Thursday, November 25, 2010
Gratitude: Day #25
I am grateful for quiet moments to spend with Chris. I like the loud times with the whole family, but I really look forward to having a little quiet conversation with my husband.
Wednesday, November 24, 2010
Gratitude: Day #24
I am grateful for relationships. At one point in my life, I realized that much (but not all) of what this life is about is building relationships. I am grateful for my relationship with my Savior most of all. I am also grateful for my relationship with my husband, my children, my extended family, and my friends. I am grateful for the influence of others on me and grateful for the bonds we share.
Among the doctrines of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is that relationships are eternal. We build temples to seal together eternally family members. The kinds of relationships we build here will continue in heaven. Scripture states, "And that same sociality which exists among us here will exist among us there, only it will be coupled with eternal glory, which glory we do not now enjoy" (D&C 130:2).
I am grateful to know that building relationships is a worthwhile part of my life and something that will bless me eternally.
Among the doctrines of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is that relationships are eternal. We build temples to seal together eternally family members. The kinds of relationships we build here will continue in heaven. Scripture states, "And that same sociality which exists among us here will exist among us there, only it will be coupled with eternal glory, which glory we do not now enjoy" (D&C 130:2).
I am grateful to know that building relationships is a worthwhile part of my life and something that will bless me eternally.
The Storm That Wasn't
First, some lovely pictures. We got a little snow last Saturday night. This was Sunday morning:
Pretty, no? Yes. And it was such a lovely day. The sun came out and the roads and sidewalks were cleared (by the sun) by mid-afternoon. My favorite kind of winter day. The snow was so wet and heavy. I love it when we get a very wet snow early in the winter season because the ground is not at all frozen. All that water can go deep into our earth, where we need it so much.
Well, this was just the beginning of winter. A blizzard warning was in effect for Tuesday evening. Wow! Everyone said. We must be ready. Schools closed early (like university-type schools) to allow people to get home. People left work early. Some businesses shut down to allow employees to get home safely. We were ready.
I woke up this morning (Wednesday) and turned on Facebook. Yes, this is something I do first thing in the morning. I'm not proud of that, but I do it anyway. Almost every day when I turn on FB, I am greeted by an onslaught of posts where my friends complain about the weather. It seems that almost all my friends in Utah hate the snow and cold. They also complain about the heat in the summer, so you know, take it for what it's worth. Anyway, this morning, I was greeted by an onslaught of posts where my friends in Utah complained about the lack of weather. That's right. "Where's the snow?" "What storm?" And on and on and on.
I feel like writing a blentry about this storm that wasn't. And so I will. I will even divide it into sections.
Forecasting the weather: Is there any job that is more mocked than the weatherman? Really. When they're right (which they are kind of a lot), we ignore them. When they're wrong, we ridicule everything about them. The blizzard warning yesterday came as a result of watching weather patterns. Meteorologists have education coupled with complicated equipment that can determine with some accuracy the future. That's amazing! Yesterday, we were warned of blizzard conditions. By definition, a blizzard differs from a snowstorm because of the wind--not the amount of snow. There can be very little snow falling and we can have blizzard, white-out conditions because of the lack of visibility and intense wind. The official warning said there would be a strong cold front with wind gusts and bitter cold air. Salt Lake Valley was warned that the cold front would hit around 5:00 p.m.
What actually happened: Around 5:19 p.m., snow started falling at the Salt Lake Airport. There was a 12 degree drop in temperature (Fahrenheit) in 20 minutes! And visibility was limited to less than 1 mile. Those are blizzard conditions--right on time. By 10:20 p.m., roads were extremely hazardous. 88 accidents had been reported, as well as 116 other cars needing some sort of assistance. Those are blizzard conditions. This morning, many places in Utah saw little or no snow. But here in West Jordan, we had 8 fresh inches! How delightful.
Preparation: My dad heard a meteorologist on the radio. I didn't hear him, so I may get this quote a little wrong. Early in the day, the meteorologist said, "This is a blizzard warning, but it's not the Apocalypse." Ha ha! That's funny. But, let's think about the culture we live in here. We love to be prepared. We have food storage, emergency 72-hour-kits, candles, firewood, ways to cook without gas or electricity, etc. It's a teaching of the dominant religion and part of our culture here. But, alas, we rarely have an emergency. We don't get hurricanes, volcanoes, tornados, violent rain, intense snow, freezing rain, ice storms, etc. They say we're due for an earthquake, but it's not happening that often. I recently read a story on MSN.com called "Mother Nature's Favorite Places." Utah was ranked #5. How was it judged? Rarity of any kind of natural disaster. So, we sit here with all of our preparations and nothing to do with them. I think there was a little excitement at the idea of being able to hunker down and get through the horrible conditions. Of course, I don't think there were even any power outages reported. We are all fine.
Family Night: This was the best part of the day. Everything was closed. The warnings told us to all go home and stay home. People obeyed. My FB friends--and it is by them that I judge the world--all seemed to be enjoying family time: games, movies, stories, etc. Imagine how blessed we were! Two days before a major holiday, we couldn't prepare. We couldn't go to the store or travel or do anything. We stayed with our families and spent time together. We were quiet and at peace. I am very grateful for the opportunity to be with my family, and I don't think I'm alone in that.
In the end, I think we were very blessed that this storm wasn't as bad here as it was north of here. The weather patterns showed a severe storm that was gaining in strength. What a blessing that it relaxed a little before it reached us. The cold temperatures are what they are. I prefer the 30s to the 12s. :) But it's so pretty. Look at my pictures from this morning:
But then again, I like snow. I like winter. And I took meteorology in college and have a sympathy for those in the profession.
Pretty, no? Yes. And it was such a lovely day. The sun came out and the roads and sidewalks were cleared (by the sun) by mid-afternoon. My favorite kind of winter day. The snow was so wet and heavy. I love it when we get a very wet snow early in the winter season because the ground is not at all frozen. All that water can go deep into our earth, where we need it so much.
Well, this was just the beginning of winter. A blizzard warning was in effect for Tuesday evening. Wow! Everyone said. We must be ready. Schools closed early (like university-type schools) to allow people to get home. People left work early. Some businesses shut down to allow employees to get home safely. We were ready.
I woke up this morning (Wednesday) and turned on Facebook. Yes, this is something I do first thing in the morning. I'm not proud of that, but I do it anyway. Almost every day when I turn on FB, I am greeted by an onslaught of posts where my friends complain about the weather. It seems that almost all my friends in Utah hate the snow and cold. They also complain about the heat in the summer, so you know, take it for what it's worth. Anyway, this morning, I was greeted by an onslaught of posts where my friends in Utah complained about the lack of weather. That's right. "Where's the snow?" "What storm?" And on and on and on.
I feel like writing a blentry about this storm that wasn't. And so I will. I will even divide it into sections.
Forecasting the weather: Is there any job that is more mocked than the weatherman? Really. When they're right (which they are kind of a lot), we ignore them. When they're wrong, we ridicule everything about them. The blizzard warning yesterday came as a result of watching weather patterns. Meteorologists have education coupled with complicated equipment that can determine with some accuracy the future. That's amazing! Yesterday, we were warned of blizzard conditions. By definition, a blizzard differs from a snowstorm because of the wind--not the amount of snow. There can be very little snow falling and we can have blizzard, white-out conditions because of the lack of visibility and intense wind. The official warning said there would be a strong cold front with wind gusts and bitter cold air. Salt Lake Valley was warned that the cold front would hit around 5:00 p.m.
What actually happened: Around 5:19 p.m., snow started falling at the Salt Lake Airport. There was a 12 degree drop in temperature (Fahrenheit) in 20 minutes! And visibility was limited to less than 1 mile. Those are blizzard conditions--right on time. By 10:20 p.m., roads were extremely hazardous. 88 accidents had been reported, as well as 116 other cars needing some sort of assistance. Those are blizzard conditions. This morning, many places in Utah saw little or no snow. But here in West Jordan, we had 8 fresh inches! How delightful.
Preparation: My dad heard a meteorologist on the radio. I didn't hear him, so I may get this quote a little wrong. Early in the day, the meteorologist said, "This is a blizzard warning, but it's not the Apocalypse." Ha ha! That's funny. But, let's think about the culture we live in here. We love to be prepared. We have food storage, emergency 72-hour-kits, candles, firewood, ways to cook without gas or electricity, etc. It's a teaching of the dominant religion and part of our culture here. But, alas, we rarely have an emergency. We don't get hurricanes, volcanoes, tornados, violent rain, intense snow, freezing rain, ice storms, etc. They say we're due for an earthquake, but it's not happening that often. I recently read a story on MSN.com called "Mother Nature's Favorite Places." Utah was ranked #5. How was it judged? Rarity of any kind of natural disaster. So, we sit here with all of our preparations and nothing to do with them. I think there was a little excitement at the idea of being able to hunker down and get through the horrible conditions. Of course, I don't think there were even any power outages reported. We are all fine.
Family Night: This was the best part of the day. Everything was closed. The warnings told us to all go home and stay home. People obeyed. My FB friends--and it is by them that I judge the world--all seemed to be enjoying family time: games, movies, stories, etc. Imagine how blessed we were! Two days before a major holiday, we couldn't prepare. We couldn't go to the store or travel or do anything. We stayed with our families and spent time together. We were quiet and at peace. I am very grateful for the opportunity to be with my family, and I don't think I'm alone in that.
In the end, I think we were very blessed that this storm wasn't as bad here as it was north of here. The weather patterns showed a severe storm that was gaining in strength. What a blessing that it relaxed a little before it reached us. The cold temperatures are what they are. I prefer the 30s to the 12s. :) But it's so pretty. Look at my pictures from this morning:
But then again, I like snow. I like winter. And I took meteorology in college and have a sympathy for those in the profession.
Tuesday, November 23, 2010
Gratitude: Day #23
This morning during our family prayer (or was it last night?), Bethie prayed, "Thank you that Jesus loves us." I think that is exactly what I am thankful for today. I know that God the Father and Jesus live. The primary way I know God lives is because I feel His love in my life. His love is evidenced through the beautiful creations all around, through the love of His children one for another, through the many blessings He gives us daily. Our lives are filled with mercy and love. The greatest evidence of God's love for me is in the sacrifice of His Son: "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life" (John 3:16).
I find myself wishing that I had better words to express my gratitude.
I find myself wishing that I had better words to express my gratitude.
Monday, November 22, 2010
Gratitude: Day #22
Today I am grateful for health. For the most part, our family enjoys very good health. We have our little problems, but they are so little. We thank our God for the gift of health. That's all.
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