President Obama and the post racial era

Here is an article that I found informative: http://blog.cagle.com/2010/07/20/president-obama-you-are-no-dr-martin-l-king-jr/ Enjoy!

No bagels for breakfast!!

I read an interesting item in the current Better Homes and Gardens: "Bring on the bacon and eggs! A new study shows that eating a little fat first thing and keeping the fat and calories low in the evening might ward off metabolic syndrome--a cluster of symptoms, including abdominal fat, high triglyceride levels, and insulin resistance--that increases risk of cardiovascular disease and diabetes.
You first meal seems to program metabolism for the rest of the day, says Molly Bray, PhD professor of epidemiology at the University of Alabama. A relatively fat rich breakfast helps you metabolize fats and carbohydrates during the day, while a carb rich breakfast seems to promote only carb metabolism, in addition eggs reduce hunger so you eat less at lunch and all day long. In a new University of Connecticut study breakfast egg eaters ate 112 fewer calories at an all you can eat buffet lunch three hours later than bagel-eating counterparts. They also consumed about 400 fewer calories in the 24 hours following breakfast than did their bagel buddies."

So there you have it. Wanna lose weight, fry an egg for breakfast!! I knew it all along. . . .

Lovely Sunday

Nice day spent with Steven. Maren and Justin came down, Liz came over. The weather is perfect, and it's time to refill the bird feeders~

Prophets

In the Old Testament the prophet Joel teaches that God will do nothing save He reveal it through the mouths of His prophets. God is active in our world today, and He continues to speak through His prophet on the earth today--God is the same yesterday, today and always. This is a wonderful gift to us. We can choose not to listen to God's prophet, to put our opinions above his, but in doing so we deny that he speaks for God on the earth today. And today we really, really need all the help we can get! So listen and follow the word,
After Christ's death and resurrection, and after the martyrdoms of the Apostles there began to be a falling away, and a perversion of the teachings of Jesus Christ. Paul and the other Apostles warned their followers of this apostasy, of the wolves in sheep's clothing who would enter the flock. A restoration of the gospel and the priesthood authority which allows men to act in the name of Christ needed to be made. The gospel was restored as prophesied in these the latter days and we once again have the keys of the kingdom, the priesthood and a prophet on the earth.
How did this happen? God the Father and his Son Jesus Christ appeared in answer to prayer to Joseph Smith as he inquired as to which church he should join. Over a number of years he was taught and prepared to reestablish the Church of Jesus Christ again on the earth as it was in the primitive Church. These keys and authority have been passed down to succeeding prophets since the time of Joseph Smith up to and including our day. It is for this reason that we can trust in the Prophet of God, who speaks for our time.

Scripture

I believe that the Bible, both the Old and the New Testaments are a gift of God, written and preserved for us by Jewish prophets in the Old World. I believe that the prophets of the Old Testament testified of the coming of Christ; that the Blood of the Lamb on the doorposts which caused the destroying angel to Passover the homes and spare the firstborn sons of the faithful was a prefiguring of the sacrifice of Christ, the Lamb of God. Likewise, the sacrifice of Isaac was in the similitude of the sacrifice of Christ and helps us to understand what was to come as well as God's love for us. (Only 2 small examples of many)

I believe that the Book of Mormon is a gift from God written and preserved for us by prophets in the New World, and that it also testifies of Jesus Christ. As Christ said, "Other sheep I have who are not of this fold." We know that Christ is the God of the entire earth and that his Atonement is in force in the entire world. Likewise he shared his message with peoples in every land.
The Book of Mormon was translated through the power of God and brings us closer to Him as we read and study His worlds.

Faith

I believe that the foundation of Christ's gospel is Faith in Jesus Christ, Repentance, Baptism by immersion, and the Gift of the Holy Ghost. Faith and repentance have to be constantly renewed. They are not a destination that we arrive at and there we are. We wax and wane and so we have to be mindful of our faith, tending it like a garden.
Christ gave us the example of the proper form of baptism when he went to John the Baptist and was baptized in the River Jordan to set an example for us and to fulfill the law of righteousness.
The Holy Ghost is real and personal in our lives if we listen, pray and seek guidance. What a truly great blessing.

I know that life is fragile but that God is mindful of each of us, he loves me, he loves you. Follow Him.

Atonement

I believe that because of Christ's atonement EVERY person born on this earth will be resurrected and receive an immortal body of flesh and bone. In addition, through obedience to God's law we can return to live in His presence. Through the Atonement we are given the opportunity to repent and prepare ourselves to live more perfectly, knowing that Christ has paid the price for our sins and imperfections, our pains and our sorrows. The Atonement is infinite and incomprehensible to me. It was an act of perfect love for us from our Older Brother, who we knew in the Spirit World prior to this life and who we chose to follow at that time. It is the greatest gift we could ever be given allowing us to change our lives if we so choose and helping us to do so when we choose. As Isaiah tells us, "Though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow." This can happen only through God's grace and our acceptance of it.

It's a jungle out there!

Here is part of my garden. I took this picture before the rains. The monsoon rains finally started yesterday, steady and heavy all day.

This morning there were 6 hummingbirds on the feeder. I think I need more hummingbird feeders! And everything is still wet and dripping, all the leaves are standing tall. I love July in Rio Rico!!

Creation. life and death

I believe that the earth was created spiritually before it was created physically, and that it was created over six periods of time out of material that already existed.
Adam and Eve entered the Garden of Eden in an immortal state, but by eating the fruit of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil a physical change took place in their bodies, causing them to be mortal. As mortal beings they were able to have children and death became a part of life.
The Fall was a part of God's plan and was necessary for our eternal progression. As mortals we live in a probationary state--a time to prepare to meet God, to repent, to learn to love and serve one another. In 1 Corinthians 15:22 it is very clear: As in Adam all die, so in Christ all may live again.
The way for us to overcome death and to return to our Heavenly Father was planned from the beginning when Christ offered himself as a sinless sacrifice and an example that we can follow.
We are not punished because of the Fall, in fact it is a blessing to us from a loving Father who knows our imperfections.
I am an imperfect follower of Jesus Christ, trying to listen and do better!

Who is God?

I believe in the reality of God, our Heavenly Father, His Son Jesus Christ and the Holy Ghost. I believe that Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ are separate and distinct beings with bodies of flesh and bone. I believe that the Holy Ghost is also a separate being, who at this time does not have a physical body, but acts through the Spirit to influence, assist and warn us as we are willing to listen.

In John 17:11 and in many other verses in the scriptures Christ exhorts us to be one, even as He and the Father are one. I believe that God, Christ and the Holy Ghost are one in mission and purpose, but are not 3 in 1!

I know God loves us and is mindful of us.

to be continued. . . . . .

It's July

We're past the fourth, enjoyed the fireworks, and the fire on the hill behind the city display, followed by the lights of the fire trucks. Every fourth should have such a display.
The heat is bringing in moisture and the moisture is washing away the heat.
Mid eighties and light rain today.
Monsoons should be here this weekend.
Hurray. The garden will rejoice!
Me too,
Lovely. . . .