Women and Education- Three Cups of Tea

There are two things in life that I feel passionate about:

1) The Gospel of Jesus Christ;

2) Education for Women.

Today on campus we had the opportunity listen to Greg Mortensen, author of "Three Cups of Tea." It was one of the most inspiring talks I have heard in a long time (not counting General Conference). I think that every student at BYU should have been required to attend.

A few years ago a friend gave me a copy of Parade Magazine with the cover story of Greg Mortensen. I was so impressed with his efforts to build schools in Afghanistan so girls could be educated. His premise is that it will only be through the education of girls, who grow up to be women who then influence their families, that peace will come to the region. He said the militants tend to target youth, who are not connected to families, as new recruits. This is because educated mothers will not allow their sons to join the militants. Of course there are several other major benefits to educated women, including improved health status and lower infant mortality.

Education is such a privledge. I don't think that most students that I interact with on a daily basis appreciate what an incredible opportunity they have to be at a university and at BYU specifically. At times I feel like they are just enduring my class, or the semester, or college in general. There are people all over the world that would love to have the experiences of BYU students.

If I had one wish, it would be for women to take their education seriously. Having an education prepares you for whatever life will bring and whatever roles you will have. And education opens so many doors and provides you with so many options. When you have an education you can choose where, when, and at times how much, you work. An education allows you to work at a career that produces income so you can provide for yourself. There is nothing more satisfying and rewarding than to know that you are self-sufficient and do not have to rely on others for the basic necessities of life.

Life is so good. We are so blessed!

"Add or Find Husband"

I was exploring the New Family Search site tonight. My own name came up, along with my parents and grandparents. Interesting to see yourself as part of a database. Anyway, next to my name were two options that said "add or find a husband." Hum... If it were only that easy.
Maybe I should have clicked on "find" to see what my options would have been. :)

Life is Good.

On Baseball

My brother and I have been cheering for the Angels. My nephew and sister-in-law are cheering for the Yankees. Unfortunately, last night the game in NY got rained out. It is rescheduled for today. I receive a text message from my brother this afternoon. The conversation goes like this:

D: Only 3 hours until the game

Me: Yeah. Too bad I won't be watching it.

D: Why?

Me: Because I choose to not watch TV on Sunday. (see my earlier post about the Sabbath)

D: Listen to the radio.

That made me laugh out loud. He has always been the one with the sense of humor in our family and makes me laugh. I wish I had more of his personality.

Latest Reads...

In an effort to spend time doing things I enjoy, I've increased my reading. I'd much rather read than watch a movie or the television.
Here is a list of my reads in the last few months. They are not in any particular order, though the ones at the top half I really liked and the last two were my least favorite.

The Help
Kathryn Stockett

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society
Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows

The Undaunted
Gerald Lund

Have a Little Faith
Mitch Albom

Sarah's Key
Tatania de Rosnay

The Whiskey Rebels
David Liss

Astrid and Veronika
Linda Olsson

The Hourglass Door
Lisa Mangum

A Good Deeds Day

I've been sick since Saturday (fighting it since Wednesday).

This morning I received an email from my friend Vicki. She offered to bring me dinner and go to the grocery store. I told her that I would feel better by tonight and politely declined her offer.

She responded by saying that she was going to me me something to eat for lunch and to let her know what I needed at the store. She finished by asking what time would be convenient to drop by and to give her a list for the grocery store. "This assignment is NOT optional" she said.

I got back from ATL on Sunday, so I had not been to the grocery store in over a week and was running low on milk and eggs. So I relented and let Vicki serve me. Being "fiercely independent" it is hard to receive service. As I sat down and ate the yummy plate of food that Vicki brought I was so grateful for her kindness. It was the best food I'd eaten since Saturday night.

Tonight I called my mom to report in. It doesn't matter that I am a grown woman, my mom still worries about me. And to be truthful, it is nice to know that someone cares how I am feeling. She told me that today she called her neighbor who lives up the street. She had not seen her at church on Sunday and was worried about her. Come to find out, their whole family is sick. After some initial resistance, this woman agreed to let mom bring her some food. Mom took soup, homemade bread, cold cereal and fruit. What an interesting coincidence-- as someone was serving me, my mom was serving someone else in need. And that is what life is all about-- looking out for each other.

I [heart] ATL

As the airplane approached the Atlanta airport, I thought "Ah...I'm home." I think I am a Southern girl at heart. I've loved reading Southern Living magazine for years (even before I moved there). The year I spent living there was incredible-- I consider it one of God's tender mercies. So when I was contacted to see if I would do a training for CDC, I said yes because I knew it would be a chance to go South, see my friends, and eat good food!

On Wednesday I had dinner with Patsy. She is the one who helped find my apartment in a great location. She is undergoing chemo, again, but maintains a positive attitude.

On Thursday I met Nikki for a brief lunch. Nikki was one of my students several years ago. She works at CDC. Thursday night I met Jennifer and Sylvester for dinner at Twist. Jennifer was a student my first year at BYU. She is expecting her first baby next month.

On Friday I met Bob and Ann at The Loop for lunch. Bob and Ann were colleagues of mine during my stay at CDC/NCHM. Unfortunately Betsy couldn't make it and Galen was out of town. I had the Gorgonzola walnut salad: mixed seasonal greens, roma and sun-dried tomatoes, red onions, walnuts and gorgonzola cheese tossed in balsamic vinaigrette. So tasty!

Friday night I met Gayle, Sandy, Lazette, RuthAnn, and Peggy for dinner at L'Thai. L'Thai serves organic Thai food. So good-- definitely the best Thai food I have eaten. These are some of my favorite women. They make me laugh-- and I need to laugh more. I feel blessed by their association.

Saturday I took a short drive to the Georgia Apple Festival in Ellijay. It was definitely a small-town celebration! I met the Moores from North Carlonia. They make Shaker brooms and boxes. I was so intrigued by their handiwork. I bought one of their boxes and will cherish it for life. I ate a fresh fried apple pie and an apple dumpling with vanilla ice cream. Not the most healthy breakfast and lunch. The Prichett Gold apples right off the tree were so sweet and crispy. I wish I could buy them here.

Saturday night I met Stephanie, my Italy trip companion, for dinner at Portofino. I ordered the soup of the day, a white bean and vegetable soup and then the scottish salmon with maple glaze, and parsnip and pancetta risotto. Soooo yum.

When I retire, my dream job is to travel the world, eat at great restaurants and write reviews. I think it would be a fabulous adventure. I've already become a restaurant snob!

So, I still [heart] ATL. The trip was wonderful. The only bad part was coming home with a cold. I'm just glad I survived the training before the cold went full-blown. Another tender mercy.

Life is Good.

Being Undaunted

I'm reading Gerald Lund's novel The Undaunted. It is about the Mormon pioneers who left the comforts of their homes to settle the southeastern part of Utah. This call to move came after many of them had endured the hardships of crossing across the plains years earlier, some in wagons, some walking, and some pulling handcarts.

Last night I was reading about Jens Nielsen (a real person whose story is in this book). While crossing the plains one of his sons died. Jens' feet were so badly frostbitten that they never healed. On the night his son died, he was the only man to help put up their large, 20 man tent. The other four men had died. The women weren't strong enough to help. It was snowing and very cold. The ground was frozen solid so no tent stakes would go in. He said, "When it looked like we all should die, I offered a prayer to my Heavenly Father. I said that if the Lord would let me live to reach Salt Lake City, then all the rest of my days should be spent trying to be of use to Him under the direction of the priesthood."

I would like to think that if I was one of the pioneers crossing the plains in such harsh and unfavorable circumstances that I would have been as faithful and faith-filled as Jens Nielson. But I am not so sure I could have done it. Maybe that is why the Lord let me come to earth today-- He knew I couldn't endure an earlier time.

Many days I feel like the woman in this picture by Al Rounds. The picture hangs on my bedroom wall. It reminds me of a time when we did a pioneer reenactment trek at Martin's Cove. It was one of those moments when I was reminded that God is mindful of me as an individual.



At church today something was said that bothered me. I guess it was because I was feeling like the girl in the handcart picture. Later, in Sunday school, I was asked to read this quote by Elder Ballard: "We are the inheritors of a tremendous heritage. Now it is our privilege and responsibility to be part of the Restoration's continuing drama, and there are great and heroic stories of faith to be written in our day. It will require every bit of our strength, wisdom, and energy to overcome the obstacles that will confront us. But even that will not be enough. We will learn, as did our pioneer ancestors, that it is only in faith-- real faith, whole-souled, tested and tried-- that we will find safety and confidence as we walk our own perilous pathways through life."

I was so touched by that Elder Ballard's message. I hope that I will have the strength, wisdom, and energy to overcome the obstacles that I will undoubtedly face in my life. I hope that one day my nieces and nephews and their children will tell stories about me and my undaunted faith. I hope that one day I will be a source of inspiration for someone to keep going, to be faithful, even when it is snowing, cold, and the ground is too frozen for tent stakes.

Life is Good.

Life and Plan B

The last few days our Women's Conference committee members have been having a discussion about helping women find joy when life doesn't turn out like they thought it would/should (Plan A). One woman said that it is all about Plan B and finding joy in Plan B. I completely agree.

This week I've had a woman in my office not sure what to do since the relationship she was in ended, so "now what?" I see so many young women who don't have a plan past college. Then there was another student who informed me that she and her husband were trying to have a baby next July, so she needed to do her internship sooner. That was just a little TMI (too much information). As my sister, who has a little experience in this area, said "I hope she isn't disappointed if all doesn't go according to plan. Maybe someone should let her know that." I had the same thought, but then decided it would be best to let her learn about Plan B.

When I was at the bookstore today, I saw this display with notecards, post-it pads and wall hangings that included the saying for "Life is all about how you handle Plan B," and I had to get one. My wall handing doesn't look like this, but the message is the same. You can see this and more uplifting "sisterhood" items at www.suzytoronto.com

Life is Good-- Even when you are living Plan B.

Marathons and Life's Journey

One of my colleagues ran the St. George marathon last weekend. I asked him how he did. His reply was that he was within 20 seconds of his previous times. (I still don't get the thrill of running 26.2 miles on more than one occasion.) Nevertheless, he went on to explain that he had even followed the training schedule of the man that won with a time of about 2:20.

As I listened to him, I realized that life is often like his marathon experience. We are each on this journey of life. We notice others doing certain things that appear to be working pretty well. We decide that maybe if it works for them, then it should work for us too-- so we adopt their lifestyle, or at last adapt ours to mirror theirs.

But the reality is, we are all unique individuals. What works for one individual or family doesn't necessarily work for another. For example, some parents may choose to have their children wear their church clothes all day Sunday in an effort to remind them that the Sabbath day is a holy day. In my family that didn't work. We didn't have a lot of money when I was young. My mom's philosophy was that she wanted us to keep our Sunday clothes clean, looking nice, and lasting as long as possible. So in our family as soon as we got home from church we had to change out of our Sunday clothes.

Does that mean I don't keep the Sabbath day holy today. No. I just choose to do it in more comfortable clothes and I think that is okay. In the end, we are all going to face the judgment seat and the Lord won't care how fast we ran or what our training schedule was as long as we return home to Him having developed Christ-like qualities. That is the real test.

Life is Good.

October

The first weekend in October is always a bitter-sweet time. I absolutely love listening to General Conference. I am always inspired and uplifted. In yesterday's morning session I loved every single talk that was given-- not that all the talks on both Saturday and Sunday aren't good, but these I thought were especially good.

Six years ago this weekend, a series of events began that I will never forget. I can hardly talk about them without crying. We had gathered at my parents house for General Conference. My sister had been concerned about her son for a number of days, not quite sure what was wrong, and the doctors unable to diagnose anything other than "separation anxiety" since he had started kindergarten.

As we sat at the dinner table Mr. J didn't have much of an appetite, he had this far away look in his eyes, and he was unusually lethargic. Later I asked him if he wanted to go to the school playground and play on the swings and other equipment there. "No." he said. I could usually always get him to go play with me. When I asked him "why" he replied that he didn't know, but he just didn't feel like it. That afternoon my sister, my mom and I sat in the living room and cried. We all knew that something was wrong with Mr. J.

As I drove home Sunday night I was listening to radio interview with Michael Ballam. The thought came to me that I either believed in God and that He heard and answered my prayers or I didn't. I have never prayed so hard for anything, before or since, as I did for Mr. J during the next few weeks.



Monday morning began a series of miracles and challenges that lasted for days, weeks, months, and now years. Two major surgeries, two years of chemo, and on-going MRIs. Thinking about the miracles still gives me chills. The right doctors in the right places at the right times. Our family has been truly blessed.

Today Mr. J is a healthy and happy young man. Everybody, including teachers at school, love him. He is kind, thoughtful, and considerate.



Though this is an experience we wouldn't have chosen, it is one of those experiences that has strengthened my testimony that God lives, that He hears and answers our prayers, and that as Elder Neal A. Maxwell stated, "He is in the details of our life."

Life is So Good.

Dream Job

When students come to see me, I always ask, "what is your "dream job?" Travis Hansen told me that his dream was to play basketball for the NBA. He did do that for a year and then has been playing professional ball in Europe for several years. He is making more money that I will in my entire lifetime. But that is despite the point. Travis is doing something he loves.

I used to think my dream job was traveling the world, visiting exotic sites, eating tasty foods and writing reviews for a travel website or magazine. But this week I discovered a new dream job-- being the librarian for The Food Network. Wow. The guy who has that job is so lucky-- 4,000 recipe books; finding out answers to all food questions (like is too much nutmeg toxic), and I am sure so much more. Hum... I wonder when he plans to quit or retire. My resume will be the first in line.