j . a . m . k . m . b: Busy Weekend Coming Up

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."

Friday, May 6, 2011

Busy Weekend Coming Up

It's dang hard just to keep up with my life, let alone with this blog. So that's my excuse for not being more active in writing. We've had a good week, but I'll admit it'll be very nice when life slows down a little bit. Aside from the normal hustle and bustle of life, we also had a fun date with Mom and Dad on Monday night, Kennan's Hope of America concert on Tuesday night, I went to SLC to build more furniture Wed night, last night Angela and I were at our new house until after 1 am working on our latest project (more below), tonight Ang and the kids are going to a play in Bountiful followed by a sleepover at cousins while I work on the project again, tomorrow we have a niece's baptism, a baby blessing, an important rugby game and BYU rugby alumni even, lots more work on the house project, and other stuff I can't even remember.

So the house... it's going great, and scary fast. I say scary because it will reintroduce us to real life - mortgage payment, utility bills, home maintenance & repairs, etc. ... and we can't wait. Our friends in CA built a beautiful house a while back and they had an artist come in and paint a really cool pattern on their hardwood entry floor. Angela got it in her mind that our house will just not be complete without doing something similar at our place, and so I was commissioned as the artist in charge of ruining the beautiful hardwood floor ... err, painting the floor. Here's a tip for all you aspiring floor painters - the actual painting is the easy part. Laying out and scaling the pattern, and then taping off the floor, were 5 hours worth of back-breaking labor last night. I'm not kidding, I feel like I ran a marathon yesterday. I'm sore, tired, and grumpy because I have to go back onto my hands and knees tonight for sanding and then painting a second coat. And all this without the sure knowledge that it will actually look somewhat decent...

We could be in our house in two weeks. Yep, less than three months after breaking ground, we are doing final walkthrough next week, and we should close the following week. Did I mention we're excited?

Micah found out today that she won Centennial Middle School's "Centennial Idol" competition, that included singing a number of songs over weeks of eliminations, until she competed in the finals yesterday. It's no surprise to us, but we're happy for her because it was fun for her to show her talents. Kennan and Micah were also in a dance competition with their cousins and dance teams last weekend, and -- somewhat surprisingly to me -- they both brought home first place awards in their team's categories. Both are good dancers, but the thing that sticks out to me are their genuine smiles and happiness at doing something they love.

Morgan took first place in her most recent swim meet in the IM, and didn't win in butterfly but she was competing against much older kids in the 12 and under division. Frankly, I'm just impressed she can swim 50 meters of 'fly... She's a super good little swimmer and we're excited to support her in daily workouts.

Brig is officially outgrowing his clothes. He was walking around today in jeans up to his ankles, and a t-shirt that had to be size 3 - up to his belly button and hugging his armpits. Ok, it wasn't quite that bad, but it's definitely time for new gear.

This is already much longer than I planned. I'm out.

j . a . m . k . m . b

Pres. Thomas S. Monson, Oct 2008

Friday, May 6, 2011

Busy Weekend Coming Up

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