5 in 1

Last night it I attended my daughter's induction to Junior Beta. A club at school that she was selected to be a part of because she is a good student and an even better child.

I was there with my wife and my son to support her. One of my daughter's best friends at school as also inducted and her parents and sister were there also. One of the students helping in the induction is on my soccer team. I also saw some people from our church that were there to support their daughter.

After the induction I realized (learned) that in that instance I was 1 person but had 5 different roles (titles). I was a father to my daughter and son, I was a husband to my wife, I was a friend to the Young's, I was a soccer coach to a student and I was a Bishop to the Ghanhems. I am just one person but I realized last night that in that brief hour I represented 5 different things to the different groups of people I was with.

I have learned over the last year or so that I can not do this (life) alone. I was thankful for the talk given in Priesthood session by President Eyring (if memory serves me) regarding how it is OK to realize you can not do it alone becuase you can't. You need help from our Heavenly Father and his Son Jesus Christ. I find myself in my daily prayers telling my Father in Heaven that I do not and can not do it alone. When I say "it" I mean: be a great husband, be a great father, be an adequate Bishop, go to work and provide for my family, be my children's soccer coach, be a good friend, help my neighbors, do good in the community, etc..... I was grateful to hear President Eyring's words that it is OK to admit you can not do it alone.

Promises, Contracts, Oaths

I work in sales. I have been doing it for over 6 1/2 years now and it can be frustrating for a lot of reasons. I have learned over the years that even if someone signs a contract and agrees to fulfill the commitments outlined in the contract it really does not mean very much to them. I have people take contracts and tell me they are going to return them at least one or two times a month. These are big contracts worth thousands of dollars over the lifetime of the deal. I do my best to follow up with the clients and try to get them to sign the contract and return it. Most tell me that they are going to send them back in. Some actually do but most do not. Even after they turn in a signed contract it still means nothing until they pay.

I am not sure if it is because I was raised different or my values but I believe that if you sign a document you should do all you can to fulfill that agreement. This concept has really bothered me the last several years and especially this year as I have 4 contracts that are still out standing the season has begun and the people still tell me they are going to sign and pay.

I compare and contrast my work life with my church life a lot and this scenario reminded me of the story in 1 Nephi when Nephi kills Laban, puts on his armour, retrieves the plates and then walks out with Zoram. It amazes me that all that took place between Nephi and Zoram was a verbal agreement (oath). Nephi says Zoram will be free if he comes and stays with Nephi and his family. Zoram agrees and it goes on to say that all their fears were gone.

I wish people's words meant more than the do and for that matter, I wish a signed contract meant something.

What I learned about miles per gallon

With the massive increase in gas prices I have had to relearn how to drive. Over the last month I have tried to not speed up and break as much, not take off so fast and have tried really hard to keep my RPM's lower than I used to.

It has worked. I have been getting about 32 to 34 miles to a gallon and before I was getting only about 28 to 29. I have not taken the time to figure out how much or how little this is saving me but I feel good that I am trying to be better.

15 and 8 years ago respectively

15 years ago about this time I was married to my wife for time and all eternity. We had the chance to go to the Temple last Friday night to help fulfill our ward assignment. It was a sealing assignment. It was nice to be able to sit across from my wife and listen to the words that are said in the session. I find it hard to believe that 15 years ago, two young kids were married. It seems like only yesterday. With so many couples ending their marriages in divorce these days, I am so glad to have found Tracie. She is a great wife and a great mother. I am glad that she accepted me for who I am (for the most part) and has put up with me for so many years.

8 years ago as Tracie got out of bed she began to have contractions. We had already been to the hospital the month prior because the baby had tried to come then. After taking a shower and getting herself ready we went to the hospital just in case. Within a couple hours we were the proud parents of a beautiful baby boy. Our son was born on our anniversary. I was so happy that day because I already had a beatiful daughter and now I had a son.

Girls Camp

Last weekend (Thursday through Saturday) I had the chance to be at our church's girls camp. I learned how fun a group of 10 teenage girls can be. We had fun boating, swimming, and just hanging out around the camp ground. They put on some skits on Thursday night and I thought they were very funny. A lot of time was spent by the adult leaders to make sure the girls were safe and had a good time.

It was hot so it was really nice to be right on the lake so that we could jump in.

Our family is camping again over the July 4th week and we are expecting it to be just as hot or hotter.

My Wife

http://youtube.com/watch?v=SnaC6cgUmXc

I blogged the last couple of days about my kids. Today I want to blog about my wife. If you click on the link above, the words to "our" song pretty much say it all. I love that song. I remember playing it for Tracie back in 1993 when we first met. It always makes me smile when I hear it because I think of her.

Tracie is my best friend, my confidant, my sounding board, my business partner, the mother of my children, and most of all my true eternal companion.

There are to many things that I have learned over the years that we have been married from her to list them all but suffice it to say I have learned a lot.

It seems like our lives are in constant fast forward mode with so many things to do and places to be. I appreciate that she enjoys being with and around me and will go to most all of the events and activities with me.

The one thing I can say that I learn each day is; just how much I Love Her!

My kids part 2

Yesterday, I blogged about my little girl a little more than my boy. Last night Brayden had a baseball game. Brayden's attention span for the game is sometimes very short. The last few games he has been paying more attention and you can see it in the way he has been able to make plays. He plays 3rd base and bats 5th for a team that has the chance on Thursday to win the regular season championship.

I have learned that he really wants to make me and his mom are pround and tries so hard to please us and when he makes a little mistake he gets upset. I noticed last night as he came off the field one time, to the dugout he looked over at me to see if I was upset. He had made a play in the field but his throw was a little late. His arm is not quite strong enough yet to get it from third to first on a line, so he usually one hops it to the 1st baseman. I think he felt bad that he did not get the batter out. I was proud that he made the stop and the correct throw to first. As he headed into the dugout I gave him a thumbs up and I could see his countenace change as he realized that I was happy he made a good play.

He went 1 for 4 last night but had seveal RBI's and scored a late run that helped seal the win for his team. He ran all the way from first to home on a double and barely made it around the tag at the plate. He was excited. I was excited and happy that he was having fun.

My kids

I relearned this weekend how much I love my kids. They are by no means perfect or do exactly what they should all of the time but I sure do love them. I get really sentimental when I think about them.

I was so happy with the way they played in the soccer tournament this last week. They both showed me that they understand the game, showed me hustle and the ability to hustle even when you might be tired. I was so happy that they were part of a team that won the championship.

My son scored what turned out to be the winning goal in the championship game and played strong on defense and goalie when called upon.

My daughter scored her first goal of the year in the game we won to seal our trip to the championship game. It was her second goal of her career and the first goal that I was able to see. I had to leave for work when she scored her first goal a couple of years ago. I will have to say that I almost cried when the ball actually rolled over the line and went in the back of the net. She is not the most gifted young lady when it comes to atheltic ability and does not run the fastest but I will say that there is very little quit inside of her. She wanted so badly to score a goal this year and had several chances throughout the season but just was a little late at taking the shot or could not quite make the move to get her in the clear. Because of her no quit attitude she was able to finally get behind the defender and have the one on one with the goalie and was able to put her foot on the ball just enough to get it passed him. It was great to see.

I have always had a soft spot in my heart for my little girl. Don't get me wrong I love our little man, buddy, man cub, or whatever we call him on that day but my daughter is my little girl that is turning into a young lady much to fast.

A week ago Saturday, Tracie and I went to chaperone a high school prom at Georgia Tech. One of the songs played was a song I have heard before and actually own the CD but to be dancing with Tracie and hear this song again made me really think about my little girl and how much I do love her.

Here is a link to her the song:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qgZftrobqlg

Coaching Soccer

This passed week the team I coached had 5 games, 3 of which they had to play on Saturday. What I learned is that kids are resilent. When they have confidence and are having fun doing what they are doing that can accomplish great things. I guess you can say I started the tournament last Monday night nervous. I want to say I was nervous for the kids but the reality is that I like to win also. I have been and always will be competitive. On Monday we did not have such a great first half against a team that was not really very good. I found myself having to stay on the kids by yelling instructions at them and in some instance just yelling at them to run and get in position. We had a couple of kids that just would not stay where they were suppossed to. In the end we won the game by a large margain and gained maximum points for that game. Our next game was on Wednesday night against a team that we had played twice during the season and tied 1 to 1 on a very late goal and then beat 1 to 0 the second time we played. We ended up winning that game also with maximum points but as I reflected back on the game I realized that I was taking it a little to serious. I realized that I yelled a little to much that night and told myself I was going to try and change for the remainder of the touranment. Due to a rainout on Thursday night we had to play two games on Saturday with the potential of a 3rd if we made the championship. On Saturday morning I tried to keep the kids focused on the game we had and at the same time tried to keep them relaxed. Before the game started I had them doing different rythmic clapping to keep them loose. They seemed to enjoy this a lot and I believe it helped them realize we were suppossed to be having fun. Needless to say we dominated that game. We did the same thing for our second game on Saturday and dominated that game also. All we needed in that game was to score 1 goal and we would have enough points to go to the Championship. We took care of that early on so I was able to play people in positions that they did not normally get the chance to play. My little girl even scored a goal. We won the championship game 7 to1. The kids were so excited. I was so happy for them.

Lesson learned is that kids are great. If they are focused on a goal but still able to have fun in the process, it makes it that much more fun for them.

Softball Game

I had already blogged that I still was able to play the game of baseball/softball a little bit. Tracie took this video one of my hits during tonight's game. Unfortunately, the LDS Saints lost yet again. We are not very good but it is fun to go out and play.

Picking a spot for your camping tent

The family and I had the chance to take our annual camping trip during the kids spring break from school. We have found a campground in Alabama that we really enjoy and have been going there for at least 4 years.
We tent camp so we try to find a nice level spot, free of roots, rocks, pine cones, etc. We thought we had a pretty good spot until the storm rolled in on Friday. We then realized that our tent site was basically the holding spot for water that ran from 3 campsites up from us. We basically chose a spot that was in the middle of a huge puddle.
Fortunately, we were able to move the tent during a break in the rain because it rained for 8 hours straight, Friday night into Saturday morning. I do not like packing up wet camping stuff but it seems that every time we go camping it rains and it usually rains on the last day or so when we have to pack up.
I will say that I have learned from this latest experience to take a look at the drainage of the camp sites before putting down your tarp and setting up your tent.
We have learned and were lucky we put up a blue tarp over the top of our tent. We saw a couple dumping buckets of water out fo their tent on Saturday morning. We stayed dry because of the blue tarp we put over the tent.

Hymn #85 and #116

During church yesterday one of the speakers talked about singing hymns and how when we sing we are usually singing the words and singing to God. A way to praise him. I really like hymn #85 How Firm a Foundation and enjoy singing it. It was not until yesterday that I realized that this is a hymn that in a sense is being sung by God to us. In particular verse 3 of this hymn it says: Fear not, I am with thee, oh be not dismayed, For I am thy God and will still give thee aid. I'll strengthen thee, help thee, and cause thee to stand. Uphead by my rightesous omnipotent hand."

For the closing hymn we sang #116 Come Follow Me and it was noted on the program we were going to sing all verses. I can say that I have never in my life sung or even read verse 5 or 6 before. I had an extremely hard time singing the last two lines of verse 6: "If we, throughout eterntiy, Obey his words, Come Follow me.

Some things I learned on Sunday

For the last 8 1/2 months I have made it a normal thing to take notes during the talks given on Sunday. I do this for a few reasons. One reason is so that I pay more attention to the speakers and the other is so that if the speakers leave some time I have some notes as to what they talked about and can recap them while adding my comments at the end of the meeting.

Yesterday I relearned something that I wanted to write about. We had talks on Jesus Christ and one of the speakers mentioned Christ's sacrifice for us. I had heard this before regarding the meaning of Gethsemane, where Christ suffered for our sins, but releanred it again yesterday. The meaning of Gehtsemane is olive press, which is what squeezes the olives until they produce oil. As I thought about the suffering that Christ went through in that garden, and the sins I have committed, I really felt his love for me and for all mankind in particular those who take advantage of his suffering by repenting, changing their lives and moving forward.

I still have it.....?

Since I started this blog to write about things that I have learned, I feel the need to write about a softball game I played in last night. I play with some members of the church from different wards in the area. We have played for about 3 years and we are really not very good. I was late for the game because I was coaching my kids soccer team and the practice did not end until the softball game began.

I hurried to the softball field and just as I ran up to the field it was my turn at bat. I did not do so well as I swung at the first pitch I saw and grounded into a fielder choice. I played well in the field at 3rd base and our team actually had a chance to win the game.

We went into the bottom of the last inning and I was leading off. We were down 6 to 7. I again went after the first pitch and hit a long fly ball that soared over the left center field fence. it was nice to have my wife and kids in the stands to see the home run and cheer for me. I had tied the game and we had no outs and the top of our line up coming up. Needless to say we did not score another run in that inning, gave one up in the top of the extra inning and then we did not score so we lost 7 to 8.

I guess what I learned is that I can still play a little.

Value

I have been thinking about value the last couple of days because I am interested in purchasing something off craigslist.

Value can have many different meanings but in this instance I have learned that an item has different value to different people. In this case, the seller has set a price on the item that represents what he thinks is the value (in dollars) of the item.

I do a lot of thinking as I drive to and from work each day because the car that I am driving right now does not have a radio/cd player. It is kind of nice actually to have the time to think.

As I was driving in this morning, I was thinking about this item and an email that I sent to the buyer last night. I told him in the email that it was not worth my time to drive the hour plus to where he lives if his price does not come down. The item is not something we need. It is something that we want. When I thought about it that way, the value (in dollars) that I place on the item is much less than what the seller is asking. When I talk to him today, which I hope I do, I will use this logic to explain to him that I am willing to drive to look at the item and consider purchasing it if he can lower the value he has placed on the item in order to sell it to me.

I like this train of thinking and may have more to say on it at a later date. I will try to update how the negotiation of value goes for this item.

Baseball v. Life

Every since I can remember I have loved baseball. I can remember every team I have played on, coaches I had, friends I played with, new friends I made while playing, etc. Writing this, I can see the infield, smell the dirt and grass, see the chalked lines, hear the sound of the ball hitting the bat or glove. How I miss playing! I also remember going to baseball games in Oakland. Mostly our family would go see the Red Sox when they came in town to watch the A's. It was great! Even though we were in Oakland, the stands wer full of Red Sox fans. It was tough being a Red Sox fan until a few years ago when they finally won the World Series and then they were fortunate enough to win gain this last year.

I got off track from what my entry was going to be about. I guess that shows how much I love baseball.

A few weeks ago my wife and I were having a discussion. At times we all feel like we may have failed and sometimes we feel like that quite a bit. I try not to view it like that but everyone looks at things differently. I tried to explain to my wife that even the best baseball players fail about 70% of the time. A good baseball player will hit for about a .300 average. By the way these guys make thousands if not millions of dollars to fail 70% of the time. If you think about it, a baseball player can go out one day and go 0 fr 4 and then the next day go 2 for 3 and then the next go 1 for 3 and for the 3 game series be 3 for 10 and have hit .300 which is good. The best thing about it is that he totally failed the first day getting no hits. The player had the chance to come out the next day and try again. We too in life have the chance to try again each day or multiple times during the day.

Baseball has taught me many things and this is just one of them.

A Will

A couple of years ago my wife and I purchased some software to help us create a will. I mean a couple of years ago. I finally put in the software last night and it said that they were no longer make automatic updates to will maker 2006.
I have just started filling out the paperwork online and hope to have it created soon.
My last two posts have been doom and gloom, life insurance and will.
Nothing to worry about I hope or at least that we know of but just trying to get things in line, my family will be taken care of.

Life Insurance

When I started this blog, I noted that I wanted to share with others things that I have learned, thus the title of my blog.
Over the almost 14 years of my marriage, my wife and I have talked many times about life insurance. We have never done anything more that have the policy that either she or I had through work. I am grateful to have that policy but if I were to pass away, it would not go very far to help my wife and/or my children.
Recently, we have decided to sign up for some additional life insurance. It has all been kind of crazy and I have learned a lot about the different types of policies, etc. I am not sure I know enough yet to even know if what we are doing is the right thing or not.
We have some friends that recently lost a baby during the birth process.
With the email I received this morning from my sister about her brother in law being found dead in his bed at 49, it made it even more clear that I need to go ahead and get this policy in place.

My Passion

As I mentioned in my last entry I have been trying to figure out what I want to do with my life. A few months ago I wrote out My Passion and have had it on my calendar to review on the first of each month. For January and February I just forwarded that task without ever pulling out the paper and reading it. This weekend, I actually pulled it out and read it along with some other information I keep in that file.

I thought I would share my passion and the guidelines I used to write it. My Passion and yours may change over time. I actually just made a change to mine 30 seconds ago. Here it goes:

My Passion
Values (what really matters)
Time to spend with (Family, Personal, Friends, Helping Others)
Freedom
Be my own boss
Help other succeed
Make a difference
Teach, train and develop
Multi-Task (I like to be doing many things at one time)
Challenges (I do not like to do the same thing over and over, I want something new)
Completing Projects (I love to check things off my list)

I came up with this after some thought about the following areas:

1. Retrace your steps: Often, our passions are formed in childhood. What did you enjoy as a child? What were your hobbies and interests? What games did you play? What were your early career fantasise?

2. Identify what really matters: Your values are the map to your perfect career. Identify those that are most important to you. Make a list of everything you deeply value and want in your career (life).

3. Get deep: Are you seeking to make a difference or contribute to society? How do you see yourself effecting positive change?

4. Listen to your heart: What do you enjoy doing so much that you'd do it free? What activities give you the most joy?

Remember: Skills can be learned, but your passion is a part of who you are. The reality is you can do whatever you want to do and set your mind to do.

On a similiar parrell my wife and I have been having a discussion about a different type of passion and I thought I would include this link to what we have been talking about.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=otf7e5uNtw0

It is so nice to have a wife that after 14 years still has the desire for passionate kisses!

Introspection

I have been doing a lot of thinking and trying to figure out who I really am and what I really want out of life. I have a pretty good idea about me and my life in most aspects. The one area that I really struggle in is my professional life. When I was growing up and even my first year in college, all I could think about was being a professional baseball player. That was my dream and that is what I expected to do. Unfortunately, my dream did not come true. I have been working in the sports and entertainment industry since I graduated from college in 1995. I love sports but have not ever really been happy with my work.

For several years I have been trying to figure out what I want to do with my life when I grow up. I am growing up to fast without actually making a decision and the older I get the harder it is going to seem to make a change.

I have been reading a lot of articles and studying my patriarchal blessing a lot trying to figure out what I like to do and what I am supposed to do.

More to come...

The weekend

On Saturday I attended a world wide leadership broadcast for all adult members of our church. The topic was Building up a Righteous Posterity and the discussion was all about families, particulary the Proclamation to the World. I do not have my notes right here with me but I learned several things from the talk and discussion. I learned more about my role as a husband and father. I also gained some insights into marriage and family relationships that I can use in my current role as Bishop when couples and families come to me seeking counseling and guidance.

After the passing of President Hinckley last week, the church received a new President, Thomas S. Monson. The portion of the broadcast were he spoke was recorded after he became President. I sat there in our chapel and recieved my own personal revelation that he was called of God and was the next President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The spirit let me know that I should sustain him even though we were not asked to do so today.

On Sunday, I learned during our Sunday School Lesson, that If I have not leared from my children that I should " Watch Out". This is what the teacher said in reference to Nephi teaching and most likely saving his father (spiritually) while in the wilderness. If you read the part in 1 Nephi were the bow is broken, everyone begins to mumur and if you read it carefully it talks about how Nephi said many words to those who where with him, including his parents and in particular Lehi. We do not have those words as part of the record but it does say that Lehi listened. I can say that I have learned plenty from my two children and I am confident that I will continue to learn more.

I've learned

I borrowed this from a story:

I've learned that, no matter what happens,
how bad it seems today, life does go on, and it will be better tomorrow.
I've learned that you can tell a lot about a person by the way he/she handles four things:
a rainy day, the elderly, lost luggage, and tangled Christmas tree lights.
I've learned that, regardless of your relationship with your parents,
you'll miss them when they're gone from your life.
I've learned that making a 'living' is not the same thing as making a 'life..'
I've learned that life sometimes gives you a second chance.
I've learned that you shouldn't go through life with a catcher's mitt on both hands.
You need to be able to throw something back
I've learned that if you pursue happiness, it will elude you
But, if you focus on your family, your friends, the needs of others,
your work and doing the very best you can, happiness will find you
I've learned that whenever I decide something with an open heart, I usually make the right decision.
I've learned that even when I have pains, I don't have to be one.
I've learned that every day, you should reach out and touch someone.
People love that human touch -- holding hands, a warm hug, or just a friendly pat on the back.
I've learned that I still have a lot to learn.

I really like this part: I've learned that making a 'living' is not the same thing as making a 'life..'
I have been thinking about about life in general but specifically about making a living and/or making a life. My children are almost 10 and 8 and I have spent some quality time with them but I wish I could do more. I watched something on youtube the other day that was put together by the parents of a graduating senior. It was put to the music "I wish" by Raschal Flatts. The tribute to their daughter was great in that it showed fun family times, camping, playing the snow, etc. not once did it show big expensive vacations or things like that. It has made me think and begin to reevaluate my priorities in life. More thoughts on this to come I am sure because I think about this a lot.

Tributes to Gordon B. Hinckley

I thank my sisters for sending me the following links that are tributes to President Gordon B. Hinckley. This is an amazaing man whom I have learned many things from. Since I started this blog with the desire to share what I have learned, I will say that I learned from these tributes more about Gordon B. Hinckley's life. I also learned that Glenn Beck is a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I did not realize that until today.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z58eHBnEHhk

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1nRWzT9s4sg

Disappointing news

My wife and I recieved some disappointing news yesterday. I am grateful for many things in my life but I extremely grateful for the knowledge I have that I can be sealed to my wife for eternity. She is a great person. She does not realize it or accept it but hopefully will come to that understanding. She is told by many people, what a good person she is and how they appreciate her friendship.
As she told me the news, my heart sunk, mostly for her. I want what she wants just as bad but try to be strong for us both. I try to remain positive about a lot of things and hope that soon, the disappointing news we received today, will turn to joy and happiness and the disappointment will be forgotten.

My Dad

My father passed away almost 4 years ago. I miss him every day. He was a great man and I constantly think of him. I was reminded of him the other night as I listened to a man describe his father. The story reminded me of my dad and the support he always gave me, especially during the time I participated in sports. I can not remember a game go by where I looked up into the stands or on the sidelines and did not see my dad. Even though at times he worked 3 jobs (Delivered newspapers, General Electric and Mervyns), I do not think he ever missed one of my games. Now that I have my own children and only 2 of them currently, I find it even more amazing that both of my parents were able to attend all of my games. I participated in baseball, basketball, soccer, football and even for a time gymnastics. 100's of games or events and that does not even include the piano recitals, cub and boy scouts and other church activities. WOW!

My dad seemed to have his spot staked out, especially for my basketball games in high school. I always knew that I could find my dad with his camera around his neck on the upper row of the bleachers about mid court.

I can only hope to be as good to my kids as my dad was to me.

Life after Death

Yesterday morning I was sent an email from my oldest sister with her thoughts about the death of Gordon B. Hinckley, the latest President and Prophet of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I was touched by some of her comments and learned through my own visulaization of what she described in her thoughts about the reunion of President Hinckely, our Saviour Jesus Christ, his wife, his friends and the Prophet Joseph Smith. I would like to copy her thoughts here:

"Later I was thinking again of what must have transpired in the previous hour and a half since the passing of our dear Prophet. I pictured him falling at the feet of the Savior. I pictured them embracing and him being told "Well done, my son". I pictured the gratitude expressed from the Savior to Pres Hinckley for his lifetime of dedicated and untiring service and all that he has done to build the Lord's kingdom here on earth. There have been 4 million people who have not known another President of the church. Wow. Then I pictured Gordon being welcomed by his dear wife, his parents and other close family members as well as his friend Pres Faust. Then it hit me in my heart a picture in my mind of his Marjorie taking him by the hand and turning with him as the Prophet Joseph and his wife, Emma, came towards them...I thought of the picture that mom has of the two prophets and the Nauvoo temple. I pictured the sweet, sweet meeting of these two prophets who loved so much the same things. I thought of the gratitude that each of them must have for the other. I remember when Pres Hinckley spoke so strongly at the dedication of the Nauvoo temple about the injustices done to the saints in the early days of the church. I know that he loved Joseph. He saw to it that Joseph's temple was rebuilt. My heart was full at the thought and the mental image I had of them greeting one another. I am sure that they will not waste any time in getting down to the work of bringing to pass the days and weeks and months before the second coming of the Savior."

I am thankful to have a family who shares their thoughts and feelings with each other. How great it is to be able to learn and grow from others, especially those you love and admire.

Reason for the blog

Yesterday, while sitting in church, I had a "feeling" that I needed to create a blog of things that I have learned. I have recenctly read a book that I really enjoyed called The Secret. In the book it says that when you have ideas or "feelings" you need to act upon them. As I sat there yesterday I realized that I have not done a very good job over the last several years of keeping a journal or history of my life. I am hopeful that with yesterday's inspirtion I might do a better job. I make this public only because of something that Dalin H. Oaks said in his talk yesterday during Stake Conference. He said that we need not be afraid to speak the truth and specifically mentioned blogs. I write this mostly for myself to track things I have learned in different aspects of my life: Family, Church, Professional, Relationships, etc. If someone decides to read this blog and learns something from my experiences than I guess it is worth it. I am not sure how often I will write, I guess I will have to wait and see. I love to learn and grow and that is what I intend to share here. Things I have Learned!