A little portion of our lives...: May 2016

Yippee, for another school year in the books. We were each blessed to remain healthy during the school year and the kids were blessed with great teachers. Each of us had our trials but were also blessed with great experiences as well. Ginny learned the value of choosing friends wisely and not allowing others to dictate her view of herself, although I am sure it effects her in some ways. She had some youth from church treat her with unkindness, which in itself is sad but even sadder when there are only two other young women her age. She developed a love of softball, made the middle school softball team, traveled to Ohio with the band, and made first chair in the band for flute. Aubree excelled in all her academic classes (was honored with the highest GPA in math, Science, and Social Studies) and was selected to participate in the district E-day for her grade level winning Maker Faire art category. Aubree had an opportunity to grow this year when she did not make the volleyball team this year. She was very sad. Jake is leaving second grade as a math whiz. His teacher regularly commends and encourages his math abilities. She has commented that he may be most outstanding in math over the entire grade level. Jake also loves science, which I am sure comes from his father; he collects rocks and observes the noises they make in glasses of water. He joined cub scouts this school year and has a growing love for baseball. He has finally learned to hit the ball. Christopher continues to work on speech and improve his articulation. He is aware of his struggles and gets frustrated about it on occasion. This year Chris played soccer and was introduced to t-ball. He loves to run and is attempting to ride his bike. I have spent hours trying to help him learn to ride the bike but he insists to tell me that he hates it. However, he has attempted a couple times the past week on his own. He is for sure the hardest one to teach but it goes to show that is does not matter how hard you try to help someone, if the desire is not there, it will not be as helpful as it could be. As for me, I survived my second year of teaching and my first year of teaching middle school. Overall, I have enjoyed teaching the same subject and grade level as Jake but it has had a few challenges. I hope that next year is better for both of us and we continue to teach the same grade and subject. I look forward to spending the summer with him and the kids, although I do not look forward to the potential idea of spending so much time in the car, I eagerly anticipate just being together. Jake and our four kids are my greatest love and joys in life.

Today Jake spoke in sacrament and I may be bias but I think he is a great speaker. Stand in Holy Places So in an effort to let you get to know me a little better, I want to share a story of when I worked for my dad. My job was to go to different oil rigs and check their drilling fluid. Then, I would prescribe certain corrosion inhibitors to help protect the drill pipe from cracking or getting holes. My official title, or at least the one that I used, was a chemical engineer. But my job was very simple. Most of the time was spent driving from one rig to another. I would usually listen to books on tape to try to keep myself entertained. That didn’t always work. One day as I was leaving a rig, my path was blocked by a herd of cattle. There were probably 200 head of cattle. I was concerned that I would be waiting quit some time, and I really wanted to get home to my pregnant wife (plus I was hungry). So I decided I was going to help the cattle move along. I rolled down my window and in the best cow I could muster, I started mooing at the cattle. I did this for probably 2 or 3 minutes. Then, I looked towards the end of the herd, hoping that I would be moving in a few minutes. It was then that I caught sight of a cowboy on his horse about 15 yards from the very spot at which I was communicating with his cattle. Slightly embarrassed that I was doing a better job of moving the herd than he was, I rolled up my window and waited for the herd to pass. It was an awkward 5 minutes, and I can only imagine that the cowboy wished he had my skills. In thinking of how I could possibly relate this story to the gospel, you need to know that I am Texan. In Texas we do not have shepherds. If a general authority from Texas were to speak in his native language at conference, he would refer to Christ as the good cowboy. While the rest of the world would think, “I don’t think he is using the right analogy,” there would be a room full of grown men in Texas brought to tears. I hope that my remarks may help you follow the good cowboy. In his most recent talk at priesthood session of conference, President Monson asks the question, “Are you standing in holy places?” He was speaking to holders of the priesthood and of their sacred responsibility with the accompanying blessings, but his question applies to each of us. Are you standing in holy places? One of the first thoughts of a holy place that stand out to me is the temple. Yet, it would not be prudent for us to spend all of our time in the temple. Indeed we are supposed to be in the world, but not of the world. For those times that we are not in the House of the Lord, we must strive to remain true to the principles that allow us to enter the temple and hold a temple recommend. If the activities and places that we go maintain our privilege of attending the temple, then we are standing in holy places. There is another holy place that is referenced in our scriptures. In the bible dictionary under temple, it states the following: “A temple is literally a house of the Lord, a holy sanctuary in which sacred ceremonies and ordinances of the gospel are performed by and for the living and also in behalf of the dead. A place where the Lord may come, it is the most holy of any place of worship on the earth. Only the home can compare with the temple in sacredness.” The place in which a family resides is as sacred as the place at which the family is sealed. As a child who attended the temple to be sealed with his family in the Mesa Arizona Temple, and as a husband and father sealed to my wife and children, I feel the weight and blessing of maintaining a home that can be called holy. What I have trouble with is that I have a teenage daughter, a pre-teen daughter, two hyper boys, and a perfect wife who has to live with an imperfect husband. The task is not an easy one. So how do we make our homes holy, and a refuge from the world? Let me share another story. I think I heard my wife once say that I was a spiritual giant. It may have been a dream or real, but either way it has made it into my journal. When I use to play basketball with my best friend in high school, they called us the giants. Our favorite holiday was National Arbor day, because we felt a close connection to the trees that towered over the people below. We were not very good, but how many people do you know can shoot a basketball through a tree and make it. Anyway, the largest trees in the world are coastal redwoods. These trees can stand 380 feet tall with a trunk diameter of 30 feet. Amazingly, their roots only go 5 to 6 feet into the ground, and its main roots are only about an inch in diameter. And the trees are exposed to frequent high winds as coastal storms slam into the Pacific Northwest. How do these giants withstand the strong winds given their relatively weak foundation? The secret is in their weakness. As if they had knowledge of their weakness, redwoods’ roots interweave among the roots of other redwoods. They create a webbing of roots that allow them to rely on each other when the storms come. I think you see were this analogy is going. As I look out among you, I see spiritual giants, the redwoods of the gospel. Not perfect, but in the pursuit of perfection. Each of us have weakness. The Lord said to Ether, “And if men come unto me I will show them their weakness.” Each of us are buffeted by storms. At times, each of us will fall short of the expectation we place on ourselves, and the potential we have. My hope, my plea, is that not one of us will be an island during those times. May each of us be yoked together, our roots weaved together, that at the times of those great storms we will still stand. President Monson states a phrase that I heard as a young man every time I left my home, “remember who you are.” We are sons and daughters of God. We are also brothers and sisters. As brothers and sisters, we are bound to disagree, disappoint, and just do dumb things at times. But we are also each other’s biggest cheerleaders, encouragers, supporters, and friends. We must allow our goodness to outweigh and overcome those times of difference. I have a true request and question of each of you. Will you help me stand in holy places? How can you help me, and perhaps by extension, how can you help any one of us? I struggle at times to maintain the habits I know will keep me in holy places. At times, I struggle to read the Book of Mormon, even knowing that doing it will spiritually empower me beyond belief. My relationship with my Father in Heaven is not always as strong as it should be, because I do not always communicate with him through prayer. My testimony seems to go into hibernation. All of this is self-inflicted. I get caught in the thick of thin things, or I try to go at everything myself, trying to prove myself to God before I call upon Him. Perhaps some of you have experienced the same. Perhaps humankind’s weakness is relying on our own devices rather than relying on our God. The Lord continued speaking to Ether saying, “I give unto men weakness that they may be humble; and my grace is sufficient for all men that humble themselves before me, and have faith in me, then will I make weak things become strong unto them.” How do you help? How have you helped? First, I do not know how this works, but I always feel strengthened when my home teachers come over. I don’t know why. It is not as if I do not hold the priesthood. In fact, often times I would rather be taking a nap than to have them over, nothing personal. But something happens when Brother West and Brother Carnahan come over, and they’re not even Texan. Second, you cannot be invasive, but you have to get personal. I remember at Elder Ridings farewell, James Jones and I talked about dieting. That’s pretty personal. We spoke for probably an hour. I remember leaving thinking, he likes to beat me up playing basketball, but it was nice chatting about some goals with him. Having conversations around any goals, spiritual or otherwise, could very much go the same. Third, texting and social media have made it easier to be cheerleaders for each other. I am the worst at this. I do not have Facebook, because I preferred the time when reading peoples mind was magical. However, I like when my wife shows me things that are happening in different peoples lives. I love to see the support people give during the good and the hard times. So if you use social media, be a power of good. I encourage this especially to our youth. There is a lot of negative out there. Let your voice be the one that helps others stand in holy places. Uplift and encourage. Do not fall to the pressure of social acceptance by using Instagram, Snapchat, Vine, or Twitter to belittle or isolate other people. Be a light to the world. With social media you have greater ability than ever to be a light to the entire world, and not just those immediately around you. Your voice can literally be heard around the world. Let it be a voice for good. Fourth, spend a little time together having fun and visiting. Recently I have just fallen in love with playing baseball with my family. We go into the front yard and hit the wiffle ball, and run the bases. We do not have enough kids to set up teams, so it simply works as a rotation, youngest to oldest. There is no score, but if there were we would always win. Then the thought came to me that it might be fun inviting other people over to play. Now, I am a very introverted person. I enjoy going out with other people at times, but an introvert, by definition, expends a lot of energy being around others. To recharge, I love to sit next to my wife, hold her hand, and watch a show. I also love to drive, or better yet have her drive, and just listen to her talk. I usually do not say much in response, but I like to hear her voice. So for me to have this idea of having others join our wiffle ball games is extreme. Even now, I am starting to envision mini-scoreless games with other families in the ward. Austin, Seth, Jake, and Bishop came over Friday evening and we played for a little bit. We had a great time, and I felt better knowing that I could beat any of them at wiffle ball. If any of you are interested text Renee, because I never respond to my texts. So there are a few ideas on how you can and how you have strengthened me. I believe they can be applied to anyone. You may be wondering, how does this help strengthen the home? If you strengthen the individual, if you help them draw closer to Christ, you inevitably strengthen the home. I am reminded of a poem by John Donne: No man is an island, Entire of itself, Every man is a piece of the continent, A part of the main. If a clod be washed away by the sea, Europe is the less. As well as if a promontory were. As well as if a manor of thy friend's Or of thine own were: Any man's death diminishes me, Because I am involved in mankind, And therefore never send to know for whom the bell tolls; It tolls for thee. In closing, I return to my original request. President Monson asked, “Are you standing in holy places?” I need your help. At times, I imagine that all of us will need help. Will you help me stand in holy places? I pray that each of us will strengthen one another. At one of our previous stake conferences it was said to invite, invite, invite. I can’t remember who said it, but it was good advice. Even as I say this, I know that I am not very good at that, and have need to repent. Yet I know I can repent, and stand and help others. Never be afraid of doing the right thing. Let us each follow the Good Cowboy, our Savior, and Redeemer. Let us always stand in holy places.