Christmas music - and music in general

I don't know about you but I think Christmas music is relaxing.
I love to listen to uplifting music, in fact that's the only kind of music I listen to. And Christmas music is almost always uplifting and clean.
Christmas music just makes you feel good.

I have this kind of weird pet peeve, I don't like anyone getting their Christmas decorations out before Thanksgiving but I like singing Christmas songs all year round. Kind of weird, yeah, but Christmas music doesn't just have to be for Christmas. It's still uplifting and happy.
Now, of course, some people don't like singing Christmas music unless it's around Christmas and I respect that, I just like Christmas songs so much I sing them all over.

Music can enrich your life. It can edify and inspire you. Music has a profound effect on your mind, spirit, and behavior. Choose carefully the music you listen to. Pay attention to how you feel when you are listening.

~For the Strength of Youth

Music is powerful.
Just like friends, music can and will influence us.

I suggest, no I challenge you to pay attention to what music you listen to. Pay attention to the lyrics and how the music makes you feel. Do you like what the song is saying or implying? Do you agree with the song? Does this music make you feel good?
I'm not saying that if you completely change your music repertoire, I'm just saying that music has a very powerful influence on us and we need to understand that.
People say that you are what you eat, and someone once said, "You are what you do," as in your actions; I'm going to add something to that, you are what you listen to. You really are. What you listen to has the ability to change you. It can change your behavior, habits, what you say, practically everything and anything you do.

Another reason why music is so powerful, is because it can get stuck in our heads. It happens to everyone. And it can either be really nice or super annoying. I remember once a friend and I went to a Shakespeare play and the actors play music and sing before the show and at intermission. One song they sang was "What makes you beautiful" and later, my friend and I couldn't get it out of our heads. I don't think it's a bad song, I like it, it was the first time we'd heard it and we could only remember some of the chorus. So we sang that over and over and over and over and over. That was pretty annoying.
Getting off track, anyway, music can get stuck in our heads and once it's stuck it's hard to get out. It can be done but it's not necessarily easy.
(Sometimes it's a good thing, like if you're trying to memorize something)

I love music because it can be super inspiring. Some music makes you want to get up and do something for someone, some music lets you know you're important and of great worth.

Music is a blessing. It can and will change us. I think music can be like our choices; every song or music piece you listen to can shape you.

Music, I think, is a big thing all over the world. It can be a way of sending a message of peace, a way of saying thanks, a way of sharing what you believe in, all sorts of things.
Music speaks to us. It moves us.

If eyes are the windows to the soul, I think ears may be the doors to the heart.

Be careful what you let in.

Mormonad: Make Room

So this is just a link to a Mormonad that I thought was super cool.

Click here to see it (It'll come up as a PDF)

If you don't have time, I'll summarize.
I can't really explain the image but I what I really liked was the text at the bottom. It says: Make Room. "Each of us is an innkeeper who decides if there is room for Jesus!" ~Elder Neal L. Maxwell.

I love that!
We're each an innkeeper. I've never thought of it that way. But we are. We decide for ourselves if we're going to make room for Jesus.
So, as you go about your holiday shopping and gift wrapping, parties and setting up decorations, don't forget to let Jesus in.

Said the shepherd boy to the mighty king,
do you know what I know
In your palace warm, mighty king,
do you know what I know
A Child, a Child shivers in the cold
Let us bring Him silver and gold
Let us bring Him silver and gold

Said the king to the people everywhere,
listen to what I say
Pray for peace, people everywhere!
listen to what I say
The Child, the Child, sleeping in the night
He will bring us goodness and light
He will bring us goodness and light

~"Do you hear what I hear"

Remember What It's All About

December 1st already?
Time flies.
Well, as we continue to move into the holiday season remember what Christmas is all about. It's not about the gifts. It's not about the food.
It's about Christ.


Sometimes I wish Christmas was everyday but not for the same reason as most people.
There's just a special spirit that surrounds Christmas. People are kinder and we reach out more during this holiday then any other I know.
Wouldn't it be great if we all acted like that all year long?
So, I guess, what I'm really saying is, I wish we had the spirit of Christmas with us all year long.
It's such a special, extraordinary kind of spirit. And although we do strive to be caring and helpful all year long, the spirit isn't the same.
It's just...special.

"Can anyone tell me what Christmas is all about?"
Good question Charlie Brown! He asks this questions during a Nativity rehearsal as he tries to figure out the meaning of Christmas.
And then Linus, our good friend with the blue blanket, walks to center stage and quotes from Luke:

"'And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night.
And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid.
And the angel said unto them, Fear not; for, behold, I bring you tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.
For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, which is Christ the Lord.
And this shall be a sign unto you: Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.
And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying,
Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace and goodwill towards men.'"

"...That's what Christmas is all about, Charlie Brown."¹

I was glancing around looking for things to help illistrate my point and I ran into this statement on Wikipedia from the 1889 volume of The American Magazine:

"to give up one's very self — to think only of others — how to bring the greatest happiness to others — that is the true meaning of Christmas"2

This is a wonderful video that seems to perfectly illustrate the above statement. It does not take place during the Christmas time (I don't think) but it applies just the same.3

Dr. Suess wrote the classic, The Grinch Who Stole Christmas. It's about the Grinch who hates Christmas so he decides to stop Christmas from coming by stealing all of the Who's Christmas things. He sneaks down in the middle of the night, grabs all the Who's things and takes flight. But you know, that didn't stop Christmas from coming at all.

Every Who down in Whoville, the tall and the small,
Was singing! Without any presents at all!
He HADN'T stopped Christmas from coming! IT CAME!
Somehow or other, it came just the same!
And the Grinch, with his grinch-feet ice-cold in the snow,
Stood puzzling and puzzling: "How could it be so?"
"It came with out ribbons! It came without tags!"
"It came without packages, boxes or bags!"
And he puzzled three hours, till his puzzler was sore.
Then the Grinch thought of something he hadn't before!
"Maybe Christmas," he thought, "doesn't come from a store."
"Maybe Christmas...perhaps...means a little bit more!"3

How great! "Maybe Christmas means a little bit more!"
And how right he is! Christmas isn't the things. It's the feelings, the family, the friends. The love and the caring, the togetherness, the songs, the laughter, the fun and the hugs. And most of all it's God' gift to us all.

And so on that last note, on the first day of December,
I hope you'll all continue to remember,
That it's not about things, about Santa or stockings.
Christmas is about the joy and the hope and thanksgiving.
It's about being together and knowing ones better,
And maybe that's why Thanksgiving and Christmas are so close together.


(Okay, very last note: this is great video about what Christmas is all about.5)

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1 "A Charlie Brown Christmas" movie
2  The American magazine, vol. 28 (1889) found on Wikipedia
3 This video called "Ripple" can be found on YouTube
4 The Grinch Who Stole Christmas by Dr. Suess
5 This video, "He is the Gift", is on YouTube and LDS.org

Stand up, stand out, break the mold

Be different.
Being different is important, especially in the world today; be who you are. If you're not careful you'll lose yourself in the turmoil out there. Seriously, it's a fast moving, ever changing, scary world we live in.
Morals changing, illness spreading, fear growing. It's all around us.
And we have to push back. We have to fight the current like salmon.

Salmon are fish that are hatched, swim to ocean and then return to their birthplace to reproduce. Some salmon on their way back home, swim hundreds of miles against the current to reach their destination.
Wouldn't it be easier if these salmon just let the current take them to another spot? Probably. But they don't. I don't why they do what they do, they just do. They have a goal and they give it their all, even if it means their life.

In 1923 at a track meet between England, Ireland and Scotland, during a 400 meter (437.445) dash, Eric Liddell made his famous run.
Just moments after the pistol went off and the runners took off, Eric was knocked to the ground. "Well, there his chance of winning," Everyone thought.
But they were wrong.
Eric got back up and ran like he was a bullet shot from a gun. He surpassed all the other runners and just barely won the race.
Imagine, it would have been  so much easier for Eric to just sit there and say, "You know, you win some and you lose some." But he didn't. He got up and he ran. He was determined to finish the race. And he did.

Ever hear about Kate Shelly? She was a young women of 15 who, one stormy night after a pusher crashed into Honey Creek Bridge, crawled across the Des Moines River bridge to alert the train station so the midnight train wouldn't crash.
The midnight train had been delayed due to the storm but Kate didn't go in vain. After she delivered her message, she lead a rescue party to help the four man crew of the pusher. Unfortunately, only two of the four men survived. One climbed hand over hand on a rope from where he was tangled in a fallen tree. Another wasn't able to be rescued until the water level dropped. One drowned and the other wasn't found.
Due to Kate's exposure in the storm, she was bedridden for three months.
And just think, she could have just stayed home, safe and warm. Someone else could have gone, someone older. But Kate felt it was her duty and she completed her task. Although the midnight train had been delayed, she saved the lives of two men. And I'm pretty sure those men appreciated it.

All these people; they didn't sit back and watch, they saw and did. They stood up, stood out and broke the mold. They did what most others wouldn't. And they were just ordinary people like you. Salmon are just fish. Eric Liddell was just a missionary and an amazing runner. Kate Shelly was only 15.
But all three did/do amazing things.

To break the mold is to do something differently. To stand up and out. To do hard things. To let your light shine to those around you. To keep going when times are tough. To endure.

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You should read more about Eric and Kate; they're pretty cool people! (You can learn about salmon too if you want)

Three Cheers for the Pilgrims!

Think about all the courage those pilgrims must have had. 1) They left their homes behind, 2) they didn't know what was going to happen to them.
That's pretty big. They had guts.
They were pioneers; setting up a home in the wild wilderness.

Now, some of the pilgrims were going to the Americas for religious freedom, some weren't; the others were basically going to set up a colony, kind of for their own gain.
But, you know, that's sort of the principles the U.S. was founded on. Freedom of religion and hard work.

Unfortunately, the pilgrims also ended up bringing disease. Of course unfortunate but, it was bound to happen some time or another. I mean, if Columbus didn't discover America and the pilgrims came over, then someone else would have. And that other someone would have ended up bringing disease as well.

Pilgrims. Landed on Plymouth Rock in 1620. Faithful, hard working, courageous people who, although afraid, sailed across an ocean to a strangle land nobody really knew about. So...

Three cheers for the pilgrims!!

Thanksgiving - The start of the holiday season!

Thanksgiving is practically right in our faces!
Thanksgiving. Is it your favorite holiday? Your second favorite? Is it...on the bottom of you list?
Either way, Thanksgiving is, to me, the start of the holiday season. It's also when people generally start thinking about others more. 
And Thanksgiving is when we really look around and notice all our blessings we have.
Two or three years ago I started a little tradition for myself; I get some paper and write down every blessing/thing I'm thankful for from maybe a week or two to Thanksgiving. Try it, just write down a list of things your thankful for. When you write them down you realize just how many blessings you have. It's amazing.

Have a great Thanksgiving!!

The Giver

Just a warning: this does contain spoilers.....which means that you need to read this book (if you haven't) so you can read this without spoiling it!!
_______
The Giver by Lois Lowery has been one of my favorite books since I read it a couple years ago.
It's all about agency and the importance of choice; do we realize how important choice is? I mean, it's all around us, do we take our choices for granted? Do we use our agency wisely?

"For all the children

To whom we entrust the future"

 (Dedication)

I like Lois Lowery's dedication. This is a book for the raising generation! This is especially for you, the youth of the world!

How awesome is that? I don't know about you but when I know that something was written for me, I try to pay close attention.

So, let us begin....
There is so much stuff in this book, it's hard to know where to start.
I looked at my notes (one of the best ways to do that is to mark in your books, if it's yours) and I pulled out some stuff that stood out to me.

• People obeyed instantly
• In a way it's kind of like Hunger Games
• There's a standard apology system
• No birthdays
• Dinner - everyone talks about their day
• Breakfast -  everyone talks about their dreams
• Title (job)
• Families - husband, wife, son, daughter - apply for spouse, apply for child
• Ceremony of lost
• Ceremony of found
• Always fifty new children
• They use correct words
• No choices
• No color

Just by reading this list you know it's a different kind of book; this isn't just a regular story, this a story...with a lesson.
And it's a very important lesson. I look around and see a lot of people who make choices. You make choices, I make choices.
What if we didn't have choice?

"I don't know."
Maybe you know someone who seems to (or does) say this a lot. I admit that's what I do, because let's face it, making choices is hard sometimes.
But when we say, "I don't know," we're taking our ability to choose for granted. That's...kind of harsh, yeah. But it's also true, at least I think so.

So I'm just going to go over some of the stuff on my list and believe me there is loads of other things you can get out of this book. It's simply amazing.

1) People obeyed instantly.
For a moment think about it. What if you told your sibling (or friend, whoever) to do something and they did it without question? How cool would that be? Life would be so much easier...but thinking about that, doesn't that almost make you nervous?
Your sibling would not have agency. They'd either have been forced so many times to obey that it became routine or they grew up that way. They lost their agency.
In The Giver, that's how things are. If you don't, you get chastened or, if it's really serious, you get a warning and then, if you do it again, you get kicked out.
This leads into my second point.

2) Standard Apology System
If you've done something wrong you apologize. That's how life works. Hopefully we all do this. It's important; it shows that we know we've done something wrong and we're sorry.
This is how they do in The Giver:

Example # 1:

"I apologize for inconveniencing my learning community." Asher ran through the standard apology phrase rapidly, still catching his breath. ..."I apologize to my classmates".

"We accept your apology, Asher." The class recited the standard apology response in unison.

Example # 2:

"I have caused you anxiety," She said. "I apologize to my community." Her voice flowed out over the assembled crowd.

"We accept your apology," they all uttered together.

I don't think this is real repenting and forgiving. I mean, it's...meaningless. It's routine; it's normal for them. It's a habit.
Now, I think it's a good idea to be in the habit of forgiving and repenting but it needs to be sincere and heartfelt.

Become really, really good at repenting thoroughly and quickly. ...Become really, really good at forgiving.

~JÖrg Klebingat

3) NO COLOR
This, next to not having choices, is a big thing in the book (and movie).
Can you imagine not having color? Look around. I bet there are tons of different colors around you. What if all you saw was gray? Yuck.

"If everything's the same, then there aren't any choices! I want to wake up in the morning and decide things! A blue tunic, or a red one? ...But it's the same, always."
~Jonas

4) What everyone thought about choice
This was not on my list but I bring it up because it is so interesting to see what Jonas says about choice.

"But now that I can see colors, at least sometimes, I was thinking: what if we could hold up things that were bright red, or bright yellow, and he [Gabe] could choose? Instead of the Sameness."
"He might make wrong choices."
"Oh." Jonas was silent for a moment. "Oh, I see what you mean. ...We don't dare to let people make choices of their own."
"Not safe?" The Giver suggested.
"Definitely not safe," Jonas said with certainty. "What if they...chose wrong?"
..."Frightening, isn't it?" The Giver said.
Jonas chuckled. "Very frightening. I can't even imagine it. We really have to protect people from wrong choices.
"It's safer."
"Yes," Jonas agreed. "Much safer."

To me, this is just plain weird. How could he see color and start learning about choice and think this?
It's beyond me. But then again, Jonas has a point. Don't we want to make sure everyone chooses correctly? Yes, I think we all do. We're taught right from wrong, what to do and what not to do. Our parents want us to choose the right. But can't do that if we can't exercise our agency.

I hope I was able to tell you how important agency and choice is. It's a gift we have that we use everyday of our lives. The question is, do we use it wisely?

"It's the choosing that's important, isn't it?"
~The Giver