Wise-hearted Women

Following the examples of my good sister-in-law Judy and sister Patty, I working on reading the entire Old Testament this year. It's been fun to read all the more obscure parts--not just the familiar Bible stories.

Yesterday I was near the end of Exodus: "And all the women that were wise-hearted did spin with their hands" (Exodus 35:25). Now in this chapter there are also wise-hearted men, and all these wise-hearted folk are working to prepare the ark of the covenant, as a dwelling place for God. From the context, "wise-hearted" seems to mean proficient in craft--but it must also mean something more, don't you think?

I think wise-hearted must mean something like knowing how to do things and why to do them too. Being both capable and understanding. Being aware of the greater purpose for which we work.

I have also been reading a lovely book called Keeping House, by Margaret Kim Peterson. It is a series of Christian reflections on how homemaking is an act of service, a kind of litany of prayer that blesses those we love. I like the way she uses litany: in many Christian faiths one act of worship is to repeat prayers. The repetition is part of the worship. She says the very repetitive nature of housework is a form of blessing. The author is obviously a very good person.

And probably "wise-hearted"--both capable and understanding of a greater purpose.

I want to be also "wise-hearted: to recognize, like those Hebrew women of Exodus, that I am not just spinning, but building the dwelling of God.

Well--it's early in the morning and I am waxing uncharacteristically philosophical. Forgive me.

Photos from Film Festival

Here's Mark on the stage doing Q and A. And dinner after with Erin, Mark, and Mary.

Mid January Fun

We've had a busy week:
Monday. We celebrated Mark's birthday. (The real event was on Friday, but Mary was out of town--Vegas with DC-- so Paul and I just took Mark to lunch.) On Monday, thanks to MLK, we had a Holiday and the Lymans could come down and everything. We order Mexican food from the "personal chef" who lives around the corner and it was delicious and fun. As the Lymans arrived Eden leaped into Mark's arms exclaiming, "Mark! It's your birthday!" And Sam made a wonderful card for Mark that said: "This happy holiday comes just once a year so happy birthday Mark, Happy birthday to you. Happy birthday, Mark."

Tuesday. I had my book club meeting. We read a memoir/autobiography by Ling Ling, a famous concert pianist who is only about 28. He is from mainland china and he told how his parents made him practice 8 hours a day at least from time he was a toddler. But he said he liked it. It is quite a window into the Chinese drive to be "Number 1." His parents were both musicians who were not able to perform because of the Cultural Revolution--they put all their ambitions onto him, their only son. But, Ling Ling seems like a nice guy. And he's an amazing musician.

Thursday. Mark's film "Sundance Skippy" was shown at the LDS Film Festival. It was a real thrill to see the movie on the huge screen in the Scera Grand Theater. There was a good audience and they really loved the movie--lots of laughter at all the right places. Paul and I loved seeing it. Mark has worked so very hard on this film--it was wonderful to see an audience respond to it so favorably. After the film, Mark and Skippy himself had time on the stage to answer questions. Skippy kept saying how much he appreciated all Mark's work on the film, and even gave him a trophy-the 2010 "Skippy" for best director. That was nice of him. Afterward we went to dinner at Bajio. Erin, a nice girl Mark met through Skippy (she's in the movie) came with us.

Friday. Back to the Scera and the Festival for the screening of Mark's other film--this one made from the "Mormons" project. Mark took the photos from the book and played the interviews as a voice over. The film is really very moving. There are three sections: 1)Preaching the gospel, with interviews of missionaries; 2) Perfecting the saints, with interviews of members--a bishop, RS president, Primary president, a dad; and 3) Redeeming the dead, with an interview of a man who does family history work (Evan Eastley). Mark did a really good job of selecting the photos and timing them so they work very well with the narration.

Saturday. I spent the morning at BYU, teaching our big TA Workshop on Evaluating Writing. We had over 100 there--the logistics are a little crazy because we do breakfast and snacks. Lauren Johnson helped teach it, and we had a good time. The TAs were very appreciative, and several came up afterward to express thanks. Whew! One even came up to ask who did the fine photographs in the Brief Guide to WRiting at BYU--of course the photographer was none other than our own Mark! In the afternoon Paul and I went to the temple--so nice.

Now Mark has gone up to Park City to enjoy Sundance. He is going to stay with friends up there for a few days. It's a bit quiet here, but we're glad everyone is doing so well.

Simpsons

Mark, Paul, and I just watched the Simpson’s 20^th anniversary special. I have mixed feelings about the show. I don’t like them to make fun of religion. And they are vulgar at times. But I like the smart comedy. I like the characters; they are endearing in their disfunction. You can’t help but like them, from Apu to Milhouse to the family itself. I like the way the family sticks together, whatever crazy stupid things they do. How Marge keeps loving Homer no matter what. How Homer so sincerely repents, and then immediately messes up again. How Maggie sucks that binky and looks so wise. Watching Simpsons, you can laugh at that family’s wacky ways and come away loving your own wacky family more.

More photos from Jenny's wedding trip

Jenny Finch's Wedding

Mark and I spent the actual new year celebrating Jenny Finch's wedding in Mesa, Arizona. Here are some photos from that wedding. It was fun to see Richard's family. Jenny is Richard's granddaughter, Suzanne's daughter. It was also fun to be with my siblings. And it was fun to watch Mark work. He photographed the wedding and did a great job. His photos are much better than mine. But here are a few of mine.

Happy New Year 2010

Here it is a new year, and perhaps I will post more frequently to this blog in 2010. Here's a start anyway.

We just enjoyed a fun, if belated, new year's dinner with all the family but the Dunns. We missed them! The table was set with gold chargers, white dishes, goblets, and a centerpiece of candles and gold ornaments. We made the following predictions:
Jared, The Democrats will lose control of Congress.
David, The Democrats will maintain control of Congress.
Mary, The leader of North Korea will die (I can't remember his name.)
Jared (again), Elizabeth the II will die, but Charles will not be King
David (again), More Android handsets than Mac handsets will be sold
Margaret, The stock market will continue to go up.
Paul, There will be no military engagements between major countries.
Beth, Mark will get married.

We also toasted the new year with Martinellis and watched a slide show of 2009. It's been a great year, especially because we have had so many opportunities to be together as a family. We're thankful for airplanes!

Happy 2010. May we have health, peace, and prosperity!