“Not gold but only men can make
A people great and strong;
Men who for truth and honor’s sake
Stand fast and suffer long.

Brave men who work while others sleep,
Who dare while others fly…
They build a nation’s pillars deep
And lift them to the sky.”

-Ralph Waldo Emerson

I absolutely love this poem! It reminds me of the type of men that we ought to be, and hopefully the type of men that we are. In a spirit of complete honesty, I am not the man that I often wish I were. I find it far too easy to seek out and discover my own flaws and to compare these flaws to the strengths of those whom I consider to be great men. I realize that this tendency is not only mine, but is shared by a vast majority of mankind. Why do we shoot ourselves down?

If we look inside ourselves and see the true image of God that was instilled in us long before we were born and could truly see ourselves in the way that our Heavenly Father sees us, would we ever look at ourselves as less than Sons and daughters of the Almighty God? No! Yes, we are imperfect, but this is all part of the grand design that He has in store for us. He designed His plan so that we would come to Earth and screw up! He doesn’t want us to screw up because of the consequences that follow, but at the same time, He expects us to, for without these lapses in judgment, we could never grow in the way we need to. We have to mess up in order to reach our true potential. He made us imperfect for a reason. We are here so we can strive to be our best selves, but we can’t destroy ourselves because we don’t live up to our own expectations! All we have is this second, right now. We can’t change the past nor live in the future. All we have are the choices we make right now, so let’s do our best with this moment right before our eyes. It’s all we have! Let us be men of honor, who dare while others fly!

We were crowded in the cabin,
Not a soul would dare to sleep,
It was midnight on the waters,
And a storm was on the deep.

“Tis a fearful thing in winter
To be shattered by the blast,
And to hear the rattling trumpet
Thunder, “Cut away the mast!”

So we shuddered there in silence,
For the stoutest held his breath,
While the hungry sea was roaring
And the breakers talked with Death.

As thus we sat in darkness,
Each one busy with his prayers,
“We are lost!” the captain shouted
As he staggered down the stairs.

But his little daughter whispered,
As she took his icy hand,
“Isn’t God, upon the ocean,
Just the same as on the land?”

Then we kissed the little maiden.
And we spoke in better cheer,
And we anchored safe in harbor
When the morn was shining clear.

-James T. Fields

I often wonder why I have to pass through certain challenges when they come upon me. Every new challenge seems so much harder than the last. Just as I feel I have made headway on one challenge, I am suddenly faced with a newer, much bigger challenge. With each challenge, I am forced to stretch and to grow. Just as with a muscle, with each new day, we are faced with new opportunities to grow. The question now is regarding how we will handle the new challenge. Will we rely on our own wisdom to face the challenge alone, or will we trust that we have a loving Heavenly Father who has our very best interest at heart?

As I look back on the short time that I have sojourned on this earth, I can see the darkest moments very clearly. In seeing those dark times, I know without a doubt that though my outlook at the time was bleak, when I felt the most alone, when I knew without a doubt that no one was answering my prayers, those were the times when I was held up by beings I could not see. I was carried across the water when I knew that I could swim no more, when I knew that my only option was to drown, and when all of my energy had been spent and I had nothing left. That was when He was there.

Knowing this, how could I do anything but trust that even now he has my best interest at heart? When I am in the thick of the battle and the outcome looks bleak, it can be really difficult to see the sunshine on the other side. Sometimes it is easier just to see the darkness. Here is where I have a choice however. I can choose to have faith. I can use these experiences that I have lived through already and come out happier than I was before them to give me strength and to build my own knowledge and faith that The Lord will make the outcome of this new challenge no different than He has in the past. He knows me. He loves me. He knows and loves you, too. He wants our happiness. Let’s trust that.

 I enjoy being a happy person. Every day I have a choice to be happy or to let the world get me down. I prefer deciding to be happy. It is so much better! Have things in the past gotten me down? Uh… yeah. Big time.

Whenever I am home alone and my kids are not with me, I like to do things like this. Singing is a passion of mine, although I don’t claim to be great at it! This is one of my favorite songs and I thought that rewriting the lyrics would be fun. I hope you enjoy it!

“The two most important days in your life are the day you are born and the day you find out why.”

― Mark Twain

My cousin’s company, 435 Sell Now:

If you are needing to sell your house fast in St. George, Washington, Hurricane, Ivins, La Verkin, Santa Clara, Dammeron Valley, Kanab, or Cedar City… these guys will make you a fair all-cash offer!  They’ll even GUARANTEE that offer and you will have a check in your hand in as little as 5 days!

They buy houses no matter the condition… as-is… let them take over the burden of that unwanted property.

Ok… So let’s admit it, we all have days that are best described as “crappy”. Despite my waking up in the absolute best way this morning and starting off with a big smile, something changed during my day. As my day progressed,  I started to feel the weight of all of my different obligations. All of the bills that I need to pay, the responsibilities that my career carries with it, the house that needs to be cleaned, all of the projects that need to be done at my house, my car that needs to be cleaned out, along with a whole slew of other things. By the time this afternoon arrived, it was all I could do just to sit up, much less be happy about it!

Right now I am sitting here as happy as ever and looking back, I am incredibly grateful for today and the lessons I have learned from it! So what changed? At one point during the day, I was sitting in this slump or funk or whatever you want to call it, and I had no idea how to feel better. I wanted to feel better, but that desire was definitely not winning out over the “crappy” feeling. Do I did what I know best to do when I am stuck in a situation that I don’t know how to get out of. I prayed and asked my Heavenly Father to help me out of it! As He always does, he answered my prayer. Almost instantly this time! He didn’t make me feel better. He didn’t add extra dopamine to my brain so I would become motivated. What He did do was

“Teach a Child:I Love to See the Temple” from Gary Clark’s Album by Gary Clark. Released: 2015.

Disclaimer: By definition, I am not actually awesome. Google defines “awesome” in the following way:

adjective

extremely impressive or daunting; inspiring great admiration, apprehension, or fear.

That being said, I want to talk about the art of being awesome, because here’s the reality: I don’t care what Google says!!!

I know that Jesus Christ is the Savior of all mankind. He has changed not only my life, but has changed me as a person. He has refined me in ways that I could never have known without Him. I love Him. I honor Him. I will forever be grateful for the gifts that he has given me. True happiness can be found through knowing Him. You can learn more about Him and His gospel here.

“07 Sacred Ground (feat. Julie Yardley)”.