tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-58611302009-12-29T08:08:54.823-06:00Thoughts and commentaryStephenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00219023897626648057noreply@blogger.comBlogger652125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5861130.post-40809768825452435372009-12-29T07:59:00.002-06:002009-12-29T08:08:54.832-06:00

Becoming one with God is often seen as moving towards totally unison with God. I've been thinking though, after reading a discussion of how God could be a divine concert, and it made me think that becoming one with God might be more like moving in harmony with God, joining in a divine chorus.I like the thought that we seek harmony rather than unison.

Stephenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00219023897626648057noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5861130.post-70318952020261790142009-12-16T21:09:00.003-06:002009-12-16T21:20:53.196-06:00

We were in the Wichita Falls Airport and three Mexican ladies grabbed Heather. Good thing too, a rattlesnake had just fallen off of the luggage conveyor belt (it ran from outside under a rain cover to inside -- a very small airport) and she was going forward to try to pet it. It took awhile before they calmed down enough to speak English instead of Spanish, but they understood we were grateful

Stephenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00219023897626648057noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5861130.post-7331354545513696842009-12-13T09:28:00.003-06:002009-12-16T21:21:10.790-06:00

We have a baseline sense of what society considers appropriate, moral behavior, and we have a sense of where we fit in that. If we do something that is better than our norm, we balance it out with something a bit devious: it's a zero-sum game.Of course the solution is to change the baseline, recognizing that if you don't change the baseline you will just get resource shifting, not

Stephenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00219023897626648057noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5861130.post-85747141594597203312009-12-07T21:00:00.002-06:002009-12-07T21:03:26.936-06:00

We had a year that having a tree was too painful. But Heather needed a tree, so I bought a small tree (in a pot) at Albertsons and she had it in her room. She and Alison decorated it with ornaments they made from the gold foil Reese's Peanut Butter Cup seasonal candy. So we had a tree, without a tree in the front room.Today we bought a tree and put it up in the front room. I was in charge of

Stephenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00219023897626648057noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5861130.post-78498065394688575742009-12-06T20:32:00.003-06:002009-12-06T21:23:33.860-06:00

Marion Zimmer Bradley used to advise people on how to escape utter poverty. A successful writer, well regarded speaker and family person, she also took a fair amount of time to help others. Her preferred path was to have people learn typing and filing skills. One high school typing class is all the training it takes and local government, health care and business had an almost endless appetite

Stephenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00219023897626648057noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5861130.post-41683208650687870322009-11-30T20:24:00.003-06:002009-11-30T20:32:41.630-06:00

Since it's technically possible and not all that hard to get going, we really need to talk about it and hopefully get treaties in place before someone takes this technology and does something massively stupid ....Something to think and talk about. A presentation taped September, 2007, long before Climategate or Superfreakeconomics.For more, visit http://www.newcoolthang.com/index.php/2009/11/

Stephenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00219023897626648057noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5861130.post-85293572942561879412009-11-28T21:20:00.001-06:002009-11-30T20:24:22.327-06:00

Too much to list, but I should note that some people who missed last week's party showed up today and it was delightful. Thanksgiving day was a day of gratitude and the spirit of the day still remains with me.

Stephenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00219023897626648057noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5861130.post-79361208308840443842009-11-22T22:02:00.002-06:002009-11-22T22:36:24.222-06:00

Suzette Haden Elgin wrote a book, The Grandmother Principles, that is really very good. It teaches people how to be grandmothers who will be loved and cherished. The problem is that many people look at the potential roles and say "why not me?"Ruling MatriarchEntertainerCherished Family MemberAll three of these can look good. The problem is that most efforts to be a ruling matriarch only make

Stephenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00219023897626648057noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5861130.post-36153279358589237642009-11-20T05:51:00.003-06:002009-11-22T22:55:24.542-06:00

This Saturday, from 7:00 to 9:30. People will probably be coming early and staying late. Wanted to celebrate Heather being home, and she can't get Bluebell Ice Cream at BYU.I'll also have fat free Fage yogurt for those, like me, who generally don't eat desserts. It has been too long since our last party at the house. Feel free to come and just bring an appetite, children welcome, just like the

Stephenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00219023897626648057noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5861130.post-56691032852534153492009-11-15T07:52:00.004-06:002009-11-18T07:47:58.237-06:00

Over the years, I've heard some funny things about myself.Even Steve Marsh can't do thatJust because you can do it doesn't mean it is possible.I'm Steve Marsh, but I'm not the real Steve Marsh.The first was when I was going through documents with some other attorneys. All that mattered was whether or not one of six boxes was checked in the wrong position. If it was, the document needed to be

Stephenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00219023897626648057noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5861130.post-64796204735548723962009-11-08T17:50:00.003-06:002009-11-08T17:54:28.960-06:00

I was reading and I came across the following, years ago, and then again recently.We need complete freedom to express our honest feelings [to God]...Freedom is an essential factor in the healing process because recovery is based on the practice of honest with ourselves and with [God].It strikes me that in all types of recovery, freedom and honesty, that is, the freedom to be honest with ourselves

Stephenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00219023897626648057noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5861130.post-34282968730332176162009-11-06T08:30:00.004-06:002009-11-08T18:02:35.169-06:00

There are a lot of different kind of women in the world. However, for the kind I found that I really liked (and the best of which I ever found I was lucky enough to marry), one of the keys to her heart was helping her study.You can tell a lot about what a person values by what you can do that makes them happy and what is most important to them. I remember one sister in a ward I was in who said

Stephenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00219023897626648057noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5861130.post-60757969820389594142009-11-05T18:14:00.002-06:002009-11-06T08:30:51.301-06:00

What a pity it would be if we were led by one man to utter destruction! Are you afraid of this? I am more afraid that this people have so much confidence in their leaders that they will not inquire for themselves of God whether they are led by Him. I am fearful they settle down in a state of blind self-security, trusting their eternal destiny in the hands of their leaders with a reckless

Stephenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00219023897626648057noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5861130.post-1288377530508286662009-11-03T16:53:00.002-06:002009-11-05T22:26:59.290-06:00

Still trying to decorate the house.You know how it is, though a couple 72" Frazetta posters seemed like just the right touch, no one agreed ;)

Stephenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00219023897626648057noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5861130.post-82725020246482161702009-11-03T16:52:00.001-06:002009-11-04T07:02:37.861-06:00

Heather and Rachel on vacation from this summer.

Stephenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00219023897626648057noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5861130.post-15227940221430550532009-11-03T07:37:00.002-06:002009-11-03T07:44:27.725-06:00

Rorschach Tests offer a great deal to us. In some ways, much of life is a Rorschach Ink Blot, just as the scriptures are, that allows us to find ourselves in what we see.I was reading http://www.faithpromotingrumor.com/2009/11/of-analogies-rorschach-tests-and-elder-oaks/ and it made me think of just how many things function as carte blanches that we can read into what we hope for or fear.Our

Stephenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00219023897626648057noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5861130.post-25652890155763563682009-10-30T14:06:00.003-05:002009-10-30T17:03:44.316-05:00

Something happened to my heart, my center.What brought it to mind was reading the travails of a young woman who felt God led her in a direction that came up dry. She had pain and confusion and questions of God and about God. I've been through that in my life. Both in God not giving me the results I prayed for when each of my daughters was dying, and in the times I felt pushed in a direction or

Stephenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00219023897626648057noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5861130.post-45919405008109882572009-10-29T09:22:00.002-05:002009-10-30T17:04:13.516-05:00

http://www.nytimes.com/1991/07/30/health/the-doctor-s-world-an-aids-puzzle-what-went-wrong-in-dentist-s-office.html Is not a bad place to start. In addition, see: http://www.annals.org/content/124/2/255.full But see (and do not skip) http://www.annals.org/content/124/2/250.full (which disagrees with the above) and http://www.people.com/people/archive/article/0,,20113381,00.html

Stephenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00219023897626648057noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5861130.post-49621810783215377892009-10-27T10:18:00.003-05:002009-10-29T09:27:03.246-05:00

From an essay from a new book: 1. If the Earth’s warming leads to global catastrophe, that would be a really bad outcome. TRUE / FALSE 2. Even when there is enormous uncertainty about the likelihood of future cataclysms, it makes sense to invest now in finding ways to avoid such cataclysms. TRUE / FALSE 3. Economists estimate that the costs of reducing carbon emissions are likely to be

Stephenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00219023897626648057noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5861130.post-7262321981620745832009-10-27T10:13:00.003-05:002009-10-29T09:26:41.024-05:00

Imprisonment at five times the historical level in the United States, and at five times the level of any of the countries with which we would like to compare ourselves, has not been sufficient to fully reverse the growth in crime; current crime rates are still at 2.5 times the level of the late 1950s and early 1960s. Even that discouraging number understates how much worse things are now than

Stephenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00219023897626648057noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5861130.post-71215051434199059022009-10-19T07:22:00.004-05:002009-10-27T10:15:48.081-05:00

There are lots of choices, but I'd recommend the following:http://www.compassionatefriends.org/resources/available_brochures.aspx -- all of their material, for free, on-line.Important, all of these can be obtained through interlibrary loan, for free. Because what will connect for you, and what will not, is extremely personal, don't buy any book you haven't read through the library for free first

Stephenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00219023897626648057noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5861130.post-48213001860628364242009-10-12T20:56:00.002-05:002009-10-14T08:06:36.770-05:00

http://monicathemighty.blogspot.com/2009/10/what-i-have-learned-about-grief-842004.htmlVery well said. Worth a visit.

Stephenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00219023897626648057noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5861130.post-84458185949571703742009-10-11T15:41:00.002-05:002009-10-11T15:43:30.499-05:00

The throw just slipped right in there, reflex. I was really pleased.It is a reprise to http://adrr.com/bengoshi/judo3.htm which I wrote about twenty years ago to capture something I did to amuse Win (she came to watch some Judo work-outs. One of them I used only this sequence of throws).

Stephenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00219023897626648057noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5861130.post-43555305786513653582009-10-09T21:29:00.006-05:002009-10-09T21:48:14.017-05:00

There are four major indicators or causes of relationships that are headed towards failure:Harsh start-ups. When conversations start with criticism, sarcasm or contempt, they are referred to as conversations that have begun with a harsh start-up. A conversation that begins with a harsh start-up will end on a negative note. A harsh start-up pretty much dooms a conversation to negative results,

Stephenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00219023897626648057noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5861130.post-27352343496319834152009-10-01T19:15:00.002-05:002009-10-06T22:11:45.300-05:00

Dear MR BAGGINS, Fellow Conspirator,I am Thorin Oakenshield, descendant of Thrain the Old and grandson of Thror who was King under the Mountain. I am writing you to discuss our plans, our ways, means, policy and devices for rescuing our treasure from the dragon Smaug.During the reign of Thror our kingdom was a prosperous one. Kings used to send for our smiths, and reward even the least

Stephenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00219023897626648057noreply@blogger.com