J. K. Rowling Speaking At Harvard Graduation-Must See Video

I just witnessed an amazing video of J.K. Rowling(author of Harry Potter) speaking at Harvard's 2008 Commencement. Her talk is entitled, "The Fringe Benefits of Failure." I was so touched by it that I found myself wondering why I haven't seen it around. May I encourage all to take the 21 minutes it takes to watch it and bookmark it for future reference. There is so much to digest and I feel that her words from experience can benefit individuals and families everywhere. She is so humble in her presentation. Please, please, please...watch and learn. Here's the website: http://motivation123.com/blog/category/perseverance/ Just copy and paste in the website address spot, and let me know if you are inspired by it as much as I was.

Read, Read, Read!!!

At first I was just going to write this message to my family and then I read in the Ensign this morning that we should not be afraid to Blog our testimonies. So, with this is mind along with hoping everyone that reads this will remember that these are just my thoughts and feelings, I will proceed.

What is important to me today that I express is: I think reading is one of the most important skills and interests anyone could acquire. I keep telling my daughters (and now my sons in this blog)that as they rear their children, they must be sure to encourage them to seek out a spouse that loves to read and does so with the purpose to learn. I would encourage them to find a spouse that seeks learning by learning from others experiences that are shared in a good book. Does that make sense? If a person fills his free time with learning opportunities in a good book instead of using his free time simply for entertainment, he gains wisdom and understanding from those that have had experience--he is progressing and gaining knowledge that he or she will carry for the rest of their lives. I could not have reared my children nor made the progress I made as a homemaker if I had not been blessed to read books written by other women that shared their wisdom and experience.

A few weeks ago a young man in our ward gave this scenario. Picture your self trying to get to the Savior. He is on an upper floor and you are trying to go up on an escalator that is going down. If you ever stop climbing, you immediately lose ground. It takes effort and perseverance to get up to where Christ is. That is how our eternal progression is. The only things we can take with us beyond the grave is our knowledge and our relationships. If we aren't progressing we are retrogressing.

I am not saying I am perfect at what I am encouraging. I waste a lot of time on entertainment in front of the television or movie screen. Sometimes it's nice to relax and do nothing. I know, however, that one must be very cautious. We can get in the habit of allowing ourselves to be mesmerized (this is Satan's tool and it is a form of hypnotism). We can also become mesmerized in front of the computer screen and on video games. I am always amazed at how much time passes when I get into a computer game of solitaire. And I can never, never recapture that time that has passed. Often, I reflect on what I could have learned from reading a good book during the time I lost playing the insignificant game.

And while I am encouraging my children's children to find spouses that read, read, read, I would be amiss to not say, "Dear grandchildren, you must learn to read, too. And you must read to learn. You will then be prepared to be a spouse to someone whose grandmother encouraged them to find a spouse that reads a lot, too."

One more thing (and this is just my musing). We know that the Savior understands everything that we are going through. I have often wondered how he could if he never sinned. How could he understand the feelings of a thief, an adulterer, a time waster, someone that feels inadequate, someone that is friendless, someone that is an abuser? I have had the thought that he learned from others as they shared their experiences. He learned from reading, he learned from visions and dreams. Our Godhead have given visions and dreams to prophets that have shared what they have learned in written form. Always, always, we should take time each day to learn from the scriptures. I have written enough therefore you have read enough (but only on what I have to say on this subject today!). Now go and read, read, read!!!

Yellowstone, Love and More

 Don't you just love a day when your heart is so full of gratitude that you realize you are receiving a glimpse of what heaven will be like? I sit hear thinking about my family and friends that I love so much and then my thoughts turn to this weekend's trip to Yellowstone and I feel gratitude again. What a beautiful world we live in. Everywhere I look I see the handiwork of a loving Father who gave us this earthly opportunity to explore opposites and to find out what we're really made of. I love our campus. When I go to Yellowstone and see the big, blue sky or the multi-colored, clouded skies with streaks of sunlight highlighting a mountain top, and the tall pines and the mountains and valleys with the wild grasses and flowers, crystal-clear rivers and streams and the deep blues of Yellowstone lake; or when I see a 4-pack of coyotes playing near a stream and among tall grasses and river otters romping joyfully from sandy beaches to still river water and then back to the sand for a moment in the brilliant sun; or when I hold hands with my sweetheart as we travel down the windy mountain roads on a walk or in a heated car when it's cold in the morning or an air-conditioned car in the mid-day; or when I get an unexpected phone call from a sweet daughter when I'm standing at the base of the Tetons (while on a wilderness walk!!!); or when you see a large group of people gathered together to see "what's out there," and all are excited to see a wolf, a mother bear with her triplets, or a baby elk or baby bison; or when you and your sweetheart decide to take a quick stroll down a little-used trail and an American Eagle soars right over your head and you realize together that 5 seconds earlier or later on this trail and the eagle would never have seen you nor you see it, and you know--you just know Heavenly Father loves you and wants you to be happy even though the "campus tests" are hard--some are oh, so hard!!! But hey!!! I'll just keep on holding on. I'll keep looking for beautiful vistas and I will cling to memories of good times and hard times because I know I would not appreciate the good times if hard times had not come my way, too.

I also want to add here something that I remembered or relearned that I had almost forgotten about when I was in a struggling moad. Satan will get you down any way he can. There are times you will feel or hear a nagging voice in you head telling you that life is too hard or life isn't fair, or he will tell you to quit trying because you can never get things right again. Satan has as many ways to discourage us as we have weaknesses. And, Satan never gives up! He's a nag! And he will keep pushing buttons until he finds where your weaknesses are. And now here's the thing I remembered that I had almost forgotten about which I have a testimony of: Satan hates good, peaceful, truthful music. He can't stand to be in the same room where good, peaceful, truthful music is playing. So, I try to keep good music playing in my home, now (once again), every waking hour. And I am sure you can guess, the old nag has abandoned me. For a few weeks before I remembered this truth, every quiet moment was disturbed by Satan's influence. He really wanted to get me down. I would pray to dismiss him over and over again. This always helped. But when I remembered to keep my good music playing, I was no longer plagued by interruptions from that evil one. So, turn on the Tabernacle Choir, some Primary music, or the Hymns. I think you'll find this truth to be very helpful in helping you to find gratitude in your heart instead of doubts in your mind.