There was a time when everything was spiritual. When everyone I knew spoke of God. When every conversation involved service and love and the Lord. For one month before my mission, I lived in Eden.
Out of some random need for affirmation or reminiscence, I decided to open up a shoebox full of old letters and dive in tonight. And what I found was a city of God. All of my very best friends decided to tell me they loved me. Kathy was a miracle. Emily was an angel. Andy and Jake and Ross and Carson were sincere for a sliver in time. A bunch of rag tag 18-year-olds got together and spoke of love and testified of Jesus. Missions are a miracle before they even happen.
It's time for a spiritual renaissance again. Everyone within earshot of this blog: start over. Go back to those golden months when you or your friends were preparing for missions. Not to those holier-than-thou months after you got home, but to those innocent and bumbling and humbling months when friends could say "I love you" and "I believe" and "I'm scared." When the idea of missing someone somehow brought out a newly mature joy and yearning. When high school was the past, and God was the future. Get out your old letters and pictures and tapes. Listen to your farewells. We had no idea what we were doing, but we were full of hope. And 10 years later we still have no idea what we're doing. We might as well bring the hope back.
Tuesday, March 04, 2008
Saturday, March 01, 2008
She's a headache... She's an angel... She's a girl... How do you solve a problem like Maria?
I'm looking for a girl that can't stop singing.
Sunday, February 24, 2008
Sunday Message - give said the little stream
Elder Bednar said, “the purpose of our mortal journey is not merely to see the sights on earth or to spend our allotment of time on self-centered pursuits.” I have found even my efforts to become more spiritually minded a self-centered pursuit lately. Going home after work and reading in the scriptures or watching church movies is good, but probably not as good as going and serving other people. I can become as spiritual as I want, but what good does it do me if it does not make me give more of myself to others? In the mission field, there were a few hours each morning that were allotted for personal study and reflection, but the real meat of the day was spent serving others. And that is when the most growth happened anyway. This week I will spend a little less time working on myself and a little more time working for somebody else.
“My little children, let us not love in word, neither in tongue; but in deed and in truth.”
- 1 John 3:18
“My little children, let us not love in word, neither in tongue; but in deed and in truth.”
- 1 John 3:18
French Toast
French toast on a Sunday morning is next to cleanliness which is next to godliness. Plus the sun is shining and Spring is finally beginning to peek its shy little head in the door and that means Sunday walks through the park. French toast and walks through the park combined are greater than cleanliness. In fact, I'm pretty sure that's what God does on Sunday mornings.
Thursday, February 21, 2008
ஷ்ளோம்
To the Elders that left their homes to teach Alan and Joyce Smith
To Alan and Joyce Smith for raising Penny in the truth
To the countless missionaries who softened Robert’s heart
To a pragmatic bishop who buried Robert in the font
To Robert and Penny for falling in love
To Robert and Penny for loving enough to adopt
To Penny for working quietly with a broken heart
To the parents of dozens of children that let me into their homes
To Marc and Annette for daring to care
To Brooke for daring to try
To Brooke for giving me Ellie
To Ellie for loving her father
To Ellie who had a beginning but no end
To a life built on the shoulders of those courageous enough to love
Shalom. What love forges…
To Alan and Joyce Smith for raising Penny in the truth
To the countless missionaries who softened Robert’s heart
To a pragmatic bishop who buried Robert in the font
To Robert and Penny for falling in love
To Robert and Penny for loving enough to adopt
To Penny for working quietly with a broken heart
To the parents of dozens of children that let me into their homes
To Marc and Annette for daring to care
To Brooke for daring to try
To Brooke for giving me Ellie
To Ellie for loving her father
To Ellie who had a beginning but no end
To a life built on the shoulders of those courageous enough to love
Shalom. What love forges…
Monday, February 18, 2008
today's testimony
This life is sweet and personal and glorious and beautiful and today I was absolutely humbled and grateful to be living it. This Gospel has never been so true and I have never been so blessed to have it. Today I closed my eyes and let the Spirit like a breeze sift through me and ruffle the edges of my soul and I haven't been able to stop smiling since. Christ is coming and I can't wait to meet him. Today I love everybody and I hope everybody gets to read this.
Sunday, February 17, 2008
Sunday Message - O Pioneers!
Do a google image search of the name Kim Ho Jik and only one relevant picture will come up. A tiny image of the man standing with his family. But while this man may be a complete unknown here in the US, he is the George Washington of Korean Latter-day Saints.I will spare you a complete biography of this man. It is enough to know that he was the first Korean Mormon ever. Baptized in the Susquehanna river (like Joseph Smith) in 1951, he took the gospel back to war-torn Korea that same year. In the short 8 years between his baptism and death, Dr. Kim was president of several colleges and served in the cabinet of president Syngman Rhee as vice minister of education. He used that position to convince the Korean government to officially recognize the LDS church and then to allow LDS missionaries to proselyte. In the church, he served as District President and taught Sunday School until the day he died. An entire nation was opened to the gospel because of this man's faith and courage. He is a father and a pioneer.
I'm sorry this entry is so boring. But I am inspired every time I learn about this man and hopefully you'll recognize his name and pay attention the next time you hear of him.
Friday, February 15, 2008
Here's the essay you requested
Dripping to Death
I can still remember the sound of Ellie trying to suck in air between fits of crying. The inward gasps were worse than the screams that echoed through the house, not because of any particular sound they made, but because I could feel the exhaustion in her lungs, in her flexing arms and legs and fingers and toes. I remember thinking that I was just as spent as she was and wished with selfish sympathy that she would stop for me. Stop for Dad. But she wouldn’t. She was six months old and, though it seems like a lie now or at very least a reckless memory, she had never stayed up to cry in her life. But she was sick then and What to Expect the First Year pointed us to a general explanation: the flu. I was contented with the diagnosis but Brooke was not convinced. She held onto our baby with the same prayerful grace that she held onto her father with just before he died. I hovered around mother and child trying in an uncomfortable effort to say I understood, to say that I was there in case it was serious. But after an hour or two of awkward fatherness, I went to bed. I know Brooke has forgiven me for falling asleep through Ellie’s cries, but I wonder sometimes how she feels about a father that slept through those helpless inward gasps.
Two years before Ellie got sick, Brooke’s father died. I had only had a year to avoid Marvin Heath’s steely eyes before I lost the chance to find out what was behind them. The Multiple Myeloma cancer ate his bones from the inside out, but he ultimately died of kidney failure and starvation. The man my new wife loved even more than her husband wasted away to an empty chrysalis, and I know for a time she was left with nothing. I did not know how to be there for her. I did not even know where there was.
We all hovered for days before it actually happened. I was on the outside looking in. My tears weren’t Heath tears and I did not want to pretend I understood, even if I did. I was scared to mourn as Marvin’s wife mourned, as his children mourned. His bread of life. I did not want to intrude on something that was uniquely theirs. My feelings became transient and I found myself crying when I was alone. Not crying out of loss or pain. Just crying. Perhaps I should have intruded. I should have let them know I feared and mourned and understood in some small way. Or perhaps they found some unifying solace in their distaste for my distance. I won’t ever know now. The time is past and the subject is as welcome as a gravestone in a flowerbed.
That was the first and only time I have ever been around death. It is a process like the melting of an icicle. The memory goes, the body withers, the mind drips drips drips until there is nothing left to hang onto. One day, expectedly but quite arbitrarily, what is left crashes to the ground and it’s over. I spent the majority of the only year I knew Marvin Heath standing in the hallway outside his bedroom while his family watched him die within. He is the white walls of a dimly lit hall in my memory. He is gone. And all I hear are the echoes of dripping.
It has been two months since Ellie kept her mother awake and I slept two doors away. After having taken her to see a pediatrician, Brooke rushed Ellie to the emergency room while I was at school. When I came home six hours later, there was a note on the cupboard. Come to the hospital as soon as you get home. Brooke. I tried to concentrate on simply pushing the air in and out of my lungs, pushing the echoes out of my head, as I drove the fifteen miles to the hospital. I got there in time to hear the doctor say the word serious twice. Ellie has a serious bone infection called Osteomyelitis. It helps that you caught it early. It’s a serious condition. It is an unfair word for a doctor to use. It cuts. It cuts whatever tendons or muscles hold your heart in your chest. Does it mean long term illness? Does it mean paralysis? Does it mean amputation? I looked at Ellie’s little legs and tried not to imagine their absence. Ellie was not crying anymore and Brooke was holding her in that way again. That watchful, prayerful, terrified way again. And I knew what serious meant. It meant eating from the inside out. It meant melting and withering. It meant drips.
Time in the hospital was marked by blood tests and beeps. Ellie gained strength and we finally took her home with just an IV in her arm and a six-week treatment to show for her scare. She has been up and down since then, mostly up, and the word serious has disappeared. But there are still nights when I look at her fragile baby body lying in her crib and I am forced to consider what death might mean. What will it be like when I’m on the inside? When there are no white walls to hide behind? I can sense it at times. It flattens me out. It is an ice storm. It freezes then shatters my heart and my lungs. Will I be left with nothing like Brooke was two years ago?
I think on the times when Ellie is laughing. When mom and dad and baby are dancing with our home wrapped around us, dancing in each other’s arms like leaves in a whirlwind and baby squeals with angelic bliss and mom starts crying, smiling and crying like her very essence might burst with joy and anguished ecstasy. I will not be left with nothing. I will have this. And I finally understand that prayerful grace that Brooke holds Ellie with. That same embrace that she gave her father. It is her dance. Her moment. She was not left with nothing.
Ellie is sleeping and there’s an echo in my head. No dripping. Just the sound of my baby breathing.
I can still remember the sound of Ellie trying to suck in air between fits of crying. The inward gasps were worse than the screams that echoed through the house, not because of any particular sound they made, but because I could feel the exhaustion in her lungs, in her flexing arms and legs and fingers and toes. I remember thinking that I was just as spent as she was and wished with selfish sympathy that she would stop for me. Stop for Dad. But she wouldn’t. She was six months old and, though it seems like a lie now or at very least a reckless memory, she had never stayed up to cry in her life. But she was sick then and What to Expect the First Year pointed us to a general explanation: the flu. I was contented with the diagnosis but Brooke was not convinced. She held onto our baby with the same prayerful grace that she held onto her father with just before he died. I hovered around mother and child trying in an uncomfortable effort to say I understood, to say that I was there in case it was serious. But after an hour or two of awkward fatherness, I went to bed. I know Brooke has forgiven me for falling asleep through Ellie’s cries, but I wonder sometimes how she feels about a father that slept through those helpless inward gasps.
*
Two years before Ellie got sick, Brooke’s father died. I had only had a year to avoid Marvin Heath’s steely eyes before I lost the chance to find out what was behind them. The Multiple Myeloma cancer ate his bones from the inside out, but he ultimately died of kidney failure and starvation. The man my new wife loved even more than her husband wasted away to an empty chrysalis, and I know for a time she was left with nothing. I did not know how to be there for her. I did not even know where there was.
We all hovered for days before it actually happened. I was on the outside looking in. My tears weren’t Heath tears and I did not want to pretend I understood, even if I did. I was scared to mourn as Marvin’s wife mourned, as his children mourned. His bread of life. I did not want to intrude on something that was uniquely theirs. My feelings became transient and I found myself crying when I was alone. Not crying out of loss or pain. Just crying. Perhaps I should have intruded. I should have let them know I feared and mourned and understood in some small way. Or perhaps they found some unifying solace in their distaste for my distance. I won’t ever know now. The time is past and the subject is as welcome as a gravestone in a flowerbed.
That was the first and only time I have ever been around death. It is a process like the melting of an icicle. The memory goes, the body withers, the mind drips drips drips until there is nothing left to hang onto. One day, expectedly but quite arbitrarily, what is left crashes to the ground and it’s over. I spent the majority of the only year I knew Marvin Heath standing in the hallway outside his bedroom while his family watched him die within. He is the white walls of a dimly lit hall in my memory. He is gone. And all I hear are the echoes of dripping.
*
It has been two months since Ellie kept her mother awake and I slept two doors away. After having taken her to see a pediatrician, Brooke rushed Ellie to the emergency room while I was at school. When I came home six hours later, there was a note on the cupboard. Come to the hospital as soon as you get home. Brooke. I tried to concentrate on simply pushing the air in and out of my lungs, pushing the echoes out of my head, as I drove the fifteen miles to the hospital. I got there in time to hear the doctor say the word serious twice. Ellie has a serious bone infection called Osteomyelitis. It helps that you caught it early. It’s a serious condition. It is an unfair word for a doctor to use. It cuts. It cuts whatever tendons or muscles hold your heart in your chest. Does it mean long term illness? Does it mean paralysis? Does it mean amputation? I looked at Ellie’s little legs and tried not to imagine their absence. Ellie was not crying anymore and Brooke was holding her in that way again. That watchful, prayerful, terrified way again. And I knew what serious meant. It meant eating from the inside out. It meant melting and withering. It meant drips.
Time in the hospital was marked by blood tests and beeps. Ellie gained strength and we finally took her home with just an IV in her arm and a six-week treatment to show for her scare. She has been up and down since then, mostly up, and the word serious has disappeared. But there are still nights when I look at her fragile baby body lying in her crib and I am forced to consider what death might mean. What will it be like when I’m on the inside? When there are no white walls to hide behind? I can sense it at times. It flattens me out. It is an ice storm. It freezes then shatters my heart and my lungs. Will I be left with nothing like Brooke was two years ago?
I think on the times when Ellie is laughing. When mom and dad and baby are dancing with our home wrapped around us, dancing in each other’s arms like leaves in a whirlwind and baby squeals with angelic bliss and mom starts crying, smiling and crying like her very essence might burst with joy and anguished ecstasy. I will not be left with nothing. I will have this. And I finally understand that prayerful grace that Brooke holds Ellie with. That same embrace that she gave her father. It is her dance. Her moment. She was not left with nothing.
Ellie is sleeping and there’s an echo in my head. No dripping. Just the sound of my baby breathing.
Monday, February 04, 2008
Three pokes of a thistle
I went to President Hinckley's funeral on Saturday and I left feeling 3 things: first, I was most moved and impressed when President Hinckley's daughter spoke. She spoke of him as a father first and a Prophet second. And the Spirit reaffirmed to me that being a husband and father is the most important thing on earth, even more important than being the Prophet. Second, I missed Nicole like crazy during the funeral and wanted to tell her that I love her for the whole day afterwards. I am not sure why exactly, but I do know that the pit was enormous in my heart. Which is funny because Bishop Burton (I think) spoke of having a gorge dug into your heart and filling it with compassion. That is God's main purpose for heartbreak I think. It makes you more understanding and more capable of loving in the future. And third, I felt grateful that I'm alive and that in the end, everything works out for the best. President Hinckely knew it, President Eyring knows it, and I'm becoming more and more sure of it everyday.
Thursday, January 31, 2008
Trying
A good friend told me that she hoped I would one day meet someone that I would just love without ever having to try. I hope not. Adam never got to hold Eve in his arms, look into her eyes, and say with a heart full of tenderness, courage, and exhaustion, "I still love you," while they were yet innocent. I believe they didn't learn to love until love was necessary. Until they saw each other's imperfections, felt a shrinking in their hearts, and then stretched out their souls and decided to love anyway. I am looking for a human being. A beautiful yet imperfect girl that will forgive me when I am small, and will let me forgive her, too. We all dance within the Garden walls while in love, but it is only when we are thrust out into the lone and dreary world that we learn to carry each other. I believe in a perfect marriage. Two imperfect people trying their hearts out over and over and over and over and over...
Sunday, January 27, 2008
Sunday Message 2 - Love
Every day for the past little while I have been praying to know how to love. Because although I've been married and have an angel daughter, I still don't think I have it down. And that is a hard and embarrassing thing to admit. The pride in my gut shouts, "Don't try to tell me what love is! I of all people know, even if by circumstance alone!" But perhaps circumstance is the harvest of the weak seeds I've sown. Maybe I am where I am because I thought I knew what love is, but never took the time to really find out.
I couldn't get a scripture out of my mind when I woke up this morning. Paul says that the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, and temperance. So love isn't a standalone matter. It is a fruit, or a gift, of having the Spirit. This much I can say I have learned through experience. I have never felt so loving, as well as in love, as I have when virtue garnishes my thoughts and the Spirit swells in my heart. It is likely that you cannot love another human being any more than you love the Lord. And vice versa. But to practice that everyday is the point of life. Simply learning that the principle exists (like I have done) is barely a beginning.
In our relationships in this life, even to love completely is not enough. As well as learning to love, I need to learn to be loving. I believe I love Ellie with all of my heart. I only want what is best for her at every moment. But I know (and this thought will torture me at any given moment of the day) that she does not always feel loved by me. I am a bumbling fool. I show impatience when what I mean to do is teach. I show her tears when what I want to show is need. I raise my voice instead of my level of charity. And for her, knowing who she is, and knowing her situation, the only lesson really worth teaching is that she is loved. In every detail. And at every moment. And forever.
I have lost too much already because I am so slow to turn the key. I lost a marriage because I loved weakly. If I lost my child today, I'm afraid she wouldn't know how much I love her. And I just lost the most beautiful person in the world because I didn't know how to cherish. Not only that, but upon love hangs the first and great commandment. And the second, too. So I pray for it every day now. If love is a gift, then I can pray for it. And if it's a skill as well then I can practice at it. And one day I will love a wife like she hopes to be loved and I will love my children like they deserve. And if I should still lose them, it will hurt not because I didn't love enough, but because I did.
I couldn't get a scripture out of my mind when I woke up this morning. Paul says that the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, and temperance. So love isn't a standalone matter. It is a fruit, or a gift, of having the Spirit. This much I can say I have learned through experience. I have never felt so loving, as well as in love, as I have when virtue garnishes my thoughts and the Spirit swells in my heart. It is likely that you cannot love another human being any more than you love the Lord. And vice versa. But to practice that everyday is the point of life. Simply learning that the principle exists (like I have done) is barely a beginning.
In our relationships in this life, even to love completely is not enough. As well as learning to love, I need to learn to be loving. I believe I love Ellie with all of my heart. I only want what is best for her at every moment. But I know (and this thought will torture me at any given moment of the day) that she does not always feel loved by me. I am a bumbling fool. I show impatience when what I mean to do is teach. I show her tears when what I want to show is need. I raise my voice instead of my level of charity. And for her, knowing who she is, and knowing her situation, the only lesson really worth teaching is that she is loved. In every detail. And at every moment. And forever.
I have lost too much already because I am so slow to turn the key. I lost a marriage because I loved weakly. If I lost my child today, I'm afraid she wouldn't know how much I love her. And I just lost the most beautiful person in the world because I didn't know how to cherish. Not only that, but upon love hangs the first and great commandment. And the second, too. So I pray for it every day now. If love is a gift, then I can pray for it. And if it's a skill as well then I can practice at it. And one day I will love a wife like she hopes to be loved and I will love my children like they deserve. And if I should still lose them, it will hurt not because I didn't love enough, but because I did.
Sunday, January 20, 2008
Sunday Message
Inspired by Elder Tingey's fireside last week, I've been thinking about what I know to be absolutely true. First of all, I know that God lives and that Jesus is the Christ. No doubt about it. I also know that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is true. But aside from the very basics, I've thought of 5 things that are rock solid true in my life:
1) Happiness is completely independent of money
2) Love is a skill, as well as a blessing
3) The Lord fulfills ALL of his promises
4) Honesty is worthless without truth
5) The greatest answer to any prayer is always "Be still, and know that I am God."
1) Happiness is completely independent of money
2) Love is a skill, as well as a blessing
3) The Lord fulfills ALL of his promises
4) Honesty is worthless without truth
5) The greatest answer to any prayer is always "Be still, and know that I am God."
Friday, January 18, 2008
New Feature for the New Year
This blogger has been anxiously awaiting the rollout of a new feature that I think you're really going to enjoy... Interactive Polls! I know it's what you've been waiting for. Please think carefully before answering because I fully intend to live my life based on the results of said polls.
Tuesday, January 15, 2008
I Am...
I Am
I am wet knees angry shivers bathtime, I am
four bites ninety minute supper, I am
out of milk back turned bedtime, I am
guilt stricken off days reveler, I am
bruised ribs blanketless bed sharer, I am
awkward princess high pitched play date, I am
late night lone time sanctifier, I am
trembling hands teary eyed hairdresser, I am
tired father. I am
tired, Father.
I am wet knees angry shivers bathtime, I am
four bites ninety minute supper, I am
out of milk back turned bedtime, I am
guilt stricken off days reveler, I am
bruised ribs blanketless bed sharer, I am
awkward princess high pitched play date, I am
late night lone time sanctifier, I am
trembling hands teary eyed hairdresser, I am
tired father. I am
tired, Father.
You Are...
You Are
Sometimes late at night
I hear the shuffling of your paws against the carpet
As you climb into my bed
To snuggle with your pop.
You are my baby bear cub.
When you’re in the bath
And you show me how you can hold your breath
And kick your legs
And wash your arms,
You are my singing mermaid savior.
When our eyes get tired
And we can only read two books tonight, or maybe three
You rock me to sleep
With your fading laughs.
You are my front porch swing.
And when you aren’t here
And wolves and ghosts howl through my house
I close my eyes
And count your lights.
You are my starry night sky.
Sometimes late at night
I hear the shuffling of your paws against the carpet
As you climb into my bed
To snuggle with your pop.
You are my baby bear cub.
When you’re in the bath
And you show me how you can hold your breath
And kick your legs
And wash your arms,
You are my singing mermaid savior.
When our eyes get tired
And we can only read two books tonight, or maybe three
You rock me to sleep
With your fading laughs.
You are my front porch swing.
And when you aren’t here
And wolves and ghosts howl through my house
I close my eyes
And count your lights.
You are my starry night sky.
Thursday, January 10, 2008
The Favorites / Movies
My 10 Favorite Movies (in no particular order):
1) The Shawshank Redemption
2) Whale Rider
3) Groundhog Day
4) Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon
5) Annie Hall
6) The Wizard of Oz
7) The Sound of Music
8) Citizen Kane
9) To Kill a Mockingbird
10) The Little Mermaid
Honorable Mentions:
Mannequin, The Great Escape, Big, The Odd Couple, My Fair Lady, Beauty and the Beast, It's a Wonderful Life, The Last Emperor, Life is Beautiful, Little Shop of Horrors, LA Story, Disney's Robin Hood, The Ten Commandments, Ghostbusters
And 3 movies I wanted to kill myself in:
Pearl Harbor, Titanic, Eight Crazy Nights
6) The Wizard of Oz
7) The Sound of Music
8) Citizen Kane
9) To Kill a Mockingbird
10) The Little Mermaid
Honorable Mentions:
Mannequin, The Great Escape, Big, The Odd Couple, My Fair Lady, Beauty and the Beast, It's a Wonderful Life, The Last Emperor, Life is Beautiful, Little Shop of Horrors, LA Story, Disney's Robin Hood, The Ten Commandments, Ghostbusters
And 3 movies I wanted to kill myself in:
Pearl Harbor, Titanic, Eight Crazy Nights
Wednesday, January 09, 2008
The Favorites / Songs
My 5 favorite songs of all time (in no particular order):
1) Crazy Love - Van Morrison
2) Kiss - Prince
3) Hey Jude - The Beatles
4) Suite No.1 Prelude - JS Bach
5) Time After Time - Cyndi Lauper
5 more favorites you may not have heard of:
1) New Hampshire - Matt Pond PA
2) My Lady's House - Iron and Wine
3) The Predatory Wasp of the Palisades... - Sufjan Stevens
4) Blood Bleeds - The Helio Sequence
5) Quelqu'un m'a dit - Carla Bruni
And 5 Guilty Pleasures:
1) Where Does the Good Go? - Teagan and Sara
2) Perfect Gentleman - Wyclef Jean
3) Icky Thump - The White Stripes
4) Angel - Sarah McLachlan (that one is really embarrassing)
5) Crazy - Seal
1) Crazy Love - Van Morrison
2) Kiss - Prince
3) Hey Jude - The Beatles
4) Suite No.1 Prelude - JS Bach
5) Time After Time - Cyndi Lauper
5 more favorites you may not have heard of:
1) New Hampshire - Matt Pond PA
2) My Lady's House - Iron and Wine
3) The Predatory Wasp of the Palisades... - Sufjan Stevens
4) Blood Bleeds - The Helio Sequence
5) Quelqu'un m'a dit - Carla Bruni
And 5 Guilty Pleasures:
1) Where Does the Good Go? - Teagan and Sara
2) Perfect Gentleman - Wyclef Jean
3) Icky Thump - The White Stripes
4) Angel - Sarah McLachlan (that one is really embarrassing)
5) Crazy - Seal
Sunday, January 06, 2008
For This First Sunday of the Month
Elder Ballard has asked us all to defend the Church in all mediums that are available to us. So here's mine. I believe in Jesus Christ. I believe that he speaks to Gordon B. Hinckley. I believe that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is Christ's church. Like all people, I begin to justify my actions when I sin, and consequently I start to wonder about the wisdom of all the rules that we are asked to keep. But each time that I look to Christ for forgiveness and make even the smallest effort to get back on track, I feel infinitely better about every aspect of life. Abraham Lincoln said, "When I do good, I feel good...That's my religion." I don't know if I can say it any better than that. No matter how small the tenet, how minute the rule, how seemingly insignificant the teaching of the Church, I ALWAYS feel better when I keep it. Always. And that is how I know these things are true. I know that the Gospel we teach in this church will lead anyone and everyone to heaven if followed. And I know that Jesus Christ is the reason.
Tuesday, January 01, 2008
2007
This was the best year of my life. Maybe I had more carefree ones when I was 5 or so, but this was the happiest one that I can remember. I was in love like a Van Morrison song and that kind of thing doesn't happen every year, or sometimes ever depending on who you are. I danced around inside that love like a kid playing in the rain. It was great, and it was swallowing, and it was bigger than I dared hope for. And even though the boat got washed ashore in the end, I am grateful to have been in the ocean. And I am grateful that my shipmate rowed with me from beginning to end.
For nine months, my daughter had a best friend who wasn't boring like her dad or selfish like her equally aged cousins. She loved someone outside of her family, and that is the greatest thing she could have learned this year. She is still saving a third of her Christmas candy for that friend and that floors me. I love Ellie exponentially more than I did a year ago. Than I did a day ago.
This year I received the most selfless kindnesses from a person I thought could only ever hurt me. And I learned to forgive. Because she made it easy. I am not in love with her, but I know that God is. And so is her daughter.
I found my friends again. My friends that I had hid from in a comfortable cave. I found them on rocks and on skis and in Sin City and in Mexico and online. And I found them calling me when I needed someone to call me. They are holy white elephants in the temple of my need. They are family like nobody's business.
I am cautiously grateful to start a new year with a broken heart. There is fathering that needs improving and a relationship with THE Dude that can only get stronger. And more piercing. And I am eagerly awaiting another round with Van Morrison.
For nine months, my daughter had a best friend who wasn't boring like her dad or selfish like her equally aged cousins. She loved someone outside of her family, and that is the greatest thing she could have learned this year. She is still saving a third of her Christmas candy for that friend and that floors me. I love Ellie exponentially more than I did a year ago. Than I did a day ago.
This year I received the most selfless kindnesses from a person I thought could only ever hurt me. And I learned to forgive. Because she made it easy. I am not in love with her, but I know that God is. And so is her daughter.
I found my friends again. My friends that I had hid from in a comfortable cave. I found them on rocks and on skis and in Sin City and in Mexico and online. And I found them calling me when I needed someone to call me. They are holy white elephants in the temple of my need. They are family like nobody's business.
I am cautiously grateful to start a new year with a broken heart. There is fathering that needs improving and a relationship with THE Dude that can only get stronger. And more piercing. And I am eagerly awaiting another round with Van Morrison.
Thursday, April 19, 2007
My Politics
I've been accused of not being involved in or concerned with politics enough. Guilty as charged. Like the teenager who vandalizes because the consequences are too distant for him to care about, I plug my ears to the political ruckus that surrounds me because I just don't know how to care. No matter who becomes president next November, I'll still wake up groggy, pee standing up (except late at night), love my daughter, and laugh with my friends. But to appease the masses, here's my stance (however watery it is):
I gladly pay taxes because I'm grateful to live in America.
I receive a tax return because I'm poor at managing my own money.
If you're for ending racism, I'm for you.
If you're for ending racism through racism and hatred through hatred, please don't use my name in your brochures.
I claim Thomas Jefferson, although I don't know what party he was from.
Some wars have to be fought. And some wars can't be won.
If Democrats are getting a Christmas bonus this year, sign me up.
Republicans always get a Christmas bonus, so please leave my name on the list.
I won't need welfare when I'm 60, but some people will.
Kissing babies is awkward and creepy.
The FBI, CIA, DHS, and big W himself can listen in on my phone calls. I've always liked an audience.
The saying "If you don't like it here, then leave" is more shortsighted and ignorant than even my political views.
More people are cured of cancer each year than travel to space. Let's keep it that way.
I would like a personal fee waiver to get into national and state parks. Thanks.
I gladly pay taxes because I'm grateful to live in America.
I receive a tax return because I'm poor at managing my own money.
If you're for ending racism, I'm for you.
If you're for ending racism through racism and hatred through hatred, please don't use my name in your brochures.
I claim Thomas Jefferson, although I don't know what party he was from.
Some wars have to be fought. And some wars can't be won.
If Democrats are getting a Christmas bonus this year, sign me up.
Republicans always get a Christmas bonus, so please leave my name on the list.
I won't need welfare when I'm 60, but some people will.
Kissing babies is awkward and creepy.
The FBI, CIA, DHS, and big W himself can listen in on my phone calls. I've always liked an audience.
The saying "If you don't like it here, then leave" is more shortsighted and ignorant than even my political views.
More people are cured of cancer each year than travel to space. Let's keep it that way.
I would like a personal fee waiver to get into national and state parks. Thanks.
Sunday, February 25, 2007
Monday, February 19, 2007
What Love Might Be
While shots were being fired on the presidential cavalcade, Jackie O reached back onto the trunk of the convertible and grabbed a piece of her dying husband's skull.
Wednesday, February 14, 2007
The Blank Page
The blank page. Sand on a campfire. If anything can extinguish the nearly indefatigable spirit of an aspiring writer, it is 24 lb. Bright White Bond. Or perhaps the pale glow from a computer screen.
On the bus I construct labyrinthine yarns involving myriads of people whose lives are interconnected by fate or love or religion or serendipity or a cold cup of coffee. I direct movies that finally stab issues like today versus yesterday versus tomorrow in the heart. That ragged man leaning against the statue of James Joyce – I know his life. Let me tell it to you. It’s a comedy. No, a musical. It’s much more Oklahoma than An American in Paris. You’re going to love it. And then I get off the bus. I take the pencil out from behind my ear. 24 lb. Bright White Bond. An empty street. And another day without writing.
On the bus I construct labyrinthine yarns involving myriads of people whose lives are interconnected by fate or love or religion or serendipity or a cold cup of coffee. I direct movies that finally stab issues like today versus yesterday versus tomorrow in the heart. That ragged man leaning against the statue of James Joyce – I know his life. Let me tell it to you. It’s a comedy. No, a musical. It’s much more Oklahoma than An American in Paris. You’re going to love it. And then I get off the bus. I take the pencil out from behind my ear. 24 lb. Bright White Bond. An empty street. And another day without writing.
Friday, December 15, 2006
25 things que me gustan
1- Trying new restaurants
2- Sitting and rapping with my friends
3- Backyard football
4- Armwrestling
5- To Kill a Mockingbird
6- Waking up early to play
7- Traveling…anywhere
8- People who speak several languages
9- Tipping big
10- Sleeping under the stars
11- First snowfalls
12- Getting packages in the mail
13- Christmas service
14- When you can’t feel the air outside
15- Sunday naps
16- Sneaking into places
17- Smell of coffee
18- Planning vacations
19- The idea of being a writer
20- Lingering at parties
21- Savants
22- Avocado on sandwiches
23- Good storytellers
24- Extreme weather
25- Everything about my daughter Ellie
2- Sitting and rapping with my friends
3- Backyard football
4- Armwrestling
5- To Kill a Mockingbird
6- Waking up early to play
7- Traveling…anywhere
8- People who speak several languages
9- Tipping big
10- Sleeping under the stars
11- First snowfalls
12- Getting packages in the mail
13- Christmas service
14- When you can’t feel the air outside
15- Sunday naps
16- Sneaking into places
17- Smell of coffee
18- Planning vacations
19- The idea of being a writer
20- Lingering at parties
21- Savants
22- Avocado on sandwiches
23- Good storytellers
24- Extreme weather
25- Everything about my daughter Ellie
25 things que no me gustan
1- Watching people get busted…for anything
2- Salespeople
3- Spiders on ceilings
4- Pretense
5- Waking up early to work
6- That song that goes “I believe in the sand beneath my toes”
7- Smell of old dudes
8- The term “good times were had by all”
9- Cartoons these days
10- Phones
11- People who don’t tip enough
12- Waking up from bad naps
13- Swearing to sound hip
14- Liver
15- Being a few cents short
16- Shaving
17- Real racism
18- Making resumes
19- Going into Victoria’s Secret for anything
20- Unnatural dialogue in movies
21- The name “Tears for Fears”
22- Freezer burn
23- Scary movies
24- Freezing toes when snowboarding
25- People talking to me when I’m on the phone
2- Salespeople
3- Spiders on ceilings
4- Pretense
5- Waking up early to work
6- That song that goes “I believe in the sand beneath my toes”
7- Smell of old dudes
8- The term “good times were had by all”
9- Cartoons these days
10- Phones
11- People who don’t tip enough
12- Waking up from bad naps
13- Swearing to sound hip
14- Liver
15- Being a few cents short
16- Shaving
17- Real racism
18- Making resumes
19- Going into Victoria’s Secret for anything
20- Unnatural dialogue in movies
21- The name “Tears for Fears”
22- Freezer burn
23- Scary movies
24- Freezing toes when snowboarding
25- People talking to me when I’m on the phone
10 things I'm not sure if I like because I haven't done them with the right person
1- Going for walks
2- Playing pool
3- Watching foreign movies
4- Picking grapes
5- Waking up early to watch the sunrise
6- Dancing
7- Running out of gas
8- Las Vegas
9- Shopping for new furniture
10-Watching hockey
2- Playing pool
3- Watching foreign movies
4- Picking grapes
5- Waking up early to watch the sunrise
6- Dancing
7- Running out of gas
8- Las Vegas
9- Shopping for new furniture
10-Watching hockey
Monday, December 04, 2006
Friday, September 22, 2006
The Radleys
We all, in a self-censoring way, believe we are Scout. We aspire to be Atticus - strong, noble, and godly - but realize we will always be children looking up to an ideal. But here's the hard truth: we are all just Boo Radleys. Nothing more, and nothing less. We are all forsaken, misshapen, scared, and scary. We hide out in the dark corners of our lives - coming out only when there is no one to truly see or recognize us - to drop small pieces of ourselves in the hollow of a tree. And in the end, if we do anything worthy or noble, it is to expose our ugly selves in order to carry another. This is love. This is that vulnerable, lonely, awkward power that alone coerces us out of our house at the end of the lane.
Credo
I believe in erring on the side of mercy. I believe in the great and terrible and wonderful humanity in us all. I believe in personal experience. What else do we know? I believe that each of us is as ungodlike as the next person.
I think that every person should keep their religion, no matter what it may be. Catholics should stay Catholic, Muslims should stay Muslim, Jews should stay Jewish, Mormons should stay Mormon. And each person should keep their religion...each person should give their souls to the moral framework that they believe in. But this is not an absolute rule. I believe in changing religions when the time is right. I don't like the word "conversion" because it sets up an ideal that only gets broken over time, but to leave your religion for another one can be the most courageous and noble thing a person ever does...when the time is right. The time is not right when one religion offers a slackened sense of responsibility or moral firmness. The time is not right when one religion justifies your current actions or thought processes better than another. The time is not right when conveniences are afforded or non-spiritual things are to be gained. But the time can be right when one religion fills your spirit more than another. When a person seeks self-sacrifice, discipline, faith, honesty, humility, and above all love...then the time may be right. A Catholic may need to prostrate himself five times a day in prayer and submission towards Mecca. A Muslim may need to wait with faith and eagerness each year at the Passover table for his King to come. A Jew may need to wash herself clean in Christ's bloodsweat. And yes, A Mormon may need to taste the bloodwine of Mass and cry to a Gentle Mother rather than an angry Lord. What are we doing this religion thing for, anyway? We long to be one of God's people. We ache to stop aching. And we starve to fill the countless holes in our hearts and to silence the screaming ghosts from our past.
Me personally, I believe in a Father full of light and a Mother driven to silence by heartache and love. I believe in Jesus the man and Jesus the God. I believe in a broken body and a forsaken heart that maybe, just maybe, understands mine. I believe in a power to heal, and a faith to be healed. I believe that after this life, the human battles that I fought in the cluttered space of my head and on the horizonless landscape of my soul will be the only topic of conversation, the only source of regret, the only reason to smile, and the only identity I will have. I don't expect fanfare when I arrive or iron gates to shut me out. I don't expect to hear "Thou wasteful fool," or "Thou good and faithful servant." I only expect to be held.
I think that every person should keep their religion, no matter what it may be. Catholics should stay Catholic, Muslims should stay Muslim, Jews should stay Jewish, Mormons should stay Mormon. And each person should keep their religion...each person should give their souls to the moral framework that they believe in. But this is not an absolute rule. I believe in changing religions when the time is right. I don't like the word "conversion" because it sets up an ideal that only gets broken over time, but to leave your religion for another one can be the most courageous and noble thing a person ever does...when the time is right. The time is not right when one religion offers a slackened sense of responsibility or moral firmness. The time is not right when one religion justifies your current actions or thought processes better than another. The time is not right when conveniences are afforded or non-spiritual things are to be gained. But the time can be right when one religion fills your spirit more than another. When a person seeks self-sacrifice, discipline, faith, honesty, humility, and above all love...then the time may be right. A Catholic may need to prostrate himself five times a day in prayer and submission towards Mecca. A Muslim may need to wait with faith and eagerness each year at the Passover table for his King to come. A Jew may need to wash herself clean in Christ's bloodsweat. And yes, A Mormon may need to taste the bloodwine of Mass and cry to a Gentle Mother rather than an angry Lord. What are we doing this religion thing for, anyway? We long to be one of God's people. We ache to stop aching. And we starve to fill the countless holes in our hearts and to silence the screaming ghosts from our past.
Me personally, I believe in a Father full of light and a Mother driven to silence by heartache and love. I believe in Jesus the man and Jesus the God. I believe in a broken body and a forsaken heart that maybe, just maybe, understands mine. I believe in a power to heal, and a faith to be healed. I believe that after this life, the human battles that I fought in the cluttered space of my head and on the horizonless landscape of my soul will be the only topic of conversation, the only source of regret, the only reason to smile, and the only identity I will have. I don't expect fanfare when I arrive or iron gates to shut me out. I don't expect to hear "Thou wasteful fool," or "Thou good and faithful servant." I only expect to be held.
Friday, June 09, 2006
Pity Party
I have recently become aware of the fascinating duality that is the human soul. How at once we can know precisely what we should do...and unequivocally decide not to do it. It is as if humans were the most illogical creatures of all. And yet I do believe that the opposite is true -- we are the most logical by far. What other of God's creations can conceive of and understand so many angles to a single situation or circumstance? What other creature can dress up an abstract idea like "love" in such definitive and lasting words? We are logical to a fault. And still...we can throw aside all reason and logic and surprise even ourselves. An example from the quotidian of life: I know that righteousness is the ONLY happiness. I believe it and know it and breathe it. And at any given moment, I can be seen doing something - anything - completely indulgent and sinful. I actually choose unhappiness.
This duality - this inconsistency - this stupidity - weaves its way through every aspect of our lives. But I only want to talk about one specific manifestation right now...and that is the choice I make to feel pain. I have had plenty of opportunites of late to feel the most crippling pain. I have been absolutely paralyzed in every sense of the word for months at a time. It is not because of any situation that I've been in...not really...but simply because I have chosen to feel like crap. Believe me, I am fully aware of how to escape the pain. It's actually a ridiculously simply process. But I ignore that process just to keep myself in the scorching oven. Why?
...
This duality - this inconsistency - this stupidity - weaves its way through every aspect of our lives. But I only want to talk about one specific manifestation right now...and that is the choice I make to feel pain. I have had plenty of opportunites of late to feel the most crippling pain. I have been absolutely paralyzed in every sense of the word for months at a time. It is not because of any situation that I've been in...not really...but simply because I have chosen to feel like crap. Believe me, I am fully aware of how to escape the pain. It's actually a ridiculously simply process. But I ignore that process just to keep myself in the scorching oven. Why?
...
Thursday, May 04, 2006
Singling
There’s Dave and Rich and John Redd (John Redd?) hiking up the face of a mountain with too-heavy-for-carrying loads of firewood, a package of marshmallows, two Cadbury chocolate bars (because Cadbury melts quicker than Hersheys and Hersheys almost never melts period), a lighter (that cost two cents in Thailand, and yes it works), a Mexican poncho, two speaker boxes, unmarried grins, and a pocket full of phone calls. And there’s me. I’m there too. Carrying one of those ridiculous mounds of wood and worrying about getting cited for having a fire during dry season. “I wonder if we’ll get in trouble for starting a fire” I wonder out loud. Rich echoes my concern. But he’s not really worried about it. In fact, he’s not even thinking about it. There are going to be girls coming, and that single thought consumes three entire universes. My universe trails behind, balancing desperately on burning legs.
On top of Pete’s rock, we throw down our loads and half-heartedly make a fire pit. It’s 9 o’clock and the sun is dying fast, but we’re in no hurry to get started. Single people are never in a hurry, and tonight I’m single. Ellie is well taken-care-of with her grandma and Brooke is sitting by a pool in Sunny California. On second thought, let’s get this shindig rolling…I have a lot of singling to do before this night is over. I have no intentions of forgetting my wife and child, but “carefree” is plastered on the walls of my mind like indie-rock posters. I’m neurotic about losing my mind.
(to be continued...)
On top of Pete’s rock, we throw down our loads and half-heartedly make a fire pit. It’s 9 o’clock and the sun is dying fast, but we’re in no hurry to get started. Single people are never in a hurry, and tonight I’m single. Ellie is well taken-care-of with her grandma and Brooke is sitting by a pool in Sunny California. On second thought, let’s get this shindig rolling…I have a lot of singling to do before this night is over. I have no intentions of forgetting my wife and child, but “carefree” is plastered on the walls of my mind like indie-rock posters. I’m neurotic about losing my mind.
(to be continued...)
Wednesday, April 26, 2006
To Do List:
Cure AIDS. 8000 people per day die of AIDS. That means that in 1 month, more people die from AIDS than died in the southeastern tsunami. I can barely function when I consider what that really means. What if I had AIDS? What if I had a disease that no one wants to talk about, let alone be around? What if I was sitting in a hospital bed for months and friends got bored of visiting me and family lost hope in me and I was afraid to touch my fragile sweet tender endlessly beautiful daughter and my 5-year plans turned into fighting just for tomorrow and I stopped loving everything worth loving strictly as a defense and I finally killed God and Goodness and Life and Light and Hope and Hope and Hope? What if hope was the hollow echo of a child's musings? What if I were Eight Thousand People today, April 26, 2006? And Eight Thousand People tomorrow, April 27, 2006? What if I were Twenty-Four Thousand People not looking forward to this weekend? What if the leaves on this tree of life kept falling and falling and falling until winter was the only thing left?
rock-a-bye, baby, in the treetop,
when the wind blows the cradle will rock,
when the bough breaks the cradle will fall,
and down will come everyleaf everyone everything...cradle and all.
rock-a-bye, baby, in the treetop,
when the wind blows the cradle will rock,
when the bough breaks the cradle will fall,
and down will come everyleaf everyone everything...cradle and all.
Tuesday, April 25, 2006
Hi
Some General Authority once told a story of how he was called to be a GA. He was called into the President's office and the Prophet asked him 3 simple questions. While this story would be better if I could remember all 3 questions, I can only recall one. That one question was, "Do you keep a daily journal?"
What? Can a journal really be that important? I'm not naive enough to believe that a daily log of life is all that it takes to be an Apostle. I'm sure the Prophet knew enough about this soon-to-be GA that a thorough interview was not necessary. But still, that story has stuck with me for years.
Someone (do you like how vague I am in my memory?) once said that writing is the ultimate medium for humans to communicate. It allows us to speak in the privacy of our own minds, and yet still share our thoughts with others. It is completely nonconfrontational, and yet a well-written anything can get right up in your face.
There are many people who write because of the privacy and intimacy inherent in a pen and paper or a laptop kept under passcode. Sometimes people write just to see what they are thinking. But I think everyone--down to the most awkward and introverted schlep--wants to be heard. Or better put, wants to be read. Or maybe not. But speaking for myself, if I did not want anyone to know what I think, I wouldn't take the time or the risk to make of record of my mindings. I write so that I know what I'm thinking, and so that you might know too.
What? Can a journal really be that important? I'm not naive enough to believe that a daily log of life is all that it takes to be an Apostle. I'm sure the Prophet knew enough about this soon-to-be GA that a thorough interview was not necessary. But still, that story has stuck with me for years.
Someone (do you like how vague I am in my memory?) once said that writing is the ultimate medium for humans to communicate. It allows us to speak in the privacy of our own minds, and yet still share our thoughts with others. It is completely nonconfrontational, and yet a well-written anything can get right up in your face.
There are many people who write because of the privacy and intimacy inherent in a pen and paper or a laptop kept under passcode. Sometimes people write just to see what they are thinking. But I think everyone--down to the most awkward and introverted schlep--wants to be heard. Or better put, wants to be read. Or maybe not. But speaking for myself, if I did not want anyone to know what I think, I wouldn't take the time or the risk to make of record of my mindings. I write so that I know what I'm thinking, and so that you might know too.
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