Happy Pancake Tuesday to all! For those of you unaccustomed to this holiday, you may know it better as Mardi Gras, or Fat Tuesday. Either way it is all the same: the day to splurge before Lent begins. Now, lent isn't part of the LDS doctrine, religion, custom or even tradition, but I think it is a great thing. Ever since I was in college, I've been giving up something for lent. I think of it as a re-new years resolution. I've never been too good at keeping the ones I make in January, so here's February, and I get another chance.
So, here are my items I am giving up for lent (I'm being possibly over-ambitious and choosing three, mostly because I think they are all necessary, and I can't decide.):
1. Facebook. This will be really hard. But I think it will be really good to unplug. I am however, giving myself a few caveats. First, I use social networking for work, so I am still allowed to do that. However, I have to log in with my work account only. I also use the messaging to communicate with people across the pond. So, my messages will be able to be read from my email box. Other than that, good bye facebook.
2. Sugar. Particularly sweets (I'm not going crazy and swearing off sugar in bread and stuff).
3. Driving to work (only three days a week, because some days I really need my car.) I live right by the TRAX station. The only reason I don't take the train everyday is because I'm running late. Here's to being on time and saving money.
So, I know it is already into February, but I have been hard at work, kind of working on my new years resolutions. So, while they are not all going so perfectly, there is one I am still on track with and super excited about. This is 2012. I live in the state of Utah where we happen to have 12 temples in operation. There are 12 months in a year. So begins the visit-a-different-temple-a-month challenge. So, here is the schedule:
January: Jordan River
February: Bountiful Provo (Turns out Bountiful was closed for most of Feb. Switched with March)
March: Provo Bountiful
April: Oquirrh Mountain (went in August)
May: Monticello (with a quick trip to Moab)
June: Manti (and the pageant) (skipped the pageant. went in August)
July: Logan
August: Vernal (plus the dinosaur museum there) (closed in August. I need to do better on this planning.)
September: Draper
October: St. George (plus a visit with Courtney in Cedar)
November: Timpanogas
December: Salt Lake City (and the Christmas lights)
I'm excited for this adventure. If you're interested in joining, please let me know.
So, it seems like all my blog friends are posting their year in review, and I started to really wonder what has happened in my life in the last year. So here it is:
January
Rang in the New Year at the happiest place on earth with some of the most awesome people in the world.
Quick trip to Seattle for my first niece's blessing.
Took a quick jaunt to Seattle for the 4th of July weekend.
Love this girly so much!
I moved into my first real place. And by real, I mean totally unfurnished. I now own furniture.
August
Officially started a new job. I still love it a lot.
September
I finally joined the modern age with my first smart phone.
Rooted for my Cougars in the annual BYU-Utah football game, despite my new affiliation with the U. Sadly, the Cougs lost.
October
Went to Boise to watch my awesome sister rock her socks off in the DIII marching band competition. On which trip my car turned over to 100,000 miles.
November
First Thanksgiving with the whole family since who knows when.
December
Christmas in Boise, my best friend's wedding, and bringing in 2012 at Disney.
For whatever reason, this year has been a weird Christmas year for me. Even with a tree with presents and decorations, gingerbread houses decorated by family and friends, Christmas CDs and Pandora stations, and a multitude of parties to attend, I haven't felt very Christmasy.
Everything has all become a list: Go see the Christmas lights, check. Send Christmas cards, check. Get presents, check. Make goodies for the neighbors, check. (Really none of those things have yet been checked off the list, but you get the idea.)
However, this weekend a few things hit home, making me feel what I already knew: Christmas is magical and it can last all year long.
On Saturday, I helped decorate my cousin's tree with her little ones. I was helping the youngest (she's 2) put on an ornament. While she didn't really do a whole lot with that first one, we got it on and she looked at it and jumped up and down: "I did it!" This proceeded with about 20 ornaments. The same reaction after each one. I then gave her one of those cinnamon applesauce ornaments shaped like a star. I had her smell it, and she said: "mmmm, it smells like a star." As I held the ornaments for her and watched her hang them, I was just so touched by the wonder a shiny bauble provided to this little girl. The magic of Christmas from a little child.
And a little child is what really brought the magic of Christmas over 2000 years ago. We focus so much on the magic of Christ's birth. Christmas songs talk about the town, the shepherds, the angels, the evening itself. And yet the magic of Christmas isn't the one night. It is the night that began the life of the greatest gift in the history of the world. And as someone pointed out today, there is really only one Christmas hymn that shares the promise Christmas brings to everyone all year long:
He came down to earth from heaven,
Who is God and Lord of all,
And his shelter was a stable,
And his cradle was a stall;
With the poor, and mean, and lowly,
Lived on earth our Savior holy.
And our eyes at last shall see him,
Through his own redeeming love;
For that child so dear and gentle
Is our Lord in heav’n above,
And he leads his children on
To the place where he is gone.
So, while this Christmas has yet been a little unChristmasy, I have changed my perspective a bit. I don't think I've been a grinch, but on some small level, President Uchtdorf's words do apply to me (and perhaps to all).
"If we look for what is wrong with the Christmas season, we can surely find it. Like the Grinch, we can grumble and complain, becoming cold and cynical about what we see around us. Nevertheless, if we look for the good, we can see this time of year with new eyes-perhaps even with the eyes of a child. The Grinch saw the good in Christmas when he learned to look past its worldly trappings. If we do the same, we can, with the Grinch, proclaim: "Maybe Christmas . . . doesn't come from a store. Maybe Christmas . . . perhaps . . . means a little bit more!" Our heart may not grow three sizes as the Grinch's did, but our heart will change. Our eyes will open to the miracles all around us-at Christmastime and throughout the year."
- President Uchtdorf
* In case you are interested in the full talk. It is lovely. *
