My niece, Liesel, shared this video this on her Facebook wall with this comment:
I love this. We never know what's going behind the scenes of "picture perfect". Life is tough and everyone's got their junk to deal with. "Comparison is the thief of joy." (T. Roosevelt)
The above clip was taken from a talk Elder Stevenson delivered at the BYU 2017 Woman's Conference. You can view Elder Stevenson's whole talk below or by clicking here and going to 17:48
I first read Erin Stewart's article titled: "Learning and failing to put down my phone and pay attention to my kids" on Deseret New's FB page. Erin's article lead me to read this story from boardpanda.com where I got the material to do this post.
American photographer Eric Pickersgill removed the smartphones and digital devices from his portraits of everyday life. The project “Removed” aims to show our addiction to technology and hyper-connectivity, and Pickersgill knows that he’s also amongst the addicted.
The photographer was inspired by a chance encounter in a New York cafe. “Family sitting next to me at Illium café in Troy, NY is so disconnected from one another,” Pickersgill writes in his notes from that day. “Not much talking. Father and two daughters have their own phones out. Mom doesn’t have one or chooses to leave it put away. She stares out the window, sad and alone in the company of her closest family. Dad looks up every so often to announce some obscure piece of info he found online.”
He achieved the surreal effect in his photos by asking strangers and friends to remain in position, removing their cellphones, and then taking the shot.
Click on this link to see more photos from Eric Pinkersgill's project called, "Removed".
Sam’s two year mission is almost over. He comes home May 2nd. Every Monday for the past two years, we have enjoyed reading about his experiences through his weekly emails. Todays email was especially touching as he described teaching a family who was receptive to the message he and his companion shared. He described how the message brought them peace:
we found a family to teach. they really want to listen to us because a couple of years ago their 3 month old baby died. they basically told us that they haven’t had peace in their lives since. we watched the church’s new video, Prince of Peace, and we had a super good visit with them as we introduced the Plan of Salvation. the best part of the lesson was when a friend of theirs (who was also listening) told them that their child died as a punishment. we were then able to testify to them that that wasn’t true. that God would never do that as a punishment and that they would one day have the chance to raise their son. the spirit was so strong in that moment. we have a lesson with them on tuesday and so we are way excited for this week.
This is the video that they shared with the family.
As you watch the video, you, too, will feel peace.
It seems as if we will all be touched by cancer sometime in our lives. Either ourselves, a family member, or a friend will fight this disease. Over the past 30 years my mother has battled breast, colon, and skin cancer. She eventually died of Parkinson's last year.
In 2007 I remember hearing a talk given by Steven Snow as he talked of his own mother's battle with cancer. His statement, "...cancer is a disease of love" intrigued me. His next sentence explains the opportunities that come our way as we face cancer.
"A few years before my mother passed away, she was diagnosed with cancer, a disease she fought with great courage. As a family we learned, strangely enough, that cancer is a disease of love. It provides opportunities to mend fences, say goodbyes, and express love.”
Steven E. Snow
Oct. 2007 LDS General Conference
I am grateful for the many different opportunities that have come my way to mend fences, say goodbyes, and express love.
The quote was taken from this talk by Steven E. Snow.
One month ago I had a pain in my gut and blood in my urine. After a trip to urgent care, I was told that I had a kidney stone and to go home and drink lots of water and wait for the stone to pass. One month later and after a CAT scan, ureteroscopy, ureteral stent placement and removal, and a lot of pain, I am kidney stone free and as good as new. Now I will be drinking lots of water , I will not be salting my oatmeal, I'll eat less protein, and I'll be buying more citrus for the rest of my life because I don't want to go through that pain ever again. People say the pain is worse that labor pain. It is true.
This post might be TMI (too much information) but i decided to write about what I learned from my experience for my posterity or anyone else who will have the bad fortune of dealing with kidney stones. My father and two of my brothers have had kidney stones and I'm thinking it might be in our Harris genes. All I can say to my youngest brother is: Watch out!
I found the best website that simply explains everything that I needed to know about kidney stones. It is found on the Intermountain Healthcare webpage. They posted a pamphlet on the subject that you can get to it by clicking here.
Here are a copy of a few pages that I found helpful (you can read the pages more clearly by clicking onto the link to the pamphlet above. Pay close attention to pages 2,3,5 &7):
This page explains what a kidney stone is.
My kidney stone did not pass on it's own. After a CAT scan I found out that it was 6mm in size. It was lodged in my ureter. After my stone was removed, it was tested and determined that it was a calcium oxalate crystal.
After 3 weeks of not budging, my urologist advised me to have an ureteroscopy and have that stone taken out using a tiny snare or "basket" which is explained below:
After the kidney stone was removed, the doctor put in a ureteral stent. More pain:(
At my last doctor visit I was given guidelines on how to prevent future kidney stones.
Without safety ropes, harnesses, or climbing gear of any kind, two brothers—Jimmy, age 14, and John, age 19 (though those aren’t their real names)—attempted to scale a sheer canyon wall in Snow Canyon State Park in my native southern Utah. Near the top of their laborious climb, they discovered that a protruding ledge denied them their final few feet of ascent. They could not get over it, but neither could they now retreat from it. They were stranded. After careful maneuvering, John found enough footing to boost his younger brother to safety on top of the ledge. But there was no way to lift himself. The more he strained to find finger or foot leverage, the more his muscles began to cramp. Panic started to sweep over him, and he began to fear for his life.
Unable to hold on much longer, John decided his only option was to try to jump vertically in an effort to grab the top of the overhanging ledge. If successful, he might, by his considerable arm strength, pull himself to safety.
In his own words, he said:
“Prior to my jump I told Jimmy to go search for a tree branch strong enough to extend down to me, although I knew there was nothing of the kind on this rocky summit. It was only a desperate ruse. If my jump failed, the least I could do was make certain my little brother did not see me falling to my death.
“Giving him enough time to be out of sight, I said my last prayer—that I wanted my family to know I loved them and that Jimmy could make it home safely on his own—then I leapt. There was enough adrenaline in my spring that the jump extended my arms above the ledge almost to my elbows. But as I slapped my hands down on the surface, I felt nothing but loose sand on flat stone. I can still remember the gritty sensation of hanging there with nothing to hold on to—no lip, no ridge, nothing to grab or grasp. I felt my fingers begin to recede slowly over the sandy surface. I knew my life was over.
“But then suddenly, like a lightning strike in a summer storm, two hands shot out from somewhere above the edge of the cliff, grabbing my wrists with a strength and determination that belied their size. My faithful little brother had not gone looking for any fictitious tree branch. Guessing exactly what I was planning to do, he had never moved an inch. He had simply waited—silently, almost breathlessly—knowing full well I would be foolish enough to try to make that jump. When I did, he grabbed me, held me, and refused to let me fall. Those strong brotherly arms saved my life that day as I dangled helplessly above what would surely have been certain death.”
My beloved brothers and sisters, today is Easter Sunday. Although we should always remember (we promise in our weekly sacramental prayers that we will), nevertheless this is the most sacred day of the year for special remembrance of brotherly hands and determined arms that reached into the abyss of death to save us from our fallings and our failings, from our sorrows and our sins. Against the background of this story reported by John and Jimmy’s family, I express my gratitude for the Atonement and Resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ and acknowledge events in the divine plan of God that led up to and give meaning to “the love Jesus offers [us].”...
We received our mission assignment in the mail on Thursday, December 22nd. We opened it the next day with our children.
We have been called to the El Salvador San Salvador West/Belize Mission We will begin our service on July 3, 2017 and serve for 23 months. We will be serving in the country of Belize.
The light green areas are the mission boundaries.
If you ever wondered how mission assignments are made, you can click here to learn how the process is done.
If you want to follow our mission you can go to our mission blog at: ourmissiontobelize.blogspot.com or click here.
We are excited to prepare for this new adventure and know that we have lots to learn and do before we leave.
These children understand why Jesus was born and the events surrounding his birth. I agree with a comment that was left on youtube.com about this video: You can see and feel the boy's testimony of the birth of Christ at 2:57 to3:02
