Seeing

Spoiler alert!!! If you haven't seen Avatar, or Moana, be warned- I'm going to spoil the end of both of these.

That said, this post is about seeing.

In Avatar, US/Earth military forces team up with a mining corporation to pull precious ore from an alien planet. Plot twist: the planet is inhabited by 10' tall blue aborigines. It feels something like a cross between FernGully and Dances with Wolves... with giant blue natives. The Na'vi have an idiom, "I see you," that has little to do with one's eyesight. "Seeing" someone, to them, means truly understanding who they are on the inside- the good, bad, and ugly... and acknowledging, accepting, and maybe even loving. Neytiri saw her Jake as he truly was- human, paraplegic, poisoned by her air-, and still loved him.


In Moana, a young girl (not a princess!), daughter to the chief, decides to take matters into her own hands and sail beyond the reef- an act that is forbidden- to save her people. She has to find Maui, a demi-god, help him find his magic fishhook, then sail to the island of TaFiti to return the goddess (same name as the island- she IS the island) her heart back. The trouble is, when Maui originally took TaFiti's heart, a lava monster, TeKa came into being... and they have to defeat TeKa in order to get TaFiti's heart back where it belongs. Plot twist: As Maui is trying to defeat TeKa, Moana realizes that Teka IS TaFiti! The lava monster and the island goddess are one and the same! Moana sings,

I have crossed the horizon to find you.
I know your name.
They have stolen the heart from inside you,
But this does not define you.
This is not who you are
You know who you are... who you truly are.

Moana recognized TaFiti, even when she was in pain, damaged and broken. And so was able to heal a goddess!


Sometimes, being seen, being fully known and understood, recognized, acknowledged... and still loved. There's something to that.

I challenge you to practice Seeing those around you. Recognize and accept all the parts of them. The pristine and the scars, the sweet and the bitter, the ugly and the beautiful, the simple and the complex. Accept it. And work to be grateful for all those parts of those around you.

Merry Christmas.. according to...

This evening, I was asked to prepare a kind of a lesson plan for a friend for tomorrow. Given the holiday (holy day?), I had a great plan.. dunno how it will go over, but here's what I put together.

Merry Christmas, according to Samuel, Helaman, Nephi, and Luke!

In the Book of Mormon:

Helaman 13:2 and Helaman 14:2-8

Samuel the Lamanite comes, prophesies 5 years before it happens- the coming of Jesus... Christmas!

3 Nephi 1:5-17 (note verse 13!!)

Those who believed in Samuel's prophesy were threatened with death.. and the Sign came the night they were to be killed. Note verse 13: "On this night, the sign shall be given..."

Then move to the Bible:

Luke 1: 26-37

The angel Gabriel (Noah?) came to tell Mary she would have a son.. The Son of God. Note verse 37: "For with God nothing shall be impossible."

Luke 2:1-20

Verse 5- "Espoused" is a step between our modern "engaged" and "married" where they still had the expectation of complete social and physical fidelity, but they were not to live together or have sex with each other yet. This stage of the relationship was often 6 months to a year long.

Verse 7- Many people were in Bethlehem because of Caesar's order for taxes. The prospect of not being able to find a place to stay was very real. At that time, no room at the inn wasn't about not having enough private rooms. An inn was a home, usually, with one great room. Each guest at the inn would lay a blanket down to identify their space. If Mary and Joseph had been in the inn, she would not have had any privacy for giving birth. Some speculate that the innkeeper saw she was super-pregnant and sent them to the stable (a cave where animals were kept) so that she would have privacy (and probably so her labor and delivery would not disrupt the other guests!).

Verse 12- The shepherds in the field were keepers of very special flocks, being so close to town. Part of what they did was identify first-born lambs so they could be kept for temple sacrifices. When a first-born male lamb was born, they'd wrap him up in swaddling clothes to keep him clean and unspotted so he would be fit for sacrifice. They were called by the angels to witness the first born Lamb of God, wrapped in swaddling clothes!

Isaiah 9:6

Good lyrics if you know the tune!

I'm not Ready

In Sunday school a couple weeks ago, we were talking about exaltation. And all the things that go with it.

One of the men in class said that he wasn't sure he wanted exaltation, eternal increase, etc, "I can barely handle the four children I have!"

While that may be true *now*, the reality is that who and what we are now is not who and what we will be.

Once we die, we will be free of the clouded perceptions we have now. We'll be free of our insecurities and our fears, our weaknesses and our neuroses. I believe that coming into the presence of our Father, having Him gather each of us in His arms and saying, "Oh, my baby is come home! I love you so very much!" will change our perspective on a fundamental level.

There will be no more "just" anything. "I was just a stay-at-home mom. "I just sold homes. "I was just a teacher." No more "just."

We will know who we truly ate, mighty sons and daughters of the Almighty God!!! His offspring, His children, heirs to all He is and all He has.

Literally.

We can be like Him, as a toddler can grow up to be like his daddy.

That awareness, that confidence is something we can't even understand now, let alone have. And it won't be pride or arrogance. Rather it will be simply an awareness of the truth of who we are.

The perfect house plan!!!!

The other day, I was thinking.

Some day, I want to own a home. I know that at this point of the game, that's a very slim chance. But it's still something that I want.

My dream house is essentially a ranch style home with all the necessities on the ground floor: master bedroom, kitchen, pantry, laundry room, family gathering areas, and garage. Because I have arthritis in my knees. And I really don't like stairs.

The kitchen sink area is not visible from the front door. Because that area so easily becomes a mess.

The formal dining area is huge! Because I love to have company over.

The master bathroom has an ensuite bathroom. With a huge garden tub. And the shower has dual heads and dual controls. And there's a little sitting area in the bedroom. With a bookshelf.

And extra bedrooms upstairs. Maybe four or five.

And then I found this on Pinterest!

Do you realize how exactly perfect this floor plan is??? All this stuff on the main floor. The only thing missing is a pantry.. easy to fix- put it back-to-back to the laundry room.

And upstairs:

Upstairs- three extra bedrooms. The bonus room above the garage- that could be another bedroom.. or two. Or something else. *shrug.