Laughing or Crying?

Life is good.  It has it's ups and downs, but overall it's good.  It's easy to see how the good times make life good, but sometimes the bad times make us think otherwise.  I relayed a quote to a sister missionary the other day.  The quote was, "You're either laughing, or you're crying."  Her response was, "Yeah, and if you're crying, you might as well be laughing while doing it."  Talk about profound.  The key is attitude.

Nephi, a Book of Mormon prophet, was with his family in the wilderness and he and his brothers went out hunting for food.  While hunting, Nephi breaks his bow and his brother's bows loose their spring.  Needless to say, they didn't get any food.  Everyone around Nephi was "exceedingly sorrowful, even that they did murmur against the Lord" because of their lack of food.  (1 Nephi 16: 20).  Nephi himself recognized that "it began to be exceedingly difficult."  (1 Nephi 16:22).  But he chose not to murmur against the Lord.

Even though times were tough, Nephi's choice was to "laugh while he cried."  His "laughing" brought himself to become a part of the solution, not a part of the problem.  We have the power to do that in our own lives.  When things are tough and life makes us cry, make sure those tears are from laughing so hard that you forget that times are tough.  If we keep that attitude, we'll be able to see the good in life even while looking through tears.

Father's Day

Father's Day is here and I'm due for another acronym.

F - Funny: My dad is pretty funny.  There's different aspects of it though.  Sometimes his jokes will make me laugh, sometimes his mannerisms will make me laugh, and sometimes just listening to his laugh will make me laugh.  If there's ever a time when you need a little chuckle, he's the person you want to call.

A - Absolute: I remember the days when we were vacuuming a room and my dad would always ask if we went around the edges with the hose.  No one ever looks there.  But his response was, "You might as well do it right the first time, so you don't have to do it again."  I've learned the truthfulness behind that statement.  Make sure that we finish each job/task we do absolutely.  Not only will it make the rooms cleaner, but it will help out a lot in many aspects of life.  He made sure that we did an absolute job.

T - Talented: Not saying that he's an expert at everything, but my dad certainly is pretty handy in a lot of things.  Ranging from sports, to computers, to simple household fixes.  He's an all in one handyman.

H - Hard Working: Through thick and thin, my dad will continue to work with all his might.  Maybe a little discouragement will come up, but he will never let it show.  That's been an example to me to continue to press forward even when circumstances aren't ideal.  Actually, especially when circumstances aren't ideal.  That's when we need to work the hardest.

E - Enduring: A lot of trials have fell my dad's way.  Whether big or small, trials are trials.  He has found a way to endure through them all.  Not only to be endured though, but to be enjoyed.  Through the midst of it all, he has never lost his sense of humor.

R - Role Model: In all ways, my dad has been a role model for me.  I've learned that a lot more since I've been on my mission.  I will take so many things from him and use them for the rest of my life.  he has definitely been a blessing in my life.

I wish there were more letters in the word 'father' because I still have a ton more adjectives to use.  This will do for now, I suppose.  Maybe someday I will find a way to fully thank my dad for everything.  I'm not sure if there is a way to though, but I'll try.  Happy Father's Day.

Mother's Day

Mother's Day is soon approaching.  The question that always comes up is, "What should I get my Mom for Mother's Day?"  But really, what is the best way to show our Moms how much we appreciate them?  There are so many ideas, but none of them will fully show/say all we want to.  But I'll give it a shot:

M - Made me things:  This ranged from food to a list of chores to do.  Either way, it made me a better person, and made me into who I am today.  Nothing compares to the nurture of a mother.

O - Others oriented:  She was never thinking about herself.    Never have I ever heard my mom talk about herself.  Her life was revolved around others, especially her family.  She juggled sport events, seminary, work, house chores, and tons more, and still made time to be Mom.  No ordinary woman could do that.

T - Teacher by actions:  She showed me what was truly important in life, not by her words, but by how she lived her life.  Actions truly do speak louder than words.

H - Humble: Again, my mom never talked about herself.  And never did she boast (except when it was about her kids).  But she never took the credit.  It was always about us kids.

E - Encouraging: She made sure all of her kids knew that she was their biggest fan.  She was always the first one to cheer for us, and was by far loudest one at our sports events.  Nothing could stop her from standing on the bleachers and cheering for her kids.

R - Real Friend: This was one of the most important things that she did for me.  More important than her making me food!  My mom was a real friend to me.  Not just a friend that I can hang out with, but one I can talk to.  One that I can ask advice for, share stories with, laugh with, and have petty arguments with.  She was definitely a real friend.

These are just six of the bazillion things that my Mom does for me.  I've only scratched the surface.  She's totally awesome.  Nothing I do or say will fully explain what she means to me.  Just one last thing to say: Happy Mother's Day!

Finding Happiness

I can remember my parents watching the news, and during commercials I'd switch it to Spongebob Squarepants.  When I was a kid, well I guess I haven't grown up yet, I never liked watching the news or anything of that nature.  To me, it was kind of boring.  But as I got older, it's grabbed my attention a couple of times.  I've realized there's more to life than just a talking, yellow, sponge that lives in a pineapple.

There is so much stuff going on around us today.  The world is changing so much everyday.  We see natural disasters, tragedies, and wars happening left and right.  Captain Moroni, a Book of Mormon War General, was constantly fending off his enemies and trying to keep peace in the land.  It was a time of much war and bloodshed and many of the people were mourning over their losses.  In the midst of all of this, it is written, "But behold there never was a happier time among the people of Nephi, since the days of Nephi, than in the days of Moroni..." (Alma 50:23). 

It's hard for me to understand that even amidst all of the wars and contentions that "there never was a happier time among the people."  How can that be?  What was making that time the happiest time?  The Gospel of Jesus Christ is the answer.  No matter what's going on around, we can find happiness in our lives through the Gospel of Jesus Christ.  As we truly live the principles of the Gospel, that happiness will only increase.  May we all makes these days the happiest in our lives.