Can You Feel That?

This story ranks near the top of my favorite stories ever told.  I know that you have your own experiences that are just as meaningful.  Sit back and enjoy a good cry with me.  This story was told by President Gordon B. Hinckley, President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints until his death in 2008, about an experience in his father's childhood.

“An older boy and his young companion were walking along a road which led through a field. They saw an old coat and a badly worn pair of men’s shoes by the roadside, and in the distance they saw the owner working in the field.

“The younger boy suggested that they hide the shoes, conceal themselves, and watch the perplexity on the owner’s face when he returned.

“The older boy … thought that would not be so good. He said the owner must be a very poor man. So, after talking the matter over, at his suggestion, they concluded to try another experiment. Instead of hiding the shoes, they would put a silver dollar in each one and … see what the owner did when he discovered the money. So they did that.

“Pretty soon the man returned from the field, put on his coat, slipped one foot into a shoe, felt something hard, took it out and found a silver dollar. Wonder and surprise [shone] upon his face. He looked at the dollar again and again, turned around and could see nobody, then proceeded to put on the other shoe; when to his great surprise he found another dollar. His feelings overcame him. … He knelt down and offered aloud a prayer of thanksgiving, in which he spoke of his wife being sick and helpless and his children without bread. … He fervently thanked the Lord for this bounty from unknown hands and evoked the blessing of heaven upon those who gave him this needed help.

“The boys remained [hidden] until he had gone.” They had been touched by his prayer and felt something warm within their hearts. As they left to walk down the road, one said to the other, “Don’t you have a good feeling?” (Adapted from Bryant S. Hinckley, Not by Bread Alone, 95).

That story just makes me want to serve someone in need.  There are people who wait for people, like you and me, to help them.  Today is the day.

Do Your Best

In my high school Physical Education (P.E.) class there was a required run that all students had to do.  The run took up one whole class period, taking into consideration the duration it would take for everybody to complete it.  Your grade was based on a chart that listed your age and the amount of time that it took for you to complete the run.  Because our school mascot was the Rams, the run was called the RAM JAM.  In P.E. I thought that only an 'A' grade was acceptable.  There were some days when I would line up at the starting point of the RAM JAM and I couldn't stand the thought of having to run it.  I was never the fastest kid but I always wanted to get an 'A' grade.  Once the whistle was blown for me to start the run I dreaded it until a burst of energy would come over me and competition against the clock became my best friend.
Life is much like the RAM JAM.  There are certain things that don't seem the most exciting.  Sometimes those things turn out to be the very best.  
I work for the Boeing Company and I am a member of the team that builds the Main Instrument Panel in the cockpit of the 737 Commercial jet.  It is made up of many different sub-assemblies and every part is expected to be installed per the blueprint.  I have the desire every day to assemble and install every part, exactly as they are designed to fit together.  
I believe that doing my best allows a feeling of peace in my life.  I am trying to live my own life in a way that would be pleasing to those who care about me the most.  My personal measuring stick, when I do something in life, is whether Becky would approve of my actions.  I don't want to do anything that would embarrass her or anyone else in our family.  
Our RAM JAM of life deserves our very best effort.  Ready, Set, Go!

Life Is Great!

I recently observed something that, once again, solidifies my belief that life is very good.

In a local supermarket, I watched a man who was wheelchair bound.  He had no legs.  I wondered silently what the story was behind his legs.  I watched him closely.  He controlled the wheelchair with one arm and next to the wheelchair was the shopping cart.  He got around very well.  I noticed the strength in his arms.  He was an average size man but the smile on his face convinced me that life was pretty good for him.  I went about getting the things that I needed to get and thought nothing more about the man.  Iver the course of the time I spent shopping, the man had finished and gone out to his car.  When I came out of the store and got into my truck I noticed the man once again.  He loaded the groceries he had purchased in the back of a full-size van.  The van had double doors and he had both doors wide open.  I couldn't help but watch.  He got everything loaded into the van and shut the two doors.  He then wheeled his chair over to the passenger side of the van.  I watched him open the side door and a folded up lift engaged and lowered itself to ground level.  He wheeled himself up onto the lift and pressed a button that immediately began to lift him up to the floor of the van.  Without hesitation, I watched him pull himself from the chair and methodically fold his wheelchair and position it inside the van.  He shuffled himself to the driver's seat and then lifted himself up into the seat.  He reached toward the dashboard and obviously pressed another button.  The lift folded itself, this time into the van and then the side door automatically closed.

All of this in just a matter of minutes.  The whole time I watched this man do what he did with a smile of contentment on his face.  He accepted this routine as his life.

I am grateful for the example of this man.  I am grateful that people like him remind me that life is great!  I want to be the type of person that no matter what happens I can continue to smile. 

Taking The Time

There are some things in life that are fascinating to watch.  As a young boy, I would watch my dad tie his tie as he readied to go to church.  I was always amazed at how fast he could tie his tie. 

I still remember the day he taught me and my brother how to tie our ties.  Each of us had the tie we were going to wear around our neck and my brother and I watched and copied.  That is a memorable experience for me. 

I have shared that same experience with our two sons.  Brady is eleven and Danny is eight.  Both boys can tie a beautiful double Windsor knot!

I was missionary companions with a young man who was never taught to tie a tie.  His father tied his ties before he left on his mission and for the first eight months of his mission, all of his ties had stayed exactly how his father had tied them.  One of the pieces of instruction that my dad gave us boys was that part of taking care of a tie is the undoing of it when you are done wearing it.  Yep, you guessed it, I took the opportunity to teach my companion the proper care of his ties.  I untied each tie.  He was a little upset until I told him that I was going to teach him how to tie a tie, just like my dad had taught me.  So he and I grabbed the tie we were going to wear and together we tied until my companion knew how to tie his own tie.  He was pleased and so was I.

This seems like a very insignificant thing but for my dad to take the time to teach me how to do something that I would need for the rest of my life, is significant.

Whether it is tie tying, cooking, shooting hoop, taking the time to visit with somebody or helping someone do their yard work, the time that is spent to help someone else is priceless.

Take a moment today to do something for somebody else that lets them know how much they mean to you.  You'll be glad you did.

My Family

When I think about the greatest things in my life, my wife and children are at the very top.  I have been blessed with such a wonderful opportunity to be in love with a woman who enriches my life. As a young boy I would watch my parents, very closely, with the hope of one day being able to enjoy what they did.  The teenage years rolled around and I dated a few girls and got to feel what it was like to 'be in love.'  I really had no idea what being in love really was but I felt like I was in love anyway. 
I moved to Utah at the end of February 1994 and met Becky for the first time, at church.  We dated for several months and eventually married in November of that year.
We have been richly blessed with four children who are trying as hard as any four kids on earth to be the best that they can be!  I love the effort that they give to being good solid people.  They are also imperfect and learn various lessons of life each and every day.  I am thankful for that.
Let me share something personal about each one of them to give you an idea of the feelings I have.
Becky is solid in her conviction to do what is right.  She knows what she wants and she works very hard to go after her dreams.  She is the definition of compassion.  I have learned in the past several years that she is a visionary.  She sees things very well.  If something needs to be built, she can see the end product before the project has even begun.  I love that about her.  She loves to be a mom and she treats our children with  utmost respect.  She builds me up and focuses on the positive.  She has always taken pride in how she looks.  I think she is pretty and she believes that caring about how she looks makes her feel better about herself all the way around.  I love her with all of my heart!
Natalie takes after her mother in many ways.  She has many gifts and talents.  She is comfortable in her own skin.  Nat is a hard worker.  From the time she was a little girl, Nat has shot for the stars.  There isn't anything she doesn't believe she can master.  I remember when she approached me about trying out for the girl's basketball team in seventh grade.  I have to admit I wasn't the most confident in her skills but I didn't tell her that.  You have to understand that she couldn't even dribble the ball that well.  So we went to work out on the driveway and I told her that she needed to know how to dribble the basketball with both hands before we would go any further with the instruction.  I went into the house and she worked for more than an hour to master that skill.  She came in and told me that she was ready for more instruction.  To my surprise, she had learned.  We worked on the other skills of basketball and she ultimately made the team.  She is a devoted friend and a wonderful daughter!
Laurel is our snugglebug.  If we ever need a hug Lol is up for it at any time.  She is energetic and loves to have a great time.  She is an extremely hard worker who doesn't quit until the job is done.  Lol and I are very much alike.  That is fun to watch.  Laurel is a good friend and has the desire to choose the right.  She is talented and loves to learn.  She works hard to excel in school and her hard work definitely pays off.  She is talented with music.  I love to listen to her play the piano.  She looks pretty when she plays. 
Brady is our gentle kid.  He has a sincere desire to choose the right.  I've always been grateful that he a is an easy-going type because he is big and strong.  He doesn't like contention and he is a protector of the underdog.  He loves to be active.  His mind never stops thinking and the only time he isn't talking is when he is asleep. (Sometimes he does talk in his sleep.)  One of my favorite things about Brady is that he is affectionate with Becky and I.  He is an easy person to love and like.  I'm grateful to be his dad.
Now, Danny is the perfect kid to bring up the rear of our family. We thought that we were done having kids after Brady was born but then realized that there was another kid that was to be a part of our family. He brings us so much joy! Danny really loves to spend time with his mom. Whenever Becky is gone, Danny will ask where she is and when she will be home. I'm grateful that our kids look up to their mom.  He is a great thinker.  I have been amazed, since he was a little boy, that he can look at something that needs to be solved and he can think it out and figure out how it works.  The key to that is that he is unafraid of making a mistake.  There isn't anything that he won't figure out.  Just give him time. 
Becky and I joke constantly that we were blessed with four kids, all of which are bossy.  I think that the correct word would be independent and sure of themselves.  I thank heaven, everyday, that we don't have to worry about prying one of our kids out of a corner because they are too frightened to do anything. 
I love our family.  It is the greatest gift that I have been given. 
I hope that other people feel as fortunate as I do.  

You Are His Child

I attended a church meeting, last night, that got my mind thinking about the things in my life that are the most important.  I looked around the chapel of the church at all of the different people in attendance.  I looked closely at the different features of each individual person, both men and women.  The thought that kept entering my mind was that there is in fact a God who cares about each of us and all of the things that we experiencing.
I stood by the ocean in Holland and my companion and I watched the waves as they rolled methodically.  The organization of their movements was beautiful to watch.  I have spent my life, in different situations, watching the sun rise in the morning and then set in the evening.  I have watched the birth of our children and wondered how such a miracle could happen without there being a God to oversee such a life-altering event.
There is a God and He is the One who created you and me.  He loves us more than we will ever know.  We once lived with Him.  If we do the best that we can, we will return to live with Him again.  His Son, Jesus Christ, came to help make it possible for us to be with our Father again.  There is no other way but through Him.  I know that these are true principles.
We have a unique opportunity to live a life that is filled with challenges that stretch us and make us who we need to become.  I remember, clearly, a statement that my uncle made when my aunt was first diagnosed with cancer.  He said that the challenge of cancer would now allow them to show that they were the type of people that they had only talked about being.  Now it was time to practice what they preached.  They have been true champions!  Their family has been a great example to many people.
Each of us has control over the way we choose to live our lives.  The challenges come to the good and the bad.  We are trying to do the very best that we can and we have full trust that He will do His part.  He has never let us down. 

Spirit vs Letter

I know that there could be a whole debate about these two words but because of my intention to place a positive spin on everything I write, I hope to illustrate a simple point.
There were two young boys who had decided to go out on the town one Friday night.  These were good boys who were just out to have a good time.  The boys said that they would be home by midnight.  Their plan was executed perfect so that the boys would arrive home at just before their committed time.  On the way home, the boys encountered a flat tire.  This was pre-cell phone time so the boys knew that they would be late arriving home.  They fixed the flat tire on the side of the darkened highway.  They got home as fast as they could but were still late.  The two boys walked through the front door of the home of one of the boys.  The unhappy father of the one boy was awaiting the arrival of the two boys.  He was not very nice and I believe that he missed a great opportunity to reach out to his son and a friend.
Let me stop the story there. 
I vowed that night that if the experience ever happened to one of my kids that I would react much differently. 
We need to stop, take a deep breath, and then react in the very best way possible. 
I firmly believe that it is important to take into consideration something my own parents stated.  "There are no rules until you break them."  But since kids will still break rules, once in a while, trust still needs to be placed in them and second and third chances will allow them to learn and grow.  My parents were masters at allowing us kids to make many mistakes.  But the real key was that they didn't beat us up over them and then hold our mistakes against us.  Make a mistake, fix the mistake, and then move on with a smile on your face.  I am forever thankful for their wisdom.
Becky and I have given a lot of thought to making sure we trust our children and that we allow them some slack in the situations that they face.  In the eyes of our children, the best laid out plans don't always materialize the way they hope they will. 
They're not perfect...and neither are we!