Around the time I turned 16, as I have related before, I had a profound prayer experience where I promised Heavenly Father I would turn my life in a different direction. As difficult as it has been, I have kept the promises I made then. My life is everything I wanted it to be, except […]

I would bet that every person reading this has felt the frustration of having something to say and everyone else too focused on their own thoughts to really listen. Yet, even though we’ve all felt the sting of being misunderstood, very few of us make the effort to understand before we give our opinions.

I wish I knew how to create an environment where young people with dark thoughts feel like they can talk them over with people who can help them. How much violence could we prevent is we were more open and young people felt they could trust us? How much pain could we soothe if young people who have experienced abuse felt they could tell us about it?

Happiness comes from accepting the lot we have been dealt and building on it. To me, all negative experiences are more than just lessons learned. They are the building blocks of strong character, but only if those negatives experiences are embraced and accepted as what we have been given to work with.

…I don’t really get depressed much. I like life, even with its bad memories. I think in that moment, it was just a realization that I was getting too old to really have the kind of Christmas excitement I had when I was a child.

It has been a very long time since I’ve posted anything. Things are very hectic around here. We are rearranging our house to make room for some family members that need a place to stay for awhile. I can’t believe how much stuff I have accumulated. I have an office in the house and it […]

The glass of water analogy falls apart for me because whether you look at is half full or half empty, it still contains water and air, and we need both. I’m addicted to both. Can’t seem to get enough of either.

As I wrote, Granny and I talked. It wasn’t always about the ancestors, but when she knew something about the person whose name I was writing down, she would tell me stories about them. There was something about it that delighted me.

That is not to say that being tolerant means conceding our own beliefs and practices. It is entirely possibly and spiritually mandatory for Latter-day Saints to co-exist with people of other beliefs and cultures while being true to that which we believe.

In the last year I’ve really gotten in to bicycling in a big way. As I’ve gotten more into it I’ve made adjustments to my bicycle and with the help of my sister’s family been able to upgrade some components. While out on a ride with my sister and nephew the other day, I had […]

I had an interesting experience the other day as I was taking a walk around the grounds of the Temple in Sacramento. As I paused for a moment in the shade of an oak tree, I looked up. 3 people like this post. Like Unlike

I was out on a bike ride today with my sister and brother-in-law.For all intents and purposes it was a pretty uneventful ride.  However when a bee flies into your helmet it can make life very interesting. 3 people like this post. Like Unlike

The last two weeks have been very painful for me. My old back injury has been giving me big problems. When I wake up in the morning, I can barely stand. It feels like an internal hydraulic press is dragging my body into a standing contortion that is excruciating.

On the surface, it seems like a well-meaning offer. Why not at least make an effort to include youth? Deep down, I find it offensive on a couple of fronts.

I have always thought that pain was just part of my condition as a mortal, part of my schooling as a disciple, and part of the test that life is meant to be. I’ve also thought of pain as a message and a diagnostic tool. We know what is wrong by where and how it hurts.