on my mind

I don't normally post thoughtful or wordy posts, mostly because I take a very long time to get my thoughts into writing.  I feel like I'm writing an essay.  Because I'm a grammar/spelling nazi, essays ought to be perfect to be worth reading, so I don't write them since perfection takes a long time.  And this momma doesn't have a case of bottled time just laying around.

A few things have struck me lately, though, and I thought I should share.  I have thoroughly enjoyed reading the Ensign magazine each month.  Emerson and I are usually on one of our morning walks when the mail comes.  I read the Ensign the remainder of the walk and devour it whenever I get chances throughout the rest of the month.  It seems that each article has something especially for me.  My heart is touched at least once in each article, and there have been more than a few times when I sit on the couch and just tear up from the spirit I feel. 

One particular article this month is the reason for my post.  It didn't strike me in a sobbing-on-the-couch sort of way, but more like a this-needs-shared-with-everybody-and-that-starts-with-me sort of way.  Now I know that only four people read this blog, but that's no reason not to start sharing, right?  I suggest reading the article yourself to get the full message, but I want to share a few snippets.

Elder Holland gave an address to a group of national Christian leaders in 2011.  He calls for their help as leaders in the Christian world to stand together for the cause of Christ. 

"Friends, you know what I know—that there is in the modern world so much sin and moral decay affecting everyone, especially the young, and it seems to be getting worse by the day. You and I share so many concerns about the spread of pornography and poverty, abuse and abortion, illicit sexual transgression (both heterosexual and homosexual), violence, crudity, cruelty, and temptation, all glaring as close as your daughter’s cell phone or your son’s iPad.  Surely there is a way for people of goodwill who love God and have taken upon themselves the name of Christ to stand together for the cause of Christ and against the forces of sin. In this we have every right to be bold and believing, for “if God be for us, who can be against us?” (Romans 8:31)."

Elder Holland goes on to describe the Christ we revere in the LDS church.  He testifies of His divinity and majesty.  He also states that the Latter-day Saints "would be eager to join hands with our evangelical friends in a united Christian effort to strengthen families and marriages, to demand more morality in media, to provide humane relief effort in times of natural disasters, to address the ever-present plight of the poor, and to guarantee the freedom of religion that will allow all of us to speak out on matters of Christian conscience regarding the social issues of our time. In this latter regard the day must never come that you or I or any other responsible cleric in this nation is forbidden to preach from his or her pulpit the doctrine one holds to be true. But in light of recent sociopolitical events and current legal challenges stemming from them, particularly regarding the sanctity of marriage, that day could come unless we act decisively in preventing it."

That's quite the list to tackle, but if we each take a little, maybe we can overcome the evil that is so prevalent.  I know Satan is real and he is fighting hard to make evil seem good and good seem evil (see Isa 5:20).  I could go on and on if I really got going, but Elder Holland sums up his (and my) thoughts nicely: "Few things are more needed in this tense and confused world than Christian conviction, Christian compassion, and Christian understanding."

Now that I've waxed eloquent enough for one day, I should go find some cute baby pictures to post, although in the future I do want to try getting more thoughtful posts down for my own sake.  Stand by for who-knows-what kind of posts.

Roach Coach

The first time I heard the terms 'roach coach' and 'maggot wagon' was in training at Dish Network in Arizona.  The trainer of my technical support class was telling us we had 30 minutes for lunch and that the roach coach would be at our location at this and that time throughout the day.  Just the nickname made me sure that I would never buy food from the vendor of the roach coach.

Three years later, my own house can be called a roach coach of sorts.  For a few months now, we have been dealing with cockroaches in our kitchen.  We bought traps and tried to be patient while we waited for the traps to do their job.  No such luck, though.  The problem was only getting worse. 

So finally I called maintenance and asked what was an acceptable amount of bugs because I'm not from here and I don't know.  I've never had bug problems like I've experienced here (try googling 'termite swarming season' - you're in for a real treat).  Anyway, we were told we may see the big cockroaches outside after a rain, but the little ones should never be seen indoors.

Oh dear.  You mean to tell me that I should've called when I saw the first demon bug but instead have living with them for months now?! 

Pest control came and fogged our place and found the nest under our fridge and hopefully took care of the problem.  He said they're attracted to heat (which is why they're under the fridge and in my electrical sockets) and their own poop, which puts off strong pheromones.  They eat their own dead as well.  Here are some nice pics for ya:

We have donned the gloves and are enjoying a long weekend together cleaning up roach poop and trying to avoid thinking about our living conditions these past few months.  Counting down until we leave this subtropical climate and get back to the dry heat of the west. 

In other more happy and colorful (literally) news, I have added a bit of teal to my life.  I debated even doing it for a week, but I figured I won't be young enough to have teal hair ever again, so now or never.  It'll be gone in a few weeks, but it's a fun step into the world of hair fashion.

What do you think?  Crazy lame or cool blue?