Count All Of Your Blessings

I went to work today and received some sad news from my friend and co-worker.  I couldn't help but think about all of the good that I experience in my life.
I know that I have talked about this many times but it seemed appropriate to use this as a reminder.
I woke up, this morning, and didn't really feel excited to go to work.  When I got there, and began doing my work, I quickly realized that my life is richly blessed.
I thought about how nice it is to have good health.  I thought about my family and the intense love I feel for each member.  It makes me grateful to have love in our home that brings peace and security.
Life is very good!  The challenges will always be there but I am a firm believer that optimism is key to maintaining a good attitude.
Don't let a day pass without expressing your gratitude for all of your blessings.  If you don't feel that blessed, start counting--it is a humbling experience.

Are You There?

Our family spent some time in Orem, Utah, as my parents were in town from Sacramento, California and staying with my grandparents.  We decided to gather together at a nearby park and enjoy one another's company.
We stayed for quite awhile and as our boys and I set sail towards home, I watched as Danny began to quickly fall asleep in the back seat of our truck.  I watched him in the rear view mirror and thought about how blessed I am to be a father to four very nice children.  Several minutes passed by and I looked again in the mirror to see Danny's face.  He wasn't visible at all.  I quickly turned around to get a peak in the back seat.  He was sound asleep and sprawled across the entire back seat of our small Toyota pick-up truck.
Knowing that he was resting, my thoughts turned to my gratitude for these two nice sons.  They try so hard to do the right things.  They want to make correct choices in their lives.
We had a wonderful time being together.  We played several different games and got to run around a little bit, too.
I want to have our family around me.  They bring me a great deal of peace and comfort.  It is easy to keep good track of them, when they're young.  I don't want to look in 'life's back seat' and wonder if they are really there.  I want good choice making to be something I desire each and every day.  I hope that our children will carry that same desire.

I Will Do It Too

I have always had the belief that the things we ask our children to do, we should be willing to do ourselves. Today, our youngest son, Danny, asked if he could mow the lawn. He is eight years old and a hard worker. I told him that he could. While he mowed the grass, I edge around the sidewalk and the fence. I was amazed at his willingness to not only do the job but he did a neat and thorough job of it. I remained out there the entire time and after he had completed the front yard, I did the back. From the time our kids were little, Becky and I have felt it important to work alongside them. The job becomes a family effort not a mandated chore that the kids learn to dislike. When I was a young boy, my parents worked by my side and made the work enjoyable. I felt that their approach was wise. I feel grateful that Becky is a hard worker. In the arenas of employment, those people who manage others might find it helpful to take this same approach. The old saying, "many hands make light work" is very true. There is great value in hard work. Hard work brings productivity into our lives. Self-confidence is strengthened. Families Are strengthened and relationships are solidified. Hard work makes the world a better place!

I Love Clean!

I was recently 'awakened' when I visited a home that would make the word filthiness be considered clean. I wondered to myself how a home could ever get in that sort of shape. I was also reminded of a few simple truths.
First, each one of us, in the human family, was created with order being the chief characteristic. I cannot comprehend that order and filth can exist in the same sentence. It is very clear to me that the eternal nature of The Creator, our Heavenly Father, is clean.
Second, It is humanly, and eternally, impossible for peace to exist within the walls of a home that is filthy. When I was a teenager, I was filthy. It wasn't very often that the floor of my bedroom could be seen without first, moving the clothing that was scattered all over. I must preface my story by emphasizing that my parents are, and always have been, clean people. So my filth was not a product of them or their teaching. My dad approached me, one afternoon, and all but pleaded me to clean my room and to please keep it that way. He taught me that he and mom tried very hard to create a feeling in our home that would allow peace and contentment to exist. Because it was their home, he hoped that I would respect their wishes and keep my room clean. From that day on, I tried, diligently, to keep my room tidy and clean.
Third, when a person is clean, they feel much better about themselves. There is truth in abundance about this statement. Cleanliness breeds confidence and self-worth.
Becky is a clean person, in every sense of the word. I rush home, each day, longing to be in our home where I will find and feel peace.
The adherence to this principle will help in the everyday lives of all people.
Cleanliness is not just a principle, it's a way of life.
I love clean in every facet of life. 

I Want To Pump, You Up

I went outside to 'shoot some hoop', with our kids.  I grabbed a basketball and intended to dribble it.  As I did so, the basketball hit the ground and barely bounced up from the concrete.  In an instant, I knew that the ball was flat and I would have to chose another one.  I didn't give much thought to the flattened basketball, until today.
We are much like that ball.  When we're properly inflated, we are able to function the way we were designed to be.  The 'lumps and bumps' of every day life can deflate us.  There are things that cause stress and make us feel overwhelmed.  But there are things that we can do that will inflate us.  Take a few minutes and help someone in need.  Make a phone call to somebody who is alone and could greatly benefit from it.  Make yourself available to visit a neighbor who is in need. 
Who would have ever thought that a deflated basketball would remind me of something that I can do to become a better person?  It's the simple things of life.  And...whenever I grab a deflated basketball, I will think of what things I need to do.

Doing Good

We attended a Cub Scout Pack meeting, last night. Our youngest boy, Danny received a few awards for his hard work and dedication. I watched him carefully as he accepted the badges, that are the awards. He is a good natured boy and has the desire to do what is right.
There is something to be said about being a good person--for no other reason than just to be good. There are good people all around. They come from different walks of life and their upbringings are dissimilar in every sense. The common denominator is always goodness.
I love to read about the acts of kindness from one person to another. These acts of kindness mold people into better human beings.
When Becky and I were first married, we knew a man that went to the same church that we attended. He was a quiet man but you could tell that he was a good man, trying to do his very best to live an honorable life. He had the responsibility of visiting our family, every month. He did the best that he could to see us every month. One Saturday morning, Becky and I could hear an unfamiliar sound coming from outside. It seemed close to our apartment but we didn't know for sure. I opened the front door to find this man and his two young children, chiseling away at the ice that had built up on the stairs leading to our residence. They had surprised looks on their faces but I believe my look was one of amazement.
I am thankful, even all of these years later, that this man had the wisdom to know that by helping somebody else, his life was richly blessed. I'll bet the lesson that his children learned was priceless. They not only saw their father serve, but they served right along his side.
There are scores of good deeds that will bless our lives. We live in a very fast pace, busy world. There are many things to do as pertaining to our own families. Becoming disciplined enough to find the time to help another, will bring blessings into our lives that will come in no other way.
Today, is the time to make a strong resolve to be a good person. It is rarely convenient, but well worth the effort.

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Reply to Fish, Derek A

The Song From Your Heart

I have enjoyed good music my entire life.  The lyrics of a well-written song are meaningful and the melody of superb composition soothes the soul to its most inner core.
There are songs that are attached to memories that are very fond to me.
My younger brother, Gavin, was hospitalized with appendicitis, when he was a little boy.  Because I was unaware of whether his illness was severe, I worried horribly about his prognosis.  I was downstairs in our home and was very sad, and worried that somehow he was going to die.  I turned on the radio, hoping to find some comfort in some music.  A song came on and I listened carefully to it's words.

"You packed in the morning and I, stared out the window and I, struggled for something to say.  You left in the rain without closing the door, I didn't stand in your way.  But I miss you more than I, missed you before and now where I'll find comfort, God knows 'Cause you left me, just when I needed you most.  Now most every morning I, stare out the window and I, think about where you might be, I've written you letters, that I'd like to send, if you would just send one to me.'Cause I need you more than I, Needed before and now, where I'll find comfort, God knows. 'Cause you left me, just when I needed you most.  You packed in the morning I, stared out the window and I, struggled for something to say.
You left in the rain, without closing the door. I didn't stand in your way. Now I love you more than I, loved you before and now, where I'll find comfort, God knows. 'Cause you left me. Just when I needed you most. Oh, yeah you left me, just when I needed you most. You left me, just when I needed you most."

I heard that song as I was walking through the open market in Holland.  A flood of the feelings I felt on that day, many years prior, poured over me.
Today, our family visited with my grandpa.  During one portion of the conversation, a memory was shared about a time when grandpa and his older brother, Uncle Bud had sung a song.  Without hesitation my grandpa began to sing the song.  I will never forget that precious moment in time.

"In the little red school house,
With my book and slate,
In the little red school house,
I was always late.
I long to be back there where I was a scholar, in the days of yore.
How I'd stand right up there and hollar, "two and two are four".
When we should have been learning about the Golden Rule,
our little hearts were yearning for the swimming pool.
Oh how we'd sit and wait for the 4 o'clock bell,
the moment that we heard it we would run like...mad,
O golly gee, I want to be, in the little red school house.
Ten o'clock the spelling lessons just begun,
Johnny throws an ink ball just for fun.
Hits the teachers ear with an awful splat,
She turns around and says, "Who did that?"
Pretty little Percy in the very first row, raises up his hand and says, "Teacher, I know."
Little Johnny whispers to the teachers pride,
"You just wait till I get you outside."
Johnny's told to stand up with his face to the wall,
He says, "I don't wanna" and he tried to stall,
"If I stand up there I'll take an awful chance,
I've got a great big tear in the seat of my pants."
Teacher sends you home to wash your face and then,
you say, "Oh what's the use, it just gets dirty again."
Oh gee, I wanna be, in the little red school house."

There isn't anything better than the comfort of a song from the heart!