Monthly Archives: January 2010

General Conference Book Club Week 17: President Uctdorf

Posted in General Conference Book Club by

Take two.

(Apparently if I try to rattle off some GCBC post from Disney World on my husband’s Blackberry and come off as an illiterate hack, no one will read or comment on the talk for the week.  So now I’m back, and we’ll try again.)

The Saturday morning session of Conference was my favorite, and President Uctdorf’s talk, “The Love of God,” is one of the reasons why.  Look at the questions he answers as he speaks:

How Do We Become True Disciples of Jesus Christ?

Why Should We Love God?

Why Does Heavenly Father Love Us?

How Can We Increase Our Love of God?

How Can We Hear the Father’s Voice?

Why Is Love the Great Commandment?

I was fascinated with how all our actions, thoughts, motivations, and desires can and should be traced back to love.  Even the simple things we do that don’t seem to mean anything to anyone–even to ourselves–appear more glorious when viewed as manifestations of our love.

“Love is the measure of our faith, the inspiration for our obedience, and the true altitude of our discipleship.”

It’s a great talk, definitely worth reading.  I’m excited to study it again and read your insights as well.

You can read the talk here.  You can also  watch it here or listen to it here.

If this is your first visit to our weekly book club, welcome!  (You’ll find details about GCBC here.)


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Mothers, cathedrals, and invisibility

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I lived in Spain for three summers.  I love Spain.  I love the art, the architecture, the language, the culture.

What surprised me was how much I loved the cathedrals.  They’re beautiful.  One time I heard a concert of monks singing Gregorian chant that echoed inside the large spacious chambers of a cathedral, and it was so lovely that it reverberated inside me and almost brought me to tears.  The WORK behind those buildings is simply magnificent to behold and nearly impossible to imagine.

I came across this video clip on some deserving (but not remembered) blog, and it makes the most poignant comparison between cathedrals and mothers.  I really liked it.  I hope you do too.

If I worked at Google search, I’d think I was the only normal person in the world.

Posted in About Blogs by

According to my stats, these are phrases that people typed into search engines (like Google) and were then directed to my blog.  I’m a little confused about what’s going on in people’s minds.

what lipstick to use to conceive boy

shriveling kidney ultrasound

shock treatment lullaby

keyboard chastity

lindt truffles are unhealthy

my mommy’s going to jail

play games for hate mothers

rhyming diaper advertisments

diaper pee final exam

i totally ignore my appearance

diapers during electro shock

urinary tract infection comics

And I’m a little more confused about what this says about my blog.  Maybe I’m a little more dysfunctional than I thought.

If you have a stats program, what are some of your favorite queries that have landed on your blog?  And if you don’t, what kind of Google search terms do you think would direct people to your posts?

Etc., Etc., Etc….

Posted in About Blogs, Diapers, Divinity by

Today feels like a day of miscellaneous business.  I’ll try to be efficient as I cover it all.

  • My blog has a new look because I just felt like shaking things up a little bit.  I did it a few days ago and no one’s said anything, so I’m wondering if it was more of a makeunder than a makeover.  Maybe I’ll start from scratch.
  • I picked a winner for the poetry contest.  I know I said I’d pick a few and we’d all vote, but there were only a few entries (which were all fun and wonderful, by the way) and I just picked my favorite.   The winner is Charlotte of Memories for Later.  I loved her “Ode to the Snow Day” and it will soon be honored on my sidebar.  This lovely crown?  It’s ALL YOURS, Charlotte.  Congratulations! 

Snow Day.
Beloved of my childhood.
How I did yearn for thee then!
Praying for thy presence
With lazy days and snow to play.

Age hath unmasked thee,
O’ cruel day thou art!
Disruptor of Routine!
Deliverer of Cabin Fever!
Creator of Summer Makeup Days.

How I should dread thee,
And yet thy place of magic
Still holds sway,
And my heart flutters
At the thought of thee.

  • Just wanted to let you know that I have a guest post up today over at Mormon Women.  It’s called “Obedience Buffet,” wherein I pontificate about my love of restaurants and tendency toward pick-and-choose in other areas of life.  Head on over to check out their site, and ring the comment bell if you feel so inclined.  🙂
  • Miss Wonder Woman gave me a Happiness Award, and asked me to list 10 things that make me happy.  So I did (click here). I’m supposed to tag 10 people, but I’m not feeling very rule-hardy right now, so I hereby bequeath this award to any of my readers who were born in July (because you must be cool).  If you choose to accept it, write your happy list on your blog and leave me a link so I can go read it.  Thanks, Wonder Woman!
  • Okay, (deep breath) last thing.  It’s been a while since I’ve honored some of my favorite posts that I’ve tripped upon in the blogosphere.  So without further ado, the current Post-It award recipients …..  (click here if you’re a winner)

  1. Annie Valentine blogs at Regarding Annie and she feels like a kindred blogger to me in many ways.  (I mean, her blog tagline says: “Sometimes I want to kick my man in the shin and sell my kids on eBay.”  *snort*).  She also writes a column in her local newspaper and I absolutely loved this post/article she wrote.  Made me look at the way I talk about people in a whole new way.
  2. I always love That Girl over at Pensievity, but she wrote two posts recently about marriage (one crash course and one down-to-earth chuckle) that just reeked of right.  She’s a smart cookie, That Girl– all full of priorities, and cuteness, and wit and such.
  3. In this post called “Death Doulas,” Terresa at The Chocolate Chip Waffle weaved a lovely tale of death and hope and wonder.  It’s quite beautiful.
  4. I really loved this sweet, humble testimony, “God is There,” over at Mormon Women, too.
  5. And finally, Momza wrote a guest post at Mormon Mommy Blogs called “Mothers Don’t Have to Be Everything to Everyone,” in which the title itself preaches a lovely sermon, but it was the last line of her post that hit me like a ton of bricks (the Holy- Ghost,-that-is-so-true kind of bricks.)

Whew, that’s it.

And I love my readers, really I do.  This past week you’ve given some great advice, and said some of the sweetest things that really made me feel great.  So thank you.