The Life of a Child

Not sure where I got this but I really believe that its true that our children one day won't give a hoot about all the stuff we gave them but they will remember only the kind of person we were and how we treated them, spoke to them and showed them in everyday little ways just how much we cared about them!

Marc and Jacob

                               These two little guys were inseparable when they were small and
                                               yes they really were
                                                    " Best Buddies "

The Gerber Family

     The Gerbers are a very active family that live in San Diego, Ca. and enjoy all kind of sports and outdoor activities! They are blessed to live in a climate where the weather is near perfect all year round.   Christopher, Angela , Finn and Scout enjoying a fun day together.                      

Charlie Brown

Aria

                          ARIA GROWING UP

The Roller Coaster of Life!

In the roller coaster of life there are ups and downs ....
Slow starts, unexpected turns and abrupt stops..
Frightening heights and breathtaking views.

Sometime you Scream,
Sometimes you Laugh 
Sometimes you Cry
Sometimes you close  your eyes and 
throw your hands up in the air!!

Now tell me who wants to ride that thing alone?
 

They grew up!

 Jacob and Lindsey ......yes they grew up and they now they have to decide what the next step will be in their lives!  Lindsey has a baby boy and Jacob has a girlfriend so yes I hope one day they both  find  whatever they are looking for and settle down to a good life!  Wishing you both good things in your future! Love,  grams

Jenny as a Small Child!

JENNY                             

Jenny

JENNY

WHEN IS IT ENOUGH?

 The secret of life is to know when
           enough is enough!!


This was my father's favorite saying in his final years, and one of the last thing he said to me before he died
"I was contemplating selling my house and moving" he said. It was kind of ironic, since there he was, a family doctor for forty years, gasping and wheezing over the phone, barely able to speak, dying from smoking too much. But the fact that he learned the lesson late doesn't negate the truth. And it goes straight to the heart of the issue of gratitude; namely, that gratitude makes us feel like we have enough, whereas ingratitude leaves us in a state of deprivation

  in which we are always looking for something else.
         "the gratitude attitude"
"Gratitude has to do with feeling full, complete, adequate - we have everything we need / we approach the world with a sense of value." 
Addictions of all sorts come from a sense of deprivation, a feeling of lack that we believe can be filled with a substance or activity, whether it's drugs, shopping, alcohol or food. Caught up  but never feel truly satisfied because our substance of choice can't fill the lack.  
Consequently we want more and more.
  Our society owes its very existence to its ability to fuel a sense of never being satisfied. If we were happy about the way we looked, for example, why would we spend billions on cosmetics and plastic surgery? Or on expensive cars that supposedly convey a image.

An attitude of gratitude gets
                              us out of the rat race!

As we cultivate a true and deep appreciation for what we do have, we realize that the sense or lack of is for the most part, an illusion. No matter our gain of material circumstances, the richness of our soul is ultimately what brings happiness, not another car, Martini, bigger breasts, or the latest video game.
                        In the words of Lao Tzu, 
"He who knows enough is enough will always have enough!"
             I loved article and its so true!

One of dad's favorite pictures and verse!

 King James Bible
If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.
Its sung as a  Beautiful song also!

So Funny!

Donna and I went here to Jimmy John's sandwich shop and this was on the wall.  So funny!
Will try to get it in bigger so its easy to read.

Maybe so, Maybe not

Character cannot be developed in ease and quiet. Only through experience of trial and suffering can the soul be strengthened, ambition inspired, and success achieved.
--Helen Keller

 Very often, when an event takes place that everybody thinks is good luck, the end results are disastrous. In the same way, an unlucky event can bring about happiness. Therefore, you should not lose your will to continue if an unlucky event happens, nor should you be too overjoyed or feel too self-satisfied because of a lucky event, or because something that you desire comes very easily to you.

Maybe so, Maybe not. We’ll see.

                                  A Chinese Proverb
A farmer and his son had a beloved stallion who helped the family earn a living. One day, the horse ran away and their neighbors exclaimed, “Your horse ran away, what terrible luck!” The farmer replied, “Maybe so, maybe not. We’ll see.”
A few days later, the horse returned home, leading a few wild mares back to the farm as well. The neighbors shouted out, “Your horse has returned, and brought several horses home with him. What great luck!” The farmer replied, “Maybe so, maybe not. We’ll see.”
Later that week, the farmer’s son was trying to break one of the mares and she threw him to the ground, breaking his leg. The villagers cried, “Your son broke his leg, what terrible luck!” The farmer replied, “Maybe so, maybe not. We’ll see.”
A few weeks later, soldiers from the national army marched through town, recruiting all the able-bodied boys for the army. They did not take the farmer’s son, still recovering from his injury. Friends shouted, “Your boy is spared, what tremendous luck!” To which the farmer replied, “Maybe so, maybe not. We’ll see.”
The moral of this story, is, of course, that no event, in and of itself, can truly be judged as good or bad, lucky or unlucky, fortunate or unfortunate, but that only time will tell the whole story.


Every event is part of a larger whole. The meaning and nature of any event, what is judged to be "good" or "bad," is only relative to the changing circumstances and conditions surrounding it. How often do we take into consideration the "Whole" picture?

Fundamentally, people become stuck or stagnant by closing down their hearts, ceasing to listen to their deepest creative evolutionary potential for guidance. Often people learn to resist change by utilizing the intellect, will power, and ego, trying to control, suppress/repress, and manipulate their minds.
Human beings change and evolve by emptying the mind and opening the heart – When the heart leads that takes into consideration a greater *REALITY*
This classic story of the farmer's son is not one of passivity, but rather about how to be free from (unattached to) the limited results of logical efforts – conditional happiness  and unhappiness ... which is when obstructed vision ,see only the small picture .

In the everyday scheme of things, we organize and plan our life on strategies centered upon secondary causes and events, but how often do we take into consideration the larger picture.
When it comes to emotional situations, we try to create ideal situations. but how often do we know the cause of happiness and unhappiness.  The normal discursive mind is constantly chattering, maneuvering, craving, thinking and planning while trying desperately to obtain what we want/avoid what we do not like. But no matter what we do, we can't control our future that way, because there are too many factors.

We do what we have to do to live our everyday lives, but we should not be attached to the outcome, or spend so much time and emotion on controlling a future that can't be controlled. Do your best, and leave the rest to the multiverse – consult with it as often as you can, rather than the intellect or Cartesian brain (frontal cortex).  Wise men and women are not attached to results, but rather live beyond time in the eternal present! That is here they move from, abide, and live. Whether the result of our actions is negative or positive, we have to let it go and move on. The essential point is to  let the light that illumines the mind flow through us and guide our way. Then we can treat each moment, each situation, as a new beginning. Then, we will be "seeing", hearing, sensing, and feeling from a deeper more open space -- with and from our hearts, so to speak.
The best that we can do, is to do our very best -- to act from that vast space of great happiness and spread/reflect that as best we can. Always do your best in loving happiness! That feels best!
May Good Fortune be Yours! May All of us be Happy and live in the present!

Donna and our two BIG finds at a thrift store...

Donna's find......Meet Gertrude!
Dottie's find........The Big " S "

JAYDEN GRADURATES FROM DAYCARE!

                                  JAYDEN  NOV. 4TH WILL BE SIX

                               GROWING AND GROWING
            INTO A HANDSOME LITTLE GUY!

AXEL GROWING UP!

AXEL .... ACTIVE LITTLE BOY WITH LOTS OF ENERGY!

                                 so little here!

LOVE YOU ALL NO MATTER WHAT!

  LOVE THAT WE HAVE NEW DAYS TO START OVER!

Donna's Flower's

This is Donna's front yard and she dearly loves flowers and to see them a plenty in her front yard makes her very Happy!!  She has a swarm of butterflys that go from flower to flower.... flying around and joining in with them are yellow jackets.  They all
pollinate from flower to flower.  A beautiful sight!!

Andre the Seal

This was the most heartfelt documentary true life story I have seen in along time.  Jen and I cryed ....it was that emotional!
Dad found this and guess it touched his heart and said you gals might like this....wow was he ever right!
What a bond Harry had with this little baby seal from the very moment he layed eyes on him and for 25 yrs. it never changed!


Harry Goodridge found Andre near Robinson’s Rock in Maine.... a place where seals would often go and  haul ashore at low tide to lie in the sun.  At the time Andre was swimming alone, and Goodridge figured he had been abandoned by his mother. They looked at each other, Goodridge told Lew Dietz in the book “A Seal Called Andre,” and something totally unexpected happened.
“Instead of submerging, the pup just swam directly toward the boat. Harry swooped down with his net and swung the orphan aboard,” Goodridge said in the book.  
“Even as I changed a wild seal’s life by deliverance, so he changed mine. Certainly life has not been the same for either of us since.”
 
Oh how I loved this story!!

Me as a preteen

Can hardly see this cause was taken so very long time ago. Not sure who even took it.
 I wonder what color that dress was and what was hanging around my neck.   I didn't think I was a pretty child.  Always wanted to be pretty like my sisters. I was a very unhappy child growing up and even more so when I entered high school.  I felt selfconscious about a scar that was under my eye and  kids would ask where did you get that black eye? I was totally embarassed!  It hurt so much that I pretty much withdrew from making alot of friends. Was so happy when those teenage yrs. were over with and behind me. 

Once married I felt totally loved  and we started a family and life was good!  And then we hit the teen yrs. with our children and things got a little tough. Teenage yrs. are hard and even harder if you had no example growing up to help you out. I never saw by example from my parents just how to deal with things that pop up. I had nothing to fall back on  to help me in this new adventure of being a mom and wife ..  I went into marriage learning as I went along.  All I saw at home growing up was that adults fight and scream at each other and I knew I didn't want that for  my own family.  Having had no role model to learn from I think I did pretty good .... I did try the best I could!  The toughest part was  during those teenage yrs. when sometimes Joey and I weren't on the same page. I am sure it was hard for Joey....he grew up pretty much free to do what he wanted and his parents were good people and he had a happy childhood.   As for me it wasn't so.
 Anyway when our children needed to be disciplined  I was quick in wanting to let it go and keep the peace.  I never wanted there to be any confrontations!  I had seen it all my life growing up at home.  And yes it  caused some problems as our kids went into the teenage years for I would not confide in Joey but tryed to solve the problems without him.
Even so those early yrs. were wonderful and the best yrs. for both Joey and I.  When love is strong you can get through anything!  I had found someone who loved me and everyday was beautiful!  Having  small children whom I loved very much made life good and I was going to try and be the best wife and mommy there ever was! :)

What Happiness Is and What Happiness is Not? (Great Article)

 . True happiness comes when we find enough confidence within ourselves that we can stop relying on the rest of the world to give happiness to us. 

When we feel, and act like we are entitled to have happiness all the time then we are essentially putting the pressure on somebody else to make us happy, rather than doing it for ourselves.

 Learning the difference between ‘good mood’ and ‘happy mood."

I’m in a good mood because things are going well in my life, is not the same as  

 things are going well in my life but during the difficult times I can still be happy with who I am.

Life isn’t always fair period. ... end of discussion. 

If we are good people, life is not going to suddenly become fair...life happens!

When we stop resenting the world, we may just find that it’s a much nicer place than we ever thought.

Learning A Life Lesson the Hard Way!

               Pasting along some good advice that I have learned in the past month and hope it helps another out there  from making the same mistake.  I needed a lesson in life and had to learn it the hard way it seems!  I learned this:.... that we are all individuals and have the right to choose how we will live our lives.  Its a God given right called ( free agency.)  On a more serious note (as long as it doesn't infringe on another.)  It may not be how we would choose to live our life but still it is there right.....we have been given this gift to choose!   It doesn't matter that we may not like the way someone else does something but it is their right to choose....sometimes this idea gets all of us in trouble including myself.   It possibly may mean that I have to turn my head....we cannot take away another persons free agency .... its God Given  and I am sure we all want it for ourselves as well!
             Over the last few wks. I have learned a life lesson and its not just about not letting words fly out of my mouth but I also need to control my thoughts!!!  You may ask how can thoughts get you in trouble? Thoughts lead to action/ plain and simple!
 At times I feel we all speak without thinking and the words fly out...if we fail to guard our thoughts they often will lead us to action which can lead to other things. I have more than once put  my foot in my mouth because of  overthinking  a situation and then it comes back to bite me!
  I need to learn to stop overthinking and just let it go!!  I need a new perspective on life and the situations that will come up as sometimes they do....perhaps at such times I need to just go take a nap.... Yeah, probably a nap would do good!!   One thing I have learned and learned the hard way is we can control our own lives to a point and how things are with us to some degree /but we cannot control how other people choose to live their lives!
Its not easy ....lots of times we feel our way is best.  It can be a hard lesson for anyone who feels they know how to fix things or knows a better way!  It doesn't work like that guys....we all like choosing no matter good or bad!  When we see where we think things can be made better we have to be careful and not  infringe upon the rights of others to choose.

Marc

I sure do miss this grandson of mine so much....Marc is working in Tennessee and staying with a sister of his mom's ....miss you Marc and  I wonder all the time how your doing.
 I sure do miss his visits to Grandma's and working puzzles with me.
I think about him often and hope he is happy and doing well.  Here is my picture of Marc.  I think back on working puzzles with him and he would not give up even if it ment staying up to the wee hours of the morning. He was really good at it, and one thing I can say for sure,  he just wouldn't ever give up still we had finished that crazy puzzle! :)  Love you Marc!

                                        

Zekey

Zekey is a skinny little female cat that Jen and I saw advertised in the window of a pet thrift store. So now we have one more pet in our house these days. ha.  Having cats is new to dad and I but honestly we have come to love these two!  Jen knows this is our limit ...two cats.....but I will say Zekey is a quiet little one and actually will stay hidden all day till Jen gets home.  Jen loves this little gal because she is loving and Plo well... he is so independent and loving also but only if you can win him over.  I will say that Plo has won my heart!  He follows me alot during the day!  This little cat named Zekey is older like ten years and I am thinking she may not have had the best care since she is sooo very skinny but her owner could not keep her cause he said he got married and said his wife is deadly allergic to cats. I am not sure if I believe him cause who would get rid of their pet after having had her for that long.
 So here is a picture of sweet Zekey and right now she is not feeling well but Jen is taking good care of her.   As said she hides under the bed most the day and when Jen comes home she gives her plenty of attention.  I know Jen has a soft heart for these two sweet cats. All I want to do is fatten up Zekey! :)

 Took Zeyey to vet.....she is in great shape!!

Old Mormon Chapel

    This is the Old Mormon church  that Joey and I got married in....it was used by the Mormon church for years and was just down the street from our house at 1618 Wabash Ave.  Later on the church built a new chapel and the old church  place was sold to the Baptist church.
    I remember that the missionaries would come by the house and invite Bump and I to go to church because our parents didn't attend , well my dad did go on occasion but my mother never did attend during my childhood.   I just think my mom didn't feel good about herself because she was doing things that she was not proud of.  Most times Bump and I would attend together.  Enjoyed going to  MIA during the week. It was a fun night for the youth and some of the girls and I had crushes on the missionaries so that was a big enough reason to attend for sure. :)  I loved Bro. Rodgers also who was over the program and he was so good to all of us kids. That program and Bro. Rogers was a life blessing for both me and Bump!  I loved that man!
 Here is picture of the Old Church. Its still there today.  Missionaries had apt. in the back lot and I would often go there on Saturdays and help them clean it / as said today that would never be allowed. ha.  Those were fun days.  I remember even going to the movies with them/ sure Bump was with me cause we did everything together back then.   I would do anything to be near those cute guys. :)   Even felt like i wanted to marry one of them.  Funny how we think when so young! 
Today they have a whole new agenda ... none of that could be today......they keep these guys super busy now days .....things have changed alot since that time when  I was so young.... now days they have no time to goof off! :)

Joe Todd and Vincennes Indiana

        

 So what makes  my brother Joe Todd just love our hometown of Vincennes Indiana? Well he has lived there all his life and said many many times that 
"Vincennes has been really good to me!!"
            So just what does that historic small town have that holds his endearment?  Well it likely goes way back when he was fresh out of high school and he got a job at the Brown Shoe Factory.  His employer liked him alot and it wasn't long that he worked himself  up in the company. Will have to get  with Joe and find out more of his young yrs. there and all his jobs in Old Vincennes.
            Just shortly out of High School Joe met the love of his life Marianne and they have been married now for , wanta say 65 yrs ? They had one child,  a boy whom they named Pat.  Sometime  just before he married, Joe had a accident on his motorcycle and lost his right leg.  He was dating Marrianne at the time and she stood by his side and saw him through the whole thing and not too far down the road they married. Has been dedicated to Joe every since! Have to get dates and more info but want to put there wedding picture in here.
           Joe loves life and don't think he would change a thing .... he got back on his bike after the accident and he has never looked back!  He never meets a stranger / can really talk to anyone and is yes super smart!
          As kids growing up Bump and I got to see our brother Joe race Hot Rod cars which he did for many yrs. and won many trophies.  It was always a big thrill for Bump and I to get to be up on those bleachers watching him race.
Such excitement!!!! We would watch as he came around those curves and Bump and I would be setting on the side line cheering him on!  Those were such fun memories!
       And O YES,  many times he WON! 
  I tell everyone how much Joe loves life and people. 
 And yes, he just never looked back...Don't think Joe ever used the word  "can't " ....always he gave his all! What confidence!
Great job Joe......... 
you really did find in this life.....  
              ...joy in the ride!!

Some words from my days.

 Some of the words used alot were:
Gumption
Contankerous
Fuddy duddy
Wacky
Cahoots
Flew the Coop
Hit the road
 Old Geezer 
Nutty as a fruit cake
Cool as a cucumber
Cold as all get out
hooligans
Slow as Molassous
Watch your P's and Q's

Get your kicks: to have fun.
Knuckle sandwich: to get punched
Loose your cool: to get angry.
No sweat :something that was easy.
Pad : someone’s home;

Shook up:  very excited.
Square : someone who is old-fashioned and not “hip.”
Split : to leave in a hurry

Angie and Kelly Ripa

Picture here of Kelly Ripa and my daughter Angie.
I feel very much that our daughter Angie's personality is so very much like that of Kelly Ripa who appeared on "Regis and Kelly" then "Michael and Kelly" and now they have to find a new co-host for her since Michael left.  Both of these girls have a gift for loving life and talking the talk. haha! So that being I decided I must post them both here side by side. Heck, I even feel like Angie looks very much like  Kelly in alot of ways and for sure has that same personality. I really feel like Angie could easily slip into Kelly's shoes if they would ever need a replacement Kelly. ha. These gals are very similar in so many ways.  Both  gals have a love of life and have no fear of speaking to anyone on any intellectual level. Seriously!  They each love meeting new people and as saying goes they never meet a stranger. Each hold down jobs ...find time to socialize... work... play....take care of their families... and even find time to pamper themselves. 
Yes and spend quality time with their family which is important to them so when time off work they take and vacation or do something as simple as going out to watch their boys play a game of soccer.  I can find only a couple words that describe these gals both to a T and its this, both just
                                                    LOVE LIFE!!!

Sometimes we have Sad Days!

From good moments and then here I am tonight on the subject of sad and not understanding!


Yes,  I am sad Today and yet there have been many today's of sadness...even though I can't write about what is causing this sadness in me...  I feel I must vent or surely sink. Things happen in life and yes to myself and to others as well who I may not know.   When it brings hurt to myself well yes you feel sad and yes you cry alot and it doesn't go away....You learn to walk around with it inside you everyday.....I will forever feel life can be unfair!  I believe in a Savior even though it seems the answer is always the same.... "NO and yes I don't understand why bad things happen to some and not others!   People say have faith and I  think  its not happening to you and  its a easy answer for them and its not effecting your life!  Wish could post about these things but what good would it really do.. it would hurt myself and perhaps others....and then in reading this you might say wow!...."guess I've been really blessed" and I would respond again with Why You, and Why Not Me Also?   I have had my share of hurts and problems to which I see no answers .....I look for miracles and they don't come and I get very sad and continue to cry but keep trying to understand ....then I think tomorrow..... it will all get better then ... tomorrow .....tomorrow comes and its the same. :(

REMEMBERING

Heard a great talk last Sunday and again had to blog it! Its about REMEMBERING!
As we get older we often forget things ....
Like: 
Where did I park the car?
Where did I set my glasses?
Where is my keys?
When was that appo?
Where did I leave my book?.....and the list goes on!!! 

Years ago dad had his Bible and it was well written in and read and then one day he just up and lost it. We looked but never found it nor could he remember where he last had it!
He missed it alot but never did we find it.

 So I am impressed with the word "REMEMBER REMEMBER."   I have found it is often repeated over and over in the scriptures.  Just as we have to try to remember each day where we put stuff or else we forget!  So it is as I get older I feel I understand why that one word is so very important in many ways!  We will and do forget!!  Not only do we forget everyday stuff  but we will forget Heavenly Father and his son Jesus Christ as well!
 Remember is used 352 times in the scriptures.

---

To remember : is to keep in mind or
 "be concerned about."

Another Remember:  After the flood, God set a "rainbow in the sky" as a token of the
covenant made to man to never again destroy the earth by water. Sent that "I may remember the everlasting covenant between me and thee!

Another Remember:  That we might remember the Sabbath day and keep it holy!

  Another Remember:  On Sunday...we take the sacrament
do this in "remembrance of me."
Another Remember: The symbols help us to focus our  attention on his promise to us  "that we will always have his spirit to be with us." My Favorite!

 YES "REMEMBERING" important/ least we forget!

My Rooster Chair

Was so excited to get this Rooster chair from my nephew Brian Evans for my Birthday!  I love it!!  What a thoughtful gift! 
Can't thank him enough for all the hard work he put into it!  Love the painting he put on it also of the rooster and the look of chickenwire on the bottom. Cute!  made and painted with his very own hands with wood from pallets at his job site. Such talent!  Wow! Thanks again Brian!

Getting Up Each Time We Fall

This poem and talk was given in church today, it really touched my heart.

                                                     "The Race"                                                          

Whenever I start to hang my head in front of failure’s face
My downward fall is broken by the memory of a race.
A child’s race, young boys, young men … how I remember well
Excitement sure … but also fear … it was not hard to tell.

They all lined up so full of hope, each thought to win the race.
Or tie for first, or if not that, at least take second place.
And fathers watched from off the side, each cheering for his own;
And each child hoped to show his dad that he would be the one.

The whistle blew, and off they went, young hearts and hopes afire.
To win … to be the hero … that was each young child’s desire.
And one child in particular whose dad was in the crowd,
Was running in the lead and thought my dad will be so proud.

But as he sped down the field across a shallow dip,
The child, who thought to win, lost his step and slipped.
Trying hard to catch himself, his hands flew out in brace.
And mid the laughter of the crowd the child fell on his face.

So down he fell with lost hope; he couldn’t win not now.
Embarrassed, sad, he only wished to disappear somehow.
But as he fell his dad stood up, and showed his anxious face;
This to the child so clearly said; “Get up and win the race.”

He quickly rose … no damage done … behind a bit, that’s all.
And off he ran with all his might to make up for his fall.
So anxious to restore himself, to catch up, and to win;
His mind went faster than his legs …he slipped and fell again.

He wished then that he had quit before, with only one disgrace.
I’m hopeless as a runner now I should not try to race.
But in the laughing crowd he searched and found his father’s face.
That steady look that said again, “Get up and win the race.”

So up he jumped to try again, 10 yards behind the last.
If I’m going to gain those yards I’ve got to run real fast.
Exerting everything he had … regaining eight then ten.
But trying hard to catch the lead he slipped and fell again.

Defeat; he lay there silently … a tear dropped from his eye.
There is no sense in running anymore … three strikes, I’m out, why try?
The will to rise had disappeared all hope had fled away.
So far behind, so error prone I’ll never go all the way.

I’ve lost – so what’s the use he thought. I’ll live with my disgrace.
But then he thought about his dad who soon he would have to face.
“Get up” … an echo sounded low … “Get up and take your place …
You were not meant for failure here … get up and win the race.”

“Get up” it said, “you have not lost at all.
For winning is no more than this – to rise each time you fall.”
So up he rose to run once more refusing to forfeit.
He resolved, that win or lose the race, at least he would not quit.
So far behind the others now … the most he had ever been,
So he gave it all he had and ran as though to win.
Three times he had fallen, stumbling … three times he had rose again.
Too far behind to hope to win … but he still ran on to the end.

They cheered the winning runner as they crossed the line first place.
Head high ... proud and happy … no falling, no disgrace.
But when the fallen youngster crossed the line … last place
The crowd gave him the greatest cheer for finishing the race.

And even though he came in last with head bowed low un-proud.
You would have thought that he had won the race to listen to the crowd.
And to his dad, he sadly said –“I did not do so well.”
“To me you won”, his father said. “You rose each time you fell.”

Now when things seem dark and difficult to face,
The memory of that child helps me in my race.
For all of life is like that race with ups and downs and all.
And all you have to do to win – IS RISE EACH TIME YOU FALL.


And when depression and despair shout loudly in my face,
Another voice within me says, “Get up and win the race!”

The Promise of Enduring to the End

Exactly what does it mean to endure to the end? Endure what, and how? And when is the end? Nephi explains that we must “be reconciled unto Christ, and enter into the narrow gate, and walk in the path which leads to eternal life, and continue in that path until the end of the day of probation/ until the end of this our mortal life!.Thus, to endure is to continue in the path we adopted at baptism/keeping our commitments to Christ, 

 The covenants of baptism and of the temple are solemn promises we make to God about how we will conduct our lives. Enduring to the end is keeping those promises throughout our lives—no matter what! It means we don’t quit because of life’s difficulties or temptations. Conversely, failing to endure means backing away from what we’ve started—first promising loyalty to God and then withholding what we promised. Endurance is not so much a matter of stamina as it is a matter of loyalty and integrity. Can you be trusted to faithfully hold your course? Just as a spouse who can be trusted to keep the marriage covenant is called faithful, so those who can be trusted to keep their gospel covenants are called faithful.

I once knew a man who had to decide whether to pay his tithing every time his check came, whether to go to his meetings every time they were held, whether to take an alcoholic drink every time he was offered one. Finally a friend asked him: “Why can’t you just decide once and for all which side you’re on?  
Why do you have to re-examine your loyalty every time a decision is called for?
You are spiritually reinventing the wheel over and over again, and you will never make any progress until you can build on what you already know.”

A few weeks later he called his friend and asked for a ride to some stake meeting. The friend was pleased he was going, and when he told him so I said
“You know, I wouldn’t like it if my wife told me she had to decide every morning whether she still loved me or not, or if she told me she only stayed with me because she hadn’t found a reason to leave—yet. my friend said "I guess the Lord is entitled to more of a commitment than that from me. I’m ready to stop reinventing the wheel."

God does not want excuses from those who leave the Church, thinking that they have good reasons or that they can keep covenants made in and through the Church while still rejecting the Church.
 No matter what their intentions, they are deceived.

A testimony isn’t like a hypothesis in science, which may be supported by evidence one day and destroyed by it the next. It is a conviction based on the evidence of things not seen that some things are eternally true. (See Heb. 11:1.) The provisionally converted are those who just haven’t found a reason to leave—yet. Just as such a relationship would be unsatisfactory in a marriage, so it is unsatisfactory in the spiritual marriage of the gospel. Such individuals need to become converted, to receive the witness of the Spirit and the conviction that accompanies faith.
Just as partners in a truly celestial marriage say, “we are sealed, no matter what,” so a truly converted member says: “I am a member of the Lords church. My lot is cast with the Apostles and prophets—no matter what!
Above all other issues, loyalties, agendas, and commitments,
This is where I stand.

Out there now, there are many voices !!

All wanting your attention
 —social voices, intellectual voices, political voices, and other voices.

I know a man who is going through a difficult time. He is listening to other voices and has transferred his  loyalty to other than the Lord. Tragically, his politics have become the idol to which all else in his life must bow—even over the Church.

 He said that he wanted to straighten his life out. I asked him if he had a testimony, and he said no, he didn’t. Surprised, I asked him why he wanted to repent and regain his membership if he didn’t have a testimony. I will never forget his answer: “I don’t know right now that the Church is true, but I know that I once knew, and I know God knows I once knew. The Church didn’t change between then and now—I did. 
 And now I want to know again what I knew before, and I am willing to repent to do it.”

Even when one’s endurance has failed before the end, repentance can bring about a new beginning.

Trials, deception, and iniquity—these are the enemies of endurance. 
Those who can bear the pain of trials, who can ignore alternate voices, whose loyalty can’t be bought ...these are they who will not betray their Master’s trust. They will faithfully maintain the charted course.
 They will get up each time they fall and endure the race!!