Frozen

 

Last night, my wife, son, and I just finished this film. As I watched it, I felt like sharing my thoughts about it with y'all. I believe it is a family-friendly film. It is a film with a message about the power of true love. It is not similar to other Disney princess films in the way that is centered on a love story between a princess and her true love. It is instead centered on the bond between two sisters. I think it was a good heartwarming story, and I think your young daughters will especially enjoy it. The thing that impressed me the most about this film is how it is centered on the love within a family between siblings. I think this message reaches out even more to little girls than a film about true love between a man and woman. It is rated PG for some action and mild rude humor.

I've heard from many that this is a great movie, and I would have to agree.

The link to the imdb.com site for the film, Frozen, is: Disney's Frozen

This is a link to imdb.com's content advisory. For each film/tv show they have a page like this that tells us what makes a film or tv show rated the way it is: Frozen content

This is the summary from imdb.com:

Fearless optimist Anna teams up with Kristoff in an epic journey, encountering Everest-like conditions, and a hilarious snowman named Olaf in a race to find Anna's sister Elsa, whose icy powers have trapped the kingdom in eternal winter.

For all of you still waiting for the movie review for Letters to Juliet, look on my blog on the right for when it will be done.

BYU Women's Basketball Advance to Sweet 16

I apologize for the drought of posts recently. This is to catch up on the big win for BYU Women's Basketball this last Monday, March 24, 2014. They beat Nebraska in the second round of the NCAA Women's Basketball Tournament. The final score was 80-76. They will now go on to play the first-seed of the Lincoln region, Connecticut, in the Sweet Sixteen round. The game is on Saturday, March 29, 2014 (tomorrow) at 2:30 PM MST on ESPN. For a reminder, BYU Women's is 12th seed in the Lincoln Region. They will be in their school's first Sweet 16 since 2002 for women's basketball.

Here are some stats from the Nebraska game:

Morgan Bailey: 18 points, 6 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 block
Jennifer Hamson: 15 points, 14 rebounds, 4 blocks
Lexi Eaton: 15 points, 6 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal
Kylie Maeda: 9 points, 3 rebounds, 4 assists
Kim Beeston: 6 points, 5 rebounds, 8 assists, 1 steal, 1 block
Xojian Harry: 11 points, 3 rebounds
Ashley Garfield: 1 steal
Stephanie Rovetti: 6 points, 1 rebound

If you are able to watch the game tomorrow, ENJOY!!!

Daily Insights from my Life #21

I was reading in Doctrine and Covenants 38 and wanted to share some verses I read.

"And let every man esteem his brother as himself, and practice virtue and holiness before me. And again I say unto you, let every man esteem his brother as himself. For what man among you having twelve sons, and is no respecter of them, and they serve him obediently, and he saith unto the one: Be thou clothed in robes and sit thou here; and to the other: Be thou clothed in rags and sit thou here--and looketh upon his sons and saith I am just? Behold this I have given unto you as a parable, and it is even as I am. I say unto you, be one; and if ye are not one ye are not mine." -verses 24 to 27

We are all loved by our Heavenly Father, and none of us are higher in esteem by Him than another. He wants us all to return to live with Him. So we must be one. If we don't treat each other equally, we are not His. I challenge everyone who reads this and myself to be more kind to all. Remember that we are all sons and daughters of Heavenly Father.

Ender's Game

 

This is my second movie review. It is one of the ones y'all selected in my poll. "Ender's Game" the film was made after a novel by Orson Scott Card (which I recently read again). It is a story of a young boy who is trained to lead an army against a species that have warred with humans in the past. It is a story of a young boy and the struggles he has on doing what is asked of him. He is stretched to his limits. I really enjoyed this film. It doesn't directly go along with the book (like most book films), but it follows it close enough that it didn't ruin the viewing experience for me. There is fighting, some sci-fi action, and some crude language. There is also one shot of a young boy of just his chest and head. 

I think all who have read the book will enjoy this film, and I believe those who haven't read it will also enjoy it. You can see throughout the movie the internal struggles Ender faces, and that for me is one thing that makes it a great movie.

If you haven't read the book, I suggest you should. Also, if you like that one, you can read the other three in the series. They follow the life of Ender, the struggles he faces, and the peace he finds. I have written some posts about them under Book Recommendations.

The summary below comes from imdb.com: Ender's Game

Young Ender Wiggin is recruited by the International Military to lead the fight against the Formics, a genocidal alien race which nearly annihilated the human race in a previous invasion.

BYU Women's Advance to Play Nebraska

The BYU women's basketball team beat North Carolina State today 72-57. They will play in the next round of the tournament against Nebraska on Monday at 7:00 PM MST.

Here are some stats:

Morgan Bailey: 13 points, 12 rebounds, 2 blocks, 1 assist and 1 steal
Jennifer Hamson: 12 points, 19 rebounds, 1 assist, 9 blocks
Lexi Eaton: 25 points, 8 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 steals
Kylie Maeda: 14 points, 4 rebounds, 2 assists
Kim Beeston: 3 points, 4 rebounds, 4 assists

Let's go Cougars!

Children of the Mind

Children of the Mind

 

I recommend the final book in the Ender's series, "Children of the Mind" by Orson Scott Card. This final installment of his series concludes the story of Ender, his family, and friends. I believe this novel was a great ending to a great series. It was well written. In it, Card again develops the characters and their relationships with one another very well. It still has some theological, thought-provoking aspects but focuses mainly on the crisis the characters are facing, and how they evolve and build relationships together. I believe those who have enjoyed the other books in this series will love this one, as they watch the characters evolve even more and see this great series come to an amazing ending. One warning is that there is a little bit of crude language included, but not enough to ruin the story at all. 

I highly recommend this book and this series to everyone.

The following is a summary of the novel as found at goodreads.com.

With this conclusion to his famous "Ender's Saga, " Card returns to the story of Ender Wiggin, hero of the Hugo and Nebula Award-winning Ender's Game, Speaker for the Dead, and Xenocide. Now his adopted world, Lusitania, is threatened by the same planet-destroying weapon that he himself used so many years before. Only Jane, the computer intelligence that has evolved with him over 3,000 years can save the three sentient races of Lusitania.

There are some other books he has written as additional stories to this series (they are "First Meetings in Ender's Universe", "A War of Gifts", and "Ender in Exile"). I plan on reading those after reading some of Rick Riordan's "Heroes of Olympus" books. Those additional stories take place before "Ender's Game" and in between "Ender's Game" and "Speaker of the Dead".

Orson Scott Card also wrote another 4- or 5-book series focusing on a character from "Ender's Game". His name is Bean.

BYU Loses Versus Oregon in March Tourney

In a hard fought game for BYU, they lost to Oregon 68-87. They played Oregon, as I mentioned in an earlier post this week, in the second round of the NCAA Basketball Tournament. BYU has had a good season. Haws, Mika, Winder, Collinsworth, Carlino, and many others have had good seasons. BYU ended the year with a 23-12 record overall and 13-5 record in their conference, the WCC.

Some BYU stats from the game:

Top Scorers: Tyler Haws (19), Eric Mika & Matt Carlino (15), Frank Bartley IV (10), Anson Winder (7), and Nate Austin with 1
Top Rebounders: Eric Mika (7), Nate Austin (5), Tyler Haws & Frank Bartley IV (4), and Josh Sharp (3)
Top Assisters: Matt Carlino (5), Josh Sharp (3), and Anson Winder & Skyler Halford (2)
Anson Winder had team-high 2 steals

All of these players will be back next year (minus the future missionaries) with no seniors on the team this year, and plus there will be great additions next year.

Here's to a good year, and good luck next year, Cougars!

March Madness 2014

March Madness is here! The NCAA Men and Women Basketball Tournaments begin this week. The four preliminary men's games are on Tuesday, March 18, 2014, and Wednesday, March 19, 2014. The Men's Tournament begins on Thursday, March 20, 2014, and the Women's Tournament begins on Saturday, March 22, 2014! For Men's game times, etc: Men's Games For Women's game times, etc: Women's Games

FYI: For all of those BYU fans like me out there, BYU men landed a 10th seed in the West Region and will be playing Oregon (7th seed) on Thursday, March 20, 2014, at 1:10 PM on TruTV, and BYU women landed a 12th seed in the Lincoln Division and will be playing North Carolina State (5th seed) on Saturday, March 22, 2014, at 4:30 PM on ESPN2! They're games are highlighted yellow in the Men's and Women's brackets further down the post. My bold prediction for BYU (both teams) this tournament is that they will both win at least two games each.

In Microsoft Excel, I created my own brackets. Below is the main design of those brackets. The left one is the Men's, and the right one is the Women's. In the center of each is the championship game. The lines leading to the center from the four regions/divisions show where the winner of the game goes for the next game.

If y'all want an excel spreadsheet like mine, just comment on this post, email me, or contact me through Facebook or Twitter. You can also go the way of going to the links in the first paragraph of this post or go to www.espn.go.com and print off the brackets available at those links. To get a closer up look at my homemade brackets, scroll a little further down. You will find the Men's and the Women's brackets, respectively in order. I didn't post my picks, but if you want to see them, contact me through the same ways mentioned earlier in this paragraph. All I will say is that I'm guessing Arizona will win overall for Men's and Connecticut will win overall for Women's.

This is the Men's bracket I created. As you can see I have added a couple things of what I do with teams that win or teams I guess incorrectly. First of all, look at the Arizona (1st seed) vs. Weber State (16th seed) game on the top right corner. In theory, if Arizona was to win that game, I would color the Arizona word green. With the next two games underneath, say I guessed Oklahoma and New Mexico State (NM State) to win their games. What if San Diego State won instead of New Mexico State? I would then color my NM State guess red and cross it out (you can do through formatting cells). After that, I would put San Diego State and it's seed number underneath NM State. If Oklahoma didn't win, ND State would go above the Oklahoma guess. 

The four games at the top determine who will go in the four numbered slots on the side. For example, the winner of the #1 game (UA vs. MSMary) would play Florida (look at the top left corner). Those four games, as mentioned at the beginning of this post, will be played tomorrow and Wednesday night.

This is the Women's bracket.

If you want to see the games for the men's and women's NIT championships, go to these links: Men's NIT and Women's NIT (The Women's NIT teams will be announced tonight before midnight) In the men's NIT, teams like Utah and Utah Valley are going to play.

Daily Insights from my Life #20

So in Doctrine and Covenants 33:8-9, it states: "Open your mouths and they shall be filled, and you shall become even as Nephi of old, who journeyed from Jerusalem in the wilderness. yea, open your mouths and spare not, and you shall be laden with sheaves upon your backs, for lo, I am with you."

For Doctrine and Covenants 33:8, there is a footnote that leads you to 2 Nephi 1:27-28 in The Book of Mormon. Verse 27 reads, "And it must needs be that the power of God must be with him, even unto his commanding you that ye must obey. But behold, it was not he, but it was the Spirit of the Lord which was in him, which opened his mouth to utterance that he could not shut it."

Now as I read these verses I felt inspired to share what I learned as a daily insight on my blog. There are times in my life and in our lives that we might be inspired to talk to someone. It can be just to start up a friendship or to share the gospel with a friend. God teaches us through the scriptures I just quoted that if we open our mouths as we were inspired to do, the Spirit will fill our mouths, minds, and hearts with the words God wants us to say. If we do that, he promises us blessings and joy (sheaves upon our backs) in our life. We will most possibly touch the hearts of the people we talk to. I can testify that I know that this is true. If we have the faith and courage to following those promptings, I know we can receive blessings (sheaves upon our backs).

Xenocide

Xenocide

 

This recommendation is for the third book of Orson Scott Card's Ender series. It is called "Xenocide". I think the x at the beginning is pronounced as a 'j' sound. This is a great sequel to "Speaker of the Dead". It contains a lot more theological and thought-provoking material than the two previous books. The things he brings up are things I can easily compare to what I as an LDS remember believe. It's not the same, but it makes sense where Orson Scott Card might have gotten the ideas. 

He combines the theological and thought-provoking material with a great storyline following along Ender's story, introducing more depth into characters introduced in "Speaker of the Dead", and adds a few more. It is a book I recommend a lot. It is the longest of the four main books of the series, but it is worth it to read all the way to the end. A warning is that it contains a little crude language, but again it's not enough to take away from the story. It never ruined the reading experience for me.

I also have my recommendations for the first two books of this series on my blog too. You can find them under the tab above labeled "Recommended Books". I am currently reading the last one in the series as you can see on the right hand side of my blog (scroll down a little bit).

Below is the summary of the book as found on Goodreads.com (I italicized it):

The war for survival of the planet Lusitania will be fought in the hearts of a child named Gloriously Bright.

On Lusitania, Ender found a world where humans and pequininos and the Hive Queen could all live together; where three very different intelligent species could find common ground at last. Or so he thought.

Lusitania also harbors the descolada, a virus that kills all humans it infects, but which the pequininos require in order to become adults. The Starways Congress so fears the effects of the descolada, should it escape from Lusitania, that they have ordered the destruction of the entire planet, and all who live there. The Fleet is on its way, and a second xenocide seems inevitable.

Speaker for the Dead

Speaker for the Dead
(I will try to put a link like this above on every book recommendation post; it is linked to the books goodreads.com page)

 

This recommendation is for "Speaker for the Dead" by Orson Scott Card.

This is the second book of his Ender's series. It is a book full of some thought-provoking moments and character-building of Ender. You are introduced to new characters, and you find how Ender is doing after the events of the first book. This is a book I enjoyed a lot. It has a little bit of crude language but not as much as was in Ender's Game. I believe it is not enough to take away from the story. I recommend this book, and the next book in the series just gets better. Below is the summary from goodreads.com.

 

In the aftermath of his terrible war, Ender Wiggin disappeared, and a powerful voice arose: the Speaker for the Dead, who told of the true story of the Bugger War.
 

Now long years later, a second alien race has been discovered, but again the aliens’ ways are strange and frightening…again, humans die. And it is only the Speaker for the Dead, who is also Ender Wiggin the Xenocide, who has the courage to confront the mystery…and the truth.

Jimmer had a Good Night

Jimmer Fredette in his third chance to play in a game since joining the Chicago Bulls had a good night. He finished 8 minutes of play time with 2 rebounds, an assist, and 5 points (including a three-pointer). Go Jimmer! He now has 9 total points with 14 total minutes of playing time with the Bulls.

BYU Men and Women Lose to Gonzaga

Two games today for BYU Basketball...both for the West Coast Conference finals for conference titles.

Women's
The women's team lost 57 to 71 to Gonzaga. BYU wasn't having a hard time against Gonzaga's defense in the end of the first half and the score was at 14-30 at the halftime. They stayed up with Gonzaga throughout the second half in points but could never really close up the deficit.

BYU Women's Stats
Top Scorers: Jennifer Hamson with 24, Lexi Eaton with 15, and Kim Beeston with 12
Top Rebounders: Jennifer Hamson & Lexi Eaton with 7, Ashley Garfield & Stephanie Rovetti with 4, and Morgan Bailey & Kylie Maeda with 3
Top Assisters: Kim Beeston with 5 and Stephanie Rovetti with 3

For more stats for that game, go to this link: BYU Women's vs. Gonzaga

Men's
The men's team lost 64 to 75 to Gonzaga. BYU was not making as much shots as Gonzaga. That's basically how it went. It was great though because at half time, BYU was down 27-44. Then during the second half they cut the deficit by a bit with some great plays like Frank Bartley IV scoring two three-pointers (his first since 2013). They fought back with good effort in the second half, but just couldn't take the lead.

BYU Men's Stats
Top Scorers: Tyler Haws with 24, Kyle Collinsworth (got injured in second half and didn't return) with 13, Frank Bartley IV with 9, and Eric Mika & Matt Carlino with 8
Top Rebounders: Eric Mika with 10, Kyle Collinsworth with 6, Tyler Haws & Nate Austin with 5, and Frank Bartley IV with 4
Top Assisters: Matt Carlino with 2 and four other players each with one

For more stats for that game, go to this link: BYU Men's vs. Gonzaga

Go here if you want to see when the two games will be rebroadcasted on BYUtv and available on DVR: Rebroadcasted Games on BYUtv

Both teams fought hard with good effort, but they just couldn't get the wins. Gonzaga got both the men's and women's conference championship titles.

We will know if both teams make it to the March Madness NCAA Basketball tournament/championship this weekend. I will post about it as soon as I know.

Go Cougars!!!!

BYU Men's B-Ball Team Plays Gonzaga in Finals!

The BYU Men's Basketball team barely beat San Francisco last night in overtime. The final score was 79 to 77.

Top Scorers were Tyler Haws (24), Kyle Collinsworth (18), Anson Winder (15), and Eric Mika & Matt Carlino (11).
Top Rebounders were Kyle Collinsworth (12) and Eric Mika (10).
With steals and assists, some of the players had one to two of either one.

Go here to see the full summary in stats: BYU vs. San Francisco

BYU Men's Basketball play vs. Gonzaga at 7:00 PM MST on ESPN tonight.

Revisit of "Humility: If Our Heart is Right" post

Daily Insights from my Life #19

So back in 2012, I did a daily insight post about Humility and what Bruce C. Hafen says about it in his book entitled "The Broken Heart: Applying the Atonement to Life's Experiences". Tonight, I was looking for something to teach for the lesson of our Family Home Evening (this something that we are asked to do by our latter-day prophet every Monday night as a family) tonight. I thought of this post: Humility: If Our Heart is Right. (You can click on this link or you can also find the post under the Daily Insights tab at the top of my blog under the year 2012)

Bruce C. Hafen says, "If our heart is right, we will be free from the excesses and risks of being either too demanding or not demanding enough with ourselves. The greater our willingness to be humble about our errors and inadequacies, the less we will be likely to repeat them and the more we will learn from our experience."

We talked about as a family of how we gain more strength from humbling ourselves before Heavenly Father. Through humbling ourselves and recognizing our weaknesses and shortcomings, strength will be given to us in order to strengthen those weaknesses. That strength can help us become better if we let it.

In the Book of Mormon, Alma teaches us in Alma 7:11-12 that Christ during the Atonement will "go forth, suffering pains and afflictions and temptations of every kind;...he will take upon him the pains and the sicknesses of his peope...and he will take upon him their infirmities, that his bowels may be filled with mercy, according to the flesh, that he may know according to the flesh how to succor his people according to their infirmities."

In summary of what Alma taught, Christ suffered during the Atonement not only all the sins of the people on this world but also the sicknesses, weaknesses, shortcomings, trials, tribulations, afflictions, temptations, and sadnesses.

So with that knowledge, I can testify to y'all that I know that if we humble ourselves before him as Brother Hafen counsels and rely upon His atonement, we gain strength to bear what we are bearing. Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ loves us eternally with a love that will never end. I say these things in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.

Here is an talk you can read (The Atonement Covers All Pain).

BYU Women's Team are Going to the WCC Finals!

As I have already posted on my Facebook page, BYU Women's Basketball team defeated Pacific today (77-64)! They will now play in the West Coast Conference final round against Gonzaga (#18 in the nation) tomorrow at 2:00 PM MST on ESPNU.

BYU Stats from the Game
-Top Scorers [Stephanie Rovetti (15), Lexi Eaton (14), Kylie Maeda and Kim Beeston (12), Jennifer Hamson (10)] Other scorers are Morgan Bailey and Ashley Garfield
-Top Rebounders[Jennifer Hamson (8), Ashley Garfield (6), Morgan Bailey (5), Stephanie Rovetti and Kim Beeston (4), Lexi Eaton (3)] Kylie Maeda also had a rebound.
-Top Assists [Lexi Eaton & Kim Beeston (3), Morgan Bailey, Kylie Maeda, & Ashley Garfield (2)] Rovetti and Hamson also has assists during the game.

To view the summary of the game go to: BYU vs. Pacific

BYU Men's team plays San Francisco tonight at 9:30 PM MST on ESPN2 for a chance to play in the finals tomorrow.

BYU Men's Advance to Semifinals!

In the West Coast Conference Tournament today, BYU wins against Loyola Marymount 85 to 74!

For BYU
Top Scorers [Kyle Collinsworth (23), Tyler Haws (22), Anson Winder (16), Matt Carlino (11), and Eric Mika (7)]
Top Rebounders [Kyle Collinsworth (16), Nate Austin (7), Tyler Haws (6), and Erik Mika (4)]
Top Assists [Anson Winder (3), Kyle Collinsworth and Tyler Haws (both 2)]
Anson Winder had a team high 6 steals.

 On Monday they will join the BYU women's team in the semifinals of the WCC tourney in playing against San Francisco at 7 PM MST on ESPN or 9 PM MST on ESPN2. The women's team will play Pacific at 3:00 PM MST on BYUtv.

Ephraim's Rescue

I'm going to start posting movies that I've enjoyed.

My first one will be Ephraim's Rescue. This film is about a early LDS member from the 1800's who learns about the importance of following the Spirit and being ready and able to rescue when the Savior calls him. I know y'all will enjoy it. It has a great and powerful spiritual message of having faith in the Lord's timing. If we do what he asks us to do through the Holy Ghost, we can perform miracles big and small. Also it is interesting to me that some of the characters from "17 Miracles" are also in "Ephraim's Rescue". It contains a little bit of gruesome scenes showing some health problems the pioneers had in the harsh winters of the plains.

The summary below comes from www.imdb.com ...a website I look at a lot in order to find information about films/television shows. This is the link for this film: Ephraim's Rescue

By listening to and following his heart, Ephraim Hanks finds his way in life and eventually provides relief and rescue to the suffering Martin Handcart Company. Based on a true story.

Rated PG for thematic elements and some disturbing images

Daily Insights from my Life #18

This is something I thought of as I was participating in an online meeting for an online class.

Also, I thought of something during the discussion. We are all members of the body of Christ. If we are all the same, the body of Christ wouldn't be able to function. We need to realize that we are all different for a reason. That is the way Heavenly Father made us. We can learn from each other and grow due to those differences. 

A scripture that relates to this is:

 12 For as the body is one, and hath many members, and all the members of that one body, being many, are one body: so also is Christ.

 14 For the body is not one member, but many.

 15 If the foot shall say, Because I am not the hand, I am not of the body; is it therefore not of the body?

 16 And if the ear shall say, Because I am not the eye, I am not of the body; is it therefore not of the body?

 17 If the whole body were an eye, where were the hearing? If the whole were hearing, where were the smelling?

 18 But now hath God set the members every one of them in the body, as it hath pleased him.

 19 And if they were all one member, where were the body?

 20 But now are they many members, yet but one body.

 21 And the eye cannot say unto the hand, I have no need of thee: nor again the ^ahead to the feet, I have no need of you.

 22 Nay, much more those members of the body, which seem to be ^amore feeble, are necessary:

 23 And those members of the body, which we think to be less honourable, upon these we bestow more abundant honour; and our uncomely parts have more abundant comeliness.

 24 For our comely parts have no need: but God hath tempered the body together, having given more abundant honour to that part which lacked:

 25 That there should be no schism in the body; but that the members should have the same ^acare one for another.

 26 And whether one member ^asuffer, all the members ^bsuffer with it; or one member be honoured, all the members rejoice with it.

 27 Now ye are the body of ^aChrist, and ^bmembers in particular.

If you want to read the rest of the chapter, you can go to this link: 1 Corinthians 12

Daily Insights from my Life #17

For an online class of mine, I had to respond to this question. We read a talk this week in that class about tolerance. Here is a link to the talk: Tolerance, the Beginning of Christlike Love

Do you think that mercy and tolerance are synonymous? If yes, how? If no, how are they different?

I believe in a way they are. Mercy to me can be when we see those who are struggling and strive to help them through their struggles. Tolerance is in a way the same thing as we practice tolerance of who others are. That tolerance grows to compassion, and then that compassion and Christ-like love grows to a point where we feel we should reach out and help them if they need it. It can lead to loving our fellow men and serving them.

Ender's Game (novel)

Ender's Game 

This recommendation is "Ender's Game" by Orson Scott Card.

It is the first of a four-part science fiction series (he has later added one more novel and a couple short stories). I will first say that it does have some crude language, but besides that it is a very good book. It is centered around a young boy's internal conflict on what is morally right as he is asked to fight in a war against an alien species. It is a good read. It has the science fiction aspect along with thought-provoking moments. Orson Scott Card continues these two aspects throughout the rest of his series. The reason why I recommend this book is because of the thought-provoking moments this novel contains. 

The title at the beginning of the post will take you to the goodreads.com page for this novel.

A summary of this book:

In order to develop a secure defense against a hostile alien race's next attack, government agencies breed child geniuses and train them as soldiers. A brilliant young boy, Andrew "Ender" Wiggin lives with his kind but distant parents, his sadistic brother Peter, and the person he loves more than anyone else, his sister Valentine. Peter and Valentine were candidates for the soldier-training program but didn't make the cut—young Ender is the Wiggin drafted to the orbiting Battle School for rigorous military training.

Ender's skills make him a leader in school and respected in the Battle Room, where children play at mock battles in zero gravity. Yet growing up in an artificial community of young soldiers Ender suffers greatly from isolation, rivalry from his peers, pressure from the adult teachers, and an unsettling fear of the alien invaders. His psychological battles include loneliness, fear that he is becoming like the cruel brother he remembers, and fanning the flames of devotion to his beloved sister.

Is Ender the general Earth needs? But Ender is not the only result of the genetic experiments. The war with the Buggers has been raging for a hundred years, and the quest for the perfect general has been underway for almost as long. Ender's two older siblings are every bit as unusual as he is, but in very different ways. Between the three of them lie the abilities to remake a world. If, that is, the world survives.

Ender's Game is the winner of the 1985 Nebula Award for Best Novel and the 1986 Hugo Award for Best Novel

 

BYU Wins in Quarterfinals of WCC Tourney!

BYU Women's Basketball just beat Pepperdine in the quarterfinals of the West Coast Conference Tournament. They will go on to play Pacific on Monday in the semifinals.

The final score was 77 to 51. For BYU, Lexi Eaton was the top performer with 17 points, 4 rebounds, and 3 assists. Morgan Bailey and Lexi Eaton had the highest number of points with 17. Ashley Garfield and Jennifer Hamson topped in total rebounds with 13 and 12 respectively. Kim Beeston had the high in assists with 7.

It was a great game to watch. Go Cougars!!!

The BYU men's basketball team plays Loyola Marymount tomorrow at 3:00 PM on BYUtv in the men's quarterfinals!

BYU Sports update!

To all of you who don't know, I am a BYU sports fan!

For around six months or something like that, BYU Radio has been hosting a show called BYU Sports Nation. Today was the very first simulcast for the show. They aired on BYU Radio and BYUtv. I didn't get to watch the live airing due to class, but I got to see it afterwards and loved it :)

For all of you interested, here's a link to watch today's show: BYU Sports Nation 3/6/2014

Also, I wanted to post about big event happening for BYU Basketball this weekend starting today. Both the men's and women's BYU basketball teams are taking part in the West Coast Conference (their conference) Tournament this weekend. The women's team play their first game tomorrow at 3 PM MST, and the men's team play Saturday at approximately 3:30 PM MST. They will both be played on BYUtv. For those interested in the other teams and when all games will be played for the tournament, go to this link: WCC Tournament Schedule.

Last but not least, BYU football Spring Training started this last Monday and will go on for five weeks. They are already looking good.

Go BYU!!!

If you have any questions or comments, let me know by commenting below or emailing me through the email address found on my profile.

Daily Insights from my Life #16

"Our afflictions brothers and sisters often will not be extinguished, they will be dwarfed and swallowed up in the joy of Christ. That’s how we overcome, most of the time. It’s not their elimination, but the placing of them in that larger context. " - Elder Neal A. Maxwell

A relative of my wife's posted this quote on Facebook, and felt like I need to share my thoughts on it.

When I face trials and challenges, I remember what the Lord did in Gethsemane almost two thousand years ago. He performed an atonement for not only our sins but also our trial, challenges, tribulations, and afflictions. I know that as I turn to Christ and the Atonement, an overwhelming comfort (or joy as Elder Maxwell says in the quote) rolls over me. I think of the counsel from Christ in the New Testament.

"Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light." -Matthew  11:28-30 (Click on the scripture link if you want to go the verses)

If we go to him and take his easy yoke upon us, our burdens will become light. They might not disappear, but they will most certainly be "dwarfed".

I know that as I follow that counsel, I find "rest unto" my soul.

Seven Miracles That Saved America: Why They Matter and Why We Should Have Hope

Seven Miracles That Saved America: Why They Matter and Why We Should Have Hope

 

Chris Stewart wrote this book before he published my #6 recommendation. This is also a great piece of work combining historical facts with stories from U.S. History. It shows how God's hand has been in the events of this nation in order to keep it free. I highly recommend this book and again the sort-of sequel (#6 recommendation) to this one.

When the odds were stacked against us, and there have been many times when the great experiment we call America could have and should have failed, did God intervene to save us?

That question, posed by authors Chris and Ted Stewart, is the foundation for this remarkable book. And the examples they cite provide compelling evidence that the hand of Providence has indeed preserved the United States of America on multiple occasions. Skillfully weaving story vignettes with historical explanations, they examine seven instances that illustrate God's protecting care:
-The unlikely discovery of America by Christopher Columbus
-How (and why) desperate English colonists were able to survive the starving time at Jamestown
-The Battle of New York during the Revolutionary War
-The miraculous creation of the United States Constitution
-Abraham Lincoln's desperate prayer that turned the tide of the Civil War at Gettysburg
-How a series of extraordinary events changed the Battle of Midway during World War II
-The preservation of Ronald Reagan's life from an assassin's bullet, allowing him the time he needed to help extend freedom around the world
Never, at any of these critical junctures, was a positive outcome certain or even likely. Yet America prevailed. Why?
"No man is perfect," write the authors. "And neither is any nation. Yet, despite our weakness, we are still, as Abraham Lincoln said, the best nation ever given to man. Despite our faults, this nation is still the last, best hope of earth." In short, God still cares what happens here. This reassuring message is a bright light in a world that longs for such hope.

----- You can find this summary at the website that the title of the book (at the beginning of this post) links to at goodreads.com. -----
 

The Miracle of Freedom: Seven Tipping Points That Saved the World

The Miracle of Freedom: Seven Tipping Points That Saved the World 

This is a great book and is a sort-of sequel of another one of Chris Stewart's books (which I will post next after this).

Chris Stewart writes about great events (some I didn't even know about) that have happened throughout world history. He combines historical facts with stories from those events. It is a great read, and I recommend it to everyone. It was a moving piece of work.

A summary is as follows...

To what do we owe the great privilege of freedom?

• To a handful of Greek soldiers and their naval commanders in a life-or-death confrontation with the Persians in 480 bc?
• To a small band of Frankish soldiers who stood against the conquering armies of Islam more than 1,300 years ago?
• To the people of Great Britain who refused to surrender to the overwhelming power of Hitler's Third Reich?

Today, fewer than 12 of the 193 countries in the world have a democratic government that has survived for more than fifty years. So, what extraordinary events in history have made it possible for us to enjoy self-rule and personal liberty? And what role has the hand of God played in securing that freedom?

In this remarkable new book, bestselling authors Chris Stewart and Ted Stewart highlight seven miracles that changed the course of the world. Skillfully weaving story vignettes with historical explanations, they affirm that history would have been dramatically altered if any one of these events had turned out differently.

----- You can find this summary at the website that the title of the book (at the beginning of this post) links to at goodreads.com. -----

One of My All-Time Favorite Pins from Pinterest! #10 [Peanut Butter Cheesecake]

http://www.pinterest.com/pin/147563325265180214/

Doesn't that look deliciously fattening?! :-D

I know I would eat in a heartbeat even though I probably shouldn't. My favorite desserts are those made up of chocolate and peanut butter. Put in the cheesecake, and it's perfect :)

Daily Messages #3

Daily Messages

---

"If ye are prepared ye shall not fear."

Changes to Blog

Some of the recent changes I've made to my blog...

• As you probably noticed, I added tabs at the top of the blog. I have tried to organize my posts under those tabs, so that you can easily find any post you want. I hope y'all enjoy that.
• Just in case y'all didn't notice before, I have goodreads.com windows on the right hand side. I have one of what I'm currently reading, one of books I've read in 2014, and one of books I've read in 2013. If you want to see further back than that or want to go to my goodreads page, click these links: My Goodreads.com profile page.
• Last but not least, I've added a little bit to my profile which is the first thing on the right hand side of my blog. Click "View my complete profile" to see what I added.

I hope y'all enjoy my blog. I've worked hard to make it awesome to look through/at. If you have questions, comments, or suggestions, feel free to comment on one of my posts or email me. You can email me through a link on my blog profile (I mentioned this in the third and last point above).

I apologize if there are times that I don't post. I try to post something at least every once in a while.

Also, if you want to follow me by email or be a Google + follower. There are two windows to the right where you can do this.

One last thing...I've added a fun little poll on the right side underneath the Google + follower and follow me by email windows. If you want to, please take it. Your answers are anonymous.