29 January 2009

KBFUMS

Ok, so a few of you know about my little work thing known as KBFUMS, even fewer of you know what it REALLY stands for....well, the time has come to reveal it to the world...

KBFUMS was created about 12 1/2 yrs ago when I worked a job that although it was fun with several good people was not the best job I have ever had...I have this problem with opening my mouth and causing problems! So, one day, in my frustration, I made this sign and taped it to the top of my monitor, it simply said, KBFUMS. When this temp job was coming to an end, there were two guys who were desperate to find out exactly what KBFUMS stood for and I refused to tell them. So, they tried guessing...I don't remember the vast majority of the things they came up with, but one was perfect and stuck. Their brilliance changed my not so positive KBFUMS into Keep Being Faithful Under Mormon Standards! I have used KBFUMS many times since then, but always think of both the above and the original meaning....

Ok, I will digress for a moment: I am so grateful to have such wonderful neighbors and friends including Jim, Nancy, their boys and Linda!!! Nancy presented this idea (admittedly a month or so ago) that she took from her cousin and has then encouraged all of us to take from her and I will....it is to have a word for the year that you focus on, that becomes you...my word for 2009 is FAITH. When I first read Nancy's post, this is the first word that came to me. I thought it over and over and over toying with other words that were also coming to me, and it always went back to FAITH, so there it is....my word of focus for 2009!!!


The Merriam Webster dictionary defines FAITH as: 1 a: allegiance to duty or a person : b (1): fidelity to one's promises (2): sincerity of intentions 2 a (1): belief and trust in and loyalty to God (2): belief in the traditional doctrines of a religion b (1): firm belief in something for which there is no proof (2): complete trust 3: something that is believed especially with strong conviction ; especially : a system of religious beliefs


The (LDS) Bible Dictionary says: Faith is to hope for things which are not seen, but which are true, and must be centered in Jesus Christ in order to produce salvation. To have faith is to have confidence in something or someone. The Lord has revealed himself and his perfect character, possessing in their fulness all the attributes of love, knowledge, justice, mercy, unchangeableness, power, and every other needful thing, so as to enable the mind of man to place confidence in him without reservation. Faith is kindled by hearing the testimony of those who have faith. Miracles do not produce faith but strong faith is developed by obedience to the gospel of Jesus Christ; in other words, faith comes by righteousness, although miracles often confirm one’s faith. Faith is a principle of action and of power, and by it one can command the elements and/or heal the sick, or influence any number of circumstances when occasion warrants. Even more important, by faith one obtains a remission of sins and eventually can stand in the presence of God. All true faith must be based upon correct knowledge or it cannot produce the desired results. Faith in Jesus Christ is the first principle of the gospel and is more than belief, since true faith always moves its possessor to some kind of physical and mental action; it carries an assurance of the fulfillment of the things hoped for. A lack of faith leads one to despair, which comes because of iniquity. Although faith is a gift, it must be cultured and sought after until it grows from a tiny seed to a great tree. The effects of true faith in Jesus Christ include 1 an actual knowledge that the course of life one is pursuing is acceptable to the Lord; 2 a reception of the blessings of the Lord that are available to man in this life; and 3 an assurance of personal salvation in the world to come. These things involve individual and personal testimony, guidance, revelation, and spiritual knowledge. Where there is true faith there are miracles, visions, dreams, healings, and all the gifts of God that he gives to his saints.

Ok, now that we have FAITH defined, I have been focusing on this word and concept of FAITH for a few weeks already. My thoughts are always drawn back to FAITH and in many things, including movies, there is a lot of talk about and focus on FAITH reminding me even more to keep my focus.

I am choosing during this year of FAITH to not only work on maintaining and growing my FAITH in a spiritual sense, but in those closest to me and myself. I need them, including my Steve (yes TL, MY Steve) to know that I have always had the upmost FAITH in him and that FAITH and trust continues on and grows each day! I am at a point in my life where I am focusing on FAITH in myself as I embark on new adventures. Yes, you will hear about some of these on this very blog throughout the year! I have to thank Nancy, again, for bringing this great idea to my life. I came across this quote this morning and feel the need to share this for her and anyone else out there that I know this will help: ""It is hope that maintains most of mankind." ---Sophocles

So, for 2009, I will leave behind the Keep My Big Fat Ugly Mouth Shut and I will choose to Keep Being Faithful Under Mormon Standards and focus on FAITH! Steve, Jo, Maura and any others that have been enlightened to the original silliness of KBFUMS over the years...you can pick your jaw up off the floor and know that I am perfectly ok with the world now knowing the original meaning! If only, I knew where those guys from so many years ago were, eh?! Oh and just so you know, this doesn't mean I will be keeping my mouth shut, I just caution the world to beware, you never know what will come out of this mouth!

26 January 2009

The Christmas Marble BY George D Durrant


rating: 4 of 5 stars
This is a very cute short story about a marble and life. In every moment of every day, we all have decisions to make. Some are simple and some are not...breathing, easy, involuntary, for most of us. Believing stories told during a school class, still an individual choice, but not necessarily as easy. The story surrounding this marble and the events following the telling of this story created by George Durrant is a very heartwarming tale of Jake Mobley. I don't have any great quotes to share, the whole book is wonderful. I have to say that I love Herman Henderson, but as a fan of the old radio show Life of Riley, I have a love of undertakers. We are told many stories in our lives and whether or not they are true, how we choose to react to them can make all the difference in our lives and even possibly how our future unfolds.

24 January 2009

2008 - It's about TIME.....i know, i know....

(this post was intended for 3 weeks ago, but I got myself way too busy to even look at my blog page in weeks, so better late than never, right????? You will all be sorry I'm back because I've got loads of posts waiting to be finished or just posted....)

We don’t do a lot of ‘family planning’ in our household. Now, before anyone goes off on a tiff about the evilness of such a practice, or lack thereof…we work with it and someday, I have not doubt this part of our lives will change and we will be a force to reckoned with…and that thought should scare those that know us best!

As I have read many posts and blogs and such regarding 2008 in review and new things for 2009, I have pondered for several days now exactly what I wanted to post…and here goes….

2008: First, I am glad it is in the past! This was not the best year for us in so many ways, but because of the events and choices of this year, I, for one, am a much stronger person than ever before! The year started out rough with Steve not having a job by the end of January. Luckily, we had a trip to Mesquite all planned and taken before this fact had a chance to sink into our consciousness. The trip to Mesquite was a blast, playing old games and visiting many friends, I wish we could have made another trip down during 2008 as I still miss it terribly. In February, I was “let go” from my job for reasons not specifically revealed. How is that to let the imagine run away with? I will spare the details of what my theories are for us parting ways, at least for now. So here we are 2 months into the 2008 and both of us out of work, things are not looking so great for our near future! On the brighter outlook, I was able to get on unemployment, albeit the tiny amount from the NV system until May when I was finally able to switch to the Utah system, tripling my amount received. In May, also, Steve went back to work at Maverik, this time in the kitchen. He actually seemed to enjoy it a lot more than he ever thought he would. That income was helping things along, until a couple months down the road when his hours were cut over a couple of times until he was working one shift a week for 8 hrs! Then come October, my unemployment ran out, including the first emergency batch. In late September, all of us took the test for the postal service remote encoding center, a specified data entry sweat shop for processing the Zip+4, yes having that +4 on your mail does make a difference! I got a 91, but am working out other income ideas before taking the plunge into a job that, although is easy and well paying, is not flexible enough for my responsibilities. (Besides, the Lord has bigger and better plans for me and we all know what happens when you don’t follow His plans, right?) Steve got an 81 and started working for the SL-REC in late October! He passed training with flying colors and loves his job! As far as income and jobs go, we ended the year receiving another emergency batch of unemployment for me, which saved us in a huge way! For more info or from Steve’s perspective, see his blog: http://sjbinut.blogspot.com/

In other news for the year, we had huge trust issues play a major role in our becoming more resourceful than ever in fulfilling household needs and letting go of and/or cutting back on wants. I tend to be one that believes that things in our lives work out or don’t work out for a reason. Finding that reason is not always the easiest thing in the world, but regarding these trust issues, which sort of got resolved, we learned many things about ourselves and each other that will carry through the rest of our lives! Really starting in July, we had major car problems, mom’s car died and our car had expired plates and no insurance…and, yes, we got busted TWICE, once for each of us! By the middle of November we had both cars up and running, licensed and insured…all thanks to some wonderful neighbors with major car expertise that they provided. They will never completely understand how grateful we are for their service to us! Even without this help, they rock!

Mom, well, mom’s life in 2008 was much like a roller coaster, up, down and all around. She finished out the year with a bang….still working at Maverik full time…landing in the hospital for an overnight stay at the beginning of December and then having a surprise birthday party for her 60th birthday! There are not a lot of details to share here that haven’t already been shared in previous blog posts. Since I first started putting this post together there have been a lot of changes for mom, but they will wait for a future post…