Food Addictions

Food addictions are a reality.  There are various foods that get us hooked!  Sweet, fatty, and salty foods are generally the culprits.  We use food to celebrate, grieve, for boredom, stress, recreation, socializing, etc.  We too often live to eat rather than eat to live.  Why do we do this?   What affects our desire to eat so much? And how can we get control of our unhealthy eating habits?  In my research paper I plan to look at why people have food addictions and how can they overcome them.  

Fall Is Here!

I Love Fall !  I love the colors, tastes, smells, rain, and yes, even the cool air!

One day as I looked up, I saw red painted on the sides of the mountains and knew that summer was coming to an end. Every day there were changes on the mountain sides as the colors changed to include yellow and orange and grew closer to our valley below.   It won't be long when we will also be bathed in color.

My apple tree has given it's first few apples.  That first crisp, juicy bite of a Golden Delicious apple in the  fall is my favorite bite of the year.  Apples eaten whole or in slices; apples in crisps and pies ; apples in baskets on the table and tucked into lunch bags - it's the best time of the year to eat apples. There is nothing like fresh fruit in the late summer and fall!

After the rain last week, as I was walking up the stairs by the Richard's Building, I could smell the earth and the greenery by the stairs.  I had to stop for just a minute to enjoy the fresh, clean smell of this beautiful earth we live in.  Rain cleanses and refreshes everything and the colors of nature are brighter and sharper.

After the long hot summer, it's nice when it cools down.  I like to open the windows and let the fresh air in after keeping everything closed all summer pretending to shut out the heat.  Then again, it's fun to snuggle up inside a soft blanket to warm up when it gets a little too cool.  One of my favorite things to say is, "You can only take so many clothes off to cool down, but you can always put more on."  I don't mind bundling up in the fall and winter (I think it's my Finnish blood) and as I mentioned, you can always put more clothes on.

The four seasons each have their own special qualities, but isn't fall wonderful!

We Do Matter: President Uchtdorf's Ethos, Pathos and Anaphora

President Dieter F. Uchtdorf  is a wonderful speaker.  He is an apostle of the Lord and has a commission from Him to teach us, which is the best ethos I can think of.  He establishes pathos, in his talk "You Matter to Him", by the experiences that he has had and uses repetition, anaphora, to emphasize that whoever we are, we matter to the Lord.

At first he establishes pathos by telling of his experience in Texas where he attended pilot training. He shows how he had also experienced what many or all of us have - feeling "insignificant, unknown, and quite alone."  Not knowing a language well, being far away from family and friends is a frightful experience, which I know from my own experience, and it's easy to feel all alone.  By sharing his experience with us, President Uchtdord, helps us to know that we are not the only ones who have these feelings.

Yet, President Uchtdorf gives us hope when he teaches us how much we all matter to our Heavenly Father.  He uses repetition: "no matter where you live, no matter how humble your circumstances," and "how meager your employment, how limited your abilities, how ordinary your appearance, or how little your calling in the Church may appear to you," we are still loved by our Heavenly Father and and He knows where we are.  President Uchtdorf helps us to realize that we are never really alone, and that we always matter to the Lord.

"You Matter to Him," by President Dieter F. Uchtdorf, comforts, teaches, and helps us to know that we matter to the Lord.  By his pathos, ethos and repetition, he guides us to true understanding of who we really are and that we do matter.

From Radio to Television

As I looked forward to General Conference this past weekend, my mind went back to when my children were young and how our conference viewing has evolved over the years.

Preparing for Conference has always been a big deal in our family.  It has been a time to spend together and listen to the Lord's servants. When my two oldest were young we lived in Washington state and had to find a place where we could get a reception on the car's radio.  We were only able to listen to Sunday sessions.

After moving back to Utah, we were thrilled to watch it on television.  The week before, I would get Bingo pages for the younger children with pictures of topics such as families, a prophet, a heart etc.  The tokens were usually raisins.  The children would bring pillows and "blankies" for comfort on the floor.  As they got older notebooks replaced Bingo cards.

As time has worn on, most of my children have gotten married and started families of their own.  At first, when they didn't have many children, we would all get together and watch conference together.  Now, there are 15 grandchildren and it gets way too noisy to hear a thing!  Needless to say, we had to make changes.  I have families come at different times to watch different sessions, which works out very well - for now.