Pedal- by Swindoll

   At first, I saw God as my observer, my judge, keeping track of the things I did wrong, so as to know whether I merited heaven or hell when I die. He was out there sort of like a president.

   But later on when I met Christ, it seemed as though life was rather like a bike ride, but it was a tandem bike, and I noticed that Christ was in the back helping me pedal.

   I don't know just when it was that He suggested we change places, but life has not been the same since.  When I had control, I knew the way. It was rather boring, but predictable… It was the shortest distance between two points.

   But when He took the lead, He knew delightful long cuts, up mountains and through rocky places at breakneck speed's, it was all I could do to hang on! Even though it looked like madness, he said, "Pedal!"

   I worried and was anxious and asked, "Where are you taking me?"  He laughed and didn't answer, and I started to learn to trust.

   He took me to people with gifts that I needed – gifts of healing, acceptance and joy. They gave me gifts to take on my journey, my Lord's and mine.

   And we were off again. He said, "Give the gifts away they're extra baggage, too much weight." So I did, to the people we met, and I found that in giving I received, and still are burden was light.

   I did not trust Him, at first, in control of my life. I thought he'd wreck it; but he knows bike secrets, knows how to make it bend to take sharp corners, knows how to jump to clear high rocks, knows how to fly to shorten scary passages.

   And I am learning to shut up and pedal in the strangest places, and I'm beginning to enjoy the view and the cool breeze on my face with my delightful constant companion, Jesus Christ.

   And when I'm sure I just can't do anymore, He just smiles and says, "Pedal."

-Swindoll, The Tale of the Tardy Oxcart, 586-87)-

Endure

Dear Family,

I hope you have a lovely week.  Today’s message is for the days and weeks that are not so lovely.  There are unique trials that we all face.  It is in these moments, when we are in despair, that we learn the most about ourselves and whether we choose turn to or away from the Lord.  May we learn that as we come to Christ in our struggles, we can be strengthened and comforted.   I pray that we can gain testimonies of this important truth.

Love

DaD!

“Endure ... for Days of Happiness”

Given by Richard L. Evans

October 31, 1971

There is a short sentence from Virgil that says: “Endure, and keep yourselves for days of happiness.”

There are times when we feel that we can’t endure — that we can’t face what’s ahead of us; that we can’t live with the disappointments, the problems; that we can’t carry the heavy load. But these times come and go, as our strength and courage and circumstances run in cycles — from high to low to high — and in the low times we have to endure; we have to hold on until the shadows brighten, until the load lifts. “No one could endure adversity,” said Seneca, “if, while it continued, it kept the same violence that its first blows had. ...”

People often issue ultimatums. They say they can’t or won’t stand this or that — not another minute. “I’m leaving it all. I want out.” Such times could be likened to a circuit breaker or a fuse that blows when overloaded. We do wonder if we can take it at times — but there are built-in safety factors, and we find that the human soul — the spirit, the body, the mind of man — is resilient.

There is more built-in strength in all of us than we sometimes suppose. And what once we said we couldn’t do or couldn’t live with or couldn’t carry, we find ourselves somehow doing and enduring, as time, reappraisal, readjustment, and sometimes sheer necessity, modify our sense of values and our attitudes, and we find strength and endurance and hidden resources within ourselves.

“Life is real! Life is earnest!” as the poet put it, and facing facts, adjusting to life, isn’t always easy. But before we give up, we should most seriously consider what we are giving up — and what we are going to. “Out of the frying pan, into the fire” is an old phrase that has much meaning.

Well, thus endeth the lesson — to pause, to reappraise, to take time for hope, for faith, and for strength to return — remembering, as Solon said it: “If all men were to bring their miseries together in one place, most would be glad to take ... home again ... each his own.”

“Endure, and keep yourselves for days of happiness.”

From Music and the Spoken Word

April General Conference Thoughts

Family

  I hope you all had a chance to watch conference this week. I felt truly blessed as I watched our Prophet, President Thomas Monson
Stand and share his thoughts on what it is that we need to do to endure this mortal state. When we come to the cross roads in this life, knowing what you want and where you want to go is the most important thing we can do. If you make wise choices based on a Gospel centered life and follow Gods Prophet on the earth. You will not waver at these crossroads and find yourselves in the light of Gods love.  Please read President Monson's counsel again and enjoy his inspired message.  

Your Choices Matter!!

Love you all! 

DaD

Choices

By President Thomas S. Monson

May we ever choose the harder right instead of the easier wrong.

Brothers and sisters, before I begin my formal message today, I would like to announce four new temples which, in coming months and years, will be built in the following locations: Quito, Ecuador; Harare, Zimbabwe; Belém, Brazil; and a second temple in Lima, Peru.
When I became a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles in 1963, there were 12 operating temples in the entire Church. With the dedication of the Provo City Center Temple two weeks ago, there are now 150 temples in operation throughout the world. How grateful we are for the blessings we receive in these holy houses.
Now, brothers and sisters, I wish to express my gratitude for the opportunity to share a few thoughts with you this morning.
I have been thinking recently about choices. It has been said that the door of history turns on small hinges, and so do people’s lives. The choices we make determine our destiny.
When we left our premortal existence and entered mortality, we brought with us the gift of agency. Our goal is to obtain celestial glory, and the choices we make will, in large part, determine whether or not we reach our goal.
Most of you are familiar with Alice in Lewis Carroll’s classic novel Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland.You will remember that she comes to a crossroads with two paths before her, each stretching onward but in opposite directions. As she contemplates which way to turn, she is confronted by the Cheshire Cat, of whom Alice asks, “Which path shall I follow?”
The cat answers, “That depends where you want to go. If you do not know where you want to go, it doesn’t matter which path you take.”¹
Unlike Alice, we know where we want to go, and it doesmatter which way we go, for the path we follow in this life leads to our destination in the next life.
May we choose to build up within ourselves a great and powerful faith which will be our most effective defense against the designs of the adversary—a real faith, the kind of faith which will sustain us and will bolster our desire to choose the right. Without such faith, we go nowhere. With it, we can accomplish our goals.
Although it is imperative that we choose wisely, there are times when we will make foolish choices. The gift of repentance, provided by our Savior, enables us to correct our course settings, that we might return to the path which will lead us to that celestial glory we seek.
May we maintain the courage to defy the consensus. May we ever choose the harder right instead of the easier wrong.
As we contemplate the decisions we make in our lives each day—whether to make this choice or that choice—if we choose Christ, we will have made the correct choice.
That this may ever be so is my heartfelt and humble prayer in the name of Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior, amen.

                

1. Adapted from Lewis Carroll, Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland (1898), 89.
   
   
   

Easter Blessings

Dear Family

   This week is Easter and we get to celebrate the glorious resurrection of the Savior, Jesus Christ. He suffered and died for us. He gave all and overcame the grave so we to could all be made alive. As I reflect on how miraculous each day of my own life has been these many years, it hasn't even touched the surface of just how lovely and grand life is becoming!! As we anticipate the birth of a Grandson and look towards the blessing of Caleb take a beautiful daughter of God to the temple and joining our family, my joy toward each of you is being magnified over and over!! 

God Bless each of you as we rejoice in the glorious message of the Gospel!! 

DaD

Dear Family,

Happy Easter Sunday!  We are so blessed to have the knowledge of our Savior.  Below you will find the link to a video all about Christ and the blessings that come from His atonement and resurrection.  I know as we turn to Him, we can be restored, we can become new!  Because of Christ, we know we will see our loved ones again.  There is more to life than this mortal experience.  I love you and I pray for you!

With Love,

Grandpa

https://youtu.be/p2wdMwpYByI

No Empty Chairs

Family

   I have been blessed enough to be included on my mission presidents weekly family email, that he calls no empty chairs. I can't help but think this is a wonderful idea so to start this in our family for now, I am going to forward his message to you. Like president Bradley has a pure and rich love for his own family a missionaries he leads. I too love each of you and will always expect that in the end you all will gain your own love of God and join with me in the goal that we have no empty chairs in our family.  

Love you all 

Dad

Dear Family,

I hope your week has been marvelous.  I love the scripture that begins this week’s message in Alma pondering upon the awe-inspiring things of this World.  God directed Christ to create this beautiful planet for us to live on and there are incredible things about it.  From the wonders of the Northern Lights to the beauty of the Grand Canyon, all of it was created for us.  God loves you and cares for you.  Let Him in and let Him work miracles in your life.

With Love,

Grandpa

The Greater Wealth by Elder Steven E Snow

All things denote there is a God; yea, even the earth, and all things that are upon the face of it.

—Alma 30:44

Growing up in southern Utah, some of us sought employment at the many gasoline service stations that lined old Highway 91 as it made its way through downtown St. George. My younger brother, Paul, then 18, worked at Tom’s Service, a station located about three blocks from our home.

One summer day, a car with New York license plates pulled in the station and asked for a fill-up. (In those days someone actually came out and filled your car with gas, washed your windows, and checked your oil.) While Paul was washing the windshield, the driver asked him how far it was to the Grand Canyon.

Paul replied that it was 170 miles.

“I’ve waited all my life to see the Grand Canyon,” the man exclaimed. “What’s it like out there?”

“I don’t know,” Paul answered, “I’ve never been there.”

“You mean to tell me,” the man responded, “that you live two and a half hours from one of the seven wonders of the world and you’ve never been there!”

“That’s right,” Paul said.

After a moment, the man replied, “Well, I guess I can understand that. My wife and I have lived in Manhattan for over 20 years, and we’ve never visited the Statue of Liberty.”

“I’ve been there,” Paul said.

Isn’t it ironic that we will often travel many miles to see the wonders of nature or the creations of man, but yet ignore the beauty in our own backyard?

It is human nature, I suppose, to seek elsewhere for our happiness. Pursuit of career goals, wealth, and material rewards can cloud our perspective and often leads to a lack of appreciation for the bounteous blessings of our present circumstances. It is precarious to dwell on why we have not been given more. It is, however, beneficial and humbling to dwell on why we have been given so much.

An old proverb states, “The greater wealth is contentment with a little.”

It is better to Look up - Life experiences shared from the Pulpit

Visit with President Bradley

It was a privilege to visit Matt's sweet mission president, a few weeks ago, President Ralph Bradley. Visiting him was a bit like visiting with a celestial being in Heaven for a few moments.  He is now 94 years old I believe and has been blind and widowed for the past eight years.  His spirits are bright and positive and his faith and mind are crystal clear.  If I could look to someone I would like to emulate and be most like when I pass from this earth it would be someone just like President Bradley.  As we visited with him, he shared with 3 of his missionaries and their wives some of his most sacred experiences.  I shall never forget that moment and what a spirit I felt that night from him.  What a blessing for us all.  Weekly President Bradley sends an email of his testimony to his children, grandchildren and a few of his beloved missionaries.  We were honored that he would include us.  Here is one of his weekly letters.  Matt now feels inspired to do the same for our family.  So that his posterity will have no doubt about his strong faith and testimony of Jesus Christ and his restored gospel now on the earth!

Dear Family,

I think about you and pray for you often.  Sometimes we feel a great deal of pressure from those around us to look a certain way and act a certain way, especially in church on Sundays.  I am hopeful that we can look past this outward pressure and truly focus on how we are doing on the inside, for we know that the spiritual condition of our heart and soul is far more important than the condition of our wardrobe, haircut, or handbag.  May we focus on what is really crucial this week and turn to God as we do so.

With Love,

Grandpa

Christ is not just working on us but with us and through us.

WITHOUT WAX

When I was first learning Spanish, my teacher taught our class the word for sincere. In Spanish the word is made up of two smaller words: sin, which means “without,” and cera, which means “wax.” Sincere: “without wax.” That certainly seemed like an odd combination of words. When I asked my teacher about it, he explained that the word sincere comes from the Latin sincerus, meaning “clean, pure, and sound.” He then shared an often-repeated folk explanation about the word’s beginnings. He said that long ago, dishonest sculptors who made items out of marble would cover any flaws or mistakes with wax. Then they would take their work to the market and sell it. The new owners would feel good about their purchases until they took them home and the hot sun melted the wax and exposed the flawed items for what they really were. Buyers got smart and began to ask, “Is this made without wax?” They wanted to know what they were getting. They didn’t want something that looked wonderful on the outside but would not hold up in the heat of the sun, so the question became “Is this sincere?”

Those who claim to be Christians must live lives that are sincere—clean, pure, sound—the same on the inside as they appear on the outside. People should be able to trust that they will see Christ’s image in our countenances and His teachings in our lives—not just on Sunday, but throughout the heat and pressure of a 7-day week. Living sincerely is difficult, but it is doable when we remember our sculptor is not a dishonest artisan but the perfect Creator. Christ is not just working on us but with us and through us. He condemned hypocrisy when He said, “Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye make clean the outside of the cup and of the platter, but within they are full of extortion and excess” (Matthew 23:25). Christ helps us move beyond external appearances by going beyond self-acceptance, beyond relying on our own power, beyond preoccupation with ourselves. As we do, we are able to influence others in ways that go far beyond our wildest expectations.

The 7-day Christian by Brad Wilcox