One of My Favorite Days

Every year I love this day.  This year is no different.  Today we celebrate the birthday of my wife Becky.  It is because of this day many years ago that I find great joy and immense happiness.

I wanted to use today’s post to name several reasons why Becky blesses my life and then I hope that each of you will implement these things into your own marriages and relationships to bless and make better.

One:

Becky is the definition of unselfish.  She thinks of herself and what she wants or needs behind that of someone else.  Some might think this a personal fault.  Wrong!  Her life is blessed because she has ‘figured’ this principle out in her own life.  Our family is blessed for her kindness.  Some time ago, Becky went grocery shopping and bought the fixings for a delicious meal—one of our family’s favorites.  She got home and found out that there was a family who needed a meal brought into their home.  Becky fixed the meal she had planned for us and promptly took it to this family and opted to fix us something else.  I watched her make that decision and I felt grateful for her love and generosity for another.  We had other food and it was no problem for us. 

Two:

Becky loves to be at home.  She loves the comfort that she feels when she is at home with her family.  I am so grateful for this.  We live in a society where everyone is dashing about in all directions with chaos trailing closely behind at every turn.  The things at home are the victim of this chaos.  I am so thankful to Becky for making the things at home a top priority.

Three:

Becky loves God and His Son.  They are at the top of her list as the most important people in her life.  Because that is her priority, everyone else around her is richly blessed.  She follows their example and acts as they would want her to.  I have always loved that.

Four:

Becky is an outstanding wife!  She loves me and treats me with great respect as her husband and as a human being.  She is the easiest person to get along with and I feel honored to have her in my life.

Five:

All Becky wants to be is the best mom she can be.  She loves our children and she is concerned with their well-being.  She works tirelessly to help them reach their divine potential.  She teaches by word and example. 

Becky, I want to wish you the happiest birthday and I pray every day that I will be able to spend many years of happiness to come with you.  But no matter what, if we do our best we will have the blessing of living through the eternities with one another.  I love you! Have a great day!

I Love Life

This is a day that I will remember for a very long time.  My grandpa passed away earlier this morning after a long life well lived.  I have learned some valuable lessons from this man I call grandpa.
It is always a difficult thing when death arrives but more than that a very spiritual time of reflection for me.  Let me share a little personal insight with you today with the hope that you can understand my feelings.
Death is just another step in eternal progression.  It happens exactly how it was designed.  In this Plan we all agreed with it and gladly followed our Father and His Son.  This part of the Plan becomes clearer to me with every passing day.  I am grateful that my grandpa can more forward in this very important part of his eternal destiny.  A great reunion awaited him for which I am most grateful.
One of the greatest lessons (and a nice reminder) is that I try to live my life to the best of my ability.  This does not mean that a fanatical approach should ensue, rather a consistent and positive approach to how and why I do the things I do.
I love my Heavenly Father and His Son, my Savior.  I am thankful for all that they do for me.  I give thanks to them for the knowledge that I receive.  I am thankful for the people around me who are examples of goodness.  My grandpa was an example to me of hard work and dedication in all that he did.
I have watched my grandma do exactly what she committed to do the day that her and grandpa wed.  She has stood by his side through the hard and the easy of life.  She has weathered the storms of life with him side by side.  She has taken care of him right until the end and I applaud her for her sweet efforts.  I love my grandpa and grandma!
I am thankful to have been born of goodly parents who love each other.  I thank my mom for her kindness with both of her parents this past week--actually for an entire lifetime.  She has been the rock that they have always been able to count on.  It is through her wonderful acts of love that I have learned some of life's greatest lessons.  I love you mom and I know that heaven continues to shine on our family every single day.

Our Special Day

Our anniversary has been celebrated differently this year than any other year.  I have loved being with Becky and to enjoy our 18th anniversary caring for somebody else...together!  I love you sweetheart and I have learned a greater lesson from you through your incredible ability to show compassion for your fellowmen.
Becky has loved my grandparents and has treated them as her very own.  I watched Becky as she gently rubbed the tiny feeble legs of our dying grandpa.  I watched the outpouring of her love through her word and deed.
This anniversary will go down as a very special one for me because I learned some greater lessons when I watched my sweet wife be who she always is.  I love you and I appreciate your love for me.  Happy Anniversary and hoping for many more to come.

Things Spiritual

Yesterday, our family decided to go to Orem with the feeling that it would be the last time that we would see grandpa alive here in this mortal life.
I'm so glad that our family took the opportunity to go and to show our love and support for grandma in this difficult time.
Before we left I went into the bedroom where grandpa lay and stood next to his bed and listened to his breathing.  It was a spiritual experience for me personally to be with him before he leaves this wonderful existence and moves on to his eternal reward.
I love any opportunity to enjoy the feelings during the experiences that are beyond what this mortal life normally has to offer.  It is through these experiences that our hearts are filled with wonder of the things that are eternal.
Although the days are numbered for my sweet grandpa I am grateful for the knowledge of forever and the peace that this knowledge offers.  I know that an eternal existence is ahead for every one of us as children of our loving Father.  It is through Jesus Christ that the opportunity to live in the presence of our Father again can come to pass.  It is the desire to be better that motivates me for the future possibilities that can be mine. 
Families can be together forever as long as we do our part and live up to the expectations that our Father has.  Our Father has promised to us all that He has.  It is my greatest desire to be more like Him. 

Don't Let It Be Traveled Alone

I watched a man walk down old Magna main street.  He was alone and each step that he took jotted a chapter of what his life was all about.  I knew this man and my heart ached for him.  He is a good man but has been sidetracked from the principles that he knows will bless his life.  His clothing was different and it showed to me that his once financial stability was no longer.  He carried a brown paper sack in his hand that illustrated his slavery to a bottle of sadness.  I couldn't help but think of the goodness that he had displayed in his life while helping another in a time of struggle. 
It was a reminder that life is at times a 'school of hard knocks'.  How important it is to be prepared to withstand the trials that come our way. 
When I was a young boy I never had to worry about the lack of stability in our home.  I never wondered if my parents were nice to one another.  I didn't even think about that kind of thing because I just knew that they loved each other.  I heard them tell each other that they loved each other but more important I watched them love each other.
I want our children to know that Becky and I love each other--through word and deed.  I want them to build in their hearts a desire to one day find someone who wants to share this same kind of life with them that we so richly enjoy.
I'm hopeful that this man that wanders Magna main street will one day awaken to the things that are important and foster a desire to return to the good life that he once possessed.
It's a great life that is filled with endless possibilities to find and experience goodness to enrich our souls.  Go after it and find all of the joy that you so richly deserve.  It is the designed destiny of all mankind!

Tone

The word 'tone' has a few different meanings. I wish to talk about it in the context of how we speak to others.
A person in the grocery store stands behind me in the checkstand line.  Words roll out of her mouth rapidly and I realize that nothing that has streamed from her mouth is kind.  I looke over at her and I realize that she is speaking to her aged mother who is seated in a motorized cart.  Her speech comtinued for a few moments and again I look in her direction.  This time her eyes met mine and I wanted so badly to remind her of her responsibility to respect her mother.  She got the hint and I didn't hear another cross word spoken.
As I exited the store I couldn't help but think of the many unkind  words that had and would probably continue to harm and damage the poor aged woman.  I'm sure that volumes of other things would tell the entire story but I vowed at that moment to always try to keep a kind tone in my voice.
Even in frustration, the tone we keep will dictate the outcome of the situation in so many ways.

A Sincere Desire

I have felt a subtle change in my life that hasn't always been there.  I can honestly say that throughout my life I have wanted to be a good person who wants to choose the right in everything that I do.  Lately I have felt an urging and a desire to take it one step further and always try to do the very best thing that I can.
We are children of a Heavenly Father and we carry within us characteristic traits of Him.  He wants us to be happy and to experience the joys that come from doing what is right.
I listened to a General Conference talk given by Elder Jeffrey R. Holland of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles.  He spoke of being a good and honest man. 
I believe that the best effort we can give is sufficient. 
I have always believed that to do my best is ultimately easier on my life than to settle for mediocrity.
Let me share a tiny example that can apply to life.  I once worked with a man who was a goodly man but his work ethic wasn't the greatest.  Building aircraft parts seems like a pretty important job and building them correctly seems absolutely necessary.  I watched as this man did average work and didn't seem to care about good workmanship.  One day I approached him about his work.  I asked him if he wanted to board the airplane that had been poorly constructed but was still going to fly at thirty-five thousand feet.  He told me that he didn't like to fly.  I asked if he had family members that did fly.  His answer was 'yes'.  He thought about that for a few moments and then promised that from that day on he would make the necessary changes to do better.  He did.  I was grateful for his willingness to change and  a desire to do better.
We have an obligation to do better. 
Life is so wonderful and doing the right thing contributes to a better way of living.