Talents

Every person has been blessed with various gifts and talents.  The key word in the last sentence is various.  I have spent my few years of life watching people and the things that they are gifted and able to do.  There are a lot of people that thoroughly amaze me!
I want you to take a minute and think of the things that you are good at.  Maybe it is hard for you to do because many of you have been blessed with humility, but I want you to do this simple exercise.
Take your number one gift or talent and break down in your mind why it is the top ranked.  Now that you have decided that part, think of the ways that your gift blesses and enriches the lives of other people.  If it currently does not bless the life of someone else then you ought to go to the 'drawing board' and figure out a way that you can use it to bless another.
When I was a young boy, I longed to have the best handwriting in the class.  I had a teacher, Mrs. Prince who encouraged me to stretch for that goal.  I worked very hard on this and ultimately, got to the point where I felt like my handwriting skill should be.  That was very simple but important nonetheless.
Our gifts and talents are heaven sent and I try hard to remember that every day of my life.

Look Closely And Be Grateful

In Utah news, there has been coverage of the drowning of a four year old boy.  Not only has the news covered the accident, I have had an 'inside' view from a co-worker and friend.  The young boy is a grandson of my co-worker's brother.  It has been a sad ordeal.  Today, Becky and I attended the funeral.  I have thought a lot about this unfortunate event.
Take a moment a think about a time in your life when you 'lost' a person that you care about deeply.  The time during the loss is painful.  Our mortal perspective that involves missing the loved one makes it very difficult to deal with and during the mourning period we wonder how we will ever get over the intense loss that we feel.
I can't begin to believe that a loving and caring Creator would ever allow His children to experience pain without any kind of hope to be extended.  I know that even through the losses in our lives that there is hope for a brighter tomorrow.  I have seen it in my own life.
There were some thoughts shared today that expressed gratitude for the role of Jesus Christ in the Plan of our Heavenly Father, that allows everyone the opportunity, if we live righteously, to live with Him again some day.
This young four year old, Corbin, is in a place of peace, love, and contentment.  It is his family who feels sad because he is no longer with them.  They will see him again one day.
I'm thankful for the knowledge that I have.  It brings great comfort.

Stretch

I get into my own routine and every day seems like I go through the same few activities. Today, I awakened with a thought on my mind. In order to progress and get better, I need to stretch myself in the activities that occupy the day. It seemed like today should be that day. I came to work and decided that I would be more productive today than I was yesterday. That doesn't necessarily mean to work faster, it means to be smarter in my approach to my specific job. It means to be and stay on task in order to complete the assigned job function.
I read an article that talked about innovation and the 'brains' behind the technological advances we see every day. That made me think about those people who dream up an idea and then with the combined brain power of other people are able to produce it into something of benefit for the rest of us.
It's as easy as taking something that is a very normal part of your daily routine and placing an added element of difficulty to it to help you stretch.
For example, I know a man who is an avid cyclist.  He has invested a fair amount of money into a nice bicycle.  He rides many miles, every week.  He recently rode his bike and most of the ride was with a heavy head-wind fighting against him.  At first, he mumbled and grumbled to himself about the inconvenience of the strong head-wind.  He then changed his attitude and made a goal to try even harder to maintain his same pace, as if it was his normal, every day ride.  With his change came an added motivation to work harder and pedal so that he could maintain, or get as close to normal as he could.  The ride was a success and he felt accomplished.
To stretch oneself is to make one better.  That is a personal goal to do something that I consider difficult, or out of my comfort zone, each and every day.  I know that I will be better for it!

Reply to:

Reply to Fish, Derek A

Do What You Say

I had an experience this week that taught me a great lesson that may seem quite obvious to us all but it's implementation has still not been mastered. I went to visit a person and during the visit, I asked this person if there was anything that I could do for them. With a little bit of frustration this person rehearsed to me the fact that when other people had come to visit they asked the same question. They made a list of the things that she needed help with and then left the home and never returned to complete the tasks that she had asked them to help complete. Then six months later, they came to visit her and repeated the process. She said that she was done giving lists. I have a person who talked to me, several weeks ago, about helping with something in their home. I assured them that I would come over to their house and look at what they needed done. Days passed and I forgot to go by. That was not my intent but I didn't follow through with what I said I would do. The lesson I was reminded of this week reiterated to my mind the importance of always doing what I say I'm going to do. It is a very important truth and each of us will benefit by adhering to it. Life is great! If you don't believe it, look at somebody else's life. Count all of your blessings, and name them one by one.

When You Were Born

Today is our youngest daughter's birthday. Happy Birthday, Laurel! I still remember the day that she was born. Her eyes remained wide open after she was born. There wasn't a single peep, out of her mouth, until one of the medical staff made her cry. She is a joy in our lives. She has been blessed with many gifts and talents that bless the lives of many people, of which I am one. I have thought about the significance of this day in my own life. I was so excited to have another child in our home. Birthdays are important and the celebration of Laurel's life puts a smile on my face. I am thankful to be a father and to have the opportunity to learn and grow. I love you so much, Laurel. Don't ever forget how important you are to mom and I.

Rose-colored Glasses

I haven't ever met anyone that can truthfully say that every single thing in their life works out exactly like they planned.
I'm also not saying that it is a bad thing.
A person I know, recently told me that the job that they currently have isn't necessarily their dream job.  This person followed up the original comment with a drawn-out list of all of the negative attributes of their job.  After listening to the list, I remained silent for about ten seconds.  Once I could see that this person was finished talking, I kindly reminded him how blessed he was to have a job.  I found it interesting that this individual has been an employee with this company for about twenty-five years.  I don't believe that someone would stay at the same job for that amount of time if there weren't some 'positives' about the job.
If you've ever seen the Walt Disney movie, 'Pollyanna', there is a valuable lesson to learn from that show, no matter how unfair things seem to be in life, there is always a 'bright side' to any situation.  I believe that!
There isn't a situation that somebody else hasn't already endured.  Look on the bright side.
If life isn't how you hoped it would be, work hard to make it better.  It can only improve when you put your best foot forward.

Home Safe And Sound

We arrived at our home this evening and were excited to see Becky and Natalie. Our visit to California was enjoyable. We got to spend time with our family and enjoy some memories together. I was particularly grateful for our safe arrival home. I am so grateful for the blessings we received to have safety during our travels. There is one thing I know for sure. It's that God loves me and He proves that to me, every day. He showers blessings, too many to count. I feel of His love. When we pulled into the driveway, Becky came to the driver's side of the van and began to kiss me, repeatedly. She was so excited to see us and I knew of her great love for me and our kids. It was such a treat to come home! This is a really good life. My prayers are filled with gratitude for the many blessings that are given to me. It's great to be home. I love to be wherever Becky is.