j . a . m . k . m . b: Oh yeah, I forgot...

Pres. Thomas S. Monson, Oct 2008

"This is our one and only chance at mortal life—here and now. The longer we live, the greater is our realization that it is brief. Opportunities come, and then they are gone. I believe that among the greatest lessons we are to learn in this short sojourn upon the earth are lessons that help us distinguish between what is important and what is not. I plead with you not to let those most important things pass you by as you plan for that illusive and non-existent future when you will have time to do all that you want to do. Instead, find joy in the journey—now.

... Professor Harold Hill, one of the principal characters in [The Music Man], voices a caution that I share with you. Says he, “You pile up enough tomorrows, and you’ll find you’ve collected a lot of empty yesterdays.”

f you have children who are grown and gone, in all likelihood you have occasionally felt pangs of loss and the recognition that you didn’t appreciate that time of life as much as you should have. Of course, there is no going back, but only forward. Rather than dwelling on the past, we should make the most of today, of the here and now, doing all we can to provide pleasant memories for the future.

Stresses in our lives come regardless of our circumstances. We must deal with them the best we can. But we should not let them get in the way of what is most important—and what is most important almost always involves the people around us. Often we assume that they must know how much we love them. But we should never assume; we should let them know. Wrote William Shakespeare, “They do not love that do not show their love.”³ We will never regret the kind words spoken or the affection shown. Rather, our regrets will come if such things are omitted from our relationships with those who mean the most to us.

Send that note to the friend you’ve been neglecting; give your child a hug; give your parents a hug; say “I love you” more; always express your thanks. Never let a problem to be solved become more important than a person to be loved. Friends move away, children grow up, loved ones pass on. It’s so easy to take others for granted, until that day when they’re gone from our lives and we are left with feelings of “what if” and “if only.” Said author Harriet Beecher Stowe, “The bitterest tears shed over graves are for words left unsaid and deeds left undone.”

In the 1960s, during the Vietnam War, Church member Jay Hess, an airman, was shot down over North Vietnam. For two years his family had no idea whether he was dead or alive. His captors in Hanoi eventually allowed him to write home but limited his message to less than 25 words. What would you and I say to our families if we were in the same situation—not having seen them for over two years and not knowing if we would ever see them again? Wanting to provide something his family could recognize as having come from him and also wanting to give them valuable counsel, Brother Hess wrote—and I quote: “These things are important: temple marriage, mission, college. Press on, set goals, write history, take pictures twice a year.”

Said one well-known author: “Both abundance and lack [of abundance] exist simultaneously in our lives, as parallel realities. It is always our conscious choice which secret garden we will tend . . . when we choose not to focus on what is missing from our lives but are grateful for the abundance that’s present—love, health, family, friends, work, the joys of nature, and personal pursuits that bring us [happiness]—the wasteland of illusion falls away and we experience heaven on earth.”

Said the Lord in a revelation given through the Prophet Joseph Smith, “In nothing doth man offend God, or against none is his wrath kindled, save those who confess not his hand in all things.”¹⁰ May we be found among those who give our thanks to our Heavenly Father. If ingratitude be numbered among the serious sins, then gratitude takes its place among the noblest of virtues.

Brothers and sisters, my sincere prayer is that we may adapt to the changes in our lives, that we may realize what is most important, that we may express our gratitude always and thus find joy in the journey."

Tuesday, September 2, 2008

Oh yeah, I forgot...

Sometimes I forget there's a Higher Power that can be a guide and help for me. I've been feeling quite a bit of stress lately for a lot of reasons, one of which was a project at work I spent basically all of last week on without getting the right answer. I had a sincere prayer this morning, asking for specific help on that project, and wouldn't you know it, within an hour and a half I had found the right answer and was completely done. It's awesome to have help like that - I just need to remember to have the faith to work, ask, and wait.

We had a really fun Labor Day weekend. We had two BBQs at our house, a pool party at some friends', bike and scooter rides, new bikes for Kennan and Morgan (Kennan's old bike), Ang did a 22 mile run, I sat on my can (IT band - knee - injured and hurting), and ate a lot of good food.

Yeah, my knee's been hurting me the last three runs I've done. I get out about 3 miles and it really starts killing. It has all the characteristics of IT band syndrome, so I've been icing and resting as much as possible, and I'm trying to find an IT band strap to wear in the hopes that my training won't be utterly and completely derailed. Did I mention I'm going to die during the marathon? Yep, I'm gonna...

Some great college football over the weekend. Of course the Cougs won, although I'd like to just forget that 3rd quarter. Utah looked good against Michigan, although I have to admit there were times when I thought they weren't so much good as they were not as bad as Michigan. Did anyone see the UCLA-Tennessee game? Wow, pretty exciting - they're going to be very tough for BYU in a couple weeks.

I'm also using Google's latest and greatest new product, Google Chrome. It's Google's own internet browser, similar to Internet Explorer (Microsoft), Mozilla Firefox, and Apple Safari. The idea was for Google to combine the best of all of those browsers into one super browser, which is of course open sourced for all to use and build applications for. I have to say I'm impressed - it seems faster and very easy to use. They are careful to remind us it's a beta product, and will have many upgrades coming, so it's not perfect now, but not too bad so far. You can download at google.com/chrome.

Ang and I get our DVDs in the mail through Blockbuster and we really like the service. During the olympics we hardly watched anything else, so it's fun to get back into watching DVDs periodically. We watched "21" over the weekend - I found it entertaining, Angela didn't like it because she was just waiting for something bad to happen the whole time.

1 comment:

Matt and Becca said...: Good luck with that knee problem, John. That's frustrating. But do ya think it's cause you're gettin' old? You may want to consider that possibility... just a suggestion.; September 3, 2008 at 7:35 AM

j . a . m . k . m . b

Pres. Thomas S. Monson, Oct 2008

Tuesday, September 2, 2008

Oh yeah, I forgot...

1 comment:

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