Thinking

I was home sick from church a few weeks ago and when I got Reuben down for a nap I decided to check out the new Gospel Principles book to see what I was missing out on in Sunday School. As I read through the lesson I decided I really like the new Gospel Principles book.

I like it because it starts at the beginning. It doesn't assume or expect a large background. It doesn't feed a bunch of answers and prompt regurgitation. It's a basic, lets see where we are at and talk about what we believe sort of book.

Page 1, Question 1 - the very opening of the lesson- asks What are some things that testify to you that there is a God? I have mentioned before that I LOVE a good question and I would have loved to hear people's answers to this question. Just what makes you believe there IS a God?

I mean, I believe in God, a very particular God. And I have my reasons. But I don't expect them to be the same reasons as anybody else. Because my belief in God is related to personal experiences I have had. In a way, I believe in God to the same degree that I know God. And I know God through interactions I have had with Him. And as I have grown more familiar with God I feel like I have become better at recognizing Him and His influence.

I occasionally have times, usually when I'm thinking or praying or maybe just remembering and then there's a recognition of God. And the God I know is mostly kind and very clarifying and enlightening and BIG. Big in way that I know I'm never seeing all of what He is or He is showing me.

Big sounds very simple, but comprehending God is like trying to take a picture of a mountain you are standing on. You can take a picture of the ground and that's the mountain but it will in no way communicate where you are at. You can take a picture of the geological structure of the rocks, which will explain the formation of the mountain but that won't give a complete image either. You can take a picture of the mountain peaks far about you to try to capture and communicate the grandeur but then even though you are ON the mountain, the mountain seems cold and remote. You can take a picture of the weather patterns or bird and animals adapted to the mountain's conditions to prove how all things are effected by the mountain's presence but that still fails to capture the actual totality of the mountain. The lense -in this scenario, my personal comprehension- is only so large so I can't perceive of all of what is. It takes a lot of pictures and a lot of piecing together, and that takes time.

And that's why what I know about God is mostly lots of little pieces but I'm certain about those little pieces and they create a knowledge in me that there is a God.

So all of this was kind of a tangent to get to what I've really been thinking about, which comes from the second lesson. But lets be honest, who reads long blog posts? Who has the time? This is long enough already.

So I'm going to post what my mind has been stewing over in the next day or two when I get the chance.

Fearsome Banana Cat

Reuben and I went to the Saluda Shoals Nature Center this morning. They had a saber tooth tiger skull on display since they lived in the area a couple thousand years ago. I lifted Reuben up so he could check it out. I pointed at the skull and trying to think of words he knew said "Lion. Roar." trying to communicate something of the fearsome beast the skull belonged to. Reuben examined it closely, touched the teeth, looked up at me skeptically and signed banana.

Missing Person Found

This weekend Aaron was able to find a cheap flight (111 round trip) and so we all got to hang out together as a family for about 40 hours. It was wonderful. We took a trip to the zoo.

Here's Reuben looking at the barn owls.

Here's Reuben saying where are the rabbits? They'd buried themselves into the hay.

Here's a picture of me and Reuben together - not taken by the computer! Proof Aaron was here. If only Reuben was smiling in this picture. Oh well.

Reuben lead the way. That boy doesn't slow down these days.

Reuben happy to be with his dad.

Here's Reuben and me taking in the psychedelic Amazon aquarium tanks. Not really. They keep the area humid so the lens of the camera fogged up.

Sacrificial Victim

Yesterday Reuben got a zhou zhou hamster for Christmas. (Because we've been in transit some of our Christmas presents are still finding their way to us. The situations has really prolonged the holiday magic) A zhou zhou is a small furred animal with buttons that can't bite, escape or die. It's the perfect toy. Reuben has been chasing it all day. I never would have thought of getting it for him but he loves it.

And it's pretty funny to watch and think, yah, if it was real it would have died right -ouch- now, and again and wow, again. Even though it is just a toy, I'm still trying to teach him to be nice to it so he can develop compassion towards living and seemingly living things. But in the meanwhile it's nice that he can have some harmless practice.

National Popcorn Day

Happy National Popcorn Day! I'm going to pop me some.

Mandatory Embroidery

I was reading the Brother's Karamazov and I came to a passage that I liked so much I want to learn to embroider so I can embroider it and have it always hanging in my house forever. And I plan to embroider it for every child I send to college to hang in plain view in their dorm room. It goes:

To this I must add that he was already to some extent a youth of our times - in other words, naturally honest, insisting on truth, seeking and believing in it and once believing, demanding instant commitment to it with all the strength of his soul and wanting to rush off and perform great deeds, sacrificing all, if necessary even life itself. Although unfortunately these youths do not understand that the sacrifice of life is in most cases perhaps the easiest of all sacrifices, and that to dedicate, for example, five or six years of their exuberant youth to HARD, PAINSTAKING STUDY and the acquisition of knowledge for the sole purpose of enhancing tenfold their inherent capacity to serve just that cherished truth, that great work which they are committed to accomplish- such a sacrifice as this remains almost completely beyond the capabilities of many of them.

I've got my work cut out for me. Dostoevsky sure enjoys a long sentence. Too bad Hemmingway doesn't offer more pearls of wisdom. He keeps his sentences snappy - perfect for embroidery. Such a sensitive guy.

Some Music For Your Night

I realized it has been a while since I've said anything about what I'm listening to these days.

I ADORE the song "Optimist vs. The Silent Alarm" by Casiotone for the Painfully Alone. It's a great mix of sound, upbeat and droll. And it's kind of been my anthem for recent times. Here's the chorus:

Well hallelujah

Well hallelujah

And we're laughing through the fear that we'll never make the clear

Oh and you've never looked so dear, it's the end of our career

Some of their other songs are good listening, like "White Oleander" which has a pretty crazy music video featuring an animated unicorn (Robby). You can give a listen here.

I've also been trying out a band called the Bears. I like their songs "How To Live" and "When You're Away" I'm enjoying them but I'm not sure if they'll stand the test of time. You can try them out too if you like, here.