The sad passing of Martha, our friend

Sadly, Martha Marie Pilling passed away yesterday while bungee jumping from the Eiffel tower. She was 88 years old. Apparently after spending the week water skiing on Lake Powell, touring Europe, and visiting with her 184 grandchildren and great-grandchildren, her heart had enough excitement and stopped. She wanted us to be grateful for this happy occasion, and pray for her that she makes it through the pearly gates. That girl is gonna require a whole lot of prayin', people! But, at her request, her friends and family threw a party in her honor to celebrate the hope that she will live happily ever after.
Martha could talk the ear off a mule, but she loved people and strived to be a good friend. Listening was not her strength, but if you ever wanted a highly entertaining (and fairly one-sided) conversation, she was the girl for the job. Her house was never clean, but she tried very hard to serve her family and others, and loved spending her time uplifting others. Her patience was very thin while raising her young family, but fortunately, she did gain some as they grew, and as a grandma and great-grandma, actually (finally) learned to speak in a softer, gentler voice, and to not sweat the small stuff.
Martha loved serving the children in Primary, and spent many, many years of her life serving in that capacity. She'd always say she learned more from them than they ever learned from her. She fit right in Primary since she was a boisterous, rambunctious big kid herself.
Martha was always grateful to have the blessing of staying home with her children as they grew, in spite of all the challenges it presented. She strived to make her home a refuge from the storm, as imperfect as she was, but her family knows she loves them dearly and counts them as her greatest treasures. She will be missed by many, and still many others will wonder why it's suddenly so quiet.

Be Bold, Brave, Stubborn, and Smart...

First, I'd like to recommend a book, one of my favorite books, in fact: Thank You, Sarah: The Woman Who Saved Thanksgiving by Laurie Halse Anderson. (Click here to find it at Amazon or check it out at your local library.)
I loved reading this lively and inspirational picture book for the first time when my baby Guy was just a year old. It's about a real woman who used her most powerful weapon (a Pen!) to make things happen in the world. She was bold, brave, stubborn, and smart...and she created a great movement to make sure Thanksgiving was celebrated as a national holiday. The illustrations and writing are fantastic. And it reminds me every time I read it how powerful we can be when we are brave enough to share our opinions in writing. This would be a great book to share with your children...especially your little girls!

Have you ever written a letter to a governing body, an elected official, or even a newspaper to express your concerns about something? I once wrote a letter to my Representative in Congress asking him to stop allowing some much nuclear waste to travel through Ohio. All I got back was a form letter informing me of why this had to be. It was something, I guess.

I recently read in my Grandmother's personal history that she once lead a letter-writing campaign to get the TV show The Three Stooges taken off the air, because it added nothing to the moral characters of viewers. She didn't get anywhere with that obviously, but it's the act of speaking out and being a part of public dialog that really counts.

Last year around this time, we saw lots of commentary in political circles debating whether or not Mormons were "Christian". As a result, a few members of the local LDS community wrote in to The Daily Item opinion page to express their testimony of Jesus Christ. Cheyenne's was particularly touching and read (in part) as follows: "I am a Mormon and I am indeed a Christian. I believe that Jesus is the Christ....He is my Savior and redeemer...I know that He loves me and everyone on this earth." This was printed on December 17, 2007 in The Daily Item. I wonder how many people read this wonderful testimony that ended in well-wishes to people of every faith...and how many people were touched because Cheyenne cared enough to make her voice heard through simple, clear, honest writing. (Way to go, Cheyenne!)

Now it is your turn to be "bold, brave, stubborn, and smart" by writing about something you care about and putting it out there for our local community to read. You can comment on anything you wish (i.e. the elections, the Thanksgiving holiday, your faith, the local schools, even thank someone for doing something nice, etc.)

The only suggestion is that you keep your comments on the positive side, since many letters to the editor are negative in nature. Below, you can find guidelines for submitting letters-to-the editor to the Daily Item, but you can send your writing in to any publication you want. Keep your comments to 300 words or less and remember to post here AND send it in to a publication. If you want help proof-reading your work before sending it in, just say so in your entry here or you can email it to me separately if you'd like! (jocelyn.christensen@gmail.com)

Now GET WRITING! And Happy Thanksgiving (a bit early!)

Instructions for sending letters to The Daily Item Opinion Section:

"Please include your full name, address and a telephone number where you can be reached during daytime hours for verification and content questions. Letters should be 300 words or less and address a single topic. All submissions become the property of the Daily Item."
Submissions by email: letters@dailyitem.com
By web: www.dailyitem.com...click help desk, then "Submit letter to the editor" under "Contact Us" list.