I taught a class on Sunday on the topic "Building things that last for eternity". It centered on Brigham Young's vision for the SLC Temple, but I didn't want to focus there too much because I was really captured by that idea of building for eternity.
Do we spend our time building things that last?
Our families, our marriages, our own lives. These are the things that last.
I told them about my Mom. Just as the early saints planted the right footings for the Temple, strong and immovable, so my Mom planted our foundation. She took us to Church in conditions that were sad. She told us we'd serve missions. She drove us to Seminary. She told us stories from the Scriptures. Was it more than that? If so I don't recall. But that was enough.
I concluded by holding up the program and asking: what does it take to send someone on a mission? How many hours? How many people? How much encouragement? How many invitations?
But these are the things that last forever, and they are hard won but important.
Monday, September 18, 2017
Sunday, July 2, 2017
A new verse to 'Follow the Prophet'
Joseph was a prophet,
But first he was a boy.
He had a great question:
Which church should I join?
Joseph was sincere,
He sought a grove of trees.
He received his answer
Down upon his knees.
But first he was a boy.
He had a great question:
Which church should I join?
Joseph was sincere,
He sought a grove of trees.
He received his answer
Down upon his knees.
Maddie's Money
Here are some of the Facebook comments about Maddie's summer business:
I would probably pay her MORE for something like this! She's AMAZING!
First of all, she needs to raise her prices or else I need to move closer to you guys. Secondly, like a true marketer she says the kitchen cleaning is complimentary and then charges for it.
She's undercharging for her services! I would pay a premium for someone who would fold my laundry!!!
We want all services but I think any package should be about 50$
Can I hire her for copy writing??
Good job Maddie!
Wow! This is amazing and her rates are so reasonable! I wish she was closer and I would sign up for all of the services! I'm definitely showing this to Campbell to see if she's willing to learn from your enterprising daughter!
I'd pay her just to write
"This complimentary package costs $2.50" -- truth in advertising!
skip harvard business school. go straight to P &G senior management.
Fantastic!! Amazing prices too, she can come live with me!!
Umm I'd hire her
That shows she's the daughter of a world class marketer
If she's for real, I'll pay her $15 to make me 3 sandwiches mon, Tues and weds next week. Just 1 a dsy.
So awesome! Love her style! Thanks for sharing this!
Amazing!
She will corner the market!
Hi friend--been meaning to write to you and tell you that I was blown away by Maddie's Maddie Money sales pitch. C'mon--you helped her, right? It's SO good. Concise, engaging, clearly states the value prop, beautifully organized and consistent, utterly adorable and very competitively priced! Hugely impressed. She's a better copywriter than most of the people here with that title. Seriously, excellent work!
I would probably pay her MORE for something like this! She's AMAZING!
First of all, she needs to raise her prices or else I need to move closer to you guys. Secondly, like a true marketer she says the kitchen cleaning is complimentary and then charges for it.
She's undercharging for her services! I would pay a premium for someone who would fold my laundry!!!
We want all services but I think any package should be about 50$
Can I hire her for copy writing??
Good job Maddie!
Wow! This is amazing and her rates are so reasonable! I wish she was closer and I would sign up for all of the services! I'm definitely showing this to Campbell to see if she's willing to learn from your enterprising daughter!
I'd pay her just to write
"This complimentary package costs $2.50" -- truth in advertising!
skip harvard business school. go straight to P &G senior management.
Fantastic!! Amazing prices too, she can come live with me!!
Umm I'd hire her
That shows she's the daughter of a world class marketer
If she's for real, I'll pay her $15 to make me 3 sandwiches mon, Tues and weds next week. Just 1 a dsy.
So awesome! Love her style! Thanks for sharing this!
Amazing!
She will corner the market!
Hi friend--been meaning to write to you and tell you that I was blown away by Maddie's Maddie Money sales pitch. C'mon--you helped her, right? It's SO good. Concise, engaging, clearly states the value prop, beautifully organized and consistent, utterly adorable and very competitively priced! Hugely impressed. She's a better copywriter than most of the people here with that title. Seriously, excellent work!
Flashback tonight
Tonight I had a bit of a flashback to trying to sleep during the summers of my youth. Our house had air conditioning in the living room only, and the upstairs where we all slept was always very hot in the summer. So hot that falling asleep was almost impossible some nights. I'd feel so hot and sticky just laying there in the heat. Making matters worse was the ever-present reality of mosquitoes who would sneak in through the completely non existent screens or the many holes in the screens. Just as you'd be falling asleep, the persistent 'zzzzzzzz' of the mosquitoes would jar me awake as I swatted them in the dark.
As I think about it, I feel so blessed today. Air conditioning cools my house. Fans blow gentle breezes on us as we sleep. There is nary a bug in the entire house.
But, on the other hand...it would be special to go back for a minute. To have my brother sleeping in the other side of the room. My Mom in the next door with my sisters. Brothers sleeping further down the hall or downstairs. The family together. Just for a night.
As I think about it, I feel so blessed today. Air conditioning cools my house. Fans blow gentle breezes on us as we sleep. There is nary a bug in the entire house.
But, on the other hand...it would be special to go back for a minute. To have my brother sleeping in the other side of the room. My Mom in the next door with my sisters. Brothers sleeping further down the hall or downstairs. The family together. Just for a night.
Monday, May 29, 2017
Reminiscing about the summers of my childhood
With summer upon us I wanted to reflect on the summers of my childhood. Sadly, most of the memories are gone like those ancient summer days, but a few things remain.
One thing that occurs to me is that Mom used to have us boys take on a massive summer long project, partially to do something constructive, mostly to keep us occupied on something other than Atari and TV. The two that stand out were a summer of scrapping the paint off the house, and another of weeding the world's largest garden of weeds.
The scrapping project somewhat made sense: the house was old and made of wood and the paint that was there needed to come off before a fresh coat could be applied. What didn't make sense was the way we went about it, which is that Mom bought a few hand-held scrapping tools by which we were to attack this project. No chemical thinner, no heater to warm the paint to make it easier to remove. Just metal on wood for an entire summer. It was straight out of the Karate Kid. Scrap off, scrap off. That wood held onto the paint like a tight-fisted miser, and removing it was nearly impossible. What was more possible was removing sheets and chunks of wood. And sadly - to the detriment of the entire house - that was what happened more than once. Scrap off, scrap off. So, the Kennedy boys spent the better part of that summer removing chunks of wood and paint from what was in reality the world's saddest house.
The second project that I remember Mom throwing us into was to weed the garden. First things first: I think the plot of land affectionately called a 'garden' was once a garden, I mean one year it was a garden. Every year after that it became less and less of a garden and more and more of a forest. A forest of weeds and trees. Weeds that grew as tall as a grown man, with trunks as thick as an arm. Prickly and wild, these weeds were not looking to give up their plot of land and they gave the Kennedys a real run for their money. For the summer that year we attacked those weeds with everything we had. I think we made some dents, but by the next summer those weeds had come back with a vengeance never to give up their place again. We learned two important lessons that summer. One, it's easier to tend the garden when the weeds are little and can be attacked with minimal effort. Two, none of us ever wanted to be a farmer.
One thing that occurs to me is that Mom used to have us boys take on a massive summer long project, partially to do something constructive, mostly to keep us occupied on something other than Atari and TV. The two that stand out were a summer of scrapping the paint off the house, and another of weeding the world's largest garden of weeds.
The scrapping project somewhat made sense: the house was old and made of wood and the paint that was there needed to come off before a fresh coat could be applied. What didn't make sense was the way we went about it, which is that Mom bought a few hand-held scrapping tools by which we were to attack this project. No chemical thinner, no heater to warm the paint to make it easier to remove. Just metal on wood for an entire summer. It was straight out of the Karate Kid. Scrap off, scrap off. That wood held onto the paint like a tight-fisted miser, and removing it was nearly impossible. What was more possible was removing sheets and chunks of wood. And sadly - to the detriment of the entire house - that was what happened more than once. Scrap off, scrap off. So, the Kennedy boys spent the better part of that summer removing chunks of wood and paint from what was in reality the world's saddest house.
The second project that I remember Mom throwing us into was to weed the garden. First things first: I think the plot of land affectionately called a 'garden' was once a garden, I mean one year it was a garden. Every year after that it became less and less of a garden and more and more of a forest. A forest of weeds and trees. Weeds that grew as tall as a grown man, with trunks as thick as an arm. Prickly and wild, these weeds were not looking to give up their plot of land and they gave the Kennedys a real run for their money. For the summer that year we attacked those weeds with everything we had. I think we made some dents, but by the next summer those weeds had come back with a vengeance never to give up their place again. We learned two important lessons that summer. One, it's easier to tend the garden when the weeds are little and can be attacked with minimal effort. Two, none of us ever wanted to be a farmer.
Saturday, April 8, 2017
God's Response to a Question
A few weeks ago I had a recruiter reach out with an interesting job - one that would've stretched me but that would've been good for my career. So I followed my own advice and agreed to talk to the recruiter. But preparing for the interview was a bit stressful, and I had a ton of anxiety around it.
As I prayed one night as the interview drew nearer I was asking God for help...and I kept asking and asking. As I did I kept having these insights come into my mind...one after another I heard ideas that I could use in the interview. I kept asking. Distinctly I felt a prompting say: I'm giving you answers, why aren't you writing them down? So I jumped up and went into my office to take notes. The ideas kept flowing, and I kept writing. As a result of this I felt way more prepared for this interview and started feeling prepared.
Interestingly, the next day the recruiter contacted me again and let me know they had made an offer to another candidate and that I wouldn't be interviewing for this role.
Some might wonder: why did God give me answers when the interview would be cancelled in a few hours. Why would he even say anything, knowing it would soon be cancelled?
I think God is there when we need him, even if we only think we need him.
In that moment I needed God. Even though I didn't actually need it, I needed Him then and there. So he was there. It's comforting to know that he will be with us if we pray sincerely for help.
As I prayed one night as the interview drew nearer I was asking God for help...and I kept asking and asking. As I did I kept having these insights come into my mind...one after another I heard ideas that I could use in the interview. I kept asking. Distinctly I felt a prompting say: I'm giving you answers, why aren't you writing them down? So I jumped up and went into my office to take notes. The ideas kept flowing, and I kept writing. As a result of this I felt way more prepared for this interview and started feeling prepared.
Interestingly, the next day the recruiter contacted me again and let me know they had made an offer to another candidate and that I wouldn't be interviewing for this role.
Some might wonder: why did God give me answers when the interview would be cancelled in a few hours. Why would he even say anything, knowing it would soon be cancelled?
I think God is there when we need him, even if we only think we need him.
In that moment I needed God. Even though I didn't actually need it, I needed Him then and there. So he was there. It's comforting to know that he will be with us if we pray sincerely for help.
Sunday, January 29, 2017
My question to God
I've been thinking about asking God a simple question:
If I gave you my life, what would you do with it?
This is an important question. The answer is equally important. I think in everyone's life we need to consciously or unconsciously pose this question and take action on the answer.
My personal hesitation is that I'm fearful of the response, and equally fearful of my ability to do as he wants. So it fundamentally comes down to: Am I willing to act on it?
This much I know: God can do more with my life than I could ever dream of myself. I think of the quote by C.S. Lewis where he says:
If I gave you my life, what would you do with it?
This is an important question. The answer is equally important. I think in everyone's life we need to consciously or unconsciously pose this question and take action on the answer.
My personal hesitation is that I'm fearful of the response, and equally fearful of my ability to do as he wants. So it fundamentally comes down to: Am I willing to act on it?
This much I know: God can do more with my life than I could ever dream of myself. I think of the quote by C.S. Lewis where he says:
“Imagine yourself as a living house. God comes in to rebuild that house. At first, perhaps, you can understand what He is doing. He is getting the drains right and stopping the leaks in the roof and so on; you knew that those jobs needed doing and so you are not surprised. But presently He starts knocking the house about in a way that hurts abominably and does not seem to make any sense. What on earth is He up to? The explanation is that He is building quite a different house from the one you thought of - throwing out a new wing here, putting on an extra floor there, running up towers, making courtyards. You thought you were being made into a decent little cottage: but He is building a palace. He intends to come and live in it Himself.”
His vision for us is so much grander and fuller than we could ever imagine. But it takes a willingness to submit that will to him. To lay our lives on the alter and let him make of us what he will. Maybe this is the only question that really matters.
I hope to have the courage to ask and act.
Sunday, January 15, 2017
Grateful for groceries
Yesterday while shopping for the family I head over to our local Smiths. While wandering the store for items, a few thoughts and memories stirred me.
The first thought sent me back 3.5 decades to Michigan. I recall my Mom bringing us with her to Meijers for grocery shopping. I recall her parking in the back of Meijers where there were fewer people, then heading in to load the cart with food supplies to feed the eight of us. I remember a sense of dread and uneasiness as we'd approach the cashier. Mom would first unload the essentials, and begin asking the cashier to give us a total. As the total drew nearer to the amount of money she had, she would begin adding or taking things out so as not to go over the actual amount of money she had in her hand or bank account. It seemed a few times (or many, just a sense of "oftenness") that her check would be rejected and we'd have to pay a different way or or walk away. I'm grateful for a Mom who would endure a lifetime of humiliation for her family. Who would stare it straight in the eyes day after day. And today, I'm even more grateful that I can walk into any store, with a need for almost anything, and buy it if I need it. I'm almost embarrassed that my Mom had it so poorly, and I have it so nicely. I hope to never forget what my mom endured for us. I also hope to never forget where I came from, and where I've come - all thanks to a loving Heavenly Father who has taken my humble family and made us better.
The second thought was this: I'm so grateful to live in this country, at this time, with this level of peace and prosperity. While walking through that store I tried almost to see it as someone from another country might: full to the brim with the freshest foods, the greatest variety, the most quantity. Everything at my fingertips, and at a very good price. I felt guilty - I who have so much, and others, who have so little. It doesn't seem fair, and it makes me nervous to know what God expects of me versus those who have so little. But, in that moment all that I felt was a genuine sense of awe and gratitude. I hope that's a good start.
The first thought sent me back 3.5 decades to Michigan. I recall my Mom bringing us with her to Meijers for grocery shopping. I recall her parking in the back of Meijers where there were fewer people, then heading in to load the cart with food supplies to feed the eight of us. I remember a sense of dread and uneasiness as we'd approach the cashier. Mom would first unload the essentials, and begin asking the cashier to give us a total. As the total drew nearer to the amount of money she had, she would begin adding or taking things out so as not to go over the actual amount of money she had in her hand or bank account. It seemed a few times (or many, just a sense of "oftenness") that her check would be rejected and we'd have to pay a different way or or walk away. I'm grateful for a Mom who would endure a lifetime of humiliation for her family. Who would stare it straight in the eyes day after day. And today, I'm even more grateful that I can walk into any store, with a need for almost anything, and buy it if I need it. I'm almost embarrassed that my Mom had it so poorly, and I have it so nicely. I hope to never forget what my mom endured for us. I also hope to never forget where I came from, and where I've come - all thanks to a loving Heavenly Father who has taken my humble family and made us better.
The second thought was this: I'm so grateful to live in this country, at this time, with this level of peace and prosperity. While walking through that store I tried almost to see it as someone from another country might: full to the brim with the freshest foods, the greatest variety, the most quantity. Everything at my fingertips, and at a very good price. I felt guilty - I who have so much, and others, who have so little. It doesn't seem fair, and it makes me nervous to know what God expects of me versus those who have so little. But, in that moment all that I felt was a genuine sense of awe and gratitude. I hope that's a good start.
Sunday, January 8, 2017
Another year, another class to teach
I'm excited to begin teaching a new group of Sunday School kids this year, including my very own Abby! I've been deeply blessed by the opportunity to teach great kids over the years and am finding that I both like it and seem to be good at it. In fact, this Christmas one of my coolest students ever, Johnny J., dropped off a present and a little note. In it he simply said, "To Tim, for being the best teacher the Mormons have ever seen." It made my day to know that my efforts were appreciated and that I was making a difference. When I look across the different things I could be doing in Church, I'm very glad that I am able to teach the youth and hope that continues for a very long time.
New Year
Happy 2017.
Happy to report I accomplished a few key goals this last year that I look forward to building on.
First, I got into pretty good shape. My max bench is 215, squat 250, dead lift 275. I'm running a 9 min mile and am stronger and healthier than I've been in a while. This was accomplished by working on 4-5x/week and generally eating healthier. This year I want to really understand how food affects me and work on generally eating cleaner, more consciously.
Second, I taught at the U as an adjunct professor. I built the course, marketing to businesses, from scratch and delivered a great class. At the end the students were so complimentary. Most came up and expressed their appreciation and sentiment that it was one of, if not the best class they had at the U. They encouraged me to continue to teach and share my experience, which I will gladly do in the future.
Third, I developed a bit more of a consulting practice and worked for 470, an ERP Technology Cloud company, and Priority Dispatch. Not major dough, but it's nice to have something additional coming in and building a bit of an additional practice.
We traveled pretty extensively, going to Orlando, Disneyland, Seattle, and Hawaii (twice, the Big Island and Maui).
Here's a little about the family.
Maddie had a great year. She is a leader in school - she was selected to visit the Mayor of Kaysville as one of a few students in all of 5th grade. She had two great seasons of soccer where she played hard defense and scored some great goals. She was chosen to be a special needs helper at school on account of her kindness and leadership. She and I had a great trip together to Disneyland for the annual Halloween party - she was the cutest Belle there, and I was the her tag-along beast. She helped find $200 this year - once on the streets in Anaheim where she saw and pointed out a $100 bill, the second time with Gigi on the streets of Layton as a gift card. She's played basketball and is a great developing athlete. She is the nanny to three cute babies (Fayth, Millie, and Evelyn) who she cares for every day. Most of her Christmas present this year was baby supplies to help with these little cuties. She's a better nanny to them than most people would be to actual kids. She is a bright light in our life and helps us stay young and fresh and funny.
Favorite song: Feed the birds frosted flakes (Makena Beach early morning snorkeling)
Favorite book:
Best job: Teacher
Best friend: Alexis
Favorite movie: Moana
Funniest moment: Jordyn the turtle (Maddie made a sand turtle in Maui and within 20 mins her head was smashed. Since, Maddie has been paying tribute to her legacy)
Favorite moment: Playing ping pong and getting smoked by Maddie's crazy serve
Worst moment: Overall, great year.
What I learned: Social media, the fun of Instagram, Animal Jam (AJ), Family House
Favorite apps: Family House, AJ, Instagram, FaceTime
Favorite subject in school: Math
Friend group at school: Kerri, Brinlee, Kaydance, Chloe, Presley, Bryker, Ashley, Mae
Abby had an impressive year. One of her best moments was going to Montreal with Mom...it rained the whole time, but they loved the shopping and spending time in old graveyards. She's excelled in school - she's got a rocking 4.0 and is especially good in French and Math. One of the things that Abby is really good about is getting ahead of things. For instance, she did a leaf project in school and got ahead of it and killed it. Abby liked golf and tennis lessons this year. She was student of the month in October. What really stands out to me though is the social excitement...friends, boys, etc. Abby is really coming into her own and finally in Utah has a fun group of kids who are sweet, cute, loyal, and fun. She met a special boy named Noah who is a fun, kind, thoughtful boy. She's not quite ready to call him a boyfriend, but they definitely like each other...alot.
Favorite song: Cheap Thrills
Favorite book: Great Expectations
Best friend: Lexa
Favorite movie: Moana
Favorite moment: For me, teaching her to drive and playing modern warfare
Favorite apps: Texting, Facetime, Instagram
Worst moment: Spraining her knee skiing at Snow Basin
What I learned: Snowing
Teen moment: Girl Scout Camp
Abby's friend group at school is: Makayla, Michael, Addy, Zach, Noah, etc.
Mom had a good year, for the most part. She continues to work at MarketStar, but doesn't take it too seriously thankfully. The last part of the year Mom's been prepping for the bar and that's been nothing but painful for her. The good news is she killed the professional responsibility part of the Bar and is prepping hard for the real deal in Feb. Mom has been running primary as the secretary and does a good job generally providing not just management, but also guidance of how to best support the primary kids. Mom spends a lot of time keeping the house running, i.e. doing carpool, driving the girls to sewing and piano, cooking, and generally doing an amazing job of keeping us well fed and happy. She continues to love to walk, and took up jogging later in the year.
Favorite song: She won't commit
Best friend: She won't commit
Favorite movie: Moana
Favorite moment: She won't commit
Favorite apps: She won't commit
Worst moment: She won't commit
What I learned: She won't commit
Happy to report I accomplished a few key goals this last year that I look forward to building on.
First, I got into pretty good shape. My max bench is 215, squat 250, dead lift 275. I'm running a 9 min mile and am stronger and healthier than I've been in a while. This was accomplished by working on 4-5x/week and generally eating healthier. This year I want to really understand how food affects me and work on generally eating cleaner, more consciously.
Second, I taught at the U as an adjunct professor. I built the course, marketing to businesses, from scratch and delivered a great class. At the end the students were so complimentary. Most came up and expressed their appreciation and sentiment that it was one of, if not the best class they had at the U. They encouraged me to continue to teach and share my experience, which I will gladly do in the future.
Third, I developed a bit more of a consulting practice and worked for 470, an ERP Technology Cloud company, and Priority Dispatch. Not major dough, but it's nice to have something additional coming in and building a bit of an additional practice.
We traveled pretty extensively, going to Orlando, Disneyland, Seattle, and Hawaii (twice, the Big Island and Maui).
Here's a little about the family.
Maddie had a great year. She is a leader in school - she was selected to visit the Mayor of Kaysville as one of a few students in all of 5th grade. She had two great seasons of soccer where she played hard defense and scored some great goals. She was chosen to be a special needs helper at school on account of her kindness and leadership. She and I had a great trip together to Disneyland for the annual Halloween party - she was the cutest Belle there, and I was the her tag-along beast. She helped find $200 this year - once on the streets in Anaheim where she saw and pointed out a $100 bill, the second time with Gigi on the streets of Layton as a gift card. She's played basketball and is a great developing athlete. She is the nanny to three cute babies (Fayth, Millie, and Evelyn) who she cares for every day. Most of her Christmas present this year was baby supplies to help with these little cuties. She's a better nanny to them than most people would be to actual kids. She is a bright light in our life and helps us stay young and fresh and funny.
Favorite song: Feed the birds frosted flakes (Makena Beach early morning snorkeling)
Favorite book:
Best job: Teacher
Best friend: Alexis
Favorite movie: Moana
Funniest moment: Jordyn the turtle (Maddie made a sand turtle in Maui and within 20 mins her head was smashed. Since, Maddie has been paying tribute to her legacy)
Favorite moment: Playing ping pong and getting smoked by Maddie's crazy serve
Worst moment: Overall, great year.
What I learned: Social media, the fun of Instagram, Animal Jam (AJ), Family House
Favorite apps: Family House, AJ, Instagram, FaceTime
Favorite subject in school: Math
Friend group at school: Kerri, Brinlee, Kaydance, Chloe, Presley, Bryker, Ashley, Mae
Abby had an impressive year. One of her best moments was going to Montreal with Mom...it rained the whole time, but they loved the shopping and spending time in old graveyards. She's excelled in school - she's got a rocking 4.0 and is especially good in French and Math. One of the things that Abby is really good about is getting ahead of things. For instance, she did a leaf project in school and got ahead of it and killed it. Abby liked golf and tennis lessons this year. She was student of the month in October. What really stands out to me though is the social excitement...friends, boys, etc. Abby is really coming into her own and finally in Utah has a fun group of kids who are sweet, cute, loyal, and fun. She met a special boy named Noah who is a fun, kind, thoughtful boy. She's not quite ready to call him a boyfriend, but they definitely like each other...alot.
Favorite song: Cheap Thrills
Favorite book: Great Expectations
Best friend: Lexa
Favorite movie: Moana
Favorite moment: For me, teaching her to drive and playing modern warfare
Favorite apps: Texting, Facetime, Instagram
Worst moment: Spraining her knee skiing at Snow Basin
What I learned: Snowing
Teen moment: Girl Scout Camp
Abby's friend group at school is: Makayla, Michael, Addy, Zach, Noah, etc.
Mom had a good year, for the most part. She continues to work at MarketStar, but doesn't take it too seriously thankfully. The last part of the year Mom's been prepping for the bar and that's been nothing but painful for her. The good news is she killed the professional responsibility part of the Bar and is prepping hard for the real deal in Feb. Mom has been running primary as the secretary and does a good job generally providing not just management, but also guidance of how to best support the primary kids. Mom spends a lot of time keeping the house running, i.e. doing carpool, driving the girls to sewing and piano, cooking, and generally doing an amazing job of keeping us well fed and happy. She continues to love to walk, and took up jogging later in the year.
Favorite song: She won't commit
Best friend: She won't commit
Favorite movie: Moana
Favorite moment: She won't commit
Favorite apps: She won't commit
Worst moment: She won't commit
What I learned: She won't commit
Thursday, October 13, 2016
A simple thought on the Atonement
A simple thought popped into my head the other day:
The Resurrection heals our body
The Atonement heals our soul
The resurrection seems in some ways to be easier (for a God). Bodies can be healed and fixed, restored to their original frame. The original blueprint is in the code, so it's really about bringing it all together as it should've been.
The Atonement is far more complicated (in my mind). It is not a reassembling of a body, but the complicated process of helping us overcome the gravity of sin, untangled bundle of knots that comprise our positive and negative life experience, the forgiveness and repentance, the submission of wills and personality to Christ.
Sunday, September 11, 2016
A new adventure
Three weeks ago I began a new type of adventure: one that I've talked about for a while that is becoming a reality - teaching college! I'm an adjunct professor at the Spencer Eccles School of Business at the University of Utah teaching a course on B2B marketing.
It started with me reaching out to the Dean (who I know from my MBA) and inquiring about opportunities. Quickly he turned me on to the Marketing Chair and we met earlier this year. He was impressed by my career and experience and thought I would be a great fit. That started the process by which I was asked to teach this class.
Never having created my own coursework, my efforts quickly focused on building a syllabus and set of course work to guide the class. It took me many hours to lock on the right syllabus and plan, but I have it all settled (for the most part) and have now taught about three classes. It has been tough, especially up front, but I've been most thankful for the efforts of friends and colleagues who have come in and helped take some of the teaching responsibility off my shoulders. All in all, the students seem to enjoy the class and the feedback thus far has been largely positive.
Mostly though I'm proud that I did it. It's easy to not follow your dreams and there are many reasons why it doesn't make sense. Yet, I committed to it and am doing it and can now say that I'm a college professor! Kinda fun.
It started with me reaching out to the Dean (who I know from my MBA) and inquiring about opportunities. Quickly he turned me on to the Marketing Chair and we met earlier this year. He was impressed by my career and experience and thought I would be a great fit. That started the process by which I was asked to teach this class.
Never having created my own coursework, my efforts quickly focused on building a syllabus and set of course work to guide the class. It took me many hours to lock on the right syllabus and plan, but I have it all settled (for the most part) and have now taught about three classes. It has been tough, especially up front, but I've been most thankful for the efforts of friends and colleagues who have come in and helped take some of the teaching responsibility off my shoulders. All in all, the students seem to enjoy the class and the feedback thus far has been largely positive.
Mostly though I'm proud that I did it. It's easy to not follow your dreams and there are many reasons why it doesn't make sense. Yet, I committed to it and am doing it and can now say that I'm a college professor! Kinda fun.
Sunday, August 14, 2016
Midnight thoughts
Tonight as I read this great talk I was impressed by a key concept of having the faith to "not be healed" is as important as having the faith to be healed. The scriptures are replete with instances where Christ performed a miracle by the power of the priesthood. For him, it was easy and second nature. He was so close to this power, so perfect, has such understanding that it would not be hard.
Yet, there must have been instances where he did not heal. Where he did not raise the dead. When he knew that he must let nature take its course. Just like today, sometimes the miracle comes and sometimes it is not part of the plan.
How difficult it must've been for him to not do something in that moment. With infinite power at his disposal, not doing something must've been difficult. After all, each instance of healing lifted people's faith. To choose to not heal must've had a negative effect on those around him. It's an idea to continue to swirl on.
Tonight I find myself restless. Work is stressful with the recent layoffs and uncertainty. School begins and I'm worried to teach my first class. I am struggling with my commitment to stay fit and healthy as the stresses mount. Every plate that I have spinning seems to be wobbly and ready to fall.
Yet, I need to have faith. I also need to give myself a break. I can't be expected to be the best teacher year one - that would be completely impossible. I've never done it before, and there will be much to learn. This is as much about me imparting my knowledge and advice, as it is about me learning if it's something I'd want to do more regularly. Even with my health choices - I'm still a newbie here. Of course there will be challenges and difficulties - I knew this day would come. How I attack it is the only thing that matters.
It reminds me of a great article that I recently read by Steven Lund, President of Nuskin, in a BYU Law magazine. In it he talks about how he has faced a number of real challenges - personally and professionally. In these challenges, he noted how he began to invite God into these challenges.
He asked God to "Soldier with me". "Practice law with me." "Negotiate with me."
What a powerful concept. I know that God wants to be active in our lives. Yet, he always wants to be invited. His mighty arm is outstretched - only I choose whether to reach myself.
And reach myself is what I need to do. I need to turn over my work stresses to Him. My teaching stresses. My family stresses. He will not take them away, but in them he will strengthen me. I believe it's true and want to test in my life now.
Midnight thoughts
Tonight as I read this great talk I was impressed by a key concept of having the faith to "not be healed" is as important as having the faith to be healed. The scriptures are replete with instances where Christ performed a miracle by the power of the priesthood. For him, it was easy and second nature. He was so close to this power, so perfect, has such understanding that it would not be hard.
Yet, there must have been instances where he did not heal. Where he did not raise the dead. When he knew that he must let nature take its course. Just like today, sometimes the miracle comes and sometimes it is not part of the plan.
How difficult it must've been for him to not do something in that moment. With infinite power at his disposal, not doing something must've been difficult. After all, each instance of healing lifted people's faith. To choose to not heal must've had a negative effect on those around him. It's an idea to continue to swirl on.
Tonight I find myself restless. Work is stressful with the recent layoffs and uncertainty. School begins and I'm worried to teach my first class. I am struggling with my commitment to stay fit and healthy as the stresses mount. Every plate that I have spinning seems to be wobbly and ready to fall.
Yet, I need to have faith. I also need to give myself a break. I can't be expected to be the best teacher year one - that would be completely impossible. I've never done it before, and there will be much to learn. This is as much about me imparting my knowledge and advice, as it is about me learning if it's something I'd want to do more regularly. Even with my health choices - I'm still a newbie here. Of course there will be challenges and difficulties - I knew this day would come. How I attack it is the only thing that matters.
It reminds me of a great article that I recently read by Steven Lund, President of Nuskin, in a BYU Law magazine. In it he talks about how he has faced a number of real challenges - personally and professionally. In these challenges, he noted how he began to invite God into these challenges.
He asked God to "Soldier with me". "Practice law with me." "Negotiate with me."
What a powerful concept. I know that God wants to be active in our lives. Yet, he always wants to be invited. His mighty arm is outstretched - only I choose whether to reach myself.
And reach myself is what I need to do. I need to turn over my work stresses to Him. My teaching stresses. My family stresses. He will not take them away, but in them he will strengthen me. I believe it's true and want to test in my life now.
Friday, April 29, 2016
What I like...
About being thinner.
I've been really focused this year on losing weight, trying to go about it in the right way by working out in the morning and watching and tracking what I eat. It's been a successful venture thus far - I'm down almost 40 lbs and have gained some muscles.
Maria suggested I log what I like about being thinner. Here are some things:
1) Energy levels are consistently high. At times, almost euphoric. My energy keeps me engaged and active throughout the day, which really is helping me at work.
2) Mental functions are improving. It's shocking to see the impact of sugar - equally interesting to see the impact of not eating sugar. My mental focus is crisper and I find myself more engaged. This is partly why I think I'm "killing it at work".
3) Thinner looks better. I like how I look much better, and am starting to take better care of myself, up level how I dress, and trying to just overall look nicer.
4) It's a fun project. It gives me something to watch and play with, gives me something to talk about, and something to focus on.
5) Able to do more. Today I ran most of 2 miles. That's kinda exciting, you know. Previously I wouldn't have been able to - let alone think I should - run two miles in the morning. Is it a lot? No. Is it a lot for me, yes.
6) Purpose of food is changing. I see food as much as fuel as fun. Don't get me wrong - I love junk food still, always will. But my mental state around food, especially the concept of treating treats as treats, not as a staple of every meal, it a powerful mental bridge to cross.
7) Increased confidence. My personal confidence is through the roof. I walk with a spring, have a better sense of myself, feel qualified to take on new challenges. Sounds too much, I know. It's as much about how I look, how I feel as anything else. I walk into the gym, and even if I'm not the healthiest person there, I am still going.
8) Starting the day off right. It's rewarding and fulfilling to start the day off on such a positive step. It sets the tone of the day for being productive and fulfilling. One of the major things I would think about throughout the day is done, and I'm ready to execute.
9) People see the difference. People are noticing, and it's fun to be noticed for making a positive difference.
It's an ongoing journey and one that I look forward to tackling over and over again. I am much happier with where I am physically and am proud of the work.
I've been really focused this year on losing weight, trying to go about it in the right way by working out in the morning and watching and tracking what I eat. It's been a successful venture thus far - I'm down almost 40 lbs and have gained some muscles.
Maria suggested I log what I like about being thinner. Here are some things:
1) Energy levels are consistently high. At times, almost euphoric. My energy keeps me engaged and active throughout the day, which really is helping me at work.
2) Mental functions are improving. It's shocking to see the impact of sugar - equally interesting to see the impact of not eating sugar. My mental focus is crisper and I find myself more engaged. This is partly why I think I'm "killing it at work".
3) Thinner looks better. I like how I look much better, and am starting to take better care of myself, up level how I dress, and trying to just overall look nicer.
4) It's a fun project. It gives me something to watch and play with, gives me something to talk about, and something to focus on.
5) Able to do more. Today I ran most of 2 miles. That's kinda exciting, you know. Previously I wouldn't have been able to - let alone think I should - run two miles in the morning. Is it a lot? No. Is it a lot for me, yes.
6) Purpose of food is changing. I see food as much as fuel as fun. Don't get me wrong - I love junk food still, always will. But my mental state around food, especially the concept of treating treats as treats, not as a staple of every meal, it a powerful mental bridge to cross.
7) Increased confidence. My personal confidence is through the roof. I walk with a spring, have a better sense of myself, feel qualified to take on new challenges. Sounds too much, I know. It's as much about how I look, how I feel as anything else. I walk into the gym, and even if I'm not the healthiest person there, I am still going.
8) Starting the day off right. It's rewarding and fulfilling to start the day off on such a positive step. It sets the tone of the day for being productive and fulfilling. One of the major things I would think about throughout the day is done, and I'm ready to execute.
9) People see the difference. People are noticing, and it's fun to be noticed for making a positive difference.
It's an ongoing journey and one that I look forward to tackling over and over again. I am much happier with where I am physically and am proud of the work.
Sunday, March 20, 2016
An unexpected miracle
For most of my life my Dad has been away from the Church. In my mind, it would always be like that. But in the last year a miracle has happened. One that I never thought would happen - no, not in this lifetime. He has returned to the Church! Not just returned but going religiously, doing his home teaching, becoming fully involved in every way. The prodigal has returned. He it was who originally listened to his friend, and then the missionaries, and took the baptismal plunge. But then he strayed. For years - I don't know how many, but it must've been 35 years or more - he has been out in the world out of the protection of the Gospel.
But now he has returned! And returned with a burning.
Today he gave the first talk in Church in 3 1/2 decades. I've pasted a version of it below. It's a beautiful talk.
Truly, the story of the prodigal son applies here. The leaving. The returning. The mixed emotions. The broken trust. The feelings of loss. The feelings of hope. The redemption.
The Life and Attributes of Christ, by Hugh Kennedy
But now he has returned! And returned with a burning.
Today he gave the first talk in Church in 3 1/2 decades. I've pasted a version of it below. It's a beautiful talk.
Truly, the story of the prodigal son applies here. The leaving. The returning. The mixed emotions. The broken trust. The feelings of loss. The feelings of hope. The redemption.
The Life and Attributes of Christ, by Hugh Kennedy
March
20, 2016
Thank you sister Van Horn. Now I know how Charles Brill and
Mitzi McCall felt on Feb 4, 1964…Some of you that are a bit older may remember
them…They were the comedy team that followed the Beatles’ first appearance on
the Ed Sullivan show.
I pray that the spirit will continue to abide with me and
direct me as to what I am about to say.
In Mark chapter 8 verses 27 thru 29 we read:
And Jesus went out and his disciples into the towns of
Caesaria and Phillippi and by the way He asked His disciples, saying unto them.
“Whom do men say I
am?”
And they answered:
“John the Baptist, but some say Elias, and others say One of
the prophets of old”
And He sayest unto them,
“But whom do you say I am?”
And Peter answered and said:
“Thou art the Christ”
This, from our primordial existence has been the question
that we have all had to answer.
“But whom do you (Hugh) say I am?”
This man Jesus, of the lineage of David, born in Bethlehem,
raised a Nazarene, taught at his mother’s knee, was given by His Heavenly
Father and accepted the charge of bringing to pass the immortality and eternal
life of all mankind.
He had his free agency as we all do. He chose to accept all that was required of
Him to become the literal Savior of all that would follow him and keep the
commandments that have been given them.
From the very beginning, He knew what would be required of
Him. He explained it to the Apostles on the way to Caesaria and Phillippi. As stated later in Mark verse 31 He tells the Apostles:
…That “the Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected
of the elders and of the chief priests and scribes and be killed and after 3
days rise again.”
In the preexistence Jesus determined that He was going to, in
every regard, do the will of the Father in all things. He was prepared before
the foundations of the world to come to earth as the Messiah and redeem a
fallen world as the one savior of all mankind.
We were created and reared as spirit children to our Heavenly
Parents in our preexistent first estate and chose to accept the Plan of
Salvation, which included Christ as our Savior (to the glory of the Father) and
by so doing punched our ticket to come into this mortal world (our 2nd
estate) to learn and be tested.
As it stated in Moses 3: verse 5:
“And every plant of the field before it was on the earth and
every herb of the field before it grew.
For I the Lord God created all things, of which I have spoken,
spiritually before they were naturally upon the face of the earth.”
And then in verse 7 He says:
“And I the Lord God formed man from the dust of the ground
and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life and man became a living soul,
the first flesh upon the earth the first man also. Nevertheless all things were before created, but spiritually
were they created and made according to My Word.”
What word could this scripture be referring to?
In John 1:1 it says:
”In the beginning was the word and the Word was with God, and
the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were
created by Him and without was not anything made that was made.”
So…here we have it…Heavenly Father is the Engineer and Jesus
Christ is the builder, not only of everything that was made, but of the plan
through which we are able to return to that celestial home from whence we came.
He was the perfect example of all we need to aspire to. It is not that there aren’t others that are
worthy of emulation, but, in order to fulfill all that is required of us, if we
are to return to our eternal home, we only need to do one simple thing.
As He stated many times from the shores of the Sea of
Galilee, to the people of the American continent, and to the present day:
“Follow Me!”
For the next few minutes I want us to ponder the most
important of Jesus’s attributes. This
attribute is foundational to all else that He was:
He so eloquently expressed it on that darkest and most
horrific of nights in the Garden of Gethsemane, knowing full well what he was asked
to do by His Heavenly Father. He had a full knowledge of what was about to
befall him, when he said:
“Oh, My father if this cup may not pass away from me except I
drink of it…Thy will be done.”
From the beginning in the preexistence to the present day,
His one driving force was to do the will of His Father in Heaven, our Father in
Heaven.
If we are to follow Christ as He suggests we do; how do we do
it? In my mind it seems that I must do as he did and do the will of Our Father
in Heaven.
I realized as I pondered this that so many times these ideas
are presented as commandments with rewards and punishments associated with
compliance and noncompliance. I have
decided to hire Christ as my life coach so I can one day be as much like him as
possible. Since I cannot have face to face meeting and lessons I must use what
is available to me.
Now…we know from scripture that anything in righteousness
that is important to us is important to Heavenly Father. Look it up…it’s in the
D & C.
Firstly I must show Heavenly Father that this is important to
me. I must study, pray, fast as needed, attend meetings where inspired speakers
can help me along the way. Most
importantly I must keep the commandments, repent constantly as needed, honor my
covenants, and magnify my priesthood and enduring to the end, do everything in
my power to accomplish this goal of being Christ like. Why would I do all of
this?
Because Heavenly Father is true to his word…As He says in Doctrine
and Covenants 82:10:
“I the Lord am bound if you do what I say; but when you do
not what I say you have no promise.”
He will work on our behalf
so we can accomplish our most important righteous objectives. Secondly, we have
the opportunity to have a member of the Godhead with us at all times. The Holy Ghost can be our constant source of
information as to the Will of God with respect to our daily activities. Through
all of these means I have the ability to choose my thoughts, words, and deeds
to be in accordance with God’s Will or not.
I have been paying very close attention this last year as to
when the Holy Ghost is most present.
Sometimes, it feels I am walking along with a close friend
like Dory. I am receiving promptings, I am responding to them, and there is
this amazing peace and joy. The path
seems so clear.
Other times it is like having a reluctant partner. He wants to help. I can feel His presence,
but there is some distance and so our communication is limited.
Then there are times when He is just gone. It is devastating. I have really screwed up and frantically
search my behavior to determine what has driven Him away.
In the process of pondering all of this I had a vision:
I was walking through a forest and came across a small
fawn. It was so beautiful, innocent and
intensely sensitive and alert to my every move.
Watching me, it was ready to bolt if I made one wrong move. However, if
I was careful and approached it lovingly it would permit me to caress it. In
other words it would abide my presence.
I like to think the Holy Ghost is like that small fawn. It is
a being of such purity and love that it wants nothing more than to comfort and
guide us. However it cannot abide the
least amount of evil. When I am mean spirited, when I get angry, judgmental or
negative in any way, or worse, I think that The Spirit must flee my presence.
The beauty of this for me is that in some ways it is like a
sentinel. When I know it is there, I
know I am on the correct path. When it isn’t, I know that I need a correction
of some kind.
When I am following Christ through that forest, no matter how
far ahead of me He may be. I have a
sweet, innocent, pure, companion, guide and comforter to assist me in my
journey. I am never alone. With the Holy
Ghost walking along with me I am inspired to be a better man, a better husband,
a better brother, father, friend and especially a truer servant of my Beloved
Heavenly Father.
As I obey those promptings and learn the will of God with
respect to my life I can “wax strong in the presence of God” and face to face with
Jesus one day when He asks “Whom do you Hugh say I am?” I can say to Him with complete confidence Thou art the Christ.
I testify that Jesus Christ is our older brother. By whatever
means I know not He came to this earth, (part man, part God) and took upon
himself by whatever means I know not, all the sins, trials, tribulations and
pain of all mankind and redeemed each and every one of us when we repent and
Follow Him.
As we strive to follow him and learn the Will of the Father
and practice those Christ like attributes the Holy Ghost will comfort and guide
us along the path back to our eternal home.
I testify that Jesus Christ did actually rise from the dead
and opened the doors for us to eternal life.
I know the Book of Mormon to be the word of God and that
Joseph Smith was the first prophet in these latter days. He restored the
fullness of the gospel to the earth. I
testify that Thomas S. Monson is a true prophet and leads Christ’s church and I
say these things in the name of our Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.
Friday, March 11, 2016
Where do the stars go during the day?
When I was in 3rd grade our teacher posed a very interesting question to me:
Where do the stars go during the day?
We all sat there dumb in our seats. Except I wasn't dumb. I thought about it and knew where they went. Nowhere. They were still there, you just couldn't see them because of the light.
Yet I sat there, lacking the confidence to say what I knew.
I've never felt smart. It stems back to lots of experiences and people telling me I wasn't smart.
Yet, I am smart. Not genius smart, but smart smart.
I still struggle with this as an adult, but as I get more insight into the roots of this mental disability I'm able to understand how to work it.
For instance, if I'm going into a meeting with lots of smart people, I need to prep ahead. I need to commit to saying something early and engaging. I need to not multitask. Stuff like that.
Where do the stars go during the day?
We all sat there dumb in our seats. Except I wasn't dumb. I thought about it and knew where they went. Nowhere. They were still there, you just couldn't see them because of the light.
Yet I sat there, lacking the confidence to say what I knew.
I've never felt smart. It stems back to lots of experiences and people telling me I wasn't smart.
Yet, I am smart. Not genius smart, but smart smart.
I still struggle with this as an adult, but as I get more insight into the roots of this mental disability I'm able to understand how to work it.
For instance, if I'm going into a meeting with lots of smart people, I need to prep ahead. I need to commit to saying something early and engaging. I need to not multitask. Stuff like that.
Thursday, February 11, 2016
A little update
Since Jan I've been pretty focused on getting healthy. MyFitness Pal is awesome and I'm using it religiously. I weigh myself every day. And work out five times a week. And I'm down 18lbs. That's all :)
Wednesday, February 3, 2016
Fun with Abby and Maddie...
Today I had the opportunity to join Abby on her BIG 14th birthday for a field trip to the Natural History museum. It was fun to see her interacting with a bunch of teenagers...she really stands out with poise, a strong internal sense of self, courage to do hard things, and a solid head on her shoulders. She was put with a bunch of kids that she didn't know, and even though she was uncomfortable she did a great job having fun, doing the lessons, and being a kid.
I spoke with a few teachers and they glowed about what a great kid Abby is, etc.
After work I ran, and fortunately made it, to Maddie's teacher conference. Maddie is doing a great job in school - she's exceeding in everything and doing so very well. Some of the comments about Maddie included: she's darling, on task, organized, helps other kids, is a born leader, excelling at everything. I was most proud of Mrs. Blankinship saying how Maddie has done a great job of helping a girl in her class who needed a friend and that the other day, during recess, she went and found a girl who was alone and invited her to play. I loved smart and advanced, but that's what gets me truly happy.
I spoke with a few teachers and they glowed about what a great kid Abby is, etc.
After work I ran, and fortunately made it, to Maddie's teacher conference. Maddie is doing a great job in school - she's exceeding in everything and doing so very well. Some of the comments about Maddie included: she's darling, on task, organized, helps other kids, is a born leader, excelling at everything. I was most proud of Mrs. Blankinship saying how Maddie has done a great job of helping a girl in her class who needed a friend and that the other day, during recess, she went and found a girl who was alone and invited her to play. I loved smart and advanced, but that's what gets me truly happy.
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