Diet Coke

I have ideas for at least three posts... and it's bedtime.

So I'll stick with just one: the better answer to why I don't drink Diet Coke.

I choose not to drink Coke (Diet or not) because
(1) I don't drink soda often anyway, and I don't think I will like it.
(2) I am probably not missing much by avoiding caffeine, but I do know that if I never have caffeine, I am guaranteed that its presence or absence in my life will never be a factor in whether I have a good day.
(3) I want to obey the counsel of the prophet (and potentially miss out on something tasty) so that I can lay claim on the greater blessings promised by our Heavenly Father for obedience to this commandment.

I believe God loves us so much He has given us a prophet on the earth today, just like He called Moses to be the prophet for the children of Israel. The prophet received a revelation regarding our health, called the Word of Wisdom (that you can read here, if you like). The Word of Wisdom was revealed to the prophet in 1833, which I'm pretty sure was before anyone had invented Coke as a soft drink (and a few years before it was marketed in the United States - check this out). But it teaches some wonderful principles about eating healthy foods and avoiding things that were not designed to be ingested or that might be addictive. It also teaches a principle of obedience - if we choose to obey the laws of God and His prophets, we will receive great blessings, like health, wisdom, knowledge, and endurance. The Word of Wisdom is a commandment by which we are to live our lives from the food/drink perspective. We get to exercise our agency to decide how (and whether) we will apply the principles taught within it into our own lives, and we get the added bonus of counsel provided by prophets who live in our current generation! Some prophets have spoken specifically about caffeinated drinks (like President Hinckley during an interview on 60 Minutes), and others haven't. Our responsibility is to learn the commandment, determine how to live the principles in our own lives based on the commandments given, and make choices accordingly.

For the record, I do like to use root beer to marinate pork, and do not object one bit to using Diet Coke and mentoes to create carbonated geysers (something I have never tried but have wanted to for a long time...).  :-)

Food. Is. Good.

Remember how last week I was determined to eat well?

I did.

First I made taco meat for taco salad. But then Monday night I was feeling adventurous, so I made up taco pizza. See?

Pizza crust...
topped with pizza sauce...
topped with chopped avocado...
a bit of cheese...
corn... black beans...
taco meat...
and dollops of sour cream.

Baked to golden perfection.

Mmm... my associates at lunch time were intrigued.

Then I made sweet potato casserole.

Then I made deviled eggs (it is Easter tomorrow, you know).

After which I determined I needed to make cashew chicken in hoisin sauce again (because it's yummy).

And I now have all the ingredients for a tofu stir fry.

I love yummy food.

More On Kids.

I have pondered the injunction given by our Savior

to "become as little children"

and had the following thought process as a result:

One of the things I love best

about the little children I know

is

that they are excited to see me

when I come into their lives.

Their unconditional love is evidenced by their actions...

running up for hugs,

eager to show me their latest magic trick,

wanting to cuddle and snuggle and be held.

I can be wearing a messy ponytail or perfectly made up,

in sweats or in a suit,

and there's no need to present the picture-perfect life to them -

they don't care.

They love me because I am me.

They forgive quickly if I do something silly

or make a mistake,

and they overlook my shortcomings,

faults and failings.

It's just not part of what they consider

when they think of me.

I think our Heavenly Father is like this, too.

He loves me because I am me.

I don't have to present a picture-perfect life

to be accepted of Him.

He overlooks my faults and failings

when I sincerely repent,

and doesn't allow those former errors

to affect His judgment of my heart as it is today.

The hugs I get from children

are little reminders of His love -

and just like them,

He wants me to tell him about everything

that goes on in my life,

little or big,

interesting or not.

He loves me

the way I love these children -

wholly and completely,

even when they climb all over me,

kick me out of bed,

need help brushing their teeth,

or fall down and dissolve into a puddle of tears

(as much for the love and consolation

that inevitably follow as because it hurt).

I want to be like all these little children I know

and love others the way He

(and they) love me -

freely, wholly, completely, and forgivingly.

Kids.

Kids are pretty much awesome.

I called my 4-year-old niece on her birthday (I was glad I thought to call, since it was her birthday). It was great fun to hear her excited giggle at getting a birthday call from her aunt in Boston, then recite to me the list of fun toys she received from her parents and siblings for her birthday.

Tonight, I was playing with my favorite set of almost-4-year-old twins. One wanted a gogurt. The other wanted a "desert gogurt" (as in, the warm place where the cactus grows; not frozen). I laughed.  Then I tried to find the gogurts in the freezer, since that is the logical place to find them if one child is asking for a desert gogurt. They weren't there... so much for logic.

The rest of my day was centered around food. I made baked french toast, BBQ pulled pork, and taco meat (for taco salad). I am determined to eat well this coming week, since last week I subsisted on cereal, toasted cheese on (slightly stale) bread, and fast food (Panera, Chipotle, Wild Willy's). That has nothing to do with kids except that all that food would be more likely to be eaten rapidly if there were lots of them around. But there aren't.

The end.

On Desire

Let us remember that desires dictate our priorities, priorities shape our choices, and choices determine our actions. In addition, it is our actions and our desires that cause us to become something... - Elder Dallin H. Oaks

I liked this thought. It helped me to see that I can look at my actions and work backward to my desires. Then I can match my true desires to what I think they are, and work through the discrepancies. I can also look at my actions and project what I will become if I continue on that path. Both are good things to review in life.

I Love General Conference

What I the Lord have spoken, I have spoken, and I excuse not myself; and though the heavens and the earth pass away, my word shall not pass away, but shall all be fulfilled, whether by mine own voice or by the voice of my servants, it is the same. - Doctrine & Covenants 1:38

This is the best time of year. It's the only time of year I don't mind watching 8 hours of TV in one weekend. (It helps that there are no commercials.)

I love being in a place where I can listen to the word of God through His prophets, and where I can listen to the word of God to me through the voice of His Spirit. I must change as a result of what I heard today, to become more the person He wants me to become. My soul is filled and my Spirit refreshed. All is well.

For behold, and lo, the Lord is God, and the Spirit beareth record, and the record is true, and the truth abideth forever and ever. - v. 39

On Coveting

Coveting warmth and sunshine...

Phoenix is 50 degrees warmer than Boston today. For a nice April Fool's joke, it decided to snow (but not in Phoenix). I tried to avoid being out for very long in the slushy rain stuff this morning by not scraping off the top of my car before starting to drive... and two blocks later, it all slid forward onto my windshield. The water-laden snow was immediately packed down by my windshield wipers, and they proved somewhat ineffective in places after that. Don't worry, though, I could still see. Just not around the edges.

I am longing for warm spring planting weather and grateful this weekend's General Conference is available on the Internet (check it out - the link goes to "watch it live!" - at least for the next two days...), so I can watch underneath a warm comforter if I want to. Mmmm... cozy.