Well-Rounded

I vividly remember a conversation I had with my dad when I was a teenager. The memory of the conversation surfaced today during a visit with a co-worker. This man loves to ski. It's about all that he can talk about. I could hear my dad's voice from that conversation long ago. "Be a well-rounded person." Now that meant something to me at that time because looking back now it felt like all I was interested in was playing or watching something that had to do with sports. I wouldn't have called myself well-rounded.
I'm not sure why that particular thought came to mind today but I think that the advice, my dad gave me, was solid and spot on.
I am of the opinion that a person can't learn too much about the things in life. No matter how much I think I may know about one thing, there is always something else that I know very little about. The irony too, is that the older I get, the more I realize how little I know about anything. That cracks me up.
It seems wise to learn about many different things.
We once had a neighbor who knew a little about many different things. Becky and I would laugh as we watched him and wondered if there was anything he didn't know or couldn't do. I'm sure he had things that he wished he knew more about, but from our perspective, it appeared that he was very knowledgeable.
I want to be well-rounded. I already know that I know just enough to be dangerous. The desire is still there to learn all that I can.
It's a big world out there. Our minds are a complex creation. There is plenty of storage space therein. Learn all that you can.

Perspective

The alarm went off this morning and I hurried out of bed to turn it off. I stood in the dark for a minute to get my 'bearings' about me. I went into the bathroom and as I turned on the light, the fuzziness that your eyes go through after having just awakened was funny feeling. I stood there momentarily and allowed my eyes to adjust and focus on the task at hand of getting ready for the day.
Life has its focusing moments and some of those moments are easier than others. I believe that there are things that help us stay focused so that there isn't as much adjusting that needs to happen. Let's talk about those things for a minute.
I firmly believe that if things are good and well as far as your relationships with your family go life's focus is easier and more manageable. When those things are not anchored life's challenges seem like the Himalayas.
A clean mind and a clear conscience are imperative. Life is full of various activities--running here and there. The hectic pace is sometimes unbearable. What is put in our minds is important. I would suggest that each of us watch, read, and speak uplifting material. I'm not even talking pornographic material. I'm trying to keep the trash and filth, that surrounds me, out of my life. There are enough tough things to deal with, without the filth that is all around us.
The opportunity to help someone else is uplifting. It builds up the spirit. It gives strength to overcome.
The focus on life keeps a solid perspective on the things that are the most important.
Just keep plugging along. There are blessings, in abundance, around every corner.

What A Blessing

When I awakened this morning, I thought about all of the things that I take for granted.  I am able to get out of my bed, when the alarm goes off.  I go into the bathroom to get ready for the day.  I do these things without a second thought given to how they all happen morning after morning.
This has been on my mind all morning.  I find it a complete miracle that I am able to accomplish all that is required of me each day.
I work as a assembler of the main instrument panel that goes into the cockpit of the Boeing 737 commercial airliner.  I wouldn't say that the work is hard but it does take recognition of detail and the ability to assemble each part the way that the engineering drawing requires them to be.  I don't even give a thought to what I need to accomplish.
Three weeks ago, I was at the store and I noticed a young boy who was just learning how to walk.  He could walk but in a very wobbly and slow way.  He had that new walking look on his face.  There was fear written all over his face that at any moment he could fall down.  It is the skill and confidence combined that allows us to do what we can do.
I need to pay clearer attention to what I am able to do without taking the things of life for granted.
When I awaken, in the morning, I am going to start my day off by giving more thought to all of the things that I am richly blessed to be able to do throughout my life.
I am the luckiest guy alive!  I thank heaven for my life.

We Thank Thee

Yesterday was an amazing Sunday for me.  We attended our regular church meetings and all was quite normal, that way.
Becky fixed a delicious meal for our family.  My mother and father in law and Becky's grandpa joined us for dinner in celebration of my 4oth birthday, a few days ago.  We had a great time, with the kids taking turns performing various songs, musical numbers, hip-hop dance arrangements and an all around great time enjoying one another.
At the end of the evening, as we were wrapping up the night, I asked grandpa if he would offer a prayer, to end the night.  During his prayer, he thanked Heavenly Father for the many blessings He pours upon us in our life.  I was personally impressed when he asked that the windows of heaven would be opened and blessings would be showered upon the head of each member of our family.  I was touched by his prayer of sincerity.
Let me share one more reason why I am thankful for all of the blessings I receive.
I got to work, this morning, and was approached by a man I have worked with for many years.  He began to tell me about his teenage son whose good friend decided to take his own life, yesterday.  That news made me feel bad for the people that loved and cared about this sixteen year-old young man. 
It made me think about the responsibility that I have to be a good listener to those who lack hope in their lives.  Although I have no idea what was troubling this young teen, I assume that his heart was indeed troubled.
I feel an immense amount of gratitude for my Father who blesses my life, each day. 
It is Him who I thank. 
It's been a great day.  This week is going to be one of growth.  I can't wait to see what is in store.

Let's See Him

When our oldest daughter, Natalie, was just a young toddler, she asked us one Sunday afternoon if we could see Jesus.  Becky and I were puzzled by her inquisition.  We asked her several times over what exactly she meant, hoping that we would better understand her.  Becky and I still didn't understand what she was talking about.  Finally after some thought, Becky realized that she was talking about seeing the statue of Jesus at Temple Square, in Salt Lake City.  That afternoon, the three of us took a little trip to Temple Square.  As we walked up the rotunda and she saw the statue of 'The Christus', we could see that He was familiar to her.  For several times in the following weeks, we went to Temple Square to see Jesus.
Becky and I are so grateful we took those opportunities.  Those are 'gems' that we have saved in our memory banks.  We talk about them, once in a while, and feel grateful for the way they touch our lives.  The time flies by so swiftly and yet those memories are deeply etched into our hearts and minds.
I am grateful for my own feelings of Jesus.  I know that He is my Savior and the Redeemer of all mankind.  
Natalie taught me that even a visit to Temple Square to see that large, beautiful statue of Jesus would impact us for the good.
Today, I want to pay close attention to Him and all that He has done for me.  By the things that I say and do, I too can see Him.  That is the greatest desire of my heart and I hope it is for you.

Hokey Pokey

There is a lot of rain in the country of Holland.  I got familiar with that reality in a hurry.  I also learned a very valuable lesson from the rain.  
One day, my companion and I rode our bikes to a person's house that we had met two days before.  Their home was a long bike ride from where we lived.  The ride was great on the way there but on the ride home, it began to rain--very hard!  My companion and I looked at one another surprised by our situation.  I have to admit that the experience wasn't that fun up until we decided to do something way out of our norm.  Jeff Reeves and I began to sing 'The Hokey Pokey.'  Visualize two Mormon missionaries, in suits, riding bikes like the ones straight out of the movie 'The Sound of Music', singing the extended version of the hokey pokey, with actions and all.  By the time we had thought of everything that we could sing about, and done them, we had arrived back to our apartment.  Reeves and I laughed about that experience not only then but for many days thereafter.  We had learned a lesson of having fun no matter what situation we found ourselves in.  I felt extremely blessed to have a companion that I really enjoyed, who would look at things on the bright side. 
Not everything that we do in life is that fun.  Sometimes we are expected to do things that are either out of our comfort zone or that we're not that interested in.  I challenge you to create a 'Hokey Pokey' moment of your own during these times of your life.
Let me piggyback something else onto this thought.  
I talked with a good friend, just the other day.  I called him and asked him how he was doing.  "I'm alright."  He muttered back.  You might not see anything wrong with his response.  Life is wonderfully generous to each one of us.  When someone asks how you are doing, I believe that it requires a more enthusiastic resonse than "I'm alright."  Once in a while, I would expect that kind of response but all of the other times the response ought to be "I'm great or I'm good."  
Look on the bright side.  It's easier to get through life and its much easier to listen to someone who is doing better than 'alright.'
That's the challenge of the day.  'The Hokey Pokey' always reminds me of that rainy day many years ago.  I am thankful for that great day!  

Listen And Obey

Its time for another blog post that deals with the inner feelings of the heart. 
When I was a teenager, I attended a church meeting with my dad.  It was a stake priesthood meeting and because my stake president had been seriously injured in an accident, my dad was conducting and overseeing the meeting.  He sat up on the stand in the chapel.  During a part of the meeting, my dad motioned for me to follow him out of the meeting.  I wondered what was wrong.  I stood up from my seat and followed him out to the car in the parking lot.  I asked him what we were doing.  He told me that the Holy Ghost has prompted him that he needed to go and visit an older couple, in our stake.  The woman was an active member of the church but the man was not.  The impression that he received was that he was to go and invite the man to be baptized and become a member of the church.  I must confess that I was thinking that there was no way that I was going to be the one extending the invitation.  My dad put that all at ease when he told me that we needed to go make that visit and that he was the one who was going to invite.  We arrived at the home of this couple and were warmly welcomed into their home.  They loved my dad and he loved them in return.  "What are you doing tonight?"  They asked.  Without hesitation, my dad told them exactly why we were there.  He invited the good man to become baptized and become a member of the church.  Now I honestly thought, at the time, that because my dad was doing what he was supposed to that this man would accept the invitation.  As courageous as my dad invited, this man declined the invitation.  My dad didn't even flinch.  He didn't seem bothered it either.  I was devastated, inside.  We had a great visit and when we left their home and got back into the car, dad taught me two valuable lessons.  One, he stated that we learned to listen and obey an impression with boldness.  Two, God knew that he could give an impression and know that my dad would listen and then act.  
I got to learn some good solid things that night.  Can I share one other thing that I thought was neat?  My dad received that impression during a meeting that had required planning.  It didn't matter to him.  I really admire and love him for the lessons he teaches me.
Each one of us receives similar whisperings just like my dad did.  I am trying to listen and then obey on the first time.  The blessing of helping somebody else is remarkable. 
Be ready, because today might be the day that you are called on to listen.  We are all in for a rewarding treat!