Yep! It's official...

... you ARE a grand old 27, my dear. Amanda had to do some math this morning just to double-check her age. How could I help a little birthday "roast" when I saw this on the fridge? :)

Ageless Wit & Observations

If you don't read the newspaper, you are uninformed;
if you do read the newspaper, you are misinformed.
- Mark Twain

Suppose you were an idiot. And suppose you were a member of Congress....
But then I repeat myself.
-Mark Twain

I contend that for a nation to try to tax itself into prosperity is like
a man standing in a bucket and trying to lift himself up by the handle.
-Winston Churchill

A government which robs Peter to pay Paul can always depend on the support of Paul.
- George Bernard Shaw

A liberal is someone who feels a great debt to his fellow man,
which debt he proposes to pay off with your money.
-G. Gordon Liddy

Democracy must be something more than two wolves and a sheep voting on what to have for dinner.
-James Bovard, Civil Libertarian (1994)

Foreign aid might be defined as a transfer of money from poor people in rich countries to rich people in poor countries.
-Douglas Casey, Classmate of Bill Clinton at Georgetown University

Giving money and power to government is like giving whiskey and car keys to teenage boys.
-P.J. O'Rourke, Civil Libertarian

Government is the great fiction, through which everybody endeavors to live at the expense of everybody else.
-Frederic Bastiat, French Economist (1801-1850)

Government's view of the economy could be summed up in a few short phrases:
If it moves, tax it. If it keeps moving, regulate it. And if it stops moving, subsidize it.
-Ronald Reagan (1986)

I don't make jokes. I just watch the government and report the facts.
-Will Rogers

If you think health care is expensive now, wait until you see what it costs when it's free!
-P.J. O'Rourke

In general, the art of government consists of taking as much money as possible from one party of the citizens to give to the other.
-Voltaire (1764)

Just because you do not take an interest in politics
doesn't mean politics won't take an interest in you!
-Pericles (430 B.C.)

No man's life, liberty, or property is safe while the legislature is in session.
-Mark Twain (1866)

Talk is cheap... except when Congress does it.
-Unknown

The government is like a baby's alimentary canal,
with a happy appetite at one end
and no responsibility at the other.
-Ronald Reagan

The inherent vice of capitalism is the unequal sharing of the blessings.
The inherent blessing of socialism is the equal sharing of misery.
-Winston Churchill

The only difference between a tax man and a taxidermist is that
the taxidermist leaves the skin.
-Mark Twain

The ultimate result of shielding men from the effects of folly is to fill the world with fools.
-Herbert Spencer, English Philosopher (1820-1903)

There is no distinctly Native American criminal class...save Congress.
-Mark Twain

What this country needs are more unemployed politicians.
-Edward Langley, Artist (1928 - 1995)

A government big enough to give you everything you want,
is strong enough to take everything you have.
-Thomas Jefferson

The Master Cleanse!

A couple of weeks ago, I came across a book one of my co-workers had left by the copy machine--Staying Healthy With the Seasons, by Dr. Elson Haas, M.D. I picked it up and opened straight to a page about "The Master Cleanse." Intrigued, as the topic of detoxifying my body is one I have wondered about but up to that time had never explored, I photocopied that entire chapter. I read the whole chapter on my train/bus ride home from work that evening. The next day, I had a copy of the entire book from the library.

So, what is the cleanse? I quickly learned that the master cleanse is not a concept, especially to the health-conscious, organic shopper types who can be found at places like Whole Foods Market. In fact, it was developed in the 1940's by Stanley Burroughs. Essentially, the cleanse is basically a diet of a special "lemonade" that helps rid the human body of impurities, and in some cases YEARS of build up. Ewww...

Lemonade??

2 Tbs. fresh squeezed lemon juice
2 Tbs. Grade B 100% Pure Maple Syrup
8 - 10 oz. filtered or spring water
1/10th tsp. cayenne pepper*

* I have learned a secret... cayenne pepper pills. Much more tolerable!

The idea is to Drink 8 - 12 servings daily of the above concoction for 3 - 10 days (or more, for some folk). The objective is to fast from eating solid foods and to let this drink cleanse your entire digestive system. It also helps "clean" certain organs like the liver and kidneys. "Lemon is a perfect liver food and a great body cleanser," says Dr. Haas. He continues, "High in Vitamin C, Potassium, and other minerals, lemons are somewhat astringent, meaning that they contract and tighten tissues, which loosens up and clears the toxins from deep tissues and organs."

The maple syrup provides an energy source for the muscles.

The cayenne pepper, I read, "helps clear the blood and eliminates toxins and mucus, as well as keeps the body warm."

Because the body senses the absence of food, it will naturally want to slow down if not stop the "elimination" process. However, as the idea is to rid the body of those toxins, many of which are found in the bowels, it is essential to keep things moving. Resources suggest utilizing a "salt-water intestinal flush" and/or herbal laxative senna tea. The flush includes two teaspoons of sea salt mixed in a quart of lukewarm water and is to be taken in its entirety the first morning of the cleanse. It is advised that you stay near a bathroom for the next 1 - 2 hours! The purpose is to clean out your bowels, and if you can get through that whole quart, that's precisely what will happen!

As of this latest edit, I have just completed my first Master Cleanse! Originally, I set out to do the cleanse for 7 days, but, as Dr. Haas suggested, I "listened" to my body and felt after the 4th day that enough time had passed. Here's how it went!

DAY 1 - starting weight 195 lbs.

CONFESSION: I tried jumping into this LAST week on Monday after a delicious Sunday dinner of steak and potato stew. I could only stand drinking half of the salt water (16 ozs) before I gave up. That stayed in my system for hours and was not a pleasant feeling. So I decided to give it a go the following week.

This time around, I eased into it, eating only fruit morning and afternoon of the day before starting and a light vegetable soup for dinner... no meats or sugars for the day. Day 1, I pounded nearly the whole quart of salt water, and it worked the way it should.

How did I feel? The first day was an adjustment period. I felt a little tired, especially during the afternoon, perhaps due to the absence of my morning diet Dr. Pepper run. Nevertheless, it felt like a healthy tired, if that makes sense. I hit the gym for a light workout, and that got my endorphins up. I wasn't too hungry, but when I smelled food, I craved it. Being at the office during the day helped, as there was really no food to be tempted with to snack on. Glad I learned about the cayenne pepper pills... it made the experience much more pleasant, as that one experimental day last week was tough to choke the drink down with the pepper mixed in. Using the pill method, the juice is actually pretty good!

DAY 2 - weight 192 lbs.

The day was pretty good. A bit headache-ridden at times. I chose to do a light workout again on my lunch break, and that helped chase the headache away and up the energy. I felt more energy than on Day 1.

My cravings for food lessened a little more, too. While waiting for the train after work, something smelled incredibly good at a restaurant somewhere in the vicinity on Main. It was easy at that point to recognize the truth that my love for food will not go away with this cleanse--nor is that the purpose--but I think my choices will become wiser in what I willingly put into my body.

DAY 3 - weight 190 lbs.

Wow, I felt GREAT on Day 3! I really felt the effects of this cleanse. I opted to go the herbal lax route instead of the salt-water method, and it works like a charm. I had a very tough time willingly drinking that salt water. Cup of tea before bed, next morning it does its job. Not to get too specific, but I'm amazed at what the body begins to eliminate after 3 days of this cleanse.

I felt energy that I admittedly did not think I would feel after 3 days with no solid foods. It's like a pure energy; no credit to caffeine. While the first couple of days were accompanied by some headaches, Day 3 was almost completely devoid of headaches. I found myself no longer craving that diet Dr. Pepper nor unhealthy foods. In fact, rolling past the Burger King on 4th this morning on the train, I thought "I could never go there again and be totally cool with that." I felt a little guilty that I've taught my kids to eat french fries and other fast foods. I'm still trying to decide how to implement more of a whole foods diet that the kids will take to.

DAY 4 - weight 187 lbs.

By this final day, I felt like I had completely adjusted to my new diet, that I could live on lemonade forever. While I felt that I could easily go on for days, I think 4 days is a good benchmark for the first "cleanse" and I determined to ease off of it at the end of the day. I have been able to see a difference looking in the mirror. That little tire around the middle I've had such a tough time eliminating, even after a solid year of exercise, was greatly diminished in 4 days! I think my body really burned some of its stored fat.

My plan is to do this again, perhaps for a couple more days, after the new year and for sure by March 1st. I think it would be ideal to do quarterly! I feel great!!

Helpful Secrets I've Learned So Far:

• I've made the drink with lemon juice, lime juice, and a mixture of both. I prefer the lemon version best, in spite of my love for lime. Lime is good when made fresh but not if made the night before and refrigerated.
  


• As it is suggested to not store the juice in plastic containers due to the acids in the lemon juice extracting toxins from the container, I've found glass SoBe bottles to be perfect for mixing/transporting 2 servings at a time. I made three bottles and took them to work with me.


• Rinse or brush after drinking each serving! The acidity in the lemon juice is not kind to tooth enamel.


• I like making this fresh more than making it in advance. The advance method offers some convenience, but it tastes a little better fresh.

Disclaimer: If you decide to try this out yourself, it would be wise to study up on the subject first. Again my main resource was "Staying Healthy With the Seasons," by Dr. Elson M. Haas, M.D. But simply "googling" the subject MASTER CLEANSE will provide a plethora of resources as well.

"Vote Your Conscience!"

Okay, I'm breaking my calm silence about the election, thanks to this awesome video. I'm still not coming out and saying "vote Republican" or "vote Democrat." At this point, the ballot I cast will have more than one of each party on there, and possibly an independent and a Constitution Party candidate.

But I think anyone with a pulse that has paid even a little bit of attention to the issues knows WHO is on WHICH side of the issues that matter. I don't love either presidential candidate... but I think one leaves little guess work on being truthful while the other comes off as a wolf in sheep's clothing.

Open to your thoughts. Comment if you want to, but please VOTE on November 4th for sure! And do what these folks suggest... really consider the issues you are voting for or against when you cast your ballot!

Enough already!

I was having a conversation recently with a co-worker. Among the topics of our brief discussion were the economy, the lacking choice of candidates in the presidential election, the poor health of the banking industry, and the imminent changes within our own realm that have been announced but not detailed yet.

He told me, "One positive thing is that I'm losing weight! I'm just not eating as much because my stomach is in knots over it all."

My conclusion is that I have the opposite problem: I eat when I get stressed. I get odd cravings too, mainly for sugary, processed, unhealthy JUNK. Ahhhhh!!! This sucks! I've been working too hard for too long to get into good physical shape and to stay that way.

Anyone have any secrets about controlling such a thing?

Regional Conference!

What a weekend. We got to spend some quality time overnight at the cabin on Friday, just the four of us! Fun! Chilly. :) Gorgeous morning on Saturday, though, and we had a fun short hike at the top of the canyon.

The typical Sunday finds us at church with our local "ward" or congregation of about 200. Twice a year, we have what is called "Stake Conference" where 7 or 8 wards in our area all get together for a single 2-hour meeting instead of the regular 3-hour block of meetings. On rare occasions--like this past weekend--the occasion is even larger. Not to be confused with "General Conference," which is broadcast to all the Church's units around the world, we had Regional Conference on Sunday, which involved the Salt Lake North Area, a total of 73 stakes (we're guessing about 250,000 people).

As those 2-hour meetings tend to be a real challenge on the little kids, we agreed to keep Amanda home with the kids and send Justin to the broadcast with pen and paper in hand to take notes... and take notes he did! It was such an awesome meeting, we thought it would be worth sharing some highlights.

First of all, the conference was presided over by the President of the Church, Thomas S. Monson. It is always an amazing experience to hear this inspired man talk and give council. We truly believe he is God's mouthpiece here on the Earth today, and that he indeed receives revelation, not only for the church members, but for the world over!

Elder Richard Hinckley, the son of our previous prophet and President of the Church, Gordon B. Hinckley, was the first speaker. He spoke on gratitude for the love that our Heavenly Father shows for us as his children. "Families are the foundational unit of God's society, both here on Earth and in the eternities," he said. He went on to quote a wonderful verse from the New Testament, Matthew 16:19. "And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven." His point was to caution us about the way we live our lives, as we are truly laying out our eternal life now. He spoke a lot about the testimony of Peter and the keys of priesthood and wished he could go on and on about the fascinating role played by each in the gospel. He told us to never take our temple covenants lightly and bore testimony of the power of the sealing ordinances performed in the temple.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Sister Cheryl Lant (General Primary President) was the next speaker, and she delivered a great talk about what we must do to keep our families and homes safe in today's world. She quoted a lot of the 38th section of the Doctrine & Covenants, particularly highlighting what it says about an "enemy in secret chambers" and how "if [we] are prepared, [we] shall not fear." Sometimes Satan's influences is obvious, sometimes not, as she put it. A very interesting point she punctuated was that Satan cannot come in [to our homes/lives] unless we invite him in. His tools, of course, are the media, time-wasting activities, selfishness, and so forth. She turned her thoughts to protecting our families and quoted President Spencer W. Kimball - it was such an awesome quote, I searched for the exact words. I'm including more here than Sister Lant quoted, but it's worth the space:

We need continually to fortify our homes and families and
defend them against the onslaught of evils such as divorce, broken
families, brutality, and abuse, especially of wives and children.
We need to constantly guard against immorality,
pornography, and sexual permissiveness that would destroy the
purity of the family members, young and old. . . .

. . . We find these evil forces almost everywhere we go.
Exposure is almost constant. We track them into the home from
the school, from the playground, from the theater, the office,
and the marketplace. There are but few places we go in our
everyday world where we can escape them.

What then must be our service? What must we do? We must be
constantly alert to their evil presence in our homes and destroy
them as we would the germs and filth of disease. We must hunt
them from the closets of our minds, freeing ourselves of such
worldliness, quenching the embers of wickedness before they
become destructive flames.

- Teachings of Presidents of the Church: Spencer W. Kimball, p. 208

Sister Lant further encouraged that we allow no excuses nor rationalizations to allow evil to exist in our homes. We need to regularly evaluate the level of such influences in our homes. Our focus should become:

1. Secure the basics of faith, repentance, baptism, prayer, service, keeping the Sabbath holy, having Family Home Evening and regular scripture study. These bring the Spirit and strengthen us. She also encouraged obtaining and referencing the new nursery manual: Behold, your little ones. We should not be afraid to use the scriptures to answer children's questions about the gospel. They understand more than we give them credit for.
   
2. Evaluate where we spend our time and energy. Don't let selfish things detract from family time. It is ever important to find balance in our lives.
   
3. Make and keep covenants with the Lord. Our lives should be defined by these covenants. She quoted Jacob 3:2 from the Book of Mormon - "O all ye that are pure in heart, lift up your heads and receive the pleasing word of God, and feast upon his love; for ye may, if your minds are firm, forever."
   
4. It is important to fulfill our roles within the home, namely of Father and Mother working together. She admonished children to receive parents' teachings with an open heart. She commented on the example of the faithful Lamanites in 3 Nephi 6:14, who "were firm, and steadfast, and immovable, willing with all diligence to keep the commandments of the Lord."

She closed by repeating the counsel that we should take comfort and hope in our Temple Covenants.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Elder M. Russell Ballard, Quorum of the Twelve Apostles: Elder Ballard was the next speaker, and he opened by quoting President Monson's words from the Priesthood Leadership Meeting from Saturday, it was a beautiful quote and something along the lines of always acting when you have a prompting from the Spirit. His message repeated a few things. First, the Holy Ghost remains our companion only as we live righteously; we need to truly "receive" the Holy Ghost, as we are instructed after baptism. His mission is to teach and testify of truth! No man receives such a witness of spiritual things except by the Holy Ghost, and it is He who helps any man or woman to gain a testimony of Christ and the gospel. Again, He will be our companion only as we anchor ourselves to the light of the gospel and to Jesus Christ. We are entitled to his presence but only if we are living worthy of it. He used that platform to advise us to absolutely shun the evils that are constantly surrounding us. He proclaimed that each of us will experience our share of failures in life, but that our successes "will certailny outweigh" our occasional failures if we seek Holy Ghost.

Elder Ballard shared a touching personal story of missing opportunity to heed a spiritual prompting and learning a painful lesson from it as a young bishop. To recap the story, he was leaving the church late one night around 10 pm when he had a prompting to stop by the home of an elderly sister in the ward. He dismissed it due to the lateness of the hour, figuring it would be improper to stop by so late. He promised himself he would stop by early the next morning before heading to work. When he arrived, the lady's daughter came to the door and received him with tears in her eyes, saying: "Thank you, bishop, for coming so soon. Mother passed away just 2 hours ago." He stifled the reluctant emotion in his voice as he spoke of the lesson learned, that we should never ignore a prompting of the Spirit. In this case, he lost the opportunity to bless a sister who was at the end of her mortal life preparing to cross over the veil into the spirit world.

He concluded with a few words about repentence and becoming like our Savior one step at a time. He quoted 3 Ne 27:19-20: "19) And no unclean thing can enter into his kingdom; therefore nothing entereth into his rest save it be those who have washed their garments in my blood, because of their faith, and the repentance of all their sins, and their faithfulness unto the end. 20) Now this is the commandment: Repent, all ye ends of the earth, and come unto me and be baptized in my name, that ye may be sanctified by the reception of the Holy Ghost, that ye may stand spotless before me at the last day." He specifically highlighted that Jesus grew from "grace to grace" until finally He becoming like our Heavenly Father. He set the example for us, and we should proceed one step at a time.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

President Thomas S. Monson took the podium after the midway rest hymn and as the final speaker. Personally, I was thinking whoa... he's got a lot of time to talk; I wonder what's on the agenda? Well, in true President Monson fashion, he had a simple and direct agenda. He spoke of the importance of "lov[ing] thy neighbor as thyself," declaring that it is our responsibility to follow the Savior's example. He quoted a verse from 4th Nephi 1:15 about how love is designed to take the place of contention in the hearts of man.

The remainder of his talk was based around the passage in The Doctrine and Covenants 88:119, which reads: "Organize yourselves; prepare every needful thing; and establish a house, even a house of prayer, a house of fasting, a house of faith, a house of learning, a house of glory, a house of order, a house of God;" The context of the verse came from a revelation through Joseph Smith at the end of the year 1832 to the saints that they should build a temple in Kirtland, Ohio. He put a twist on it and said "there is no better theme to consider as we build ourselves, our own personal temples." President Monson went through each aspect of the verse, and shared a unique story from his life experience about each one. A few of them I remember and will share specifics:

1. A house of prayer. He encouraged us to "pray always," both in private and as a family, and especially with our children.
   
2. A house of fasting. Shared some verses from Alma 17 - namely, verses 1 through 3. In those verses, Alma meets up with the sons of Mosiah as he was traveling from Gideon to Zarahemla. Not only was it a joyful meeting just to run into them, but he was delighted that they were still faithful, and they attributed that to, among other things, much fasting.
   
3. A house of faith. He shared a cool story. While he was presiding as an Apostle at a stake conference in Ohio, the stake president asked him if he'd be willing to meet with the mother and father of a young missionary who had recently decided that he was going to come home early from his mission. He agreed, and right off the bat, the father exclaimed, "Elder Monson, I just don't understand. We have been living our lives as faithfully as we possibly can, and we have felt the Lord's blessings, yet our son is making this decision. We fear the Lord is not hearing our prayers."
   
   President Monson's simply reply was a question, "Where is he serving?"
   
   The parents responded, "Dusseldorf, Germany."
   
   President Monson described how he just smiled and said, "Good brother and sister, the Lord has heard your prayers and He does care about this situation. It just so happens that I will be travelling to your sons mission in 2 weeks to address the missionaries!" Long story short, President Monson took time to meet with this young elder, he remained on his mission, and had a great and successful experience.
   
4. A house of learning. President Monson's words were simply, that "there is safety in the scriptures" and we should not postpone reading them. He reiterated Sister Lant's comment that children are more able to understand than we realize. He encouraged personal and family scripture study and that we always seek out the very best books.
   
5. A house of glory. I didn't get any specific notes. I believe he addressed "glory" and "order" together.
   
6. A house of order. He quoted the great musical verses from Ecclesiastes that "to everything there is a season." I recall him talking about how we should keep that in mind with each phase of life we go through, that while each phase may have some common threads, there are new things to learn all along the way. God has a plan for each of us.


7. A house of God. President Monson spoke of the importance to have clean hearts and willing hands so that we can do the work of God.

He closed with a really cool story that rather encompasses all of these bullet points. While serving as a mission president in Toronto, Canada, President Monson had a young missionary who got really sick quite suddenly. He had shared a 6-bed room with 5 other gentlemen. The morning that he was wheeled away for surgery, the nurse came in with 5 breakfast trays each with a delicious breakfast. As she went to deliver the first tray, the patient said, "No thank you, I won't be having breakfast this morning." She was a little surprised but went on to the next patient. He said the same thing. As she went down the line, the remaining men all refused the delicious-smelling breakfast.

A little miffed, she stopped at the doorway, put her hands on her hips, and said, "Now you all usually eat us out of house and home! What's going on here?"

The patient in bed number 3 spoke up and explained to the nurse. "Our young friend has been wheeled away this morning for his surgery. He is a good young man, a missionary for his church. Now, none of us belong to his church, but in the time we have shared this room, he has taught us a lot about his beliefs, about prayer, and fasting, and faith. We are fasting for him this morning."

The story gets even better. The surgery, which was expected to be very risky, went perfectly. When the doctor came out, President Monson greeted him. As was the practice, he came prepared to pay the doctor for his services, but the doctor refused payment. He said something to the effect of, "I cannot accept pay for something I feel I didn't do on my own accord; my hands were as if they were not my own. They moved in a way that was foreign to me! And I cannot take credit for the success of this procedure, therefore I cannot accept your money!" The doctor gave full credit to a Higher Power. It was such a cool story.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

In all, the conference was quite impressive and very inspiring. It makes us all the more excited for General Conference coming up next month! We share the same gratitude as a couple for the gospel of Jesus Christ in our lives and the unique perspective it gives us on life. In a world so fraught with disappointment and discouragement, the gospel brings a special light and reason to rejoice, knowing that no matter how grim the trials may be that come before us, this life is simply a test, and it is open-book, and with sincere effort, we can get through anything!

New Title... and Love this time of year

Okay, so I guess this is a bit of a combo-post, but I don't think it'll bug anyone (cuz I know this blog don't get read by many, esp compared to the family blog).

 

First...  I've renamed my blog, "The Theater of Justin's Mind."  I've had a lot on my mind lately, and as I get brave enough to share some of it, I figure it is fitting to retitle this thing!  All of our minds are like stages, I suppose.  If you are like me, you even role play scenarios in your head.  I swear I do it a lot more than the common observer would imagine.  It's wild how in spite of our social connections and interactions, whether they include family, friends, neighbors, co-workers, or all of the above, we all maintain our own little world.  The mind truly is a vast and an amazing thing...  sometimes it can overwhelm us, other times it protects us the way it processes.

And fall...  every time it rolls around, I proudly proclaim that it is my favorite.  There's just something about the air crisping down a bit, the slow shift in color palettes in the surrounding world, that "back to school" energy in the air, a charged up determination to accomplish new things as the reprieve from a perhaps more "lazy" summer sets in.  It's just a great time of year. 

It's been fun to enjoy a few afternoons and evenings up Millcreek Canyon this autumn of 2008.  I have truly enjoyed watching the kids and realizing it is just the fourth time Caitlin has experienced this change of seasons and Will's third experience of the sort.  My wish is to share many, many more changes of seasons with them and their cute mother, my sweet Panda.  My thirst for life, I am finding, is further invigorated with this passage from summer to fall.