temporarily...dysfunctional

Sunday, May 17, 2009

Megan's HALLPASS Give-Aways!!! Don't miss these!!!

from megan's blog: http://meganhallpass.blogspot.com

Giveaway Week #3: Vinyl Chit Chat

Enter here: at MEGAN's blog: http://meganhallpass.blogspot.com

This week's giveaway is sponsored by Rachel who makes cute vinyl letter signs, tiles, and whatever your heart desires! I was thrilled to receive Rachel's pay-it-forward in March!

For Christmas, Becky gave us a tile like this (but with the Salt Lake temple) that included our names and anniversary.

I have similar saying tiles too!

For our giveaway, Rachel is offering any 12x12 vinyl or phrase from her website. She is also currently offering all of my readers a 25% discount off any order through May 31st! Use the coupon code: hallpass.

This giveaway will be open until Thursday, May 21, 2009. The winner will be randomly chosen and announced Friday morning. Be sure to leave your email address in your profile or entries so that we can contact you! Feel free to tell your friends and family about the giveaway!

For your first entry, leave your first and last name in a comment.
Example: Minnie Mouse

For a second entry please peruse the wares at Vinyl Chit Chat. Then, return to Hall Pass and leave ANOTHER comment with your first and last name PLUS the item you'd like to win.
Example: Minnie Mouse: Family Home Evening

For a third entry, leave ANOTHER comment with your first and last name PLUS what and who you'd pay forward if you win.
Example: Minnie Mouse: Massage for Megan and Rachel.

For a fourth entry, become a follower of Hall Pass by clicking Follow in the sidebar. If you're already a follower, you just got an easy entry! Leave yet ANOTHER comment with your first and last name telling me you've become a loyal blog follower.
Example: Minnie Mouse: Follower

For a fifth entry, post the giveaway to your blog. Then leave ANOTHER comment with a link to your post (not just your blog).
Example: http://meganhallpass.blogspot.com/2009/05/giveaway-week-3-vinyl-chit-chat.html

For a sixth entry, put Rachel's Vinyl Chit Chat button on your blog's front page. The button is on her blog's front page. Copy the code and paste it on your blog. Then leave ANOTHER comment with your first and last name and button.
Example: Minnie Mouse: Button

Enter here: at MEGAN's blog: http://meganhallpass.blogspot.com

You can pick and choose which entries you'd like to use--you don't have to do them in order. I'm just providing you with 6 different ways to enter! Good luck!

Friday, May 15, 2009

A Brand New GrandBaby! - Josslyn Patrece!

Josslyn Patrece

8lbs 4oz - 22 inches

blonde curly hair

May 15, 2009
10:15 AM

(photos - soon - we hope)

Saturday, May 9, 2009

Happy Mother's Day - To ALL Good Mothers Everywhere!

Thursday, May 7, 2009

"If you don't talk to your kids about Liberals, who will? "

"People, do not leave the political education of your children to the schools."

Take a moment to read today's timely reminder at RIGHT WING WACKO* MOM today

*(NOT so wacko!) SMILE

Thanks for the reminder!

Monday, April 13, 2009

None were with Him...

One of the great consolations of the Easter season is that because Jesus walked such a long, lonely path utterly alone, we do not have to do so.

Sunday, April 12, 2009

Because of the Savior's Resurrection...

Thanks to

Sunday, April 5, 2009

Even a Child Can Understand

God would indeed be unjust if the gospel were only accessible to an intellectual elite.
In His goodness, He has ensured that the truths regarding God are understandable to all His children, whatever their level of education or intellectual faculty.

- Elder Caussé -

Wednesday, April 1, 2009

CREATE!

President Dieter F. Uchtdorf:

The desire to create is one of the deepest yearnings of the human soul. You dont need money, position, or influence in order to create something of substance or beauty.

Thursday, March 26, 2009

You Are NOT Alone! - We The People - The 9/12 Project - Glenn Beck

The 9/12 Project is designed to bring us all back to where we were on September 12th, 2001. The day after America was attacked we were not obsessed with Red States, Blue States or political parties.
We were united as Americans, standing together to protect the values and principles of the greatest nation ever created.

Saturday, March 21, 2009

ONLINE and in time for General Conference weekend...

Have you checked out http://www.friend.lds.org

and/or

http://www.newera.lds.org yet!?!
They've both officially gone online with LOTS of activities, stories, games and
not to mention - jokes and all those great

mormonads posters!

.~*CELEBRATIONS*~.

Ethan
1-4

Splash
1-4

Sparekitty
1-27

Great Grandma C
(roadrunner)
1-29-1928

MustangDream
2-2

EvilGrin
2-5

Micah & Becky anniversary
2-6-1993

Firepaw
2-16

Darian
2-18

Funnytom
2-22

Kreestofur
2-22

Micahwave
2-23

Miglet
3-17

DesertDesigner
3-30

Carl W.
3-31

Dulcinea-le-Fey
5-9

Spencer & Megan anniversary
5-17-1996

Titus
5 - 22 - 2006

d50guy
5-25

Mathew
5-25

Bobby Jr.
6-13

Jason & Angie Anniversary
6-15-2007

femmtech
6-21

Boolie
7-1

Dracomicon
7-2

Jeremy
7-8

Linda & Carl anniversary
7-8-1967

Neosigma
7-18

Maris
7-21

MeganM
7-29

Charity
8-9

Elena
8-20

Alice & Chad anniversary
8-22-1992

Stephanie & Cameron anniversary
8-26-2006

Hallkitchen
8-30

Jarca
9-2

Jeffrey
9-2

High1ander
9-4

templework
9-9-1947

Elizabeth & Jeffrey Anniversary
9-9-2008

Carloche
9-12-1970

Am
9-13

Carl L. & Michelle Anniversary
9-22-2007

Jonathan
9-23

WonderWomanka
9-26

Tinkebelle
9-30

Elizabusy
10-9

Blazeburner
10-16

Broc
10-26

Angie
11-18

PoohBear
11-28

DanTheMan
12-15

A More Determined Discipleship

A More Determined Discipleship
by Neal A. Maxwell

(as you read this - realize - this was given 10 October 1978 !!!)

"...Discipleship includes good citizenship. In this connection, if you are a careful student of the statements of the modern prophets, you will have noticed that with rare exceptions—especially when the First Presidency has spoken out—the concerns expressed have been over moral issues, not issues between political parties. The declarations are about principles, not people; and causes, not candidates. On occasions, at other levels in the Church, a few have not been so discreet, so wise, or so inspired.

Make no mistake about it, brothers and sisters, in the months and years ahead, events are likely to require each member to decide whether or not he will follow the First Presidency. Members will find it more difficult to halt longer between two opinions. (See 1 Kgs. 18:21.)

President Marion G. Romney said, many years ago, that he had “never hesitated to follow the counsel of the Authorities of the Church even though it crossed my social, professional or political life” (in Conference Report, Apr. 1941, p. 123). This is a hard doctrine, but it is a particularly vital doctrine in a society which is becoming more wicked. In short, brothers and sisters, not being ashamed of the gospel of Jesus Christ includes not being ashamed of the prophets of Jesus Christ!

We are now entering a time of incredible ironies. Let us cite but one of these ironies which is yet in its subtle stages: We will see a maximum, if indirect, effort made to establish irreligion as the state religion. It is actually a new form of paganism which uses the carefully preserved and cultivated freedoms of western civilization to shrink freedom, even as it rejects the value essence of our rich Judeo-Christian heritage.

M. J. Sobran wrote recently:

“The Framers of the Constitution … forbade the Congress to make any law ‘respecting’ the establishment of religion, thus leaving the states free to do so (as several of them did); and they explicitly forbade the Congress to abridge ‘the free exercise’ of religion, thus giving actual religious observance a rhetorical emphasis that fully accords with the special concern we know they had for religion. It takes a special ingenuity to wring out of this a governmental indifference to religion, let alone an aggressive secularism. Yet there are those who insist that the First Amendment actually proscribes governmental partiality not only to any single religion, but to religion as such; so that tax exemption for churches is now thought to be unconstitutional. It is startling to consider that a clause clearly protecting religion can be construed as requiring that it be denied a status routinely granted to educational and charitable enterprises, which have no overt constitutional protection. Far from equalizing unbelief, secularism has succeeded in virtually establishing it. …

“What the secularists are increasingly demanding, in their disingenuous way, is that religious people, when they act politically, act only on secularist grounds. They are trying to equate acting on religion with establishing religion. And—I repeat—the consequence of such logic is really to establish secularism. It is in fact, to force the religious to internalize the major premise of secularism: that religion has no proper bearing on public affairs.” (Human Life Review, Summer 1978, pp. 51–52, 60–61.)

Brothers and sisters, irreligion as the state religion would be the worst of all combinations. Its orthodoxy would be insistent and its inquisitors inevitable. Its paid ministry would be numerous beyond belief. Its Caesars would be insufferably condescending. Its majorities—when faced with clear alternatives—will make the Barabbas choice, as did a mob centuries ago when Pilate confronted them with the need to decide.

Your discipleship may see the time when such religious convictions are discounted. M. J. Sobran also said, “A religious conviction is now a second-class conviction, expected to step deferentially to the back of the secular bus, and not to get uppity about it” (Human Life Review, Summer 1978, pp. 58–59).

This new irreligious imperialism seeks to disallow certain opinions simply because those opinions grow out of religious convictions. Resistance to abortion will be seen as primitive. Concern over the institution of the family will be viewed as untrendy and unenlightened.

In its mildest form, irreligion will merely be condescending toward those who hold to traditional Judeo-Christian values. In its more harsh forms, as is always the case with those whose dogmatism is blinding, the secular church will do what it can to reduce the influence of those who still worry over standards such as those in the Ten Commandments. It is always such an easy step from dogmatism to unfair play—especially so when the dogmatists believe themselves to be dealing with primitive people who do not know what is best for them—the secular bureaucrats’ burden, you see.

Am I saying that the voting rights of people of religion are in danger? Of course not! Am I saying, “It’s back to the catacombs?” No! But there is occurring a discounting of religiously based opinions. There may even be a covert and subtle disqualification of some for certain offices in some situations, in an ironic irreligious test for office.

If people, however, are not permitted to advocate, to assert, and to bring to bear, in every legitimate way, the opinions and views they hold which grow out of their religious convictions, what manner of men and women would we be?

Our founding fathers did not wish to have a state church established nor to have a particular religion favored by government. They wanted religion to be free to make its own way. But neither did they intend to have irreligion made into a favored state church.

Notice the terrible irony if this trend were to continue. When the secular church goes after its heretics, where are the sanctuaries? To what landfalls and Plymouth Rocks can future pilgrims go?

If we let come into being a secular church which is shorn of traditional and divine values, where shall we go for inspiration in the crises of tomorrow? Can we appeal to the rightness of a specific regulation to sustain us in our hour of need? Will we be able to seek shelter under a First Amendment which by then may have been twisted to favor irreligion? Will we be able to rely for counterforce on value education aided in school systems which are increasingly secularized? And if our governments and schools were to fail us, would we be able to fall back upon and rely upon the institution of the family, when so many secular movements seek to shred it?

It may well be that as our time comes to “suffer shame for his name” (Acts 5:41), some of that special stress will grow out of that portion of discipleship which involves citizenship. Remember, as Nephi and Jacob said, we must learn to endure “the crosses of the world” and yet to despise “the shame of it” (2 Ne. 9: 18; Jacob 1:8). To go on clinging to the iron rod in spite of the mockery and scorn that flow at us from the multitudes in that great and spacious building seen by Father Lehi, which is the “pride of the world” (1 Ne. 11:36)—is to disregard the shame of the world. Parenthetically, why, really why, do the disbelievers who line that spacious building watch so intently what the believers are doing? (See 1 Ne. 8:33.) Surely there must be other things for the scorners to do. Unless deep within their seeming disinterest. … Unless. …

If the challenge of the secular church becomes very real, let us, as in all other relationships, be principled but pleasant. Let us be perceptive without being pompous. Let us have integrity and not write checks with our tongues which our conduct cannot cash.

Before the ultimate victory of the forces of righteousness, some skirmishes will be lost. Even in these, however, let us leave a record so that the choices are clear, letting others do as they will in the face of prophetic counsel.

There will also be times, happily, when a minor defeat seems probable, but others will step forward, having been rallied to rightness by what we do. We will know the joy, on occasion, of having awakened a slumbering majority of the decent people of all races and creeds which was, till then, unconscious of itself.

Jesus said that when the fig trees put forth their leaves, “summer is nigh” (Matt. 24:32). Thus warned that summer is upon us, let us not then complain of the heat! ..."

For the complete text see:
A More Determined Discipleship
By Elder Neal A. Maxwell

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