Stop it!

I've had an amazing and shocking experience since Brigham was born. My struggle with sanity and parenting for the past several years has become the norm (unfortunately) and the birth of my third son has been a big wake up call in how I deal with "problems" that I face on a daily basis.

For you parents out there who have more than one child and, for better contrast, with several years in between any two kids, this should make a lot of sense. Our lives turned to bliss when Brigham was born. Even the energetic older kids pushed the pause button on the ludicrous speed. I would look at Briggie and think, "Wow, I love you so much. Why do I love you so much? I don't know, but I do know you haven't done anything to make me mad."

A few days or weeks after the novelty of our newest birth wore off, we got back to normal. And I mean the normal that I've been trying to turn into happy times with less success than I hoped for. The short of it is this. The all-too-common complaining and bickering spurts would raise my temperature and then I'd look at the new baby who has never yelled at me and my feelings would abruptly change. Yes, that was a good feeling. I'm not complaining about that for even a (milli)second. The shock was that I have the difficult times and deal with those circumstances with such negative emotion.

It's really sad to me to think that I don't handle life and challenges better than that. I used to handle challenges like the water running off the untouchable duck's back. Now I long for those days and am trying to get that back. Piece by piece. Little by little is better than nothing. And it's been a hard road so far. There has been progress lately and I guess that's why I'm writing this blog post.

This last General Conference had some talks that talked about the problems that come when we hold onto anger, hurt and other prideful feelings. I've heard these different talks just this last week or two so they stuck out. Elder Scott talked about how anger, hurt and defensiveness gets in the way of receiving revelation. President Uchtdorf, in his now-famous "Stop it" talk taught me the following. I'll quote the paragraphs that mean the most to me. I'd like to paste his whole talk in here. It's that good.

Jesus taught: “Forgive one another; for he that forgiveth not … [stands] condemned before the Lord; for there remaineth in him the greater sin”³ and “Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy.”⁴

Of course, these words seem perfectly reasonable—when applied to someone else. We can so clearly and easily see the harmful results that come when others judge and hold grudges. And we certainly don’t like it when people judge us.

But when it comes to our own prejudices and grievances, we too often justify our anger as righteous and our judgment as reliable and only appropriate. Though we cannot look into another’s heart, we assume that we know a bad motive or even a bad person when we see one. We make exceptions when it comes to our own bitterness because we feel that, in our case, we have all the information we need to hold someone else in contempt.

Man. This describes me all too well. I have to admit to myself that when my kids are being kids (not making bad choices, I mean just being their learning selves) that my bad reaction does not have to enter the equation. The situation would be better off if I could just chill. I'd also be better off for the time I'd gain back where I, instead, have to cool off.

He said, “… of you it is required to forgive all men.”⁷

May I add a footnote here? When the Lord requires that we forgive all men, that includes forgiving ourselves. Sometimes, of all the people in the world, the one who is the hardest to forgive—as well as perhaps the one who is most in need of our forgiveness—is the person looking back at us in the mirror.

This topic of judging others could actually be taught in a two-word sermon. When it comes to hating, gossiping, ignoring, ridiculing, holding grudges, or wanting to cause harm, please apply the following:

Stop it!

So I have some major renovation to do and I've already begun. It's hard. I believe that Jesus the Christ has paid for my sins and felt all the pain that I will ever suffer. He is willing to take that upon Himself because he loves me and He loves you. "Come unto me" comes with a beautiful reward of peace and happiness. Guess what I just realized? It also comes at a price. What price? "I will show unto [you your] weakness" (Ether 12:27). And while I am struggling now, I know from experience that the peace that will come into my life and permeate my heart in the end (and yes, at certain points along the way) will be much higher peaks than the valleys of difficulty.

I take great comfort in at least one point of Christ's doctrine. It is that children under the age of accountability  are without sin and are perfect in Him. Skyler isn't even 8 yet so he is, in at least that sense, perfect. As I've watched him make choices I can see that he has the purest intent in everything he does. He is just hard to control. 

Control? Yes, apparently that's what I'm after. And it is I who needs to let go. 

I am applying the two-word sermon of "Stop it" and I already feel the Lord's tender mercies in my life. Outcomes are not what I would choose them to be. I'm frustrated on a daily basis, but avoiding the buildup of stress and anger is reward enough for the hard work. I hope this weakness will become a strength unto me.

Friends

I am so grateful for good friends. I've had some really good friends throughout my life and this past month or two has been a time of constant reflection on the good friends that I've made over the past several years.

Angie and I met some of our very bestest friends six years ago. T&L were moving for graduate school just as we were. Another person who would become a great friend gave me their phone number so we could move out to graduate school together. We rented a truck together and drove out in a two-party caravan. One memorable part of the trip was that a tire needed to be replaced on the moving trailer at the truck rental store, even before we pulled off the lot. The other three tires on that thing were replaced in Wyoming (in the middle of nowhere, let me tell you), I think in Nebraska, and the last one in Indiana. Anyway, T&L are our very best friends. It's hard to imagine life without them right now. We have been through the last several years of life together and shared many happy moments with them. If you know them you'll know exactly what I'm talking about when I say they are amazing in every way. If you don't know them, it would take a dissertation (besides the one I'm writing) to explain it all to you. I wish you could know them.

Anyway, we got to our destination safely and were very happy and grateful to arrive. T&L were the first to unload their stuff from the truck. We hadn't closed on our home yet and our stuff was loaded in the truck first. When we got here, there were tons of branch members literally waiting around for us to pull up so they could greet us and help unload. I'd been calling ahead to give our ETA. The last tire repair was so delayed that, from what I remember, our 7pm estimate turned into 10pm or so. And you wouldn't believe me if I told you how many people were there waiting for us. It was awesome.

Well, that was on a Saturday night. We went to church the next day and we were all invited over to a family's home for lunch. They knew we weren't prepared to fix a meal for ourselves. It was the biggest spaghetti meal I can ever remember. It was so nice of them.

The next day we closed on our house and I, somehow, maneuvered the monstrous truck (the wrong way, oops!) up our winding, narrow road and positioned it to be unloaded right at our porch. So many people showed up to help us move. It was awesome.

And then we began our adventure here with a 22-month old and a 3-month old (who was on oxygen at the time). The first week went by in a quick blur with all the orientation meetings I had at school and in my department.

Then, on the next Saturday, we went to help a new family unload their pod. All the same people, it seems, showed up to yet another move. All to help a family they'd never met. And it didn't matter. This was the gospel in action.

Little did I know that the man who stood before me would become my best friend who I'd nickname JP a few years later. We hefted their things up two flights of stairs for a while under that hot sun. I remember the pizza toward the end of the move with a watering mouth. Yum.

If you've been keeping a running total of how many best friends there are in this story, you may be asking, "How can someone have more than one best friend?" When I was a kid, I thought you could only have one best friend. I used to keep track of who that person was. It changed often in my early years. I also kept track of my favorite song, car, color, sword, karate style, scripture, sport, sibling, etc.

I came to realize for myself that my "best" whatever was really a class, a level. It was not a pedestal with just enough space for one person, idea or sound. I have many favorite things now and the list keeps growing with time. Just for music (and you can ask my wife to verify this), I have said, "This is my favorite song" so many times that I now have to say, "It's in my top 100."

I'm just saying there's room in my heart for more than one best friend.

A year went by and then another. We helped people move in and move out. A new family moved in at that point that we became pretty good friends with too. Even though this guy was the newcomer, we became friends over time for lots of different reasons. We talked about all sorts of different stuff from football and business to "alogarithms."

"What?"

"You know, patterns for doing things."

"You mean, 'algorithms'."

"That's what I said."

"No. You said a mix of 'algorithm' and 'logarithm'. They're not the same thing. Please, never say that word again."

We also talked about astronomy and other cool things. I got to know him over four years and am really, really glad I did. He's great. But this reminds me, he never told me about Big Foot. I only heard reference of it from other people. Please, tell me!

Our family has just watched JP and his family move about as far away as one can move and still live in the United States, Mr BF Alogarithm has gone (but not too far) and this week we just said goodbye to T&L. And this is where the tears start to flow.

Goodbye, my friends. Better yet, "See you later."

I love you. We love you.

So, it's Father's Day

After we came home from church and had lunch, we settled down into quiet time at our house. It's a marvelous thing, that quiet time. I mentioned to my wife that I was thinking about my blog and didn't know what I'd write about yet today. "How about Father's Day?"

Oh, ya. It's Father's Day.

Sweet.

That means awesome dinner, presents and extra family love. Ya, baby! Our family tradition is to choose dinner on our special day. Normally I'd go with lasagna, but I slaved over buying and heating one up for Mother's Day so I went with something Mexican. I said I wanted burritos with chicken. Then Angie went to town on the supporting feast. She's so awesome! We'll eat it soon so ask me later how it was.

My wife is so rockin' awesome for many reasons. I'm glad I married her and I'm glad we have an awesome family together. I'm looking around the house at my little kiddies right now and I am so happy to have them in my family. She and I make a great team. We work hard and are on the same page with just about everything. She makes my life worth living. When I get a quiet moment around the house I like to look at her for a minute or two. Sometimes she catches me, sometimes not. I'm so lucky to have her.

On to the rest of what makes today a special day.

One of my kids doesn't have any teeth. I really like that about him. No, seriously. He's sooo cute! I kinda forget that he doesn't have teeth until I see in his mouth. Otherwise I don't think of it. When his first tooth comes in it's going to change him a lot. Or so I think. I'm trying to love him up every day just in case his look changes too much. I think I'll still love him. He's rolling around next to me and I think that's so cute too! His cackle is my favorite sound. His smile is about the best thing there is to look at. I should post a picture so you can see it. Stay tuned.

The next closest child in the room happens to be the next oldest boy, Mr Wes. I love Mr Wes. He's silly in the morning, energetic in the afternoon and unpredictable in the evening. He brought a lot of love with him from the celestial world when he came to join our family. He's great. He's frustrating sometimes, but that's not his problem. From his point of view the only problem is when he can't open his fruit snacks. "Dad, I willy, willy need your help!" He is growing up so fast right now. His speech is improving a ton and so is his vocabulary. He has impressed me with him mobility lately too and climbs the stairs pretty well. He's awesome. And silly. Silly, silly Mr Wes!

My oldest boy (who is now the closest one in the room; no, wait, now he's in the other room) also brings a lot of happiness into my life. According to one of the great sacrament meeting talks today (quoting from a recent General Conference talk), parents learn more from their kids than kids learn from their parents. This has been the case with Skyler. Putting it another way, the Lord has scrubbed my soul and rounded off some of my rough edges with this child. There have been lots of ups and downs with this little fella. The downs drown out all else in life and the ups make me realize how good it is to be a dad and father in a gospel-centered home. He's also naturally talented! I love seeing him pick up new things so quickly.

Now for a surprise Father's Day treat. My younger (and taller, he would have you know) brother sent me some of our childhood family videos on DVD and they arrived yesterday. It had footage of all my family members from my younger brother to my four grandparents. This so cool for Father's Day because I got to see my dad and both grandpas. It had more of one of my grandpas, the one that I knew as quiet. He was pretty jovial in these videos. That was so cool to see. He died when I was about 15 and I don't remember him being very verbal before that. He had a stroke, I think, when I was little so I didn't see the side of him that I watched yesterday on DVD. It was awesome. I love that man.

I got to see my dad in the videos too and it was so cool to see how sweet he was to my siblings and me. I was about 5 in these videos and don't remember much of it from back then. My older siblings are 4 and 6 years older than I am and I'm excited to see what they think after they watch it. Anyway, I called my dad today and talked to him. He is happy to hear how close I am to graduating and finding a job. He's getting on in years. Hopefully we'll be able to visit him soon. The transition from here to my next job could be a good time, but we don't know which direction we're going yet. He really wants to see us. It will be good for my boys too because they don't remember seeing him before. Sounds like we need to head over to One Man Band again. That's where we'd always go eat together. Navajo tacos. Mmm, boy!

A boy's service

Last week my whole family got sick, including me, and it was bad. We laid around, each on our worst days, looking very pathetic. It was not our normal routine for getting sick. Usually the boys get sick first, Angie might get a little of it or maybe a medium dose of it. I often get a little something in my stomach for a couple hours and then it goes away. Just as often I don't get anything at all. Then we get better and get back to life as normal.

Last week was horrible.

The boys got sick, but it wasn't obvious that they were hit any harder than normal. They get fevers and runny noses pretty easily. They asked for blessings and we talked about faith, priesthood blessings and service. Then Angie got sick. It came fast and hard. In hindsight, I should have taken something to boost my immune system. I take vitamins every day and that often keeps me out of trouble so I don't have to do any last-minute defense. Coulda, shoulda, woulda. But I digress.

Angie was bed-ridden and didn't walk around much for a couple days. One of those days was Saturday and I was feeling pretty poorly too. Skyler wanted to do something sooo nice for Angie. It's something he's been planning to do for weeks, but it hasn't worked out. Angie and I are so impressed with his initiative. And his love.

He asked if he could make Angie lunch in bed (or on the couch) since she wasn't going to join us at the table. He wanted to make scrambled eggs on a cookie sheet (and wanted to grease it first) and then hand deliver it. It was the sweetest thing. Now, I had to help him and he wanted to go way faster than I could handle. He got the eggs out of the fridge and was about to start cracking them into the cookie sheet by the time I got myself off the couch to stop him from cracking the first egg. This at least shows that Skyler has lots of guts and is willing to do hard things. Most days it's hard enough to keep up with all he wants to do. That's just how he is and we love him for it.

I helped him crack eggs into a bowl so he could fish out bits of shell. Then he had a hand in cooking the eggs, but before they got done he tried to spray the cookie sheet (again), thinking that we'd pour the eggs onto it like a plate. It was awesome. So I encouraged him to get out a plate to put on the tray. He didn't understand why. It was so funny!

Well, it was a great thing and we praised him highly.

On Friday morning I heard him in the kitchen and went out to see what was going on. Sounds in the kitchen usually mean trouble. Today it meant I caught Skyler doing another good deed. He was disheartened that I found him making my lunch. Surprise! He made me a peanut butter and honey sandwich, carrots, trail mix and chocolate-covered blueberries. What a little stud! It was awesome!

500 Dates

Angie and I have been on about 500 dates. Sounds crazy, right? It does to me, but it's true. We aren't keeping track, exactly, but we make it a point to go on a date each week and have done so ever since we were first married. I think we've missed some weeks and I remember going twice some weeks (when we went out for lunch spontaneously and didn't need a babysitter).

We've been married for 10 years now (in March). Multiply that by 52 weeks/year puts us over 500 dates just since we got married. We saw each other almost daily while we dated, but I don't know if those count as dates. If they do, add over 100 more (that's rounding down). We dated for over 4 months, including our engagement, before getting married.

Our first date was on Nov 3, 2001. We went bowling with some of Angie's friends. I knew Kristi from the singles ward we attended. All the other people were their friends. The guys were Dave and Davey, which is easy enough to remember. My other memories of that night were mostly about Angie and how I really, really loved being with her. I still love being with her. There was some leaning going on at the bowling alley. She sat on a table between turns and I only had the guts to lean my arm up against her leg as I sat on the seat next to her. She wanted to reciprocate some contact (she told me later), but we were both pretty shy about it.

After bowling, we went to her house and watched Shrek. Angie's dad was there with us. He must have been coming and going and I'll tell you why I think that. During the movie, Angie and I started leaning. Ya, leaning. It was pretty awesome. I really wanted to hold her hand and was getting up the, well, I can't call it "courage," to do so. It's more like I was building up a whole bunch of "anti-regret" and I didn't want to look back on the night wishing I'd have held her hand.

Let me tell you, this was very forward for me!

We leaned more and more until our hands were touching back-to-back. I faked a pretend hold in the hopes that she'd think I was going for her hand and then she'd hold mine. She didn't bite. Then it was just a flop attempt and I decided to just grab her hand. So forward for a first date! But I really, really liked her and there was crackling energy in the air. It was magical (for both of us). It was the awesome-est feeling.

I still get that feeling around her. Ya, she's that awesome.

So anyway, we were holding hands and this must have been when her dad left to make poopcorn (ew, that would be gross). How about popcorn? Let's just say he made popcorn. Because when he came back I could see his surprised reaction in my peripheral vision.

After Shrek, we watched Iron Chef. It was one of their family's favorites, but was new to me. What a fun show! We have lots of inside jokes from watching that show over a year or two before it was taken off the air. Anyway, let me jump to the end of the date.

Angie asked me out on this date so she came to pick me up. When she dropped me off, I didn't want to shake hands in the car or hug across the arm rest. I didn't want it to look like I was going for a kiss or anything! That's way beyond what I could have gone for. So I asked her if I could give her a big hug. I went around to her side of the car and gave her a hug. The hug she gave me back was 10 times more magical than holding hands during Shrek. It was bliss. Pure love. And I still feel that way when we have some peace and quiet and give each other a sweet hug.

In everyday life we still have a lot of good feelings for each other. We work hard at our marriage and parenting. We have good days most of the time. There used to be more hard days than we have now. We've come a long way and still have a long way to go. This weekend's stake conference was uplifting and I love how the Spirit teaches us what we need to do to be more like our Savior, Jesus Christ. It is only through Him and our Father's plan of salvation that we can find true happiness in life.

And it's so good going through life with my wife and best-est friend, Angie. I love you, Babe!

Bearing testimony in word and deed

There are so many exciting things going on in life right now! Family stuff, work, research is moving along, graduation gets closer every single day, employment ideas, recruiter phone calls and job interviews, and some game development that is going very well right now. This blog is for spiritual matters. When I talk about non-spiritual matters I for sure want to talk about how it relates to seeking the guidance of the Lord and receiving answers to prayers.

Well, today is the first Sunday of the month and that means we had fast and testimony meeting today. I share my testimony often at church. Part of it is to overcome fear, but I try to feel when the Spirit tells me to bear my witness of the Savior. When I feel it most strongly, it is a feeling that starts the day or night before. I just know ahead of time that I'm going to do it so I am usually the first one up. That helps my nerves too, to be the first one up. I don't like being nervous so I'd rather act quickly and enjoy the rest of the meeting while I listen to other people's testimonies.

Another reason for sharing my testimony so often started many years ago when I learned that my sins can be forgiven by bearing testimony to others. That's in Doctrine and Covenants 62:3.

There are days that I really feel the Spirit (or lack of it) telling me not to bear my testimony that day. Those fast and testimony meetings tend to have lots of other people bearing testimony. Maybe I'm just being told ahead of time to not worry about it. I don't know. But what I do know is that when I feel like I should do something, it's always better to follow the promptings of the Spirit than to follow my own way.

I shared my testimony today about how much I love the beginning books in the Book of Mormon. I'm not sure if it's just Nephi's (and Jacob's) writing style. I think it's because they are bearing their own witness of Jesus Christ and that touches my soul. Most of what is in the 1st and 2nd books of Nephi is pure doctrine. A lot of what comes in later books includes mundane topics like history and war, speckled with doctrine. The last few chapters of the Book of Mormon really focus on the Spirit again and I really like those parts. Then, when I start reading the Book of Mormon over again, I bask in the testimony of one of my favorite prophets ever. I just feel so happy reading the testimony that others have of my Savior. It's a huge strength and blessing to me. One day I'll meet Nephi and tell him thanks (if that's how it works in heaven).

I enjoyed hearing everyone else's testimony today. The one I'll mention is a friend of ours who bore her testimony about a scripture that I have been telling Angie about a lot lately. When this friend quoted it, Angie and I looked at each other. It was awesome.

The scripture that she quoted can be found in Psalms 46:10 and D&C 101:16. "Be still and know that I am God." I have had a lot of things on my mind that are important (or that I make more important than they should be, like looking for work and my game development hobbies). "[Being] still" has saved my sanity lots of days over the past several months, ever since I began preparing for my interview with Google.

Our friend said, "This scripture has meant different things to me during my life," and that is true for me too. But the recurring theme for me is that I bring too much upon myself and try to handle it all. I love working on ideas and accomplishing big things (or what I think are big). In reality, I just need to calm myself down and understand the Lord's plan for me and "...know that [He] is God."

I'm holding back on exploring new job opportunities right now. The main reason is because I've been told way too many times by recruiters and employers that I need to call back when I'm about to graduate and can move on short notice. This is a good problem to have, but it hasn't stopped me from applying for more jobs that sound too awesome to pass up. Looking back, I just started looking for jobs too soon. The other reason that I'm not looking for jobs right now is that I found something at a recent astronomy conference that might work out and they will wait for me until the summer. Even without that, I wouldn't be looking for work right now like I have been. It takes a lot of time and there are many software development job openings right now.

My testimony is that the Lord knows all. His ways are higher than my ways (Isaiah 55:8-9). When He tells me something and I feel and recognize His voice, I know that obeying will be the best thing for my life. Hands down. No complaining. Just do it.

One more thing that I want to say is that members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints are among the nicest and most charitable people I know. A friend of mine that I play a lot of board games with fell off a ladder a couple days ago. Long story short, he landed on his heels and broke them in a big way. He'll be off his feet for months. Several willing people at church volunteered to go build a wheelchair ramp at their home. It's an emergency situation for this family. I love seeing people reach out and serve.

I love being a member of this church.

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.

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!

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.

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.