The 12 Days of Christmas

For the past twelve days, our family has been the happy recipient of Christmas love and cheer from an unknown Do Gooder. We really have no idea who it is. There was a lot of sneakery and staying up late at night for them to put all the gifts on our porch without us hearing them. Angie is up late every night with Briggie and I wake up early in the morning to start my routine.

One night was a little different, though. We heard what sounded like someone tripping on our wooden porch and making a loud thump! We didn't want to run outside to see who it was and spoil the fun. A minute later there was a loud knock on our porch window.

That's odd.

I slowly rose from the couch and looked out the front door's window. There was a plate full of sugary delights. That's when we realized the purpose for the non-sneakery for one night. Those home-baked goodies would have been enjoyed by Ohioan fauna (namely, raccoons and neighborhood cats) before we found them the next morning. Nice move, Do Gooders! And well made!

Our Christmas season has been one of the best that I can remember because of the love and care shown to our family. We have, in turn, decided to help others more than we normally would have. And we tried extra hard to teach our kids that the true meaning of Christmas is to celebrate the birth of our Savior, Jesus Christ. We talked about the symbols that remind us of gospel truths and signs of Christ's birth. We also taught our boys to be grateful for what gifts they do receive on Christmas morning because it won't be everything they asked for.

We are so blessed. We see the tender mercies of the Lord all around us and feel the love of...someone...doing good and spreading Christmas cheer.

Sariah, Concerned Mother of Four Sons

Lehi, the first prophet in the Book of Mormon, was commanded to leave Jerusalem in 600 B.C. and take his family with him. We know that Lehi's two oldest sons, Laman and Lemuel, went grudgingly. They had a rebellious streak a mile wide all their lives. Lehi's two younger sons, Sam and Nephi, were obedient and often reminded their older brothers to keep the commandments.

Well, today I read the part in the Book of Mormon where Lehi and his family were far from Jerusalem and he was commanded to send his sons back to get some important records. What did Laman and Lemuel do? You guessed it. What did Sam and Nephi do? Correct. 

What did Lehi's wife do? We don't find out until the boys return from their trip. It was going to be very dangerous and Sariah was very worried about them. She complained to her husband, the prophet, for sending all of their sons to their death. She told her husband "that he was a visionary man; saying: Behold thou hast led us forth from the land of our inheritance, and my sons are no more, and we perish in the wilderness." (1 Ne 5:2)

Lehi replied to Sariah and I can hear the tenderness in his words. "And it came to pass that my father spake unto her, saying: I know that I am a visionary man; for if I had not seen the things of God in a vision I should not have known the goodness of God, but had tarried at Jerusalem, and had perished with my brethren." (1 Ne 5:4)

Lehi had a testimony of the Lord's commandments. He also knew his sons would be safe on their journey. When the boys finally returned with the records, "their joy was full, and my mother was comforted. And she spake, saying: Now I know of a surety that the Lord hath commanded my husband to flee [and] hath protected my sons." (1 Ne 5:7-8)

It is very interesting to me that Sariah didn't have a testimony of the Lord's command to leave Jerusalem and find the promised land until after they had set out and faced some challenges. She must have been a remarkable woman of faith and after this trial she was blessed with greater understanding of the Lord's will.

We all gain testimonies at different times and in different ways. I know that if we listen to the Lord and follow His prophets we you will be comforted, blessed and strengthened.

I Am So Excited About Christmas!

Our decorated Christmas Tree, plus boys.
Ya, that's a Santa hat on the angel.

I just love Christmas. My favorite parts are 1) the music and 2) that people are a lot nicer to each other than during the rest of the year.

I listen to lots of Christmas music starting the day after Thanksgiving until some time between Christmas Day and New Year's Eve. I don't really have anything against listening after the new year, but I do try to be thankful for Thanksgiving and give it every day it deserves. So I respectfully wait until I wake up Friday morning to begin listening to my favorite music. It's one of my ways to be thankful for Thanksgiving. But this post is about Christmas!

So I crank the Christmas music for hours every day. We have lots of CDs at my house with a variety of musical goodness. I had my favorites before I got married. They were pretty much what I grew up listening to at home. After I got married I also listened to a bunch of my wife's favorites. Now, with free music sites like Pandora and a host of other sites, the variety of songs keeps me going longer before I feel like I just can't listen to them any more.

When Christmas is over and the cheer wears off a bit, so does my desire to keep hearing the songs. Part of the magic for me is looking forward to Christmas Day. So when the Day is over and thoughts set in of going home from vacation or going back to work, I ease up on the listening until I stop all together. It's just a natural change of focus so there's no set day for me.

Now, fast forward to July. There's a bio-clock that goes off inside me in July to hear more of my favorite Christmas songs. Maybe it's subconsciously bestowed upon me by song Christmas in July. Maybe. But probably not. I'm not sure. But I do hum or sing a few songs to myself in the heat of the summer. Then I tell myself it's just silly and I get on with my non-December, non-Christmas life.

Every year, after the summer ends there is a fun build up of holidays and celebrations. I'm not sure why I get so excited during the fall, but I guess my birthday, Halloween and Thanksgiving are enough to get me over the dreary fact that the days are getting shorter and colder. But the week or two before Thanksgiving I'm chomping at the bit for some happy Merry Christmas tunes.

Aaaaaahhhhhh........

Christmas is coming!

Someone Paid For Your Food

Angie and I have gone on a date nearly every week since we got married. Spending time away from home and from the kids each week is a great way that we have found to relax from the day to day busy-ness and to enjoy each other's company. We put a high priority on our marriage and family happiness and this does wonders for us. Most of the time we go out to eat and talk about stuff that has been going on. Stuff for her, stuff for me, stuff about the boys. There have been times where we run out of things to talk about and we just stare at each other and snicker.

I just love it. Sometimes I just watch her when she's cutting her next few bites of burrito and she thinks I'm doing the same. She's so nice to look at and she warms my heart. Only when she looks up does she catch me showing my affection toward her with a big grin on my face. "What are you laughing at?" she usually asks. Then I tell her that I love her tons and we go on with our meal...talking or staring. :)

Well, there's an awesome Mexican restaurant where we eat often. This place is really popular and busy. We see someone we know there every few times we go, which is a lot of fun. This week saw two families that we know. We visited briefly with each of them and then got down to business.

The business of eating.

We were the last to arrive and we were the last to leave. After we ate we asked for some more chips and salsa. Yum. Then we talked for so long that we figured the waiter forgot about us. It was really weird. After a really long time, a different waiter came walking along holding fried ice cream. It's really good stuff, but he made eye contact and I didn't want him to ask me if we saved any room for dessert so I averted my eyes. He marched right up to our table and said, "Someone paid for your food and they bought you this."

We were floored.

This is the kind of thing that you do to be sneaky and nice for someone else, not the kind of thing that happens to you! But it did happen. And it happened to us.

So we approached the Nice-Doers today at church. We thanked them for their surprise and she said, "Actually it was his idea." I shook his hand and he said, "I remember what it was like to be your age and in school. I thought it would be nice."

Thank you both. You made the world a better place. You strengthened our testimonies. You showed service in action and the love of the Lord toward your fellow men.

May the Lord bless you richly!

We All Get 24 Hours

Priorities, planning and time have all been on my mind for a long time. I have a lot of things going on right now and really have too much on my plate to continue with business as usual. I'm in my last year of graduate school and am looking for work. It's a pretty busy and involved process, let me tell you! Add on the birth of our third child and trying to brush up on some skills to put on my resume and it makes me feel like I've been pushed overboard in the middle of eel-infested waters.

Our 4th Sunday lesson in Elders Quorum today was really timely for me and has given me a lot to think about. The lesson was called "A Time to Prepare" by Elder Ian S. Ardern and is from the October 2011 General Conference. It reminded me a lot of "Good Better Best" by Elder Dallin H. Oaks from the October 2007 General Conference, which I've read dozens of times. This topic is so important for me right now because of how much I try to pile on my plate and accomplish each day/week. I've overwhelmed myself and it's time to change. The Lord has been giving me hints in this direction lately and these last few weeks (since my baby was born) has given me the chance to think about the direction I need to go in life.

For the past few weeks we've had my mom and then my mom/dad-in-law in town. We know they came to see the baby, but they helped out with a whole bunch of things around the house and were an awesome support. I was able to stay home from school to be with Angie and take care of needs, big or small. There was way more to do than I expected and our parents took care of lots of stuff. I would have been a mess without them.

Now they've gone home. And here we are. There's almost no way for me to convey (in person, let alone on a blog) all the responsibilities that I have on my shoulders. So I won't try. But I feel that I have been guided by Spirit of the Lord for the past months in knowing what to set aside. My dad taught me that the order of life's priorities should be

1. Relationship with God

2. Wife and kids

3. Church callings

4. Career

5. Hobbies

and this list has aided me in my decisions my entire life. It has landed me where I am today. I'll just sum up what I've thought and felt lately by saying that #2 has gone up on my list from where it was and #5 (such as developing my board/card games) needs to take a back seat to job hunting.

Time and time again I have neglected to make time for relaxation. I'm always trying to pack each day full with what will make a better Future: teaching kids, more scripture study, better programming skills, and much more. And guess what? I missed out on the Todays that I've been creating with all my hard work from Yesterdays.

It's time to change. And I'm happy to tell you all about it as I move forward.

It's a Good Day for Ice Cream

The coolest thing happened a little while ago with my oldest boy. He repeated something back to me that confirmed a really good habit that I've been trying to teach my kids. What he said was, "It's a good day for ice cream."

Even though my kids are young and small, I believe the two pieces of advice that older parents have given me about teaching the gospel. 1) Kids are never too young to learn and 2) out of all the things you say, you never know what will really stick in their minds. So teach them continually and begin when they're young.

Here's the habit that came back to bite me in the bum shake my hand and tell me good job: after doing service, take the boys out for ice cream.

I've been taking my boys to service projects and to help families move in/out of our ward for several years. I started taking them before I thought they could even be any positive use in the actual project. In fact, I thought it was so important for them to see service in action that I took them to activities where I would have to watch out for them and be of little use myself. It was a tough internal battle as I made that decision, but I'm glad I did it.

Now my boys are (well, my older boy is) excited to do service. A few weeks ago I was headed out to help with a move and I thought there would only be a couple people there. I only told my wife ahead of time because I didn't want my kids to go. On this particular day, we ate lunch and I got my shoes on to head out of the door before everyone else was done. My older boy asked where I was going. To my great surprise, he said, "Dad, I want to go!" Why would I say no to that? He finished up his lunch and got his shoes on.

And we were off.

I thought that I was going to be a kid watcher and not a super mover, but I was ok with that. On the way down, when my boy told me it was a "good day for ice cream," I just thought he was trying to sneak in a plug for a sugary treat. I wanted to say no, but first asked him why. "Because we always get ice cream after service!"

Wow.

Awesome.

And that's my story. Well, there is more. I have to say how complimentary everyone was of his hard work. He kept picking up big stuff and actually carrying it without tipping over or dropping anything. We even carried out a coffee table that really belonged to the apartment. Even though it was really heavy for him, he helped me in a big way. However, when we found out that it had to go back he didn't think he could handle it so I carried it back myself. It was really funny. And he did a really great job.

I believe that when we are in the service of our fellow beings, we are only in the service of our God (Mosiah 2:17).

Does anyone have a service experience that they want to share? or a gospel lesson that kids have learned and repeated back to you?

Random, Act of Kindness

The Good Samaritan, Luke 10:25–37
link to pic

This story is so odd that I have to share it. Perhaps it will sound like a "right time, right place" coincidence to you. We shall see.

My mom was here helping us after our new baby was born (thanks a bazillion, Mom!) and I took her to the airport to catch her flight. When she was getting her boarding pass I looked over and saw a girl who has been taking the missionary lessons and attending my ward (Random!). I think she was planning on getting baptized. Well, I told my mom I wanted to say hi to this girl before we headed to the food court for lunch. When I went to talk to her, I could see she was on the phone and having some difficulty in line so I didn't bother her.

Fast forward past lunch (Philly cheesesteak, yum!) and saying a tearful goodbye to my mom at the security gate. I was going to the food court to play on my laptop for a few hours while I waited for my mom-in-law to arrive.

Well, on my way back I passed the ticket counter and saw the girl on the phone again. It was obvious that something was wrong so I stopped to see if I could help her. "Is everything ok?" I asked.

"No. They won't let me through security. I don't have a driver's license and all my other identification is with my family (in another state). Security doesn't accept faxes because they can be tampered with." Then she told me about the crazy situation she was in: she got on the plane to come here with some high school ID (a copy with a picture that could easily be confused with a dark storm cloud at night) and this airport won't accept it; the other airport probably shouldn't have either. Since she was dropped off and didn't have any money, she was stranded at the airport, trying to make phone calls and somehow get on her flight. Security would allow one thing that she could try to get...hospital records with her personal information (wow, I never thought of that). Things weren't looking good. Not good at all.

She was even more distraught because she paid someone gas money to get to the airport and didn't have anything else to get home...or to get back to the airport even if she got the hospital records.

Does the Good Samaritan come to mind? It does to mine.

I told her I'd be around for a few hours anyway and I could take her back to her friend's house near where I live. To make the rest of the long story short, I bought her lunch, told her I could take her home and bring her back the next day (the airport is an hour away).

Happily, she got the hospital records and I took my family for a drive to the airport the next day. The airline employees and security officers remembered her and hoped that she'd get the okay to proceed. It was a nervous time while we waited for the right person to give clearance, but it finally came. Phew! She was grateful and so was one employee who said something like, "Sir, I don't know who you are, but you are doing this person a huge favor."

It's amazing that I was there to see a fellow citizen in need and had the time/resources to help her when she couldn't help herself.

By Their Works Ye Shall Know Them

As you saw in my last post, we had a baby last week. There are several things on my mind about the gospel of Jesus Christ, the service that we have received and the love that has been shown to us since even before little Briggie was born. I'd love to name names, but when I describe the acts of love and service you'll know who you are.

From the moment people started finding out that Angie was in labor and that we were at the hospital, we started feeling the love. Luckily, I posted something on FB about Angie's water breaking before I left home because we didn't get any Internet signal in the rooms we were in. I really wanted to let people know what was going on during the day...but it didn't happen.

We got phone calls while we were at the hospital to congratulate us and someone brought us a Hospital Survival Kit with treats and some items that came in really handy; stuff like shampoo and hair elastics. Great thinking! Some friends started calling the hospital room before Briggie was even born. So nice! We felt so much support from family and friends near and far.

One friend picked up our boys from the bus stop and fed them dinner before bringing them to the hospital to see their new little brother. A couple families even offered to let our older boys sleep at their house so I could stay the night in the hospital room. That was a huge expression of sacrifice and we appreciated it a whole lot.

There are many good-hearted people in this world that love to serve others and do kind deeds. Some of these people belong to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and others belong to other denominations. I am grateful for the love of God that comes to my family through others, no matter what church they attend (or even if they don't attend!).

The phrases that come to mind that relate to gospel living are these:

Service in action

Faith without works is dead (James 2:20)

Faith, hope and charity with an eye single to the glory of God (Doctrine and Covenants 4:5)

The gospel of Jesus Christ truly moves people to serve others in love. In many ways I wish we had not had the baby until my mom was in town. Her flight was booked months ago and Briggie was born earlier than expected. But, now that we're past those difficult days, I am very grateful that my mom came after we received so many acts of love. We would have missed out on so much. Many people have offered to bring us meals. As the husband and father of three, I think I appreciated this the most out of any of us. It was nice knowing I didn't have to make meals with so much on my mind! Someone volunteered to come over one night to watch our boys so I could spend some quiet time with Angie in the hospital. Guess what she did? She washed the dishes and cleaned our nasty stove. Thank you!!!

My testimony of service has increased. Each person that did one of these small or large acts of service said it was no big deal to help us out. Added together, these were literally more than I was able to do. The next time I help someone out and they thank me for my time and effort, I will remember what it was like to receive.

The title "By their works ye shall know them" comes from Moroni 7:5.

Multiply and Replenish

"Be fruitful and multiply" (Gen 1:28) has been on my mind a lot lately since my wife has been expecting a baby. Well, now he's here. Let me tell you some stuff about the birth experience.

Several lucky things happened as far as timing goes:

1. Delivery on a Friday, that's about as good as you can ask for because of the weekend ahead.
2. Full night's rest before the water broke...I was pretty wiped out by the end of the day and I'm not even the one who was in labor! It was a pretty emotional and busy day.
3. The end of Daylight Savings time. You're wondering what Sunday morning has to do with a Friday delivery? Getting kids ready for church all by myself is trouble, but the extra hour was bliss. :)

Since it's football season, I've been thinking about things in common with our kids/births in terms of Win-Loss records.

Boys: 3-0
Girls: 0-3
Strong wife up to delivery: 3-0
Placenta luck after delivery: 0-3
Yanked outtie belly buttons: 2-1
Average umbilical cord length: 1-2
Eensy Weensy umbilical cord: 1-2
Longest umbilical cord, ever: 1-2
Dad cutting umbilical cord: 2-1 (partial correlation with yanked outties)
Home births: 2-1
Hospitalization: 2-1
C-sections: 1-2

In a recent blog post I mentioned how I feel so, so stressed over adding too much to my schedule. I keep thinking about my time priorities and how family should be at the top (next to relationships with Deity). Well, spending time in the hospital and having my third boy has been a really good time to re-focus, re-prioritize and relax (relaxing from work, anyway).

My Friends, the Scriptures

I met Elder Richard G. Scott on my mission in Brazil; he has a penetrating gaze. His General Conference talks are powerful and direct. He just says it how it is and the Spirit does the rest. Lately he has shared some really personal family experiences and feelings at conference. He is really great.

I have started to read/study the most recent conference talks and Elder Scott's talk was the first talk this time. (Now that's very weird. President Monson was the 4th speaker and he made some comment about wondering how things would go if he weren't there. I have a feeling he wasn't there when it was time to broadcast. And the meeting began without him.)

So the part of Elder Scott's talk, The Power of Scripture, that meant so much to me was how the scriptures are like packets of light (ooh, that resonated with my inner physicist) and that memorizing scriptures is like having a host of friends go with us everywhere and can be called upon at any time. What an analogy! He quoted a whole bunch of his favorite scriptures and I'd like to do the same. He quoted from Proverbs 3, which is among my favorites. And he quoted from Moroni 7, which teaches us how to acquire the love of Christ in ourselves.

These are my "go to" scriptures that I turn to when I need consolation, guidance, direction, strength to do what is right, and to be uplifted when I feel down. These are some of my best friends.

1 Ne 3:7

And it came to pass that I, Nephi, said unto my father: I will go and do the things which the Lord hath commanded, for I know that the Lord giveth no commandments unto the children of men, save he shall prepare a way for them that they may accomplish the thing which he commandeth them.

Psalms 3:5-6 

Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.

Psalms 46:10, D&C 101:16 

Be still and know that I am God.

Moroni 7:45-48
And charity suffereth long, and is kind, and envieth not, and is not puffed up, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil, and rejoiceth not in iniquity but rejoiceth in the truth, beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things. Wherefore, my beloved brethren, if ye have not charity, ye are nothing, for charity never faileth. Wherefore, cleave unto charity, which is the greatest of all, for all things must fail—But charity is the pure love of Christ, and it endureth forever; and whoso is found possessed of it at the last day, it shall be well with him. Wherefore, my beloved brethren, pray unto the Father with all the energy of heart, that ye may be filled with this love, which he hath bestowed upon all who are true followers of his Son, Jesus Christ; that ye may become the sons of God; that when he shall appear we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is; that we may have this hope; that we may be purified even as he is pure. Amen.

D&C 121:45-46
Let thy bowels also be full of charity towards all men, and to the household of faith, and let virtue garnish thy thoughts unceasingly; then shall thy confidence wax strong in the presence of God; and the doctrine of the priesthood shall distil upon thy soul as the dews from heaven. The Holy Ghost shall be thy constant companion, and thy scepter an unchanging scepter of righteousness and truth; and thy dominion shall be an everlasting dominion, and without compulsory means it shall flow unto thee forever and ever.

Alma 37:37
Counsel with the Lord in all thy doings, and he will direct thee for good; yea, when thou liest down at night lie down unto the Lord, that he may watch over you in your sleep; and when thou risest in the morning let thy heart be full of thanks unto God; and if ye do these things, ye shall be lifted up at the last day.

Ether 12:27
And if men come unto me I will show unto them their weakness. I give unto men weakness that they may be humble; and my grace is sufficient for all men that humble themselves before me; for if they humble themselves before me, and have faith in me, then will I make weak things become strong unto them.

Moroni 10:5
And by the power of the Holy Ghost ye may know the truth of all things.

1 Ne 4:6-7
And I was led by the Spirit, not knowing beforehand the things which I should do. Nevertheless I went forth

Physical, Emotional and Spiritual Self-Reliance

Stake conference was this past weekend and there were lots of great talks on Saturday and Sunday. There were more musical numbers performed than I remember being typical. They were inspiring and beautiful.

Stake conference has been really awesome for the past few years of my life. Maybe it's because I'm older and wiser. (The "older" is not in question...I can see a growing number of gray hairs when I look in the mirror. Let's just pretend I said "wiser" and we'll go with that.) Maybe it's because I have a stronger testimony than I did in years past or that I understand gospel living better now. Maybe it's because I have to drive over an hour to get to our stake center. The physicist and mathematician in me wants to tell you that it's a linear combination of those reasons (but I don't feel like modeling it right now). I feel that driving a long distance -- or sacrificing in any other way to get there -- allows people to be more open to the promptings of the Spirit and to take away more from the experience. That sure is how I felt this weekend.

On Saturday we talked about self-reliance and how to teach others to become self-reliant. The areas that were focused on were the physical, emotional and spiritual aspects of life. We all have our unique set of strengths and weaknesses. We believe in self-improvement, self-discipline, self-mastery and in helping others do the same. The Lord taught me through the peaceful feelings of the Spirit what I need to do better in these matters. I'd like to tell you about one of them.

Out of the three areas mentioned above, my weakest is currently the emotional side. Basically, I try to do everything that I think is good...and I try to do the very best I can at each thing. All the time. When I say it like that I can already see the recipe for disaster. What I learned about being emotionally self-reliant came to me when someone in the afternoon session explained how we can be financially (physically) self-reliant. The answer is simple: to be financially self-reliant we need to live within our means, spend less than we earn, save some for a rainy day, and accrue as little debt as possible. When I heard those familiar words, I instantly felt that I could apply them to my emotional bank account.

I have a feeling that I know what people mean by having a "mid-life crisis". The stress has mounted higher and higher over the past couple years as I try to do more and more. When something else comes along I try to add it to the mix. Stress increases. Then I have to add some stress management to try to cope. The trend: keep adding stuff. The result: eventually cracking.

That's where I feel I'm heading unless I change now. If not? Some year. Some day. Boom! Mid-life crisis. Not good.

Believe me, I've been trying to change. Well, maybe I've been trying to cope without changing. That continued the mess. Now I see how to handle my time management and emotional budget in terms of finances. Financial matters are easier for me to handle so I love the comparison. I really need to spend less time than I have, save some of it to relax and wind down each day, and accrue stress in amounts that I can handle (like shorter term loans that I can pay off with a Sunday nap or an evening of vegging out).

This seems like a weird post. It's pretty personal, but I did set out to write about my journey through life with the scriptures. This is my struggle and I've been praying for help for a long time. Answers have come a little at a time. This feels like a big one and I'm grateful. Now I need to prevent myself from adding more stuff to my relaxation time.

If you care to comment or send encouragement to any other readers (or to me! :) ), please do so.

Healing the Sick

My wife is going to have a baby any minute now. She has faith in being healed and asks for priesthood blessings when she is sick or is otherwise in need of blessings or strength beyond her own. Our concern lately is about the delivery of our baby going well and that complications in past deliveries will be handled better. In particular, that her placenta will detach and deliver on its own.

She got an ultrasound at the 36-week mark a little while ago to monitor baby growth and other routine checks. Since the placenta has been a challenge to her and her health in both of her previous deliveries, the doctor ordered a special look at the placenta in the ultrasound to see if that would reveal anything that would help after she gives birth. The technician thought it looked fine and is not growing into the uterus (we were very glad about that!), but something else came up in the ultrasound that was of more immediate concern. The boy was breach.

For you guys out there that are as unlearned in these matters as I was, that means the baby is in the wrong position. "The wrong position?" you ask? Yes, the wrong position. The breach position means the feet are facing down instead of the head. Doctors don't deliver babies like this very often and they tend to perform C-sections. That's not on our "bucket list" and we tried to figure out what to do. We've been praying all along for a healthy mom and baby. Now it was time for us to take action on our own.

Thus enters the talk from apostle Elder Dallin H. Oaks (pictured here) entitled Healing the Sick. He gave such a memorable talk about priesthood blessings - both about the faith of the men giving the blessing and of those receiving it. The words that came to mind in this situation are these of the prophet Brigham Young, "Have you used any remedies?" (Discourses of Brigham Young, sel. John A. Widtsoe (1954), 163).

Very applicable. Here's how we took that lesson and added works to our faith.

We learned that babies can sometimes be coaxed into flipping into the head down position if the mom gets on her elbows and knees. Don't ask me why that works. Another thing we learned a long time ago from my wonderful father-in-law is the pressure point on each pinky toe will (sometimes dramatically) get a baby to turn. And yet another thing we learned along the lines of elbows and knees is to have the mom lay on an incline with her head down, making the baby want to turn over. So what did my wife try?

All of the above.

At the same time.

Well, not the elbows/knees and laying on an incline. That would take some talent...and reaching through another dimension of space. But she put some clothes pins on her pinky toes and got on all fours. Don't tell her, but it makes me think of a stink bug. So what happened? The baby went acrobatic. All at once. Blam! Did he flip over? We didn't think so at first because we knew from the ultrasound where his head was. It still felt like it was in the same place afterwards. The return ultrasound appointment the next week revealed that he was now head down. Awesome! Our wrong interpretation was because his bum was in about the spot where his head had been. We were elated!

We believe in the power of prayer and that our loving Heavenly Father answers them in His own way and timing. We are grateful for the knowledge we have gained in unconventional "remedies" and are so glad that we could act now and not be acted upon later. We have definitely felt and recognized the tender mercies of the Lord. Once again.

Brightly Beams Our Father's Mercy

One of my favorite hymns is Brightly Beams Our Father's Mercy. I found this video on YouTube in case you don't know what it sounds like and want to hear it. Join in the awesomeness with me.  :)

The text to this hymn really touches me and, when combined with the music, stirs me to action. I normally have an easy time putting my feelings into words, but what I feel from really touching music is beyond my ability to express. Below are the words (from the LDS hymbook). I also looked up the history because the message in the hymn feels so real that I thought it must come from someone's experience. I found these sites describing the details as well as information about the man who wrote it. It's touching...and tragic. See A Hymn and Its History and Mormon-Stories.com.

1. Brightly beams our Father’s mercy
From his lighthouse evermore,
But to us he gives the keeping
Of the lights along the shore.

[Chorus]
Let the lower lights be burning;
Send a gleam across the wave.
Some poor fainting, struggling seaman
You may rescue, you may save.

2. Dark the night of sin has settled;
Loud the angry billows roar.
Eager eyes are watching, longing,
For the lights along the shore.

3. Trim your feeble lamp, my brother;
Some poor sailor, tempest-tossed,
Trying now to make the harbor,
In the darkness may be lost.

Text and music: Philip Paul Bliss, 1838–1876

I have a feeling that I'll blog about a lot of songs. So far I've tried to post messages on other topics just so this doesn't become a musical blog. I've never really thought of myself as the musical type, but more and more I realize that I am. Music makes my soul want to dance.

Forget Me Not

My wife came home from the Relief Society session of General Conference at the end of September and told me that she heard the coolest talk from President Dieter F. Uchtdorf about the small, five-petal flower called the forget-me-not.  She said it was really awesome so I had to check it out for myself.

The petal of President Uchtdorf's talk that hit home the most for me was "Forget not to be happy now".  All too often I spend time thinking of what's coming next and preparing for something later.  Yes, preparation is important.  However, it's been on my mind lately that when I spend all my time practicing or studying for something later I miss what's going on now.  Finishing my graduate degree and preparing to get a job seems to be all I can think about...I'm talking about my spare time.  It is difficult for me to sit still and enjoy the now.  But I know that the Lord would have me enjoy things today that I have already worked on in the past to get to where I am.  I'm selling myself short if I spend all my time thinking of the future (e.g. using all my free time to finish developing a board game for future financial gain) instead of taking some time to talk to my wife just catching up on life or playing with my kids before dinner and bedtime.  Multiply this scenario by about 5-10 times and that's how much I try to cram into my schedule.

I'm trying to figure out how to put the most important things into my schedule and to not over extend myself, which is easy for me to do.  I have told myself many times that I am willing to go, go, go all the time.  King Benjamin taught me that it is not required to do more than I have the strength to do (Mos 4:27).  I really feel that I have to cut back on how much I try to do because I'm just a man.  Not Superman.  I tend toward overexertion, rather than laziness, and I see that I need to change my priorities because I just cannot do everything I want to do.  The Lord must come first and my family must come second...that much I know.  We live in a busy world and so many things seem fun or worthy of my time.  The trap I keep falling into is cramming all of it into my schedule.  I push and pull, squish and twist my schedule until it's really packed full.  I do that for as long as possible.  Then, after I stress out and crash, I realize that I have to cut back and try again.  But be smarter about it the next time.  No, not smarter.  Wiser.

The comparison of Willy Wonka's Golden Ticket was so good.  Eating chocolate used to be a reward in and of itself.  Now, the chocolate is meaningless if there's no winning ticket inside.  Sad.

What was your favorite petal of the forget-me-not? and why?

Binding the tongue of the faithful

In a recent talk in General Conference of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Elder Jeffrey R. Holland (of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles) spoke of raising our voice of warning, of sharing the gospel and of serving missions by young and old alike. This gave me the courage to make the final push toward sharing my testimony of the Lord Jesus Christ in a blogging format that can spread throughout the world. I have wanted to blog about inspirational talks and scriptures a few different times, but was so moved by Elder Holland's words that I knew that I couldn't delay any longer. I can set aside a little time to accomplish this important work. Lately, I have felt that my time is not really my own, but is God's gift to me and that I need to use it in better ways.

I believe that more testimonies need to be made available online in order to bring peace to individuals that are searching for the Lord. We live in a world of turmoil where, let alone the doctrinal discord among churches that believe in Christ, the meaning of life is diluted amid a myriad of ideas, trends and appetites. I love the fact that Church leaders have encouraged members to share their testimonies and feelings about the gospel using the technology available to us. This same technology is being used to advertise every idea -- big and small, important or trivial -- to anyone that will listen. I will share my testimony so that people with righteous hearts who are seeking the truth may come to know the Master Jesus Christ.

Elder Holland also spoke of the fight between good and evil that has been raging since the dawn of time; this war is still going on. We already know that the Lord will win and that the evil one will lose. It is for us to decide whose side we are on by the actions we choose to make on a daily basis. By these choices we become like one captain or the other. We cannot pretend to fight for both sides. Either we fight for righteousness or we will find ourselves on the losing team.