To Be a Woman Is a Glorious Thing

Recently, I came across this photo capturing four generations of women from the same family, and I can't stop looking at their faces. How I would love to have one just like it, picturing my own grandmother, mother, self, and daughter. Of course, this is impossible because my maternal grandmother passed away in 1965, but I do intend to have a three-generation picture taken when the opportunity arises.

Look at the body language of these delightful ladies, made even more noteworthy by the strict picture-taking customs of their time. The two youngest are allowing themselves a small smile, and even the older two look ike they're having to hold back a little to keep a proper level of decorum. I also love the way they are leaning inward, heads tilted toward one another in varying degrees depending (no doubt) upon the extent of each individual's determination to maintain the expected level of sobriety. I would venture to say that the hearts of these four were "knit together in love" (Col. 2:2).

Women inspire me. They always have, in fact. Where else can you find such a combination of strength and softness, humility and chutzpah, drive and devotion? As a poem I once wrote begins, "A woman is a perfect blend of truth and contradiction...". For this beautiful complexity and a host of other reasons, I think a woman is one pretty spectacular thing to be.

Unfortunately, I also think that society as it stands today is selling us short. We are far more than the self-proclaimed mavens of society and popular culture would have us be...and while equal pay for equal work and other such issues are reasonable conversations to have, our divinely-gifted power as women cannot be enhanced or diminished by any condition imposed upon us from without. Within us lie the seeds of eternity. We are builders of life, partnered with God in bringing His light, His love, and His children to the world. We, like Eve, are the "mothers of all living" (Genesis 3:20).

Don't misunderstand me. Our various earthly rights and worldly roles as women are well worth fighting for (I am, in my own way, a feminist), but we must always remember that our true power is not reliant upon winning (or losing) any temporal struggle, no matter how egregious, well-documented, or well-advertised the issue. We must not be distracted by the adversary, who holds up one shiny bead as a prize when we are already wearing the complete necklace, too often without realizing it. In other words, women cannot allow our knowledge of who we really are to be centered in the thick of thin things. No counterfeit image or narrowly-defined persona should be substituted for our true identity. No limited, earth-bound vision, created and maintained by man, should ever be allowed to make us lose sight of the magnificent daughters of God that we are.

Matt's Magnificently Marvelous, Moderately Mischievous Birthday Message

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, MATT!

Not only are you are one fine-looking fellow,

but you are the dad everyone wishes for,

the husband everyone dreams of,

and a son that makes me proud...

In a good way, of course.

Or not...

(Matt's birth? Sure, that was me. I rocked it.)

Lest the uninformed reader judge me too harshly, justifications for my borderline unrighteous pride follow:

1. Matt takes being smart and sensitive to a whole new level (thus making the short list of best/most interesting people to talk to).

2. He's also a whole lotta fun...the life of every party. (If he can't get you laughing, you need therapy!)

3. And ya know what? He can provide that therapy (licensed marriage, family and child counselor).

4. The guy is good-looking too, albeit addicted to facial hair in various forms.

5. (Also addicted to basketball, music, the "paleo" diet, and Stephen King books).

6. But no one's perfect, right? And he does call his mother. (Frequently. And without reminders.)

7. He is devoted to his young family, our rapidly aging family, and the entire extended family (young and old).

8. As you can see, he is no respecter of persons. All are equal in his eyes. (And equally made fun of.)

9. Yes, our Matt is an equal opportunity mocker.

10. So that's all good, right? (And he never does it behind your back.)

11. No way, Jose. He rips you right to your face.

12. In a kind way, of course. (Kind of kind, anyway.)

13. Because Matt is, above all things, kind.

14. After all, he's a therapist...a caring professional. (Oops. Am I repeating myself?)

15. Because Matt never would. His unique and original mind would never repeat itself.

16. The word "boring" isn't even in his lexicon.

17. Since Matt is the very definition of entertaining.

18. Which is exactly why this post represents him so well.

19. What's that you say? This post is c-r-a-z-y?!

20. Well, yes. Exactly.

Respectfully submitted,

Susan Noyes Anderson

PS. All kidding aside, Matt, thanks for making mine a more wonderful world.

PPS. Did you know you are among my greatest blessings in life?

PPPS. We didn't name you "gift of God" for nothing!

The Earth Rolls upon Her Wings

NASA,ESA, M. Robberto (Space Tele. Sci. Inst./ESA), Hubble Space Tele. Orion Treas. Prjct. Team

If you haven't read this article in Meridian Magazine,

you need to run, jump, skip (or just click) over there right now!

NASA, ESA, J. Hester and A. Loll (Arizona State University)

I mean it. This is some pretty amazing stuff!

Uplifting, too.

NASA, ESA, and The Hubble Heritage Team (STScI/AURA)

The Heavenly Majesty exhibit at the Washington DC Temple

Visitors' Center closes October 31st.

NASA, ESA, and The Hubble Heritage Team (STScI/AURA). Acknowledgment: P. Knezek (WIYN)

Maybe there's still time for some of you to see it.

And you definitely need to read about it.

NASA and The Hubble Heritage Team (AURA/STScI).

One last inspirational fireside will be held at 7:00 pm tomorrow, the 25th,

in the Washington DC Temple Visitors' Center. Road trip, anyone??

;)

PS. This scripture (my husband's favorite) inspired the creation of the Heavenly Majesty––Images of Creation exhibit: “The earth rolls upon her wings, and the sun giveth his light by day, and the moon giveth her light by night, and the stars also give their light, as they roll upon their wings in their glory, in the midst of the power of God...any man who hath seen any or the least of these hath seen God moving in his majesty and power” (D&C 88: 45, 47). Amen!

The Obama Crew: Biased about Bias

Okay, NOW I'm bugged.

Let me say right up front that I am not a diehard fan of Fox News, though I watch it regularly. I do happen to be an anti-fan of MSNBC (with the possible exception of Chris Matthews), but I watch that station regularly, too. And if I had to choose, I would probably pick CNN over either one of them.

But, here's the thing. I don't have to choose. I do, however, have to actively listen to news programs from both sides of the spectrum, liberal to conservative, and then try to find out where the truth lies. Which is why I watch all three stations for my news. So I can be as "fair and balanced" as possible.

That's the background. Now let me tell you why I am angry with Obama and his administration, before whom the vast majority of MSNBC reporters prostrate themselves as the most toadying of sycophants. Honestly, Keith Olbermann and Rachel Maddow go well beyond the pale in their extreme left liberalism, and I don't hear senior Obama adviser David Axelrod complaining about them. Instead, he insists that only Fox has bias, supporting his claims with statements like, "...they're (meaning Fox) not really a news station. It's not just their commentators, but a lot of their news programming. It's really not news. It's pushing a point of view."

Don't misunderstand my position here. I fully agree that folks like Sean Hannity, Glenn Beck, and to a slightly more even-handed extent, Bill O' Reilly, are pushing a point of view. They are conservative to the core; and to be honest, I have a little trouble listening to any of them, mostly because of their presentation and often because of their black-and-white paradigms. But where does Axelrod get off insinuating that the Fox commentators are any more biased than MSNBC is? Has he not heard Olbermann's saliva-spraying rants about any and all things conservative? There isn't a man or a woman on Fox who even comes close to his rabid partisanship. (Seriously, his co-workers should get vaccinated...for their own safety!) And Rachel Maddow, with her failed attempts at humor and her unappealing brand of canned, cloying cynicism, is no better. I'd rather listen to Hannity, Beck, and O'Reilly all day long (which would be fairly torturous for me, by the way) than spend even half that time suffering through the one-sided slings and barbs hurled by their counterparts on MSNBC. To say nothing of the lock-step Obama worship. And that's the truth.

No wonder I was so turned off when Axelrod appeared on "This Week with George Stephanopoulos" saying that Fox News shouldn't be treated as a news organization. Where does he get off saying that?!...especially when he and the administration are practically in bed with MSNBC. He then compounded the offense by adding, "And the bigger thing is that other news organizations, like yours, ought not to treat them that way, and we're not going to treat them that way."

Excuse my freedom of thought, but when did the White House become the arbiter of which mainstream news organizations will or will not be treated with respect? Must TV stations idol worship the president in order to be deemed legitimate? Seriously, who do the members of this administration think they are? The media is supposed to keep them honest, not the other way around. Hello. Let's just let the public––that's right, the citizens––decide which networks are being honest and support or deride them accordingly. (I believe it's called democracy...And what was that other word we seem to be losing sight of?...Oh, yeah...capitalism.)

Frankly, I long for the days when news was presented in such a way that the listener couldn't even tell which direction the commentator was leaning. The former professionalism of TV news networks and reporting is well worth mourning. But that's a post for another day.

For now, let's face it. Fox and MSNBC are identical in their approach, two opposing sides of the same bias-driven coin. And if Fox isn't a "real" news organization, then neither is MSNBC. Methinks Mr. Axelrod needs to remind himself that agreeing with his point of view isn't necessarily the same as being right...or blameless...or even above reproach. And last time I checked, there is no king's ex for liberals. In fact, there is no king at all.

Not even Barack Obama.

Calling Down Bountiful Birthday Blessings

Happy birthday to the guy

who dives down deep,

climbs up high,

hits the slopes,

acts the fool,

craves good food

but plays it cool,

digs Hawaii

and his wife,

and runs with grace

the race of life.

He's hip as New York,

Kristin's love,

and fits this family

like a glove.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, CRAIG!

With love, hugs, and as many good wishes as you can handle

for bounteous birthday blessings to be yours this year.

(Because that's what all of us are praying for.)

=)

PS. To those of you who've been reading my ramblings long enough to care, Craig is the very cool husband of my niece, Kristin, who definitely found her perfect match. And ours, too.

A Mother's Gift Is a Rare Treasure

It's a cinch I'll never be a hand model.

(The action shot.)

For the past couple of years now, my mom has been trying to get me to accept from her a diamond ring she has worn for most of her married life. It is not the actual wedding ring my father gave her, nor is it the wedding ring from her current husband (a lovely man and delightful grandpa to whom she's been married nearly 38 years). Still, it's a ring that has been on her finger for the better part of 60 years, and it is probably one of the things all five of us (her children) associate most strongly with our mother.

When Mom first started trying to gift this ring to me early, she was still wearing it. To tell the truth, the very thought of taking it from her was almost repugnant to me. First of all, I worked until 2007 at an estate planning firm and was appalled by the almost predatory nature some children exhibited toward their parents' belongings. I did not share their feelings and felt unwilling to risk even the appearance of what was, in my mind, a form of covetousness. Watching children and other relatives attach way too much importance to "things" and not enough to each other after a family member's death was heartbreaking, and while I was invested in the idea of having something special in my possession one day that reminded me of my mother, I refused to have an agenda as to what that something special might be.

My mother, however, did have an agenda. She wanted me to have that ring, and she wanted me to have it now. In her mind, she had worked out the details of how she would distribute her personal belongings in the way she felt was most "fair," and I respected that process. My argument, and the source of considerable discomfort for me, was her eagerness to start giving these things away while she was still living (and would hopefully continue to live for years). Her haste made me uneasy, and I worried (somewhat irrationally, I must admit) that this premature gift-giving might somehow compromise her longevity. Sort of jinx her, in other words. Like if she gave things away, she might be more likely to pass away herself. Feeling as I did, you can understand why I refused to take the ring.

As time passed, Mom would introduce the subject now and again. I would quickly shut her down, ending the conversation. I assumed she had given up on the whole idea until I visited her last May. She told me that the ring hurt her hand because it turned around and pressed painfully against her fingers. She urged me to take it and wear it. She wanted to have the pleasure of seeing it on my finger and knowing I enjoyed it. Mom actually became teary talking about this, and I think at one point I may have mumbled reluctantly that if she really wanted to give me the ring that badly, I would take it. She didn't hear me, I guess. (That's what you get for not wearing those hearing aids full-time, Mom!)

Just before she came to my house in September for our family reunion, we had yet another discussion about the ring. Mom informed me that she was no longer wearing it and bemoaned the fact that I was unwilling to accept the gift she so wanted to give me. It was clear that she did not understand my reluctance, and I think she even thought me ungracious in my refusal to accept her offering. She wasn't happy about it, and somehow, the fact that she was no longer wearing the ring made me feel more willing to give in and respect her wishes. I told her I would take the ring.

She gave it to me last month, and I honored her request to have it sized immediately (from a size 4 1/2!!), so I could start wearing it. Of course, Mom invited (even encouraged) me to change the rather old-fashioned setting in any way that would please me, but I had no intention of doing that. What good would my keepsake be if it didn't look exactly the same as it had on my mother's finger? I wanted to be able to look at that ring and see her hand. That was the whole beauty of it. That (and I'm sure my siblings would agree) was what made her gift to me so precious. Not the appraised value, but the sentimental value.

So this post is for my mom. (One of the lovely things about having a blog is being able to publicly express your feelings to family members who live far away.) It's the next best thing to bearing your testimony in front of them at sacrament meeting. (Explanation of bearing testimony.) But I digress. The thing is, I want my mother to know how much I enjoy wearing her beautiful ring and how happy I am to have it. Seeing it sparkle brightly on my finger reminds me of Mom every single time and turns my heart to her in a uniquely visceral way that I can't quite explain. To be honest, I am continually surprised at how deeply this gift moves me; and I'm glad to be wearing it now, while my mother is still here, so that the joy and connection I feel when I look at it (which is often) is not marred by the grief that will inevitably accompany it once I've had to say good-bye to her, for a season.

In other words, Mom, you were right.

And I just wanted to thank you as graciously as you deserve.

=)

Elizabeth Smart: Faith, Family, and Forever

In case any of you missed it, Meridian Magazine published a great piece (penned by Sonja Eddings Brown) on Elizabeth Smart yesterday. Among other things, the article recounts its writer's experience of hearing Elizabeth speak to a group of young women about the ability to come through adversity, no matter how great the challenge. Apparently the Smart women, of sturdy pioneer stock, have been known throughout generations for that very ability, and their heritage provided great strength to Elizabeth as she endured what can only be described as a terrifying ordeal.

As members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, we all have a pioneer heritage, whether we are born to it or adopted into it through our conversion to the gospel and immersion in the waters of baptism. Either way, the legacy of faith, courage, and example is there for every one of us to call upon; and in a world where war rages, morality wanes, economies falter, and disease threatens, there is ample need.

In an interesting article on Segullah, a guest blogger who is not a member of the Church asked what the best non-religious thing about being Mormon was. Many women answered that the strength and cohesive nature of the Mormon community was their favorite temporal aspect of the Church. It occurred to me then and even more powerfully now that the nature of the LDS community can't really be divorced from the shared faith and heritage that shapes it. We are all a product of belief and experience, and the ties that bind us are not forged in a vacuum. We are united and sustained by our reverence for and devotion to a common belief system whose history shows us what mere human beings can accomplish and overcome, with the Lord's help.

I guess what it all comes down to is knowing who we are. (And I always want to add, as Sheri Dew does, "and who we have always been.") I'm not sure this kind of grounding, centering knowledge is sufficiently available to young women today, but I sincerely wish it were. My hope is that seeing Elizabeth Smart's courage and resilience will inspire other young people to explore diligently who they are, too. There is untold power, for all women, in knowing that we are daughters of a Heavenly Father who loves us.

And we need that power, more than ever. Our world is changing, and we will need to change with it. Like those early pioneers, we have to get down to basics, leaving our self indulgence behind like they left behind their fine china and focusing on what really matters: faith, family, and forever. (And by forever, I mean, if it doesn't have lasting value, it doesn't matter.) Just leave it behind.

That's what Elizabeth has done. She has stood tall like the daughter of God she is, focusing on her faith, her family, and those things that hold eternal significance in her life. The rest, she has left behind.

May we seek and find the strength within ourselves to do likewise.

Worst Person in the World? Gimme a Break!

I am probably one of Keith Olbermann's biggest NON-fans, and when he gets to that portion of his self-serving hour where he rants and raves about the worst person in the world, I am never amused. Usually, though, my brief involvement with the show stops right there. I am not amused, so I turn the channel or find something else to occupy my time.

Last Wednesday, however, good old Keith named an apostle of my church as the "worst person in the world." Yep, Elder Dallin H. Oaks was awarded that dubious distinction simply for delivering this talk (about preserving religious freedoms) to a group of young people at BYU-Idaho. If you haven't already, I hope you will take a look at the text of his address, because despite the fact that it's been twisted and parsed beyond belief by the liberal press, not one paragraph of it merits Olbermann's hypercriticism. Or even his disdain. True, the opinions expressed aren't exactly up Olbermann's alley, but the content and tone is as respectful and well-reasoned as would be expected of the former Utah Supreme Court justice that Elder Oaks is. And it's a free country, right?

But apparently not quite as free as it used to be. Which is exactly the point Elder Oaks makes...

A Man's Gotta Do What a Man's Gotta Do: Pumpkin Football

I can already hear the crowds cheering.

Hmmmmm. Lookie here.

Feels like pigskin to me.

A little bit heavier than I'm used to...

But I can manage it.

Take it long, dude.

(photos are ©2009 Heather Anderson, all rights reserved)