Happiness

Today has been a good day. Here are some of the things that made me happy today.

This cartoon.

This song.

This movie.

And these folks.

plus Tessa, who I believe was taking this picture. :)

It really is a fine life.

Gracenotes

Yea, I know that I am nothing; as to my strength I am weak; therefore I will not boast of myself, but I will boast of my God, for in his strength I can do all things

-Alma 26:12

Today I had one of those epiphany moments. One of those experiences that reminds us why we're here, reminds us just how lucky we are. It started with a story Brother Marsh told us today in Book of Mormon. The story went like this:

A patriarch was dying of a heart problem. All the doctors told him to get his affairs in order because no one had ever survived this condition. The patriarch was prompted to go talk to a certain young doctor about it. This doctor told the patriarch the same thing, but when he was told about the prompting, the young doctor agreed to perform the surgery if the patriarch would first get his affairs in order and say goodbye to his family. As the doctor began the surgery, he prayed for inspiration. As an answer to his prayer, he saw a diagram appear over the heart, detailing exactly how he should sew up the valve. That doctor was Russel M. Nelson, a current member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles.

I was really struck by this story. Elder Nelson was directly instructed, by the Holy Ghost, how to perform a new and life saving heart procedure. He didn't invent the surgery, Heavenly Father revealed it to him. I realized that we can't really attribute human brain power to any innovation. All knowledge comes from God, every discovery is inspired in some way. After all, we were created by our Heavenly Father, so even our capacity to think is a blessing from him.

But there is something Elder Nelson had to do to perform the new heart procedure; he had to be ready to receive the prompting. He had to have the faith to begin the surgery in the first place. He had to have the medical training necessary to understand the heart and how to operate on it. He had to be worthy and have the spiritual capacity necessary to receive the prompting when it came.

I realized that that is why I am here at BYU. It's not so I can single handedly solve all the world's problems. It's not so I can show everyone how smart I am. It is so I will have the tools necessary to be an instrument in God's hands. It is so when he calls on me to comfort a child, to be there for a student, to teach someone something that will change their life, I will be prepared. I will have the education and the spiritual discernment necessary to follow the promptings of him who is the source of all knowledge, him who knows how I can help others far better than I do. That Heavenly Father who has brought me to where I am and who will guide me to wherever I am going. I'm not here just to become an English teacher, I'm here to become a servant of God.

(FYI- I stole the title of this post from my friend Jason Ray's blog, and I think he stole it from Brian Doyle. Just giving credit where credit is due. :))

Merry Christmas from Club 19

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Evelyn: As our Political Science major, Evelyn is able to accurately keep us informed about the actions of our lovely government (or not-so-lovely government, as the case may be), as well as wars and rumors of wars worldwide. She uses her skills of wit and politics to debate with all those who come into our dorm and has yet to find a worthy rival. Moreover, we are sure that through her top-notch campaign calls during the Midterm Elections, Evelyn carried the Republican vote in the state of Colorado, even though she is from Indiana and Senate candidate Ken Buck still lost. In addition, scientists have concluded that global warming is in part caused directly by Evelyn, whose excessive ice cube consumption has already reduced the amount of ice on Mt. Timpanogos by 30% this season (* Note: We have discussed the creation of an IEA—Ice Eaters Anonymous—group to combat this problem). In conclusion, we regretfully must inform you that over the course of the semester, Evelyn has fallen German inactive as her faith in German-speaking has spiraled downward (* Note: We have yet to see a German missionary on our Lonely Missionary Wall to restore her faith in the class, so perhaps not all is lost).

Tessa: Though her major is as of yet unknown, Tessa has informed us that in her future lies “…something artsy…hopefully not living in a cardboard box.” However, none of us are too worried about her future housing since she has already been encouraged by a professor to publish a short story. She is currently Employee of the Month every month at Taco Bell (though we have yet to see our free tacos). In addition, Tessa participated in BYU Mask Club’s Next to Normal, the happiest show you’ve ever seen. Though she is the provider of our Leonardo DeCaprio collection (Titanic, Romeo and Juliet, etc. etc.) she still needs to go deeper and see Inception. Currently, Tessa serves as the Resident Kissing Expert and the Bowen 19 domestic chef. We have learned to respect the one who can cook meals other than cheese quesadillas.

Emily: Did you know that cows produce 200,000 glasses of milk in their lifetime? Well, Emily has consumed at least half that just this semester. Due to her love of milk, Emily has strong bones that have allowed her to become successful in her dancing career here at BYU. As an almost professional folk dancer, Emily has managed to woo all the boys with her graceful grooviness. And just to baffle our minds more, Emily even finds time to participate in Ping Pong Club. As an undefeated member, Emily pounds those plastic balls hardcore. Like a true winner, Emily even triumphed in our dorm’s football rivalry when the Patriots beat the Colts 31 to 28. However, we have discovered through our many conversations about dating that Emily has indeed managed to redefine the word “dating” and shifted it to an all-new paradigm.

Lauren: Did you know that cows produce 200,000 glasses of milk in their lifetime? Well, Lauren has informed us that human consumption of all that milk is unnatural. She instead consumes plenty of soy milk (made naturally from beans, not cow-created lactate) to heroically maintain the Milk Equilibrium of our dorm and thus stop the earth from being overrun by cows. Her adamant recycling only augments her “green” superpowers. On a separate note, as an English major, Lauren is quite useful in keeping the language within our dorm refined and proper. Given these facts, dorm Bowen 19 has observed that Lauren is an individual woman who cares about the environment and actually wants an education. Therefore, following traditional BYU standards, we have deemed her the Resident Liberal. But in contrast to this utter repudiation of the BYU norm, Lauren still fulfills and even magnifies her church calling: Indeed, we enjoy secretly watching Lauren learn how to perfect the art of directing the BYU 118^th Ward Choir through instructional YouTube videos.

Kelsilyn: Currently attends BYU and is majoring in…TBA at a later time. All day every day, 25/8, Kelsilyn splits her time between work two jobs: sanitary engineering in the Benson Building and ushering at the BYU football games. As to the latter, everyone is frequently floored by the fact that she is often in the presence of BYU football legends and General Authorities. Though she knows who the General Authorities are (thank goodness), she only recently learned the significance of meeting some football dude named Steve Young. In her student life, she maintains a strict 86%-only policy on all tests and a strict diet of oatmeal, soda crackers and cream cheese. Voted the most eligible wife in Bowen Hall, Kelsilyn refutes conflict of interest by maintaining faith in the mysterious missionary boy from Pennsylvania, whoever he is.

Jessica: Jessica, the brunt of Bowen 19’s many Asian jokes (though she’s only a fourth Asian), is currently majoring in Actuarial Science. Though none of us have quite figured out what that major actually is, we figure that it’s something smart and continue to HOO-RAH her on. Given her advanced brain and Asian persuasion, Jessica has been able to woo many boys, but has yet to find a good banana. She currently works at the BYU Bookstore, but, unlike Tessa, has never been Employee of the Month. However, she achieved an even higher honor: grand prize in the Bookstore’s prestigious coloring contest. Indeed, Jessica is an artist in many ways besides coloring, and is considered by world experts to be a master in the art of sarcasm; weaker souls would falter at her dry wit, but we are frequently found in bouts of laughter throughout the day. Currently the most talented dessert baker in the dorm, Jessica consistently makes delicious cookie dough (we say cookie dough because it never actually makes it into the oven to morph into its ultimate form).

Anyways, to everyone who loves us enough to have read through this whole thing: We love you, too. Merry Christmas!

Evelyn Forbes, Man of the House

Tessa Wilkerson, Mom

Emily Kleinkopf, Senile Grandmother

Lauren Fine, Rebellious Teenager

Kelsilyn Westberg, Ginger Stepchild

Jessica Seeger, Forgotten Middle Child

QUIZ: HOW WELL DO YOU KNOW BOWEN 19?

1. Who in this dorm has a middle name?

2. T/F: Evelyn and Lauren have the same political views.

3. Who is Sister Bowen?

4. What are the secret menu items at the Cougareat Taco Bell?

5. How do you pronounce the Celtic name “Eoghan?”

6. How many members of Bowen 19 suffered from technological malfunctions this semester?

7. The lyrics to the holiday classic “Deck the Halls” are “Deck the halls with…”

A. Balls of holly

B. Bows of holly

C. Boughs of holly

D. Schluck

8. What does “Kleinkopf” mean in German?

9. What food do we never want to eat again?

10. What time do the Temple Square lights close?

ANSWERS

1. Evelyn Elizabeth and Tessa Jolene

2. TRUE!

3. The ghost that haunts our dorm with creepy knocking and phone calls every midnight.

4. The Hulk Burrito, Superman Burrito, Mike Black Burrito, GT Burrito and the Jason-style Cheesy Gordita Crunch

5. “Owen” or “Ewan”

6. 4

7. C, unless your last name is Kleinkopf, in which case any answer is acceptable

8. Small head

9. Friendship bread

10. We don’t know, but it was sometime before we got there.

Beauty of a Smaller Scale

Massive, skillful, awe-inspiring. Carl Bloch’s alter pieces are indeed impressive. I love these depictions of Christ’s life, but none of them speak to me in a way beyond what most Christians would feel while viewing a painting of their savior. Their largeness overwhelms me, so I head to the room of Bloch’s smaller pieces.

Wander. Observe. Speculate. Stroll. Admire. Glance. Glance again. Stop. Wow. I really love this one. The caption on the side reads “Charwoman Feeding the Birds” with “Oil on Panel” and a brief description underneath. I plant myself firmly in front of the painting and take a closer look. The snow-covered ground, the lightest part of the panel, draws my eye first. It is peppered by hungry sparrows pecking at breadcrumbs. Are not five sparrows sold for two farthings, and not one of them is forgotten before God?

I follow the trail of dropping crumbs to the hand of the giver and upward. The line of the elderly woman’s arm and the line of her cane form a triangle pointing toward the woman’s face. Though shadowed by her black cloak, the woman’s radiant countenance is the most powerful part of the painting. How can an artist, using only brushes and paint, depict such selfless love, such humble compassion? Her withered face is curved into a slight smile as she shares what she apparently has very little of already. And there came a certain poor widow and she threw in two mites…

In painting this, Bloch demonstrated his appreciation for the poor and forgotten who give, even when they have nothing. In viewing it, I gain a deeper admiration for them. I believe this was his purpose – to remind us of the good that such people do, to tell us that we, too, can spread the light of Christ, even if all we have is half a loaf of bread. The background of the piece is grey and bare; the woman’s clothing is faded and plain. The subdued colors of the painting only add to its impact. There is nothing to distract or confuse you. The focus of the piece is the woman and her action (her face, her hand, and the sparrows are the specific focal points). It wasn’t done in a grand palace or crowded marketplace, but in a street corner. It wasn’t done by a princess but by a pauper. The scale of the painting matches the scale of the action: small yet important. By small and simple things are great things brought to pass.

The elderly woman in the painting reminds me of a woman I know. We call her Tweety Bird Grandma because she has the sweetest, high voice and calls everyone “dearie.” She is in her 80’s (and can barely walk), yet she spends most of her time taking care of the elderly women in her apartment complex, most of whom are younger than herself. She is ever giving, ever loving. No act of kindness is too insignificant for her to go out of her way to perform it. Every person is to her what each sparrow is to the charwoman. If the woman in the painting found it worthwhile to share her small possessions with some of God’s smallest creations, how can I, who have so much, not do the same? Such a seemingly unimportant act was not unimportant to Carl Bloch, nor is it unimportant to our savior. No person, no creature, no good deed is forgotten by him, for “Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.”

I'm a little weird

When it comes to Halloween (and sometimes real life, too)...

Other girls want to be a disney princess.

I want to being an elf.

Happy Halloween Everyone!

I hope you all get to be whatever your heart desires!

For the Beauty of the Earth

So I live in Provo, and it's October. For all of you poor seasonless Arizonans out there, let me clarify. It's autumn, and not the lame 85 degrees kind we get in Arizona. Allow me to describe it to you.

As I walk home from the library at night, the chilly air fills my lungs with new life. I zip up my jacket a little, shove my hands in my pockets, and wiggle my toes joyfully in my plush, fur lined boots. I take a deep breath, savoring the musky smell of rotting leaves and coming rain. The air feels about the same as a January evening in Mesa, but the glorious smell is something I've never experienced.

I take my time walking home. Even in the dark, the mountains look majestic. Their nearness is something I haven't quite gotten used to. I follow the vague shadow upward until the peaks meet the night sky. Overcast means no stars tonight, but it also means a good chance of rain tomorrow. At least until it's cold enough to snow, clouds are a good thing.

The next morning, Emily opens the blinds and exclaims "It's cloudy!" with the usual Arizona excitement.

I join her at the window and admire the impressive scene. The tree across the street is one of the only trees whose leaves have already completely changed colors. Rust colored leaves dot the grass below the tree, which, typical of Utah, is kept green as long as the weather allows. The overcast sky doesn't let us down, either. When it starts raining a few minutes later, Emily and I immediately run outside like we've never seen autumn before (because, well, we haven't).

The tree behind our house is loosing it's bright yellow leaves rapidly. The leaves chase each other around the lawn, enjoying the protection from the rain that the large branches provide. I enter the whirlwind of leaves and rain, feeling light sensations on my skin as the leaves brush against my cheeks and hands. I reach up and pick a few bright leaves from the tree and think to myself...

So this is what autumn feels like.

Lord of all to thee we raise, this our hymn of grateful praise.

It's a great day to be alive

Yesterday, I won a BYU football PEZ dispenser for safety week.

Today, I saw a guy dressed as a killer whale strutting through campus.

Tomorrow, I am going to Salt Lake to hear prophets speak.

It's a fine life.