MERRY CHRISTMAS

The New Stuff

I always discover my favorite albums of the year at the very end of the year. I am always a little behind. Actor by St Vincent is rocking my world right now. As is Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix. St. Vincent reminds me a little of my dear Sufjan, but she definitely has her own sound. It is genius. I really, really, really love this album. And Phoenix reminds me a little of my faves The Shins. Just really fun stuff. This is new music I can get behind.

Mother Mary

It is interesting to me that we devote a full month (and sometimes longer) in celebration of Christ's birth when we have so little written about it. Though many prophets prophesied of his birth (Isaiah, Micah, Nephi, Alma, and Samuel the Lamanite), we only have Matthew 1&2 and Luke 1&2 that talk of the birth of Christ as it happened in that actual time and place. We know very little of Joseph, and not much more of Mary. I find myself reading Matthew 1&2 and Luke 1&2 over and over, trying to get a better sense of who Mary was and what she may have been thinking.

One of the things I have been considering this Christmas is the fact that Christ must have attained some characteristics and attributes from his mother. Genetics tells us that we inherit certain traits from our parents. We know that Christ inherited immortality from his Father and mortality from his mother. But what of his personality? What characteristics did he get from Mary?

I imagine Mary to be a very humble and faithful woman. In an article entitled Magnifying the Lord: Mary's Example for Us, Sheryl Condie Kempton says "Mary focused on God, not on herself, putting her faith in Him rather than in her own abilities. Rather than seeking to fulfill herself, she consecrated herself to fulfill the will of God." Kempton basically makes the point that Mary followed the Lord's will, showing complete faith in Him. As we know, Christ was the ultimate example to submitting one's will to the Father. What if Mary had not been as faithful as she was? Would Christ have remembered to submit His to the Father so willingly if Mary had not been an example of faith herself?

This makes me wonder: was Mary perfect but not translated in order to fulfill her role as mother of the Savior and Redeemer of the world?

One of the other things I have been considering of Mary was her ability to ponder on things, instead of just reacting to things. In Luke 2 verse 19, after the Shepards visited her, Joseph, and Jesus, Mary "kept these things, and pondered them in her heart." Later, when Simeon speaks with Mary and Joseph about the important role their newborn son would play in the salvation of the world, they "marvelled at those things." I don't imagine their marvelling consisted of jumping up and down and swallowing their faces; I imagine this marvelling was done in reverence. Mary was willing to do whatever God asked her to do, but I wonder if when she agreed to bare the Son of God, she understood all that meant and all He would end up doing. I'm sure as she gained greater knowledge of the miracle she was a major part of, she humbly and quietly pondered and marvelled often.

Honestly, I have no idea how to end this post. All I want to really express is that I love my Savior and I love that He had a faithful and righteous mother who had a big hand in making Him who He was. I love Mary and think she must have been an incredible woman.

My next question: who was Joseph?

Yes, I Shall Toot My Own Horn, Thank You Very Much

Jocund is one of my favorite words. Because I feel that it describes me.

To me, jovial sounds like the less obese version of jolly, and jocund sounds like the young, awkward version of jovial. I am jocund. High-spirited, merry, and sprightly. And slightly (or very) awkward. Jocund.

Merry Christmas! Some say that Christmas brings out the best in people. I would have to agree with this, but am happy to say that my jocund-ity goes year 'round.

So come to me if you need some Christmas cheering at anytime of the year.

Family

I. Love. My. Family. They are so dope.

EAC

I am on the Employee Activities Committee at work. I am in charge of making birthday cards for everyone in the office. This picture is on one of the birthday cards. This old lady is tight.

Music History: Part 2

These are the bands that make me feel at home. This would include Sufjan Stevens, The Shins, Sigur Ros, Death Cab, Rilo Kiley, Beirut, James Taylor, The Beatles, and Arcade Fire. These are the bands I listened to or discovered when I was discovering who I was. I remember in high school I used to sit in my room and listen to Abbey Road over and over and over again. I could not get enough of that album. I discovered The Shins while I was browsing through the music section at Borders. My life has never been the same. Beirut and Arcade Fire are the beautiful results of tragically falling in love with a jerk. Thank you Deven. I remember being in Dan Carter's car while he played Rilo Kiley for me for the first time and I realized how liberating music could be. I will never forget when I saw Heima for the first time. I never knew a place on the earth could be so magical. Maybe it is just good cinematography, but I am sold on Iceland. I fell in love with Sufjan as I was reading "A Good Man is Hard to Find" by Flannery O'Connor while listening to A Good Man is Hard to Find (the song based on the short story) by Sufjan. When I made the realization this was happening simultaneously, I decided to become an English major and I decided to love Sufjan for the rest of my life. James Taylor will always remind me of family road trips and of his concert when I danced on the grass with drunk middle-aged folks as the sun was setting on a perfect August day. And I remember embracing every member of the audience at the Death Cab show two summers ago. I love this music. As much as I love discovering new bands, and reliving my adolescent days with rap classics (by the way, did you know I always wanted to be a gangsta chola?), it always feels so good to go home.

Music History: Part One

For some reason, these last few weeks I have been listening to old rap and hip-hop like crazy. That's right my friends. Bone Thugs N Harmony, Coolio, Notorious B.I.G., Outkast, 2Pac, 50 Cent, The Fugees (and therefore Wyclef Jean and Lauryn Hill), Nelly, Missy Elliot, Mase, Jay-Z and the list goes on and on. Not sure why this sudden need to relive my junior high and high school days, but there you have it. Rap and hip-hop lyrics, like country music lyrics, are just so honest and straightforward, you know. They tell you exactly what's on their minds and exactly what they want. Love it.

I like the word Jazzercise.