Wednesday, October 22, 2008

Ode to T9Word and Language Follies

So I have this really bad habit of not reading what I text before I send it, which makes texting rather entertaining for my friends. On top of that, I just discovered this whole T9word concept (I know, welcome to the 21st century Manda.) I'm starting to learn which words I need to check, but I think my phone has a mind of it's own sometimes. For example, no matter how many times I type the word 'sounds,' my phone brings up the letters 'pmtmdp'...which, in case you were wondering, isn't a word...yet, somehow in Amanda-language it's more common...and did you know that the word 'dummies' is more common than 'funnier'? What is the world coming to?

I got to thinking about language though, and I shouldn't be surprised that this happens to me. I often find myself making funny word choices, thinking that it clearly makes sense to me, only to see the receiver of my rhetoric tilt their head and say, "What?" Then as I repeat it, have them ask me to repeat it...again...oh, dear...

Or the many times I get so excited about what I am saying that my brain working faster than my mouth, literally causing my words to make NO SENSE...

Or when I quote movies, that's just a disaster, mostly because 90% of the people I talk to have no idea how my brain used such transductive reasoning to come to the phrase that I said.

Or the time when I told everyone in Spanish that I loved underwear...yeah, not my finest moment.

Or how about every time I'm walking somewhere and people watch my hands as I compulsively "handspell" my own thoughts...yes, even when I run I do it...strange, I know...

So I write this post in hopes that others have had such blunders and would be so kind as to share them with me, and the rest of the world, thus easing my tongue-twister woes...

Come Thou Fount

Hey everyone! My boss showed me this video and I wanted to share it. It was done from the Mesa Temple Pageant. The photos are fantastic! I couldn't get the video to add in for some reason, but here's the link:
http://mabrystudios.typepad.com/reflections_of_christ/2008/03/reflections-sli.html

Tuesday, October 14, 2008

My Grandmother's Name

I went to the temple this morning and received an interesting surprise. Before i came down to college, I asked Grandpa Zirker if he had any family names that I could do, and he ended up giving me tons of names to do, mostly sealings, but a few endowments. I have been in the process of finishing the women's endowments.

As I sat in the temple waiting for the session to start, I began to gaze over the card from Grandpa I had chosen to do today. I looked at the name, Mary Barber, and said a prayer in my heart for her, hoping and praying she would accept this last piece of her temple work (she had already been sealed to her parents). Looking over the card, I was randomly drawn to the extractors name. To my surprise, this time it didn't day "Kenneth Eugene Zirker" as the hundreds of other cards I've done for Grandpa. This time it said: Leona Sagers Shields Zirker. Completely taken aback and confused, I looked at the dates on the card. This woman's ordinances had been started back in February of 1999. Grandma passed away a year later, and never had the chance to finish them. Mary had been waiting 9 years for someone to finish it. 9 years! Can you imagine that?! All i could think was, "All this time..."

I learned a good lesson from that. I had been so nonchalant in doing her work, and she'd been waiting nine years, knowing full well that her name was ALREADY IN THE SYSTEM! What a humbling experience it was for me to be reminded of my part in genealogy. I may not be as amazing as Grandpa on Family Search (come to think of it, I'm not even sure I know how to use it, sadly), but I can do my small part. I'm so excited to meet Mary Barber someday and ask her about her side of the experience. Waiting for NINE years -- what a lesson of patience! I wonder if she and Grandma are friends...

Saturday, October 11, 2008

Celebrity Siting!

Just to keep you all informed, the caddy from Happy Gilmore is still alive and well. We saw him at the BYU game and he has decided to broaden his career to include photography as well...however, I'm sure he still spends the weekends on the green for old times sake.

Kids Have More Fun

I was at the BYU football game today and there were some cute little girls in front of us who could not seem to keep themselves in one place at the same time. Ironically enough, they were actually watching the game from time to time. One was so enthralled that she went to great lengths to be able to see better. here she is:
Yes, that's right. She just couldn't see through that sign...so she flipped it over her head and watched from there. Boy and I thought I was a dedicated fan!

Well, that got me to thinking...is it just kids that do these things? I don't seem to think so.
Take exhibit A for example....
Yes, that is a 19-year-old girl with underwear on her head....


Or maybe we all just go to great lengths to be a kid again.



We shove ourselves inside the same underwear as someone else...






Drink out of our children's sippy-cups...





We even shove ourselves into remotely small locations..."just for laughs"..yeah, it's all fun until we can't get out!

But despite our efforts, we all just seem to be getting older and older, faster and faster...i mean, take a look at this kid...he grew up so fast that his beard turned green!

It seems to be unanimous...kids do have more fun. Now all I need to do is figure out how to stay young...



Monday, October 6, 2008

Sources of Living Water

Last night I was approached by a girl that I barely knew and had an interesting experience. She came up to me after ward prayer and just stood there, waiting for me. I looked at her and said, “Hey Ashley! How are you?” As I said it though, I just looked at her and was startled by my own emotions, and responded quickly, “Would you like to talk?” Stifling tears, she just nodded, so we got in my car and drove up to the temple. As we drove, she unloaded to me, sobbing, expressing her frustration with life. There seemed to be an overpowering theme to her frustrations. You see, she is amazing; although I don’t know her incredibly well, I could and can feel and tell that she is amazingly charitable, and always reaching out to others. (After meeting her once, and showing interest in her life, she made me a pie…Yeah, that’s how sweet this girl is.) But last night she had had enough. Over the last few weeks she had given and given, and had been taken advantage of as a friend one too many times.
As I listened to her, my favorite analogy that I learned on my mission came to mind, and I had the opportunity to share it with her. This analogy has changed my life. And I wish to share it with each of you as well. The analogy goes something like this:
Each of us in this life has a bucket, full of water, which we carry with us everywhere. The water represents happiness, compliments, and energy that we have, or rather in a gospel perspective, the love of God. as we go throughout life, we have the ability to give water to others through service, compliments, etc. and people have the opportunity to do the same to us. Thus, in healthy living, your bucket should stay neutral - as you give to another, you dip out of your own bucket and give to theirs. Similarly, another can do the same and fill your bucket. This process keeps one emotionally stable as he passes through the difficulties and trials of this earth life. But what happens if someone is always giving, always dipping the water out of their bucket to give to others, and never receiving? Sooner or later, his bucket runs dry, he can give no more, and he either gives up, breaks down, or becomes bitter.
This is exactly what happened to Ashley. She had completely emptied her bucket, without receiving anything in return. Her bucket ran dry and she could give no more, causing her to resort to frustration and tears.
This analogy causes one to think: Are you a giver or a taker? And how is your bucket doing? Are you running dry? If so, what is the formula to fill your bucket again?
Naturally, the easiest way to fill your bucket would be to seek compliments from others, or surround yourself with good friends. I would be a fool to not admit that this is an excellent tactic. I believe that this is why Heavenly Father has given us families, so that we can lift each other up, or fill each other's bucket. Similarly, good friends can be a source to receive the love of God daily. Is there any doubt why the leaders of the church counsel us to surround ourselves with good friends?
Let us not forget, however, that there is a greater source of water, living water that we can receive whenever we need it: the light and love of our Savior. Jesus counseled the Samaritan woman, saying, "If thou knewest...who it is that saith to thee, give me to drink; thou wouldest have asked of him, and he would have given thee LIVING WATER." Confused the woman asked where she could find such water. Jesus answers humbly, helping us to understand the HE himself is the living water. "But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give shall never thirst." (John 4:10-15)
Our Savior is the living source of water from which we can and should fill our bucket. We can dip from his bucket freely, for His is the only one that never runs dry. His water is a source that leads to everlasting life.
May we each be conscious of two things in our lives: that we daily drink from the living water of the Savior, and that we also remember to fill the buckets of those around us. There are those, like Ashley, who ache for their bucket to be filled. The spirit gave me a chance to fill her bucket; and I believe that he grants these opportunities to each of us. May we be in tune enough to act on them.
One last thing: For those of you who feel like your bucket might be a little empty at the moment: know how much I love you, appreciate you and pray for you. You mean the world to me and make a difference in my life. I’m so grateful I know you. Your Savior is mindful of you and can help you fill your bucket, so that you can reach out to others. He’s done it a million times for me, when I’ve felt completely empty. I know He can do it for you.