A Saturday Blog of thoughts

Looking back over this week I again think of some of the things I have read as much as the things I have done. I have been reading about a number of the Apostles and leaders in our Church and likewise about some of the authors that have stood out over the years. Two authors, B.H.Roberts and Hugh Nibley both caught my attention this week. Roberts was discussing the idea in a book I was reading that was taken from the scriptures that "there must be an opposition in all things" as really something that is a blessing. Of course that opposition is often between good and evil but it is also a little basic to everything. That opposition helps us learn. Pleasure and Pain are in opposition and both can serve good ends as well as not so good ends. We learn from opposition. All of it isn't about good and evil of course. Opposition exists "in all things" is the point.

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Then Nibley in a book was discussing "Contention". His point was that contention is not a good thing. People get mad at each other over points of view and differences (opposition) and then it ends in "contention". His point was that we should listen to others points of view without a spirit of contention.

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It seems to me that the goal to avoid contention is often in opposition to the reality that there is opposition in all things. Galatians got it right in it's definition of Gentleness.

more about growing things

Yesterday's blog focused on the "type" of cactus that I found a lot of in the High Desert area near the mountains to the East. These at times appear almost white and are really pleasant to look at. I found my trip to an area full of these as one of the points in the last week that I thought was worth capturing. Course the week itself was much more than one trip. I finished a book I enjoyed. Now the issue is to finish off a couple of others I am working on and to figure out what to order next. I suppose I could focus on today and mention how great it was to get a pair of suspenders hook up to my dress paints. Then I might add a disclaimer. Having typed about sage brush, reading and suspenders as "highlights" I have to mention that I don't think I really am "old" in the sense of having lost any perspective. Blue Skies this week were good too and I am aware of a perfectly wonderful person upstairs that takes about Blue Skies all the time. She puts pictures of a lot of neat plants on her blog and for that matter suspenders are just cloths and what is wrong with mentioning clothes? Heard on the news that some teacher had been fired for mentioning that she didn't like her students or their nutty parents on her blog and it was found and her claim was that she was just recording things for herself. Well I am pretty safe in making that claim. Another highlight this week was the blog of KJ. Great Blog.

Brown is Beautiful

Sagebrush this week was one of the highlights. I drove East to a meeting with those that I work with and went into an area called "High Desert". It may be one of the most stunning areas I have seen in New Mexico and it is about 3 miles away. None of these particular pictures really capture what I saw and I wish I had my camera. Course you know who would have had one with her. The sagebrush in the area was almost white and it just created even through a neighborhood a unique feeling of "high desert".

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Brown seems to be far more interesting than we thought when we first came here.

more events

This picture is from last summer and was taken in Temple Square. It was a good trip and we enjoyed our time with family and together. Today I was wondering what else I should have included in my brief "Round Up" last week. For some reason I looked back over months instead of weeks and this moment came to mind.

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I just finished reading the Book "Spencer W. Kimball" by Edward Kimball. I had recently read "Lengthen Your Stride" by the same author. I have had this book on my self for a long time. In the inside front cover is written, in my mom's handwriting, "Brent: Happy Birthday from Mom & Dad 1980"............. I am really not sure if I read the book back in 1980 or even since then? I might have, but I might have just skimmed it, or maybe I didn't read it. It has been on my shelf of important books ever since I got it) I am pretty sure I would not have thought about the book in the same way even if I had of read it then. On the other hand, if I could go back in time and read it in 1980, and get the same things out of it I did with this current reading, (that probably is the real challenge) I know it would have been a real help and a blessing. To see the human side of such a strong individuals as both President and Sister Kimball, and to see through their actions what was most important on a day to day basis is such a valuable insight. Even though President Kimball had a big impact on the church as a whole it was his personal "day to day", never ending focus on just showing love, that I thought was of most importance in looking closely at his life through this book. As I read a variety of books that touch one some of the same individuals I realize that we really can come to know them. What a good experience that is.

a roundup of sorts.

Who is this guy and what did he do this month? ( some folks might call this a roundup as a label to put on all the stuff done)

Well first off the last week is well worth rounding up, but as a whole this roundup will include all of January and through today in February.

Looking back at the week, first.

Post from the NM Gas Blog: IMPORTANT INFORMATION ABOUT GAS OUTAGES
When gas will be restored: We will keep you informed as soon as we know when
we can begin to restore service.( good news here is our gas did not go off)

Quoting from my favorite blogger, about our weather, she said this: "So let's recap - Tuesday was a "snow day", Wednesday was an "ice day", Thursday was a "too cold to start the buses day", and Friday is a "no natural gas" day. Welcome to the "bizarro world"."

Well then to keep the week interesting Saturday was the day the church was found flooded with water from broken pipes in the ceiling. The fire system broke and a 3 inch water pipe pushed out water at 100 lbs of pressure all night. The building floors, all of them, are gone. The ceilings in the hall are gone. It will be a real project to get this back to being able to use.

I enjoyed a couple of movies. Victoria and Albert, and Social Network.

I have especially enjoyed reading a lot of books this month. I finished "Lengthen Your Stride" about Spencer Kimball. I am well into another one on the first part of President Kimballs life. I re read N. Eldon Tanner his Life and Service, and read An Abundant Life, The Memories of Hugh B. Brown, a biography of James Talmage, a biography of B.H Roberts and my favorite for January was The Biography of Gordon B. Hinckley.

Yesterday KJ pulled up this picture of me. She took it from a family group picture and it in some ways becomes one of my more current pictures. When I first looked at it I saw it side by side with one I use more often when a picture is needed. It was taken before this one and it, unlike this one, does not show the face wrinkles and what I see in myself is just a little less zest than what I have had over the years. It wasn't a picture that I would think of first when I might "picture my self in my own "minds eye". Course I suppose no one would envision them self as they really are. Nevertheless this reality is part of my roundup.

Lots of progress this month in finding names of ancestors.

Spent several nice weekends with the boys and KJ.