RANDOM SHOTS

A few random pictures from a week or two ago…

A really nice 1970 Dodge Challenger T/A we saw along the way, in Idaho...







A Polynesian luau…





High-class college housing…;)



A very long boy…



Have a beautiful Tuesday, All…

ALL THAT IS REAL

Do you ever reflect on what makes you happy?







It is so very important, in this ugly and harsh world, to point our focus…



To that which is real…



Beautiful…



Uplifting…



And strong…



To children…





And family...



And all that is real…

A GOSPEL-ONLY MEDIA DAY

Tomorrow, Wednesday, DH and I are going to have a gospel-only media day. So, no TV other than the BYU channel, no CDs other than those preaching the Gospel, and no magazines or books other than the scriptures or the Ensign, etc. I think that this will help us spiritually as individuals, as well as a couple. It is also a lesson in self-denial.



It’s funny, because I am not a big TV watcher and generally only spend my fun online time (am on for work as well) in various wholesome blogs that I visit. But…I am having a little anxiety attack already! Ha! Is that pathetic, or what?! Well, that’s okay; I need to grow, but more than that, I WANT my Heavenly Father’s guidance in my life, and the more I turn to Him, the more I will be able to feel and hear that still small voice.



So, blessings to you this Wednesday; may you find peace in your day as you seek Him who gives it.

BE IN THE WORLD BUT NOT OF IT

Romans: 12:2 (King James Version)

2 And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.

We are taught to be in the world but not of it. To me, this is a very difficult thing to do. When we arrived home from the spiritual environment which we were in and came back to jobs, which we had been able to put aside for a few days, it became very difficult for me to not want to bury my head in the sand. It had felt so could being clothed in the spirit that I wanted to continue that.

So, today, I stayed at home and relished a bit more in the spirit before exposing myself to the world once again. I read some Ensign talks and watched some stories of interest on the BYU channel. Tonight, I read from Abraham 3, and I prayed. DH went back to work—back to the normal grind.

I now have additional goals to add to my list, as I NEED my Heavenly Father to help me in my feeble attempts at this crazy thing we call life. I have prayed; I have studied; I now go forward in faith.

I pray that you may find some inspiration for yourselves to also go forward, even in hard times, having faith that our Heavenly Father will guide you through.

Have a blessed and organized Tuesday, All!

THE SPIRIT OF GOD LIKE A FIRE IS BURNING

Today was orientation day for students and parents at BYU-I. The spirit was so strong; it was amazing. I have never been to an orientation of any sort where I felt the spirit, let alone how physically palpable it was today. The Lord was and is certainly on that campus. WE FELT IT. Families from all over the country came to partake.



What a wonderful blessing it is to have a son who has chosen a worthy goal such as he has. It is such a different environment than anything that I am used to. The kids there are all striving to live right—the whole campus and all the students in the apartment buildings around town. What a difference that is from what I see day to day! DS’s apartment building is for men only, and the girls have their own buildings. Pictures of the Savior are in each apartment, along with other scriptural paintings. Everyone is friendly. My husband remarked that it was more like family than just strangers. It was really amazing.

The dress code is modest, and I have not seen one immodestly-dressed person in the day and a half that we have been here. That is 180 degrees from what is normal, as I generally don’t go but a few minutes without seeing some sort of vulgarity or another, whether it be dress or the magazines on the racks at the convenience store.

The dress and grooming of BYU-Idaho students should always be modest, neat, and clean consistent with representing The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and becoming a disciple of Jesus Christ.

Taken from "BYU-Idaho Student Baseline Campus Dress and Grooming Standards", BYU-Idaho.



I don’t want to leave; it just feels good here.



DB is rooming with other guys, at least two of whom are returned missionaries. It is just so remarkable to me to see people of this age dress and act with respect. I don’t know what more a parent could ask for than to have their own child in such an environment.



I am thankful for the great work that the faculty and workers at the school do for our kids. There are uplifting magazines laying on tables by the couches in the commons area. There is a president, who came from Harvard, to serve and guide the students. His experience is great, but his spirit is just as great, and that is what really matters. There are chapels, Family Home Evening groups, and a beautiful temple on the hill, just above the campus.



We were fed by the spirit today, in great abundance, and we were fed good nutritious food as well. A Luau was planned for us complete with a Hawaiian dinner.

I am thankful for this blessing in my life. I am grateful to my Heavenly Father for allowing me, through my son, to experience just a portion—yet such a great amount to me—of what it will be like when I return to him. Nothing else in life really matters, and today I was reminded of that.

WORKING WOMEN PART II

I inadvertantly left out my sources for the first part of this post. They are as follows:

SOURCES

http://cct2.edc.org/PMA/modern_women/.
http://www.msad54.org/sahs/socialstudies/finely/1920s/1920HK/women.html.
http://school.discoveryeducation.com
www.wolverhamptonhistory.org.uk/.../20th/guys
http://www.alternet.org/story/48370/-

Now, more on working women of the last century...

THE 1960s…

“More women are getting jobs outside the home. By 1969, 43 percent of women are in the workforce, up from 25 percent in 1940. And more of these women are wives and mothers. In 1960, over 30 percent of married women work, up from 15 percent in 1940.”

These number surprised me…I didn’t realize that that many women were working outside of the home in the 1960s. Possibly that was because my own mom was a homemaker during this decade…She didn’t have to go to work until my youngest brother was nine. I was a teenager at the time and so consider myself lucky that I got to have my mom at home for the majority of my growing up years.

Oddly enough, history nearly repeated itself, and I was home until my youngest was eight. It is sad to me that he didn’t get a mom who stayed home and cooked for him. Unlike the girls, I think that his memories do not entail all of the homemade dinners, gardening, and canning. But…I can’t turn back the clock.

Feminism was rapidly rising in the 1960s…PAUSE…

I just had a sweet experience…Boy, who I just mentioned and who is leaving tomorrow for college, just came in. He has been cleaning out the attic and brought down a couple of mementos. He had with him a file box, with labels that I made him for homeschooling, and a cape that he used to fly around in…The cape was an old towel that I had sewed a button on. They were dear to him, and that meant a lot to me. So…I guess that he DOES have some fond memories of growing up!

Back to the 60s…



This picture says it all…

You can tackle domesticities and an outside job at the same time…

I’m not sure who they were trying to fool, but a whole nation bought into the myth…

“The Women's Movement of the 1960s and 1970s had its roots in the new opportunities and freedoms for women during World War II. Following war many women who were forced to return to their roles as housewives grew frustrated and suffocated, as the women who began to enter or reenter the workforce grew dissatisfied with their second class status, clearly visible in little to no room for advancement, unequal pay for the same work (fifty-nine cents on a man's dollar), sex-segregated help wanted ads, and the legality of sexual discrimination and sexual harassment, which did not exist as a legal concept at the time.”

As to sexual equality, I feel that the Lord made us all equal, as far as our worth. I also feel that men and women are different and were made for different purposes. Due to the latter, the women’s liberation movement was not all good for sure…



I like that my husband is strong and can take care of tasks that I can’t…I don’t feel any need to prove that I am just like a man, because I am not. Likewise, he doesn’t feel any need to prove that he is like a woman…

I also very much enjoyed taking my husband’s name when I got married and feel special when I use the title “Mrs.”. To me, hyphenated names are a ludicrous, and the title "Ms." is ridiculous.

These things all came about during the same decade that prayer got taken out of schools. What in the world are we trying to prove anyway? Do we just want to throw God away and, at the same time, become a unisex society?



SOURCES

http://school.discoveryeducation.com

APPROPRIATE DRESS AND APPEARANCE

Today in Relief Society (a women’s Church group), we talked about different aspects of the book for the young people of the church entitled For the Strength of Youth. The part that caught my attention today was the chapterlette on Dress and Appearance.

Below are some excerpts…

“Your body is God’s sacred creation. Respect it as a gift from God, and do not defile it in any way.”

“The way you dress is a reflection of what you are on the inside. Your dress and grooming send messages about you to others and influence the way you and others act.”

I find this very true for myself. If I am dressed in a sloppy manner, I feel the same way. If I am dressed up, I feel much better.

I think that it is important to take some time for ourselves to bathe, fix our hair, and put on a bit of makeup. I know that I feel an almost night-and-day difference in so doing.



50sgal, over at The Apron Revolution, has talked about this for a long time now and has a special time set apart for her grooming routine.

James, from Man of the 50s, is like-wise a tailored dresser and a gentleman to boot! Have you ever noticed nicely-dressed gentlemen holding the door open for a lady? On the contrary, have you ever noticed guys with the waist of their pants below their bottoms holding the door for a lady? Not that the latter doesn’t ever happen, but…

There is something to the way we dress in accordance with how we view ourselves and how we treat others.

One does not need to be a nun for sure but can be tastefully dressed AND beautiful at the same time.

“When you are well groomed and modestly dressed, you invite the companionship of the spirit and can exercise a good influence on those around you.”

“Never lower your dress standards for any occasion.”

Wow; that says volumes to me. “…for any occasion.” It continues…

“Doing so sends the message that you are using your body to get attention and approval and that modesty is important only when it is convenient.”

In today’s world of sex-sells-all, I really wonder how many decently-minded people there are left. I get so very weary of the (I won’t say the name that I’m thinking) ill-dressed women—NOT ladies—on TV. And, who is watching these shows? Your husband? Your son? Young moldable boys? It’s a shame.

“Always be neat and clean and avoid being sloppy or inappropriately casual in dress, grooming, and manners.”

If we could twinkle ourselves back to the Victorian era, these things would all be common sense.



Print by John P. O'Brien

At one point in my life, I desired a tattoo. Then, men were the main population getting them; they were not mainstream as they are now. At the time, I was dating a Marine, and I suppose that had something to do with it...

I cannot count the number of times since then that I have been so happy that I never got that tattoo!

Summertime…

I think that summertime is especially difficult in the area of dress...Or lack thereof. During this season, females all but lose any modesty that they may have once maintained.

I was sitting in my car at the school on Friday and caught, in my review mirror, a young middle-school aged girl...So, that would be 13ish. What got my attention first of all was that she was using crutches. As I started to wonder what the cause of her ailment was, the view became more clear. I could see the bottom of HER bottom sticking out of very short shorts!

I am always amazed at what is allowed not only in public but in places of learning. I’m sure that many males were happy that day, but at what cost?

To sum up these thoughts…

I am very far from perfect in this area and in many others as well, and I do not want to give the impression that I am. I do, however, strive and want to continue to do so, in my own dress and, at the same time, hopefully be an example to others that looking nice and neat and clean does not have to mean dressing like a bar-room girl.