The Year of the Butterfly

It's taken quite a while to figure out what I want to do with this blog, but I was so happy to get on here this morning, look around at what I'd already put here, and realize that I knew, subliminally, at least, from the beginning.

I'm learning the importance of intent.  Too much living takes place unintentionally, and it's usually where we humans get ourselves in trouble.   When I taught YSA Institute a couple of years ago, the first semester's curriculum was entitled "The Gospel and the Productive Life".  That's when the notion of living with intent first started to percolate.  When I saw the lesson topics - ranging from paying tithing and living debt free to physical fitness and good health - it struck me how easy it is to slide into a path of least resistance, in almost every aspect of our daily living.  It became the connecting thread of the lessons for that semester in an attempt to paint a picture for the students:  living the gospel of Jesus Christ transforms a schlepping, scrubby Natural Man who is generally acted upon, into a true Saint - an agent who chooses to act, rather than wait to be acted upon - a Child of God who, because of conscious, intentional actions....IS, who steadily, daily practices and imitates developing the attributes of his Creator...the great I AM.

THAT...is some pretty high living.  No wonder it inspires so many of us to.....nap.

But yesterday, I came across a quote I had put in the front of my planner about 10 years ago.  It had great meaning for some major life changes and shifted a lot of negative energy to positive energy at the time.  It's from a sweet little book called Hope for the Flowers, by Trina Paulus:

"How does one become a butterfly?  You must want to be able to fly so much, that you are willing to give up being a caterpillar."

That really explains symbolically the purpose of this life:  we were born as the children of the Creator, and must go through a metamorphic process to go back to Him.  We work, and practice, and fail, and start over...and make progress, and backslide, and try again, and start over...and strive, and succeed, and fall again, and start over...and over...and over...and over...as we struggle to break free of the chrysalis that binds us.  It's easy, from the perspective of inside the chrysalis, to forget that the chrysalis is not all that there is to life.  There's soooo much more.  There. Is. FLYING.  

Being a butterfly is soooo much better than being a caterpillar, but it's easy to forget that the chrysalis, which feels so restrictive and binds us down, is the very thing that facilitates the change.  The work and intentional energy required to break free of it is the very process that makes the transformation from caterpillar to butterfly possible.

As you may or may not know, I am not Chinese. Nevertheless, I am dubbing 2014 The Year of the Butterfly. When my little scrubby self wants to keep crawling along its usual path of least resistance, the reminding, nagging, coaching, encouraging question must override:  

Would you rather crawl....or fly?

For, Not Against

In my last blog, I wrote about all the things I'd learned about Senator Hatch and why I wouldn't be supporting him.  A friend asked me why I was supporting Dan Liljenquist.  I felt quite chagrined that I had taken so much time in laying out my case against Hatch, without making my case for Liljenquist.  Thanks, RaeLynne, for the friendly question!

I was very impressed by Dan's open, straightforward manner; he actually answered questions!  When you go to hear the same candidate more than once, you start to get a sense of whether they're reciting talking points, or whether they're actually talking to you.  And while all candidates turn to talking points from time to time, Dan's answers were consistent and genuine.  While political campaigns so often focus on an opponent's record, I felt like I heard more about Dan's own record and goals than a typical campaign.  He has a concrete plan, based on the concrete plan he took the the Utah state senate, and he can articulate it clearly.  Two financial issues he was very concerned about upon entering the state senate were pensions for public employees and state Medicaid. 

At the debate at Juan Diego High School this spring, Hatch challenged Liljenquist on votes missed during sessions of the Utah state Senate, a major theme in many of Hatch's campaign ads.  Liljenquist was, once again, direct in answering:  "I'm glad you asked about that," he stated.  He went on to say that Hatch made it sound like he, Liljenquist, was out playing golf, rather than garnering bi-partisan support for his pension reform bill.  He was present at the capital every day of the legislative session, and came to vote on any crucial issues where his vote was needed.  When it wasn't needed, he continued to talk to legislators from both parties, convincing them the need to offer this bill to the governor with as much support as possible.

"As I met with state Democrats," Liljenquist said, "They would say, 'Dan, you have a majority; you don't need our vote.'  I would tell them, 'I know I don't need your vote; I want your vote.  This is not a bi-partisan issue; it is a reality issue.  We need to make the pensions sustainable.'"  Dan was able to get his bill passed unanimously, which was then signed by the governor. 

Ladies and gentlemen:  THAT is what reaching across the aisle looks like.  Rather than compromise your principles and vote for something you don't agree on, because the sponsor of the bill has stuck in a goodie for your state, SO that you can then stick a goodie into your bill for their state and have them vote for yours...IS NOT REACHING ACROSS THE AISLE.  It's crony politics at its worst, where career politicians have lost sight of voting for what is right, because it has become about parties and who can win.  If we have leaders in Washington who are so entrenched in that system, seeing it as simply "the ways things are done", and continue to partake of the spoils of the labor of the taxpayers, how are we ever going to get anything different from our leaders...unless we send new leaders?  

Dan also sponsored reforms to Utah's Medicaid system, which will save our state millions - nearly $1 billion - over the first seven years.  His goal was to make it more attractive for low-income earners to earn more, rather than stay earning a low wage so they could keep state welfare benefits of one kind or another. 

Other states - a dozen or more - have now been in contact with Dan to see how Utah has made some of these changes, as so many states are in financial trouble with these same problems.  He is working with legislators all over the country to consult and coach on the success he's experienced in Utah with these much needed reforms.

Dan has been successful in passing sweeping reform legislation on issues that are vital to the economic survival of the entire country.  He is ideally suited to replace Hatch.  If Hatch had stuck to his original plan and served 3 terms, I believe he would be a supporter of Liljenquist today.  He is a principled, honorable man.  He is highly qualified with a background in economics, law, and business.  He has actually done in our state what needs to be done on a national level, both in seeing the kind of legislation that can make real changes, and in working with both parties to bring it about.  Should Hatch win this election, six years from now, we may not have the chance to replace him with such a fine statesman as Dan Liljenquist, a man who is so uniquely qualified for the problems our country faces today.

Going Political

I got the chance to be a Republican state delegate for my voting precinct in April.  I learned a ton – mostly, that there is attendant responsibility to the rights and privileges of self-government:  “…the burden should come upon all the people that every man might bear his part.” (Mosiah 29:34)  In a free society, the people must bear the burden of government, and as we live in a democratic republic, that means becoming an informed voter.  Taking the time to vet candidates made me wonder why I had not been doing so all along.  I am now resolved to be a more informed citizen and voter.  I urge everyone to start their own journey of self-education, be sure you’re registered to vote, and VOTE!  This is how we bear the burden to keep our country free.  If knowing correct principles is, in fact, the way for us to be able to govern ourselves, it only stands to reason that ignorance is the greatest danger in a republic.

At our caucus, a large number of neighbors wanted Orrin Hatch to make it into a primary; they felt it was wrong that Bob Bennett never even made it out of the Republican convention in 2010.  The sentiment was that the public should have been the ones to decide.  At the time, that made sense, but as I’ve gone through my own process of self-education (which is by no means finished!), I realize that means a largely uninformed electorate would make that decision, possibly without being as fully aware of a candidate’s voting record as the delegates who attend the convention. 

Prior to the convention, I had just as many neighbors ask me not to vote for Hatch, as had asked me to vote for him the night of the caucus.  Last summer, before I even had an idea to be a delegate, I met Senator Hatch and got to talk to him.  He was extremely condescending, quick to give non-answers full of somewhat relevant details and minutia, or dismiss questions altogether, descending into folksy “rah-rah” rhetoric. 

Because of this, I already had a rather unfavorable impression of a man who had served in the Senate twice as long as the man he replaced – an incumbent, who, at the time, Hatch strongly criticized for his lengthy tenure.  Hatch’s campaign slogan in 1976 was: “What do you call a U.S. senator who has served for 18 years?.....You call him HOME.”    I ask:  what has changed in 36 years to compel us to send him for what would be a total of forty-two???  This is how we have unwittingly created an elite ruling class who nearly doesn’t answer to us any more for their behavior, and certainly does not play by the same rules we do. 

After listening to both Orrin Hatch and Dan Liljenquist in debates and cottage meetings, I’ve come to the conclusion that Hatch has no business serving a 7^th term.  The way he has handled the questions of his constituency, his voting record, his misrepresenting Liljenquist’s record, and his refusal to debate, have all weighed in my decision to support Dan Liljenquist.

My main reasons for not supporting Hatch are:

         

1.         He confirmed and/or didn’t appropriately vet – liberal presidential appointees such as Timothy Geithner, Cass Sunstein, and Eric Holder.  He confirmed liberal Supreme Court Justices Stephen Breyer and Ruth Bader Ginsburg – recommending Ginsburg.  In all fairness, Hatch has been responsible for approving some strong conservative Supreme Court justices as well.  But my biggest problem with his approval of such choices is his reason for doing so:

A former Hatch aid, Edward Whelan, described Hatch’s philosophy of presidential appointments (in particular reference to Justice Ginsburg’s appointment to the Supreme Court):  “Sen. Hatch and other Republicans voted to confirm her because they believed the president was entitled to considerable deference in selecting a Supreme Court Justice.”  A fellow state delegate said Hatch explained this as his reasoning for “non-cabinet” appointments (a.k.a. “czars”) by President Obama, and this was his reasoning behind his voting in favor of Obama’s “recess” appointments this past year.  This is the antithesis of Constitutional reasoning.  The purpose of Senate approval of presidential appointments is to provide checks and balances on power.  I believe that voting for something because it’s going to pass with a majority – in spite of his opposing vote – is strong evidence to show that Hatch has lost sight of his role as a member of Congress.  While it may be spun as “reaching across the aisle”, Hatch seems to have lost sight of the purpose of vetting appointments.

2.         He voted for the establishment of the Department of Education in 1979 – in his first term!   President Carter established this behemoth federal office to thank teacher unions for helping him get elected.  I had heard conflicting information about this, and as I did research to verify it, came across a video clip online of an interview Hatch did with Greta Van Sustern on Fox News.  He stated that he had opponents who claimed he had established the Department of Education, which was not true.  I was flabbergasted.  While technically true – he, himself, did not establish the Department of Education, he absolutely voted to approve its establishment! (www.govtrack.us/congress/votes/96-1979/s70)

Hatch supported Bush’s “No Child Left Behind” program, a grossly expensive expansion of the federal government.  Centralized education is another concept antithetical to limited government as set forth in the Constitution, and is far too expensive for our country to pay for when we are as far in debt as we are.

3.         His voting on many federal spending projects is anything but conservative.  Some of the largest debt increases he voted to approve were done during Republican presidential administrations, years when the Senate held a Republican majority, and/or during the time he spent on the Senate Finance Committee.  Among some of the most egregious:

 

·         TARP, Fannie Mae/Freddie Mac, and auto bailouts – all huge intrusions on the free market with staggering debt ramifications.

·         The Dream Act – tuition  credits for the children of illegal immigrants, which he co-sponsored.

·         SCHIP – government-sponsored child health care, which many consider a pre-cursor to Obamacare, and which he co-sponsored.

·         Medicare Part D – expansion of Medicare in prescription drugs which added trillions in unfunded liabilities to Medicare.

While all these things are well-meaning – they are financially irresponsible at our current rate of debt and spending, and were never intended purposes of the federal government as outlined in the Constitution. 

4.     He has voted to increase the debt ceiling 16 times. 

5.    He voted for the updated NDAA – National Defense Authorization Act – which includes new wording that grants the president overreaching authority to circumvent basic 5^th Amendment rights to U.S. citizens.  

6.    Hatch’s number one argument that he be elected for a 7^th term is his seniority.  He stoutly asserts that he is needed on the Senate Finance Committee, where he is in line to become the chairman.  He also insists that he is needed to keep Hill Air Force Base open. 

·         The man behind Hatch to head the Senate Finance Committee, Mike Crapo of Idaho, has a better conservative voting record than Hatch.

·         Several swing states will all have to elect Republicans instead of their currently serving Democrats.  While this is possible with the high dissatisfaction with Obama’s policies, Hatch chairing that committee is definitely not a sure thing, and should hardly be the trump card to secure him votes.

·         Recent policy changes have largely removed the politicizing from the decision-making process of military base closings.

7.     Hatch has misrepresented Liljenquist’s voting record in the Utah state senate while technically not lying about it, making missed votes look like irresponsibility.  Dan frankly explains that he was working on bi-partisan support for his award-winning legislation on pension and Medicaid reform, legislation that is garnering attention from at least a dozen other states in financial trouble, and could serve as a model for financial reform at a federal level.

8.    Hatch is 78 years old, and it is abundantly evident when you hear him speak.  His mental acuity is not what it was 18 years ago, the time when he said he would be done in the Senate.  If he is elected for a seventh term, he will be 84 years old at the end of his term.

9.     Hatch has been unwilling to face Dan Liljenquist in a public debate.  A radio debate, in the middle of the day, with an ally as the moderator is a lame concession at best.   

This race is garnering national attention; for just one example, see: http://townhall.com/columnists/michellemalkin/2012/06/01/its_time_for_beltway_barnacle_orrin_hatch_to_go/page/full/.

I have arranged to have Dan Liljenquist speak in my neighborhood on Monday, June 18^th @ 6:30 p.m., at 741 East Litson Circle.  Please bring your questions and come meet him.  Dan would make an excellent replacement for Hatch.  He is an honorable man, a true statesman.  We may not be so lucky six years from now to have such a fine choice as an alternative. 

 

God Makes Beautiful Things

All superlatives to describe this natural phenomenon seem pale and trite.  I'm so grateful for all the beautiful things God has made to make us happy.  Enjoy.

http://www.grindtv.com/outdoor/blog/30930/flock+of+starlings+dazzling+aerial+ballet+captured+on+video/

Beautiful Heartbreak

A friend posted a new Hilary Weeks song last week, and I just had to share it, and have a record of how much it's meant to me lately:

Beautiful Heartbreak

Tyler Castleton and Hilary Weeks

I had it all mapped out in front of me,

Knew just where I wanted to go.

But life decided to change my plans,

And I found a mountain in the middle of my road.

I knew there was no way to move it,

So I searched for a way around.

Broken-hearted, I started climbing,

And at the top I found

Every fear, every doubt, all  the pain I went through

Was the price that I paid to see this view.

And now that I’m here, I would never trade

The grace that I feel and the faith that I find

Through the bittersweet tears and the sleepless nights.  

I used to pray He’d take it all away,

But instead it became

A beautiful heartbreak.

I never dreamed that my heart would make it,

I thought about turning around.

But heaven has shown me miracles

I never would have seen from the ground.

Now, I take the rain with the sunshine,

Cause there’s one thing that I know.

He picks up the pieces along each broken road.

Every fear, every doubt, all  the pain I went through

Was the price that I paid to see this view.

And now that I’m here, I would never trade

The grace that I feel and the faith that I find

Through the bittersweet tears and the sleepless nights.  

I used to pray He’d take it all away,

But instead it became

A beautiful heartbreak.

I would never trade the grace that I feel and the faith that I find

Through the bittersweet tears and the sleepless nights.

I used to pray He’d take it all away,

But instead it became

A beautiful heartbreak.

I don't think I'm even close to the top of the mountain that's in my path, so I can't describe the view...yet.  I think that's why this song resonated so.  What a profound oxymoron, an inspired juxtaposition - "beautiful heartbreak."  In the worst of certain trials, the sanctifying fire that burns away the dross is so achingly beautiful because somehow, you feel yourself being made more fit to be in the presence of the Lord because of it.  A person who refines silver must watch the heat closely to perfectly refine the silver.  Not enough heat, and the impurities aren't burned away.  Too much heat, and the silver is destroyed along with the impurities.  It takes just the right amount of heat, and just the right duration of heat, and the refiner has to watch very carefully.  He only knows the silver is ready to come out of the heat when he can see his reflection in the surface of the silver.

Every single person has his own personal fiery furnace, and one of the most hopeful conditions of citizenship in the celestial kingdom is "seeing as we are seen, and knowing as we are known."  I believe that is why we pray for charity - the gift to see and know, without worrying so much about being seen or being known.  "Wherefore, my beloved brethren, pray unto the Father with all the energy of heart, that ye may be filled with this love which he hath bestowed upon all who are true followers of his Son, Jesus Christ; that ye may become the sons of God; that when he shall appear we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is; that we may have this hope; that we may be purified even as he is pure..." (Moroni 7:48) 

"Be kinder than necessary; everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle."  

The Homecoming

You can learn a lot from your kids.  Grant spoke in church yesterday, and gave a beautiful talk about what he learned on his mission:

1.  Don't be a baby.  This is never a bad thing to learn, and generally needs to be learned over and over.  And over.

2.  Put God first in your life - He is your DAD.  No one loves you more, and your prayers should be TALKING to Him.  It's so much more than "We thank Thee, we ask Thee...." from Primary.

Grant told a story about a little tiny boy, Tino, the stake president's son, who gave a prayer and kept calling Heavenly Father "Poppy," as he asked Heavenly Father for things that Grant felt that he specifically needed at that time.  Grant said he was very grateful to have learned to TALK to His "Poppy" from Tino.

He told about a tiny little outpost of the church, down at the tip of the continent, called the 28th of November (it's cooler in Spanish). He said one member's home was the most holy place he had ever been, besides the temple.  He said the man felt his home needed to be sacred, because of being so off the path of any church jurisdiction.  Grant said he could feel that the Lord had not forsaken these few saints in this tiny little area, out in the middle of nowhere - that no one in the world may know about them, but the Lord knew about them, and watched over their lives.  "For can a woman forget her sucking child, that she should not have compassion on ths on of her womb? Yea, they may forget, yet will I not forget thee, O house of Israel.  Behold, I have graven thee upon the palms of my hands; thy walls are continually before me." (1 Nephi 21:15-16).  He learned that he is not alone from the 28th of November.

Lastly, Grant told of David and Maria, a family who had a huge trauma befall their family the day after their baptism.  He told of counseling David that this event could bring him closer to God, or tear him away from God - but that he, David, would be the one to decide.  He said one of the most meaningful moments of his entire mission was watching the change come over David's face as he made the decision to stay with the Lord.  He learned to stay with the Lord, through anything that could happen to him, from David.

The last area in Grant's mission was a return to an area where he served very early in his mission.  He spoke about how powerful it was to see different people's choices to move closer to the Lord - or not - over that year and a half in between.  It reminded me of Alma meeting Ammon and his brothers after their fourteen-year mission to the Lamanites, how overjoyed Alma was at learning that his dear friends were still faithful to their covenants.  It was particularly poignant to consider, after hearing about a family who could have been ripped away from their tender, newly-planted gospel roots at the very outset of their planting, but instead, to reach down deep into that soil and cling to their covenants, and to their God. 

I love what I've learned and how my faith has been strengthened as I've watched my son serve a mission.  I'm sure gonna miss those Monday emails.

Grant and cousin Isaac

Grandpa Simper and Uncle Dick

Cousin Sarah - new Aggie! 

Aunt Julee and Val

Why didn't we get Grant in here?

Susie Peterson, David Mann, and Megan



High school friends - Chantelle and Mietra Aarabi



Cousin Bronson, and friends Cory Swensen and Jordan Prestwich

Megan and Jeanne Huffty, with Jeanne's hubby Elmer

Grandma and Grandpa Naylor

Aunt Michelle and cousins Ashton and Peyton - who turned twelve the day before

Megan with Shaunie Mendenhall

Elder Cameron Beatty, one of Grant's companions, with Aunt Tammy and Sarah

Shaunie and I in deep conversation, Connie and Julee chortling over chips

Susie Peterson and Chantelle

Shaunie and Connie - true sisters to me

Leslie Rogers and Chantelle

Uncle Kyle

Foreshadowing....Heaven

Two days ago, we had a taste of what I imagine it's like to pass through the veil at the end of our lives.  As I stood in the airport waiting to see our missionary man child come down the escalator inside the terminals, we waited with three other families whose sons were traveling with Grant:  Elders Harris, Healey, and Peterson.  Naturally, we were all instantly friends, because we were all there for the same purpose, to welcome valiant sons home.  Then we caught that first glimpse of them, predictably near the end of the disembarkment, and suddenly, we weren't one big group. We were four individual groups, sacred family units, sharing a private, sweet moment of reunion.  Suddenly, Grant wasn't the disembodied idea of Grant that he had become over the past two years.  He was my Grant, our Grant, that sweet little boy, loping down that hallway towards us, a man home from his first big commission from the Lord. 

It was Wednesday afternoon, and because of changed travel plans, the dear boy had essentially been up since Monday morning at 6:30 Buenos Aires time.  He looked dazed and confusedly happy. 

This must be what heaven will be like, welcoming each other after completing our life's missions.  There will be people there to greet us and welcome us home again.  It will be familiarly strange....and strangely familiar.  Being together again with people we may have been separated from our entire mortality, it will surprise us that we remember and know grandparents and others whom we never met in this life. 

You can't really say that it feels like he's never been gone, because the separation mattered so much.  It was vital that Grant's first two decades of life be tithed for the Lord, and all four of us are different people because he served.  I am so grateful for this son.  It was joyful, yesterday,  to watch him get up and study, make his bed (!), clean up after himself, ask every few minutes, "What do you need?  What can I do for you?", thank me for the meals I've fixed him, allow me to chase him around the bar in the kitchen for hugs, the way I used to before he left.....only now, turn around suddenly and run right into my arms.  I'm so grateful for children who grow up and still want to come home!   

The apostle Paul calls followers of Christ "children of light."  I am so grateful to have raised children who love light.  Light is the way by which we see everything else. The Light, is what helps us discern truth - "things as they really are."   





Lookin' for the Boy...

Here he comes!

Best friends

Grandma Naylor & Megan

Grandpa Naylor

Uncles Kyle & Bryce



And the one who makes him cry?  His first mission president - President & Sister Argyle
"Don't cry because it's over.  Smile because it happened."    -Dr. Seuss



Elder Peterson, Elder Simper, President & Sister Argyle, Elder Healey, Elder Harris

President Argyle gave his missionaries specific "return and report" instructions when he left Argentina in July, 2010.  This is Grant, obeying those instructions.

Dan Furner, Grant's bishop who sent him into the mission field

Tim Richardson, Grant's Weblo's leader, then, the Young Men President when Grant was a priest

Mom #2 - Connie Bell - Grant's piano teacher from age 5 to 18

Mietra Aarabi - one of Grant's best friends since junior high