Thursday, December 29, 2011
Sunday, December 11, 2011
Wednesday, September 1, 2010
Restoring Honor Event in D.C.
Christina and I were fortunate enough to make it out to D.C. this past weekend to attend the Restoring Honor Event at the Lincoln Memorial. Not really knowing what to expect, we headed out Friday morning and made it to my cousins house near the D.C. area. Even though we almost lost our a/c a couple times on the way out and it was a lot of driving, we were glad and excited to be a part of something historic.
The event for me was something that i've never experienced before. As I stood there shoulder to shoulder with hundreds of thousands of other patriotic descent people listening and watching the video and images of those who are true heroes I felt like something very special was happening. The unity and spirit that I felt in the midst of those people, who had solid values and whom you could tell lived principled God-fearing lives, was like nothing I've ever been a part of and it told me that a movement to restore Honor to the country, to our families, to our communities, to government, to everything we do is taking shape and I hope i can find my part in it.
It was awesome to be there with my wife and our little baby. We left the older boys with their Grandma and Grandpa in Knoxville so they wouldn't have to endure the craziness and the drive. We're very glad we decided to make the trip and so honored to have been in the presence of so many good honest people from all around the country.
The event for me was something that i've never experienced before. As I stood there shoulder to shoulder with hundreds of thousands of other patriotic descent people listening and watching the video and images of those who are true heroes I felt like something very special was happening. The unity and spirit that I felt in the midst of those people, who had solid values and whom you could tell lived principled God-fearing lives, was like nothing I've ever been a part of and it told me that a movement to restore Honor to the country, to our families, to our communities, to government, to everything we do is taking shape and I hope i can find my part in it.
It was awesome to be there with my wife and our little baby. We left the older boys with their Grandma and Grandpa in Knoxville so they wouldn't have to endure the craziness and the drive. We're very glad we decided to make the trip and so honored to have been in the presence of so many good honest people from all around the country.
Sunday, July 25, 2010
Isaac at the Temple
Here's a shot of me and Isaac at the Nashville Temple the day he went through. He is now in the MTC on his mission in Salt Lake. He's a great kid and I know he'll be awesome in the Spokane, WA Spanish speaking mission.
Sunday, February 28, 2010
Aligning Will's
I've wondered for a long time how in the world you really do this. How do you in reality get to the point that "if you ask in faith, ye shall receive"? Does that mean that you actually can get to the point in your life that anything and everything you want to happen and wish for is righteous enough to be granted? I'm sure that it is possible but it's very unlikely... at least for most people.
I shared with a good friend of mine something I've done in recent months when I'm praying and hoping for something to happen. I recalled that for as far back as I can remember I've taken the approach of "please bless that this certain thing will happen this way" and "help me do thy will but just let it be what I'm asking for". It seems that, although this isn't a terribly bad or wrong way to go about asking for blessings, it usually didn't end up happening the way I envisioned. So each time that, for instance, I didn't get that second date with so and so girl... or the meeting with such and such a music publisher didn't pan out into instant success... I was left with the feeling of wondering why these things weren't happening when I'd fervently prayed and asked for them to. I'd even made sure and acknowledge that I was trying to do "His will" while assuming that the thing I was seeking was the best thing for me. Time and time again the result of the situation that I was addressing turned out better for me than what I'd prayed to happen would have and it's only recently that I've started to recognize a correlation between what was happening and why.
I think that when most people pray to "let thy will be done" they are unknowingly doing so under the assumption that they are already on the same plane of understanding as the Father and that because they are asking for His will to be done in this thing while at the same time being specific in what they want to happen that those two points of view are aligning. I'm starting to feel like we have to work up to that point... that there is a more elementary step that has been skipped by many. What if we said "Father, I have many things that I wish to happen but I know that you know what is best for me. Please bless me with the strength and resolve to accept the things that come my way and to make the very best of them." Maybe as we simply ask for the strength to deal with the challenges and triumphs that we are dealt we can more fully learn what kinds of decisions the Lord makes on our behalf and we will be trained on how to actually make the choices for ourselves that He would make.
There may be some who would argue that we are supposed to ask for specifics in our prayers and I don't disagree in some things. I'm not talking about those things you pray for that concern those around you, your family, those that you care about or the more blanket blessings like blessing those in need or those in service to the church or to the country. I think this thought has more to do with the pleadings you have for yourself, quite honestly the things that you hope for personally. Maybe, to the Father, it goes without saying that when you are praying for someone else to recover from an illness or get through a tough relationship or bounce back from a life changing event that your genuine concern for them is His will and he and the Spirit are working through you to show compassion on someone else. After all, we are commanded to serve others and in turn we are serving God. But are we serving God when we are getting the things we want? Maybe that is why you can't bless yourself to be healed... why you must have someone else act for you to unleash those powers.
This is just my own thought but my plan is now to work my way up to the status of those prophets we learn about in the scriptures that speak something and it happens. Many of the great prophets have been promised at some point in their life that whatever they say shall happen... will happen and is the will and mind of the Lord. Once I can more fully understand what kinds of choices lead me down the right path for my life I will begin again to ask that "my contract be approved for the purchase of this lot" or "please bless that I can get this song cut by Kenny Chesney today". And when that time comes, if ever, that I can desire something and it always be the Lords will for me I doubt it will have anything to do with Tim McGraw or 2x4's.
I shared with a good friend of mine something I've done in recent months when I'm praying and hoping for something to happen. I recalled that for as far back as I can remember I've taken the approach of "please bless that this certain thing will happen this way" and "help me do thy will but just let it be what I'm asking for". It seems that, although this isn't a terribly bad or wrong way to go about asking for blessings, it usually didn't end up happening the way I envisioned. So each time that, for instance, I didn't get that second date with so and so girl... or the meeting with such and such a music publisher didn't pan out into instant success... I was left with the feeling of wondering why these things weren't happening when I'd fervently prayed and asked for them to. I'd even made sure and acknowledge that I was trying to do "His will" while assuming that the thing I was seeking was the best thing for me. Time and time again the result of the situation that I was addressing turned out better for me than what I'd prayed to happen would have and it's only recently that I've started to recognize a correlation between what was happening and why.
I think that when most people pray to "let thy will be done" they are unknowingly doing so under the assumption that they are already on the same plane of understanding as the Father and that because they are asking for His will to be done in this thing while at the same time being specific in what they want to happen that those two points of view are aligning. I'm starting to feel like we have to work up to that point... that there is a more elementary step that has been skipped by many. What if we said "Father, I have many things that I wish to happen but I know that you know what is best for me. Please bless me with the strength and resolve to accept the things that come my way and to make the very best of them." Maybe as we simply ask for the strength to deal with the challenges and triumphs that we are dealt we can more fully learn what kinds of decisions the Lord makes on our behalf and we will be trained on how to actually make the choices for ourselves that He would make.
There may be some who would argue that we are supposed to ask for specifics in our prayers and I don't disagree in some things. I'm not talking about those things you pray for that concern those around you, your family, those that you care about or the more blanket blessings like blessing those in need or those in service to the church or to the country. I think this thought has more to do with the pleadings you have for yourself, quite honestly the things that you hope for personally. Maybe, to the Father, it goes without saying that when you are praying for someone else to recover from an illness or get through a tough relationship or bounce back from a life changing event that your genuine concern for them is His will and he and the Spirit are working through you to show compassion on someone else. After all, we are commanded to serve others and in turn we are serving God. But are we serving God when we are getting the things we want? Maybe that is why you can't bless yourself to be healed... why you must have someone else act for you to unleash those powers.
This is just my own thought but my plan is now to work my way up to the status of those prophets we learn about in the scriptures that speak something and it happens. Many of the great prophets have been promised at some point in their life that whatever they say shall happen... will happen and is the will and mind of the Lord. Once I can more fully understand what kinds of choices lead me down the right path for my life I will begin again to ask that "my contract be approved for the purchase of this lot" or "please bless that I can get this song cut by Kenny Chesney today". And when that time comes, if ever, that I can desire something and it always be the Lords will for me I doubt it will have anything to do with Tim McGraw or 2x4's.
The $1300 Question
The other day as I walked into the permit office to finally get my building permit for our new place i pulled out my check book to at last make it official. The City of Mount Juliet requires payment of lots of fees for the "privilege" of building in the city and one of those is a "City Impact Fee". It's calculated by multiplying the square footage of the new house by a certain amount ($.50). For my house the fee had already been paid a couple years ago when the original builder pulled the permit. That fee was less $ then because the original house plan had quite a bit less square footage than the house I'm building... but still $1300 is a lot of money. As the lady handed me the bill and I was about to write out the check I noticed that it was much more than I had planned. The clerk had known that I would be getting credit for the $1300 but it had slipped her mind so the total she was asking me to pay for this "Impact Fee" was about $1800. I definitely did not want to press the issue as the permit process in the city here apparently is a pain to deal with and they'd already given me credit for a few other charges that I'd other wise have to pay if this hadn't been a pre-existing project. But, there was no way I wasn't going to say something about this one... mainly because it meant a lot of money that I would need for the construction. But also because I'm sort of prideful I guess and I did not want to get "taken" by someone. So I asked the question fully accepting the consequences of irritating the beast at the permit office.
After about 10 minutes she finally returned to the service window and admitted that she'd overlooked the credit and adjusted the amount. By asking one simple question I saved myself $1300. I wish I could make that kind of money all the time by asking one question.
The point in writing about this experience isn't so much to remember this experience with my building fees but to point out that in general people don't really care about you like you do. Even during the process in getting my financing secured this was on display several times and each time I had to constantly be looking out for myself. This may not seem like a groundbreaking revelation but for me it really was. I guess I'm the type that generally thinks that people are good and honest and when they are in the business of getting your business they will go the extra 2 miles to make things work. Every lender I sat down with had the same attitude... when one option hit a wall they never... I mean not once did they offer any other solution or option, some that seemed to me so obvious. It was literally like they didn't want the business, didn't care to use their training and expertise, and were simply there at their desk going through the motions and surviving until the next day.
I guess this last few months dealing with all this just has opened my eyes a little more to the fact that you have to be so self-motivated to really succeed. If someone tells you "no" or something doesn't go the way you hope it will you have two options: 1) You can take it and assume that what they say is accurate and that that's just the way it is or 2) You can challenge the norm and not accept the status quo and fight until there literally is nothing left to fight. If you do the former you'll probably notice that not much changes... both for you and for what's happening around you and you won't ever jump ahead and stand out of a crowd much. If you insist on the latter and make it your very personality and nature then you'll start to see that what is normal just isn't good enough for you and that you are heading for bigger and better things... the things that you've always dreamed of. And when these things start to happen for you because you challenged what is normal you'll think back to those nights you lay in bed thinking about how one day this very thing could be possible. You couldn't go to sleep until you finally told yourself that you've got to stop thinking about this and just blank out your mind. The things you think about at the end of the day to yourself are the things that you care most about and usually the very things that you want most to happen in your life.
When these lifelong goals begin to be fulfilled you have to realize, as they are happening, that this is it. In other words, what good does it do to dream and work and hope for something and then when it comes you are too busy thinking and dreaming and hoping for other things that you don't realize that you made it! You're here!! This is the payoff and you did it. No doubt the Lord will be pleased to see that you've achieved what He has set before you to achieve with His help and guidance. Then when you've had the chance to take in the moment and recognize it for what it is be sure and resume dreaming and working and fighting for those next things that you hope for. And don't ever be afraid or hesitant to ask the $1300 question.
After about 10 minutes she finally returned to the service window and admitted that she'd overlooked the credit and adjusted the amount. By asking one simple question I saved myself $1300. I wish I could make that kind of money all the time by asking one question.
The point in writing about this experience isn't so much to remember this experience with my building fees but to point out that in general people don't really care about you like you do. Even during the process in getting my financing secured this was on display several times and each time I had to constantly be looking out for myself. This may not seem like a groundbreaking revelation but for me it really was. I guess I'm the type that generally thinks that people are good and honest and when they are in the business of getting your business they will go the extra 2 miles to make things work. Every lender I sat down with had the same attitude... when one option hit a wall they never... I mean not once did they offer any other solution or option, some that seemed to me so obvious. It was literally like they didn't want the business, didn't care to use their training and expertise, and were simply there at their desk going through the motions and surviving until the next day.
I guess this last few months dealing with all this just has opened my eyes a little more to the fact that you have to be so self-motivated to really succeed. If someone tells you "no" or something doesn't go the way you hope it will you have two options: 1) You can take it and assume that what they say is accurate and that that's just the way it is or 2) You can challenge the norm and not accept the status quo and fight until there literally is nothing left to fight. If you do the former you'll probably notice that not much changes... both for you and for what's happening around you and you won't ever jump ahead and stand out of a crowd much. If you insist on the latter and make it your very personality and nature then you'll start to see that what is normal just isn't good enough for you and that you are heading for bigger and better things... the things that you've always dreamed of. And when these things start to happen for you because you challenged what is normal you'll think back to those nights you lay in bed thinking about how one day this very thing could be possible. You couldn't go to sleep until you finally told yourself that you've got to stop thinking about this and just blank out your mind. The things you think about at the end of the day to yourself are the things that you care most about and usually the very things that you want most to happen in your life.
When these lifelong goals begin to be fulfilled you have to realize, as they are happening, that this is it. In other words, what good does it do to dream and work and hope for something and then when it comes you are too busy thinking and dreaming and hoping for other things that you don't realize that you made it! You're here!! This is the payoff and you did it. No doubt the Lord will be pleased to see that you've achieved what He has set before you to achieve with His help and guidance. Then when you've had the chance to take in the moment and recognize it for what it is be sure and resume dreaming and working and fighting for those next things that you hope for. And don't ever be afraid or hesitant to ask the $1300 question.
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