ALL CREATURES GREAT AND SMALL

photo taken tonight at the Birthday Party for our dog, Patch

"And the Lord was with us; and we did prosper exceedingly;
for we did sow seed, and we did reap again in abundance.

And we began to raise flocks, and herds, and animals of every kind"

2 Nephi 5:11

Tonight, my daughters threw a birthday party for our dog, Patch. He turned 2 today. The invited guests were our two other pets... our goldfish named Jaws and our guinea pig named Squeekers. It is the only day of the year that they are allowed to eat on the kitchen table. While having pets is alot of work... they can bring much to my daughters. Sometimes, it is only our pets  and not us as parents that can console them after they have had a hard day at school.

AWAKE AND ARISE

photo of my daughters balloon ride.

(A Christmas gift from Grandma and Grandpa.)

We consider that God has created man with a mind capable of instruction, and a faculty which may be enlarged in proportion to the heed and diligence given to the light communicated from heaven to the intellect;

and that the nearer man approaches perfection, the clearer are his views, and the greater his enjoyments,

till he has overcome the evils of his life and lost every desire for sin; and like the ancients, arrives at that point of faith where he is wrapped in the power and glory of his Maker and is caught up to dwell with Him. But we consider that this is a station to which no man ever arrived in a moment: he must have been instructed in the government and laws of that kingdom by proper degrees, until his mind is capable in some measure of comprehending the propriety, justice, equality, and consistency of the same.

Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, p. 51

VIEW FROM ABOVE

photo taken from my daughters hot air balloon ride. on 10.01.2011

write more shortly

One Moment in Time: 11:11:11 on 11/11/11

ARMISTICE DAY: The Day of Remembrance

I decided to leave for an early lunch today. I left right around 11:00. I took the elevator down and the doors opened up on the 1st floor just at the precise time for me to see out the glass door the crosswalk countdown displaying the digital number 11. Synchronicity.

Thinking I would hike Ensign Peak, I instead decided to park my car and take a walk through Memory Grove. I found myself right in front of the World War Memorial at precisely 11:11:11. This is an important today.  It is called Armistice Day (or Veterans Day, as we call it in the U.S.), marking the end of World War I, when Germany and the Allied nations called for resolution on the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month. In many parts of the world, people take a moment of silence as a sign of respect for the 20 million people who died in the war. The plaque that I was reading was written on November 11th. Lots of number of 11's.

At that exact moment in Time.. I felt I was at the right place at the right time.

I looked at all the names of those who died from Utah form 1914-1918. Only one with the last name Christenson. His name was Royal. Interesting name. I need to do some geneology research with the help of my dad.
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Sidenotes:
In terms of astrology, we are currently transitioning into the 11th sign of the zodiac—the age of the Aquarius. ( I happen to be an Aquarius myself)  We are entering a time described as progressive and intuitive, a time ruled by technology, humanitarianism, philanthropy, nonconformity and idealism.


You may have to be a mathematician to get excited by the numerical tricks that 11—which is the sixth prime number—can perform: When multiplied by itself, the number 11 equals a palindrome every time—from 11 x 11 (which equals 121) to 1,111,111 x 1,111,111 (which equals a pleasing 1,234,567,654,321) and beyond. Not to mention that eleven is a very desirable hand in Blackjack, causing players to double down and increase their potential winnings.
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APPROACHING SEASON OF WINTER

photo taken up Big Cottonwood Canyon on October 9, 2011

I am trying to learn more about how to add things to this blog. Currently figuring out how to upload music. This is some work in progress.  This is a song that I recently heard that I really liked.

 It is by Brandon Heath entitled "Your Love"

“Wherefore, I now send upon you another Comforter, even upon you my friends, that it may abide in your hearts, even the Holy Spirit of promise; which other Comforter is the same that I promised unto my disciples, as is recorded in the testimony of John. This Comforter is the promise which I give unto you of eternal life, even the glory of the celestial kingdom; Which glory is that of the church of the Firstborn, even of God, the holiest of all, through Jesus Christ his Son”

D&C 88: 3-5

Christ is the Second Comforter. We don't talk much about this in church. The hope of seeing Christ face-to-face, of Him ministering to you personally, and of eventually receiving a promise from Him of eternal life in the celestial kingdom, is supposed to be the ultimate goal and aspiration of every true follower of Christ. That promise from Him of receiving your calling and election is something we don't talk much about either. However, you can read alot about it what Joseph Smith taught in the book, Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith and/or The Words of Joseph Smith. Either one of those books would be great study manuals for the Priesthood and Relief Society next year.    

I read this quote today that I thought was interesting: 

"When a people collectively downgrades its expectation regarding the necessity of heavenly interaction during mortality, and adopts instead a religion with decreased expectations based on ordinances controlled by man, apostasy sets in and destruction, both spiritual and physical, appears on the horizon. The true standard, to which the Gentiles specifically are supposed to seek, appears to be the only expectation lofty enough to generate the faith required to overcome the world and to prepare for His second coming."

THE SYMBOL OF THE ROSE

photo taken of the roses I gave my wife after childbirth

I will write more, but in the meantime.. please click the following link and watch this.. 

http://vimeo.com/27920977

There is so much symbolism in the watching the flower "open" up to its' full beauty and potential. Amazing.

I really like the song too. It is violin music. I just recently learned that the violin is the one instrument that resembles the vibrations/sound of the human voice.

WHITE AS SNOW: Baptism and Blessing.

taken after my daughter Sarah's baptism and confirmation and

my daughter Eden's baby blessing on November 5, 2011

This morning, we woke up to a white world. It snowed. First snowstorm of the winter where the Salt Lake Valley received several inches on the valley floor. It was symbolic. Today I baptized my daughter Sarah, and also blessed our new born baby, Eden. The number Eight is very symbolic. It is the age that we baptize. Eight symbolizes Rebirth. Seven days of the week.. the 8th day start anew. It was interesting that there were 8 people who were baptizes along with Sarah today.

I really like the above photo my two daughter dressed in white… especially to see the image of the Savior in the background. The picture of my family against the backdrop of the white snow on the red dogwood shrub is also so symbolic. The shrub is related to the dogwood tree – The leaves of a dogwood tree turn bright red in the fall. The dogwood legend says that these red leaves symbolize the blood spilled at Calvary. The leaves turn red in response to the changing season, like many deciduous trees, but the Christian symbolism of the dogwood tree turns the red of the leaves into a remembrance of innocent blood.

HAPPY 8TH BIRTHDAY, SARAH!

Today is my daughter Sarah's Birthday. Born on November 3, 2003.

Daddy Loves you.

CHIASTIC DATE: 11.02.2011

 A new book cover design for my friend, Avraham Gileadi 

"My name is Jehovah, and I know the end from the beginning;

therefore my hand shall be over thee."

Abraham 2: 8 

A new friend of mine commented yesterday on my post that today was 11/02/2011... or 11022011. You can read those numbers from the end to the beginning and it would be the same. It is a chiastic structure. Just like the title of  this book by Avraham Gileadi, The End from the Beginning.  Normally we would say... the Beginning to the End. I have learned alot recently how history repeats itself. What will happen has happened before. We would do well to read and understand history, learn from the past to best prepare for the future... Or better yet, we can read the scriptures, especially Isaiah and the Book of Mormon prophets, who saw the future and has written about it in the past for us to read today.

11.1.11 ......SYMBOLISM OF ONE

Today is 11.1.11

The number One reflects new beginnings, and purity, so I thought is was appropriate to post this picture of Sarah who will be baptized this week. My daughter Sarah's birthday is in two days.. on 11.3.11. She will be turning eight. She will be baptized on 11.5.11 on the same day that her baby sister, Eden, will be blessed.