Month: September 2016

So, I know there are a couple things “they” say you shouldn’t talk about in a public forum:

1. Politics
2. Religion

Well, I broke that rule a couple posts ago (see “Beau and the Bible“) and I’m about to break it again. But I’m gonna break it completely…

I’m not only a Christian, I happen to be a Mormon.

There. Now you know. I’m still proud of it. I know that there are a lot of misconceptions and rumors out there about my church.

 

 

 

 

 

All I’m asking is this: give us a chance for yourself before you believe the hype and gossip you hear.

As a matter of fact, this weekend there is a great opportunity to really find out what our Church is all about. You see this weekend is known as “General Conference” weekend for the almost 16 million members of the Mormon Church, or Latter-Day Saints as we prefer to be called. This Saturday and Sunday we will hear from many of our Church’s leaders. Basically we believe in the same organization that existed in the primitive Church, namely, Apostles and Prophets. We also have one of the biggest women’s organization on the planet led by faithful women who teach our church members as well. There are 5 sessions of speakers this weekend, each lasting about 2 hours. The sessions area as follows:

• Saturday 10-12
• Saturday 2-4
• Saturday 6-8

then

• Sunday 10-12
• Sunday 2-4

I know what you’re thinking. Yes, we are willing to sit through 10 hours of religious teachings in one weekend. But that’s just how good it is.

So, in the spirit of this blog, I invite you to listen for some great advice this weekend during General Conference. I know that if you’ll listen with an open heart, you may just hear something that will bless your life, help you make a decision, bring peace to your soul, or courage to your life.

You can check out the live stream right here.

 

Today’s post comes from my 12-year-old daughter actually. And her advice is short and sweet…just like her!

A few days ago we were talking about life. I asked if she had any regrets. She thought for a few moments then looked up at me and said, “Life’s too short for regrets dad!”

From the mouth of babes!

So my advice today is let go of any regrets and live your life to the fullest. Life really is too short to hang on to regrets and mistakes.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Thanks my sweet little daughter!

Saturday. Ugh…

I know, I know, who hates Saturday, right? I mean how many songs are there about the weekend? It’s supposed to be something to look forward to, and it is. Really. But there is one thing I dread about Saturday:

My kids.

Wait! Don’t go! I love my kids. I really do. They are the joy of my life. My reason for getting up each morning. But is anyone else out there tired of the fight that begins each Saturday when you try to get your kids to do anything productive?

My 8-year-old daughter is currently screaming in her room because I asked her to put some of her laundry away. There are like 3 pairs of pants, a couple shorts, about 5 shirts, and 1 dress. But by her reaction you would think I asked her to choose which of her dolls I can throw into an open flame!

My 14-year-old daughter is sobbing because I asked her to vacuum the front room. When I say sobbing, I mean hiccuping uncontrollably, can’t breath, red in the face sobbing. Again, it’s as if I asked her to shoot her dog.

My 10-year-old son is stoically crying as he dusts the coffee table.

My 12-year-old isn’t crying though. She’s at her friend’s house.

The thing that drives me the craziest is that we do this every Saturday. It would only take 1 hour max! But each and every week they are surprised that I would ask them to help me and their mom to clean. How?! How is this surprising?! And without fail, at least one (if not all) of them ends up telling me how much they hate me.

It takes everything I’ve got not to lose it, but this morning I remembered something I heard from my own parents a few years ago:

“You know you’re doing your job right when they hate you every now and then.” I guess it’s true. If I didn’t make them clean, or make them study, or make them eat their veggies, I wouldn’t really be doing my job as a parent. I’m not their friend. I’m their dad. Don’t misunderstand me, I want to be their friend…well at least I won’t to have a friendly relationship with them, but that’s not my job. Besides, who am I kidding? If given the option, what parent honestly thinks their kids would chose to hang out with them instead of their teenage peers.

So, it may not solve the immediate outpouring of hormone-induced hatred, but at least it makes me feel better as a parent! And this morning if what my dad said is true, I’m up for father of the year!

You’ve probably seen this video before but I recently was reminded of it when a colleague of mine, Beau, gave me some good advice. I’ve been struggling with someone I work with and complaining at lunch about them. How, “if only they would…” and “I wish they would do more of…”

Beau’s a pretty nice guy but about as blunt as a sledgehammer sometimes. “Stop trying to fix ’em you moron.”

Ouch. But Beau and I get along well enough that I know he was trying to help. And the more I’ve thought about it the more I realized it’s true. It’s not my job to “fix” the people around me. Who says they need fixing?! Maybe I’m the one who needs fixing!

Then I was reading in the Bible (yes, I’m a proud Christian) and came across this beautiful gem: “Thou hypocrite, first cast out the beam out of thine own eye; and then shalt thou see clearly to cast out the mote out of thy brother’s eye.” (Matthew 7:5)

Ouch again. Okay, okay! I get it! God, or the Universe, or my conscious is trying to tell me something. So, the life lesson for me is this: When I’m tempted to “fix” something about someone I ought to step back and look at what needs fixing in my own life. I’m not saying we shouldn’t try to make the people around us better, but we ought to be more careful about our definition of what it means to be “better”.

If you’ve never watched the Disney Channel’s cartoon “Phineas and Ferb” stop what you’re doing and get ready for the most satisfying binge-watching experience of your life.

No. Really. Stop what you’re doing. This cartoon is seriously that good! I can’t tell you how many life lessons I’ve learned by watching this show. Well, actually I can tell you. And I’m going to. It’s my blog and I can do what I want.

But really…you need to stop what you’re doing and make Netflix your life priority right now. You’ll thank me later.

If I were to list every life lesson Phineas and Ferb have taught me, I’d break the internet so instead, I’m just going to list my top 10 (in no particular order):

10. – Music makes everything better! The song-writers on this show deserve an award. I mean just listen to some of the titles: “Squirrels in my pants”, “My Nemesis”, “Phinedroids and Ferbots”, “Funky Noises in the Bathroom”…you know what? The titles don’t even do them justice.Except for that last one. Kind of like taking a picture of a beautiful sunset and then showing it to somebody and they are all like, “Yup. It’s a sunset.” Just go to iTunes and take a listen. You won’t be disappointed!

9. – Carpe Diem! Each day the two main characters (Phineas and Ferb), who are half brothers, come up with something fun and original to do. There comes a time in each episode, right at the beginning, when Phineas has a stroke of genius and says, “Ferb, I know what we’re going to do today!”. Then they actually go out and do amazing things!

8. – Busy-bodies suck! Phineas and Ferb’s sister, Candace, is constantly trying to find ways to bust the boys for their shenanigans. Don’t get me wrong, I actually think she is one of the funniest characters, but eventually when is she gonna learn to just chill out. Life could be so much more if only she’d let it!

7. – Platypus’ are awesome. If you haven’t seen the show, you’re gonna have to trust me on that one.

6. – Panda’s aren’t as innocent as China would have us believe. You know what I’m talking about Peter the Panda from Seattle!

5. – Beneath every bully there is a kind, gentle soul just waiting to be set free. Ah, Buford….

4. – Unrequited love is real. Just ask Isabella. Poor, poor Isabella.

3. – A picture may be worth 1,000 words, but sometimes a look is all you need. Right, Ferb? Right, Perry? They know what I’m talking about! (If you don’t, then pick up on my not so subtle vague references here and go check this show out already!)

2. – Who wants pie? This guy! Seriously, pie should be served more often!

1. – Evil isn’t always…well evil! Sometimes it’s just misunderstood. I love ya’ Doof!

Okay, why are you still reading this? Shouldn’t you be checking out Phineas and Ferb for yourself?

My list is paltry, but I look forward to hearing about the lessons you’ve learned from this show of shows!

My inspiration lately has come from my good friend, the Canadian hockey parent (purposefully not putting name here), as you know. And, actually, the Beatles, but we’ll get into that a little later. One of the most inspiring thing about my friend is that she happens to find her inspiration in every day things. For example, she got his carpets cleaned not too long ago, and that simple chore made her realize that sometimes we start to let things in our life get a little out of control. But when we take the time to notice them, and change them, our lives begin to feel more organized and healthy.

If you think about my friend’s philosophy further, you can see how it truly applies to our lives. Sometimes things go unnoticed. Our carpets are used every day. It’s difficult to keep them clean, especially in my household, when you’ve got kids running around, guests who forget to remove their shoes, and relatives who refuse to remove their shoes. No matter how careful you are with your family room carpets, they always seem to become dirty, because that’s just how life is. But isn’t it refreshing when you get the chance to have them cleaned? I know for myself that I always try to keep them looking freshly cleaned as long as I possibly can in the beginning. And then life happens and you forget to care.

So it made me think… what in my life have I forgotten to care about? What has started to become a dirty carpet in my life? And I know this is different for all of us, but it’s good to think about every once in a while. Time to bust out the ole carpet cleaner, my friends, I’ve got some cleaning to do, figuratively and, well, literally too if I’m being honest.

P.S. – I found out that she actually got her carpets cleaned from another friend of mine. So if you happen to live in Southern Utah, you may want to check them out: stgcleanestcarpets.com