faith, a crown for divine nature,
A torch for individual worth, a more come after

A globe for knowledge, compass--choice, accountability,
A heart for good works, and a light house--integrity.

Among these is one more, a small handcart
So I can keep that journey close to my heart.

I do not often wear my bracelet, but through it
I remember that year and others like it.

My Kindness Shall Not Depart From Thee

Here Elder Holland bears testimony of the Lord's kindness. "Hold on thy way. Fear not," he says.

My Kindness Shall Not Depart from Thee

For a little while
Have I forsaken thee;
But with great mercies will I gather thee.
In a little wrath I hid my face from thee
For a moment.
But with everlasting kindness will I gather thee,
And with mercy will I take thee ‘neath my wings,
For the mountains shall depart,
And the hills shall be removed,
And the valleys shall be lost beneath the sea,
But know, my child,
My kindness shall not depart from thee!

Though thine afflictions seem
At times too great to bear,
I know thine every thought and every care.
And though the very jaws
Of hell gape after thee I am with thee.
And with everlasting mercy will I succor thee,
And with healing will I take thee ‘neath my wings.
Though the mountains shall depart,
And the hills shall be removed,
And the valleys shall be lost beneath the sea,
Know, my child,
My kindness shall not depart from thee!

How long can rolling waters
Remain impure?
What pow’r shall stay the hand of God?
The Son of Man hath descended below all things.
Art thou greater than He?

So hold on thy way,
For I shall be with thee.
And mine angels shall encircle thee.
Doubt not what thou knowest,
Fear not man, for he
Cannot hurt thee.
And with everlasting kindness will I succor thee,
And with mercy will I take thee ‘neath my wings.
For the mountains shall depart,
And the hills shall be removed,
And the valleys shall be lost beneath the sea,
But know, my child,
My kindness shall not depart from thee!
My kindness shall not depart from thee!

(From the oratorio composed by Rob Gardner: Joseph Smith the Prophet. See also Isaiah 54:7-8, D&C 122:7-8)

This is one of my favorite songs. I first heard it done by one of the BYU choirs and fell in love. It is such an important thing for all of us to remember. When we are doing our best to follow the Lord, He will be with us. We will experience the refiner's fire, but He shall never depart from us.

Trials are a fact of life. We must remember that we wanted to come and have a mortal experience or we would not be here. Remember who you are. Remember whose you are! You are a child of God, the Eternal Father, the Creator of Heaven and Earth and all that in them are. He has created the universe! But we are His greatest creations. He weeps over those who reject Him. (see Moses 7:28-36) He delights to honor those who serve Him in righteousness! (see D&C 76:5)

How great is our God, how endless His glory!

How grateful I am for the Savior's sacrifice. How grateful that He would descend below all things that He might know how to succor us!

How great, how glorious, how complete
Redemption's grand design
Where justice, love, and mercy meet
In harmony divine! (Hymn 195)

God's Wonders

I had the opportunity to go to the LDS temple near where I live on Friday. I did some temple work with my sister, then went to the visitor's center where they had an exhibit. It was a collection of pictures taken by the Hubble Telescope. Oh, they were beautiful! Eleven pictures in all of nebulae and galaxies and stars. They were absolutely stunning!

Many a time I have gazed at the stars and wondered what lay beyond them. What do they look like up close? I think about how much is out there, how immense 'space' is. I feel small and insignificant at times, but then I remember that God knows me and every individual that ever lived or will live. In spite of all that He has created, He takes the time to listen to our prayers, our hope and fears. Then the stars remind me of Him instead of my smallness. I love to look at them for this reason: that they remind me of Him. And I think of all of His other creations, all the beauties of the earth and the universe.

How amazed I am by them! From a tiny baby's ear to the billions of formations in space. It's amazing how it all works out just right. I don't think it is mere coincidence that the universe was formed. There are too many variables to think that it all happened by chance, like the distance of the earth from the sun and the tilt of the earth that gives us our temperate seasons. I know there is a greater power out there orchestrating everything. I know there is a God. I know that He lives and He cares about each and every one of us.

Marriage

Considering that there are two upcoming marriages in my family, I'd like to share a thought about marriage.

This is what my mother's grandmother would say to her and what my mother always tells us: Don't get married unless you can look me in the eye and tell me that you will marry him (or her) no matter what anyone else says.

I am glad that both of the upcoming marriages have been up to these standards, and I wouldn't have it any other way.

Naknek tradition

Ahhh...I am finally back from an adventure in Alaska. I worked in a little town called Naknek that sits next to the Naknek River that floats to the Bristol Bay. It was Salmon season and I was at a cannery and freezer plant. I was one of the seven on the glove crew who took care of the gloves that the workers used. Part of my duties was to go out to the satelite plant situated just on the other side of town from the main plant.

That meant that I got to drive a lot. So I can say that I've now driven in Alaska :). I found out that Naknek has a peculiar tradition that I love. When you pass a vehicle coming from the opposite direction, you wave--you just raise your hand a little to wave at the other person. Oooo, I love it when they wave back!

Smile!

Have you ever smiled at someone you don't know? What is their reaction? When they smile back, how does it make you feel? Now try saying "Hello" as well. Then "How are you?" It's the best way to cheer yourself up! And it's a great way to serve others. That's what it is, serving! You serve their spirit by telling them that they are worth saying "hello" to, that you see them and know that they are there. If you are someone who tends to keep your eyes averted and not look at those you don't know, it's a good way to make yourself be more social. I warn you, though, it can be addicting. :)

If you've ever been smiled at by someone, you know how much it lifts your spirit. Go out and do it for someone else!

Hey look! I started a blog!
Let me introduce myself. I'm a musician who is aiming to be a teacher. I like ice cream and love life. Yes, I am a 'mormon'--or in other words a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints--true blue, through and through.
I have thought about starting a blog for a while. Now, I have finally done it for two reasons, okay, maybe three. It's a way to enhance my writing skills. it's an opportunity for me to look at my experiences in more detail as I write about them. And it's a way to share the gospel, so if you want to read this blog, be aware that it will usually have a gospel spin. It is a major part of who I am, and I won't deny it!
I hope that my readers will leave this page uplifted and more aware of the gift that is life. Happy reading!