Mission Countdown Week 1

Countdown Week 1: An Implausible Mission

3 Now they were desirous that salvation should be declared to every creature, for they could not bear that any human soul should perish; yea, even the very thoughts that any soul should endure endless torment did cause them to quake and tremble.

(Mosiah 28:3)

We try to follow Christ in the sense that we care for every individual. We can't even consider people being subjected to despair and misery, because we have the spirit of Christ in us -- we want to save everybody. Not just everybody, but we want to save you. We want to save Austin. Christ wants to save everybody. 

Christmas

Christmas is special to me...

because when you think about it, a God came down as a baby. Completely helpless and vulnerable. Think about it... How much trust Jesus and Heavenly Father must've had in Mary and Joseph. It's astounding. 

I think of what He came down to, what He had to look forward to. I think Isaiah 53 summarized it pretty well: 

3 He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not.

4 Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted.

5 But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities . . .

7 He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth: he is brought as a lamb to the slaughter . . .

8 He was taken from prison and from judgment . . . he was cut off out of the land of the living: for the transgression of my people was he stricken.

Not a very enticing lot. The agony of Gethsemene, the brutality of the cross at Gol Gatha, the torment of the Sadducees, the betrayal of Judas... Yet he came willingly, happily for us. Even when he didn't want to do it, he came through for us. I think Christmas represents the faith that God has in *Us.* Faith that we wouldn't waste the atonement, faith that Mary and Joseph would be good parents. Faith in humanity. 

Hype

Author's Note: This will not be a post about myself, despite the title. 

When something is hyped to a person (a hypee), they experience one of two responses: excitement or apathy. People who get excited either share and partake of the hype, becoming more and more excited for the hyped thing, while hyping it to others. People who are apathetic won't care about hype. As a matter of fact, it will most likely bother them and cause them to foster ill feeling towards it. 

When something hyped is experienced by a hypee, there are two reactions for each category of hypee, based off of the quality of the hyped item. Let's explore. 

Exited hypees: 

Reaction 1: The hypee is disappointed, and the disappointment is amplified by the amount of hype it received. This can result in bitterness and depression. Overall, they're less likely to be receptive to hype the next time the hype train rolls around. 

Reaction 2: They're pleased! The thing lives up to its hype, and the hypee is excited beyond their wildest dreams. They're more receptive to hype, and will likely float on cloud nine for the next couple of days. 

Now, there are mediums to these reactions. These are just the generalized benchmarks. 

Apathetic hypees: 

Reaction 1: The hypee's apathy is met. I.e. the thing is perfectly whelming. It's nothing special. They'll continue not caring about the hype. It'll reinforce that behavior of emotional non-involvement. They'll continue to sneer and look down on hype. 

Reaction 2: They're shocked out of their apathy by the amazing-ness of the hyped thing! They'll be more receptive to hype next time, and will probably hype things in the future Success for hype! 

Irrationality vs. Rationality

The truth is, humans can think and feel irrationally at times. Even when we're thinking rationally, we can still be feeling -- emotionally -- irrationally. Let me demonstrate. 

Statistically speaking, flying is the safest way to travel.* Despite this, I am terrified of flying. It panics me. It makes me scared. I can't look out the windows, because that just amplifies the terror. All I can do is clutch the armrest and wait for the flight to end as soon as humanly possible. 

"But Austin, flying is the safest way to travel!" 

I know! But that rational thought does nothing for my irrational  phobia. 

"Mind over matter" only matters when everything is over. 

Wish me luck for my flight tomorrow. I'm sure I won't need it, but I'll feel like I do. 

* While flight by aero-plane has been meticulously studied, statistics for flight by jetpack, nauseous gas, helium-filled balloons, and magic are slim at best. Thanks to Icarus, however, we have arrived at the "Waxy Chance," the common nickname for the well established 50% survival rate for flight by homemade wings. 

[-1 days until my birthday]

[1 day until the trip]

[2 days until brother'sbirthday]

[5 days until the Ward Christmas party]

[13 days until Christmas]

 

My Favorite Scriptures

My favorite scripture has always been D&C 18:10 -- "For behold, the worth of souls is great in the sight of God." Lately, another scripture has been slowly edging it's way towards that coveted position of favorite. In my eyes, it's a logical profession from my old favorite. It's found in John, 15:13, and reads "Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends." Do you get what I'm saying? The worth of souls is great, and the greatest expression of our love is to lay down our life for a friend. It's like "you're worth so much to me, I'll die for you. I'll lay down all my dreams and fears and insecurities for you, because you're my friend and you're worth so much to me, and to God." Of course, the ultimate expression of love will alway be the atonement -- one man laying down his life for all of the human race, but I think it applicable to all of us. Why else would Christ teach us to do the same? A point I wanted to make is that I interpret "laying down your life" as more than just dying. It means you put your insecurities out there. You share your secrets. You do whatever you can, however personal or painful, to help your friends. You lay it down... You set it before them, make it available. Nothing is held back. I'm not very good at this, but I'm working on it. I want to be able to stand proud and say, "I love you, my friend," and lay my life down for them. 

Madcap Recap

The graduation ceremony and open house went swimmingly. I was a bit disappointed that some people didn't make it, but I had a great turn out overall. It made me happy. I know they're all corny and cliche, but the messages about the future and pride in me really touched me. 

My party had a really low attendance -- 6 out of 25 -- but I'll just repeat what I said to each person. "It's okay, I understand." People get busy, things come up. I'm grateful for those that did manage to come, because I would've been crushed if nobody had come. Talk about awkward. We ended up playing Apples to Apples since Bunco was out. I only had two cards for the first twenty rounds (at least that many rounds, likely more) but then managed to come around in the last set of rounds to win!!(!) My winning score was 15 cards. My actual birthday is tomorrow, and it's shocking to know I'm turning 18. My, my, how lives and people change. I am so grateful for all the people I hold dear in my heart: "that's how I grow stronger." Thank you for being in my life. I love you. 

[-1 day since graduation]

[0 days until/after my party]

[1 day until my birthday]

[3 days until the trip]

[4 days until brother's birthday]

[17 days until Christmas] 

Blessed

I am wonderfully blessed in diverse ways. My body functions well, as my mind does. My family gets along. My parents teach and love me. We always have food on the table, clothes on our backs, and a place to sleep. My life is filled with conveniences and blessings, and I think it's past time to admit that I truly cannot comprehend how good my life is. 

If nothing else, my mission will bring me to other places, and, statistically speaking, they won't be as well off as Olathe. 

I thank God for my blessings; I don't know if I would be who I am if I had been given a different setting for life. 

[1 day until graduation/open house]

[2 days until the party]

[3 days until my birthday]

[5 days until the trip]

[6 days until brother's birthday]

[19 days until Christmas]

OMIT 4

One Moment In Time #4

Devastation 

All that was left was scorched earth. Every trace of the camps was gone. The makeshift cities that had sprung up overnight had vanished just as quickly. Not a trace of their occupants was left. 

All that was left was a broken rattle. 

[2 days until Graduation/Open House]

[3 days until the party]

[4 days until my birthday]

[6 days until the trip]

[20 days until Christmas]

OMIT 3

One Moment In Time #3

"Have you ever... believed in destiny?" She murmured as she pressed her forehead to his. 

He tried not to breathe too loudly in the silence as he considered his response. 

"No." He shook his head. She looked at him, questioning. He gripped her hand and smiled as he leaned forward. He closed his eyes as he bumped his forehead against hers. 

"I believe in a thing called love."

OMIT 2

One Moment In Time #2 

He cackled maniacally, lifting his arms above his head. 

"You can't stop me!" he sneered. "You're not good enough." 

He stared back at the psychopath, his face stoic. He responded calmly and evenly. 

"I can stop you."

His posture shifted. He turned so his right shoulder pressed forward, and bent his arms inwards in front of his face, like he was boxing. 

"I can stop you."

The crest on his hand began to glow, and his eyes had a hard glint in them. 

"I can stop you."

And he would. 

OMIT 1

One Moment In Time #1

"She wouldn't want you to be like this."

He laughed, tears brimming in his eyes. "I know, right? She'd expect more from me. She always did. She always pushed me." 

"She still can. She's not dead, you know." 

"She might as well be," he snarled. "You know just as well as I do what's coming next." 

"We can save her." 

"She would want that," he said softly. 

[3 days until graduation/open house]

[4 days until the party]

[5 days until my birthday]

[21 days until Christmas]

Weariness [After the Storm]

There was a weariness that seeped down to the bone. He shifted from one foot to the other, his eyes meeting hers. They eyed each other cautiously for a moment. Everything had led up to that point, and now they weren't sure how to continue. There was an awkwardness pervading the scene that felt almost ironic after everything that had happened. He clutched his bleeding arm, then finally sighed and started to speak from his heart. 

"The truth is," he spoke softly. 

"The truth..." she scoffed, crossing her arms. She had heard enough about truth to look down on people who were still naive enough to invoke it when speaking. 

"The truth is," he repeated more boldly, his voice growing stronger and more firm, his eyes never leaving hers, "that you will never be alone." 

He let go of his arm, and embraced the woman standing across from him, who stood stiffly in his grasp. It made for an odd scene; two blood stained teenagers -- barely more than children -- on the edge of collapse, apparently hugging. 

December 2nd

There's a nostalgic feeling that wells up within me when I turn my head and see the glow of Christmas lights from my bed. There's always a moment of childlike shock -- "It's so bright! How is it so bright!" -- which always gives way to a smug reminder: my birthdays here, Christmas is getting closer. The glow right outside my window is white, tinged at the edge with green from another light. There's even a bit of red in the bottom left-hand corner. They illuminate the hour, and shine through the curtains. 

Christmas is coming. 

My birthday's right around the corner. 

[22 days until Christmas; 6 days until my birthday; 5 days until the party; 4 days until my graduation and open house.]