Field of Dreams

The other day, I drove by a large lawn that was white with dandelions gone to seed. My first reaction was: “Oh Boy! I bet the neighbors HATE that. But then I remembered my daughter, Marie, at 7 years of age, and the pleasure she found blowing the seeds off a dandelion and making a wish. I realized anew that there are many ways of looking any situation, ranging from great joy to total dejection and despair.

The Race: Come, Follow Me

While I was stationed at Beale AFB, the home of the SR-71 strategic reconnaissance aircraft, I was required to spend 6 to 8 weeks a year at the SR-71 detachment on Kadena AFB, Okinawa.

Books and Covers

Outward appearances can be deceiving. We all have had experiences where we evaluated someone based on their outward appearance, by their “cover” and when we knew them better, found a completely different person behind the cover. Wikipedia says:

The English idiom "don't judge a book by its cover" is a metaphorical phrase which means: you shouldn't prejudge the worth or value of something by its outward appearance alone.

The Last Day

I think it might be good to add an extra caveat at the beginning of this missive. Some of the concepts I am about to discuss are my own thoughts. I have identified places where doctrine ends and my thoughts begin.

As I was reading the scriptures with my wife a few mornings ago, I was struck by the phrase “the last day.” (Not to be confused with “the last days.”) According to my trusty search program, this phrase appears at least 58 times in the scriptures. Usually, it is used in conjunction with a discussion of the final judgment. A question popped into my mind – more on that later.

believing Is Seeing

As an amateur artist, I have learned (over a considerable period of time) that I must be able to look at a subject and see what’s really there before I can represent it artistically. Before I can vary the composition, before I can decide what’s important to the subject, I must see what’s really there, not what I think is there. Only then can I make artistic decisions about the composition.

Righteousness and Happiness

When we seek happiness, when we want peace and contentment, when we want control of our lives, when we want a direction, a reason for our lives, where do we turn?

My Wife's Hands

Recently my wife was very ill, so ill that she had to be hospitalized. She is recovering nicely now, but it was a scary time for both of us. As I sat with her and when I came home alone to sleep while she was hospitalized, I had a lot of time to think about what my life would be like without her. She performs so many services for me; she has great concern for my well-being and comfort, and is just always there when I need her.