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My baby turned 14 today. 

It started like a typical birthday morning in our home by waking her early with a "Happy Birthday" serenade. Only the choir was really a couplet, just mom and I that were singing. Emily was grateful and charming, though it was barely 5am. Friends were coming early to get her for breakfast. Activities continued at school, so I dropped off a bag of candy at the junior high for her classroom celebration. And we were just getting warmed up.

Linda prepared all through the day decorating the house and making and buying treats. When I got off work, the arrangements at home continued in earnest for the joint birthday party with Jacob Togisala, a boy in our ward that shares the exact same birthday. His family soon joined in with more treats, cake, ice cream, and karaoke featuring DJ Lloyd. He brought speakers, music, mics, and on-screen lyrics to the favorite songs of our day--no small job moving all that equipment. It was a hit. Many joined in, including spectators who were sitting on the cuddle bag or playing ping pong.

Since the party began at 6:30, the group was hungry and ready for something good to eat in addition to the snacks. So we bought pizzas. There were young people upstairs and downstairs.

They played games, visited, and sang their favorite songs at the top of their lungs. Though they celebrated down in the basement, we heard them in every room around the house. It was great. At last they, opened presents and started a dvd, which went late into the night. Linda and Aneva kept the food filled and the beverages flowing. The youth were well-behaved and polite. It was a great success.

Everyone had a great time, and Emily was the perfect hostess.

Can hardly wait to see what's next.

The Garden

We celebrate a lot of great experiences in this world...not because they are easy, but because they are valuable and timely.

One such celebration is our gardens. 

The first vegetable garden I remember in Salt Lake City was in a borrowed lot and a fair walk from our home. I was just a small child in those days. Though the work was difficult and the watering usually took place during the middle of the night, I remember the experience with fondness. 

Our garden in Castle Valley was of an entirely different variety. It was large and ever more the challenge, but it gave us life and love and work...three components of a fulfilling existence. I remember the corn and the tomatoes, the lettuce and peas, beets, swiss chard, potatoes and melons. And we can't forget the berries, grapes, and fruit trees. These, too, came from our expanded gardens. Flowers surrounded our home and filled it with sweet fragrance.

Each winter we would prepare by planning what we would sow in the Spring. Mother and Dad went through the Burpee and Harris seed catalogs and Stark tree and fruit inventory to enhance our little farm and provide for the family. We all excitedly helped with fond anticipation. And despite obstacles, the seeds planted then bore fruit amid the challenges and hardships of life.

And now we recall those memories and prepare our homes and families for a harvest the likes of which we have never known. The abundance of benefits that came from the experience in our gardens far exceeds the purpose at the time for which they were grown. Today our family reaps blessings of hope, confidence and peace due in part to the instruction of parents who were not just raising a harvest of fruit, vegetables, and flowers that ultimately came from our gardens. They were also rearing a family.

The fount of all our blessings started long before that time, however, on the dusty roads of Jerusalem, even atop the Mount of Olives, amid the Sea of Galilee, and ultimately in the Garden of Gethsemane.

Yes. Gardens miraculously yield an eternal crop of blessings. Now our gardens have produced family ties, home, and joy--blooming now and forever beyond our fondest dreams. We are truly the product of the grace of a Gardner on high.

Gratefully, the Hand of God is daily working miracles in the gardens of our lives. 

Raising my Ebenezer

There is a song I just love. It's a prayer, really. 

The melody has always captured my interest. But recently, I learned more about the lyrics and their message. Now this anthem has become even more beautiful to me. I would like to analyze each of the verses with you and hear your thoughts. As I look at the parts, I am overcome with the fact that someone composed such beautiful words and a melody that depict such cherished experiences in our lives to which we can all relate. They are immaculate.

"Here I raise my Ebenezer" is a curious phrase that appears in the second verse. A friend at work shared his thoughts regarding this concept, and it opened my eyes...

In ancient times, prophets raised monuments to remember special events and witness of the Lord's help in their day. The scriptures illustrate many examples of this, including such things as the mount of transfiguration, holy writ, and temples as witnesses of our faith. What are our Ebenezers in our day? Perhaps our testimonies, our lives and personal histories.

This blog is a witness of His sustenance and goodness in my life, even in the midst of hardship.

Here I raise my Ebenezer. Hither by Thy help I come...

Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing

http://speeches.byu.edu/?act=viewitem&id=2130

Samuel 7:12

I can't sing

No. Singing is not my forte. When I hear sweet melodies floating in our midst, I admire and appreciate those so endowed. They paid the price to develop their talents, and now the world is a more beautiful, enjoyable place. And in that way, they bless us all.

Perfect harmony is revealed in many different arrangements. And that's appropriate, because righteous diversity is the secret of a happy life. Interposed in our existence is a variety of blessings and an assortment of joys.

"Success is not the key to happiness. Happiness is the key to success. 
 If you love what you are doing, you will be successful." 
-Albert Schweitzer

That's an important principle in life and in love. I remember reading about a husband that gave flowers to his wife every week of their marriage, and this made me want to be a better spouse. Make it your mission to treat the folks you love like the most important people on earth...because they are.

And they will sing your praises forever, literally.

We did it

This has been a great week, including visits from family and holiday celebrations. We watch the Olympics with great interest. You may have seen Noelle Pikus Pace capture her first Olympic medal for women's skeleton in Soshi. Noelle and her family are friends of ours and neighbors (when we lived in north Orem). Her story of coming back after multiple setbacks is inspiring. She is a motivational speaker, an athlete, and a mom.

I also had the chance to begin chronicling mom's journal of first days spent in Castle Valley. The project is just beginning with lots more to do, but the memories and sacrifices made in our behalf are astounding to read now with hindsight. In every sense of the word, Granny is a champion. She was the inspiration behind our Castle Valley experience and mother that held it all together.

We are surrounded by a wonderful family and have many miracles all about us. This is largely due to our wives and mothers and their never-ending dedication and love. My Sweetheart has truly given me my greatest blessings. She works hard everyday to make our small piece of the world and family-life even better. She is the heart of our home, love of my life, and dedicated mother.

Who would have known? As we look to make bigger and better accomplishments though out life, remember we did not get where we are by ourselves. We are the product of the sacrifice of others.

Therein lies true greatness.

Noelle Pikus Pace

Extraordinary

I enjoyed recently perhaps the best talk I have ever heard. Could that be possible? After 50 years of witnessing fantastic discourses by prophets, leaders, motivational speakers, and parents that's a remarkable claim, I realize. Perspective and priority are the reason. Ominous obstacles in our day may keep us from believing in our abilities, but they can't prevent us from becoming the people we are destined to be if we but endure to the end.

Let me introduce this message with a story...I recall an experience about a young man who attended a devotional. As he sat among thousands of other students the speaker discussed topics significant to him specifically. He was so touched the message spoke directly to him that he was speechless. His prayers were answered, and he realized that Heavenly Father had designed this occasion in his behalf. Tears flowed freely, and at the conclusion of the event, this young man was so stunned that he couldn't move. He continued basking in the Spirit and remained seated as the people all around him stood and made their way to their cars. This was a life-changing experience. Most had left the massive coliseum by now. Still unable to rise from his seat, he overheard the following conversation by the last two people filing up the stairway.

"Did you like the speaker?"

"I've heard better. You know I couldn't help but think I would have had more fun somewhere else."

"I know. I was thinking about the concert too."

"Oh well. You can't win them all..."

The young man was the last person to leave the building. Life changed, he walked back to his car and applied that very evening the message his Heavenly Father had prepared for him.

I experienced that today. The message was meant for me, and I will share the insights, too numerous to address in a single entry, over the next few weeks. But I do want to share one thought from this discourse with you.

Lorenzo Snow declared that "a mother who has brought up a family of faithful 

children ought to be saved if she never does another good thing."

The light the gospel shines on the divine role of women 

and motherhood is something the whole world should see.

You are all so important to your Heavenly Father that the salvation of your parents hinges on your well-being and upbringing in righteousness. The enormity of the universe is unfathomable, but each one of you is significant, the pride of your parents, and the work and glory of God.

That is the truth.

Church Messages that I love and cherishWomen OF GOD

Just look up

When I was but a child, my dad would take us boys on father-and-son outings. I remember them with nostalgia. A prized memory was the beautiful starry night skies we would see once we left the city and set out to find the camp somewhere in the mountains. We described this as the Milky Way.

Later as a boy in the country, my family lived in a unique situation in a small community with few electric lights. When night fell, the area was very dark. Since we were in a valley, the cliffs obscured the rays of the sun, so shadows appeared early in the evening. And once nightfall came, we could leave the cabin home and walk into our fields where we would spread a blanket to lie on.

There, we would watch the stunning constellations and see the Milky Way every night. Galaxies hung in the sky above us, so numerous that the billions of stars reflected a general white haze in space as the countless orbs radiated their light in our direction. I haven't seen brilliant skies like that since those days, but the memory is still fervent, sweet, clear, and distinct...all that from taking time to just look up.

It occurs to me there are generations of ancestors with stories, experiences, and messages for me if I will but take the time to turn my heart to them and listen to their carefully prepared gift.

The result is a sense of fulfillment as ancestors become real as we benefit from their wisdom and advice. Families can be together forever starting now.

But it's my responsibility...I have to look up.

Why Do Genealogy?

Why Family History is Important

Of One Voice

I admire those who have such beautiful voices and talented musical abilities. But even a song in the shower has special qualities. It emanates joy, peace, love, and wholeness.

When you were small children, I loved to listen to you sing while working around the house or as you were casually playing. It meant you were happy, content, and safe.

My father taught me the principles of the gospel ever since I was just a little boy. He was kind and patient, careful to explain so I too could understand. He taught in word and deed. But really, all I had to do was look at his life and consider his example. His model instilled the important lessons then and still does today. I hiked across the Grand Canyon as an 11-year-old scout with my dad. He was the Scoutmaster back then and my hero. I didn't realize then that this experience would come to be one of the most-cherished memories of my life.

Today, humility, gentleness, kindness, and moral integrity are scoffed at every hand. But I have a different point-of-view, because I saw the quality of character and pillar of strength they produced in my dad. The hope of tomorrow can be seen in the respectful eyes of the boys who look to their dads with admiration and in the broad smile of fathers who cherish their sons.

My admiration is only tempered by the realization that his desire would be to deflect my praise and express my appreciation to the Savior. And he's right. All blessings come to us because Jesus Christ enabled us and provided a way. He is the source of everything good.

Around this time of year, we are inspired by the immortal words of Isaiah, who heralds in the miracle of the season. Isaiah 9:6

He also warned us of challenges of our day. Isaiah 5:20

When Granny was on her mission, she shared the following scripture in one of her letters:

"He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me.

"And he that taketh not his cross, and followeth after me, is not worthy of me" 

Matthew 10:37-38

When I was a young boy, this scripture honestly kind of bothered me, because I love and admire my parents and siblings so much. But in time the problem was solved. I learned that the Redeemer is not separating us from our loved ones, quite the contrary. He gave us our family and friends and those we hold dear. And because of Him, we can be happy and live in harmony with them forever. In fact, today more than ever I am thrilled to become reacquainted with my Father In Heaven through the Savior Jesus Christ.

I am excited to thank Him. Because of Him, this great plan of happiness will bring all of our loved ones eternally together as we strive to follow the gospel, and that's the greatest gift of all.

Now that's something really worth singing about.