Good Article Having to do With Agency

Especially this part:

LDS scholar Terryl Givens explains: “(T)here are appealing arguments for God as a childish projection, for modern prophets as scheming or deluded imposters, and for modern scriptures as so much fabulous fiction. But there is also compelling evidence that a glorious divinity presides over the cosmos, that God calls and anoints prophets, and that his word and will are made manifest through a sacred canon that is never definitively closed.”
... If humans had incontrovertible secular evidence for the existence of God, they would be unable to freely choose whether or not to accept God.
... “that there must be grounds for doubt as well as belief in order to render the choice more truly a choice. ...
“The option to believe must appear on our personal horizon like the fruit of paradise, perched precariously between sets of demands held in dynamic tension. One is, it would seem, always provided with sufficient materials out of which to fashion a life of credible conviction or dismissive denial. We are acted upon, in other words, by appeals to our personal values, our yearnings, our fears, our appetites and our egos. What we choose to embrace, to be responsive to, is the purest reflection of who we are and what we love. That is why faith, the choice to believe, is, in the final analysis, an action that is positively laden with moral significance.”

Jensen's Version of "Hey Diddle Diddle." (Laney and Cissy as models)

The little dog laughed to see such craft...

Health Care

With the way things are going, we won't have to worry about defeating or de-funding the Health Care law. By the time it comes to fully implement it, everyone will be waivered out. Seven hundred plus companies and four states have gotten waivers! That's appalling. If it was so good, how come no one wants to be subject to it? and how come the Government is letting people get out of it?

Early Jensen Painting (Ailsa as Model)

Slip Sliding Part Two

A couple of weeks ago there was a fairly good snowstorm. We were sent home from work a little early. We got a dvd from Redbox and went to Little Caesar's for pizza. Lane and I took the Blue Explorer. The rear tires are not that good. But, I checked it out a while ago before Jensen took it back to school and it seemed fine. We drove to the pizza place with some snow falling and some on the road and in the parking lots and the temperature dropping. I parked right in front of the store on a SLIGHT incline. We were at the register paying for our order when a lady said, “Is that somebody's Explorer out there?” I turned and saw the car sliding out of its parking space. The front wheels were turning. But, the back wheels (bearing more weight because of the SLIGHT slope) were locked with the transmission in park. The tread on the rear tires wasn't enough to hold it in the parking space. I went out of the store and re-parked it on the flat. Later that night after we watched the movie we went out to the car in the driveway and it had slid about 5 feet again. We are trying to make these tires last until next winter. Reminds me of: “My old man's spare tires were actually only tires in the academic sense. They were round, they had once been made of rubber.” -- from a Christmas Story

Thought for the Day

As government involvement in our lives increases, it is only natural that society's “political discourse” would grow in volume. One pretty sure fact is a lot of folks don't like other people messing with them. The more you do that affects me, the more I have opportunity to be dissatisfied with what you do and the more inclined I might be to complain about it.

Ophiuchus

They are going to have to rewrite "Hair."

Harmony and understanding
Sympathy and trust abounding
No more falsehoods or derisions
Golden living dreams of visions
Mystic crystal revelation
And the mind's true liberation

Capricorn!

Just doesn't work.

Waiting for a Climate Change

Last Sunday I took a nap after Church. We are on the 9-12 noon block now. So, we have long stretches of time in the afternoon. I lay down on the bed and started to settle in. I noticed it was somewhat chilly. So, I opened the shutters and let the sun shine in on the bed. I only slept for 30 minutes or so. But, It was as if I was lying on the beach.

It has been so cold and each passing year I have less tolerance for it. This coming Holiday on Monday (MLK), I am half tempted to get in the car and drive somewhere warm, even if only to sit for a couple of hours.

Christmas 2010

We really love getting all of your Christmas greetings. I am sorry that we are not as consistent with sending you ours. Our two biggest news items this year are: Ailsa’s return from a successful mission; and Todd’s release from the calling of Bishop.

It is fitting that Ailsa got to serve a mission to Spanish speaking people. After all she is our “Sister Salsa.” We were happy that she had to learn a language, but, were a little reluctant to just send her out to any old dangerous place in the world. Since her return she has filled us in on all the scary details that the youth of the Church gratefully do not send home in their weekly missionary letters. Now we know that Houston, although not terribly remote, is dangerous enough. One of her areas (Greenspoint) was lovingly refered to as Gunspoint by the missionaries. But, the neighbors take the sisters under their wing and protect the “church ladies.”

Ailsa picked up some good cooking skills and recipes from her friends in Texas. She can now make a pretty hot homemade Salsa (too hot for me!) This fall we had an abundance of tomatoes to process into Marinara sauce (a recipe from Todd's mission in Italy) and also Salsa (from Ailsa’s mission.) One day Todd came home from work, tore off a huge chunk of Italian bread, dipped it in the sauce and stuffed it in his mouth. Yes, he had mistaken the hot salsa for Italian sugo. And, no he won’t make that mistake again.

Last March after 387 years serving in the local Bishopric, Todd was released as Bishop. Not only was there an audible relief from our household, but from the whole ward as well. Truthfully, it was a pleasure and an honor to serve the Church in this fashion. Todd had a nice six week sabbatical from work last winter. But, he ended up with pneumonia at the same time. So mostly, he just stayed around the house, put a new tile floor in the master bath and cleaned the carpets, among other things.

Lenore has been teaching at the Prosperity Learning Center for the last year and half. She loves this job, and we feel it is right down her alley. We have noticed a marked decrease in her pontificating at home since taking on this role.

Jensen is at BYU and really enjoying herself. Unfortunately, at this point, she has plenty of credits. But, we really don’t know for sure what she will graduate in. She really has become a bright spot of sunshine in the home. She is lots of fun. We try often to remind her and Ailsa that to graduate to the next stage in life (the Mrs. Degree) they will need to develop relationships with boys that extend beyond the “parallel playing” stage.

Laney is fast becoming too big for her breeches. Last Christmas she asked the Santa at our ward Christmas party for, “harsher punishment for parole violators, Stan.... And, world peace.” (See Miss Congeniality) She is a great student and regularly gets all “A’s” on her report cards.

We now officially have a clowder of cats in our household: Tom, Diggy, Bella (usually called Beller, pronounced with the British intrusive “r”), and Cissy. We have had to register as a shelter with the local RSPCA and obtain special Health Department dispensation. None of us has the heart to deny a new kitten or a stray that may cross our paths. And they seem to do so often.

We wish all of you a very Merry Christmas and hope that you take time soon to contemplate the special gifts of our families and this beautiful world we live in. God is great and has blessed us all so richly.

The Lillywhites

TSAint

The problem with our ever-worsening approach to “safe” air travel since 9/11 is, in an effort not to offend a small, but relatively easily traceable minority, we are offending everyone else. Don't spend precious traveler time and TSA resources looking for the tools and instruments that might be used in an  attack, look instead for the people who would carry out the attack.