Tonight I listened to an excellent March 2004 BYU devotional talk by Elder Neal Maxwell of the Council of the Twelve Apostles, delivered just 4 months before he succumbed to a 9 year battle with Leukemia, and was one of the last of many masterful public discourses. He unfolds the patriarch Lehi's teachings on the interrelationship between agency, choices, submission of personal will to God, opposition, consequences, mercy, justice, joy, and misery. I highly recommend it to you.
The text of this speech can be read at:
http://speeches.byu.edu/htmlfiles/MaxwellW04.html
The speech can also be listened to on the Internet in MP3 format by going to http://www.byub.org/findatalk/ and searching on keywords "free choose maxwell".
Sunday, August 31, 2008
Some thoughts on the R-word
If this article pricks your conscience a bit, then join with me in trying to be more aware and respectful of those with intellectual (or any other kind of) disabilities (and their care givers) by avoiding phrases that belittle others.
http://tinyurl.com/3tujm7
http://tinyurl.com/3tujm7
Monday, August 25, 2008
Zambia Scholarship Fund
Last night I had the treat of visiting with some dear friends that were our next door neighbors when Kim and I were newlyweds living in the University of Utah married student housing. Scott and Peggy Rogers are the kind of salt of the earth people that we all wish we had for neighbors. Because of her genuine compassion for others, Peggy took on the monumental effort of organizing a truly non-profit charity to help provide educational opportunities for children in Zambia, the poorest country in the world.(http://tinyurl.com/9mnr5) I read her book "Heart to Heart Worlds Apart" and it changed my life. I am a better, happier, more grateful person because of Peggy Rogers. If you would like to read this book and cannot afford to buy it from the website, please contact me and I will get you a copy at no cost. Be forewarned...it may change your life, also. :)
I realized that, even though I've had a link to this website on my blog, I have not talked about it on this blog. Shame on me! If you are not already doing so, I would invite you to seriously consider joining me in supporting this truly worthwhile organization that helps "the least of these", our brothers and sisters in the family of man. Giving a handout to a person on the freeway off ramp may be admirable, but helping to provide the highly sought after gift of education to a truly needy stranger in the poorest country on earth so they can become self sufficient and bless future generations, is even better. You can make a HUGE difference in someone's life for the cost of eating out one less time per month. The Savior said...
"When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory: And before him shall be gathered all nations: and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats: And he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left. Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: For I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in: Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me. Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink? When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee? Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee? And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me. Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels: For I was an hungred, and ye gave me no meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me no drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me not in: naked, and ye clothed me not: sick, and in prison, and ye visited me not. Then shall they also answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, or thirst, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister unto thee? Then shall he answer them, saying, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did it not to me." Matthew 25:31-45
http://www.zambiasscholarshipfund.org
I realized that, even though I've had a link to this website on my blog, I have not talked about it on this blog. Shame on me! If you are not already doing so, I would invite you to seriously consider joining me in supporting this truly worthwhile organization that helps "the least of these", our brothers and sisters in the family of man. Giving a handout to a person on the freeway off ramp may be admirable, but helping to provide the highly sought after gift of education to a truly needy stranger in the poorest country on earth so they can become self sufficient and bless future generations, is even better. You can make a HUGE difference in someone's life for the cost of eating out one less time per month. The Savior said...
"When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory: And before him shall be gathered all nations: and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats: And he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left. Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: For I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in: Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me. Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink? When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee? Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee? And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me. Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels: For I was an hungred, and ye gave me no meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me no drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me not in: naked, and ye clothed me not: sick, and in prison, and ye visited me not. Then shall they also answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, or thirst, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister unto thee? Then shall he answer them, saying, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did it not to me." Matthew 25:31-45
http://www.zambiasscholarshipfund.org
Saturday, August 23, 2008
The Music Man
Last month, I blogged about Zach being selected to play Tommy Djilas and be the principal dancer in the play "The Music Man".
http://camswebpage.blogspot.com/2008/07/music-man.html
Last Tuesday was opening night. Various members of our family and friends have attended each of the nightly performances. Tonight (Saturday) is the final show. Zach had fun and did a good job. Here are links to newspaper articles about the play. The picture with Zach dancing front row, center stage was on the front page of the community news section of the paper.
http://www.ocregister.com/articles/music-man-broadway-2129999-park-peppertree
http://www.ocregister.com/articles/park-tustin-music-2132543-through
I flew to Utah earlier in the week for a wedding. Kim is driving Zach up on Monday to get settled in for his freshman year at BYU. I'm anticipating some tears on the drive back home as Kim tries to cope with "losing" her baby.
http://camswebpage.blogspot.com/2008/07/music-man.html
Last Tuesday was opening night. Various members of our family and friends have attended each of the nightly performances. Tonight (Saturday) is the final show. Zach had fun and did a good job. Here are links to newspaper articles about the play. The picture with Zach dancing front row, center stage was on the front page of the community news section of the paper.
http://www.ocregister.com/articles/music-man-broadway-2129999-park-peppertree
http://www.ocregister.com/articles/park-tustin-music-2132543-through
I flew to Utah earlier in the week for a wedding. Kim is driving Zach up on Monday to get settled in for his freshman year at BYU. I'm anticipating some tears on the drive back home as Kim tries to cope with "losing" her baby.
Thursday, August 07, 2008
"'We cannot change the cards we are dealt, just how we play the hand."
What would YOU say if you knew you were going to die and had a chance to sum up everything that was most important to you?
On July 25th 2008, Carnegie Mellon Professor Randy Pausch, author of the remarkable and inspiring book "Last Lecture," succumbed to pancreatic cancer the age of 47. Before doing so, however, he wrote a book and posted a video on the Internet entitled, "The Last Lecture". If you haven't listened to the video, I highly recommend it. It helps put the challenges and opportunities of life in perspective and attempts to motivate those who read or listen to the lecture to stretch to achieve their goals and dreams and to never give up.
http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/LastLecture
On July 25th 2008, Carnegie Mellon Professor Randy Pausch, author of the remarkable and inspiring book "Last Lecture," succumbed to pancreatic cancer the age of 47. Before doing so, however, he wrote a book and posted a video on the Internet entitled, "The Last Lecture". If you haven't listened to the video, I highly recommend it. It helps put the challenges and opportunities of life in perspective and attempts to motivate those who read or listen to the lecture to stretch to achieve their goals and dreams and to never give up.
http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/LastLecture
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