Birthdays...

Today, I am thankful for birthdays. I was talking to someone and they wished me a happy birthday. I said, I really don't like birthdays...and they said, "Yeah, but think of the alternative..."

I chuckled, but the point was well taken. I am truly thankful that I was able to have another birhtday and I hope that I have many more. I am grateful to be alive another year.

Our Prophet Gordon B. Hinkley

I really wanted something profound to say but I am really at a loss for words. That being said, my 12-year-old daughter wanted to write something about the prophet's passing from what she has read and the thoughts she has had. I think it's appropriate:

This world has seen many influential men such as George Washington, Leonardo Da Vinci, Ghandi; each affecting the world of men differently and each touching the hearts of those who hold close to the world we live in. In the past few centuries the world has become a much different place. The church has faced even more opposition that it ever has. The saints are constantly troubled and tempted by worldly influences. But amidst all of this confusion and chaos a hero was born, Gordon B. Hinckley. He led the saints into a wonderful place and helped prepare us for what the world was thrown at us.

President Hinckley was a great prophet. He rose up over one hundred temples, doubling the number of temples there had been. The church expanded worldwide and millions of our brothers and sisters in foreign countries were converted to the gospel. He lit the pathway the lord made for us to follow. He kept us on the right path and we were truly blessed by it. He was a great leader. His own voice would touch even the hardest of hearts and his spirit when he walked in the room was overwhelming.

President Hinckley was a great person. He had a large family with five children and twenty-five grandchildren. His closest friend and companion was his wife who died in 2004. He was broken by the loss of his partner but he stood tall. He had a great sense of humor and was always up for a good laugh. He filled the whole room with joy when he walked in and he had a great smile. He loved the saints. Most of my favorite memories of the prophet were of him walking out of a meeting and waving his cane up at the audience.

President Hinckley died today, January 27th, 2008 at about 7pm. His family surrounded him. What I wouldn’t give to see the rejoicing in heaven when President Hinckley sees his beloved wife again. He left behind the saints and all the beloved temples he worked so hard to build. The saints I know are all crushed by the loss of their beloved prophet but let us remember how blessed we were to know him for this short amount of time. I know that one thing I loved about the prophet was that he became prophet the year that I was born and I thought that I was really special to have that. How blessed I am to hear the hymn, “ We Thank Thee Oh God for a Prophet” for how true it is.

May we all be blessed by this great mans example and may we always remember President Gordon B. Hinckley.

Basketball, Freedom and Agency

Today, I coached two basketball games for my kids and watched a third game. All different kids, all girls. I think that I grew up with a definite mindset that I wanted boys because I like sports and sport equals boys. Just clarifying, that is so not what I think now. The teams my girls play for are coed teams. Last night one of my girls in 5th grade played in a game during the halftime of the local high school game as an expo for the city sports league. It was a pretty large crowd and she loved it. I think it seriously had an impact on her. I noticed that when she played today, she was like a whole new player. It was awesome. That leads me to what I am thankful for...

I am thankful that Heavenly Father has given us the opportunity to change our lives...that we can choose for ourselves what we want. I know that some countries and places don't have those inalienable rights but, I believe that those right are endowed from God and should be available to all. I am glad that they are available to me and my children in the area we live.

I hope that someday everyone has the freedoms that Heavenly Father has blessed me am my family with here. I am thankful for agency and freedom.

The Church and YouTube

For those of you who aren't aware of it, the church has it's own YouTube Channel. I am so very excited to know this. Some time ago, I made a recommendation on the http://tech.lds.org site that they should do it. I'm not saying I am the one that inspired the channel. To be honest, I don't really care what caused them to put the channel up, I am just thankful that they did. That is my thankful thing for today.

There are also several TV spots that I have never seen before and I can across one that was really, really good, so I thought I would share it here. I hope you enjoy it.

Crawling

My life seems so busy. I have many things to do, shuttling kids around, work, church and what seems like a million other things. It's amazing the responsibilities that we grow into. Today though, something stood out to me. My littlest who is closing in on seven months old actually crawled for the first time today. She has been scooting for several days but today she crawled. My wife and I were so excited and reflected on the fact that they grow up so quickly. That's when it stood out to me, we all have to learn to crawl. Something that seems so small in the adult world is really a huge deal to a child. I think sometimes we as adults overlook that. Tasks and responsibilities in life are all relative to the place we are when they happen. I hope it will make me more considerate when my kids come to me with something they think is important. I hope I will remember how important those things were to me.

Today, I am thankful that someone taught me to crawl and it was a big deal. I am also thankful that my daughter is healthy enough and physically able to crawl, at it is a big deal to me.

Being Thankful...

I can honestly say that I don't think that I am thankful enough. There are so many things to be thankful for but in my busy life, I don't stop to even consider being thankful. I also don't spend enough time considering what I am thankful for in my prayers. All that being said, there is no time like the present to begin. It is my hope that whatever I share here will not be some contrived list of items that read like a shopping list. I want more than anything for this to be sincere, at the same time I want to be sure to find something everyday that is worth gratitude. If anyone actually reads this blog and find that I stopped posting, you can safely assume that I am a slacker. Now with all the disclaimers out of the way, I will move to my first gratitude entry.

I worked very late last night, I was up until about 4:30 AM. I decided that I needed to go to sleep. When I got to my room, my second to youngest daughter was lying in my bed. This is actually a recurring event in my home and I usually concede grumpily and take what I can of blankets and bed and go to sleep. But for some reason, last night was a little different, maybe it was the struggle getting my shoes off. Whatever, it was caused me to stand there just a little bit longer than normal and realize how peaceful my little girl was snuggled in there next to her Mom. It was beautiful...it made me happy. Pretty simple actually, but something that I think will be floating around in my head for a while. It had enough impact that after 3 months of procrastination in creating a gratitude blog, I finally made an entry.

I am truly thankful for that quiet moment last night that I could see peace in the sleeping face of my little girl and her mom.