I Ducked !

I ducked, and the sound of breaking glass followed instantly, loud in our ears. As I turned, the results of our little scuffle hit us like a brick. We stood looking with our mouths open. There was broken glass on the ground and broken shards of glass still hanging precariously in the window frame.

Mom came around the corner of the house to see what had happened and we realized that we would have to face Dad and explain why the large section of his bedroom window was broken. Neither of us wanted to face the situation, but the hours that followed until Dad arrived home from work gave us time to think in our rooms where Mom send us to cool down. How would we respond when he demanded an explanation?

Fred blamed me for ducking and I blamed him for throwing the rock. I guess we were both at fault for not getting along. We sure wished that we had been a bit slower to anger.

Fred and I had been in the house and something that I had done made him angry with me and to steer clear of his anger, I took off running. I ran down the hallway and out of the front door to evade his catching me. Once outside I had a better chance at avoiding him because I was a fast runner and could keep out of his reach. I ran around the house a couple of times staying comfortably ahead of him. I thought I had lost him when suddenly I found myself standing next to the house just outside of the master bedroom window facing him. He had a rock in his hand and he was good with his aim.

I knew that either way I ran I would be in trouble. To my right, the corner of the house was a good 15 feet away and he would have plenty of time in taking aim to hit me. To my left was the drive way, and would also provide ample time for him to take a good aim. We stood for an instant trying to determine what each other would do next. I waited until he let the rock fly where I stood and ducked just in time for it to speed directly over my head crashing into the bedroom window.

When Dad arrived home, he directed us to clean up the mess and we found that we were working extra chores for the next month to make up for the cost of the window that had to be replaced. It was a good lesson for us both.

I have since thought of the lessons that I learned that day. First, that I needed to be slow to anger and that I should not provoke others to anger. Second, that here are consequences for our actions. And third, that there is forgiveness once we have gone through the steps of repentance.

Trust in the Lord in all Your Doings

It hit me like a thunder bolt. My keys were still in the car ignition and Kathy was driving away. I turned quickly and raced back to the Detroit airport drop-off point in time to see the tail lights of our family van disappear in the distance around a corner. My heart was thumping fast and I was unsure what to do.

What would I do now? What could I do now?

I said a prayer in my heart asking for guidance and direction.

What was there to do except proceed to the airport check-in and board the plane that would take me back to the Dallas Forth Worth airport in Texas. I would need to get from there to Plano, Texas somehow for the next five weeks of training. My car was parked at the airport, but I would not be able to use it without my keys. I would also be missing my apartment keys.

How stupid, I thought, to forget and leave my set of keys in the car ignition when it would have been so easy to turn the car off and let Kathy use her keys in her return trip to Flint, Michigan.

I quickly turned my direction to the boarding gate and, as I waited to board the plane, continued to pray silently for guidance. Would the Lord help Kathy remember she still had my keys in the car? Would she turn around and come back? No that was impossible; she would not even be able to find me in time.

The only choice I had was to continue on the flight and trust that there would be a way when I arrived in Texas to get back to Plano and then to class over the next few days without transportation until I could get my keys back.

The training in Texas had not been easy. It started out pretty smooth, but as the weeks passed it became increasingly difficult and there were some technical areas that I struggled with. I had to pass the class or I would not be able to continue my employment with EDS. On this my family depended.

The move from Utah to Michigan just one year earlier to commence a new career in computer programming as a new employee of EDS had been filled with new experiences and hard work. I spent that year working at the Buick Administration building in downtown Flint, Michigan. I had learned a lot about the business and was excited about my career with EDS. I liked the people I worked with and was determined to do a good job.

The airplane flight back to Dallas seemed to last forever. I believe there was little time during the flight that I was not pleading with the Lord for direction and help. When the airplane touched down, I was still not sure what to do, but felt like there would be a way.

After getting off of the plane with my single bag, I proceeded to the airport loading area where I saw a taxi. I went to the taxi and asked if he could take me to Plano for $20, which was all I had on me. He indicated that he would, but I would have to share a ride with someone else into Dallas so that his costs would be covered. I waited patiently. What else could I do? After a few minutes another young man approached the taxi indicating he needed a ride into Dallas. It was settled, I had a ride to my apartment, but how was I get in.

Again, I prayed that my roommate would be there to let me in when we arrived. When we arrived, I handed over the $20 and thanked the driver for his assistance. I was deeply grateful and knew the Lord was helping me. As I walked up to the apartment door, I saw that my roommate was home and once again I thanked the Lord for his guidance and help. I had somehow made it safely to where I needed to be. I knew that I was being watched over.

After explaining to my roommate my predicament he assured me that he would give me a ride to class until I was able to retrieve my car from the airport. Then I called Kathy and asked her to send my keys priority mail the next day. Two days later I was on my way to airport with my roommate to pick up my car. I felt so relieved and sure that I was being helped along the way. The Lord had placed people in my path at the right moments to assist and to assure me that he was there for me.

Although the training was difficult, I was able to complete it and found that further blessings were in store for us.

“Trust in the Lord in all thy doings and lean not on your own understanding and he will direct thee for good.”

The Lord has been ever with me when I needed him and am worthy of his presence. He lives, as sure as there is a tomorrow. He loves us with an unconditional love and I love Him.

Oceanside

Kathy and I just sent a week at Oceanside, CA. We arrived on Saturday to meet with Ron and Pam and their family at the end of their stay there at the WorldMark.
They left for home on Sunday after a fun visit and Kathy and I spent the rest of the week having fun by ourselves.

Monday we drove done highway 101 along the coast and ended up in San Diego Harbor.

Tuesday we returned to Old Town San Diego and took a trolley tour of the city to learn more about the area.


















Wednesday, we attended an endowment session at the San Diego Temple.






















The rest of the week we spend shopping at the farmers market and second hand stores.




We really enjoyed our time together.








Ain't she cute !!!

Washed Clean

I was standing on the front door step looking up at my mother. I was covered in wet slimy mud from head to foot. Cold and uncomfortable, I wanted to go inside and get the mud off of me.

Mother, on the other hand, was not about to let me into the house in my current condition.

She took my hand and led me around to the lawn and instructed me to wait. It wasn’t long before she had the garden hose ready to give me a good rinsing. I stood, cold and wet, as she completed the job and shivered as she once again took my hand and lead me to the front door step where she went to get a warm towel to dry my wet body before I was allowed to enter the house. Following a warm bath I felt clean and acceptable again, but with a new lesson about staying away from things that can make a person unclean.

My two friends and I had been playing in the field behind the house where my two best friends lived. It had recently rained and the irrigation ditches were wet and filled with small puddles of water. My friends and I were wearing our overshoes and found the small pools of water too hard to resist.

Standing in the puddles and stomping up and down with our overshoes made a glorious mud pit that squished and mushed each time we lifted a foot. Soon we had a large puddle of slimy wet mud that was almost as deep as our overshoes would permit without going over the top.

I was always looking for additional fun so I wanted more. I determined that if I could get some of the dirt from the edges of the ditch into the mud I could make the puddle larger and deeper.

I found a large sage brush that was hanging over the edge of the ditch and grabbing onto it, I commenced to stomp my feet up and down higher on the side of the ditch while anchoring my weight with the bush. I did not anticipate that the sage brush was not strong enough to hold the weight of my body until it was too late. Suddenly I found myself lying on my back in deep mud that was oozing up around me. My friends stood staring, not knowing what to do.

In an effort to get up, it was necessary for me to turn over and in so doing I became completely covered with exception of my face. I did not know what to do either. My fun had suddenly turned to a horrifying realization that I had made a mistake and my desire to go beyond what I knew to be safe had put me into a distressing situation.

I slowly climbed out of the ditch and with effort walked across the field to go home. Each step was filled with regret that I had not realized that I had made a bad choice and now was suffering the consequences. By the time I got home I was cold and shivering. I opened the door and called for mother.

A lesson such as this one early in life, I believe, has saved me from mistakes that could have otherwise made my life more difficult. Mother taught us that we should always stay well away from any situation that would cause us to sin. We should never think that we can disobey some of the Lord’s commandments without getting dirty. It is not possible to avoid the consequences of sin when we ignore the signs along the way which tell us that we are getting too close to the edge. Before we know it things will get out of our control and we will suffer or become unclean.

The marvelous thing about the gospel is that Jesus Christ, the Savior, is able to take the hose to us and clean us off so that we are able to enter his presence once again. This however, requires a repentant heart and a desire to change our lives to meet his standards. The process is neither pleasant nor comfortable and may take time to get us completely clean.

Years later, my mother, in an effort to teach her grandchildren this same lesson planned an activity where we hiked up a hill in Moapa, Nevada to the top of a flat plateau. The plateau was topped with cliffs almost entirely around it that were 30 to 40 feet high. Once we were all on top she taught us the lesson to never walk too close to the edge of the cliff. This is like keeping ourselves in the path the Lord wants us to follow to avoid the chance of getting too close to the edge and falling. It seems to be a natural thing for us to feel like we can walk close to the edge and nothing bad will happen to us, however, as my story shows, if we are not completely in the Lord’s path we may fall.

My greatest desire in this life is that I and my family will all stay clean so that we can all enter our heavenly father's home and experience the warm associations of being clean for eternity.

Green House

We are getting a jump on the vegetable garden this year. I have built a greenhouse over the garden area and planted tomatoes and peppers. It will come down in May, when it gets hot and go back up again in the fall when it starts to get cold. The plastic screen is over four 20 foot PVC pipes held in the ground with old fencing pipe. I was sweating and my glasses were all fogged up by the time Kathy and I had the plants in the ground yesterday.

We had a fantastic Stake conference today. It was one of those where the general authorities broadcast from Salt Lake to 68 stakes in northern California including the Rocklin stake where we live.

Both Kathy and I came away with an answer to a question that we have had for a long time. That was whether we should plan on staying in California now and after I retire. We both felt strongly that we were being counseled to remain where we are and continue to serve the Lord in our area.

Even with recent economic difficulties that have impacted all of our family, we feel that the Lord has blessings in store for those who will stand on his side and do his will. As you know we were very active in the prop 8 campaign last year to protect marriage. that was a very different experience and in some way very challenging to Kathy and I. Going to people doors and asking them about their views on the topic was both scary and exhilarating. Standing the on the Raley's corner holding sign and waving to cars as they go by was also a mix of good and bad exeriences.

We will go on a mission when it is time, but we feel like we are in the right place now. It is sure nice to have a confirmation from the Lord with questions such as this.

Our faith in the Lord has been strengthened and continues to go as we see his hand in our lives and the lives or our children and grandchildren.

I was looking at LDS.org this afternoon and found a wonderful link that I had not see before. You will find it full of good instruction as well:
http://www.lds.org/ldsorg/v/index.jsp?vgnextoid=97ca813d71189110VgnVCM1000003a94610aRCRD&locale=0

I was trying to get Kathy to add to the blog, but was unsuccessful. We have been busy as of late with the holidays and new year.

I was thinking about my dad today and thought that I would add to the blog a silly little poem that he used to say all the time. Here goes.

What a funny little bird a frog are,
don't got no tail most hardly,
when him hops, him jumps,
when him jumps, him hops,
don't it awful.....

His other famous phrase when he was upset at us was:
Do you want me to kick your pants?
We knew what he meant, and that straightened us up.
I made the mistake of suggesting that I let him kick my pants after I took them off once and regretted it later.

I was a very fast runner when I was about 10 years old. I however learned that dad was faster once when I tried to get away from him when I had done something wrong.

Well enough reminiscing about my dad. Sure miss him sometimes.