tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-297245382024-03-13T22:34:11.793-07:00mulling and musingI am a married Mormon mom. I write about the mundane and the marvelous (esp. the "marvelous work and a wonder" that is the gospel of Jesus Christ).
<br><br><i>Note: I seek to keep content consistent with doctrine & teachings of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, but this site is not officially affiliated with the Church. I'm just another Mormon blogger who loves the gospel. :) </i><br><br>
Want to contact me? Email at hotmail, username mulling_and_musingm_and_mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00552368137212513094noreply@blogger.comBlogger231125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29724538.post-32648685053798822842010-04-28T13:45:00.000-07:002010-04-28T13:46:49.881-07:00From chocolate candies to nutshellsHere's my new blog.m_and_mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00552368137212513094noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29724538.post-24308525233944144722010-04-17T22:51:00.000-07:002010-04-18T00:07:07.660-07:00Semi-retirementI was trying to think of a clever title, but I'm not feeling so clever tonite. I think it's time. I've been known to change my mind on something like this before, but I think I need to do something pretty significant, to draw a line in my sand for myself and see how it feels. I need to simplify my life, and I think the way to do that is to back off from participating in the 'nacle. (Whatever the m_and_mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00552368137212513094noreply@blogger.com20tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29724538.post-57308561471157857672010-04-03T15:50:00.000-07:002010-04-03T17:19:01.416-07:00I heart Sister Beck II -- Great talk about the power of womanhoodSister Beck is a woman of power, a fabulous, fearless leader. I love her. I feel her calling to us as women to also be women of power and fearless leaders as well, by increasing our faith, strengthening home and family, and being of service in providing relief. I hear her reminding us of the power in personal revelation as well, inviting us to live our lives so as to be connected to heaven every m_and_mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00552368137212513094noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29724538.post-36304646830020665822010-03-30T22:51:00.000-07:002010-03-30T22:56:43.042-07:00Amazing Family History TipsIf you are wanting to find ways to find more information about your ancestors, this post by historian Ardis Parshall is a goldmine of information.Dance, Dry Bones, Dance(Oooo. I love the title, too.)She's done other posts on family history as well.Lesson 1 (First steps)Lesson 2 (Home sources)Lesson 3 (Social Security)Lesson 4 (Census)Lesson 5 (Resolving Discrepancies)She has a gift, I tell m_and_mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00552368137212513094noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29724538.post-27635711794886393052010-03-16T00:11:00.000-07:002010-03-16T00:58:45.506-07:00Glenn Beck and Social Justice, and Thinking Outside the Box in PoliticsOK, so I get that people feel strongly about helping the poor. I think rare is the person on either side (and all along the continuum) of the political spectrum who doesn't.I'm not necessarily a fan of Glenn Beck; he too often uses too much extreme rhetoric for my liking.But good grief, the responses to his recent comments on social justice (or, better said, how people are framing those comments)m_and_mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00552368137212513094noreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29724538.post-50669311229371760802010-03-14T01:30:00.000-08:002010-03-14T01:33:45.889-08:00Happy Pi DayWe are having a pi party with extended family to celebrate. I might even post some pictures. I made a yogurt cheesecake something (an experiment...we'll see how it tastes) for my "fruit" (we'll smother it in berries) and also a cow pie dessert (no bake oatmeal fudge cookies all in a big pile...may never cool but I wanted to have some fun with my dessert).I might slice some oranges and then cut m_and_mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00552368137212513094noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29724538.post-89952727384596960602010-03-11T23:47:00.000-08:002010-03-11T23:48:52.347-08:00Rest in Peace, Merlin OlsenFor those of you old enough to know who Merlin Olsen is, he recently passed away. He has always come across to me as a gentle, quiet, good man.m_and_mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00552368137212513094noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29724538.post-15382802617369983102010-03-10T02:17:00.000-08:002010-03-10T09:56:48.739-08:00Rejoicing in the Gospel and in Being a Mormon WomanRecently, I was accused of being over-cheerful about my perspective on the eternal blessings awaiting us -- women included -- in the eternities.At some level, I'm still just sort of dumbfounded.Sometimes in conversations about women's issues, I find myself wanting to ask, "Do you WANT me to be miserable about being a woman in the Church?" I sometimes feel as though there is the feeling among somem_and_mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00552368137212513094noreply@blogger.com28tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29724538.post-15221100748581563152010-03-05T00:56:00.001-08:002010-03-05T01:08:28.260-08:00Finding God in the Space Between Pain and ResolutionI don't have much time to write, but wanted to capture this concept that is pressing on my soul....So often, we seek God for relief, to have challenges, pain, cognitive dissonance -- whatever is causing us grief -- taken away, solved, fixed. I think it's easy to read of healings and miracles and somehow translate them to equating God's power with complete resolution of problems and pain.While m_and_mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00552368137212513094noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29724538.post-19323852809691806992010-02-03T00:18:00.000-08:002010-03-10T09:44:27.513-08:00The Patriarchal Order as a Good ThingIn the many years of being involved in discussions about women's issues (particularly in the context of the Mormon Church), I've found that there are a few terms that make feminists' hairs stand up on end. Patriarchy is one of them.It's understandable, of course. There are brands of patriarchy that are oppressive and potentially very awful. There are cultures where men see women more as m_and_mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00552368137212513094noreply@blogger.com25tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29724538.post-80272123953421970132010-01-23T00:28:00.001-08:002010-01-23T00:28:44.527-08:00LDS Humanitarian Services: Haiti Relief Widgetm_and_mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00552368137212513094noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29724538.post-11204650964883396132010-01-20T08:10:00.000-08:002010-01-20T08:12:44.702-08:00Finding Calm in the CommotionHaiti. It's on all of our minds, and for most of us, it's in a helpless sort of way. We're too far away, without the time or means to really make more than the tiniest dent by sending a meager offering somewhere. And praying. Oh, yes, we are praying.I'm also pondering. A lot. Pondering how it is that I should even be able to continue my day-to-day life of getting children from here to there, m_and_mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00552368137212513094noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29724538.post-60774114759221138712010-01-05T03:09:00.000-08:002010-01-05T03:33:12.663-08:00Moses 1 as another sort of Fall story?As we sat in Sunday School this past week, I had some thoughts that excited me.First of all, I love love love the way Moses comes to know who he really is, and how he discerns between the light, love, purity, power, and goodness of God in contrast with the darkness, hate, counterfeit everything, puniness, and evil of the devil.But Moses still has to work really hard to not succumb to the fear andm_and_mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00552368137212513094noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29724538.post-85914623482802594632009-12-28T23:09:00.000-08:002009-12-28T23:50:15.759-08:00What does it mean to be feminine?A new YW Personal Progress Program will be coming out soon. The new books will be pink. The color choice is very deliberate. Sister Dalton explains:We are excited about the color of pink, because we think these young women are pink. They resonate to the softness and the femininity of that color. We want them to understand that they are soft, they are unique, they are feminine and that they don't m_and_mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00552368137212513094noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29724538.post-24369528915391500332009-12-25T23:41:00.000-08:002009-12-26T00:03:57.477-08:00An Unexpected Christmas GiftAs I wrapped presents and set them under the tree on Christmas Eve, I had the thought to keep some of the presents hidden away. I debated within myself, but finally decided I would. We wouldn't have a lot of time to open presents in the morning anyway, since we had to get up and get on our way to go to Grandma and Grandpa's house. Yes, that would work -- we'd spread our own little family's m_and_mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00552368137212513094noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29724538.post-6892455272800591572009-12-24T00:36:00.000-08:002009-12-24T00:39:39.937-08:00Shawna Belt Edwards' "Do You Have Room?" videoMerry Christmas!For sheet music or a free MP3, see here.If you have a minute, read through some of the emails Shawna received this month after sharing her song and inviting people to share how they make room for the Savior.m_and_mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00552368137212513094noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29724538.post-46156120232852975932009-12-10T23:59:00.000-08:002009-12-18T13:25:57.534-08:00Do You Have Room for the Savior?A friend of mine wrote this beautiful song. The video is no longer available, but you can listen to the song, find information about how to download a free MP3, and get free sheet music on Shawna Belt Edwards' home page here.m_and_mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00552368137212513094noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29724538.post-19098652649084964452009-11-21T22:02:00.001-08:002009-11-27T00:15:19.248-08:00Overcoming Overparenting [edited]I saw this Time article linked on a couple of blogs. It is a must-read for any parent. I'm not sure I agree with all their final conclusions, and while it can obviously go either way (if we celebrate our failures too much, we could end up justifying error that maybe we should correct), I do agree that our generation has swung more to the side of hyper-parenting.This brought to mind Elder Oaks' m_and_mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00552368137212513094noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29724538.post-42728788299190963642009-10-05T01:50:00.000-07:002009-10-05T01:59:29.173-07:00NOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!That was what could be heard at my house today. President Monson hadn't even finished the "Amen" of his concluding remarks when my children burst out in protest [no joke] at the fact that General Conference was over.My sentiments exactly. What a marvelous weekend.p.s. There's already lots of discussion going on, so I'm going to point you elsewhere to share your thoughts about Conference. Please m_and_mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00552368137212513094noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29724538.post-58253588585299990912009-09-21T22:10:00.001-07:002009-09-21T23:38:54.577-07:00Thoughts on Turning Hearts -- not to fathers or children this time, but to each otherMy husband and I were talking in the car tonight about the gay marriage issue. One of the hardest things I see about the issue, and other issues, for that matter, is that there is too much of closed-mindedness on both 'sides' of these issues. It's too easy to REact without thinking, and without trying to let the Spirit guide choices and actions.There are many examples that come to mind:I saw it m_and_mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00552368137212513094noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29724538.post-19806830094397986412009-09-20T00:43:00.000-07:002009-09-20T00:50:12.937-07:00Comfort FoodThe phone rang. It was my visiting teaching companion."I'm ordering dinner to be delivered to your house. Is 6:00 ok?" I tried to convince her that we were fine (we really were), but she would have none of it. "What kind of pizza do you like?" When I told her, she asked what else we wanted. Again, I tried to let her know that a pizza was above and beyond.... Again, she just hushed me up and m_and_mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00552368137212513094noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29724538.post-17589074534615764062009-09-11T22:15:00.000-07:002009-09-11T22:34:48.409-07:00RememberingI was sound asleep when my phone rang, so my brain didn't fully process my neighbor's frantic message:"Turn on the TV. There has been a terrorist attack!"I rolled my very pregnant body out of bed as quickly as I could, and wobbled downstairs to turn on the television.It doesn't matter that words can't really describe it, because we all felt it. I sat, in shock. Watching replays of the planes m_and_mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00552368137212513094noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29724538.post-75437352682755464392009-09-02T22:15:00.000-07:002009-09-02T22:51:04.752-07:00"Empathy is Never Wasted"As I have been dealing with a life that is pretty messy (weird schedule, weird health, long list of to-dos that don't get done because of said and other weirdness), I have thought a lot about the commandment to not judge. I have a greater appreciation for what that means, because I know more what it's like to fear others' judgment because of my messy life.We so often measure each other (and m_and_mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00552368137212513094noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29724538.post-39350011610272007182009-09-01T00:11:00.001-07:002009-09-01T00:39:09.436-07:00The Lonely RoadWhen you think of President Hinckley, what do you think of? I think of a lot of things, but one is his optimism.That makes a verse in the hymn he wrote all the more interesting to me.Oh, give me thy sweet Spirit still,The peace that comes alone from thee,The faith to walk the lonely roadThat leads to thine eternity.The lonely road. Truth be told, the walk of faith can be a lonely road. It's not m_and_mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00552368137212513094noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29724538.post-30274056969543478922009-08-29T22:47:00.000-07:002009-08-29T23:02:05.493-07:00Do not pass go, do not collect $200, just read these essaysThese two essays are amazing:"Hope Arising from the Ashes of Grief," Part 1 and Part 2I will say that I had the privilege of also talking with these women. I saw a presentation they did a few months ago and was so impressed. Amazed, really. I have since had personal discussions with each of them (one is a good friend of mine, and the other has become a friend). When I talked to them this week m_and_mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00552368137212513094noreply@blogger.com1