Through The Hands of Others....

Some of the most powerful stories are the ones told without words.

The music: the lyrics are simple and sweet; with the feel of the arrangement it is very powerful song.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jcPSGJZwHA4

Magnifying Freedom

I'm convinced the only way to maintain, and maybe even reclaim, true freedom is for each of us, as individuals, to be the best, unselfish, forgiving, caring, loving, [insert admirable quality here] people we can be.


As individuals and society, we often look to other people or organizations (especially government) to solve our problems, give us our 'fair share' of what 'we deserve', or take away the consequences of our own actions. In the end we slowly entrap ourselves into costly (financial or otherwise) commitments and rules from which we can't or won't escape.

On the other hand, the most powerful person in the world is the one who uses their freedom to bless other people. In the first place they control their own actions to not cause problems for others, then they choose to help others with their challenges by willingly sharing their talents and resources with them. After all we are family.


Regardless of how idealistic or impossible it sounds, if every one personally strives to be the best person they can and develop the desire to sincerely want the best for other people, then we will continually make choices that will magnify freedom and help solve social problems far more effectively than social programs or making rules that attempt to force a solution.


It all starts with us exercising the freedom for which our founding father's established protections and the freedom for which many great women and men committed their lives (in life and death) to preserve....choosing to act for ourselves. No sense striving for less than our full potential and seeing the full potential in others.


Start with gratitude for the blessings we have living in this country. Some of the fruits of gratitude are respect and frugality and selflessness...and continues to grow into the desire to help others have the same or better blessings. I'm sure you can think of other fruits of gratitude.


Make your personal commitments now to magnify freedom by being the best person you can be and to bless others. We can start small and continue to improve day to day.

What Animal Is This?

What animals do you think these are?

Click to find the answer:

Hope: Better Times Will Come

I think this is one of the greatest messages out there.



We all go through cycles of despair, trial, heart-ache, challenges, or other temptations to give up under the trials. But I know if we keep trying our best with hope of relief, and wade through the depressing times, better times will soon come.

The loving Savior helps bring hope and helps us overcome our challenges with the outcome that we are better when it is over!

2009 Pelican Convention

I'm not a well-versed in birds...I'm not even sure if I know what they call a bird scientist, but I've grown to really love the variety and often uniqueness of the birds that hangout on the North Oregon Coast.

On Father's Day this past weekend we went to see the sunset at the beach. When we peaked at the large sand dune that borders the beach, we were impressed by a mass of Pelicans. It must have been the 2009 Pelican Convention. I've never seen such a sight...it was amazing.

Anxious to get to the party!

(Click the pictures for an enlarged image)

Usually they caravan in a long line, often flying close to the water.

These pelicans are quite large. I love the shape of their wide wings as they calmly, yet powerfully fly through the air.

Catching up with the latest news. (Its interesting to note that the seagulls sat right behind the massive flock of Pelicans as if they were waiting patiently to pick-up the left-behinds from the party. I was surprised the Pelicans were so nice to the Seagulls, but at the same time the Seagulls were quite respectful of the Pelicans.)

The sunset made a nice backdrop for the Pelican 'dance floor'. There were more Pelicans circling in the air and diving in the water than there were 'wall flowers' waiting on the shore.

First Anniversary of Birth

Our daughter celebrated her first Birthday yesterday. It was also the first day of her life that she ever tasted cake!

It was a beautiful sunny day and we played outside.

She loved opening all of the presents...especially the wrapping paper part.

Wide-eyed with all her toys and clothes and stuffed animals.

She likes playing with the flowers in the grass.

A Few Recent Pictures

I haven't been in a talkative mood these days, so I thought I'd just say a few thousand words:

Flight Maneuvers

Eye Witness

Make a Wish

Our first somewhat close-ups of a wild Bald Eagle.

Surrounded by Beauty

I love my family.

While Mom's Away, The Boys Play

My wife went away with baby b for the weekend to spend some time with her mom and sisters. The boys and I decided to camp out in the backyard and have some fun ourselves.

We had fun and plenty of room in our relatively new 3-room tent. There was even room enough for mommy and baby b if they were here. That would have been fun too.

In the morning, I called-in our burn permit and we had a little campfire. We're slowly getting our pile of branches burned down and taking recreational advantage of it when we can. We did have a fire extinguisher nearby per permit rules. (Just in case the Fire Chief reads this. :-) )

We also cooked up some bacon and pancakes on the camp stove. We heated water for Hot Chocolate over the fire. Later we did S'mores.

What did you think about the camp out? C: Good. Fun. And Cool. Amazing. And I don't know why it's amazing. And it was....'wicked cooool'.

What was your favorite part of the camp out? K: Uh...the S'mores and the stuff that we did today.

What did you think of the camp out? Eddie Banana Hands: I Loved it!

What's the most memorable part of the camp out for you? S:

What did you like about the camp out? J: It was fun. We should do it more often.

We had a lot of fun hanging together...just us boys.

What's So Important About Jesus Christ?

Many people celebrate Easter in difference ways. Easter, like many other holidays, has origins in the belief of Jesus Christ. Why are there so many holidays and religions founded on the belief of this one individual who lived for a little more than 30 years, 2000 years ago? Were there not other mighty characters of history deserving of such great attention? What is so important about Jesus Christ?

To understand the significance of Jesus Christ, we first must recognize our own eternal potential: --to experience the fullness of joy (referred to as exaltation or eternal life). The fullness of joy is experienced when (1) we have a perfect physical body inseparable from our spirit (or soul), and (2) we continue to progress through eternity in the presence of our Heavenly Father (God). To live in the presence of our Heavenly Father, we must live by His laws...since He knows what must be done in order to receive the fullness of Joy.

The problem we face here on earth is that it is impossible to achieve the fullness of Joy by ourselves for two reasons. (1) We have imperfect, mortal bodies in which our bodies will separate from our spirit (soul) at death. (2) Our behavior is not perfect--we break the laws of God that allow us to achieve the fullness of joy (called sin). No unclean thing can dwell with God.

Heavenly Father's plan for our salvation required a Savior to help us overcome death and sin. Jesus was appointed to be that Savior and executor of the Plan of Salvation from before the earth was created through to the end.

As the only begotten son of our Heavenly Father (Jesus was born with Mary as His mother and God as His father), Jesus had power over death. Jesus also obeyed all of the laws/commandments of God. His behavior was perfect for he committed no sin.

Justice requires punishment for any who break the eternal laws of God--including never being able to live with God and experience the fullness of Joy. Jesus Christ, a perfect man requiring no punishment, took upon himself the punishment for all sins committed by the human family past, present and future. His only ability to live through the physical, emotional, and spiritual pain caused by this atonement was his power to not die.

Immediately after drinking the 'bitter cup' of the atonement in the Garden of Gethsemane, he was betrayed by a friend, physically tortured, and condemned to death by the Roman technique of crucifixion. He was nailed to the cross and while there suffered the final solitary moments to complete the atonement. When Jesus Christ knew his work at this stage was finished he let his spirit leave his body--he finally chose to die.

Three days later, Jesus Christ reunited his body--now 100% immortal and perfect--with his spirit never to be separated again in all eternity. Being the first to rise from the dead, he set in place the resurrection of all humankind. Anyone who is born on the earth, past, present and future will now be resurrected with a perfect, immortal body, never again to be separated from his/her spirit by death. All of us will receive glorious bodies for the rest of eternity. Christ's gift of the resurrection is given to all.

Through the atonement and resurrection, Jesus Christ became our mediator with our Heavenly Father. We are still required to obey the laws of God if we are to experience the fullness of joy, but Jesus Christ is able to fill-in the gaps of our imperfections and inabilities as we honestly strive to live up to the knowledge we have of those laws of God. Our Savior, Jesus Christ, becomes our merciful judge and is willing to apply his atonement on our behalf. All He asks is that we choose for ourselves to exercise faith in Him ( He has the understanding and ability to help us physically, emotionally, and spiritually with all that we need and want); repent when we come short of what we know we should do; get baptized by those whom He has authorized to perform such ordinances; receive the gift of the Holy Ghost (Holy Spirit); and to keep His commandments which will bring us happiness and comfort in this life and throughout eternity.

I am convinced that our loving Heavenly Father does everything in his power to help us come back to Him without taking away our freedom to choose for ourselves. Not only did God provide a Savior to overcome death and sin for us, but as an added help He provided the Holy Ghost (or Holy Spirit).

The Holy Ghost, among other things, confirms truth, provides comfort and cleansing, and provides guidance to help us follow the path that our Savior laid out for us to return to live with Heavenly Father in the fullness of joy. It is by the power of the Holy Ghost that we can know in our heart and mind that the gospel of Jesus Christ is true. The Holy Ghost communicates to us in such a personal way that we know for ourselves that truth is truth. When the Holy Ghost confirms truth to us we simply act on those feelings to follow the Savior and keep His commandments.

So what is so important about Jesus Christ? Perhaps the unmistakable, good feelings from the Holy Ghost provided that answer to you as you read and thought about our Savior, Jesus Christ.

Jesus Christ lives! Because He lives, we all can be resurrected and forgiven of our imperfections so we can live with Heavenly Father again in the fullness of joy! All we have to do is choose to act on the increasing knowledge we gain of His gospel until little by little we find ourselves full beneficiaries of the atonement of Jesus Christ and experience the fullness of joy with our Father in Heaven. In the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.

Happy Easter!

May the hope and gratitude of the atonement and resurrection of a loving Savior, Jesus Christ, lift you through all of your good times and challenging times no matter what the circumstances may be. The most hopeful phrase for us now and in all eternity: He Lives!

Happy Easter!

Almost-Spring Sunsets

I haven't posted pictures for a while. Here are some pacific ocean sunset pictures from the last few months:

Sun's Eyes Half Closed

Crisp, Cool Silhouettes

"C'mon kids come home and get ready for bed."

Come Down to Rest

Venus Watching Over Sleepy Fishing Boat.

Uplifting Teaser Trailer

The Affect of Ghost Stories

Last night as a few co-workers and I were driving the two-hours home from a field office, we somehow ended up talking about ghost stories. I think that is why I had the following dream last night:

An old building on a College campus was said to be haunted. The yellow-white marble building with the Romanesque pillars lining the front looked old, but it didn't look particularly scary. A friend and I decided to investigate for ourselves.

It was dusk when were ready to check it out. I wasn’t scared at all…more excited, curious, and hopeful to actually see a disembodied spirit.

Most of the building was still being used for classes, so security lights were on, but we still needed our flashlights to see clearly. We explored the hallways on the main floor, but found nothing unusual.

We came to some spiral stairs. We looked down over the railing. Two stories below us was the basement. To avoid duplicating our efforts, we decided to start in the basement and work our way up through the five-story building.

As we reached the first landing on our way down, my flashlight flickered and went out. ‘No big deal,’ I thought. ‘I think I have some spare batteries in my pocket.’ I fumbled through my jacket pocket and found the spare batteries. We started down the stairs again as I tried to free the batteries from their wrapper.

The stairs ended in the basement just outside the open doors of a small theater. The basement wasn’t used for classes. In fact it is was empty. Inside the theater the cement floors we bare with the exception of some rusty holes where it looked like rows of chairs were bolted to the floor at one time. The floor was quilted with glue residue which, at one time, secured the carpet to the floor.

The stage was still intact and a dark burgundy velvet curtain was closed across the stage. After spanning the room, lit only by our flashlights and faint security lights, we looked up startled to see three figures on the stage just outside the curtain. They were acting as if they were having a barbecue—without Barbecue equipment. They appeared to have a faint glow around them.

One of the figures was going through the actions of tending the grill. He was a young man, tall, confident, and had blondish-brown hair. He seemed very friendly.

I was wondering if this was a residual haunting where the ghosts simply replayed actions they performed while they were alive. While I was settling on a conclusion, the tall blond young man looked at us, smiled and invited, “would you like to join us? It will be fun.” Then he and the others disappeared through the closed curtain.

Contact! We were so excited! That was more than I hoped to experience.

My friend decided to follow them. I started to follow, but remembered I still needed to put the batteries in my flashlight. While I was messing with my flashlight, my friend crawled under the closed curtain in pursuit of these entities that just interacted with us. I could hear his excited, yet un-revealing, exclamations. I could only imagine what amazing things he was discovering. I was getting jealous. I quickly finished securing the battery cover on the flashlight.

That is when I noticed it was dead silent. I could no longer hear my friend’s expressions.

Suddenly the room went completely dark for a few seconds. The lights flickered, then stayed on again. I got a little scared and ran to the stairs to the stage to find my friend. I went through the main curtain and found myself on a dimly-lit section of the stage among layers of hanging black curtains.

I saw the friendly, tall, blondish apparition waiting for me. At first I thought he would try to attack me so I swung my arm out in an attempt to push him away. To my surprise my arm went right through his body.

He remained warm and friendly and for a moment my fear turned to excitement. “You really are a ghost!” He just smiled warmly and nodded.

I attempted to poke him to verify I wasn't imagining things, but he calmly grabbed my wrists. This time I could feel his hands wrapped around my wrists as if they were a tangible substance. I was surprised that he was able to change his density in such a way.

He didn’t speak, yet he still had his warm, friendly smile.

I asked if he knew where my friend was. As I looked at him for the answer, I became startled that his grip on my arms was getting tighter. He still had the same friendly smile, but his eyes! His eyes no longer looked friendly. Fear engulfed me and I realized I was soon going to find out what happened to my friend....

...Instantly my alarm clock pierced the silence, shaking me from my sleep. I was free the grasp of this frightening apparition! I felt my tension release as I realized it was just a dream.

I was never able to find out what happened to my friend.

In a few hours its bed time again and I'm already getting tired...will I learn the conclusion of the mystery tonight?! I don't think I can keep my body awake for too much longer....

Making A Difference

See more uplifting videos.

Last Summer's Trip To The Beach

Last summer the kids and I took a trip to the beach. We like listening to waves crash against the rocks.

When the water hits the rocks it sprays high into the air.

The kids enjoy climbing around on the giant rocks.

The kids found a lot of great hiding places among the rocks.

The trees on this beach are fun to climb.

While the kids climb high into the tree, I stand guard to make sure they stay safe.

We also love to meet the crabs, starfish, birds, and other friends that play at the beach.

Watching the wildlife is one of our favorite things to do at the beach.

They usually don't try to hurt us, but I am still cautious around them.

They make funny faces and act all goofy.

I can't help laughing when I hear the sounds they make.

Also, when wildlife are around, we rarely need to bring our own food.

We always have a good time at the beach.