Quick To Forget

Recently things have been kind of hectic and stressful at the same time. As you can see I haven't posted in a long time, yet I really feel like I need to express a few things in writing most likely since I'm rather forgetful. The best way to do that is through a story.

A boy’s heart was full of sorrow with the many burdens which he had built up. Not being able to bear it anymore, he went onto his knees and begged for the Lord to give him some much needed relief, to somehow become better. Tears streaming down his face, he pleaded for help because he couldn’t bear the pain within. An image of a man in a white robe came into his mind and he could not mistake who it was. The nail marks were vivid. The message which was learned from this imagery was not that everything will be a walk in the park soon, but that his focus was all wrong. It was not to be focused on the miniscule problems he had to deal with, but the atoning sacrifice of his Lord and Savior Jesus Christ which he had lost focus of.

This boy has been me. Recently my focus has been so focused on my little problems that the focus of the Savior was lost. How can I sit here and complain about my petty things of the world if I really understand that His son went through it all and more. How selfish of me! How weak and self centered. My goal is to regain the focus, never forgetting that life is more then a few bumps and bruises along the way. God is great.

Cussing Like a Sailor

The words which come out of my mouth are usually not of a potty mouth nature, yet some situations seem to bring the sailor out of me. It was a bright and sunny Tuesday afternoon at Portland Tractor Inc. where I happen to work. The day was comprised of working outside in the sun while chopping wooden pallets down to a manageable size so that the area could be presentable once more. Obviously with cutting the pallets down, smaller bits of wood were scattered around the area. As soon as my eyes met the little pieces of wood lying near the large metal bin to where I was disposing of the wood, my compulsive need for perfection instantly kicked into overdrive. I ran over to the side of the bin and picked up the wood in victorious fashion. Unfortunately for me, I had forgotten that the door to the bin was directly above my head.


As I was about to taunt the pieces of wood for losing the fight, my head slammed directly into the metal door handle and caused for me to let out a yelp of pain. For a split second my thoughts were to try and fight the urge to shout the words which I sought so much to speak and yet the pain was something I hadn't experienced in a long time. That's when the sailor came out of me. Lets just say that I said a lot of combinations of words which haven't came out of my mouth before. I think the moral of the story on this one is to not try and battle pieces of wood because the victory isn't worth the pain.

                                                            The Siblings

Back to the Basics

My idea to create a blog has arisen quite rapidly out of the feeling that I needed to put some of my thoughts and experiences from life on a readable and savable source. I'm sure that it will not be as insightful a read as someone like my heroes (Malcolm X, Martin Luther King Jr. and/or Muhammed Ali), yet most people cannot reach such a peak of motivation through their words.

Most recently, I have been seeking a spot in the oh so beautiful area that is called Rexburg for the purpose of simply pondering about the matters of life. When you are used to the beauties of Washington and Oregon state, it's difficult to find a spot which will really help you think or just relax and take a break from the fast paced world which we call life. Unlike back home, you can't just take a trip to the beach or to the river and clear your mind. For the most part, a resident is stuck to the confines of a nice little lot of farming land to look over or the occasional stream of water which pales in comparison to the beauties of the Columbia River. Yet this week was something of a thought provoker and helped me change my thinking about my dilemma as a current resident of Idaho state.

As I went on a much needed walk along the train tracks within town, I saw these massive black "silos" filled with gas of some sort on the tracks. I decided to climb on top of them and take a second to just look at the stars up in the clear skies up above me. I caught myself marveling at the beauty which Heavenly Father had placed before everyone on this earth and how magnificent it really was to know that everything was in order and so organized. This is when it hit me that I had indeed lost my love for the basics. I still remember getting a letter from my sister, Heather, on my mission in Berlin. She wrote about how naturally inquisitive her new little girl was about the world and how it had actually made her look at things in a new light. Back to the basics, that's what was happening. My new goal is to find beauty in the smaller things and not just look for the Columbia and the Pacific wherever I go. Otherwise...things might pass me by.   

                                            My Backyard in Washington