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Daytona 500, Monday Feb 27

Last week, one of my friends invited me to go see the Daytona 500 yesterday.  I was planning to go, but some setbacks prevented me from going, which worked out for me anyway because the Daytona 500 was postponed to Monday for the first time in its 54 year history.

My brother called me this afternoon to let me know that they had a free ticket for me.  Dang!!  Now I have an opportunity to go again...and for free.  But I couldn't go because of work.

I didn't watch the Daytona 500 on TV, except for the unusual and fiery spectacle when Juan Montoya had mechanical issues coming out of pit-row, all during a caution flag, and when he was trying to catch up to the field, sparks flew from beneath his car and he proceeded to skid into the back of the track-drying vehicle.  You can watch it here.  This year's 500 was very unique.  I wish I had a chance to watch it in person.  

So I'm not a huge NASCAR fan.  I would like to watch a race live at least once in my life, just so that I can check it off of my bucket list.  

I'm thankful that people can choose a profession that they have a passion in, and that they have the freedom to so, and to strive to be the best that they can be.  

I'm thankful that people that choose to be NASCAR fans, and that they can rally around their favorite drivers and/or teams, just like all the other sports 

I know that the title is misleading.  The underlying theme is that we live in a country where these freedoms are protected by government, although it seems like that these freedoms are slowing being taken away by socialistic ideas.

  

How fitting though, that it was NASCAR, a popular American sports entity, that made me appreciate this country.  I hope that we still have many more years to exercise the freedoms she provides for us.   

Chili

What's one thing I like about Ward conference?  The pot-luck lunch after church services and classes.  I know this is not done everywhere, but in Jacksonville, us Mormons love to find all kinds of reasons to eat.

Today, I had a chance to visit my "original" congregation, the ward that I was baptized in back in 1993.  

One of the church leaders in the ward served in the same mission that I did (California Los Angeles Mission).  His name is Jason Farnsworth.  It's been 12 years since we were on our missions and just the other day, we were reminiscing on our experiences and marvel how we still rely on those memories in our daily lives.  

Well, Jason decided to do a Chili pot-luck....score!!!  I'm a big fan of chili, and there were at least 8-10 crock pots full of different recipes of chili.  I was in food heaven.  There were hotdogs and buns if you wanted to make a chili dog.  Oyster crackers, sour cream, and cheese were placed at the end of the table.  And there was also a plethora of desserts and beverages.

It was a great visit to be Spiritually fed during services.  It was also great to be physically fed afterwards.

I'm thankful for chili, and for the people who contributed to the vats of yummy goodness.

Home Teaching & Prayer

Today was a very busy day.  In the morning, I had a business appointment.  In the late afternoon I had a rehearsal for the concert in the evening.  For the second year in a row, the First Coast Wind Ensemble had an opportunity to have a guest composer come and conduct our band as we play his compositions.  Last year, we had Dr. David Holsinger come guest conduct his compositions.  Here's a video of our performance of  "Abrham's Pursuit".  This year we had Richard Saucedo come.  It was a great honor to have him rehearse his pieces with us and to preform them.  Two of my favorites are "Whirlwind(s)" and "Song of the Gandy Dancers".

Like I said, it was a busy day.

But in the middle of it all, I had a chance to go home teaching, which is a program in my church where we visit members of our congregation once a month to fellowship, teach a brief lesson, and make sure that their temporal things are taken care of.  I visited one family, with three children.  The lesson that I shared was on prayer, and that we should be exhorted to pray.

I never really thought about that way.  But it was a different way to teach about prayer.  To exhort someone to pray really has to come from humility, by example, and by love of God.  There are numerous examples in our lives where our prayers are answered.  And we should pray often, every day, individually and together as a family.

I'm not as diligent with my formal prayers, but throughout the day I do look up to Him for supplication.  And the great thing is that God has never failed to answer my prayers, even if it's not what I want to hear, or if I perceive that He hasn't answered me.

And it brought me back to my relationship with my Heavenly Father.  Prayer really is a pure communication to our Spiritual Father, our God.  And when we close our eyes to pray, how do we view Him.   Is He distant, or is He close.  Does He have a personal influence in your life?

Theses were questions that I had to readdress for myself, and it was a good exercise to share with the family that I was teaching.

I'm thankful for prayer, and that there really is a God that listens to me individually, and knows me personally.  

Challenges

I have a setback today, and it's created somewhat of a challenge.  I can either choose to sit back and say "Woe is me..."  or I can meet it headstrong and push forward in whatever direction necessary to succeed.

Oh, the joys of life :-)

I'm thankful for the challenges.  There's a lot of quotes that have come from them.  One that comes to mind is "What doesn't kill you makes you stronger".  To be honest with you, I don't really like that quote, even though there is truth behind it.  Challenges are what make you rise to the occasion, become creative for your cause, and help you overcome whatever obstacles that are in front of you.

So let's press forward and see what happens.

Exercise

It's been a few weeks since I last exercised.  Not sure why I took a break, but I could tell that not exercising was taking a toll on my body.  I felt like I was eating more than I needed, and that the food was not as healthy.

So I went to the gym today, and I feel much better physically, as well as mentally. It also puts me in a positive mood.  I need to start losing body fat again for the Spring/Summer time, not that that really worked for me before.  But really for my health in general.

I'm thankful that I can exercise today, and that I am healthy enough to do that.

People

Let me tell you a dirty little secrets about people:

• If you greet people with a warm smile and a friendly and welcoming demeanor, people will generally open up and relax around you.
• If you come to someone about a concern, and give honest and loving feedback, instead of "jumping" on their case, then that person would not become defensive, but appreciate your approach and be receptive to your critique.
• If your not in the mood to be friendly, you can force yourself to be happy, and in general that automatically lifts you up as well as the people around you.  And you spare those people from seeing Debbie Downer.
• People like to be hugged.  I hear that you need seven hugs a day.  
• Patience is practiced, not given, but when you choose it, something amazing happens because of it. 

That's just a short list.  After all is said and done, and we leave this Earth, there are two things that you bring with you, the knowledge that you gained on this Earth, and the relationships you've developed with people.  

I'm thankful for you people, mainly because you are my brother and sisters, but really for teaching me how to interact with you, for we are all children of our Heavenly Father.  He created us before we came to this earth, and gave us instructions on how to treat each other.  It's not always easy, because we have our free agency or free will, but nonetheless, it provides for adventures each day, and even if you follow the simple rules above, your day would go much much better.

Growing Up

Today was another iteration of planning an church event, which involves scheduling, budget, reservations, supplies, etc. Among the planning, there were some soft skills required to discuss people, personalities, and how to handle them.

Today I also spoke to an old friend today, wishing her a happy birthday.  She just turned 37.  We met when she was 21.  We reminisced how we have changed a lot since our innocent college years.  We talked about the good and bad of corporate life, of our different work experiences and professions.  We even laugh at how managers are sometimes not....qualified...well, she was really venting about hers.   

So among all of this, I asked myself..."When did I grow up?"

Some of the things I do nowadays is just typical normal tasks, but if you turn back the clocks of time to an earlier age, I don't think I would have been experienced enough to handle some of these tasks.  Even if I just went back 10 years, I would feel inadequate.

This growing up process comes in little steps.  You try new things, gain new experiences, learn from your mistakes, and understand people more...speaking of which.  Human behavior is probably one of the important things I've learned, and that I am still learning about.  

I'm thankful that the process is slow...and that I haven't necessarily been thrust into situations where I had to dramatically learn something in a quick and maybe painful manner.

But I do enjoy looking back in time, and realize the things that I can accomplish now.  I know I'm still learning more.  But I am thankful that to some degree, I have grown up. 

Hunger Games...Ender's Game

For almost all of my adult life, I felt that reading fiction was a waste of time.  Why would you want to read a book when you can just watch the movie?  I've heard from book readers that movies do not do justice to the book, leaving out key scenes for the sake of limiting the movie time, and also eliminating the thoughts of the characters that is not easily portrayed on screen.

But my argument was that I'd spend only a couple of hours watching the movie versus several days with the book.  And all the imagery would be created for me.  I won't have to imagine it in my mind...which was just inefficient to me.

The Harry Potter Series, Lord of the Rings, Twilight, etc.  Reading freaks would spend their time, or rather, waste their time reading fiction.  I could never understand why reading instead of watching would be better.

Until one day, my friend Coleen, told me that she was reading "The Hunger Games" to her children.  She was one of "those" people that loved to read.  She suggested that I read it.

So I did.

It was a little difficult at first.  My mind had to wrap around the words of the book to create the scenes that were so readily available on TV or the big screen.  The storyline, which normally take seconds to unfold in the movie, took minutes to set-up, but the descriptive words that the author uses detailed the pictures I created in my mind very well, as well as the mood of the setting.  I found myself lost in my own world, unaware of my own surroundings.

Sometimes I would be in that mode where people say "I couldn't put the book down."   It didn't happen all the time, but when the plot was captivating, I really couldn't put the book down.

And now I know why people love to read fiction.  And I have found a new dimension in my life.  

I'm reading the third book of The Hunger Games series, entitles "Mockingyay".  For my birthday, my friend Rebecca gave me "Enders Games" as a gift.

Both Coleen and Rebecca say that I have to finish "Mockingjay" first before reading "Enders Games".  Something about not multi-tasking fiction books perhaps?  Maybe it's like watching two movies at the same time. 

Thanks, Coleen, for giving me this new leisure activity.  

Crock Pots

Two Thanksgivings ago (2010), I bought a crock pot to use for the festivities.  For two years in a row, I made honeybaked ham in the crockpot.  It was pretty easy.  Layer the bottom with brown sugar.  Place the spiral cut ham on top of the brown sugar.  Coat the outside of the ham with more brown sugar.  Slow cook in the crock pot for 6-8 hours.

And before today, I used the crock pot for a total of those two times.  I know, what a waste.  Just never decided to get a crock pot cook book or even look for recipes online.

My friend Amy taught me an easy pot roast recipe for my crock pot.  She even bought the ingredients for me too :-)  One pot roast, one small bag of baby carrots, three cans of peeled potatoes, and some water.  Season the pot roast with salt (or garlic salt) and pepper.  Just that easy.

I feel like an idiot since I've had this wonderful cooking device for over a year and have not taking advantage of it's simplicity in cooking.  But now I have atoned for my sin.

Thanks, Amy, for being that catalyst to help me use this great cooking tool...the crock pot.  I'm planning to use it more often.

Birthdays

Now that I'm a little older (well, it's all relative), I'm not fond of the celebrating of my birthdays.  Or should I say, that I still like the attention and celebration, but I would not necessarily want people go out of their way to throw a big party for me.

Every year, my family (parents, brother, and extended family) throws me a little birthday party, and this year is no different.  That's one of the great things about moving back to Jacksonville in 2006, that I can be present in the celebration of our lives.  For 15 years, I was away to college or working in other parts of the country, so I didn't have this closeness to my family.  

BBQ (Filipino style) is always in order.  Some veggies, like corn or beans, accentuate the main dishes.  The obligatory rice is prepared, as well as potatoes, and rolls.   I can never get tired of this menu.  No birthday cake this year, and I'm totally fine with that.  

After the feast, a few of us watched the movie Antwone Fisher.  I saw this movie in the big screen back in 2002 and thoroughly enjoyed watching it again tonight.

As always, I just love how the family comes together to celebrate our lives.  Today it was for my birthday.  I love my family.  We're getting up there in age, and I know that the inevitable will happen and we're going to move on from this mortal life.  But for now, I am grateful that we can come together to celebrate my birthday today.  

Forgiveness

I messed up a few weeks ago.  And I knew an apology was in order.  But for a few weeks I avoided the inevitable, not sure how the reaction would be if I showed up in person to ask for forgiveness.  It's easy for human behavior to ignore the situation and hope that it would go away, but I knew I had to take an initiative to make amends.

So I did.

And the visit was very amicable, better than what I thought it would be.  The person I had offended graciously accepted my apology, and we could continue on with our relationship.  

I'm grateful that I can ask for forgiveness, and more importantly people choose to forgive.  Both are virtues and commandments from Heavenly Father.  And it is part of the refining process to be more like Him, because He does a good deal of forgiving, believe me.

Sometimes our thoughts prevents us from doing the right thing.  Fear is a common component of that.  But when we just choose to press through those fears, we are able to accomplish those things that are generally good, and in this case, I was able to ask this person for forgiveness.  

Scriptures

The world is full of ideas and decisions that pull you every which way, and if you are not firmly rooted in some core values, then you would fall for anything.  It's interesting reading the polarizing opinions from CNN news articles.  The latest articles include who should provide free contraception, the passing Whitney Houston, Obama invoking the teachings of Jesus to justify increasing the taxes for the rich.  

That's why I am thankful for scriptures, because the teachings of God, written by His prophets, give us a set of guidelines by which God wants us to live our lives.  Some people think that the commandments are restrictive, that it doesn't allow us to explore the full range of our choices.  But in actuality, it does simplify our lives, because we then do not experience the consequences of bad choices.  

Life isn't necessarily easier, and by no means do I consider myself a perfect saint (heh heh pun unintended).  But the "rules" set forth by our Heavenly Father, give us strong roots in a shifting landscape of values.  And I'm glad that I can strengthen my faith through reading the scriptures.

The Nothing Box

A girl I was dating a few years ago shared with me this concept of how a man's brain and a women's brain are different.  It is summarized in this YouTube video.  

Men's brain is segmented into little boxes, and can only pull out one box at a time (ie we don't multitask).  We have a box for the job, a box for the family, a box for the play, etc.  Men also have a "nothing" box, where they think about absolutely nothing.  

That's actually my favorite box towards the end of the day.  I just want to go home, veg, and think about absolutely nothing.  

I'm thankful that I have that nothing box.  

High Definition TV

Today, after a few years of AT&T U-verse, I switched back to DirecTV.  Regardless, it's electronic bliss.

I remembered back in the early 2000's when the concept of High Definition TV was coming to fruiting and by 2009, standard TV was going to go bye bye and if you still had an old standard TV, you had to buy a converter.

In terms of sports, I think a lot of people would rather tune in to the TV, because the picture is so lifelike, and with all of the different camera angles, you have a better view of the game at home.

I bought my first and only LCD TV in 2007, a 42" Sharp Aquos.  I remember it clearly because concurrent to the purchase, I had to go through an unfortunate experience of having to put one of my brother's dogs to sleep.  I couldn't really feel excited about our new toy when we just lost a pet's life.  Interesting thought process that puts things into perspective.

But nonetheless, HDTV brought home entertainment to another level, from sports games, to movies and shows, and even the game systems that utilize the sharp resolution.

Thank you to those smart engineers that have enhanced our viewing pleasure.

Wait for it....

Today I am thankful for sarcasm.  It's a type of humor that is really based on the skill of delivery.

I'm not sure what other cultures foster this type of personality trait, but I'm glad it's prominent in the United States.  Even in my own heritage, my Filipino friends and relatives, sometimes do not get my sarcasm.

Facebook has proven that most people are really sarcastic at heart.  And that's what I love about people.

Piano Lessons

Today I gave two daughters their first piano lesson.  It was part of a Christmas gift for a family that goes to my church.

And as an aside...just teaching them made me want to have daughters.  They are soooo adorable.  But on the flip side, I'd probably have to purchase a shotgun too, for when they start dating.

I thoroughly enjoyed teaching them very basic piano skills.  I was only five when I started taking my first lessons.  The daughters I taught were 8 and 9.  The older daughter picked up things just a little faster.

For the first lesson, I showed them where middle C was on the piano.  They also had a refresher on the white keys.  I taught them that their fingers actually had numbers associated with them.  I felt bad when I asked them to show me the #3 finger...in front of their dad.  But innocence is bliss.

And using their right hand at the home position, we read from the piano book the note and fingering sequence.

3212333...222...355...3212333...22321.

Can you guess the song?  I'll give the answer later, but I'm sure most of you will get it.

I'm thankful I had the opportunity to teach these girls today.  Made a great ending to a busy day.

Shutterbug (Saturday, Feb 11)

Today I had a chance to break out my Big Camera.  I have a Nikon D300 camera, along with a wide-zoom f/2.8 lens (let's a lot of light in, for those of you that do not know camera lingo).  I was at the Orlando Temple today and took some pictures outside.  It's been awhile since I took out the Big Camera, but I do appreciate that I've have it.

I've been a shutterbug since the 5th grade.  I think the first camera I owned came free with a subscription to Time magazine, or something like that.  It was a long time ago.  The camera was a fixed lens basic 35mm camera.  Took crappy pictures, but boy was I hooked.  Too bad the cost of purchasing/developing film limited the number of snaps I could take.

In the 7th grade, I acquired a disc camera.  I remember taking pictures at EPCOT.

On my mission, I had more advanced automatic 35mm camera.

In grad school, I got the advanced film camera.

Then finally I ventured into the digital world, buying my first digital camera, the Canon Elph 400, and then migrating to the Elph SD300.

I also purchased my first DSLR camera, the Nikon D60.  I upgraded to the D200 and finally to my current D300.  It's been photography bliss since then.

Parents (Friday, Feb10)

I was listening on the radio about a father who found out that his daughter posted mean things her parents on Facebook.  He decided to take things into his own hands, posting a video on YouTube and posting it on her wall.  The video went viral.  To some it was spot-on.  To others it was a little extreme.  For me, I liked it, because it seems like he's getting hard-nosed on a teenager that is perceived to be lazy, but we don't really know the entire dynamics of the family unit.

But nonetheless, I'm thankful for my parents, because of their tough love way that they raised me.  There was structure, and for the most part it was enforced.  They demanded the best in us.  Education was very important.     They taught me to respect the law, to respect adults, to treat people right.  They taught us about working hard. They gave us limits on playing, making sure we did our homework.

I'm not a parent, but that doesn't preclude me from making an observation that children aren't being taught these basic truths.  And the way of our society is declining because of it.  There are more people that feel entitled to things that they didn't work hard for.  More people graduate from high school that do not have the necessary skills to make a decent living.  There's less respect for authority or adults.

Sometimes it feel like a losing battle, but I vow to do my part to make sure that these children are raised right, because my parents did that for me.

Printers...through the years.

My all-in-one laser jet printer/scanner/copier, just ran out of toner.  I was caught unprepared.  I didn't have a replacement, so now I'm waiting for the toner to arrive in the mail.

I bought this printer back in 2005, and it's been a main staple in my daily life, and such a very useful tool.  At first, I thought I bought too much printer, but my needs for it has grown through the years, and I marvel at how much easier this printer has made my life.

I also have a color-inkjet printer, that does wonderful photo prints.  The printer can also print CD/DVD labels directly on the media.  How cool is that?

I think back to my first printer.  It was an Okidata thermal ink printer used in conjunction with my Commodore 64 computer.  The printer used heat to melt ink on a ribbon to the paper, but it was painstakingly slow, since it was a color printer, and it had to cycle through the different ribbons to print ink...come to think of it, I think there was a separate plain black ribbon that you can use if you didn't need color.  Nonetheless, it was still a slow printer.

Somewhere along the way, I acquired a dot-matrix printer.  And then transitioned to an ink-jet printer, then a laser-jet printer, and finally my all-in-one laser jet printer.

Ahhhh, the wonders of technology, and for which (as a former engineer) I am thankful for, this time specifically to my printer.

Haka

I was first introduced to this tribal war dance when I was at BYU in Provo, UT.  My roommate was from New Zealand and one afternoon he showed us this thing called the Haka.  The New Zealand All-blacks rugby team performs this ritual before every game.  I found a video on youtube that shows a Haka war chant-off between New Zealand and Tonga.  And here's another cool one against Ireland.  It's a different style from what I'm familiar with, but I love the faces and movements.

When I was on the BYU Folk Dance Team (not the premiere group, but one of the "lesser" groups), we learned the Haka during one of our recreational outings.  It was quite fun to learn.  Since then I've learned the war chant again for an impromptu dance in North Carolina a couple of years ago.

So why am I bringing it up today?  That's because I'm leaning it again for a Luau that my church is having in March. A sister missionary from Samoa (or of Samoan decent) is teaching us the dance.  The boys and men are learning the dance.  Quite the scene so far.

So I'm not necessarily thankful for the actual Haka dance, I am thankful  that we can bring different cultures from around the world into our lives.  It's such a neat way to respect and pay homage to the diversity and how in a way in brings us together.

Being Filipino, and a first generation American, I'm very familiar with bringing our culture here...especially when it comes to food.  Let me see, I can't count how many times people have asked for Lumpia and Pancit.  I know how to make Lumpia now, but please go to the local Asian store so that you can purchase your own pre-made Filipino eggrolls there. Just kidding.  I've made it for a few select people, and I can make it for you too.

Super Chinese Buffets

The highlight of my day?  Lunch with a good friend of mine.  I chose to eat at an all-you-can-eat Chinese restaurant, the one by my church.

It's a smorgasbord of "fast-food" Chinese, Mongolian BBQ, sushi, and desserts.  And boy was I in the mood for sushi.

I found a good article that gives tips on how to eat at a Chinese buffet restaurant.  It's pretty spot-on and I've used some of the tips there.

A cheap way to fill up on some Chinese favorites.  Thanks for a filling and satisfying lunch.

Facebook

Years ago, I set up a profile with Bebo, and slowly started to link friends to it, just so that I can have this online address book.  Bebo still has a testimonial of mine that I posted years ago.  You can view it here.

I thought that Bebo was going to be the defacto site for keeping in touch with people.  I can't remember if or when MySpace started, but I never liked the interface.

Then came along Facebook...and it changed my world...and I'm sure it's changed yours as well.  I'm not going to detail the amazing/annoying/funny things that it can do, because I'm sure you've gone through the same evolution as you participate (or maybe not) in this social network.  But here are a few observations through the years.

• People do not like change.  Whenever Facebook decides to change it's interface or feature, statuses are filled with complaints, and threats of leaving Facebook...and then after the initial shock subsides, the same people are still on it.  The only thing constant in life is change.   Embrace it. Live it. Love it.
• Deep down inside, people are funny, very funny.  I love how that part of a person's personality becomes very apparent on Facebook.  Sometimes I like them more there than I really do in person, but hey.  I'm glad I get to connect with people that way.
• You are sometimes better friends on Facebook then in real life.
• Facebook has created new social Faux Pas.  Tagging friends on hideous pictures.  Not responding to status updates.  Stalking your boyfriend/girlfriend to see if they're commenting on "the perceived competition's" page.  Relationship statuses. Not officially friends unless your friends on Facebook.  South Park came up with an awesome segment on Facebook.  Watch it here.

I am thankful for Facebook, because of the ease of connectivity with friends, events, groups, pictures, etc.  Practically everything.  

Seventy

Today at church we were privileged  to have a Seventy visit with us because his grand daughter was being blessed today during church service.  One of the neat side effects was that we were taught by him in a special class after Sunday School.

I was just amazed at the wealth of knowledge he has of the Gospel, his command of the scriptures, and how captivating he was as he shared eternal truths with so much plainness and with ease.  I think I understood more about the Gospel and it's application in those 45 minutes of instruction than I have this past month of Church services and self study.  It was thoroughly amazing.

I'll share some things shortly....

Days Off (Saturday February 4)

Today I was grateful to not think about work today.  And really not think about anything.  Just a nice day to sleep in, to play with friends, to watch TV, to play games.  It was a nice way to recharge for the following week.

My weekends aren't necessarily like this, but I'll take it.

The Gift of Choice, Part 2

President Obama decided to invoke Christian principles to justify his reason to tax the rich.  There was an article by CNNMoney that was titled "Obama: Jesus would back my tax-the-rich policy".

In the article he says the following (quoting from the Gospel of Luke) "For me as a Christian, it also coincides with Jesus's teaching that for unto whom much is given, much shall be required".  From the surface, it seems like  Jesus would be be saying that if you own much, you should give much, hence he would be in support of Obama's tax-the-rich policy.

But the catch is Jesus is teaching to individuals, and it's the individual that must choose for themselves, being accountable to God for their choices.  If government then enforces the Christian principle, then the individual cannot be accountable to God, but to man, which is wrong.  

I do want to let you know that I was livid at how much President Obama didn't understand free agency or free will, that I posted a response on Facebook to show my displeasure.  I received  a wealth of commentary that followed, all of which were very spot-on with how the Gospel is an individual choice out of love God, and how the government should really be protecting the rights of the individual to choose, instead of taking away, like the Adversary would like.

Here's is the edited dialogue from Facebook.  

Vladimir's status: "For me as a Christian, it also coincides with Jesus's teaching that for unto whom much is given, much shall be required," Obama said, quoting the Gospel of Luke. 

But what Obama neglects to understand, is that following Jesus's teachings is an "individual" choice, and when government chooses for you, you lose your ability to choose for yourself.

Comments:

Rebecca - I didnt know he was a Christian, obviously he doesnt get that it is God who gives and requires, or he like the emperors if Rome who thought if themselves as gods ...

Steve - Bam! Vlad, you nailed it. I hadn't heard about that quote, thanks for sharing. Evoking scripture to justify actions of the state against individuals. I thought only imperialistic right-wingers did stuff like that.

Allan - If tax policy is to be governed by such principles, we should look to the ancient Church. Perhaps what Obama really wants to do is institute something like the United Order. How does that coincide with you Communist Conspiracy Theory?

Vladimir - Oh, Allan. Always creating a ruccous, but you do provide a very important point to ponder.

And to provide some background here, Allan is LDS. We served in the same mission, and now he is an accomplished attorney. His role on facebook is to play devil's advocate to ensure that we are solid in our position.

The United Order was an attempt for society to live the Law of Consecration, which on surface looks like Communism. But the difference is, the Law of Consecration is a commandment given by God, in which the individual still has a choice to live it. 

Communism is a law given by man, and is enforced, where the individual has no choice (and even punished if not followed). 

As one of my friends shared with me, "One is the essence of us CHOOSING to turn our will, and give everything we have over to God. The other is men forcefully TAKING all we have with or without our consent."

Allan - Truly, though, it seems to me that using secular authority to implement ecclesiastical principles is anathema to the most basic power given of God to Man, agency. GIVING of our substance is an eternal principle of love of God and of man. The TAKING of our substance, however, is an eternal principle of the Adversary, who wishes also to take that most basic power. To depart from principle and look to application, here is a brief but powerful statement of our (potential) leaders' adherence to Christian principles in terms of charitable contributions: 

ROMNEY 16% of total income

NEWT 2.9% of total income

OBAMA 1.0% of total income

BIDEN 369 dollars of income

I'm thankful for my friends that understand the difference between Choosing God, and Government Taking.

Motivational and Development Books

I use to be a cynic about these books.  Through the years, I've read a few of them but they either didn't seem to work, or I felt that the techniques were beyond my experience level (ie it didn't pertain to me).

But within the past few years, I've began to read some of them and they seem to have some value now. What changed?  Well, I'm am more ambitious with my life's goals...and I started to be more pro-active in implementing what I learn.  And yes, I've grown up a little as well and for some reason the topics are now important to me.

Currently I'm reading a book entitled "How To Succeed With People" by Stephen R Covey, author of the famous "7 Habits..." book.  By the way, I read that book the summer before I went to grad school at BYU back in 1999.  At that time, I didn't feel the book was of any value.  Fast forward to 2012..I've recently skimmed through a few chapters and boy does the book read a lot differently now.  Weird huh?  

But back to the current book.  Listen to the title "How To Succeed With People"...my cynical side would have thought "Oh this is a book to manipulate people into doing things you want them to do".  I know, pretty deceptive.  But in actuality, the suggestions in the book come from a perspective of "I genuinely care about myself, my family, my co-workers, and everyone that I interact with.  How can I strengthen those relationships?"  This particular book makes references to scriptures and how the principles are govern by a higher being, by God.  I would like to say that this book is an application of the Scriptures in the modern day society, and the only reason I say modern is really because we are living in it, not that the principles would be different from past era's.  Human behavior is the same, no matter the time frame.

I am thankful for these kinds of books.  They really have helped me recently.  I've "bought into them" so to speak.

My goal is to read at least six (6) development books this year.  I am planning to go back and reread the "7 Habits..." book again, because I have a clearer vision of how it will affect my life.  

Looking forward to accomplishing that goal.

Service

I've blogged about this before, but once again there is something therapeutic and Spiritual when you forget your own needs to help others.  


I'm grateful that I was of service to a fellow man today.  It is private in nature so I will not detail it here.  And I'm not trying to pat myself on the back.  I'm confirming the Heavenly blessings that God gives you when when you follow the second most important commandment after "Love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind".


It is "[Love] thy neighbor as thyself" - Luke 10:26