28 December 2019......so how many days to Christmas?

So I have been thinking and contemplating how we do certain things. I learned about how some countries do taxes and I like the ideas. 

So in some places the people who are more likely to need and use welfare are the people that pay the highest tax rate. The more money someone makes the lower the tax rate. 

In a way it makes perfect sense. If you want to keep more of the money you earn you do more to have a higher wage. 

I like the idea that if you earn more money you pay less taxes. If you earn more the less likely you would be to need government, or any kind of assistance. 

Going hand in hand with that idea is what you go to college for, if you do go. Honestly I think college is mostly a scam. If a person were to choose the right major then it could be a good idea. 

Regardless, I think everyone should minor in business. Your major will determine the business you are in. Education. Education business. Health care. Health care business. Art. Art business. Science. Engineering. Music. The common denominator is business. Are you running a family. You still have income, expenses. It’s all very similar to a business. 

That said college should not be thought of as the be all and end all. If you install cable, internet, run a back hoe, drive a truck, build beautiful furniture, are a master chef, etc., the world needs you. 

I say you don’t need to go to college to be successful.  I have a college degree but I feel I was well on my way to being homeless. Luckily I found the Army. Not the easiest way to live but it’s not bad. Still before that, I was a teacher. I did not mind teaching, but the educational system was horrible. Ugh. There are less painful ways to earn money. Like being in the military.

Still be very careful if you do go to college what you get your degree in. Pray about it. Think about it. Personally I know people that got the same degree as me, theater education, and, while I love it, neither theater or education is going to make you a living unless you are lucky and very gifted. Neither are many other subjects. 

While I loath saying it the department of education and the department of labor have some very good tools to help a person make a well informed decision. On a side note I think it would be better if they were one entity. The fact is there are so many options available to us. 

Personally I would never encourage anyone to pursue a career as a professional athlete. Still, if I could do what they do, it would be stupid to turn it down. That’s me. If you can get a million dollars by staying in shape and playing a game, do it. Still, most of us live in the real world. If your an athlete or some other kind of professional entertainer you live in a world apart. 

I have a masters degree in the soft sciences, Social Work. I love most of what I had to learn. Still.  It is not something that will make you rich. We all have our skills and talents. I say learn your math. Learn your science. But think about what you can do. What you want to do is nice but not the most important. Someone my want to fly like super man. Probably not going to happen. I want to walk. That is not going to happen anytime soon. I would love it if people would laugh every time I say something I mean to be funny. I get myself in lots of trouble if I try to be funny. 

What we want is not as important as what we can do. We need to aspire to be more than we are. We can all help in some way. We can’t all be like Tony Robins. The man never got a college degree but he helps more people than I can count. He helps. We all get sick at times. Doctors and nurses help, and help lots of people. 

One way we need to think of ourselves is a cog in the machine of life. How are we making life better for ourselves and others. We may not help everyone. Still we could help one person. And at times that is enough. 

16 December 2019

I have had a hell of a weekend. My cat was acting fine last week. Then Wednesday she started acting lethargic. She didn’t walk. Didn’t want to eat. I wasn’t to worried the first couple of days. By Saturday morning I knew something really wasn’t right. She had vomited blood by the front door. I was going to go out. Suddenly my plans changed. I tried calling several people. Finally I was able to get my son to come help. He cleaned the yuck she made and we took her to the vet. The vet checked her and decided there wasn’t much that could be done. So the vet sent us to the emergency clinic for animals. 

There they tried to help her. She even stayed overnight. I got a call From the vet letting me know they would watch her and call me the next day. After church and eating lunch, I called the animal clinic. The cat was not doing any better. 

I called someone to drive us picked up my children and went to the animal hospital. They got her and lay her on a table in a room. She did not move at all. We had all been hoping for a miraculous recovery. She just lay there. Everyone was bawling. Finally my daughter pushed the button to have them give the cat a painkiller. After that the cat raised her head a couple times. It was most likely the painkillers were making the cat not mind moving. Side note. I feel that way some days after I’ve had ibuprofen or some other kind of painkiller. The thing was the cat had sores in her mouth and would not eat or drink. 

Finally my daughter again pushed the button to call the Vet in. The vet administered the final two shots and she slipped peacefully away. My children were devastated. I was kind of a mess myself. 

The worst thing for me is the cat’s food container and water container are still out and waiting for her. I keep expecting her to walk into a room or something else. I’m sad she is not here. 

My dad and my grandma would probably really get after me. For them cats were outside animals. That was another time and another place. 

One thing about me while I have been writing this I start bawling a couple of times. It has not been the easiest watching her digression. I hoped she would be with me a lot longer. 

One thing I have learned is for every situation we put ourselves in it is good to figure your exit route how ever roughly. Getting a cat is fun. What can happen at the end not fun. 

I think I will have to make a special savings account for the next animal I get. Kind of like having a will and advanced directives for me. But that is for next time. 

Right now I think I will just curl up in the corner. 

6 December 2019.......why is .....grrrr

What  does the Lord sound like?

In the Old Testament, it says

“And he said, Go forth, and stand upon the mount before the Lord. And, behold, the Lord passed by, and a great and strong wind rent the mountains, and brake in pieces the rocks before the Lord; but the Lord was not in the wind: and after the wind an earthquake; but the Lord was not in the earthquake:

And after the earthquake a fire; but the Lord was not in the fire: and after the fire a still small voice.” 1 Kings 19:11-12 

This is the typical way the Lord works, “a still small voice.” He is always talking to us. Are we listening?

There have been other times recorded in scripture, when the Lord works slightly different. 

First, Paul the apostle. He was on his way to do bad things, and let bad things be done, to the early Christians. Then he was stopped by what most of us would consider a miraculous event and he became one of the very people he was, or had been trying to pursue. 

Second, Alma the younger, the prophet and high priest among the Nephites. When he was younger he went around with others trying to destroy the church. Finally, while he was traveling, like Paul, he and the group he was with was stopped by an angel. Definitely not typical. 

So these are just two examples of how the Lord doesn’t usually work. Some of us might want an experience like that but that is not how the Lord works most of the time. 

We have to remember “still small voice.”

At times he has to get someone’s attention in a very dramatic moment. The Lord knows who he needs to do his work. He might have to get some people’s attention in a very dramatic way but I doubt that is his method of communication in future events. 

Does The Lord communicate with me. Of course. I would say that He communicates with everyone at times and in some fashion. He is always “talking” to us. Are we listening?

Like Christ taught. 

“... what man is there of you, whom if his son ask bread, will he give him a stone?

 Or if he ask a fish, will he give him a serpent?

 If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your Father which is in heaven give good things to them that ask him?”

Matthew 7:9-11

Everything is in His time. We can’t expect everything to be in our time. If everything happened in my time I would be walking. But I shouldn’t complain. I always have a place to sit down. 

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. 

18 October 2019

Today is the first morning I have felt good I quite a few days. I have not wanted to do much. 

I decided to cancel my Netflix subscription. There is hardly anything good on. I’ve decided that I will just use my amazon prime account. I did breakdown and get a CBS allacess because I want to watch Star Trek. That’s how I roll. 

I was looking at Facebook.  I guess some people have unfriended me. I don’t care to much. I do care a little. Still that’s how life goes. Still I wonder what I must have posted that made them think I am such a “dangerous” individual. I don’t post some things that everyone would agree with. I don’t care if you disagree with me. That is part of what makes life beautiful is not agreeing with each other. 

At times I can be down right crude. Life isn’t always pretty, but it can have meaning in the darnedest places. 

Life is messy, it’s unfair at times. It’s well set and beautiful at other times. 

I have come to realize I have to not worry about doing as much as I want. I have to go very slow if I want to get anything done. I hope I get the right balance. 

I am not the biggest fan of the VA at the moment. I have been trying to contact certain people for months and keep being directed away. Maybe ignored. Very frustrating. 

Just so you know, I’m putting the house idea on hold for a few months.