Keep Those Potatoes Coming
You name it, potatoes baked,boiled, scalloped, fried, french fried, julienned, potato patties, potato salad, hash brown, tater tots, mashed, or twice baked are all in the tip top yummy category. Hurray for Idaho!
Wednesday, March 26, 2014
Marble Is Beautiful, Isn't It?
Who does not admire a beautiful piece of marble, large or small? Who is not impressed with a beautiful marble sculpture?
I vividly remember tears involuntarily springing to my eyes when I first saw Michelangelo's Pieta in St. Peter's Basilica in Rome, Italy.
How does one explain such beauty brought to the natural eye in such a powerful way?
In a less dramatic experience, I remember conscioiusly vowing to etch in my brain a particularly beautiful Carrara marble fireplace at the Filoli Gardens in Woodside, California.
Wait a minute. What makes marble so beautiful? Is it the lack of imperfections? No!
If marble was perfectly clear and devoid of the dark lines and flaws, it would have the appearance of being artificial and plastic. The truth is that the imperfections themselves are what comprise its beauty!
In a similar manner, we too can be beautiful - just like the marble- not beacause we have no memories of our past sins or imperfections, but very literally because we do!
Our sincere repentance and the great power of the Atonement of Jesus Christ figuratively polishes our imperfections over time!
Yes, marble is beautiful, isn't it?
In like manner, we, too, can be beautiful through sincere sorrow for our sins and the infinite power of the Atonement of Our Savior Jesus Christ!
Comparison of marble and sincere repentance shared by our grandson. Elder William A. Masters, Jr., of the Jacksonville, Florida Mission from an email from his mission president.
Who does not admire a beautiful piece of marble, large or small? Who is not impressed with a beautiful marble sculpture?
I vividly remember tears involuntarily springing to my eyes when I first saw Michelangelo's Pieta in St. Peter's Basilica in Rome, Italy.
How does one explain such beauty brought to the natural eye in such a powerful way?
In a less dramatic experience, I remember conscioiusly vowing to etch in my brain a particularly beautiful Carrara marble fireplace at the Filoli Gardens in Woodside, California.
Wait a minute. What makes marble so beautiful? Is it the lack of imperfections? No!
If marble was perfectly clear and devoid of the dark lines and flaws, it would have the appearance of being artificial and plastic. The truth is that the imperfections themselves are what comprise its beauty!
In a similar manner, we too can be beautiful - just like the marble- not beacause we have no memories of our past sins or imperfections, but very literally because we do!
Our sincere repentance and the great power of the Atonement of Jesus Christ figuratively polishes our imperfections over time!
Yes, marble is beautiful, isn't it?
In like manner, we, too, can be beautiful through sincere sorrow for our sins and the infinite power of the Atonement of Our Savior Jesus Christ!
Comparison of marble and sincere repentance shared by our grandson. Elder William A. Masters, Jr., of the Jacksonville, Florida Mission from an email from his mission president.
Saturday, March 22, 2014
A Sad Morning
Whenever it becomes necessary for a grand, noble tree to be uprooted, it is always a sad event for me. But such was the case a few days ago in Wilder as, in fact, an entire row of such trees were being removed to make way for the planting of a vineyard.
As I spotted one such tree on its side giving the best horizontal shot of this beauty from the ends of its root to its very top, I got out of the car and as quickly as possible got a few good shots. It wasn't until the young operator got out of the cab and started walking toward me that I got worried. But it turned out that he was very friendly even to the point of asking me if I wanted him to drive the tree a little closer for a better picture!
He said that the row of trees near the road needed to be removed because, if by chance one of them would fall, it would cause a costly amount of damage to the grape vines.
He expressed concern about two trees in the row which were particularly large and wondered how he would be able to remove them since he was doing this task alone.
But a few days later, we noted that the trees were all removed so he accomplished his task in the "job well done" category. We left a picture of the tree taped to the cab and hoped it would be meaningful to him.
Sometimes in life we have to make changes that are difficult, such as the tree removal, but that overall are to our benefit. Although the process is painful, the end result proves well for our greater good.
Whenever it becomes necessary for a grand, noble tree to be uprooted, it is always a sad event for me. But such was the case a few days ago in Wilder as, in fact, an entire row of such trees were being removed to make way for the planting of a vineyard.
As I spotted one such tree on its side giving the best horizontal shot of this beauty from the ends of its root to its very top, I got out of the car and as quickly as possible got a few good shots. It wasn't until the young operator got out of the cab and started walking toward me that I got worried. But it turned out that he was very friendly even to the point of asking me if I wanted him to drive the tree a little closer for a better picture!
He said that the row of trees near the road needed to be removed because, if by chance one of them would fall, it would cause a costly amount of damage to the grape vines.
He expressed concern about two trees in the row which were particularly large and wondered how he would be able to remove them since he was doing this task alone.
But a few days later, we noted that the trees were all removed so he accomplished his task in the "job well done" category. We left a picture of the tree taped to the cab and hoped it would be meaningful to him.
Sometimes in life we have to make changes that are difficult, such as the tree removal, but that overall are to our benefit. Although the process is painful, the end result proves well for our greater good.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)