Dear Posterity,
Six years ago today Amanda and I decided to get married. I had to work on Valentines Day that year so we celebrated our first Valentines Day together the day after Valentines Day. Since then, February 15th has become a special day for us and our relationship. We celebrate Valentines Day on the 15th every year as our tradition. It actually genius if you are a last minute shopper because all the Valentines Day items are 50% on the 15th :) Just saying...
One of my favorite movies is the Ten Commandments with Charles Heston. I grew up watching the movie and have never stopped loving it. There is a part of the movie where the Pharaoh assigns a task to Moses and Ramses responds to the Pharaoh by saying, "wise decisions...noble task." That's how I feel about my decision to marry Amanda. It was a wise decision and it is a noble task.
In many ways that phrase defines marriage. Marriage is always a wise decision and is a noble task. It becomes a noble task because marriage takes effort. No one has a perfect marriage and I won't pretend that ours is perfect but if there is one thing that our marriage is...is a wise decision.
For me, marriage is a noble task because it is ordained by God. It is one of the noblest commandments that we have received. It is one of the keys in our learning process here on earth and giving the opportunity to be married is a sacred/noble right that we take upon ourselves. There isn't a more noble task that we can undertake.
What is marriage...marriage is always a wise decision and a noble task...
Tuesday, February 15, 2011
Saturday, February 12, 2011
The End of an Era
Dear Posterity,
This week the long time coach of the Utah Jazz, Jerry Sloan, resigned from his coaching position. He had been the head coach of the Utah Jazz for 23 years. I believe he was the longest professional tenured head coach in any of the major sports. I am not a Jazz fan but I thought it was worth mentioning. I was 4 years old when Coach Sloan became the head coach of the Utah Jazz. In an unstable work environment, he was a pillar that no one ever thought would leave.
It got me thinking about stability and strength and how you really have to love what you do to stick with it for so long. I get bored easily if I am not stretching myself or doing something different with my day. In a career setting I cannot imagine doing the same thing day after day after day for 23 years. That's why I like my job. Even though the principles of what I do everyday are the same, I am in a different environment with different situations everyday and I love it.
It takes a lot of passion and love to stick with something for 23 years. I guess that's why people struggle with marriage. If they are not willing to work at it and change themselves it can be the same thing day after day and people can get bored. Luckily, I have the lease boring wife in the world. I never know what I am going to get day to day or what I am going to come home to. It keep's life interesting.
Thank you Coach Sloan for teaching us that we can stick with something and excel at it for years if we only have a desire to do so...
This week the long time coach of the Utah Jazz, Jerry Sloan, resigned from his coaching position. He had been the head coach of the Utah Jazz for 23 years. I believe he was the longest professional tenured head coach in any of the major sports. I am not a Jazz fan but I thought it was worth mentioning. I was 4 years old when Coach Sloan became the head coach of the Utah Jazz. In an unstable work environment, he was a pillar that no one ever thought would leave.
It got me thinking about stability and strength and how you really have to love what you do to stick with it for so long. I get bored easily if I am not stretching myself or doing something different with my day. In a career setting I cannot imagine doing the same thing day after day after day for 23 years. That's why I like my job. Even though the principles of what I do everyday are the same, I am in a different environment with different situations everyday and I love it.
It takes a lot of passion and love to stick with something for 23 years. I guess that's why people struggle with marriage. If they are not willing to work at it and change themselves it can be the same thing day after day and people can get bored. Luckily, I have the lease boring wife in the world. I never know what I am going to get day to day or what I am going to come home to. It keep's life interesting.
Thank you Coach Sloan for teaching us that we can stick with something and excel at it for years if we only have a desire to do so...
Saturday, February 5, 2011
Business
Dear Posterity,
This week I spent in Orange County, California on a business trip. At this time of my life I am a District Manager for Blockbuster Video. I have worked for the company for 6 years. It's been my first real "grown up" job. I started out as a customer service representative and quickly moved through the ranks to be a district manager. I love my job and it has been good to me. Let me tell a quick story of how I came to be employed by Blockbuster.
I had just returned home from my mission and decided to go back to Oklahoma for a sealing of someone that I had baptized. I was able to get a ride home from the Tuckett family, who lived in one of my area's and I had become quite close with. They were going to Utah to visit family and I was able to snag a ride with them. On our way to Utah, Sister Tuckett asked me what I was going to do now. I replied that I would probably start school and get a job. She asked where I wanted to work and I replied, "I don't know. Maybe somewhere like Blockbuster would be fun." Little did I know then that I was being inspired. I applied at Blockbuster and got the job and have been there for the past 6 years.
My patriarchal blessings says that I will be blessed with great employment throughout my life. To this point in my life I have been blessed and am confident that I will be blessed for the remainder of my life. By listening to a small prompting that said "maybe blockbuster would be fun", I have started a career, bought a home and care for my family. The Lord truly has a hand in all that we do, when we are willing to listen to Him.
How blessed we are...
This week I spent in Orange County, California on a business trip. At this time of my life I am a District Manager for Blockbuster Video. I have worked for the company for 6 years. It's been my first real "grown up" job. I started out as a customer service representative and quickly moved through the ranks to be a district manager. I love my job and it has been good to me. Let me tell a quick story of how I came to be employed by Blockbuster.
I had just returned home from my mission and decided to go back to Oklahoma for a sealing of someone that I had baptized. I was able to get a ride home from the Tuckett family, who lived in one of my area's and I had become quite close with. They were going to Utah to visit family and I was able to snag a ride with them. On our way to Utah, Sister Tuckett asked me what I was going to do now. I replied that I would probably start school and get a job. She asked where I wanted to work and I replied, "I don't know. Maybe somewhere like Blockbuster would be fun." Little did I know then that I was being inspired. I applied at Blockbuster and got the job and have been there for the past 6 years.
My patriarchal blessings says that I will be blessed with great employment throughout my life. To this point in my life I have been blessed and am confident that I will be blessed for the remainder of my life. By listening to a small prompting that said "maybe blockbuster would be fun", I have started a career, bought a home and care for my family. The Lord truly has a hand in all that we do, when we are willing to listen to Him.
How blessed we are...
Tuesday, February 1, 2011
Choose ye this day...
Dear Posterity,
This week in Young Men's the lesson was on agency. The instructor gave a wonderful lesson about the importance of agency and the impact that agency has on our lives. Agency is a key principle of the gospel and one of the most valued blessings that our Heavenly Father has given us. The lesson reminded me of lessons that I learned as a youth.
Agency is one of those principles that is often misunderstood. We often hear it referred to as free agency but I believe agency comes with a cost. If you think back about what we know about pre-mortal life we know that 1/3 of the hosts of Heaven was cast off because they didn't want to follow our Heavenly Father's plan. The opportunity to have agency cost a third of the hosts of heaven, which to me is a great cost. I think that when people say free agency they are referring to our freedom to choose.
We do have the freedom to choose. Any choice that is placed before us is left for us to decide what to do. We can choose good or bad, right or wrong. We can choose wickedness or happiness, life or death. We have the light of Christ within us to help us choose correctly but ultimately the choice is ours. We are free to make the choice but not free to choose the outcome. Whatever we choose we must live with whatever consequence, good or bad, that comes with that choice.
I remember a time from my childhood that I refused to do the dishes. I hated doing the dishes because we were so poor that we did not have a dishwasher. I would spend hours doing them by hand and this particular day I refused to do them. I spent the entire day not doing my chore because I didn't want to. It was my choice and I choose NOT to do what I was asked to do. Later that evening my friend called and said that he was having a early birthday party. He was turning 16 and he was my best friend. I couldn't wait to go. I went and asked my mom and she simply said that I could not go because I had not done the dishes. It never dawned on me that I would be left out of something so fun because I didn't do the dishes. I missed the chance to celebrate his birthday and I could only blame myself.
The same is true in life. Our Heavenly Father asks us to do certain things and we have the freedom to choose whether or not we want to do them. With this power comes great responsibility. We may choose in this mortal life what we want to do but our choices will affect us in the next life. Will we miss out on a great time because we choose to ignore something that we were asked to do?
Samuel the Lamanite taught "And now remember, remember, my brethren, that whosoever perisheth, perisheth unto himself; and whosoever doeth iniquity, doeth it unto himself; for behold, ye are bfree; ye are permitted to act for yourselves; for behold, God hath given unto you a cknowledge and he hath made you free. He hath given unto you that ye might aknow good from evil, and he hath given unto you that ye might bchoose life or death; and ye can do good and be crestored unto that which is good, or have that which is good restored unto you; or ye can do evil, and have that which is evil restored unto you." Heleman 14:30-31
I pray that your choices in life will be that unto everlasting life and light and that you will be rewarded with such. Don't miss out on eternal happiness for a moment of weakness. I challenge you to do as Joshua challenged us to do..."Choose ye this day who you will serve...as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord..."
This week in Young Men's the lesson was on agency. The instructor gave a wonderful lesson about the importance of agency and the impact that agency has on our lives. Agency is a key principle of the gospel and one of the most valued blessings that our Heavenly Father has given us. The lesson reminded me of lessons that I learned as a youth.
Agency is one of those principles that is often misunderstood. We often hear it referred to as free agency but I believe agency comes with a cost. If you think back about what we know about pre-mortal life we know that 1/3 of the hosts of Heaven was cast off because they didn't want to follow our Heavenly Father's plan. The opportunity to have agency cost a third of the hosts of heaven, which to me is a great cost. I think that when people say free agency they are referring to our freedom to choose.
We do have the freedom to choose. Any choice that is placed before us is left for us to decide what to do. We can choose good or bad, right or wrong. We can choose wickedness or happiness, life or death. We have the light of Christ within us to help us choose correctly but ultimately the choice is ours. We are free to make the choice but not free to choose the outcome. Whatever we choose we must live with whatever consequence, good or bad, that comes with that choice.
I remember a time from my childhood that I refused to do the dishes. I hated doing the dishes because we were so poor that we did not have a dishwasher. I would spend hours doing them by hand and this particular day I refused to do them. I spent the entire day not doing my chore because I didn't want to. It was my choice and I choose NOT to do what I was asked to do. Later that evening my friend called and said that he was having a early birthday party. He was turning 16 and he was my best friend. I couldn't wait to go. I went and asked my mom and she simply said that I could not go because I had not done the dishes. It never dawned on me that I would be left out of something so fun because I didn't do the dishes. I missed the chance to celebrate his birthday and I could only blame myself.
The same is true in life. Our Heavenly Father asks us to do certain things and we have the freedom to choose whether or not we want to do them. With this power comes great responsibility. We may choose in this mortal life what we want to do but our choices will affect us in the next life. Will we miss out on a great time because we choose to ignore something that we were asked to do?
Samuel the Lamanite taught "And now remember, remember, my brethren, that whosoever perisheth, perisheth unto himself; and whosoever doeth iniquity, doeth it unto himself; for behold, ye are bfree; ye are permitted to act for yourselves; for behold, God hath given unto you a cknowledge and he hath made you free. He hath given unto you that ye might aknow good from evil, and he hath given unto you that ye might bchoose life or death; and ye can do good and be crestored unto that which is good, or have that which is good restored unto you; or ye can do evil, and have that which is evil restored unto you." Heleman 14:30-31
I pray that your choices in life will be that unto everlasting life and light and that you will be rewarded with such. Don't miss out on eternal happiness for a moment of weakness. I challenge you to do as Joshua challenged us to do..."Choose ye this day who you will serve...as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord..."
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