Follow The Sign

I was driving down the freeway today and I passed many different signs with various directional information for all drivers.  I thought about the importance of the signs but because I drive the same exact way to and from work, I never pay attention to the signs.
I have thought about this same scenario when it comes to every day life.  I thought about the many signs in my own life that point to various things that are important to a happy and safe life.
Let's talk, for a minute, about a few of those signs that should be important to me and maybe will be of benefit to you.
Because my family is extremely important to me, I automatically think about the signs that keep me grounded and headed in the direction that will keep us together, happily.  I make a concerted effort to always be where I say I am.  That means that if I am going to late home from work that I inform Becky and then I am either at work finishing some last minute things or I am somewhere else.  But being anywhere else than where I say I am going to be, is not an option.  That 'sign' keeps trust fully intact with no wondering questions to be asked.
In our home, we have a standing rule that when anyone is on the computer they have to be out in the open.  There are never any questions about the content being viewed.  Following that sign keeps our spirits healthy and strong.
I talk a lot about our marriage.  It is extremely important to me in my life.  The signs that are influential in creating and maintaining a great marriage state words on them such as, "Speak kindly to each other all of the time."  "Compliment Regularly."  "Be Positive."  "Have a Great Time."  Liking each other is as important as Loving."  "Date. Date. Date"  These things are just a few of the keys to a successful recipe of a happy marriage.
The signs in our lives will keep us focused on the things that are the most important.  I am committed to doing these things, and more to make life the best that it can be.

Give Him The Ball

You know by now that I love good stories that motivate.  I love this one and it seems appropriate for today.

CBS) It was the stuff of Hollywood, but it was real.

Senior Jason McElwain had been the manager of the varsity basketball team of Greece Athena High School in Rochester, N.Y.

McElwain, who's autistic, was added to the roster by coach Jim Johnson so he could be given a jersey and get to sit on the bench in the team's last game of the year.

Johnson hoped the situation would even enable him to get McElwain onto the floor a little playing time.

He got the chance, with Greece Athena up by double-digits with four minutes go to.

And, in his first action of the year, McElwain missed his first two shots, but then sank six three-pointers and another shot (video), for a total of 20 points in three minutes.

"My first shot was an air ball (missing the hoop), by a lot, then I missed a lay-up," McElwain recalls. "As the first shot went in, and then the second shot, as soon as that went in, I just started to catch fire."

"I've had a lot of thrills in coaching," Johnson says. "I've coached a lot of wonderful kids. But I've never experienced such a thrill."

The crowd went wild, and his teammates carried the excited McElwain off the court.

"I felt like a celebrity!" he beamed.

McElwain's mother sees it as a milestone for her son.

"This is the first moment Jason has ever succeeded (and could be) proud of himself," reflects Debbie McElwain. "I look at autism as the Berlin Wall, and he cracked it."

His teammates couldn't be happier.

"He's a cool kid," says guard Levar Goff. "You just get to know him, get used to being around him. A couple of weeks ago, he missed practice because he was sick. You feel different when he's not around. He brings humor and life to the team."

Jason's next goal: to graduate.


We can do anything we want to do, no matter how impossible it may seem.  I love real life stories that illustrate one's hope to conquer the world.

It's every day life and we are all a part of it!

Everyone Is Different

The reality of life is that everyone is different.  Sometimes that can be a difficult thing and most times that is a great part of life. 
I recently learned a valuable lesson.  It doesn't matter whether it is at work, church or anything else.  When people are involved,(that would be every part of our lives)there are disagreements about the way things are done.  Our personalities are just so different. 
The part of this that I love the most is that our differences also play an important role in the happiest moments of our existence. 
I want to learn all that I can learn.  That happens with the many associations I have with different people.  I am trying to be tolerant of all people no matter if I agree with the way they do things or not.  I want to be someone who can get along with everyone.  That is hard to do. 
I am grateful for those people who I love the very most. 
I realize more than ever the great sense of humor that God must have.  I look at who I am and realize that He really must be a funny person.
I want to be accepting of all people.  It doesn't mean that I will always agree with everything that everyone does.  But I understand that others don't agree with the way I do things.  Our individual personalities make the world go around.
This is a great life and I'm glad to be a part!

The Joy of Time Spent

I have told you before how grateful I am for my dad.  When I was a young boy, my dad taught me to ride a bike.  It was a memorable occasion, I am told.  I don't remember much about the day but one thing that is clear in my mind is the apprehension that I felt with learning something new.
Think about when you first learned to ride a bike.
My dad held on to the back of the bike seat and followed along probably letting go, momentarily, to watch me unknowingly ride under my own power without my knowledge of what was really happening behind me.  The panic would set in when I somehow suspected what he was doing.  Then everything went wrong and I would lose my balance and end up on the ground.  He would encourage me to just keep riding without looking back.  That sounded good but there isn't a kid on the planet that understands that sound advice and believes what is being told to him, at the time, and that was the same way with me.
I am grateful to parents who always spent meaningful time with me and my siblings.  I rode a bike just a few days ago.  I even did it without running into something on the side of the road.  Our boys are impressed, at times, that their dad can ride a bike.  Quite frankly, I'm impressed too.
Those days of the past are neat to remember.  My parents could probably tell you a lot better version of the story but suffice it to say...I learned how to ride and I have never forgotten its skill.
Keep on riding and keep making the memories that last for a lifetime.

Going Forward With Faith

I sat in church today, feeling especially grateful for the blessings that are showered upon me in my life.  My Heavenly Father, and His Son, care about me a great deal--and I can feel it.
I need to mention a couple of personal things that I feel in my heart.
This Wednesday, my oldest niece enters the Missionary Training Center, in Provo, Utah.  She is about to embark on one of the greatest adventures she will ever have.  It will be her privilege to serve as a full-time missionary of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, called to labor in the Indiana Indianapolis Mission.  I love her and I am extremely grateful that she has decided to go and serve.
Because of her upcoming opportunity, I have thought about some of my own experiences as a missionary.
I attended a missionary conference where Elder Robert Dellanbach, who was a member of the First Quorum of the Seventy.  When he spoke, he reminded me of my own dad.  He was loving and sincere in the delivery of his message.  He challenged us to go home, that evening, and express our gratitude for all that we had in our lives, in our personal prayers. 
I accepted his challenge.  I knelt down on my knees and began to thank my Heavenly Father for everything that He had blessed me with.  When I closed my prayer and opened my eyes, the night had passed completely and the sun was beginning to rise.  I had spent the night on my knees in prayer.  I still had energy to go throughout the day.  I felt grateful to have had that experience.  It taught me that I was extremely blessed.
No matter what the circumstances are in life and no matter how difficult things seem to be, Elder Dellenbach's challenge is still very real.  Take the opportunity to thank heaven for all of the good that you have in your life.  You might be very surprised.
I am committed to move forward, in faith.

I Watch With Great Hope

Tonight, I felt like it was a good idea to write about an observance I had today.
Our oldest daughter, Natalie, attended her first formal school dance, Sweethearts.  I have listened with anticipation of the plans for this date.  She went with a nice young man.  She has been on a date with Nathan before and we think that he is a soft spoken gentle person.  I'm grateful for people like him.
I was particularly satisfied as I walked into the house this evening to find Nat and Nathan and two of their friends sitting around a fantastically decorated table eating a yummy meal together.  I couldn't help but look at our daughter and marvel at her beauty.  She is a wonderful daughter, full of delight.  I looked and saw her and I crawling around on the floor, together, when she was a little girl.  I have felt grateful for her current station in life and all of the goodness that this time offers.
We have an obligation to love and enjoy the various stages of life that our kids will experience.  These times only happen once and now is the time to enjoy.
I am a grateful dad who thanks heaven for the choices that our children are currently making.  It doesn't mean that they are perfect but I know that they are giving their all to being the best that they can be.
There is hope for good 'todays' and better 'tomorrows'.  I have hope that the feelings I have will be duplicated over and over again. 
A grateful heart is unmatched.  I feel grateful tonight!

Put Into Focus

I read this story and felt like it was a great one to end the week.  We need constant reminders to help keep our perspective clear.

Stories like this, always have a way of putting the right perspective on life. 

Jean Thompson stood in front of her fifth-grade class on the very first day of school in the fall and told the children a lie. Like most teachers, she looked at her pupils and said that she loved them all the same, that she would treat them all alike. And that was impossible because there in front of her, slumped in his seat on the third row, was a little boy named Teddy Stoddard.
Mrs. Thompson had watched Teddy the year before and noticed he didn't play well with the other children, that his clothes were unkept and that he constantly needed a bath. And Teddy was unpleasant.
It got to the point during the first few months that she would actually take delight in marking his papers with a broad red pen, making bold X's and then marking the F at the top of the paper biggest of all. Because Teddy was a sullen little boy, no one else seemed to enjoy him, either.
At the school where Mrs. Thompson taught, she was required to review each child's records and put Teddy's off until last. When she opened his file, she was in for a surprise. His first-grade teacher wrote, "Teddy is a bright, inquisitive child with a ready laugh." "He does his work neatly and has good manners...he is a joy to be around."
His second-grade teacher wrote, "Teddy is an excellent student well-liked by his classmates, but he is troubled because his mother has a terminal illness and life at home must be a struggle."
His third-grade teacher wrote, "Teddy continues to work hard but his mother's death has been hard on him. He tries to do his best but his father doesn't show much interest and his home life will soon affect him if some steps aren't taken."
Teddy's fourth-grade teacher wrote, "Teddy is withdrawn and doesn't show much interest in school. He doesn't have many friends and sometimes sleeps in class. He is tardy and could become a problem."
By now Mrs. Thompson realized the problem, but Christmas was coming fast. It was all she could do, with the school play and all, until the day before the holidays began and she was suddenly forced to focus on Teddy Stoddard.
Her children brought her presents, all in beautiful ribbon and bright paper, except for Teddy's, which was clumsily wrapped in the heavy, brown paper of a scissored grocery bag. Mrs. Thompson took pains to open it in the middle of the other presents.
Some of the children started to laugh when she found a rhinestone bracelet with some of the stones missing, and a bottle that was one-quarter full of cologne. She stifled the children's laughter when she exclaimed how pretty the bracelet was, putting it on, and dabbing some of the perfume behind the other wrist. Teddy Stoddard stayed behind just long enough to say, "Mrs. Thompson, today you smelled just like my mom used to."
After the children left she cried for at least an hour. On that very day, she quit teaching reading, writing, and speaking. Instead, she began to teach children. Jean Thompson paid particular attention to one they all called "Teddy."
As she worked with him, his mind seemed to come alive. The more she encouraged him, the faster he responded. On days where there would be an important test, Mrs. Thompson would remember that cologne. By the end of the year he had become one of the smartest children in the class and...well, he had also become the "pet" of the teacher who had once vowed to love all of her children exactly the same.
A year later she found a note under her door, from Teddy, telling her that of all the teachers he'd had in elementary school, she was his favorite. Six years went by before she got another note from Teddy.
He then wrote that he had finished high school, third in his class, and she was still his favorite teacher of all time.
Four years after that, she got another letter, saying that while things had been tough at times, he'd stayed in school, had stuck with it, and would graduate from college with the highest of honors. He assured Mrs. Thompson she was still his favorite teacher.
Then four more years passed and yet another letter came. This time he explained that after he got his bachelor's degree, he decided to go a little further. The letter explained that she was still his favorite teacher, but that now his name was a little longer. The letter was signed, Theodore F. Stoddard, M.D.
The story doesn't end there. You see, there was yet another letter that Spring. Teddy said he'd met this girl and was to be married. He explained that his father had died a couple of years ago and he was wondering...well, if Mrs. Thompson might agree to sit in the pew usually reserved for the mother of the groom. And guess what, she wore that bracelet, the one with several rhinestones missing. And I bet on that special day, Jean Thompson smelled just like...well, just like the way Teddy remembered his mother smelling on their last Christmas together.

We can make a difference!