Old Friends...

Wow... What an afternoon! Several of us from KR and KW high schools who went to seminary together met up after 17 years at the church building we all used to go to. It was incredible to see these great people after so long -- Shauna, Christy, Julie, Ryan, Jill, Jana, Carrie, Jessica, Todd, Mike and, of course most of their families. For those who know them, can you still tell who they all are in the photo below? I'll give you a hint. None of these are Jill and Jana, who weren't able to make it until after we took the photos. I'll drop one of them in below. ;)

I took photos of each family as well, but I'm going to set up a photo album somewhere to post those, rather than put them all into my blog. Watch for the link...

And here's Jana and Jill (and Sis. Simpson):

Technology

I saw God today when I was playing with a Surface table in the lobby of building 19 before taking a bunch of HR Trax candidates to lunch. When I think of all the amazing technology I'm surrounded by every day, I feel strongly that mankind has developed these things as a result of the long history of inspiration that's been given to men and women through the ages, beginning with Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden (and before that, for that matter) all the way down to today and onward. Knowledge is a result of gospel light and truth, the source of which is God. While it's appalling how the technology is sometimes employed, God has given mankind its agency to choose to act according to our own free will -- for good or otherwise. It's even more amazing to see how technology is applied to improve lives, decrease poverty, increase prosperity and enable the communication of faith and testimony throughout the world.

Did you see God today? Where?

18

I Saw God Today

I was listening to the radio with Kirsten in the car yesterday and heard the song by George Strait, "I Saw God Today." It reminded me of one of my favorite Bible verses...

Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God. (Matthew 5:8)

Pres. Henry B. Eyring (one of the first presidency) also spoke on a similar topic recently, when he said that we should take time at the end of every day to think back and notice the times when God manifested His hand in our lives AND that we should write them down. He said that God gives us these faith-promoting experiences not for ourselves many times, but for those who come after us. So, by failing to write them down, much of the value of the experience is lost on us.

Along these lines, I want to start taking time as often as I can to record the time when I see God. Oftentimes, those are fleeting moments during the day that I forget about by the time evening arrives and I'm settling down for the night. Still, Pres. Eyring promises that, if we pray and ask God to remind us about those moments, then He'll answer our prayer and do so. I believe him, and I want to be better at doing that.

And, because it's a habit I'm trying to start, I'm going to ask you all to help me develop it. If you don't see me writing about the times when I see God (they're many), please comment and ask me! So, for today...

I saw God today in the eyes of my youngest son when he snuggled with me in the "nest" (i.e., the big hole in the middle of the beanbag chair. He looked at me with his blue eyes, smiled real big and gave me a kiss on the cheek. God doesn't get much closer than that.

I also saw God today when the Spirit was present in our Sunday School classroom. The look in some of the kids' eyes was unmistakeably different than so many times when I can't calm them down. They felt the Spirit, as did I, bearing witness to the Truth. I saw God in that...

When did you last see God?

Improvement and Perfection

I teach what I think is the greatest group of 12-13 year old boys and girls in Sunday School every other week (i.e., I team teach with a friend of mine). They're so full of energy and excitement about life that sometimes it's hard to get them to settle down long enough to have an atmosphere that resembles reverence. That said, I think it's a lot easier to invite the Spirit to be present when I prepare in advance to set up the right atmosphere.

Today, I set up the classroom in advance so that reverent music was playing and wrote a scripture on the chalkboard for them to think about, along with a note that said, "Please sit silently and listen to the music." The scripture was 1 Corinthians 2:9, which reads:

But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him.

I then related a personal story about repentence when I was a teenager. How I had worried and had to build the courage to talk to my bishop and then been relieved and surprised to find that he was loving and supportive and encouraging of my efforts. He ensured me that Heavenly Father loved me and was pleased with my desire to be closer to Him. And once I took that step, a flood of blessings poored out that He (God) had been anxious to give me. One simple (or maybe not to so simple) decision was all it took. And, as I reveled in the moment, I noticed a printed out quote on my bishop's wall that has stuck with me ever since. It said:

Gradual improvement is better than postponed perfection.

That saying has been an inspiration to me many times over throughout my life since that day. As many mistakes as I make from day to day, I've never felt like I was forsaken, as I know that if I'm trying every day to be better than the last -- even if I sometimes slip backward a step or two -- repentence and forgiveness is one decision away, and I can be on my way to moving forward again toward my goal of eternal life and eternal joy.

I'm grateful for the blessing I have of a testimony of the living and true gospel of Jesus Christ.