27 November 2019.....happy day before

This has been a wild day. I am not sure what to think about all that has been happening. 

So I have been considering a scripture Ether 12:27, 

“And if men come unto me I will show unto them their weakness. I give unto men weakness that they may be humble; and my grace is sufficient for all men that humble themselves before me; for if they humble themselves before me, and have faith in me, then will I make weak things become strong unto them.”

We are all weak and strong in our own ways. I say it something like this, the Lord gives us responsibilities/callings to build us up. After we almost have it perfect He releases us and moves us to the next assignment. We level up. 

In a way we go to a new set of challenges. After we know we can handle one kind of challenge, we go to something different. Kind of like line upon line, here a little there a little 

So, I have been eating lots of popcorn lately. Popcorn is good. Not all are created equal. The kind I like is RIEHLE’S SELECT. Very good popcorn. As far as I know it can only be bought online. I bought another kind at the grocery store. It was different from typical popcorn, still it was like eating styrofoam. No flavor. Perfect for salt and butter. The RIEHLE’S SELECT very good. I like to eat popcorn that is plain. No salt. No butter. The real flavor of the popcorn shines through. It is very subtle, but it is there. 

The popcorn in Brazil was good. Most here in the US is like eating packing peanuts. Not all. Still it’s not the easiest to find good stuff. 

8 November 2019....

So I go to a salon to get my fingernails and toenails cut. I also have my fingernails painted with a color-changing polish/shellac. Today it’s blue that changes to white it the heat, or is it white that changes to blue in the cold? Regardless, it helps me to identify  when my hands are getting to cold. I have poor circulation in one of my arms and hands. I may have one hand one color and the other a different color. 

The polish is a good reminder that I need to warm my hands at times. I like to think I’m still tough at times. Despite the fact a two year old could overpower me, I need to watch out for some things myself. Sure, I still think I’m tough. I don’t know if I’ve ever been that tough.

So I get nails done. Personally, I don’t understand the fascination. I went with my sister, her daughter and my children. My sister posted on Facebook that I took them to be “pampered”. Honestly. I don’t see what is so pampering about it. For me it’s just something that needs done. I can’t cut my own fingernails, so I have someone do it for me. 

Honestly, it’s almost like going in for an oil change. I don’t care about most of the stuff. It’s just maintenance. 

Pedicure, now that’s another story. I honestly don’t know why I didn’t start that earlier in life. Everyone should have pedicures. 

I have been trying to figure out what I really need to spend my time on. I have had to go from once a day to once a week. It is terribly frustrating because I was at one period in my life a very active person. Since the stroke I’ve had some of the most amazing gains. I feel for the first time that I have hit a plateau and if I want to go any higher and make any more gains I’m going to have to work twice as hard. I don’t have the energy to go harder most of the time. 

For those don’t know, I was wearing diapers for a time, 6 years ago. I have moved beyond that stage. I still feel incredibly frustrated even though I know I am very blessed. I need to remember Alma 29:3, “But behold, I am a man, and do sin in my wish; for I ought to be content with the things which the Lord hath allotted unto me.” Maybe I don’t understand the verse of scripture well. Still I have more to be thankful for than I will probably ever realize. That doesn't mean you can’t feel down, tired. That is called life. 

5 November 2019

So I feel I should offer some explanation of my perspective of the world. 

First, I’m in a wheelchair. Since I don’t walk I see things from the perspective of a short person. About 4 feet when I’m  sitting down. But at one period in my life I was a walking person, 6 feet 1 inch. You don’t see things, literally, when you are taller. But now that I am shorter, most of the time, I don’t notice everything up high. 

That is one thing. 

So, God and religion and science. 

Now if someone where to ask me how and why an iPad or tablet works I might just say it’s magic. I know that some might try to explain a lot of technical terms. Usually that just makes things worse for me. If someone were to ask me, I would just say it does and that’s enough. If you want to call it magic you can. Some of our science today might look like magic to someone who lived 200 or 300 years ago. 

Leonardo da Vinci said “Mathematics is the language with which God has written the universe.” I would say math, sciences; biology, physics, astronomy, geology, medicine, etc., etc. It’s all part of Gods handiwork.

Some people say a researcher must maintain a distance from what they are researching. That is all well and good if humans are not the subject. If you are just studying the human body cadavers work. Live humans with emotions, thoughts, feelings, etc., etc.  

There are the hard sciences. There are the soft sciences. You may have your own definition for each. For me anything that involves humans very directly, while they are alive is more of a soft science. At some point relationships are involved. Humans are not merely animals. Yes, some traits are similar to animals but that is a different story. 

So, intelligent design my not be a widely accepted theory. That hardly means it’s not valid. As valid as The Big Bang and Evolution. 

Intelligent design 

Math needed

Biology needed

Physics needed

Geology needed

Astronomy needed

Astrophysics needed

Human physiology 

Animal physiology 

Botany

I would say you would be hard pressed to find a science that might not be relevant. 

Big Bang

A big explosion happened a long time ago and everything just started to happen. 

Evolution 

All life in its current form got to be the way it is by chance, lucky or otherwise. 

Is the Big Bang real? Possibly. Is evolution real? Possible. I would say it is much more likely that some kind of intelligence caused the Big Bang and selectively used evolution. 

I know it’s not a widely accepted belief. But saying that it’s not science shows some arrogance and I would say some ignorance. Science, Pseudoscience. Honestly. Two apples that fell from the same tree. It just depends on where you are standing or sitting. 

How did it all happened, who knows. Assuming that we as humans have all the facts, is arrogant at best.

Now, I would say, we as humans, have been trying to make square pegs fit in round holes. Ultimately leeks will occur. 

Now about creation. Some people say 6 day and on the seventh day God rested. 

But how long was Gods “day”? 

In 2 Peter 3:8 “But, beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing, that one day ​is​ with the Lord as a thousand ​​​years​, and a thousand years as one day.” 

Also, a book and scripture of my religious tradition. 

“And the Lord said unto me, by the Urim and Thummim, that Kolob was after the manner of the Lord, according to its times and seasons in the revolutions thereof; that one revolution was a day unto the Lord, after his manner of reckoning, it being one thousand years according to the time appointed unto that whereon thou standest. This is the reckoning of the Lord’s time, according to the reckoning of Kolob.” Abraham 3:4, Pearl of great price. 

So maybe 6,000 years creation? But how much time was between each “day”?  Who knows exactly. 

So, just my thoughts, maybe the first day or thousand years the earth was formed. Then God left for a time, before he came back for the second day or thousand years. Kind of similar to a construction crew will pore a cement foundation but would not finish the rest of the house until they are sure the cement is set and ready. 

So to create anything takes time. Like is said “Rome wasn’t built in a day.” Things take time. One thing I am grateful that having a stroke has taught me is some things take time. I love next or same day delivery in the modern US society. The US and many other places are so much the exception. I can order some things and Amazon delivers them the next day. I can order my groceries online and have them delivered in three hours where I live. The thing is, most things take time. Before day two how much time past?

My understanding is God works within law. We don’t understand all the laws that he does. He can make things happen that defy human explanation. That doesn’t mean it’s magic. Does not mean there is no explanation. Just means we don’t have the knowledge and understanding at the moment. 

Can I definitely prove my belief. No and regardless of what you believe, no matter how much scientific information you have, no one can prove I’m wrong. That is where faith and hope have to work on us individually. 

What I can do is love my neighbor. All the stuff I mentioned before I think is fun, and in someway is important but. How am I treating my neighbors. Am I helpful or just making myself feel better.