WHAT DO YOU BELIEVE IN?

Most of us believe in certain things.

Everyone seems to believe in luck, or karma, of some kind, even when they deny it.

The saying goes there are no atheists in foxholes.

And it seems like most of us believe in some pretty foolish stuff - like President Obama is a Muslim, the Internet is always true, and what Fox News says is true.

(Sorry, am I making my political stance a bit too obvious?)

Okay, how about belief in Bigfoot, UFOs, and that the landing on the moon was faked?


Well, actually, I think there is something like Bigfoot out there, I DO believe in UFOs (I've seen one), and I'm not entirely certain about the moon landing being real.

But tonight I found out someone I thought I knew fairly well does not believe in something that I accept as very basic.

Surprise.

HOW MUCH IS THAT DOGGY IN THE WINDOW?

I'm in the market for a dog right now.

Yes, my husband already has one, but she is a blonde, scared of her own shadow, and prone to barking at only imaginary sounds.






Since my husband may be leaving for a year overseas, he and I agreed I needed a bigger, better sort of guard dog.

So I've been visiting our local animal shelter every couple of weeks, and have linked up with a German Shepherd rescue group.


And I'm determined to wait until I really, honestly and truly, fall in love with a dog.

It hasn't hit yet, and I am willing to wait. 

IN GOD WE TRUST

I can't post this on Facebook without starting an uproar.

So I'll gripe about it here.

This video, In God We Trust, was posted on Facebook by several friends with the notation "The Song Most Radio Stations Are Banning" and "If you agree with this song, please repost."

I don't agree.

Yes, it's wonderful that a whole great big bunch of us believe in God.

But this nation was founded on a couple of extremely important premises.

One of them being the separation of church and state.


And another being the freedom of religion.

Yes, people can believe in God.

But people also have the right, and the freedom, to NOT believe in God. And they can believe in a God called Allah - or Elohim - or Parabrahman - or Waheguru - or Bahá - or Gitche Manitou.

And still be be strong, upright citizens.

They can worship Satan - they can worship frogs - they can worship Justin Bieber if they want.

U.S. citizens have the right to protest - to burn the American flag in protest - to believe in ways that we find ridiculous.

And if we don't protect that right, we are one step closer to having OUR right to worship OUR God taken away by someone else.




One of my MANY bumper stickers is "Freedom of Religion means ALL religions - not just the ones you may agree with."

We need to remember that, if we expect to be able to continue as Christians... or Jews... or Buddists...

Or frog-worshippers. ;-)

THE VOICE OF GOD

Morgan Freeman is going the voice-over for a Visa commercial - it combines the Olympics, a family death, victory, and an adorable beautiful baby girl with that sublime, lower-than-low intonation of his.

It's like saying no to Benjamin Kinsley when he is dressed as Gandhi.

It would be refusing to have Helen Mirren as Queen Elisabeth sit down in your presence.

Or to take Eddie Murphy seriously.

Wait a minute, am I that influenced by actors? Or is just voices?

I kinda like the fact that almost everyone doesn't like hearing their own voice - well, people over the age of eight. And aren't heading towards a career in broadcasting.

Some voices just are iconic - like Orson Welles, James Earl Jones, Jimmy Stewart. Mae West is the epitome of sultry, sexy female - Sandra Bullock is the all-American mid-west girl.

(And Meg Ryan's voice is just annoying - I do like her, a lot, but I don't like her voice - only exception is a couple of good lines from "French Kiss")

So give me your honest opinion - who does the best God voice? Morgan Freeman - George Burns (does anyone besides me remember that one, with John Denver?) - Graham Chapman (Holy Grail) - and can anyone think of anyone else?

And I promise you, if anyone is gonna be struck by lightening, it's gonna be ME, not you!

MY SON, MY SON, WOULD GOD I HAD DIED FOR THEE, MY SON

My dog went to the vet's early this morning for some routine dental work.

And came home late late this evening unable to move his tongue or his back legs.

He's going to be fine - but he has had most of this teeth removed, he is still bleeding from one side of his mouth, and he is moaning with almost every breath he takes.

The feeling of deja vu for me is overwhelming.

When my daughter was six or seven, she had to have eight teeth removed surgically. And I could not convince her to take the pain medication when I brought her home - so in about two hours, she was in severe pain.

It's so difficult to see someone suffering when they have no concept of why they are in such agony.

And tonight, driving home with my dog's head in my lap, trying to comfort him and also drive a stick-shift for 21 miles, I had a spiritual insight.

This is what God feels like, most of the time.

He loves us, so completely, and continually sees us in pain, hurting, without any real idea of why we are suffering.

And He wants so much to tell us, "It's just for a moment! It's going to end really soon! It's going to be okay!" And He listens to us whimpering and moaning and wallowing, not understanding that the hurt is just temporary, it's going to leave, and we will gain something from it.

Murray will be pain-free from his teeth that have been hurting him for a long time. But he certainly doesn't understand that right now. And all my reassurances in the world aren't helping.

Heavenly Father, I'll try to be more patient next time when I am hurting, and attempt to trust You more.

THY WILL BE DONE

I am feeling particularly sympathetic towards Heavenly Father this week.

That sounds pretty arrogant, doesn't it?

But God has children, and he has to deal with a whole lot more than I have. He gave them all a pretty good game plan.... if they would just shut up and FOLLOW it like good kids.

But we think, oh, yeah, we know better, and we definitely know more than God way up in heaven, so we'll just keep advising Him to do things the way that we want it.

When it's put that way, I feel a little bit silly about some of my prayers. And now that I have an offspring who acts that way towards me, and as always, it is much easier to recognize it when someone else is doing it.

Enlightenment comes when you accept God's will as your own. I've got a long, long way to go down that path, but being a parent can sometimes give you an advantage in perspective.

GOD AND MOMS

There is a saying, "There are no atheists in foxholes." I have always sorta wondered why EVERYone, when they get in a dangerous position, say (or screams) OMG (or words to that effect).

Maybe it's just covering all bases, just in case this is 'the end.' Even my dad, a life-long atheist, asked a lot of questions about my spiritual beliefs after his first big stroke and up until he died a couple of years later.

And I personally am convinced that is one of the main points of having 'opposition in all things', as Nephi so eloquently put it. If everything in our lives was always peachy-keen, why would we ever look outside of ourselves for help? If no one had any troubles, how would we learn to help another and serve each other?

So, (back to the original topic) what do God and moms have in common?

They get called on when the going gets tough.