My wife and daughters are once again participating in a blog challenge (except the youngest who is just too busy to blog). The challenge is to write on a specified topic each day for a month (or longer - I'm not sure what they decided). One of them invited me to participate so I will, though I decided that I will cherry pick topics rather than write about each. I enjoyed reading their posts concerning who their respective favorite person is and determined that I would participate in this topic along with them.
Like them many came to mind but one stood out as a favorite for me. He is widely quoted so I think I will introduce him through a few quotes from his writing or speaking opportunities.
"We live in a world where finding fault in others seems to be the favorite blood sport. It has long been the basis of political campaign strategy. It is the theme of much television programming across the world. It sells newspapers. Whenever we meet anyone, our first almost unconscious reaction may be to look for imperfections."
"Carrying a grudge is a heavy burden. As you forgive, you will feel the joy of being forgiven."
"Our Heavenly Father Loves us. He sent His Only Begotten Son to be our Savior. He knew that in mortality we would be in grave danger, the worst of it from the temptations of a terrible adversary. That is one of the reasons why the Savior has provided priesthood keys so that those with ears to hear and faith to obey could go to places of safety."
"It is never too late to strengthen the foundation of faith. There is always time. With faith in the Savior, you can repent and plead for forgiveness. There is someone you can forgive. There is someone you can thank. There is someone you can serve and lift. You can do it wherever you are and however alone and deserted you may feel."
These four are quotes from Henry B. Eyring. I am not sure when he became so prominent in my thinking but for at least the last few years his General Conference addresses have really touched me. I appreciate that he so often gets emotional when speaking of things that are of importance to him. He speaks a lot about family and family experiences - which are also high on my importance list. A good man who is providing a public example that I try to emulate.
Thanks for checking in. More to come soon. See you then.
From time to time I will share with family and friends a few thoughts, dreams, occasional insights and funny stories from my life and the lives of those same friends and family. Nothing too embarrassing or hurtful. Enjoy!
Saturday, June 25, 2016
Tuesday, March 1, 2016
"... but now it is so much more." James L. Slaughter
5 years ago March 1st I had Coronary Artery Bypass Surgery (CABG). Dr. Sara Pereira and her team at St. Mary's Hospital in Grand Junction Colorado did an outstanding job getting me through that difficult few days. I am fortunate that I did not have a heart attack just chest pain that when discussed with my family physician led to some testing and imaging that ended up with the above mentioned treatment. According to my cardiologist I was a ticking time bomb with one blockage that appeared to be over 90% and 3 others that were approximately 60-70%. The result could easily have been very different if I had not talked to my doctor about the occasional pain I had experienced. I encourage any reading this who have angina or other chest pain to talk about it with their family physician.
I count this date (March 1, 2011) as a life changer for me.
During the lead up to the procedure and the month following I had some time to consider many aspects of my life and the lives of my family members. We all have had difficulties that have made us into the people we are today. If you will indulge me I will share a little of our lives and times here today.
My sweetheart and I married young (19) and began our family within the next year. So not only did we have the self inflicted problems of youth we also had to learn how to care for a baby girl who changed the dynamic in our home in very positive ways - yet brought challenges that I'm not sure how we ever got through. We managed with the loving help of family and friends. As a dad to a small child I was terrified most of the time. The challenges came frequently over the ensuing years - 5 more children arrived and by the time we were in our very early thirties our family was complete. We survived job loss, underemployment, physical ailments, and even an occasional faltering of our faith. The one constant for me was the strength of a good woman who made me feel as though all the hard work would be rewarded.
It has been.
Not always in ways I expected.
My reflections this year have been on the trials that our children now face in their adult lives. One of our daughters began her married life with her husband being diagnosed with Non Hodgkin's Lymphoma - a cancer that is often deadly but very treatable. I think that was the longest 18 to 24 months of their lives (and ours). Very hard as a parent to watch the physical, emotional, and spiritual struggle of a young couple who wonder what new challenge each day or each new round of treatment brings. I am a man and a father - I want to fix things, and provide comfort. Not, just sit idly by knowing that I can do nothing beyond love, support, and pray.
Another daughter had to live as a single Mom for 4 years because of poor choices made by her husband that got him caught up in the legal system of two States. He is a good man who started down a wrong road years ago and, apparently, needed a stern wake up call to change. Forgiveness in her heart was hard in the beginning. It came easier when she understood a little better about addiction. I am still trying to figure out how to forgive completely.
When my sweetheart and I embarked upon this journey, nearly 37 years ago now, I don't think either of us had any idea of the twists and turns life would take. The same applies to all our children who are at some point on the same journey. I have learned that it is through our struggles that we learn to lean on one another. I look back on my 56+ years and can see where the love we began with at 19 has blossomed into something more precious and deep. Not only are we more in love than ever but we are truly friends.
"I was in love when we first got married--no doubt about that--but now it is so much more. True love and friendship have blossomed through all the struggles we have been through together. I hate to think where we would be had we quit on each other." (James L. Slaughter)
I do reflect upon all these events and many others this time of year. I marvel at the medical knowledge and technology that is available today. I will be grateful to all the medical staff who worked on and cared for me 5 years ago for the rest of my life.
As I read back through this post it seems a little mawkish but that may be the kind of man I am as well.
Thanks for checking in. More to come soon. See you then.
I count this date (March 1, 2011) as a life changer for me.
During the lead up to the procedure and the month following I had some time to consider many aspects of my life and the lives of my family members. We all have had difficulties that have made us into the people we are today. If you will indulge me I will share a little of our lives and times here today.
My sweetheart and I married young (19) and began our family within the next year. So not only did we have the self inflicted problems of youth we also had to learn how to care for a baby girl who changed the dynamic in our home in very positive ways - yet brought challenges that I'm not sure how we ever got through. We managed with the loving help of family and friends. As a dad to a small child I was terrified most of the time. The challenges came frequently over the ensuing years - 5 more children arrived and by the time we were in our very early thirties our family was complete. We survived job loss, underemployment, physical ailments, and even an occasional faltering of our faith. The one constant for me was the strength of a good woman who made me feel as though all the hard work would be rewarded.
It has been.
Not always in ways I expected.
My reflections this year have been on the trials that our children now face in their adult lives. One of our daughters began her married life with her husband being diagnosed with Non Hodgkin's Lymphoma - a cancer that is often deadly but very treatable. I think that was the longest 18 to 24 months of their lives (and ours). Very hard as a parent to watch the physical, emotional, and spiritual struggle of a young couple who wonder what new challenge each day or each new round of treatment brings. I am a man and a father - I want to fix things, and provide comfort. Not, just sit idly by knowing that I can do nothing beyond love, support, and pray.
Another daughter had to live as a single Mom for 4 years because of poor choices made by her husband that got him caught up in the legal system of two States. He is a good man who started down a wrong road years ago and, apparently, needed a stern wake up call to change. Forgiveness in her heart was hard in the beginning. It came easier when she understood a little better about addiction. I am still trying to figure out how to forgive completely.
When my sweetheart and I embarked upon this journey, nearly 37 years ago now, I don't think either of us had any idea of the twists and turns life would take. The same applies to all our children who are at some point on the same journey. I have learned that it is through our struggles that we learn to lean on one another. I look back on my 56+ years and can see where the love we began with at 19 has blossomed into something more precious and deep. Not only are we more in love than ever but we are truly friends.
"I was in love when we first got married--no doubt about that--but now it is so much more. True love and friendship have blossomed through all the struggles we have been through together. I hate to think where we would be had we quit on each other." (James L. Slaughter)
I do reflect upon all these events and many others this time of year. I marvel at the medical knowledge and technology that is available today. I will be grateful to all the medical staff who worked on and cared for me 5 years ago for the rest of my life.
As I read back through this post it seems a little mawkish but that may be the kind of man I am as well.
Thanks for checking in. More to come soon. See you then.
Tuesday, February 23, 2016
"Reading is a basic tool in the living of a good life." Joseph Addison
"Either write something worth reading or do something worth writing." Benjamin Franklin
I once had a conversation with a man I grew to admire a great deal in which he shared with me that he began each day with a book in hand. I had asked about his daily schedule. He told me that seven days a week he arose from his bed at 4:45 am and following his morning ablutions he always began the morning by reading in a good book. Rarely a novel. Instead - something he felt worthwhile and somewhat challenging or enlightening.
Since having that conversation I have tried to follow that example. My choice of reading material each morning is scriptural. I read in the Bible and the Book of Mormon each morning beginning at about 5:10 am and spend most of the next 50 minutes reading, studying, or pondering upon what has been read. The exception is my one weekday off (Thursday) when I read later in the morning. This is my daily habit. I also, usually, have another book or novel that I am reading for enjoyment - though I find that many books have quotations that are thought provoking for me and cause me to consider if there may be application in my life.
I should note that I am a relatively slow reader most of the time. Not for lack of understanding, mind you, but for greater comprehension as well as enjoyment. When a book takes hold of my imagination, capturing my attention then my consumption of nouns and verbs increases dramatically. When a book I have chosen to consume begins slowly to introduce me to the characters and circumstances on its pages I know that something good is usually coming. I patiently bide my time until I find I am caught up and realize that I have been reading for hours without thought of thirst or hunger or other bodily needs. I am amazed at how easily I am drawn into the depths of the characters and their interactions.
"We shouldn't teach great books, we should teach a love of reading." B.F. Skinner
It is probably a good thing that I am married to a librarian. She has a love of reading and of good books of all varieties and shares many of those with me and with our children. I remember many nights listening from the living room as she - after we tucked those children into bed - would sit in the hallway or in one of the bedrooms reading aloud from many wonderful series such as the Ann of Green Gables books, or The Chronicles of Narnia, or many, many others. She brought them to life for all of us (don't tell her I wrote that). Even when I would sit at the kitchen table reading Tom Clancy, or Ayn Rand, or other favorite authors, I would pause to listen and enjoy.
One of our daughters gave me a book for Christmas last year by Mitch Albom titled "the magic strings of Frankie Presto" that sat on the end table in the living room until just recently. What a treasure (so far anyway). There have already been many quotes that have set me to thinking.
“Everyone joins a band in this life. And what you play always affects someone. Sometimes, it affects the world.”
“All humans are musical. Why else would the Lord give you a beating heart?”
“The secret is not to make your music louder, but to make the world quieter.”
“You cannot write if you do not read,” the blind man said. “You cannot eat if you do not chew. And you cannot play if you do not”—he grabbed for the boy’s hand—“listen.”
And I am certain there will be more to come that will cause me to pause and think. I look forward to what is yet to unfold.
This will likely find its place among those books that I read several times before I am finished with it.
"If one cannot enjoy reading a book over and over again, there is no use in reading it at all." Oscar Wilde.
That is the way it goes when I find a book that makes me think or brings me joy (hopefully both). I'll read it through twice then put it away for a few months and come back to it for a refresher. Then it may sit for a few years as others fill the spaces in my brain until I discover it again. What a great gift is this ability to read.
I love hearing our children sharing their love of a good book with our grandchildren. Very few things fill my heart with joy as fully as listening to a book read aloud in those homes. I know that the rising generation, of this clan, is in good and capable hands.
Enough for today.
Thanks for checking in. More to come soon. See you then.
I once had a conversation with a man I grew to admire a great deal in which he shared with me that he began each day with a book in hand. I had asked about his daily schedule. He told me that seven days a week he arose from his bed at 4:45 am and following his morning ablutions he always began the morning by reading in a good book. Rarely a novel. Instead - something he felt worthwhile and somewhat challenging or enlightening.
Since having that conversation I have tried to follow that example. My choice of reading material each morning is scriptural. I read in the Bible and the Book of Mormon each morning beginning at about 5:10 am and spend most of the next 50 minutes reading, studying, or pondering upon what has been read. The exception is my one weekday off (Thursday) when I read later in the morning. This is my daily habit. I also, usually, have another book or novel that I am reading for enjoyment - though I find that many books have quotations that are thought provoking for me and cause me to consider if there may be application in my life.
I should note that I am a relatively slow reader most of the time. Not for lack of understanding, mind you, but for greater comprehension as well as enjoyment. When a book takes hold of my imagination, capturing my attention then my consumption of nouns and verbs increases dramatically. When a book I have chosen to consume begins slowly to introduce me to the characters and circumstances on its pages I know that something good is usually coming. I patiently bide my time until I find I am caught up and realize that I have been reading for hours without thought of thirst or hunger or other bodily needs. I am amazed at how easily I am drawn into the depths of the characters and their interactions.
"We shouldn't teach great books, we should teach a love of reading." B.F. Skinner
It is probably a good thing that I am married to a librarian. She has a love of reading and of good books of all varieties and shares many of those with me and with our children. I remember many nights listening from the living room as she - after we tucked those children into bed - would sit in the hallway or in one of the bedrooms reading aloud from many wonderful series such as the Ann of Green Gables books, or The Chronicles of Narnia, or many, many others. She brought them to life for all of us (don't tell her I wrote that). Even when I would sit at the kitchen table reading Tom Clancy, or Ayn Rand, or other favorite authors, I would pause to listen and enjoy.
One of our daughters gave me a book for Christmas last year by Mitch Albom titled "the magic strings of Frankie Presto" that sat on the end table in the living room until just recently. What a treasure (so far anyway). There have already been many quotes that have set me to thinking.
“Everyone joins a band in this life. And what you play always affects someone. Sometimes, it affects the world.”
“All humans are musical. Why else would the Lord give you a beating heart?”
“The secret is not to make your music louder, but to make the world quieter.”
“You cannot write if you do not read,” the blind man said. “You cannot eat if you do not chew. And you cannot play if you do not”—he grabbed for the boy’s hand—“listen.”
And I am certain there will be more to come that will cause me to pause and think. I look forward to what is yet to unfold.
This will likely find its place among those books that I read several times before I am finished with it.
"If one cannot enjoy reading a book over and over again, there is no use in reading it at all." Oscar Wilde.
That is the way it goes when I find a book that makes me think or brings me joy (hopefully both). I'll read it through twice then put it away for a few months and come back to it for a refresher. Then it may sit for a few years as others fill the spaces in my brain until I discover it again. What a great gift is this ability to read.
I love hearing our children sharing their love of a good book with our grandchildren. Very few things fill my heart with joy as fully as listening to a book read aloud in those homes. I know that the rising generation, of this clan, is in good and capable hands.
Enough for today.
Thanks for checking in. More to come soon. See you then.
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