Yesterday I was walking Lucy around the LDS Temple (it is a great hill) and I felt really sad. The temple is surrounded by huge gates and the message I get from it is that those gates are there to keep people out.
I understand that people see the temple and what goes on inside as sacred. Perhaps they do not want throes of people invading their territory, because they appreciate the quiet and want to be around others who are understanding of the rituals taking place. However, what the temple symbolizes to me is a place of great judgment by one human of another. Judgment is natural, I judge all day long, but I thought a religion that touted the teachings of Jesus Christ was suppose to embrace his love for all persons, to open their doors to all of God's children and to never place one person above another.
Sunday, March 28, 2010
Friday, March 19, 2010
Higher Power versus Representative
Right now is the season of Lent, Easter is just around the corner and there is some talk about that guy who died on a cross then rose from the dead. This guy, Jesus, and his rise to fame (because of his supposed rise from the dead...) baffle me. Why do religions have to have an interloper between God and humanity?
I do not think we do God justice when we try to define its (I use "it" as a pronoun for God, to get rid of the whole gender bias issue) existence. If God is God then by definition we will never understand God. Never. This idea of not understanding God is not good enough for most people, therefore we have Jesus and other prophets who speak for God. We have the Bible, which is supposedly the word of God. We have rituals that are suppose to bring us closer to God.
I will admit openly right now that I do not know the contents of the Bible very well (read it front to back as a kid, did not retain much) nor do I have knowledge of Jesus beyond what I was taught in Sunday School and through some scattered attendance at various churches. I think the gist though, is that Jesus is the son of God on a level much higher than the rest of us are children of God. Jesus also performed some wickedly cool miracles that defy the laws of science, most impressively, coming back from the dead. These things have earned Jesus the following of millions. I was taught to end my prayers by saying, "In Jesus' name, amen." That is huge, because Jesus, in my view, surpassed God!
So my question is, why? Why do we have to have Jesus, or any other prophet? What need do we have as humans to define God and to believe that we, based on our religious affiliation, have an inside scoop to what it is God is after?
I do not want to offend anyone by trivializing religion and yet, the absurdity of it smacks me in the face when I think about it. God is something we will never, ever comprehend, because if we did, God would not be God. Yet, we assign God a messenger so we can comprehend God. This messenger has only reached certain people. This messenger can come in different forms. This messenger says in one religion that drinking alcohol is bad and in another that drinking wine is part of the sacrament representing the sacrifice of God's son. We are to worship these messengers for revealing to us certain knowable qualities about God. Some messengers have bigger followings, therefore, it is more accepted socially to put faith in their message about God. David Koresh is viewed as a crazy person who thought he was a messenger, but Jesus, although deemed crazy in his day, is considered by many a valid messenger.
I think God should be enough. God, our community, ourselves...that should be sufficient. I do not think we should put more faith in another human being's message than we are willing to put in our own knowledge. We know acts of kindness are better than acts of violence. We know that every single person has worth. We know that when we die we want to feel cognizant of our surroundings and secure in the relationships we have built on earth and we live as if this is truth. We don't need Jesus or anyone else to tell us those things which we know are true and we should never say the belief in a given messenger gives us greater favor in God's eyes. God is beyond definition, beyond explanation and beyond comprehension. Defining God through messengers gives us comfort, but being comfortable does not mean we know God.
I do not think we do God justice when we try to define its (I use "it" as a pronoun for God, to get rid of the whole gender bias issue) existence. If God is God then by definition we will never understand God. Never. This idea of not understanding God is not good enough for most people, therefore we have Jesus and other prophets who speak for God. We have the Bible, which is supposedly the word of God. We have rituals that are suppose to bring us closer to God.
I will admit openly right now that I do not know the contents of the Bible very well (read it front to back as a kid, did not retain much) nor do I have knowledge of Jesus beyond what I was taught in Sunday School and through some scattered attendance at various churches. I think the gist though, is that Jesus is the son of God on a level much higher than the rest of us are children of God. Jesus also performed some wickedly cool miracles that defy the laws of science, most impressively, coming back from the dead. These things have earned Jesus the following of millions. I was taught to end my prayers by saying, "In Jesus' name, amen." That is huge, because Jesus, in my view, surpassed God!
So my question is, why? Why do we have to have Jesus, or any other prophet? What need do we have as humans to define God and to believe that we, based on our religious affiliation, have an inside scoop to what it is God is after?
I do not want to offend anyone by trivializing religion and yet, the absurdity of it smacks me in the face when I think about it. God is something we will never, ever comprehend, because if we did, God would not be God. Yet, we assign God a messenger so we can comprehend God. This messenger has only reached certain people. This messenger can come in different forms. This messenger says in one religion that drinking alcohol is bad and in another that drinking wine is part of the sacrament representing the sacrifice of God's son. We are to worship these messengers for revealing to us certain knowable qualities about God. Some messengers have bigger followings, therefore, it is more accepted socially to put faith in their message about God. David Koresh is viewed as a crazy person who thought he was a messenger, but Jesus, although deemed crazy in his day, is considered by many a valid messenger.
I think God should be enough. God, our community, ourselves...that should be sufficient. I do not think we should put more faith in another human being's message than we are willing to put in our own knowledge. We know acts of kindness are better than acts of violence. We know that every single person has worth. We know that when we die we want to feel cognizant of our surroundings and secure in the relationships we have built on earth and we live as if this is truth. We don't need Jesus or anyone else to tell us those things which we know are true and we should never say the belief in a given messenger gives us greater favor in God's eyes. God is beyond definition, beyond explanation and beyond comprehension. Defining God through messengers gives us comfort, but being comfortable does not mean we know God.
Wednesday, March 10, 2010
Oh Dear...
First, is this a Utah thing, to have a sticker of your family members on your vehicle? I don't remember seeing this in such abundance in Michigan and Texas, but maybe there just weren't as many stickers per vehicle.
Second, this is the second time I've seen one with the Dad, um, scratched off, or maybe accidentally removed, but it does make one wonder.
Monday, March 8, 2010
Big Love - Almost
I haven't had any good "only in Utah" stories lately, so when my friend mentioned her recent dating experience, I had to ask her if I could post it. She said yes, so here it is:
In July 2009, I decided to try an online dating service. I met a man living in Logan, in his 40s, seemed nice, seemed intelligent, had kids, gainfully employed, blah, blah, blah. We chatted several times a week for a couple of weeks. I agreed to meet for drinks. Because he had posted a picture of himself with several kids, one of the first questions I asked when we met face to face was how many kids did he actually have. He responded, "Oh, I was hoping you wouldn't ask me that right off. I was hoping we'd get to know each other better first." (See red flashing light here.) I said, "Well, with that response now you have to answer." He told me that he had been married 20+ years, Mormon, 6 or 7 children, and that he had come to realize that this planet would never amount to anything until all people returned to fundamentalist Mormonism (read polygamy here.). His wife disagreed. So, he divorced her, found a 22 yr. old who did agree, married her, and had an 18 month old baby. He went on to complain that child support for 6-7 children was soooo expensive he and his new wife lived with her mother. So, he said that she and he were looking for a partner and would that be something I'd be interested in. I immediately said NO! He said, "Would you like to think about it?" I said, "No, I know myself pretty well and that I know that I am a monogamous, jealous person and I think Lorena Bobbit was right on." Date over.
Thank you Rebecca Garrido, for sharing your story!
In July 2009, I decided to try an online dating service. I met a man living in Logan, in his 40s, seemed nice, seemed intelligent, had kids, gainfully employed, blah, blah, blah. We chatted several times a week for a couple of weeks. I agreed to meet for drinks. Because he had posted a picture of himself with several kids, one of the first questions I asked when we met face to face was how many kids did he actually have. He responded, "Oh, I was hoping you wouldn't ask me that right off. I was hoping we'd get to know each other better first." (See red flashing light here.) I said, "Well, with that response now you have to answer." He told me that he had been married 20+ years, Mormon, 6 or 7 children, and that he had come to realize that this planet would never amount to anything until all people returned to fundamentalist Mormonism (read polygamy here.). His wife disagreed. So, he divorced her, found a 22 yr. old who did agree, married her, and had an 18 month old baby. He went on to complain that child support for 6-7 children was soooo expensive he and his new wife lived with her mother. So, he said that she and he were looking for a partner and would that be something I'd be interested in. I immediately said NO! He said, "Would you like to think about it?" I said, "No, I know myself pretty well and that I know that I am a monogamous, jealous person and I think Lorena Bobbit was right on." Date over.
Thank you Rebecca Garrido, for sharing your story!
Saturday, March 6, 2010
Sophie "Picasso" Albee-Scott
We are so proud of our favorite child (you can say this when you have only 1 child) and her artistic efforts! Sophie has entered the AVA's Art-O-Rama 3 years in a row and it has been a rewarding experience every time. It is so cool to see children's art work hanging in a real gallery!
This year Sophie received Honorable Mention for her batik piece, "Desert Rain," which was done in her fabulous art class, taught by our dear friend, Brooke Lambert. Brooke was an art teacher for years and now volunteers her time to teach art at Adams Elementary and she holds a class once a week for Soph and a couple other students.
I still have the painting Sophie did when she was only a few months old, which consisted of me putting a paint brush in her little hand and a piece of paper in front of her. During the years she has used different mediums to express herself and we are fortunate to have our walls adorned with her work.
As Steve and I told Sophie, we are proud of her for receiving an award, but most of all, we are proud of her for entering the art show in the first place.
I love that the master of ceremonies quoted Picasso, "Every child is an artist. The problem is how to remain an artist." Sophie - I hope you always believe in your abilities, that you continue to try new things and that you remain wondrous of this world.
Day 17
I gave anonymously, but one of those mass giving type of things: a program called SEED was raising money through various restaurants who gave 10% of their proceeds to the organization and the Albee-Scotts LOVE eating out (or ordering take-out as it was).
I also had the chance to help someone yesterday via my friend in Kansas. Lisa (who I've written about before) and I became friends when we moved here in 2006 and I was heartbroken when she moved in 2007. She contacted me yesterday about a family who might need some help. I couldn't reach the family, but was able to find someone who went out of his way (really out of his way) to get the family in touch with me. I was then able to get the family in touch with an organization in Logan that helps in these kinds of situations.
One of the interactions we had was with a landlord and as Sophie noted after our brief meeting, "He was really nice!" I hope she realized that people really do want to help others, and people are willing to give each other a break if they feel an effort is being made. Sometimes in the midst of a crisis we need a spokesperson, someone to stand up for us. I've had many spokespeople in my life and am lucky to have learned by example.
When I thanked my friend for giving me the opportunity to help, she laughed. But I love being able to help, I just don't always know how. There are also so many times we resist asking for help, fearing what others will think of us, and yet I have found that people genuinely love being able to do something for someone else. I am very bad at asking for help. I worry that people will think I am inadequate and lazy and that they'll get a glimpse into a life that is sometimes chaotic and messy. On the other hand, I greatly admire those people who admit that they cannot do everything on their own and who give me a chance to be a part of their lives.
Maybe my next journey should be "40 Days of Asking for Help."
I also had the chance to help someone yesterday via my friend in Kansas. Lisa (who I've written about before) and I became friends when we moved here in 2006 and I was heartbroken when she moved in 2007. She contacted me yesterday about a family who might need some help. I couldn't reach the family, but was able to find someone who went out of his way (really out of his way) to get the family in touch with me. I was then able to get the family in touch with an organization in Logan that helps in these kinds of situations.
One of the interactions we had was with a landlord and as Sophie noted after our brief meeting, "He was really nice!" I hope she realized that people really do want to help others, and people are willing to give each other a break if they feel an effort is being made. Sometimes in the midst of a crisis we need a spokesperson, someone to stand up for us. I've had many spokespeople in my life and am lucky to have learned by example.
When I thanked my friend for giving me the opportunity to help, she laughed. But I love being able to help, I just don't always know how. There are also so many times we resist asking for help, fearing what others will think of us, and yet I have found that people genuinely love being able to do something for someone else. I am very bad at asking for help. I worry that people will think I am inadequate and lazy and that they'll get a glimpse into a life that is sometimes chaotic and messy. On the other hand, I greatly admire those people who admit that they cannot do everything on their own and who give me a chance to be a part of their lives.
Maybe my next journey should be "40 Days of Asking for Help."
Thursday, March 4, 2010
Day 16 - Again, thank you Stephanie!
Stephanie sent The Toy Society link to me awhile ago and it fit perfectly with the 40 Days of Good Deeds! I am not a crafty person, I have made Soph some Pokemon dolls, but they took quite awhile. When our family made these crayons, I thought (and Stephanie suggested) using them for this project.
If you go to the web site, you'll see that other people's projects are so adorably cute, but hey, it's the thought that counts, right? Also, everyone else uses Ziploc bags, but we didn't have any big enough.
We dropped our item in the laundry facility of family housing on the USU campus. It reminded me so much of family housing at the University of Michigan. I hope a child finds it, or a parent doing their laundry sees it and takes it home. It's not much, just some crayons and paper, but hopefully to a child, it'll be something spectacular!
Wednesday, March 3, 2010
Day 15 - Thank you Stephanie!
Today Sophie and I bought a board book to deliver to the local hospital. While we were checking out, we had the opportunity to buy another children's book to be donated to a local agency, so the giving was twice as nice!
We bought "On the Night You Were Born," a seemingly perfect book for a brand new baby. I debated whether or not to take it to the hospital or the Child and Family Support Center and after some deliberation, decided on the former. Soph and I had to hunt a bit to find the baby wing, but once we did, we saw happy families gathered in the waiting room. I thought I would drop the book off at a desk with some instructions, but there didn't seem to be any personnel. So I quickly spotted a family, explained what we were doing and handed it to the woman I thought was going to be delivering her baby soon (it seems she is due in 2 weeks, but was there for her sister!). We did hear the family exclaim something using the word, "Awesome" and I felt happy, though slightly embarrassed about our giving.
I thought maybe I could have added a note, especially to a first time mother, how exciting it is to bring this baby home, but also how scary and sometimes hard it can be. Maybe next time.
On the way out of the hospital, we ran into my friend, Amy! Amy is someone I knew from living in Logan before and she is a wonderful person. We keep saying we're going to get together for coffee and ya know, I think this time I'm going to see that we stick to it!
We bought "On the Night You Were Born," a seemingly perfect book for a brand new baby. I debated whether or not to take it to the hospital or the Child and Family Support Center and after some deliberation, decided on the former. Soph and I had to hunt a bit to find the baby wing, but once we did, we saw happy families gathered in the waiting room. I thought I would drop the book off at a desk with some instructions, but there didn't seem to be any personnel. So I quickly spotted a family, explained what we were doing and handed it to the woman I thought was going to be delivering her baby soon (it seems she is due in 2 weeks, but was there for her sister!). We did hear the family exclaim something using the word, "Awesome" and I felt happy, though slightly embarrassed about our giving.
I thought maybe I could have added a note, especially to a first time mother, how exciting it is to bring this baby home, but also how scary and sometimes hard it can be. Maybe next time.
On the way out of the hospital, we ran into my friend, Amy! Amy is someone I knew from living in Logan before and she is a wonderful person. We keep saying we're going to get together for coffee and ya know, I think this time I'm going to see that we stick to it!
Tuesday, March 2, 2010
Day 14 - Thanks Kelly!
Kelly suggested this deed, inspired by http://operationbeautiful.com/send-in-your-notes/, so Steve, Sophie and I headed up to Utah State University and left these notes in the women's bathrooms in the art department. Steve stood guard outside while Soph and I posted the notes and took pics (you really do not want people seeing you leave a bathroom with a camera...).
What I love about this is the simplicity, minor cost and that I could bring Sophie with me to do something that might just cause one person to smile at themselves in the mirror. I also love that 18 years ago I frequented the very bathroom I visited. I was a college freshman, very unsure of myself and very down on my appearance most of the time. I spent many hours comparing myself to other female students, usually wishing I were thinner, but sometimes wishing for longer hair, darker skin, freckles, whatever. I wasn't comfortable in my own skin.
Kelly, thank you for this suggestion. I still have a stack of post-it notes that I'm just going to carry around to leave a note whenever and wherever and maybe on my own bathroom mirror!
Monday, March 1, 2010
Day 13
I feel like today's deed is kind of lame, but it was at no cost to me and was totally anonymous (though I blog about it) and hopefully it helped someone in some way.
I walked into the reading coach's room at school to sign my time sheet and noticed some scraps of paper on the floor, by the garbage can (kind of like how my hubby puts his clothes by the hamper). I picked them up and threw them out. There. That's it. Now, if I'd been really good, I would've recycled the scraps of paper, but that would've meant walking all the way down to a recycling bin and perhaps giving away my anonymity (ok, no to the second part, I was just lazy).
The person who cleans that room will never know they were saved the laborious task of bending over and picking up scraps of paper, or sucking them up with a vacuum, but maybe, just maybe, I spared them some bit of annoyance, just a tiny bit. I wonder how many things we do all day long that would be more difficult if someone else hadn't made it easier in a way that we never even know.
I walked into the reading coach's room at school to sign my time sheet and noticed some scraps of paper on the floor, by the garbage can (kind of like how my hubby puts his clothes by the hamper). I picked them up and threw them out. There. That's it. Now, if I'd been really good, I would've recycled the scraps of paper, but that would've meant walking all the way down to a recycling bin and perhaps giving away my anonymity (ok, no to the second part, I was just lazy).
The person who cleans that room will never know they were saved the laborious task of bending over and picking up scraps of paper, or sucking them up with a vacuum, but maybe, just maybe, I spared them some bit of annoyance, just a tiny bit. I wonder how many things we do all day long that would be more difficult if someone else hadn't made it easier in a way that we never even know.
Walking Tour of Logan
Steve and I walked around downtown while Soph was at a friend's house and took some pics of our favorite places:
1) First Presbyterian Church - we were married here in 1999 by John and Bobbie McGarey. We started attending the church a few months ago and really love it.
2) The Utah Theater - it's been closed for renovations for about 2 years, but before that we loved going there to see older movies and Steve and Soph went to the Harry Potter marathon during the summer of '07.
3) The Bluebird - our favorite place to get a piece of chocolate while roaming downtown. Also, Steve and I had our rehearsal dinner here.
4) Global Village - sells items from other countries, non-profit, favorite store in town.
5) Former Logan Library - Steve LOVES this building and has great memories of many, many hours spent reading books. It reminds me of the library in the town in which I grew up in Wisconsin. Great building...would be perfect for a children's museum!
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