Picture by: Dimitri Castrique, Belgium

ENJOY THIS HALLOWEEN TREAT BEFORE IT ENJOYS YOU!!!!

AFTER THE WITCH’S BREW CLICK ON THE CROW IN THE TOP PICTURE AND SEE WHERE HE CAME FROM.

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Making Rye Bread

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Picture by Mircea Preda Struteanu/Romania

Happy Pioneer Day! Click on the picture above to view your online card.

1) We have more treats in store for you! After viewing your card, continue your celebration by going to the “Inspirational” spotlight and become the eagle. Make sure your volume is turned up!

2) We can’t think of any kind of celebrations without food, so select the “recipe” spotlight for a Crock Pot Powerhouse (that page is so loaded with goodies, you’ll want to visit it quite often).

3) An Eagle has perfect vision. How does your vision compare? Visit the “Vision” spotlight and find out. Also be ready for a tug of the heart and some serious laughs!

4) Expand your vision and visit the “Video” section allowing the music and dance to revive something inside of you.

5) To catch your breath and get your energy back visit the “Wholesale” spotlight, watch the video and learn how to make every cell dance in your body.

6) Leave your comment below in response to this article for Jack Rushton (Vision Spotlight) and he will be notified of all the comments (he is an active hero, and a great example to all).

7) Enjoy this article and all the goodies and make this a special weekend for you and your family!

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The song of the magpie will haunt you as you embark on this journey with me. A baby magpie was found in the grounds of the monastery (just after we came out of the building). There were birds frantic in the tree tops as a hawk was feasting on their young.  At the base of a tall tree stood the little bird. For the first few moments he appeared fearless; however, I could see that his heart was pounding. I knew he wore a cloak of bravery as he remained still even when I got very close to him. The bird’s sibling nearby, did not survive the fall. 

I could see no parents in sight! I wondered what had happened, because magpies are aggressive in nature and can defend their young very well (little birds have to protect their young from them). The trees were very tall and the nest was very high up; however, I was sure that a hawk nearby could have encouraged the free-fall.

So there I was, crouched down, eye to eye with this baby magpie.  I took a picture and started filming as well. The bird remained perfectly still. He seemed to know that he would be rescued and loved. Perhaps he already knew the outcome and was waiting for the rescuer to realize it. I told my friends that we couldn’t leave him there as his parents were gone and the hawk was still around. Therefore, one of my friends tenderly picked him up and we made our way back to the car.

We tried to think of a name for the bird and after discussion, “Benny Monk” was the end result (St. Benedict for Benny, and the monk we spoke to). We stopped at a few places on the way home and, as you can tell from the video (towards the end of the trip), he adjusted well to human companionship.

Life offers its many symbols and lessons. I believe this was another one of those. 

Both birds fell out of the same nest but one was taken and the other wasn’t. Perhaps that has a symbolic sound to it. In my own words, one was taken to a peaceful place, and the other was taken westward bound.

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L’Homme Arme follows his marching orders; his final tribute to freedom. In this War and Peace series we are reminded of man’s adherence to the call of duty and sacrifice. Artistic director, Alan Boyer, captures more than a military march; a march for glory becomes a march of death as we look into the face of human suffering.  What is the purpose of glory when men’s hearts begin to fail them? What is the purpose of glory when there is no one around to celebrate it with you?

I am reminded of the recent Presidential Election series, and encourage you to read the three articles posted there. When you get to the last one in the series, open the “Comments” section of that article and read my response to one of the comments. Towards the end of my response, I included the You Tube video clip of Hitler’s first speech as Berlin’s new Chancellor and hope for Germany. Its very interesting to watch and compare; pay attention to the slides and overall mood displayed in this part of the concert.

 http://stairwaytosecrets.com/blog/election-day/

Look forward to the next article which promises to ignite your heart as you hear screams of the dying, a trumpet’s cry, and the hope of man engulfed in flames. What happens next will astound you.

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How do you feel about war and peace? If life could capture the twosome in music how would its vibrations effect you? Is there a trail of equilibria outside and within? Decide for yourself as you allow the sound waves to stimulate and seduce your senses.

Let them guide you to a magnificent dome that houses the talent and skill of Artistic Director Alan Boyer, the Utah Premiere Brass, and the Utah Light Opera.  Join with Grainger, Mozart, Bernstein and Holst adding you own internal composition as you walk their trail…

We begin our War and Peace series with a video clip below. Sit back and enjoy!

Look forward to more tugs of the heart in the next article.

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Click on the picture and enjoy the Mother’s Day Card.

We never walk alone into the sunset even if we are a few moments behind.

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Are you ready to eat that frog? Dealing with the slimy taste first will give you momentum and stamina for the rest of the day! You’ll understand this more if you watch the slide presentation above. Procrastination is a natural assassin and the more we do it, the weaker we become!

As spring is here, this article concludes the New Year Series leaving you some lasting thoughts on how to tackle your goals each day and help you achieve long term success in all that you do.

Let’s spring into action and begin planting our seeds for the future.

Take a look at our recent updates on Stairway to Secrets: Poem/Song, Vision, Inspirational, and Book spotlights. Enjoy!

As Mother’s Day is almost upon us, another article will be posted with a fun card for you to view!

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Enter the Scottish highlands above to view your Easter Greeting.

Easter says you can put truth in a grave, but it won’t stay there.  ~Clarence W. Hall

Let’s insert another line: It will rise with the rest of us.
 

On another note, think of your own rebirth as you lay to rest your past habits that have confined you.  

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Greetings! Make St. Patrick’s Day your best day yet and expect only the extraordinary!

Click on the picture below and slide down the rainbow to see what surprise awaits you!

On the main site, a new health tip has been added. Be sure to visit that spotlight and glean what you can. I lost a friend last week to the clutches of the disease mentioned there. A dear family member had to have extensive heart surgery the same week. Life is indeed valuable and precious, and every person counts in this mortal existence.  

My friend who passed away, just barely finished his book “The Significance of Insignificant Things” which
came off the BYU printing press. He was excited to have me read his book and help him market it. I was excited to share my comments with him after finishing the book and brought it to church on Sunday with the hope of finding him. Instead of finding him I found only words spoken by those who knew him…

God called him back but He waited till he finished his book. We have all these projects to do and so many things we wish to accomplish. Sometimes we don’t know Heavenly Father’s agenda and only think of our own. Luckily, this loving Father does think of ours and is ready to bless and support us. Who we are to become and assist is part of His personal agenda.

Reflecting upon the conclusion of his book, my friend talked about the importance of having a positive attitude in all things. Mistakes we make in life can be part of the journey and can serve as stepping stones to the desired destination (learning from our mistakes, or the appearance of them and moving on). Perhaps the end of the journey determines who we become. We should, therefore, not be so hard on ourselves regarding the mistakes we make in life; they may chisel the sculpture we desire to create, but the smooth, polished edges come after, in which the true form is identified.

I hope things go well for all of us and I pray we will always invite the Savior to be in our midst. On this day and everyday, let’s celebrate each other and toast to good health- to body, soul, and mind!

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