a trip to New Zealand (part 2)

Thursday we had breakfast at an outdoor café next to the lake in Rotorua and then drove west to Waitomo past beautiful lakes, overlooks and pastoral farmlands. After checking into our hotel we were off to our glowworm/blackwater rafting cave adventure. We were fitted with uber sexy wetsuits, helmets and headlamps, armed with inner tubes and then taken to the mouth of the cave where we jumped! Part of the time we hiked and part of the time we floated down the underground river that ran through the cave. There were a few more jumps, a tiny set of rapids. And then there were rooms where we turned off our headlamps, looked up at the ceiling and witnessed an amazing display of glowworms that looked like a galaxy of indoor stars. It was really a little breathtaking. And the caving adventure was all kinds of fun! We ate a warming meal of soup and bagels (the river water was fuh-reezing!) and then cuddled into bed to watch a movie and get a well-deserved night’s sleep.

Friday we drove back to the cave site and took a nature walk around the outside this time. Then drove to the city of Hamilton, stopping by the LDS temple grounds along the way and then wandering through the city museum, an art gallery, pedestrian area and the river walk. It was the perfect rest stop on our drive back to Auckland.

Jenny has family living in Christchurch who have family that live just outside of Auckland and they graciously opened their home to us. So owe drove through the city and over the bridge to the charming area known as Narrow Neck. No one was home when we first got there so we parked the car and walked five minutes down the road to the beach where we dipped our toes in the water and gazed at the Auckland skyline across the way. That evening we were fed blue lipped mussels, a New Zealand specialty (which unfortunately neither of us loved), along with a few other NZ favorites like jaffas and pineapple lumps (both delicious!) among other truly delicious dishes and visited with our hosts Anne and Neville and their boys Campbell and Oliver, some of the nicest people around.

mid-week music.

As you may have gathered from a few of my recent posts, my decisions have left me a little floundering of late. I know I've made the right choice and things will work out but right now I'm feeling a bit lost and anxious. Where do I turn for direction? For all the really big things it's truly my religion and beliefs that keep me going. It's the essence of who I am and what I do. But sometimes faith needs a little nudge and an emotional pick-me-up and so I turn to the arts. Books, music, paintings, and such just fill a necessary space in my soul. My current reading will be a near-future post but today you get some music.

In the middle of all my moving chaos I failed to report back on the Frank Turner concert.  Let's just say it was everything I needed. Aside from his potty mouth, which I can always do without, he's a fantastic performer with great audience rapport and an absolutely charming British accent!  I thought I'd share my favorite of his songs, the one that first introduced me to him and one that sort of sums up my wandering feelings of late.

Isn't he darling? I kind of want to eat him up.

And then another ode to the wanderer with a refrain I've caught myself singing over and over again like a melodic mantra.

It's obviously got a very political bend to it but I think the idea that we don't really know where our lives will take us is an important one.  I've spent a lot of time thinking I could plan what would happen and where I will go next and how things will turn out but other than knowing the direction I'm moving at this exact moment in time I really don't have any idea what life has in store for me. I can only fall back on the aforementioned faith and hope that everything will turn out the way it's supposed to (and as long as I'm moving and trying my best I completely believe that it will!)

a weekend spent in uplift.

My favorite weekends of the year come every six months.  In April and again in October there's a world-wide gathering of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints where members are taught by the leadership of the church. It's 8 hours of inspiring messages, counsel and guidance that feeds my soul for the coming months. I love it!

There's always a common thread that seems prevalent, though each speaker prepares his/her remarks independent of everyone else.  This time there were a lot of messages of hope in adversity, the roles and blessings of individuals (male and female) within the bounds of the church structure and society, and a call for a return to the basics and foundations of spirituality and morality (prayer, obedience to the 10 commandments, mutual respect for others). Written transcripts of the entire proceedings can be found here a few days after the fact but there are links to the recorded messages up live. Here are a couple of my favorites.

Jeffrey R. Holland, Lord I Believe

Whitney L. Clayton, Watch and Learn

M. Russell Ballard, This is My Work and My Glory

How was your weekend?

listening to a prophet.

Sorry for the slackerness. I keep thinking I'm going to catch up on life but it seems the more I try the more life catches up with me. But it's been a good week and I have lots to share so you'll get a deluge of mini-posts the next little while.

First up, a re-cap of General Conference which was Ah.Maz.Ing! It's always a good experience but some times I just get more out of it than other times. This year someone suggested I write down a list of questions and concerns I had going into it and begin with a personal prayer beforehand that I might get guidance or answers to those things I was worried about. What a fantastic idea. (Sorry I can't remember who my brilliant suggester was or I'd give you credit!) It helped me to focus my thoughts and attention better and I definitely felt as if several of the talks were geared specifically to what I needed to hear.

I've made a nice long list of uplifting and inspiring quotes to keep me going as well as some suggestions of things to implement (or remove from!) my life. You can read, watch, or listen to all of the talks here in their entirety if you'd like. But here are a few of my favorite thoughts of the moment:

Dieter F. Uchtdorf-

Discipleship is the pursuit of holiness and happiness. It is the path to our best and happiest self.

Sometimes in life we become so focused on the finish line that we fail to find joy in the journey...Doesn’t it seem foolish to spoil sweet and joyful experiences because we are constantly anticipating the moment when they will end?

(N)o matter our circumstances, no matter our challenges or trials, there is something in each day to embrace and cherish. There is something in each day that can bring gratitude and joy if only we will see and appreciate it.

 Neil L Andersen-

These fiery trials are designed to make you stronger, but they have the potential to diminish or even destroy your trust in the Son of God and to weaken your resolve to keep your promises to Him. These trials are often camouflaged, making them difficult to identify. They take root in our weaknesses, our vulnerabilities, our sensitivities, or in those things that matter most to us. A real but manageable test for one can be a fiery trial for another.

How do you remain “steadfast and immovable” during a trial of faith? You immerse yourself in the very things that helped build your core of faith: you exercise faith in Christ, you pray, you ponder the scriptures, you repent, you keep the commandments, and you serve others.

Henry B. Eyering-

The Lord’s delays often seem long; some last a lifetime. But they are always calculated to bless. They need never be times of loneliness or sorrow or impatience.

Thomas S. Monson-

Heavenly Father is aware of our needs and will help us as we call upon Him for assistance. I believe that no concern of ours is too small or insignificant. The Lord is in the details of our lives.

Linda K. Burton-

First observe, then serve.

Sometimes we are tempted to serve in a way that we want to serve and not necessarily in the way that is needed at the moment. ...[If we] question...ourselves as we serve and ask, “Am I doing this for the Savior, or am I doing this for me?” our service will more likely resemble the ministry of the Savior.

So, how 'bout you? How did you spend your weekend? I hope it was a great one!

a timely message.

In anticipation of General Conference  this weekend (a worldwide gathering of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints aka Mormons where we are taught by and hear messages from our leaders) a friend has been posting a talk each day on her Facebook page. I re-read this one and loved it so I'm sharing it with all of you.

Take a minute to read it and then come back.
But If Not...

Man, am I guilty of having that 8th grade kind of faith. There are things I want and expect and hope for my life that continually fail to come to pass and it's hard on my faith. Sometimes I can suck it up and smile and realize that someone who knows infinitely more than I do is in charge of it all but sometimes I falter and doubt, cry and demand and want to give up and give in. Obviously I haven't learned to take my faith to that next level, to truly trust and believe in my Savior the way He wants and has commanded.

I particularly love the closing thought...

Our God will see that we receive justice and fairness, but if not. … He will make sure that we are loved and recognized, but if not. … We will receive a perfect companion and righteous and obedient children, but if not, … we will have faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, knowing that if we do all we can do, we will, in His time and in His way, be delivered and receive all that He has. 

Life is hard but we can still find faith and hope in whatever higher power guides our lives and trust that things will all be made right eventually if we just hold on.

I look forward to learning and being taught even more this weekend and will be sure to share some of the highlights and faves later on.

Happiness is...a goal to work towards.

Those of you who are familiar with the culture of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (Mormons) will likely be familiar with the twice yearly tradition of General Conference.  In April and then again in October, the members of the church gather in Salt Lake City and in church buildings and in front of TVs and internet connections around the world to listen to our prophet and apostles share uplifting messages, guidance and information for how to live better lives, persevere in the face of adversity and prepare for the Second Coming of Jesus Christ.

It's one of my favorite times of year.  I love being spiritually fed and reminded of the Lord's love for me and the blessings in my life I often take for granted or overlook.  I also really appreciate the opportunities to be reminded of things I should be doing.  Usually it's something I already know but have become lax in my follow through or let slide due to time constraints and the busy-ness of every day life. But sometimes you get a little nudging to try something new or stretch yourself in ways you hadn't thought to do before.

For anyone who is interested, you can find the full transcripts and audio streams at the church's website here, but here's a brief list of some of the things I noted that we were encouraged to try or improve upon or were reminded of.

• Increase your efforts for a more diligent scripture study-memorize scripture verses
• Obedience to the commandments brings protection and guidance from the Spirit
• No one is too young to do family history work, step up to the sacred duty and do your part
• Use your time wisely
• It's always better to look up! :)
• Remember the covenants we made at baptism and strive to more fully live them
• Wait on the Lord-hope, anticipate, trust and have faith
• Fathers have a sacred responsibility to teach, love and support their daughters
• Pray more often and more sincerely and be open to the revelation you will receive
• Do your beliefs affect your actions? Are they consistent with each other?
• Walk after the manner of the Spirit
• Choices=consequences, choose wisely
• All of our promised blessings and righteous heartfelt desires will be fulfilled eventually if we remain faithful

That's a pretty amazing list of guidance and teachings and it's hardly even the tip of the iceberg. What an incredibly fulfilling weekend!

I was really struck by the mention of family history work.  I have a bit of a guilty conscience that I don't do more in that regard. I justify it a bit by telling myself I'm working on my own personal history in the form of scrapbooks and journal entries and even this blog, but I know I need to be doing more for my ancestors.

My current writing project is a historical fiction combining some of the loose ends and random facts we know about my great-great grandfather into a possible scenario of his existence. He lived in London in the mid-1800s and I've done a bit of research but have a long way to go. I've been working on the actual writing part of it for over a year, though not very consistently, and it sort of gnaws at me but I've gotten pretty good at ignoring it and finding a million other things that of course, are far more important. But I think this was the kick in the pants I needed to make me re-focus and put forth a more consistent effort.

I also happened to be trawling author blogs the other day and came across Laurie Halse Anderson's through a series of links and references on other blogs. During the month of August she did a daily writing challenge she creatively named WFMAD (write fifteen minutes a day.) Each entry has a short message of encouragement or a writing tip followed by a writing prompt.  Her stance is that life will always throw 'more important' things at us.  If you wait for enough time to start writing you'll never start so you've got to make time. Rather than setting some horrendously discouraging goal of so many words or pages a day she decided to stick with a very manageable fifteen minutes. Keep a notebook with you in the car and you could total that up sitting in stoplights during your commute! I can easily tackle that at work or even right before bed. Doing it consistently will help make it a habit and hopefully some days I'll get the ideas flowing and the fifteen minutes will multiply and I'll make some serious progress on my book.

Since I enjoyed the book review a day challenge so much this summer I figured I could easily use this blog to help me keep some measure of accountability for a writing challenge as well.  I won't subject you all to my scribblings but I will try to check in a couple of times a week and post a short progress report at the end. Anderson has 31 entries which will take me through the month of October. Then I'm hoping to have enough material down to be able to take a bit of a break and let things simmer while I participate in NaNoWriMo in November.

NaNoWriMo (national novel writing month) is this great challenge to encourage writers to crank out an entire novel in one month. There are contests and serious stuff but I'll just sort of follow along on my own. The idea is to not use it to work on a current project but to start fresh and do the whole thing from start to finish (rough draft of course) in one fell swoop.  I have the idea for another project fermenting in my brain right now that I'd love to spend a little bit of time with and I figure this is the perfect way to get at it. When it's done I can let it settle while I go back to my original piece and when that rough draft is finished I can look at my NaNoWriMo piece with fresh eyes and give it some TLC and editing and all. Not having done any really serious writing like this I may be setting myself up for failure and discouragement but it will be a lesson learned if nothing else and hopefully I'll make some headway on at least one of the pieces.

So, I have a nice set of goals to work on and a bit of enthusiasm for them all at the moment. But we'll see what happens tomorrow morning when the alarm goes off and reality sets in!  Wish me luck!

WFMAD update: October 1, 25 min
October 2, 15 min