Last Hoorah at Disneyland

Our Disneyland annual pass ran out on December 7th so on December 5th we had our last hoorah at Disneyland. It is beautiful this time of year; by far my favorite. Mom, Daniel, Rachelle, Ammon, and Grandma and Grandpa Harvie came.

Here are a few picture of our wonderful excursion.

"Chubby Little Fingers"

I recently gave a talk in our stake conference where I shared a personal story of a mistake I made in my pre-school years. The short version of the story... I saw a package of scoring pencils in a store and wanted the pencils. When my mother refused to buy them for me I decided to "cleverly" put the package in the waistband of my shorts and pull my T-Shirt down so that they could not be seen. We left that store and walked over to a grocery store. As I was walking up and down the aisle with my mom the pencils worked their way loose from the package and began dropping through my shorts and onto the floor. My mother made me pick up the pencils and we walked back to the store where I had taken them so that I could confess to the store owner.

My point in telling the story was that even even though I was too young (around 3 or 4 years old) to fully understand the seriousness of the mistake, I still remember the look my mother gave me and the difficulty in confessing the mistake to the store owner. (Moral: There is always a price to be paid... the easiest life is a sin-free life.)

Well... about two weeks later the stake began road show rehearsals. The YSA branch did a parody on that talk depicting the misadventures of "Prahn Rice." In the talk I mentioned that I suppose I wanted to keep the small pencils because they "fit in my chubby little fingers." Hence, the title of the roadshow... "Chubby Little Fingers"

So.... with Jarom Price starring as his repentant father "Prahn Rice"... we present "Chubby Little Fingers"

Lincoln's Thanksgiving Proclamation

The true spirit of Thanksgiving has to do with our gratitude to God. Our tradition points us back to pilgrims who, no doubt, were very grateful to have survived the harsh conditions of their first year in the New World... but the true spirit of gratitude is found in a humble acknowledgement that we have a loving Heavenly Father and that He is intimately involved in our lives.

In the midst of a bloody Civil War President Lincoln made a national proclamation that a day of gratitude be observed. As you read his proclamation below try to put things in perspective... if in the midst of so much turmoil President Lincoln could find so much good for which we should be grateful... then it should not be difficult for me today to do the same.

By the President of the United States of America.
A Proclamation.

The year that is drawing towards its close, has been filled with the blessings of fruitful fields and healthful skies. To these bounties, which are so constantly enjoyed that we are prone to forget the source from which they come, others have been added, which are of so extraordinary a nature, that they cannot fail to penetrate and soften even the heart which is habitually insensible to the ever watchful providence of Almighty God. In the midst of a civil war of unequaled magnitude and severity, which has sometimes seemed to foreign States to invite and to provoke their aggression, peace has been preserved with all nations, order has been maintained, the laws have been respected and obeyed, and harmony has prevailed everywhere except in the theatre of military conflict; while that theatre has been greatly contracted by the advancing armies and navies of the Union. Needful diversions of wealth and of strength from the fields of peaceful industry to the national defence, have not arrested the plough, the shuttle or the ship; the axe has enlarged the borders of our settlements, and the mines, as well of iron and coal as of the precious metals, have yielded even more abundantly than heretofore. Population has steadily increased, notwithstanding the waste that has been made in the camp, the siege and the battle-field; and the country, rejoicing in the consiousness of augmented strength and vigor, is permitted to expect continuance of years with large increase of freedom.

No human counsel hath devised nor hath any mortal hand worked out these great things. They are the gracious gifts of the Most High God, who, while dealing with us in anger for our sins, hath nevertheless remembered mercy. It has seemed to me fit and proper that they should be solemnly, reverently and gratefully acknowledged as with one heart and one voice by the whole American People. I do therefore invite my fellow citizens in every part of the United States, and also those who are at sea and those who are sojourning in foreign lands, to set apart and observe the last Thursday of November next, as a day of Thanksgiving and Praise to our beneficent Father who dwelleth in the Heavens. And I recommend to them that while offering up the ascriptions justly due to Him for such singular deliverances and blessings, they do also, with humble penitence for our national perverseness and disobedience, commend to His tender care all those who have become widows, orphans, mourners or sufferers in the lamentable civil strife in which we are unavoidably engaged, and fervently implore the interposition of the Almighty Hand to heal the wounds of the nation and to restore it as soon as may be consistent with the Divine purposes to the full enjoyment of peace, harmony, tranquillity and Union.

In testimony whereof, I have hereunto set my hand
and caused the Seal of the United States to be affixed.

Done at the City of Washington, this Third day of October, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and sixty-three, and of the Independence of the United States the Eighty-eighth.

By the President: Abraham Lincoln

William H. Seward,Secretary of State

Busy Sundays...

I have been on the go since 5:30 this morning. Just got home about an hour ago. I attended a meeting in Escondido on the roll-out of the new family history submission process. Rather than go through the Temple Ready process everything will be done on the internet so that families will be better able to coordinate their work and eliminate duplication of work. As I sat in the meeting and contemplated that magnificence of this Latter-day work I started to cry. What a blessing to be part of all of this.

It is work, though. Elder Keith Tenney, an Area Authority Seventy, defined LDS for the congregation.

Long
Day
Sunday

Make sure that you read Nathan's comment on the "Chance or Design" posting I made last week. Very insightful! Thank you, Nathan. This is how I envision these blogs to be a source of family information and inspiration... sharing insights and experiences that will deepen our understanding and appreciation to God and all He does for us daily.

I love you all... keep up the good work!
---Dad

Family video... such talent!

Erin used an entire day of her pre-mission packing to share her talents. Enjoy all! ---Dad

"Have you written?"

Try to write Erin this week... Anyone who has been on a mission knows how hard it is to not be able to contact family whenever you want. Hearing from home lifts your heart and gives you energy to serve another day. She loves you and wants to hear... and honestly... we all know that if the roles were reversed and you were in the MTC, she would write you.

Her address is on Kirstin's blog.

Dad

Chance or Design?

I was in an Elders Quorum today listening to the lesson on the prophet Joseph Smith. President Kimball said, "God does nothing by chance, but always by design as a loving father."

A member of the quorum interjected a thought to ponder. He is a computer programmer and claimed that with all of our understanding and the amazing capability of technology that we have not been able to produce something as simple as a truly random number. Several algorithms have been written in an attempt to approximate the production of a random number but each number is ultimately based on a provided number and therefore is not random. For example, if a random number generator is based upon a computer's system date and time then every request for a random number issued at the same time and date will produce the same number... that is not random.

If we do not have the capability to do something as seemingly simple as create a random number at will... why do we think that we have sufficient knowledge to govern our lives to salvation? We need God. And His mouthpiece is His prophet.

Is it chance or design that a prophet speaks to us today? Is it chance that he talked last conference about being slow to anger? Or is that really what the Lord wanted us to hear... and heed? What implications are there to the message about the stone cut out of the mountain? Chance or design... and if by design what principle or doctrine is contained in his message that I must learn?

It is not by chance that Nephi prepared a second set of plates to prepare against the eventual loss of 116 pages of the Book of Mormon manuscript. It is not chance that a printing press allowed all mankind to read the Bible. It is not chance that Joseph Smith was born in a country that allowed for religious freedom.

It is not by chance that we have a prophet that speaks today. If there is a "random element" to all of this it is this. Will I listen?

The Beginning...

All things great and small. A great marriage starts with a small smile. Great children start small... physically and emotionally. Small acts of friendship create great bonds... small changes, over time, produce men and women of great character.

Our journal is about things great and small. Small moments of love, inspiration, hope, and faith. Hopefully you will find the greatness hidden within our message.

Don't be afraid to start small... we all do. Just start and be amazed what tomorrow brings.