Flowers, Weeds; Wowers, Fleeds.

For a service project last year we helped to weed a flower garden. It was in deep need of a makeover, and was overrun with weeds all over. But there were still lots of perennials and nice bushes, strawberry plants, and a few budding flowers. Before we began, we carefully asked what exactly were we supposed to be pulling. She pointed out some examples of weeds - thistly or viney, but always ugly - and some examples of flowers - delicate and beautiful. Easy enough.

As we delved into our back-bending labor, we quickly discovered that there were a host of plants that didn't fit into the black and white categories of Flower or Weed. 

There were some nice perennials that simply didn't have any flowers yet and sure looked like weeds; there were also some nasty weeds that happened to have colorful, tiny flowers. "What about this one?" we would ask, pointing.  "And this one?" It soon became apparent that we just weren't as skilled in botany as the owner whom we were helping. She had to direct our every move. Then finally she announced: "Ok, whatever. If it looks like a weed, pull it. I'd rather have a few flowers pulled than leaving infectious weeds. If in doubt, pull it out" (or something to that effect). 

And so that began a mad rush to get done as soon as possible. "Everything must go!" Of course, a beautiful flower or delicate leaves would stop us quickly, and we would carefully work around it. But anything that looked anything like a weed was gone without hesitation. The poor non-blooming flowers were now just as evil as the thistles and flowering-weeds alike. Only the beautiful, blooming flowers could stay. And thus, the task was accomplished. 

In the few hours it took to pull all the weeds, I thought of how - of course - it was metaphor! In life, there are Flowers and Weeds; Good and Bad; Light and Dark; Disciples and Destroyers; Beauty and Ugliness; Love and Hatred. But more and more in today's world we are seeing not only Flowers and Weeds, but also Wowers and Fleeds. 

Wowers are those nasty weeds who have learned that if they grow some flowers, people think that they're beautiful. Dandelions, for example, are nothing but vicious wolves in tattered sheep skins. The media has made gambling and alcohol and smoking and drugs and promiscuity and attacks on the institution of family into colorful Wowers - evil weeds pretending to be "good" and exciting because of the "wow" factor of the activity. Yet Wowers will often suck the life right out of the true Flowers around it, leaving nothing but dead and dried-up waste. We must avoid these evil Wowers at all costs!

Fleeds, on the other hand, are those naturally-born flowers who have sadly decided they don't want to shine their petals any longer, and lose their flowers to look more and more like a weed. Perhaps due to the peer pressure of the weeds around them, they become ashamed of their true inner beauty and begin acting in a way that is certainly unbecoming of their true nature. Fleeds are in desperate need of help. For when the Gardner comes to clean out all the weeds, the Fleeds will be taken just as quickly. We should all want the Master to easily recognize us as a True Flower - or adding just an "ol" - a True Follower!

This simple service project turned into a marvelous learning experience for me. I want to be the biggest and brightest and bestest Flower that I can be! I want everyone to know that I believe in God and in His Son Jesus Christ. I believe in the redeeming power of the Atonement. I believe in the everlasting salvation of God's Plan for each of us. Christ said himself, let your light shine forth, or in other words - make sure that everyone knows that you are a declared Flower. Share your beauty. Drown out the ugliness of the weeds beneath you by rising above in beauty, stretching ever more towards the Life-giving Light. 

Just as there are some weeds that look like flowers and some flowers that unfortunately look too much like weeds, there are all sorts of people in the world, at every single step from Purely Good to Purely Bad. It's my hope that anyone who ever looks at me, and my life, and my Fruits will have no problem knowing where I stand on that spectrum. For truly one day the Weeds, Wowers, and Fleeds will all be hewn down, allowing the Flowers to then reach their full potential.

Note: all pictures were taken by me within the past few months

The Eternal Potential of Leftovers

One of my trademarks in the kitchen is my unique creations. When living in Moscow as a missionary, I lived in a house with 5 other Elders. We always went grocery shopping on Wednesdays, making Tuesday the last day to have leftovers before our new yummy food. It soon became Chili Tuesday, as every Tuesday we would make a large pot of "chili" using all the leftovers in the fridge to make room for the new. The best was after thanksgiving when we had everything from spaghetti sauce and two-week old turkey to eggs and sour cream. Awful, I know - but the beautiful thing is - it always comes out so wonderful! 

In the picture above I'm demonstrating how a soup one day can evaporate overnight into a nice pasta slush type casserole. Just last week we took scraps of ham and nasty frozen veggies that were mostly ice and cut and friend them all up into a wonderful ham-potato-veggie stir-fry. I 

consider it a successful meal if we're able to get rid of any packages or containers - finishing off the last bit of anything. More room for the new! In this picture are 3 different sculptures we made out of old ice cream (and then still ate them...)

Over the years we've made pies and cakes and cookies and soups and casseroles and omelets and pastas and smoothies and a host of Microwave Miracles and One-Pot-Wonders. (and maybe even combined them all together!)  For me, cooking is an art and a hobby. You take raw materials and combine them in such a way that the result is always spectacular. Some see leftover ham scraps and think: trash. I see them and think: yum. I think I've been blessed with the gift to see a "second life" in most foods, using them in ways never thought possible. 

The joy of creation and the deliciousness thereof are simply to die for (which of course is the risk I take using old food...ha). 

But on a more spiritual note, aren't we all just old leftover food? We're all tired and worn out in one way or another. So many times we've thought - in whatever situation - that's it - I can't go any further! And then somehow, with some Extra Help From Above we just keep going and going. That's because a loving Father in Heaven sees in us an eternal potential. God does not see us for who we are or what we've done, but rather who we can - and will! - become. He knows our true potential, and despite all odds, will help us obtain our divine inheritance. 

Food was meant to be eaten, not thrown away! I always try to do my best in helping all foods - regardless of origin or color - reach their fullest potential (how's that for political overtones?). When we throw leftovers away, we in essence say "you are worthless." How grateful I am that The Lord will never tell us that we no longer have any worth in his eyes. We are all His precious sons and daughters here on earth en route our epic journey to return once again into His presence. A chick is hatched to one day become hen and lay eggs of her own. A pup is born to become a full-grown dog with a family - his own sons and daughters. And we, being spiritual children of our Heavenly Father - The God and Creator of all the universe, likewise have the potential to one day become perfect and inherit all Godly attributes and powers that are naturally born in each one of us! THIS is our Eternal Potential!

In my creative little mind, I can look at a plate of cold leftovers and see a glorious meal just a few minutes away, pending a little work on my part. In God's merciful and and almighty powers, He looks at each one of us and sees a Glorious and Perfected Heavenly Being, once again pending a little work on MY part.  Let us all do our part in remembering our own Eternal Potential and Live our lives as true sons and daughters of the Almighty God!

...and be a little more creative with leftovers next time!

Vacuums and Repentance

The other week I was helping the vacuum the church building, using what they call "the wart hog." It's an industrial vacuum that has the motor and dust bag on little maneuverable rollers, and then a long 10 ft hose with the suction part at the end (similar to our red friend in the picture, but older, and the dust bag was more like a fabric bagpipes than a plastic bucket.)  As I was cleaning in and out of every pew, I couldn't help but realize that the bag on rollers kept following me around! I couldn't get away from it!

What's more, is that it kept hitting things. One time, it fell over and a nice poofy cloud of dust - the dust and dirt I had already vacuumed up - went fluttering into the clean air. Another time it whipped up quick behind me and bit the back of my leg for a nice scrape. I began to wonder - why in the world, am I carrying all my old dirt and dust around behind me like a ball and chain?  Why can't the dirt just disappear once I take care of it?

I realized this was a lot like sins. So often when we sin, for whatever odd reason, we continue to carry them around behind us like a ball and chain. They weigh us down. We can't get away from them. They continue to cause problems and hurt us over and over again. The Lord doesn't want that! I know that Christ suffered for our sins in the Garden of Gethsemane so that once we vacuum them up out of our lives - once we repent by calling on God's name and confessing to Him our wrongdoings and then (most importantly) forsake our sins, we DON'T have to keep carrying them around. The Lord remembers them no more, and neither should we!  Christ's Atonement is that perfect vacuum system that makes the dirt and filth of my past life completely disappear once I properly take care of it! Satan wants nothing more than for us to continue carrying around old baggage. He wants that dust bag to hold us back and weigh us down. But the Lord wants us to be free from our sins - and we can be!

What a blessing it is to know that the Atonement works so much better than even the best industrial vacuum: we don't have to keep toting around our past sins, but can become free, clean, new creatures in Christ!

Haricuts and Understanding "Hell"

Some 22 years after my very first haircut shown here, yesterday I wanted to get my haircut. [The first time I heard the joke about "well actually I went to get them ALL cut" I thought it was the funniest thing ever, but now I find it slightly overused, but because I still think it's funny I decided to include it in this "I'm not really going to say it" bracketed comment]. I knew that there were some new places in town, but I just wasn't familiar with them. I haven't had my haircut here for years, since last summer I let it totally grow out. I drove around, slightly aimlessly until I finally found a place, and rejoiced much. Only after I made some tricky driving maneuvers to get in the parking lot did I find it was closed. Gr. 

I finally resorted to going to the place in the mall where I had always gone in high school.  Even though it was all but empty they told me it would be 30 minutes. Gr. I wandered around the mall, not interested in any of the stores. I wandered into Macy's where I was further disgusted by the worldliness and ridiculous prices therein. That almost made me more angry than the waiting. Gr. I went back to the hair place after 30 minutes and waiting another 15 for my turn. 

It was awful. At this point, having driven around, found the closed place, wandered a tiny mall, glimpsed the pride of the world, and waited some more, I was just plain annoyed. I didn't want this to be such a long trip. I quickly became cynical of everyone and everything around me, wondering why the hair ladies couldn't work a little quicker (until my turn, when they could take their time and do quality work...).  I was just mad at the world and annoyed. But...I realized I had no one or nothing to really be mad at...but myself. It was my decisions and actions that led me to that spot. No one to blame but myself. 

Today I thought a little more about that tiny moment of anger and frustration. Perhaps, in a small minute way, that's what Hell is like. Hell isn't so much a place, as it is a state of mind. After this life, we go to a Spirit World, where we continue to learn and grow and wait the resurrection at which time we'll be judged according to our actions and desires and rewarded one of three Kingdoms of Heaven, or Kingdoms of Glory. The Glory is compared to the glory of the sun, moon, and stars. Eternal life with God and Exaltation is of course the glory of the sun - so bright that we can't even look at it noonday, and such wonderful glory we can't even imagine the happiness there.  I am sure there is no such place as a fiery and red Hell. In fact, every child of God will be offered a place in one of the degrees of Glory. 

So what is Hell? Most of the times, it's referring to the state of mind knowing that you could have done better. Knowing that you were angry and upset and frustrated with the world - because you didn't receive all the Glory that you had hoped, or that your friends/family received - but you also know that you have no one to blame but yourself and your personal choices and actions. And knowing that it's your fault, only adds to your pain and suffering. No one else at the hair place knew how I felt, just like Hell is an individualized and eternal suffering that is hard to comprehend - it's the pain and torment knowing that you could have had Eternal Life and lived with God forever, but chose the ways of the world instead.  Perhaps because such a suffering is so intangible and hard to comprehend, over the years prophets and apostles have adopted metaphors such as gnashing of teeth and fire and brimstone just to make sure that we understand one thing: We don't want that. 

I am so grateful for a Loving Heavenly Father who gives all His children equal access to the great Plan of Salvation that allows us, through the grace of the Atonement of Jesus Christ, to escape the suffering and torment of Hell, and enter into the loving, embracing arms of our Father in Heaven. 

P.S. - The girl who cut my hair was cute and nice, which quickly dissolved my mini anguish attack. All is well. 

Crazy Pennsylvania Roads and the Path of Life

Last week, I needed to get from work down to a party. Before I left work, I charted out my course on Google maps, a trusty resource. As you can see in the above map, There is a road, Highway 616, that goes straight from Point A to Point B. I figured that was the easiest path. Google actually suggested I go Northeast for a while before heading south on the freeway. I thought that was silly. I studied the map for probably a good 10 minutes. I didn't want to print it out, because I was still at work and didn't want to "mix personal business"... at least too much. 

So I headed off on my journey. I had written down some rough notes to help remind me. I was relying on my picture-like memory, since I could still very clearly see the Google map in my mind. "Just follow the big yellow road" I thought. Well the road actually isn't big and yellow, but crazy up and down and all around. I missed the first turn. When I turned around and back on track, the nice Mr. Volunteer Fireman told me the road was closed, so I turned around - now my great "Follow the big 616 all the way down" was utterly thwarted. I had a map in the back, but thought I'd carry on. I called a good friend and she looked at the map on her end as I fled down the crooked curvy back roads of farm lands and forests. 

It turns out my friend thought I was somewhere different than I actually was, so that threw me way off. Then I lost reception, and was on my own. When I started seeing signs for the Maryland border, I knew I was in trouble, so finally I pulled into a gas station and looked at a map. I discovered that I had almost gone in a full circle, if I would have continued. The blue path in the map above is the actual path I drove. It took an hour instead of 30 minutes. I finally found the house and enjoyed the party. 

On the way home, I asked the host the quickest way to the highway, staying as far away as I could from back roads. Once on the high way, it was of course smooth sailing. But then, without warning or reason, the speedometer needle totally dropped to zero. I had no idea how fast I was going so I just zipped along with the crowd. Hopefully we all weren't going 80. The highway was of course much easier and I didn't even have to think. When I was 2 minutes away from my home, in the middle of turning through a busy intersection, the manual transmission totally stalled and died and I drifted to a stop on the side of the road, luckily avoiding any accidents. I restarted the car and finally made it home. I did not like car trips very much that night.

The more I thought about my experiences, the more I thought of all sorts of small parallels to life. The comparisons below aren't necessarily related to each other, but are all individual lessons I learned from my travels that night.

1. Life isn't as smooth and rosy as the picture books. On the map, the road was straight, but in reality, it was full of little turns and curves and hills and dips that can't be shown. I know that living the Gospel of Jesus Christ, as restored through the Prophet Joseph Smith makes life so much better and happier, but that certainly doesn't mean there won't be the day-to-day turns and hills of life - it's all part of the journey. Life will always be hard, but with the Gospel on our side, we'll have the added strength to stay on course. 

2. "Map Binges" don't work. Even though I studied the map for a long time, it didn't help me later. Some things, like brushing your teeth, just aren't good unless they're done regularly. Brushing for 30 minutes once a week isn't the same as 1 minute 30 times a week. We can't expect to say a weekly prayer or have our "scripture fill" on Sunday and call it good. Such things require constant and consistent effort and application. Only with daily prayer and study can we stay on the right course that will lead us to our Final Destination, that Heavenly Home where we once belonged.

3. We can't rely on the knowledge of others. As good-intentioned and well-meaning my friend was, the fact is, she led me astray. We can't ONLY rely on others, no matter how strong they are or how much we trust them, for spiritual guidance. We must know for OURSELVES. To work together and listen to others is a must, but even the words of the Prophet we must gain a testimony of for ourselves through prayer and study. Ultimately, we are responsible for our own Salvation, and even though she led me off track, I had no one to blame but myself.

4. Follow The Lord, He Knows the Way! My source of "heavenly knowledge" in this case was the ever-trusty Google maps. And even though it directed me one way, I thought I knew better and charted my own course. How wrong I was. The Lord always knows best and we should not seek to counsel Him or alter His words. But before we heed His words, we must Hear them - from the scriptures, from living prophets, from the local priesthood and church leaders, from the Spirit directly to us. Once we hear and understand the voice of the Lord, we surely must obey. Otherwise, we'll end up in Maryland!

5. Without gauges, we lose sense of Who we Are. As I drove home on the highway, I lost all ability to know how fast I was going. I just followed the others. I could have been going 90 mph without even noticing, because all the cars around me were doing the same. In life, when we just go with the flow and try to keep up with our friends, and just do what they're doing, we may easily find ourselves in a situation we never thought we would be in. The Speedometers of life are perhaps priesthood interviews, or talks with your parents, or a personal inventory during Sacrament, or a temple recommend interview, or other things like For the Strength of Youth guidelines. These all provide opportunities and tools for us to Check ourselves against standards to make sure that we're living the way we should, and not in danger of a speeding ticket, or worse, a crash. 

Strawberries and Happiness

Yesterday my mom and I went to pick strawberries at a local farm. It was great fun. She had been before, but it was my first time. We went to the entrance and got a couple of baskets. Then the nice owner man told us how to get to the field. We drove around and got out and he was there to meet us. As we approached him, he gave us very specific instructions. Most people he told to just go up this one row and put down a flag where you stop. Because I was "energetic and responsible" he gave me a specific task. He said that I could go up and down ALL the rows south of where Mom was working. These berries here were mostly green and not ready, but every now and then, he told me, I would find a nice big purple strawberry (meaning nice and tasty). But because they're few and far between, he doesn't tell many people about them.

So I start  on my hunt, and begin to doubt as I only see lush green foliage and tiny green berries. And then I find a huge perfect strawberry hiding deep inside the row. A ways down, I find another! Indeed, they were few and far between, but they were all wonderful and perfect. The owner came back to check up on me, and was pleased that I was having success in my task. I had to cover about 4 times the distance Mom did and work twice as fast to find as many, but as we compared out bounties, it was pretty clear that my berries appeared much darker, and fuller, and plain better.

It's my testimony, once again reaffirmed, that the Owner knows his garden. Heavenly Father is the Lord of the vineyard and we are the workers fulfilling His great work! It's so tempting to go off and do our own thing, but if we will take strict heed to The Lord's Voice, as received from prophets and personally through the Spirit, we will be able to find those perfect strawberries of happiness and success. The strawberry could represent a new job or happiness in the family, or success at work, or anything! But the best will always require double the effort, and might take more time - but it is always worth it! The Owner, our Father, is interested in our success and will often visit us (usually through other servants and his leaders and our friends) to guide and encourage us further. 

By following He who Knows and being willing to put forth the required effort, we can all enjoy the fresh homemade jam and delicious strawberry pies of life!

Life Lessons from a Road Trip

My good friend was married a few weeks ago in the LDS Washington D.C. Temple and my other friend and I made an epic road trip down south, and then down to South Carolina for the reception.  We learned a few things...

1. Always listen to the still small voice. 

As we were passing through Virginia, notorious for its policemen, my friend was speeding along talking to his girlfriend in the passenger seat. From the back seat I was carefully monitoring his speed on my GPS. I quietly reminded him to slow down (we got a ticket last year doing the same thing!). A second time I had to remind him and finally he went down to the limit. Just then, we passed a nice police man parked on the side of the freeway! 

For some reason, I was able to play the role of the "still small voice." We always know what we should be doing, especially when some of God's commandments are as clear and precise as speed limits (such as tithing and word of wisdom), but sometimes we just a need a little reminder. I'm so grateful for the Spirit and His little reminders in my life, whether through friends to slow down while driving, or - as a man in Russia described it- "a feeling to grab the umbrella when it's still sunny outside."

2. It pays to plan and act now.

Over the weekend we needed a hotel 3 nights, all in different places. Because we weren't quite sure what was happening and where we were going to be, we didn't book any of them ahead of time. The first night it was 10:30 pm in Washington D.C. when we started just driving around hoping to find a little no-name place. After about 2 hours we gave up and drove all the way home to PA, just to return to DC early the next morning. BAD. Another night we began looking for a hotel about 9:30 pm in Fayetville, NC. We used the GPS to get phone numbers and called around until we finally found a cheap enough hotel nearby. We didn't pay a lot, but I never expected to pay for the dead bugs, broken sink, disturbing bathroom, and ripped sheets that we found. BAD. Another night we began about 3:30 pm to call all around. We called a ton of places and really worked hard and finally found a wonderful hotel close by. It was peaceful and rejuvenating. GOOD!

When we procrastinate, we only make trouble for ourselves. As President Monson says, "when the time for performance has come, the time for preparation has passed" or "proper prior preparation prevents poor performance." I think about this principle with things like reading and praying and going to the temple.  If we wait until the "11th hour" to do these things, they'll either not happen or be a bad experience, just like with the hotels. But if we just get down on our knees right when we have the thought, or open the Book of Mormon right then, or make going to the temple our top priority, it will likewise be peaceful and rejuvenating. Let us all keep the dead cockroaches out of our lives by planning, preparing, and acting now!

3. Life is not a competition. 

My best friend brought his girlfriend along for the trip. Over the weekend we began to realize that we both felt that we were competing for my friend's attention. At one point we had him ask us questions about his life to see who knew more about him. Of course, there was no winner, and most of it was in jest to begin with.  We can all be friends together! Instead of she and I competing for his attention, we found that instead we could be more united thanks to the common link of our mutual best friend!

When we begin to compare ourselves - our talents, abilities, knowledge, experience, appearance, etc - to others, we only begin to short change ourselves. What a true gift and blessing it is to be satisfied and content with what we have. Life is not a competition. Through prayer we can gain a profound gratitude for all the wonderful things in our lives. Instead of always competing with those around us - our brothers and sisters - we too can find a peaceful unity and brotherhood, bound together by our common Father in Heaven who loves us all equally!

4. It's okay to have fun. 

The wedding reception was held in the bride's beautiful backyard. The focal point of the yard was a bright blue glimmering swimming pool. As expected, the bride was trying to rally up some troops to get her now-husband (my friend) to change out of his tux so she could throw him in the pool. Very unexpectedly, however, still in their tux and wedding dress he slung her over his shoulder and splashed in. I was actually quite mortified, on her behalf, and couldn't believe it. When another groomsmen tried to throw me in, I was dead-set not to get wet. After about the 3rd wrestling match, I finally gave in and emptied my pockets. And it wasn't that bad. In fact, it was brilliantly fun! A perfect ending.

As important as it is to work hard and "be sober" ("meaning being earnest and serious in assessing your circumstances and careful and circumspect in weighing the consequences of your actions") as the ancient prophets counseled, it's just as important to have a little fun. Know one likes a stickler leader, but one who leads by example and has fun. The wedding party was more united by our crazy experience together, just as having fun while at church will often bring us closer together. As all things in life, it is a happy balance of moderation.