Beautiful Olivia

We had these pictures taken at Target a few weeks ago. I have never been disappointed with our photo's taken there....so go ahead, try them!

Hiking the Y

I finally did it! I had been wanting to hike the Y all summer and Neal and I finally did it on date night last week! It was easy for Neal, hard for me. I would show you a picture, but my face had turned a very unattractive color of red that I would rather not display to the public. As always, Neal was very patient with me and it was a great experience. I can't wait to do it again!!

A Mouse's Hope

Neal here again. Every couple of months or so, I have the opportunity to write a short inspirational message for our local ward (or church congregation) newsletter. For the September edition, I wrote about a subject which is certainly applicable in today's incredibly uncertain world. I hope it helps :).


I’m sure most of you have heard this cute little story: Two mice fell into a bucket of cream. The first immediately consigned himself to his fate and drowned. The second, however, kept swimming and swimming until he churned the cream into butter and escaped.

I don’t know what gave the second mouse his motivation, but I believe he needed great hope to muster that kind of perseverance. Hope provides motivation to accomplish great things, even when we fall into life’s most cavernous cream buckets.

Despite the deafening din of despair’s constant calls, it is possible, and absolutely necessary, to heed hope’s gentle whispers. We must nurture hope because hope “maketh an anchor to the souls of men, which would make them sure and steadfast, always abounding in good works, being led to glorify God” (Ether 12:4). Anchors keep ships safe in a storm by holding them solidly in a single relative position. Hope similarly keeps us anchored to the protection of the gospel.

Elder Russell M. Nelson said, “A more excellent hope is mightier than a wistful wish. Hope, fortified by faith and charity, forges
a force as strong as steel. Hope becomes an anchor to the soul. To this anchor, the faithful can cling, securely tethered to the Lord.”

But how do we build such steely hope when we can’t see anything but the enormity of our tasks, our trials, or our sins? Neal A.
Maxwell said: “Just as doubt, despair, and desensitization go together, so do faith, hope, and charity. The latter, however, must be carefully and constantly nurtured, whereas despair, like dandelions, needs so little encouragement to sprout and spread. Despair comes so naturally to the natural man!”

To overcome the crippling power of despair and build soul-sustaining hope, I offer the following suggestions:

Stay close to the Spirit. The Spirit is the heavenly agent that bestows hope. We can invite its presence via daily scripture study, prayer, service, kindness, and especially repentance. In Moroni 8:26 we read: “And the remission of sins bringeth meekness, and lowliness of heart; and because of meekness and lowliness of heart cometh the
visitation of the Holy Ghost, which Comforter filleth with hope and perfect love...”

Keep an eternal perspective. In the animated classic film A Bug’s Life, the little ant Dot is frustrated that her wings are too little and that she can’t do everything the full-grown ants do. Flick, her full-grown ant friend, tries to assuage her by saying that she is like a seed. He gives Dot a rock to hold, asks her to pretend that it’s a seed, and explains that she has potential for greatness, just as her “seed” has potential to become a great tree. Dot then looks down at the object in her little ant hands and can only say, “it’s a rock.”

If we fail to look at what we have with an “eye of faith” (Alma 5:15), our circumstances and our lives become cold, hard rocks, rather than seeds of possibility and opportunities for eternal progression. With an eternal perspective—specifically, when we remember our divine origins, abilities, and worth—even the rockiest episodes of our life can become an opportunity to nurture hope.

Prepare. Adversities and even calamities are an inherent part of life; however, we can face our difficulties with hope when we prepare. A family that has saved money, food, and emergency supplies will maintain hope when unexpected shortages, unemployment, or natural disasters arise. A student who studies his or her hardest will face exams with confidence. A man or woman who fasts and prays and clings to the Iron Rod will stand with unyielding resolve against the fiercest of temptations.

Remember the Lord’s promise: “If ye are prepared ye shall not fear” (D&C 38:30).

Adopt a positive attitude. An attitude of perseverance will keep you kicking in that
cream.

My Father always said, “how’s the ‘tude dude?” (Translation: “How’s the attitude, son?”) during my least receptive moments.
But now I appreciate this not-too-subtle reminder. Truly, attitude so often determines success. In fact, I attribute “how’s the ‘tude dude?” to much of the little success I’ve gained in life.

In the masterful book, Man’s Search for Meaning, Viktor Frankl explains the difference between those who survived and those
who perished in World War II’s sinister Auschwitz concentration camp. “Everything can be taken from a man but ...the last of the human freedoms—to choose one’s attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one’s own way.”

Let us choose to adopt a hopeful attitude that will open the way to spiritual survival and success.

Base your hope on Christ and His Atonement. True hope is hope in the ability of Jesus Christ to save us. It is hope in the Atonement. This is hope in its highest form. In Moroni 7:41 we read: “And what is it that ye shall hope for? Behold I say unto you that ye shall have hope through the atonement of Christ and the power of his resurrection, to be raised unto life eternal, and this because of your faith in him according to the promise.”

Hope in salvation through the Atonement is the most enabling type of hope, because salvation is the highest and noblest goal we can strive for.

If you can hope in nothing else, hope in Christ, and I’m confident that all else will follow.

It is my testimony that Jesus Christ lives, loves us, and will infuse our souls with all the hope we need if we will but turn to him in sincere faith and prayer. May we all garner hope strong enough to keep kicking in life’s cream bucket and thereby gain salvation is my humble prayer.


Brother Jenks

Musings on Muse

Neal here again: For those of you who haven't been introduced to the greatest Rock Band of the 2000's (That's Muse to the layman), I present the following conversation between my brother and I from our MyFamily website. Prepare to be indoctrinated.


Joel started out with this:

**Warning***The following does not contain any secrets or salacious confessions but rather the worthless nerd drivel of interest only to Neal. Seriously. If you are still reading this, stop unless your name is Neal. What is about to follow will bore you to tears. You will find yourself staring at the wall in hopes that paint drying might bring excitement back into your life.

Well then, where was I. Oh yes..

Neal.

Guess what is happening September 15? If you guessed I would be assisting with a Housing and Neighborhood Services City Council Worksession to discuss the CDBG funded housing and Sweeps programs, you would be right!

But of course you would not guess that because a) you are not me and b) you have a life.

But guess what else happens on September 15th?

May I present the release date of the new album from Muse entitled Resistance. You know as in you have none when it comes to sweet, creative, amazing Muse. Thats right, more eclectic Muse music to fill the gaping maw known as you Muse-less soul.

Guess what else? You can listen to the entire album by going to

http://muse.mu/media -player/albums/47/the -resistance/

You have to sign up to listen, but as yoda would say "Worth it, it is."

Its got techno pop, the re-birth of Queen and, I kid you not, a three part symphony.

Guess what else?

I like Jell-o.


My sister Tara then chimed in with this:

By the way, I love Muse as well. Of course it took the soundtrack from Twilight to get me interested, but yes, I love them as well. I'm adding the new CD to my birthday wish list along w/ Black Eyed Pea's newest.



Then I responded with this:

Joel, besides what I've already said on the phone, I only have one thing to say: OMGITIGTWM (For those of you not up on your texting lingo, that's "Oh My Goodness I Think I'm Going To Wet Myself"). Unfortunately, I'm not gonna be able to work today, cuz I'm declaring today, September 14th, Muse Resistance day. Today I shall bathe in pure sonic bliss like migrating salmon in the waters of Capistrano. Actually, since the album's not being released until tomorrow, I should probably just make this Muse Resistance WEEK.

Glad to hear you've boarded the Muse train Tara! Shannon's not a fan (yet) but loves the same song you do for the same reason. I'm sure you know by now that Stephanie Meyer listened to Muse while she wrote the Twilight books. And really, is there a better soundtrack for Twilight? I can't think of more fitting music for an obsession-based, teen angst-driven, hot-blooded vampire tale. Shannon, I will convert you to the Muse Side yet, and Edward will be the key to your undoing (bwa ha ha ha).

I hate to break this to both of you, Ter, but Supermassive Black Hole is NOT their best song, not by a long shot. It is indeed, funky, fresh, and fragrant, but you have much to learn about the best rock band of the 2000's, Grasshopper. I present, for your indoctrination, the three best songs from each of the three albums I own. Joel, I welcome your rebuttal:

- From the Origin of Symmetry album: New Born, Bliss, Plug In Baby
- From Absolution: Sing for Absolution, Hysteria, Butterflies and Hurricanes
- From Black Holes and Revelations: Take a Bow, Map of the Problematique, Knights of Cydonia

If you're gonna dip yourself in Muse, that's a good place to start. If you don't wanna listen to nine songs, start with Sing for Absolution, Hysteria, and Map of the Problematique.

Embrace the impending obsession.

Thanks for the tip, dear brother. "You set my soul alight."

Ellen the Idol killer

Neal here. I just had to go on a quick tirade about the recent appointment of Ellen Degradation as an American Idol judge.

During moments like this, we say what we often say when watching television: "What the heck are they thinking?" Normally, the answer to that question is, "they weren't," but here's what I think they were thinking: They're pulling a Dennis Miller.

Remember about 10 years ago when Monday Night Football brought in a COMEDIAN to offer opinions and insights on the game? I'd imagine they thought they could make football more universally appealing by bringing in someone who knows nothing about the game but how to make snide, inane comments about it. I'd imagine that's what a lot of disgruntled housewives and nerds were doing anyway (maybe that was their target market). Of course, instead of making the game more approachable for an untapped audience, everyone ELSE who watches MNF called for Dennis Miller's head on a pike. Why? Oh yeah, cuz he knows jack about the game.

I'm sure by the end of the season, we'll wanna lych Ellen Degenerate for the same reason. Oh wait, I already do.

America is stupid, but we're not that stupid. We can smell a cheap ploy by program exec's to boost ratings a mile away. All I can do is hope that they'll wake up and smell what their shoveling before they kill Idol.

I wonder what else is gonna be on during that time slot...