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.
Monday, March 17, 2008
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.
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.
Wednesday, March 12, 2008
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.
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.
Friday, March 7, 2008
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.
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.
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.
Thursday, March 6, 2008
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.
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.
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.
Monday, March 3, 2008
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!
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...
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...
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