I delight in inspiring and inspired work.

Portrait of Christ, the Savior: I am the Way, the truth and the Light

Heinrich Hofmann

In reference to this picture which was his own personal picture of the Savior, Mr. Hofmann said,
"I wanted to hang it over my bed and when I went to rest in the evening, it should look at me, earnestly scrutinizing and ask: Have you lived this day in my spirit according to my commandments?"

"In his lifetime many people questioned Hofmann about his model for the boy Jesus. He responded, "when I read about Christ in the Bible, there areises spontaneously before my fancy a picture of him which I try to retain and reporduce--that is my only prototype."

-Heinrich Hofmann refering to his picture Jesus in the Temple

I felt so deeply touched by the Sacred Gifts Exhibit at BYU this weekend.  I love art and I love my Savior so the two combined was incredible.  At the beginning of the movie there was a statement that said this exhibit brining together the works of Bloch, Schwartz and Hofmann was 12 years in the making. How incredible is that? There is something to be said for being able to see the originals. I feel like there are aspects and meaning to the picture that aren't and really can't be expressed in a print. 

I delighted so much in a sweet volunteer who as I was looking at the last picture in the exhibit (at least in the order I went), Jesus Teaching in the Temple, who pointed out that in all of Heinrich Hofmann's faces of Christ looked the same. As I looked at other pictures, I immediately recognized that she was correct. She told us that he had prayed to receive a vision that he could know Christ and how to paint him. She said that Carl Bloch used models. As I revisited paintings throughout the exhibit, I realized she was correct and the art became even more deeply moving to me. 

I love that Mr. Hofmann had such a love for the Savior that he painted this picture above for himself. That he might make sure that his life was in line, that he would not just paint the Savior but pray and seek to really know Him and to live his teachings.

I delight in light.

I'm really good at writing things and deleting them. It's been happening all week. I so want to bear my soul to you but I clearly recognize that this is not the time, nor place. But here's what I do have to say and what I do have to share.  

I am grateful for sunshine. But I'm even more grateful for the shadows that prove the sunshine is there. I'm grateful to know what is wrong so I can know what is right.  I'm grateful for hard times because I treasure the good times more fully. I'm grateful to know what it is like to be unclean so I can appreciate being cleansed. I'm grateful to know tribulation so I can appreciate calm. I'm grateful to have experienced anxiousness so I can feel peace.  I'm grateful to have experienced pain so I can appreciate feeling good. I'm grateful to experience sadness so I can seek happiness. 

I delight in experiencing both sides of the spectrum. I am especially grateful today to my Savior Jesus Christ, for the infinite virtue of his great atoning sacrifice. To know that everything that is unfair about life can be made right through Him. To know that He has provided a way for us to return home to live with our Heavenly Father. I'm grateful He experienced such pain, sorrow and grief so that we can one day be redeemed from the things of the world and be cleansed in preparation to return home to God. God be thanked for the matchless gift of His divine Son.

delighting in week 7/52

 The quality of this photo is terrible but I love it nonetheless. Every time I go to the Brigham City Temple I take pictures, not of the temple but of the tabernacle across the street. It is so photogenic, so historic and so beautifully positioned for a picture. If only my iPhone could have captured the lighting a little better this picture would better represent the illuminating experience of my Saturday morning.

This was a week. A few weeks ago, we were discussing at work what sense we could part with if we had to...and while I'm not sure my voice is a sense per se, I've decided I never want to live without it. Doing my job was interesting with an intermittently present voice but we survived. Cepracol was my bff of the week. Saved my life.

In terms of delights this week, the temple was definitely at the top of the list with institute also in the close running. Reading "5 Minutes Peace" with Christin and adventures with my mom were also right up there. Then there's the haircut...

Yes, I know this is one of those pictures that is just like the before and after pictures for lots of products...before is a picture of unstyled hair, the person has no make up on of course so that when you see the after picture they look completely different because they're all dolled up. Well here you go, I did the same thing. But you know, sadly it wasn't intentional...its just the way it has been. I slowly stopped getting ready, doing things with my hair, etc.  Needless to say, it was time for a change. And so, there it is. We'll see how long the bangs last. I've been scaring myself all day every time I've gotten a glimpse in the mirror of myself. It was a needed change though. And I believe change can rub off to other things.

A short bullet list of other delights:

• giving and getting valentine's day "surprises"
• getting things done ahead of time
• using my planner more effectively
• daily scripture study
• still light at 6 pm
• opportunities to share experiences
• autism advocacy/legislature activity
• experiences that teach you things--2 words: smoke detector
• dancing at PALS with my favorite people
• making sugar cookies with friends, sharing them with friends
• naps
• hearing "sis, i need more snuggles and books"
• the difference between skill deficits and performance deficits
• reminiscing my mission
• playing skip-bo (even though i hate it)
• talking to new people
• making (and eating) delish eclair cake
• scripture time/goal making/weekly planning

------------

highway don't care--tim mcgraw and taylor swift

doctrine and covenants 123: 12-17

visions of glory (dying to read)

alma 32

autism council of utah

christin's art

talking about talking about an asd dx

I delight in a week of delightful moments.

Since my daily delighting just isn't in the cards at the moment...I've decided to give a run down of some of of the past week's delights:

• Finally seeing Wicked, loving Wicked as much as I always hoped I would, loving that my Mom and LB loved Wicked too.  And now, I really love that Wicked is Christin's CD of choice in the car (since it has been Taylor Swift for the past 2 years, it was time for a change!)
• Saying good-bye to Nat and JD. This is only half a delight because I miss them terribly and Utah won't be the same without them, but I am SO excited for their adventures in the northwest, and I'm so excited I now have a fantastic excuse to visit the northwest!  
• Attending my 'Cuz's' sealing in the Timpanogos  Temple on Saturday!  I am so happy for Breanne and Mark!  He is one lucky man because Breanne is amazing!  Attending the dinner that night and seeing how much everyone there loved and supported them was so great!  Pictures to come!
• Being in the temple with my Grandpa!  Grandpa B attended Breanne's wedding too and he and I have never been in the temple at the same time.  It was such a special moment for me to be there with family as that was a first for me!  I'm so grateful for such wonderful events to bring the family together.
• Spending time with Mom.  Its always a rare occasion so I always enjoy it when it happens...even though I am the worst passenger side driver ever.
• Teaching the 7-8 year olds in Primary on Sunday!  I haven't been in Primary since I was in Primary so I wasn't sure what to expect.  But boy, the girls and boys of my ward don't disappoint!  They are SO smart!  We talked about the importance of being kind and the scripture story of the Good Samaritan.  Possibly my favorite part was hearing them recount the story after the lesson...I love hearing what parts of the story they remember and how they interpret it.  Classic quotes from my experience in primary to come...and believe you me, they are classic!
• Playing memory with LB, we started playing a game of memory every night when I get home from work.  It's great!
• I ordered some new books off Amazon.  I sold a few of my grad school text books in the previous couple of weeks, only the ones I never liked anyway and wouldn't use ever, mostly because I never used them even when I had them.  So I decided to take the money I got from selling them and put it into books I would actually use.  I'm excited!

Just a few little delightful delights!  :)

I delight in mini roadtrips.

I never knew until a year ago, what the Vernal Utah Temple looked like. In case you don't know--it looks like the picture above!

This weekend my friend Mary and I journeyed to Vernal to attend the temple and do some hiking. Along with doing those two things we also went to Swiss days (a new experience for me), did some speechie stuff, went to a dinosaur trackway (where I got fried and experienced some mild heat stroke) and then traveled to the middle of oil country to fantasy canyon. Ever heard of it? I hadn't either. Pictures to come!

All and all, it was the perfect road trip. Not too far and not too close and definitely on roads I'd never traveled on before. If you are in need of a weekend roadtrip in Utah, may I recommend Vernal. I never imagined those words would come out of my mouth but obviously I was pleasantly surprised at just how great a place it was to be.