HO-HO-HO! MERRY CHRISTMAS!
'Twas the night before Christmas and all through the house
Some creatures were stirring, but not the mouse.
All the children were nestled in their beds
With visions of presents running through their heads.
Mommy and Daddy in their frenzy did wrap
Hoping no child would awake from the flap.
Rolls of wrapping paper, scissors and tape
Were passed between them at a great rate.
Mommy wrapped while Daddy tagged
The puppy dog's tail she did wag
Getting in the middle with nose to ground
Looking for dropped cookie crumbs she found.
When to their wondering eyes did appear
Many presents all wrapped, the bill they did fear.
Soon placed under the tree, the presents were placed
A short winter's nap the parents they faced.
All too soon, the sun arose
And the children added more to this prose
For they awoke an hour too soon
Mommy and Daddy hoped they could sleep till noon.
It was time to see what Santa added
For the all the children were ecstatic!
All gathered in one child's room
For the first Christmas present, from whom?
The birth of Our Savior was given
From a loving Father in Heaven
The present he gave?
His Son with the power to save!
The simple phrase "Come Unto Him"
And repent of all your sin
Remember this refrain
So that we may live with him again!
I am not a poet by any stretch of the imagination, but I hope that all here in the Underground have a wonderful Christmas!
Showing posts with label By Mike. Show all posts
Showing posts with label By Mike. Show all posts
Wednesday, December 25, 2013
Friday, October 11, 2013
Back from the Blog's Black Hole
Good afternoon one and all! I have returned from an unexpected absence from this blog. I wish that I could say that I have been too busy to blog or that I have been asked to head a new commission to solve all the world's problems thus preventing me from blogging, but alas, I have simply not taken the time to compose a few thoughts to share in this glorious forum.
So, let me catch up with a few thoughts on a few things.
Government Shutdown, etc. - bunch of whiny little children, trying to boss others around and control the entire sandbox. To them I say, if you can't get along and you can't figure out how to work together, then go home and let someone else take your spot who will. Republican, Democrat, Tea-Partier, Independent, doesn't matter. If you won't take the time to run this country ACCORDING TO THE WILL OF ITS PEOPLE, then get out and let someone in who will.
BYU-Utah Rivalry: I wish I could say that this was a great game, but it wasn't. Congratulations to the Utes on winning the game, but it was ugly every which way you look at it. Neither team looked better than the other. Neither team played well. There wasn't really a good flow to it. BYU ran around the field and then did something stupid. Utah tried to run around the field and then made two plays. The refs ran around the field dodging trash.
Let me expound on that last statement. I have been to several of these games. I have seen poor officiating and have seen some great performances come out of these games. Where this rivalry has turned the ugliest is on the fans. There is a select faction of red and blue fans that have ruined this great tradition for the rest of us. These are the ones that have decided that it is ok to mock, ridicule and denigrate their fellow man. During this past game, I saw BYU fans ridiculing Utah fans and the Ute-heritage. NOT ACCEPTABLE! I saw Utah fans dressed up as characters from scripture and mocking sacred belief. NOT ACCEPTABLE! I saw fans from both sides get into arguments with the other. NOT ACCEPTABLE! I saw BYU fans throw trash at the officials because they felt they had cost BYU the game. News to you idiots. BYU put themselves in that position. They are the ones that had to go into desperation mode at the end. Whether a call should have been made or not, doesn't matter. You put yourself in that position, most times, you are not going to win the game.
Ordain Women: This one to me is just sad. Here is a woman who, for all intents and purposes, believes that she has received an answer for the entire Church.
Before I go further, let me make this abundantly clear. I believe that a man and woman are equal. Anyone who believes that a man is greater than a woman or woman greater than a man, stands in violation of God's law. There are things that a man's body is more apt to do (i.e. physical labor) as is a woman's (i.e. child birth.) I believe that, along with the physical make up, that there is a spiritual/emotional make up. A man tends to be more a problem-solver (mostly because we tend to cause a lot of problems.) We see the issue, devise a plan of attack and carry out that plan. (Think Marine's tendency of "See the hill, take the hill.) We have difficulty in expressing emotion or thoughts. We are thinkers, but we just keep it to ourselves. Women have that emotional ability that is simply amazing. There is a natural ability for nurturing and teaching. When any child stubs their toe or scrapes their knee, they immediately want their "Mommy." Women are problem solvers too. (They generally have to clean up the man's mistakes.) They are natural born leaders, teachers, doctors, etc. Their very nature is care, understanding, faithfulness, commitment, determination, drive, and other super-human powers (see. wife/mother in dictionary) I fully believe, and this is a doctrinal point of the Church, that neither the man nor the woman can achieve their fullest potential without the other.
What is sad about this is that this woman does not understand her divine nature, her divine gifts that have been given to her. Gifts that no man has. Gifts that men wish they could understand. This is why, as has been said in this forum before, men have been ordained to the Priesthood; to help us gain that understanding. My wife has every right and claim on the Priesthood in our home as I do. She has every right and ability to call upon Heavenly Father to bless our home, to bless a sick child, to receive revelation for our family. She is as much a leader in our home as I am, if not more. The only difference is that ordination part. Could she do the same things without me in the home, yes. Would it be as complete, no. Can I do the same things in the home without her, yes. Would it be as complete, no. It takes the two of us to accomplish the nurturing, the teaching of our children. It takes both of us to complete the other. The only gift I bring to that of any eternal worth, is my worthiness / righteousness in honoring the Priesthood.
Well, I've pontificated long enough. Thank you for bearing with me as I shared these thoughts. Till next time.
So, let me catch up with a few thoughts on a few things.
Government Shutdown, etc. - bunch of whiny little children, trying to boss others around and control the entire sandbox. To them I say, if you can't get along and you can't figure out how to work together, then go home and let someone else take your spot who will. Republican, Democrat, Tea-Partier, Independent, doesn't matter. If you won't take the time to run this country ACCORDING TO THE WILL OF ITS PEOPLE, then get out and let someone in who will.
BYU-Utah Rivalry: I wish I could say that this was a great game, but it wasn't. Congratulations to the Utes on winning the game, but it was ugly every which way you look at it. Neither team looked better than the other. Neither team played well. There wasn't really a good flow to it. BYU ran around the field and then did something stupid. Utah tried to run around the field and then made two plays. The refs ran around the field dodging trash.
Let me expound on that last statement. I have been to several of these games. I have seen poor officiating and have seen some great performances come out of these games. Where this rivalry has turned the ugliest is on the fans. There is a select faction of red and blue fans that have ruined this great tradition for the rest of us. These are the ones that have decided that it is ok to mock, ridicule and denigrate their fellow man. During this past game, I saw BYU fans ridiculing Utah fans and the Ute-heritage. NOT ACCEPTABLE! I saw Utah fans dressed up as characters from scripture and mocking sacred belief. NOT ACCEPTABLE! I saw fans from both sides get into arguments with the other. NOT ACCEPTABLE! I saw BYU fans throw trash at the officials because they felt they had cost BYU the game. News to you idiots. BYU put themselves in that position. They are the ones that had to go into desperation mode at the end. Whether a call should have been made or not, doesn't matter. You put yourself in that position, most times, you are not going to win the game.
Ordain Women: This one to me is just sad. Here is a woman who, for all intents and purposes, believes that she has received an answer for the entire Church.
Before I go further, let me make this abundantly clear. I believe that a man and woman are equal. Anyone who believes that a man is greater than a woman or woman greater than a man, stands in violation of God's law. There are things that a man's body is more apt to do (i.e. physical labor) as is a woman's (i.e. child birth.) I believe that, along with the physical make up, that there is a spiritual/emotional make up. A man tends to be more a problem-solver (mostly because we tend to cause a lot of problems.) We see the issue, devise a plan of attack and carry out that plan. (Think Marine's tendency of "See the hill, take the hill.) We have difficulty in expressing emotion or thoughts. We are thinkers, but we just keep it to ourselves. Women have that emotional ability that is simply amazing. There is a natural ability for nurturing and teaching. When any child stubs their toe or scrapes their knee, they immediately want their "Mommy." Women are problem solvers too. (They generally have to clean up the man's mistakes.) They are natural born leaders, teachers, doctors, etc. Their very nature is care, understanding, faithfulness, commitment, determination, drive, and other super-human powers (see. wife/mother in dictionary) I fully believe, and this is a doctrinal point of the Church, that neither the man nor the woman can achieve their fullest potential without the other.
What is sad about this is that this woman does not understand her divine nature, her divine gifts that have been given to her. Gifts that no man has. Gifts that men wish they could understand. This is why, as has been said in this forum before, men have been ordained to the Priesthood; to help us gain that understanding. My wife has every right and claim on the Priesthood in our home as I do. She has every right and ability to call upon Heavenly Father to bless our home, to bless a sick child, to receive revelation for our family. She is as much a leader in our home as I am, if not more. The only difference is that ordination part. Could she do the same things without me in the home, yes. Would it be as complete, no. Can I do the same things in the home without her, yes. Would it be as complete, no. It takes the two of us to accomplish the nurturing, the teaching of our children. It takes both of us to complete the other. The only gift I bring to that of any eternal worth, is my worthiness / righteousness in honoring the Priesthood.
Well, I've pontificated long enough. Thank you for bearing with me as I shared these thoughts. Till next time.
Saturday, July 20, 2013
Yep... I'm One of Those People
So... my fellow Undergroundians, I have discovered over the past couple of weeks that I am one of those people. It's nothing scary, bad, or earth-shattering, it's just one of those things that I thought was dormant in my personality, but has come screaming to the surface.
I am, of course, talking about my predilection to spoil our new puppy dog.
Ginger (my youngest calls her Ginger T. Brunson; my Dad, Ginger Snap) came into our home. She's quite the little spit-fire, which means she fits into my lot just perfectly.
Last week, we had to go to the pet store to get her some of the pet medicine to keep fleas away. While there, I decided that the dog needed a new blanket and her own special bath towel. Yep, I'm one of those people who will buy things for their pet that they already have at home, but the pet needs one of their very own.
If you are one of us, I now understand. If you are not one of us, keep the faith, but in the end, like me, you will fall into the abyss of spoiling the pet.
I am, of course, talking about my predilection to spoil our new puppy dog.
Ginger (my youngest calls her Ginger T. Brunson; my Dad, Ginger Snap) came into our home. She's quite the little spit-fire, which means she fits into my lot just perfectly.
Last week, we had to go to the pet store to get her some of the pet medicine to keep fleas away. While there, I decided that the dog needed a new blanket and her own special bath towel. Yep, I'm one of those people who will buy things for their pet that they already have at home, but the pet needs one of their very own.
If you are one of us, I now understand. If you are not one of us, keep the faith, but in the end, like me, you will fall into the abyss of spoiling the pet.
Thursday, July 4, 2013
Independence Day -- Freedom to Blow Things Up
Every year on July 4th, the United States of America celebrates her independence. To the men, women and children who fought for freedom, who died bringing to pass our right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness (property). Each year, as President John Adams signified, "From one end of the continent to the other..." we shall celebrate our independence with fireworks!
As a boy, I remember watching fireworks out on the back deck of my grandparents home in Fruit Heights, Utah. We could see the fireworks show shot over the Great Salt Lake, the fireworks from Lagoon Amusement Park and the show from Bountiful, Utah. It was quite the site! We would gather around and eat good food, play games and enjoy each other's company. If we had the time, we would get to do sparklers and on occasion, one of my uncles would get a few of the fireworks that you see in grocery stores today. It was a great time!
Fast forward several years, now I finished putting on a wee bit of a fireworks show for my children, including sparklers. We now longer go to Fruit Heights as Grandma and Grandpa have both passed on, but the feelings of gratitude for the freedoms I enjoy are still as relevant today as they were then.
Over the past couple of years, the State of Utah has legalized aerial fireworks. It is simply amazing to me how a nice quiet neighborhood of good, law abiding citizens can be turned into a "war-zone." (For those who have been in actual war-zones, forgive my liberal use of the term. I simply have no other reference to which I can call what I see and hear.) Explosions are heard overhead of my house. Rockets red glare (along with, blue, green, and yellow) can be seen above the treetops of our quite hovel. As I watch this spectacle of aerial gunpowder excitement, and water hose in hand ready to spring into action, I think of those men and women who fought for our right to blow things up... legally! Once again, I say thank you.
God Bless, America! (We could use all the help we can get.)
As a boy, I remember watching fireworks out on the back deck of my grandparents home in Fruit Heights, Utah. We could see the fireworks show shot over the Great Salt Lake, the fireworks from Lagoon Amusement Park and the show from Bountiful, Utah. It was quite the site! We would gather around and eat good food, play games and enjoy each other's company. If we had the time, we would get to do sparklers and on occasion, one of my uncles would get a few of the fireworks that you see in grocery stores today. It was a great time!
Fast forward several years, now I finished putting on a wee bit of a fireworks show for my children, including sparklers. We now longer go to Fruit Heights as Grandma and Grandpa have both passed on, but the feelings of gratitude for the freedoms I enjoy are still as relevant today as they were then.
Over the past couple of years, the State of Utah has legalized aerial fireworks. It is simply amazing to me how a nice quiet neighborhood of good, law abiding citizens can be turned into a "war-zone." (For those who have been in actual war-zones, forgive my liberal use of the term. I simply have no other reference to which I can call what I see and hear.) Explosions are heard overhead of my house. Rockets red glare (along with, blue, green, and yellow) can be seen above the treetops of our quite hovel. As I watch this spectacle of aerial gunpowder excitement, and water hose in hand ready to spring into action, I think of those men and women who fought for our right to blow things up... legally! Once again, I say thank you.
God Bless, America! (We could use all the help we can get.)
Sunday, June 30, 2013
Meet Michael Brunson
Hello one and all! Welcome to the Signs of the Times: Underground! Thank you to my good friend Aaron Christensen for putting this together and asking me to be apart of it!
As for myself, I am 38 years old and have been married to my wonderful wife, Sandra for 15 1/2 years. (In case you were wondering, she still likes me.) We have three beautiful children and we now have a good little puppy dog. I graduated from Brigham Young University in 2005 with a degree in Communications, which means I'm doing something other than what I graduated in.
I guest blogged on Aaron's previous blog "Signs of the Times" and am pretty sure that I was not the catalyst to the cataclysmic end of the SotT. It was feared that when Aaron announced the end of SotT, that the world would stop spinning, a whole in the fabric of the universe would appear, and quite possibly, quite possibly, the Chicago Cubs would win the World Series.
So... with all of that said, I hope that you are a frequent visitor to the Underground and hope that you find this a good respite from your cares.
Don't worry, the Cubs aren't close to winning the World Series. The universe is safe for now.
As for myself, I am 38 years old and have been married to my wonderful wife, Sandra for 15 1/2 years. (In case you were wondering, she still likes me.) We have three beautiful children and we now have a good little puppy dog. I graduated from Brigham Young University in 2005 with a degree in Communications, which means I'm doing something other than what I graduated in.
I guest blogged on Aaron's previous blog "Signs of the Times" and am pretty sure that I was not the catalyst to the cataclysmic end of the SotT. It was feared that when Aaron announced the end of SotT, that the world would stop spinning, a whole in the fabric of the universe would appear, and quite possibly, quite possibly, the Chicago Cubs would win the World Series.
So... with all of that said, I hope that you are a frequent visitor to the Underground and hope that you find this a good respite from your cares.
Don't worry, the Cubs aren't close to winning the World Series. The universe is safe for now.
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