God is in control

There is a lesson I have learned the past few days: God is in control.  This is a concept that is hard to learn, as it implies we give up the desire to control our lives.  That's not to say we are unable make our own choices. We still have total control of our mortal bodies and lives, but we don't control others actions.  This is what I have learned: God will causes things to happen to you no matter what you do. These things are for your (or my) benefit.

This past semester I have been taking a math1050 class.  I am not one who likes math very much.  I love it when I have a use for it.  If I need to add or subtract, I am grateful I can do math.  But when I am learning how to find the center of a hyperbola, what use is that to my in my life right now?  Unless I am planning on teaching math, or do something with a lot of math, this has no use to me.

This is my biggest grip against the traditional public school setting: there are many things that are taught when there is no practical use for the information.  I didn't even know what a hyperbola was until this class. I see absolutely no reason under the sun why I need to know this.  It holds no practical use to the average person.  It makes no sense to me.  Instead of making me learn how to solve an inequality, why not help me learn useful information?  Schools could do their students a big service by teaching practical knowledge and how to use it.

I am not against public schools.  They help millions gain basic knowledge and life skills.  I think they could do a better job doing it, however.

I bring this up because I did not pass the math 1050 class.  I got below a 60% on the final exam, which according to the school meant I fail the class, no matter how much work I put into it. I spent hundreds of hours over the course of the semester learning, studying, and doing homework problems.  I know I did terrible on the test, which is my fault.  I am not very good at taking tests, especially with subjects I dislike.

Well, I got really down on myself.  I felt like a failure.  I've never failed a class before.  It was a new feeling for me.  I needed to take this class, as this was a pre-requisite for Stats 2300, which is required to get into the USU school of business.  I had received special permission to get into the class before my grade for 1050 had posted, and now I had failed to pass.

Well, I told Cathy, and she has been a huge help.  She has been encouraging, helping me see that I am not a failure.  She was by my side the whole time, even when I was down on myself.  She saw the true potential in me.

I went home that night, and opened the scriptures to Alma.  I don't remember which chapter I read, but Alma was giving a sermon about the priesthood, and how great a blessing it is to hold it.  I realized that others may not see me as a success, but God does.  I have been blessed to hold His priesthood on earth, as long as I live worthy of it.  Reading this changed my whole outlook on the situation.

I knew I could enroll again in 1050, and make sure I knew the material this time.  Or I could take a placement test, and hopefully pass.  Well, the math department was kind enough to allow me to take the placement exam, and I PASSED!  I was so excited, and Cathy jumped for joy when I walked out of the building smiling!

We went to Cafe Sabor to celebrate my success.  While I ended up still being able to get into Stats 2300, if I had passed 1050 the first time, I may not have been able to learn this valuable lesson:  God is in control, and as long as we trust him, we will be ok.

Power of the Gospel of Jesus Christ

Not too long ago, I was speaking with a good friend of mine, and I told him something that has been on my mind. I said, "I have found after my mission, that my spiritual life seems to go in waves. There are waves where I do good, then I dip into letting things like daily scripture study slide. The challenge I have is to keep the top of that wave going as long as possible before I dip."

What I said stuck with me for a few days, and I shared that with a family in our ward while home teaching. I believe this statement applies to many of us. I can't speak for everyone, but from those I am close to, this seems to be the case. You have a few days, week or a month where you are relating everything to the gospel, studying for an hour a day, and doing good paying tithes and offerings.

Life always seems to get in the way. There comes a day when you are swamped at work, and you have the kids go to bed before you can read together. Then, it is your own scripture study that suffers. You know better. You can somehow justify that you are too busy, you know the gospel backwards and forwards, etc... Satan always tells us it is OK to put it off for another day, no one is perfect. The struggle I have is to not allow one day to break a habit; unfortunately, I normally allow it to.

Well, you go to church one day, and a talk reminds you of what your priorities should be and then you improve your habits. You don't allow the scriptures to slide, no matter tired you are or how late the hour. You are doing what you need to be doing, and your life improves. There is less stress, your kids seem better behaved.

I believe that there is power that is given to us when we do the simple things of the gospel. The other day I was stressed because I have a math final coming up, and I was trying to study for it. It's an online class, and the video's for it weren't loading no matter what I tried. I spent a long time searching online for the help i needed to make the material stick in my mind.

I decided I needed to stop studying math, and focus for awhile on the gospel. I have been reading a book, Christopher Columbus by Clark Hinckley, and I wanted to read some talks given by our church leaders on this subject. I found quite a few, and those I read were awesome. Many were given in the 1970's, way before I was born. Reading them gave me new understanding of Columbus and the importance he played in the restoration of the gospel.

The Book of Mormon foretold of Columbus, and how he would open the American Continents to European colonization. This colonization was key to the restoration, because the Book of Mormon needed to be brought forth in America where it had a chance to take hold. If it had come forth in another land or time, it would have failed.

President N. Eldon Tanner gave a talk entitled If they will but serve the God of the land that described this very concept. He said that there had been other people after the Nephites that had discovered America, but no colonization efforts were made or took hold. The timing simply wasn't right. Columbus had to be the one to open the doors to the Western Hemisphere for the Europeans.  It had been foretold by a prophet.

I also wanted to know more about the Law of Moses, and why it was given to the Israelites.  I've been reading Exodus to find out more.  The Doctrine and Covanents tells us the reason why: it was a carnal law, one the people could understand.  In the form given, it was to remind them of Christ and his coming.  Unfortunately, the Jewish leaders amended and changed the Law to add burdensome requirements, and it changed over time. That is why Christ denounced the Law; it simply wasn't being practiced the intended way.

I would never have understood these if I had not taken the time to simply read a talk and study the scriptures.  I have gained so much knowledge about history and the importance of eternal laws.  I felt so much better after reading the scriptures, I began to study and actually understood what I was reading.  Before reading the scriptures all I understood was that I dislike math with a passion as taught in schools, and am excited that after this class, I will no longer be required to take any ever again.

One other example I would like to share is the power of priesthood blessings.  Cathy and I are taking an upcoming trip to California, and we were both stressed out about it. Allison is 6 months old, and just starting to not want to be seperated from us when she sleeps.  We kept trying to put her to sleep, then put her in her crib and have her sleep all night.  She was having none of that.  She kept waking up and screaming and screaming until we picked her up.

Some might say we are allowing the baby to rule us, because we don't let her scream until she falls asleep.  I hate doing that for longer than a few minutes, and we have upstairs neighbors who don't want to hear her scream at 11:30 at night.  We kept trying and trying, but to no avail.

Well, Cathy received a blessing, and it was like all our stresses went away.  We have been very worried for Alli, as she hates being in her car seat.  We are taking a longer trip so that we aren't driving for 12 hours a day.  We were worried because I am taking so much time off work.  We had a lot of worries, to say the least.  

Well, after the blessing, it seemed like we had nothing to worry about; that things would be alright.  I know they will be, and now I can stop worrying about things I can't control right now.  I know the Priesthood is God's power on earth, and it is here to bless his children.

Being a dad

Since my daughter, Alli was born in October, I have been a dad for 5 months.  This has been a life changing experience for me.  It has been fun, exciting, exhausting, and amazing.  Honestly, I have no complaints thus far.  I may grumble a little when Alli won't let me help her calm down, but I truly have an amazing daughter.

Alli has been an angel so far in her short time on earth.  She sleeps really well.  She has slept for 6 or more hours at night for most of her life.  She only screams when she is left alone, or is hungry.  She has an amazing mom who sacrifices for her so that she can be at home all day with Alli.

Alli is learning to stand up quite well.  She loves to put weight on her feet with support.  She is grabbing things, so we have to watch our dinner plates at the table.  She has a cute laugh, particularly when we play "peek-a-boo" with her.  Sometimes all Cathy and I have to do is say "Peek!" and she laughs.  She is growing tall.  She has always been light weight.  Last time she was checked by her doctor, she was in the 8th percentile of weight.  A few people have said that she looks small, but to me, she looks perfect.

She is starting to get teeth, which is causing her some pain.  She drools a lot, and spits up.  Despite all this, she is fun to play with.  She loves grabbing things and bringing them to her mouth.  She is even tempered, and doesn't scream much.

Alli is a sweet baby, and I love her dearly. I can't imagine going back to life without her.  I know I have not been home as much lately because I work so much, but hopefully she recognizes me when I am home.  I am excited for her next years in life.  I want to come home from work, and be her horse, her knight in shining armor, and her play mate.  Being a dad is great.

To my wife

I am extremely grateful for my wonderful, beautiful wife Cathy.  She is an amazing mother and wife.  I appreciate all she does for me.  She may not feel like she does a lot, but she does.  She is a wonderful mother to our daughter, staying at home and helping her grow.  That is a HUGE blessing to me, knowing that my daughter is in loving hands.

Cathy also supports me in my efforts to complete school and to support our family.  I work 2 jobs, and often will get called in with one job.  It is normally at inconvenient times, and it is not easy for me to go to work when I have promised to spend time with her.  There should never be a time when I go back on a promise to her.  I have these conflicting choices, where my work needs me to help out, and my desire to be with her.  She doesn't complain when I have chosen to help my work, and I really appreciate it.

She is a wonderful support.  When I have a bad day, I can talk to her, and every time I do I feel so much better.  I know it is not easy for her to have me gone so much, but she understands why and allows it.  I love her, and am so grateful that she is so wonderful.  I hope I can one day be as awesome and amazing as her!

Books read in 2015

The Princess Bride by William Goldman
Christopher Columbus by Clark B. Hinkley
Pushing Brooms with Jack by Jack's Wisdom, LLC
Eddie Fantastic by Chris Heimerdinger
The Rent Collector by Camron Wright
The world is flat by Thomas Friedman
The naked economist Charles Wheelan
Ella Enchanted by Gail Carson Lavine

Welcome!

Welcome to my blog, where I will be posting regularly about current events, post an interesting article, some random thoughts, and updates on my family!  I have been married to my best friend for over a year, have a 3 month old daughter, who is the cutest girl ever.  I am attending Utah State University, and hope to graduation in 2 years with a business degree.

I work two jobs, at the Comfort Inn where I am the Front Desk manager, and at Chrysalis as a support staff.  I love both jobs, and love going to work.  I love to eat, read, spend time with family, discuss ideas with others and I love playing games.  My favorite Christmas present this year is a game called, "Bang!".  It is so much fun to play.

I will often post about interesting books that I have read, and I hope that others who like to read can get some ideas of books from me.  I have a list of the 50 books everyone should read, and I hope you will look at the list, and see if you've read any.  Any list of great books will vary from person to person, and that is just fine.  We all have different likes and interests, and my intent with creating the list was to get others thinking about books that have influenced their lives.

blessings

Today I have been thinking about how blessed I am.  I am extremely blessed to have in my life a wonderful family.  I am grateful for all they do for me. 

My wife, Cathy, is just wonderful.  She is the best wife I could ask for.  She takes care of little Alli, and makes our house our home.  She a lot of fun to be around, and helps me see myself as someone special.  She always is there for me when I am having a hard day, and when the days are good.  I love her, and am looking forward to spending eternity with her.

Cathy and I are blessed to have a baby like Allison.  She routinely sleeps all night, making it easy for us to get enough sleep.  She is fun to hold, and she is beautiful.  She smiles a lot and is beginning to learn to sit up and laugh.  I love it when she laughs.

I am also grateful for parents.  My dad is always willing to help with math, which I need a lot of help in this semester.  My mom is also great, willing to let us come over and eat her food.  My siblings are fun to be around, and I love playing games with them.  I am blessed to have my grandparents live only a few blocks away from us.  Grandma always has a string cheese for me when I go over.

I have two wonderful jobs that allow me to support my family.  The Comfort Inn has been the perfect college job, allowing me to take online classes and get my associates degree.  I have done the majority of my homework at the hotel, and this semester is no different.

Working at Chrysalis has been awesome.  I work with 3 adults who have various disabilities.  Working with them is a blast, even when they are not on their best behavior.  Being around them makes me grateful for the body I have, even if it is a shape most of the world would frown on.  I love being me, and am not motivated enough to change it.  I like my body the way it is.

I am grateful for the Gospel of Jesus Christ.  Cathy and I are taking an institute class together, and it is fun to be doing the work during the week, to remind me of the purpose of life.  It does get hard to always remember the gospel during the hustle and bustle of working and living life.

I am grateful for books, and look forward to reading 48 more awesome books this year.  My goal is to read 50.  I have read hundreds of books, and have loved every minute of it.  There is nothing like holding a book in my hands and forgetting everything and everyone around me while I am in another world, doing amazing things.