I Love Our Home And Family

Everybody has the place in their life that brings them safety and comfort.  That place for me is home.
I have spoken many times about the importance of home in my life.  There is always acceptance at home.  You can be and act exactly how you are (and even off-the-wall silly) and you know that the love that your family has for you is unchanging.  That's how it is for me anyway, for which I am eternally grateful!
As our family knelt down to pray, tonight, I looked around at Becky, Natalie, Laurel, Brady and Danny and thought about the blessing it is to have each other.  As I offered the prayer, I couldn't help but think of the many gifts and talents that each individual has in our family.  They use those to bless not only our lives but the lives of their friends and other people with whom they come in contact.  I love that so much!
In 1995, the First Presidency and Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints made a declaration to the world.  A portion of that declaration seems appropriate to share. 

"The family is ordained of God. Marriage between man and woman is essential to His eternal plan. Children are entitled to birth within the bonds of matrimony, and to be reared by a father and a mother who honor marital vows with complete fidelity. Happiness in family life is most likely to be achieved when founded upon the teachings of the Lord Jesus Christ. Successful marriages and families are established and maintained on principles of faith, prayer, repentance, forgiveness, respect, love, compassion, work, and wholesome recreational activities. By divine design, fathers are to preside over their families in love and righteousness and are responsible to provide the necessities of life and protection for their families. Mothers are primarily responsible for the nurture of their children. In these sacred responsibilities, fathers and mothers are obligated to help one another as equal partners. Disability, death, or other circumstances may necessitate individual adaptation. Extended families should lend support when needed."

I believe that the success we experience in our lives will have a lot to do with the happenings inside our homes and the things that we learned and then implemented in our own lives.
I had the words to a country song enter into my mind that reminds me of times spent at home visiting with Becky and enjoying the laughter of our children.  "And there ain't no place that I'd rather be, next to you sitting next to me."
Home is a piece of heaven and each one of us is entitled to that blessing.

The Difference, One Day Makes

I am always amazed at the blessings in my life. I have always been blessed to be happy and to feel like those around me contribute to that happiness that I enjoy. I can honestly say that yesterday was not one of my brightest days. I can't pinpoint why but I just didn't feel good and my head was extremely tired. Once I arrived at home, from work, everything seemed to be instantly better. When my night was done and I went to bed, I prayed that I would enjoy a good night's rest and awaken, today, feeling completely better. That's exactly what happened. I feel refreshed. Once again, I give sincere thanks for a Father who watches over me and knows and understands precisely how I feel. He blesses me over and over again for which I am grateful.

Do You Ever Wonder?

Maybe it's just me but does anybody else wonder what your life will be like, tomorrow, in six months, or even ten years from now? I don't dwell on it but there are times when I ask myself these questions. It intrigues me. I believe that those types of questions begin from the time that we are young. There are things that we feel are important to achieve. Over time, some of the things that we thought were so important, don't seem to be as important as we originally thought. That's okay. Becky and I consider ourselves to be some of the world's greatest 'dreamers'. We like to dream about everything. It gives us exciting things to talk about and we are thoroughly entertained. I love it! To dream keeps the mind going and it also gives some motivation to reach for things in our lives that seem unattainable. Dream big, even if those dreams don't ever materialize. It's healthy for your mind. I love my life! It is a joy to be alive in this day and time.

Fun In The Sun

I am a big fan of the sunshine. It makes people happier and it is beautiful. Today has been no exception. T won There isn't a kid on this earth that doesn't enjoy being out in the warmth of the sun, playing with their friends. Our oldest son, Brady, asked me how long Grandma Fish (my mom) would have us play outside. I replied that she wanted us to go out and enjoy the beautiful sunshine. She felt that it was important that we were active. The older I have become, the more important that is to me. It is important to be as active as we can be. I have given some serious thought to the importance of getting sufficient exercise so that I have enough energy to accomplish all that there is do in life. A little 'self-exertion' hasn't ever hurt anyone...and it won't hurt any of us either.

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!

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