Josh's extemporanious "rant"

Calvin Joshua Stott - born 10/4/2009

stott.josh@gmail.com (JPS) — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 03:18:00 +0000

Jill&Josh wedding -- 12/31/2008

stott.josh@gmail.com (JPS) — Thu, 29 Jan 2009 01:24:00 +0000

Announcement pics: Jill&Josh '08

stott.josh@gmail.com (JPS) — Sun, 23 Nov 2008 17:16:00 +0000

Pure Excitement for the Month of December...

stott.josh@gmail.com (JPS) — Tue, 11 Nov 2008 00:57:00 +0000

I asked Jill to marry me!

SHHhHhHhhh.........

It's a secret!

She said... now lean in closer here so I can whisper.....

YES!!!

Happy days for me... eternally! Until the brightest day!!!

JPS

Return of "The Spanish Prisoner"...

stott.josh@gmail.com (JPS) — Sat, 25 Oct 2008 21:00:00 +0000

Like I have said: I didn't discount inspiration or possibly a burning bush or even a dream or vision, but, I believe that my last love interest basically wrote me that a "Dear Josh" because of The Spanish Prisoner, but it seems that Cami had "hit-the-nail-on-the-head" when she commented that, "Maybe it is a personality test to find out if you are compatible." It seems that watching that movie was my secret-compatibility-test and it most definitely "weeded-out" an incompatible love candidate!

I have since found (re-found? We had actually gone-out a few times in High School...) a completely compatible love interest that actually owns the movie in question!

I am completely, head-over-heels in love with her (she is who I have at other times referred to #105 and the topic of that "potential energy" that I have been referring to...)!

So, thanks Cami--you were right!--and thank you David Mamet for both writing and directing that movie (we'll do lunch sometime; have your people call my people...)!

She had declared a poem by Carl Sandburg, as her poet-of-the-month for October and poated:

"HAPPINESS"

I asked professors who teach the meaning of life to tell
me what is happiness.
And I went to famous executives who boss the work of
thousands of men.
They all shook their heads and gave me a smile as though
I was trying to fool with them.
And then one Sunday afternoon I wandered out along
the Desplaines river
And I saw a crowd of Hungarians under the trees with
their women and children and a keg of beer and an
accordion.

I am happy though I have never consumed malt liquor (or any liquor, for that matter...) nor played an accordian...!!! Thanks Jill...

JPS

How does procrastination erode faith?

stott.josh@gmail.com (JPS) — Wed, 22 Oct 2008 14:58:00 +0000

First of all, let's look at what faith is:

In the New Testament (where else should we look to find out the absolute most fundamental characteristic of a disciple of Christ?) we learn that faith is; in Hebrews chapter eleven, verse one -- Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. Also, we read in the Book of Mormon, in the book of Ether, chapter twelve much about what faith is, but specifically in verse six, "that faith is things which are hoped for and not seen; wherefore, dispute not because ye see not, for ye receive no witness until after the trial of your faith."

We can infer from those two verses that faith is not to have a sure knowledge and is not to be able to "prove" that such a thing is true... We can, though, believe that it is the case and can believe so much, AS to, like Joseph Smith teaches in his Lectures on Faith, have the power of faith and, therefore, the power to finish the faithful steps that we are taking! (We could go on and on and on about the nature of faith and describe and discuss it, but our point now is to talk about how procrastination erodes faith!)

Now, let us turn a discussion of "procrastination..." Procratination is, in essence, proof that you don't actually have faith, or I should say that to procrastinate is to show that you don't believe, wholeheartedly, that the object of your desired faith will come to pass!

Let me step back for a moment and try not to offend those reading this that may be procrastinators... Alma 34:33,35 & Alma 13:27 & Helaman 13:38 all talk about procratination in terms of not waiting too long to repent or waiting til it becomes "everlastingly too late" to repent!

To procratinate is to do the opposite of moving forward in faith; it is, literally, to stand still or move backwards in faithlessness... C. S. Lewis tells us is that faithful action is strengthened by repetition but that not choosing to act towards your faithful goal will make you forget about and lose interest in completing your original desire or desired goal...

In other words, to procratinate or procrastination, does, in fact, erode faith! It can actually erode it to the point that you no longer have that initial faithful intention...

JPS

Energy II (potential energy)...

stott.josh@gmail.com (JPS) — Sun, 12 Oct 2008 22:16:00 +0000

Now the energy that I'm feeling... (in fact, the way that I put it today in an email was, "I woke-up at 5:20 AM and my body was tingling from this very energy"...) definitely is a type of "potential energy" but another way to-put-it is the excitement of potential energy!

Saturday night there was some actual kinetic energy happening in my life and maybe just a little bit of nuclear energy!!! I think that I may need to get decontaminated some! I know that there actually no reactor meltdown or leakage of any kind though... And maybe there was some of that cosmic energy; in fact, there was!

No sexual energy, but... there definitely was potential sexual energy! Hence me classifying it as "potential energy"... Right? OK? Now, STOP THINKING ABOUT IT and get-back to you MSN News page!!!

JPS

Was that charitable?

stott.josh@gmail.com (JPS) — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 21:23:00 +0000

But, isn't it "only natural"?

stott.josh@gmail.com (JPS) — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 20:46:00 +0000

What does that phrase intend to mean exactly?

Let's look at a couple possible scenarios (remembering that we can substitute any sin with the sin listed in the example!) For example: We may not be prone to violence, but in this first example:

"It's only natural that I murdered my wife and left my children motherless... BUT she has been yelling at me for 30 years! ..."

"Sure... sometimes when I daydream at work or even at home, I think of sex with a woman other than my wife or killing my boss... I am a man, though, and can't help but feel those types of urges! right?"

"It's only natural that I cheated on my taxes... After all, the Government already has their fair share, and the government owed me that money and I don't consider it 'stealing'!"

"My son was foolish last summer and had sex with his long-time and steady girlfriend, but I don't blame him because it was just his hormones and it's only natural to have those feelings and then let your body take its natural course: weren't we made to do just that?"

This next scenario might be hard to read...

"My older bother came over, last night, to help me finish painting my garage ceiling and we got to joking and I told him about some of the dumb things that my wife has done to me lately... I mean, I can't believe that she would ever do that to anyone, but to her own husband!?! My brother says that I should seriously consider divorcing her!"

So, where could we place the "it's only natural label" on that scenario? On just the brother? On just the husband? On both? Why?

Just remember one of the most profound verses in scripture that speaks-to just this sort of topic:

For the natural man is an enemy to God, and has been from the fall of Adam, and will be, forever and ever, unless he yields to the enticings of the Spirit, and putteth-off the natural man, and becometh a saint through the atonement of Christ the Lord, and becometh as a child, submissive, meek, humble, patient, full-of-love, willing-to-submit to all things that the Lord seeth fit to inflict upon him, even as a child doth submit to his father.

JPS

What if I were to stop writing?

stott.josh@gmail.com (JPS) — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 03:10:00 +0000

I think that, for me, writing is a way too create the goodness that otherwise I wouldn't be able to make...

I'm pretty sure that if I were to stop writing (either here or in my journal at home...), I would die... inside!

The more I am able to create the more I feel love and feel happiness and feel joy and feel completed!

When I need to write something, anything, then to plug this creative outlet would be to turn off that one avenue for love and happiness and joy, anticipating completion.

If I were to stop writing...

I would simply have to find another avenue of creation! -- for now, though, this is the most comfortable and the easiest way that I can express myself, alone, that is...

I think I'll just continue to write like this for a long time. Don't even think that I will ever stop writing mini-devotionals either1 That is where most of my expression emerges...

JPS

Energy...

stott.josh@gmail.com (JPS) — Tue, 30 Sep 2008 23:13:00 +0000

Let's list some different types of energy to see if we can pinpoint which kind I'm experiencing:

Nervous Energy - Could be--I have removed myself from the "groove" that I was in before and also have a new job: my internal clock has been reset to another schedule!

Cosmic Energy - You never know... The universe might have made plans for me to do something that I haven't done before and will shortly be "throwing me into a new situation"!

Solar Energy/Thermal Energy - Could be--I was just waiting for the bus outside and was getting awfully hot!

Carbine Energy - Don't think so... I sit almost all-day-long on a chair, answering questions...

Atomic Energy - I somehow don't think that any atoms are being split inside of me (I'm pretty sure that we all would know immediately about that!)!

Nuclear Energy - See reasoning similar to Atomic Energy for why I do not think I am experiencing Nuclear Energy...

Psychological Energy - Is my brain just producing some biological energy that I'm not aware of? Why can't I just turn it off and turn it on at will?

Coal Energy - I don't think so...

Hydraulic Energy - Are you saying I'm wet-behind-the-ears? That just may be, but I'm NOT producing hydraulic energy...

Kinetic Energy - The only thing that's really moving right now is my heart, my restless legs, and my typing fingers! I am not sure that I could point my finger at kinetic energy for what I'm experiencing...

Sexual Energy - Nope! That includes the lack-of sex that can build-up in a person until they feel like they will explode... Nope!

No! Ok... I think I've narrowed it down to... Potential Energy!!! Potential to experience each and every one of the different types of energy (that is, with the exception of maybe hydraulic and carbine energy...)!

JPS

Testimony

stott.josh@gmail.com (JPS) — Tue, 30 Sep 2008 01:00:00 +0000

No, this post is not titled the way it is because I AM going to bear my testimony... I think I do that already in most things that I write!

Instead, I want to talk about others bearing their testimonies (whether they know it or not...).

Every night and every day I pray that Addison will "be able to glean from the words-that-others-use-around-him the TRUTHS that are being expressed and that, even though I'm hundreds of miles away, he will learn all of the things that I would teach him if I were there." I know that he isn't going to be punished for being far-away from the TRUTH a I would teach him but that he will be strengthened in learning those same TRUTHS from others around him and have a stronger foundation for his testimony because of it...

All TRUTH, though, isn't pointed to a man or to a woman, but ALL TRUTH points back to Christ. It is he that is the light and the life of the world and in Doctrine & Covenants 88:6-7 we learn that,

He that ascended up on high, as also he descended below all things, in that he comprehended all things, that he might be in all and through all things, the light of truth; Which truth shineth. This is the light of Christ. As also he is in the sun, and the light of the sun, and the power thereof by which it was made.

Testimony is one of the most powerful things that we can have in this world... In verse 66 of that same chapter, we read:

Behold, that which you hear is as the voice of one crying in the wilderness—in the wilderness, because you cannot see him—my voice, because my voice is Spirit; my Spirit is truth; truth abideth and hath no end; and if it be in you it shall abound.

The funny and great part of it all is: We all can bear it. We all can bear our own testimonies and we can "tap into" that power that is being shared with us!!!

JPS

How do all things typify Christ?

stott.josh@gmail.com (JPS) — Sun, 14 Sep 2008 06:57:00 +0000

In 2 Nephi 11:4, we read:

"Behold, my soul delighteth in proving unto my people the truth of the coming of Christ; for, for this end hath the law of Moses been given; and all things which have been given of God from the beginning of the world, unto man, are the typifying of him."

Let's take a moment to think of the different ways that things "typify" our Lord and Savior:

Astrological-He is the creator of this world and millions of others and is the savior for each one that He has made. All things point to Him as a God!
Universal-Likewise, He is through all things and in all things, He is the originator of all truth and is ever-expanding. His works have no end (worlds without end!)...
Biological-Think of the seasons: the plants die in the fall and then winter, only to be re-born in the spring and then thrive in the summer!
Philosophical-He is the WORD (see The Gospel of John 1:1). All true ideas come from him. Don't think that you just thought-up a new idea that didn't originate in the mind of God!!!
Historical-He is Alpha and Omega. The beginning and the end...
Scientific-He not only created this planet but also filled it with all manner of animal life (beasts, fowls of the air [in all their varieties], fishes, insectas, creeping things, etc.). The seasons are under His POWER as well as all things that fall outside of the use of OUR agency!!!
Love-God is love (1 John 4:7-Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God...; 1 John 4:16-... God is LOVE...; 1 John 3:16-... he laid down his life for us: and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren)...
Mathmatical-He is without beginning of days or end of years; is omniscient, omnipotent, and omnipresent; He is, as the Ancient Greek philosophers would have called him, The One...
Spiritual-He is the content of and the end of my religion and everything that it contains...
Faithful-He is my example in all things. Indeed, we may say that we follow the admonition of Paul—"... We believe all things, we hope all things, we have endured many things, and hope to be able to gendure all things (see Articles of Faith 1:13)"...

JPS

A Found Poem (box of Mukki italian Panna di Cucina)

stott.josh@gmail.com (JPS) — Fri, 12 Sep 2008 06:20:00 +0000

Freschezza per tutti
Sinonimo di qualita'
Dare gusto ad ogni tua ricetta
Pronto per l'uso in cucina!

JPS

Double Irony...

stott.josh@gmail.com (JPS) — Thu, 11 Sep 2008 19:46:00 +0000

Not since my days of reading Søren Kierkegaard in college have I thought up another doubly ironic situation as it comes to Jesus Christ (not like I "dreamed it up" as this idea was already there, waiting for someone to point out!)...

I was reading 2 Nephi 25: 12-13, which states-

12- ... when the day cometh that the Only Begotten of the Father, yea, even the Father of heaven and of earth, shall manifest himself unto them in the flesh, behold, they will reject him, because of their iniquities, and the hardness of their hearts, and the stiffness of their necks.

13- Behold, they will crucify him; and after he is laid in a sepulchre for the space of three days he shall rise from the dead, with healing in his wings; and all those who shall believe on his name shall be saved in the kingdom of God...

Now, Christ came to this earth to redeem all of those children of our Heavenly Father who would accept his atonement and follow his commandments, plus all who are born here will automatically be resurrected once they've passed-on from this life. Yet, the Jews are so wicked that they have crucified their God. Now, nobody but the Jews were so acquainted with their God, Jehovah, and yet they took offense to Him and His teachings and His example enough to murder him in the most cruel manner ever thought of!

Now, as if that wasn't ironic enough, this was all part of the plan from the beginning. Christ knew very well, perfectly well, what price he would have to pay to fulfill his mission here on earth; he knew that he would have to make a blood atonement for all mankind and he knew that it would be the very same people that he came-to, lived with, ate dinner with, taught, was friends with--think of your neighbor, your bishop, your best friend's dad--and those people were going to be the ones to take offense and be angered enough to murder him! The double irony comes to when you realize that those people were the only people born of our Heavenly Father who would kill their God!

In 2nd Nephi, chapter 10, verse 3, we read:

Wherefore, as I said unto you, it must needs be expedient that Christ—for in the last night the angel spake unto me that this should be his name—should come among the Jews, among those who are the more wicked part of the world; and they shall crucify him—for thus it behooveth our God, and there is none other nation on earth.

And, to add irony to double irony, the reason that we are told they crucified their God was:

Therefore the Jews sought the more to kill him, because he not only had broken the sabbath, but said also that God was his Father, making himself equal with God. (John 5: 18)

JPS

Jack Napier (played by Jack Nicholson) v. The Joker (played by Heath Ledger)

stott.josh@gmail.com (JPS) — Thu, 11 Sep 2008 18:05:00 +0000

Which is your favorite Jaker? Which do you think of when you say, "The Joker from the Batman movies"? If there were a "real" Joker, which way would you think that he would act like?

Let's discuss each of them and then we may have a clearer idea of them both when we answer those questions:

Jack Nicholson's Joker--This character actually had another persona that you can also look to: Jack Napier, the-right-arm-man for Carl Grissom, the Mob Boss. You couldn't help but understand that this deformed and scarred and multi-colored being was also the same person as Jack. I suppose this could make you either less scared of him--because you knew that deep-down you had seen him as a "real" person, OR this could also make you more scarred of him because you could understand what sort of damage the vat of toxic sludge had done to this once almost-normal-though-still-frightening man... So, when you see him act completely illogically and unmercifully you are still left wondering if this is old-Jack or is it "the new-and-improved-Joker"...

Heath Ledger's Joker--For this character, you actually have no another persona that you can also look to: he is introduced only as The Joker (in fact, remember that Det. Gordon says about him, "No name, no other alias, clothing is custom..." He is THE JOKER. Heath Ledger's Joker, in opposition to Nicholson's, appears with absolutely no explanation as to how his coloring (his skin and his hair) has been changed. Again, I suppose this could make you either less scared of him--because you could understand that this man (monster?) has no story (except for the unbelievable, yet repeated story of what his ex-wife or mother did to him) that explains why he is this way, OR he may be even MORE frightening for exactly the same reasons...

Personally, I couldn't understand how the Nicholson's Joker could be more scary than Heath Ledger's... After all of the breakdown and analysis, I am left with the one outstanding trait that is disturbing than the rest: unpredictability. Heath Ledger's Joker seems to not follow any pattern of thought or carry out plans, but (and this is how I believe the comic book character was intended to portray) he does wicked and evil things for no apparent reason (other than the fact that HE can...). Nicholson's Joker is at least somewhat calculating and semi-predictable, but Ledger's acts only out of desire to do things (and who CAN predict that?) in his convincingly crazy mind...

My assessment over-all is that Ledger's Joker is much, much, MUCH more terrifying!!!

What all do you think?

JPS

Left-brained vs. Left-handed

stott.josh@gmail.com (JPS) — Thu, 11 Sep 2008 14:07:00 +0000

What is the difference?

Funny you should ask...

I am training right now with Jake at my new work, for Apple refunds, and I thought-- that I was positive, in fact--that I would say that I was without-a-doubt correct that he was left-handed... Turns out, though, that he is, in fact, right-handed, but that he was adopted into a family of ALL left-handed people!

Interesting situation, but, was that all it was?

If I were to tell you which person Jake reminds me of and that has the same mannerisms, way of speaking, etc., I would tell you that my brother, Garrett, was almost exactly the same... In almost every single way!

Remember what I had just said/written (if you can't, then you can take a moment to re-read the above paragraph!)--Jake was born and then immediately adopted by a famil; it turns out that this adopting family is composed of left-handed people... They are a entire-left-handed-family!!!

Why does this interest me? I have been "learning things" from knowing whether or not a pesrson is left-handed... My grandfather, Ben, was completely a right-handed man, for example. And I mean MAN!!! He was born in 1920 on a farm and there was nothing for him to have been taught to him to be left-handed (like a left-handed child that goes to school and is basically FORCED, by the teacher/faculty/parents/piers/etc. to be right-handed... Could this have happened to him?). But, the fact and truth is that he was right-handed. From knowing him, from knowing in part, the way he thought, I also would have assumed and thought that I knew that HE was left-handed!

If he were born now, there is no doubt in my mind that he would have been left-handed. Since he was born in an age and cultur where people/teachers/parents only assumed that every male child was right-handed, he became a carpenter (so, not a painter). He could have, though, easily been able to have become whatever he wanted in life (given a larger variety of choices and opportunities!) including a painter or a sculpter or anything that would have used more of the right-brain than what he was trained to use...

What leads me to that conclusion? Years and years of studying the right-brain/left-side-dominant lifestyle and ways of thinking...

I, on the other hand, am all right-handed and right brain thinking!

I will talk more about any and all of this as I arrive at more firm conclusions and as people respond/ask me questions that spark other aspects to talk about... For some reason, I am COMPLETELY FASCINATED with this idea and would love to integrate this into a solid study/philosophy sometime!

JPS

Natural Man

stott.josh@gmail.com (JPS) — Sun, 07 Sep 2008 06:03:00 +0000

I can see you clearly
I know what you are
You are but a rebel,
and must lay down your arms
We're not simply creatures,
needing to improve
Surrender yourself to the light,
that he is offering you...

From the garden
I know what you are
From the garden

I can see you clearly
You're fallen from the stars
Some passions are temptations,
and you give in to all
We can't simply falter,
when we begin to urge
You cannot deny the light,
if you are to return...

To the garden
He knows what you are
From the garden

What you give is what you get
And every time that you forget,
you'll deny it
The world has made us all confused
With all the truths that it's abused
Don't deny it

From the garden
You know what you are
From the garden
Don't deny it!

JPS '99, '08

The price we all must pay...

stott.josh@gmail.com (JPS) — Sat, 06 Sep 2008 21:27:00 +0000

It would be "easier" to just sit back, relax, and watch the world pass us by... But, we can't just take a back-seat to all that's going on around us!

Let me speak directly to all of the women-folk that are going to read this blog (and then, after you all have read it, force your husbands to read it and then make sure they really understand it!). Eliza R. Snow once once addressed the women of the Relief Society and said that:

Instead of depending entirely on our husbands for salvation and position, we have to work them out ourselves. The responsibility and labor that devolve upon women are becoming more important... God has put the means into your hands to become queens and priestesses in this kingdom, if you only live for it!

Now, unless you may be inclined to misunderstand what she said about "position", let me refer you back to the quote and point-out that it's referring to eternal or church position and not earthly position and that Karl G. Maeser, the first principle of BYU and the co-founder of the education guidelines for the school, also once said:

Eagerness to earn bread and butter has overshadowed many a golden opportunity.

So let's not 1- go after worldly positions ourselves nor 2- encourage our husbands, although I am positive that it would be subtly, to "earn [more] bread and butter"!

Remember, remember that prize is waiting for us both if we, indeed, remain faithful:

... they shall pass by the angels, and the gods, which are set there, to their exaltation and glory in all things, as hath been sealed upon their heads, which glory shall be a fullness and a continuation of the seeds forever and ever (Doctrine and Covenants 132:19).

Looking at it this way... Can we even call it a "price"? Because it seems that it's all just given to us (after all that we can do...)!

JPS

Fruitcake that I bury in my backyard each January, Part II

stott.josh@gmail.com (JPS) — Fri, 05 Sep 2008 15:01:00 +0000

It grows.
Higher.
Taller.

It reaches.
Red
Green
Even blue.

"What a beautiful tree you have."
Right...
Branches
Flowers
Bloom!

I'll chop it down in the fall.
Good for firewood.
Good for heat.
Not food.

I bought a tracter
To plow my orchard
Of fruit cakes.
I irrigate in spring.
They grow.
higher.
Taller.
They reach.
Red
Green
Blue.

"What a beautiful tree you have."
Right...

JPS '99

Ways to judge whether on not to see a movie (only 5...):

stott.josh@gmail.com (JPS) — Tue, 02 Sep 2008 02:42:00 +0000

The way that I see it, there are several reasons why one would choose, difinitively, to see a particular movie:

1) The actor or actress playing the lead (or potentially even a minor/supporting role...), you have fallen in-love with (whether or not you are the same sex as this actor),

2) The theme or plot of the movie is more than just interesting to you,

3) You may be enchanted with whomever has directed or written the movie and you feel as though you can't get enough of his or her movies...

4) The fact that you've been drawn into the oh-so-clever-ploy of watching the prequil or prequils that will make this movie all the more appealing and understandable (and now you feel a moral obligation to finish watching the movies in said series; regardless!),

or 5) The time of the playing of the movie or the location of the movie or possibly even the fact that you are being rushed to quickly choose a rental movie and then get out of the store!

Do you have more reasons? What are they? (I suppose you could include a reason like--Your loved one chose it and you WILL watch it with them [whether you would have chosen this particular movie or not]...)

JPS

How to be more "upbeat"!

stott.josh@gmail.com (JPS) — Sat, 30 Aug 2008 23:05:00 +0000

Since I'm not exactly sure how it is that I am supposed to be more upbeat than I already am, I am going to write about "HOW" to become more upbeat and in the process, I hope to be more upbeat!

Just so you know, I don't feel like I am depressed or even gloomy, but as soon as I start writing--I am not the most positive person around! I don't know... Maybe it's just the subject matter or the the things that I choose to talk about. I think by trying to explain how it is that I should be sounding, I will become that type of writer (at least until I write again...).

I am taking this idea of not-knowing-how-to-become-a-certain-way-so-you-just-start-talking-as-if-you-are-already-that-way from a quote from Brigham Young. He once said that, More people have obtained a testimony while standing up trying to bear it, than down on their knees praying for it.

So, my ideas for starting to write and being upbeat are:

1) Let your happiness come through your writing! As in, if you are a naturally happy person, then let that happiness come across to others...

2) Don't choose to write or talk about anything that is or could be construed as potentially sad or even disheartening!

3) Write with someone in mind that makes you happy! Use this idea-of-the-person to "check" yourself and keep yourself from straying from the desired happiness...

4) Think back on what you're writing and make sure that you are actually getting happier/more excited just from putting words about that thing that you're writing about...

and 5) Ask yourself if you could conceivably bring this same topic into an already happy conversation with a loved-one without "bringing them down" or ruining the mood!

I realize that I, myself, haven't followed these rules and have kind-of avoided the whole topic of being happy... These are good guidelines to follow and keep yourself from not being a-happy-writer, even if this post has just been a meta-happiness-blog!

JPS

Haven't I written something about memory before?

stott.josh@gmail.com (JPS) — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 03:15:00 +0000

I don't remember what I was going to write about... But it'll come!

JPS

Worms... Roxanne... Worms...

stott.josh@gmail.com (JPS) — Sun, 24 Aug 2008 02:36:00 +0000

Ok, guess you have to be a big "Roxanne" movie-lover to appreciate the title...

The reason that I have gathered you all together today is to talk to you about the very importance of "words". In an amazing speech given by the law-school professor and librarian, Constance K. Lundberg called, "Words of Hate; Words of Love".

In the talk/speech to fellow law students, faculty, and professors, she mused:

"Used in the context of our relationship with God, words are real, and their power is real. Repentance can be real and sincere, but our acceptance of the atonement is not sufficient if we only have a change of heart. We must also be baptized. The act, and the words of the prayer, are more than symbols. They effect real change. The acceptance and understanding of that change is part of the act of repentance, and of our preparation for baptism."

Finishing the thought, she relates, "Contemplating those vows enables us to test the reality of our commitment to repentance, to a forsaking of past sins and a covenant to take upon ourselves the Name of Jesus Christ – more words. More words that are the acts we cherish and revere."

Take a look at the speech/talk and see what you think... That is all ... Reconridge!

JPS

The irony of me not accepting god's will...

stott.josh@gmail.com (JPS) — Wed, 20 Aug 2008 04:27:00 +0000

I try hard to align my will with God's, so much so that I am almost happy to see bad (or even terrible...) things happen in my life (as long as I am then able to overcome or endure those things). Because, if and when I DO overcome them, then
it's proof to me that I AM following the correct path and forces are fighting against me the whole way!!!

This is a good thing... What I am trying to work out now is that I am finding it hard for me to allow the *good* things in life or even *the blessings* in life happen to me in the same way that the bad happens!

... I was just down in my room having a personal dialogue with myself (would you call that a "auto-monologue"?) about why it is that I will not allow myself to have things "go my way" for a change with a relationship... I just enumerated a whole list of positive things that went my way, in one particular situation, that IS NOT going my way, yet it's hard for me to be charitable to myself or to allow others to be charitable to me!

I feel like the spirits in Lewis' The Great Divorce who are refusing to enter into heaven because they are unwilling to "let go" of the pattern of wrongs that they've "suffered"--they get some sort of satisfaction out of not being blessed! The crave the "BLAME" that they are able to attach to something other than themselves and attribute victimization to that thing or that person!!!

Am I following in that same trap? Why won't I be optimistic about myself and the things that are "going my way"? Am I dooming myself to forever be the false-accusor? Will I always expect a certain amount of "wrongs" that are trying to hold-me-down? Why am I adding even more weight to that burden until I believe it's "heavy enough"?

The truth is: I DO have faith and trust that some things are going to turn-out the way that I plan, but, those things (in which I successfully have faith in) are very, very few! Where I am lacking in faith is the faith that my life will continue to be blessed and that I will find joy in my relationships (among other things)!

I'm afraid that I will not start seeing my life as being blessed until my attitude changes... Maybe that change will start with this post!?! In fact, it has changed from that personal/private monologue down in my room... GOODBYE PESSIMISM and HELLO CHARITY!!!

JPS