You Want Me To Be What????

Last week I decided I want to be a service missionary. I picked up the application at the Orem Distribution Center, and made an appointment with my Bishop. I hand him the papers, he writes what he needs to write, signs them, and hands them back to me. He then calmly asks, "Are you up for a new calling?" I need to interject that I am currently serving on the Cub Committee. I've been there for 3 1/2 years. I also do the ward bulletin, and update the ward website. I've been doing this for 2 1/2 years. In addition, I am also an arbitrator for the world wide indexing program. I've been working with this for 3 years. I know you all think I just sit here at my computer all day doing nothing, but it is a lot of church stuff. At any rate... I've been serving in the same places for a pretty long time. I told the Bishop, "Yes, I'd welcome a change, but I'll stay where I am as long as I'm needed." He just nodded and laughed at me because he knows my stand on church callings~ which is... you don't ask for a calling, you don't turn down a calling, you don't asked to be released from a calling. So, he extended a new calling. The very last calling I thought I would hear in conjunction with my name. Seriously, I could see myself as the "Bell Ringer" before I can picture myself doing this! Mo laughed for like 3 hours after I told her. In fact, I'm sure she's still laughing. Yep, you guessed it. Enrichment Leader. I'm still blinking. As I think over the requirements of this calling several things come to mind for which I am so not qualified! You know like: crafty stuff, knowing who to call for specialists and/or guest speakers, teaching how to keep a house of order, leaving my house, and of course the really scary thing.... talking to people!!! Go ahead and laugh.

Question #1

I have decided there are two great questions. That's all. Just two. And, if we can answer these two questions all our troubles will be far behind.

So... Question #1 (Don't be confused, this is just one question. It has 2 parts. Don't bother arguing that I should have posed 3 great questions. Part 1 of Question 1 doesn't matter if we don't answer Part 2. And Part 2 can't really stand on it's own if we don't know the goal. Plus, this is my blog so I don't have to do what you say.)

What do we really want from this life, and are we doing what it takes to achieve it?

For me, the answer is, "To be worthy and prepared to meet my Savior when the time arrives, but I don't know if I'm doing what it takes."

It's like this. I say that my family comes first. Well, that's easy to say, but am I doing what it takes to have my family be what it should? For instance, my family comes first, and we have a huge pile of dirty laundry on my bedroom floor. I should be doing that laundry. But, I'm also trying to spend time meditating so I can be a good mom and have the necessary knowledge to teach my kids what they need to know. I also have scriptures that need studying, callings needing attending, house that needs cleaning, children needing attention, etc., etc., etc.

So, I've posed the question. Now what? So what? Give in? Give up? Throw up? I don't know. I just don't know.

Question #2

Why does the computer world insist on continually striving to increase the speed and capabilities of their products rather than perfect the junk they currently sell?

How many of you are tired of having to reboot for any of the following reasons????
1~ Cursor doesn't appear on monitor
2~ Current page frozen for over 72 hours
3~ Files not available
4~ Wallpaper (which is a family picture from Disneyland) is distorted causing said picture to over expand horizontally creating the mother's girth to appear 10 times bigger than it is in reality

Why can't these people just figure out what is going on? I don't know about you, but I would rather be able to play an entire, uninterrupted, 40 minutes of Atari 2600Pitfall than get through 75% percent of a timed mahjong and have my monitor freeze!!!!

Does the automobile industry try to sell flying cars just because sometimes they work? Would we buy flying cars that only sometimes work? Would we buy flying cars that sometimes, for no reason, just freeze, and fall from the sky? Why do we allow these computer people to manipulate us into buying things that only partially work, especially when they know they have something even better to sell, and will do so in two months for some grossly proposterous sum???

So, I say we stand up for ourselves! Let's hold them accountable for what they sell. I'm starting a coalition. Please join me in my efforts. You can reach me via email, my cell phone, here at my blog, or face book. That is if your computer and mine are working at the same time.

Yeah... What He Said!!!

I've always loved the Doctrine and Covenants. It's my favorite of the Standard Works. Don't get me wrong. I love the Book of Mormon, I love the Pearl of Great Price, I love the Old Testament, and I really love the New Testament. But, I'm crazy over the Doctrine and Covenants. Redge kind of teases me about this, and doesn't really get it. I've told him that the Book of Mormon is more a "Boy Book" with all the wars and fighting. I think a lot of young men can relate to the stories of Alma the Younger and others who felt it necessary to rebel against their dads. I, like some of my girlfriends, think more along the lines of, "How did Nephi kill Laban, and then wear Laban's clothes? There's a miracle right there because normally there would be a lot of blood! You know how head wounds bleed!"

At any rate, once when Redge was asking about my love of the Doctrine and Covenants I answered that perhaps it stems from the year in seminary we studied it. It was my senior in high school, and I have to say it was at that point that I realized how much I love and believe the Gospel of Jesus Christ. We had a fabulous teacher, you know, Brother Hansen. He really helped me to figure out how to study, how to find answers, and how to question so I could better understand my own beliefs. As much as I do see Brother Hansen's hand in my testimony of the gospel and my love of the Doctrine and Covenants~ there is something else that I just couldn't express. I try explaining to Redge how the Doctrine and Covenants is revelation to the saints in this dispensation, and it applies so easily to our lives. I understand that we are to liken all scriptures to our lives, but the Doctrine and Covenants just seems easier to apply.

Well, I now have the words I've been trying to express for almost 20 years!!! Yesterday Redge, Marney, and I were Christmas shopping, and we stopped by the Church Distribution Center. I needed to pick up all the materials for next year's curriculum. I am extra excited for next year's Gospel Doctrine Class because we are studying the Doctrine and Covenants and Church History! So, I bought both institute manuals, the seminary manual, and the Gospel Doctrine manual. Too anxious to wait until January, I started reading the institute manual. This is where I found what I've been trying to say!

President Joseph Fielding Smith said, "In my judgment there is no book on earth yet come to man as important as the book known as the Doctrine and Covenants, ... This Doctrine and Covenants contains the word of God to those who dwell here now. It is our book. It belongs to the Latter-day Saints. More precious than gold, the Prophet says we should treasure it more than the riches of the whole earth. I wonder if we do? If we value it, understand it, and know what it contains, we will value it more than wealth; it is worth more to us than the riches of the earth."

Oh... Now I Get It!

Arthur, the "White One," is pretty funny. He comes up with the craziest comments. Like the other night he asked Redge and Reece how all the people on our DVD's know when we want to watch a movie. He thought movies were live performances, and the DVD is just some sort of satellite message to all the characters in the movie to get on stage so we can watch them do their thing.

Last night for Family Home Evening we were discussing prayer. I told the kids about Jesus Christ blessing every child individually when visiting the Americas after His resurrection. I was trying to emphasize how important my children are to Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ. I explained that Jesus took the time to meet each child one by one, because He wants us to know Him, and He loves each of us as individuals. Arthur asked, "So they didn't all just run up at the same time with lots of people all around Him?" I told him, "No, Jesus took time for each child." I continued with the lesson, going on to enforce that prayer is our time to be with Jesus one on one. Arthur then asked, "So, were they in one long line?" I answered, "Yes. Probably. Maybe." He then pressed further, "Was there a boy line and a girl line, or three lines, or one line?" I told him, "One line. One big huge long line. They set up ropes like at the bank and Disneyland." At this he laughed and replied, "Oh... now I get it!"

Got Your Towel?

I'm currently reading "The Hitchhikers' Guide to the Galaxy." After about 10 pages I realized that the book is obviously fiction, and not just because it is labeled as "Sci-fi." As with most sci-fi books, this book uses the English phonetic system for all words. It uses only the English alphabet. It doesn't use letters or characters from any other language. English is like the only language that has multiple sounds for some letters, and this book does just that. Do you really think aliens would choose English as their official language?

At any rate... I mentioned this to my nephew, Josh, via Facebook. I wrote to him because his brain, although highly more intense than mine, works somewhat like mine. The proof of this is in his answer. "That's because they're our intergalactic next neighbors, and they've been stealing our cable."

Well done, J-Man.

Happy Birthday to Me!

Yep, I got a gun! Seth gave it to me for my birthday. 9mm Smith and Wesson, and I love it!

We've Only Just Begun

Redge and I have been married 14 years. Man, I made a very good choice! At any rate, before we got married my sisters held a bridal shower for me at Naomi's home. During the shower the women in attendance helped tie a quilt for us. We loved that quilt! Reece eventually took it over because he also loved it. Melinda chose a really thick, fluffly bat. The top and bottom were flannel. It was the best quilt ever. Last week I washed it. It no longer exists. It was on its last leg, and was in pieces when I pulled it from the dryer.

At first I just stood there stunned. Completely distraught. It kind of felt like an icky omen. Then I started thinking of my friends and family ~ especially my mom and sisters who had put time into making this quilt. I felt so guilty. I began thinking things like, "I should not have ever used this quilt," "I should only have dry cleaned it," and "What was I thinking letting Reece use this?"

Then, I began to think other things. I thought about why I made the choices I did with the quilt. First, Grandma Bird always made us quilts. She loved making quilts for her grandkids as they married. However, as she aged, and her tiny arthritic hands no longer worked the way she wanted, she began buying down comforters for the grandkids as wedding gifts. I received a down comforter. I still have it. Well, I mean its still in my house. It's now on Reece's bed. At any rate... We used the down comforter on our bed. Our wedding quilt was on the daybed that we used for a long time as our couch. I remember loving the way my cute daybed looked, and the quilt was perfect. Any company we had was privileged with using the quilt.

Originally I didn't want to tell my family that the quilt had, as the old adage states, "Not died, just gone to pieces." But, as you can plainly read, I'm no longer afraid of telling them because I've discovered the great truth of the quilt. The truth and blessing of the quilt is that Redge and I have stayed together long enough to wear it out! What a great thing! In a time when divorce rate is higher than ever before, and continues climbing, my husband and I have made it last long enough to wear out 1 couch, 2 cars, many clothes, 3 phones, 2 computers, 2 cameras, and 1 quilt!

This brings to mind the talk given by M. Russell Ballard during General Conference of October, 2005, entitled, "What Matters Most is What Lasts the Longest."

Below are 3 points Elder Ballard counseled us to consider.

1. Be consistent in holding daily family prayer and weekly family home evenings. Both of these invite the Lord’s Spirit, which provides the help and power we need as parents and family leaders. The Church curriculum and magazines have many good ideas for family home evening. Also consider holding a family testimony meeting where parents and children can express their beliefs and feelings to each other in a private and personal setting.

2. Teach the gospel and basic values in your home. Establish a love for reading the scriptures together. Too many of our parents are abdicating this responsibility to the Church. While seminary, auxiliaries, and priesthood quorums are important as a supplement to parental gospel instruction, the main responsibility rests in the home. You might want to choose one gospel subject or a family value and then watch for opportunities to teach it. Be wise and do not involve children or yourselves in so many activities out of the home that you are so busy that the Spirit of the Lord cannot be recognized or felt in giving you the promised guidance for yourself and your family.

3. Create meaningful family bonds that give your children an identity stronger than what they can find with their peer group or at school or anyplace else. This can be done through family traditions for birthdays, for holidays, for dinnertime, and for Sundays. It can also be done through family policies and rules with natural and well-understood consequences. Have a simple family economy where children have specific chores or household duties and receive praise or other rewards commensurate to how well they do. Teach them the importance of avoiding debt and of earning, saving, and wisely spending money. Help them learn responsibility for their own temporal and spiritual self-reliance.

I didn't see anywhere that he said, "Do not wear things out. Continue gathering earthly things, and have their maintenance be your top priority." I realized that the quilt is just the symbol of tradition. I received the quilt as a gift to exemplify the traditions of our family which include: sacrifice, temple marriage, eternal families, self-reliance, sisterhood, and charity. Now, with the quilt gone, I have the opportunity to create a new quilt, and more importantly, inviting my own little girl to carry forward our family traditions.

Why it's a Good to be an American~ Even Today

First, its great to be an American if you're Michelle Bocchino! Happy Birthday, Chelle!

Second, we have the great freedom of speech. We are allowed to vote, but no one makes us.

Third, because the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed.

Fourth, despite Reece's team losing last championship game & Obama winning the Presidency~ California voted yes to Propostion 8 which protects marriage and family.

Fifth, we get to vote again in just four years! Can anyone say "Palin/Romney???"