It's a Wonderful Life!

I just celebrated my 21st birthday this weekend!  Woohoo!  Now I'm officially, totally "legal"...whatever that means.. except I don't think I can rent a car yet.  Bummer.

I don't know about the rest of you, but for me birthdays are a time of reflection on the good times I've had throughout my life and the blessings God has given me each day.  I think back on all the October 22nds I've had (the night before my birthday-- B-Day Eve), and the mental playback that scrolls across my consciousness as I try to fall asleep (usually to no avail because I'm so excited for my birthday the next day).  This year, it seemed my entire life flashed before my eyes as I lay there in the dark, listening to the serene sounds of my companion sawing logs.  As I relived each year, I realized what a wonderful life I've had.  No matter the ups or the downs, it seems each year was filled with laughter, goodness, light, and growth.  How am I so blessed?  I don't think I'll ever fully understand the reasons.  But this much I do know:  God loves me, and He loves you.

Reminds me of a few scriptures in the Book of Mormon.  First, Nephi's simple declaration of God's love:

I know that he loveth his children; nevertheless, I do not know the meaning of all things.

I echo Nephi's testimony.  I can't account for all the things--good or bad--that have happened to me or others during my lifetime.  But I do know God loves each one of us more than we can comprehend and He has a purpose for our lives.  And what did an understanding of that love and a willingness to love God do for Nephi and his people?  Again, his answer is simple:

And it came to pass that we lived after the manner of happiness.

I know the blessings I've received in my life so I could "live after the manner of happiness" have come because of my faith in Jesus Christ and His ability to make me a better person.  Living the gospel--Jesus' teachings and example--is the only way to true and lasting happiness in this life and forever. 

My life has truly been wonderful.  I have been blessed with family, friends, opportunities to grow, and the light of the gospel.  I thank my Father in Heaven everyday for His goodness these twenty-one-derful years, and know His kindness will be my rock and support for the rest of forever.  I know the same can be true for you.  If your life has been less-than wonderful, it's never too late to find true happiness.  Start with prayer.  Then read God's word.  Above all, trust in His love for you and His plan for your happiness.  I know these things to be true, because it's a wonderful life!

Much Love,

Elder Spendlove

Time of Your Life

You know, time is a funny thing.  I've been spending a lot of it recently thinking about how fast it's going--so fast I can hardly catch my breath!  And each year, each month, each day seems to go faster and faster.  You ever feel like that?  There's so many things that always demand our attention: meetings, errands, kids to pick up or drop off, school assignments due, work, chores, recreation, the list goes on and on.  The problem is, as everyone seems to mention, "there's only so many hours in a day" and we can't possibly do it all!  So what do we do? 

Well, I won't pretend I know how to prioritize your life, and I certainly won't preach to you.  All I know is that sometimes it takes a little planning.  We only have so long, you know?  and each of us wants to make sure our time is wisely spent.  Again, I'm not challenging what you do or saying anyone's activities aren't worth their time; I guess this little post is mostly a reminder to myself (and to anyone else who feels time is running away from them) that our time is precious and short, that we all need to take a step back, evaluate the things that occupy our time, and stop and smell the roses every once in a while.  Take the time to play with your kids--they need you!  Take time to tell someone you love that they mean the world to you.  Take time to sit and watch the sun rise or set (or both!) and to just be for a little while.  Life is what we make of it--it's our journey.  Like my dad always says, it's about the compass, not the clock--it's not about the unforgiving march of time that leaves us wishing we had more, it's about the direction we take and the meaningful things we do and the joys we find along the way.

I hope this week you find time to stop and reflect.  I hope you get all the "things you need to do" done, and then get some time to sit and be still.  I quote Ferris Bueller in closing:

Life moves pretty fast.  If you don't stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it!

Much Love,

Elder Spendlove

Priority Map:


Image from:  http://komplexify.com/blog/2009/10/17/1t-once-upon-a-time/

Don't Get LAX!

I'm not very sporty or athletic (just ask any of the missionaries I played basketball against today), but my second semester of college I found one sport that I like to play as much as I like to watch: lacrosse.  Despite my south Texas upbringing, lacrosse tops my list over football, basketball (for sure--I am horrible at b-ball), or soccer.  It's the fastest sport on two legs!  You get to hit dudes with a stick and wear pads!  And you get to fling balls at people--I mean, goals--at incredible velocities!  What's not to like?  Basically, lacrosse involves a lot of running, passing a fist-sized solid rubber ball to teammates using a pole with a net on the end, body-checking opposing players to try to obtain the ball, and shooting the ball at a net guarded by a goalie.  I won't get into all the rules, but trust me--it's killer!

I played defense and goalie (I wasn't very skilled at shooting or passing, just getting the ball away from people), which was way fun because I was able to do a lot of hitting and blocking.  I quickly learned why we wore pads--getting hit with a metal stick and with a hard ball at 90 mph hurts!  Bad!  If I hadn't worn my protective gear I would've totally gotten killed, no question about it.  Even with pads on I collected a wide variety of bruises, scars, and welts (which actually made me feel pretty hardcore).  With balls flying at you and dudes body checking you left and right you learn to rely on your gear and your pole to not only help protect you, but to help you win too. 

See where I'm going with this?  In the game of life, we aren't guaranteed an easy win--in fact, we're pretty much promised a rough ride.  Whether it's something we cause ourselves, something someone else does to us, or if it's just a consequence of the natural flow of life, we are all banged up and bruised basically every single day, although usually not physically.  Paul put it this way:

For we wrestle [play lacrosse] not against flesh and blood, but...against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness...

Paul then goes on in Ephesians chapter 6 to describe the armor of God which shields us against the attacks of our opposing team, led by the devil himself.  It's interesting to me that the only offensive weapon he mentions is "the Spirit, which is the word of God"--the scriptures and our own knowledge of what is true.  I know that if we trust in the protection God has promised us and learn to use our "lax poles" (aka the sword, aka the Spirit), we will win, no matter the opposition. 



Suit up!

 The Prophet Joseph Smith, who suffered intense opposition and persecution his entire life, said this:

...Persecutions may rage, mobs may combine, armies may assemble, calumny may defame, but the truth of God will go forth boldly, nobly, and independent...

So gear up!  Trust in God!  Start by praying, reading God's word, and keeping His commandments.  And in no time, we'll be kicking back at the Victory Party in our Heavenly Home. 

Much Love,

Elder Spendlove

Images from:  http://2010worldlacrosse.blogspot.com/2010/07/lacrosse-for-dummies-blog-no-2.html and http://ucsdlivingoncampus.blogspot.com/2011/01/social-life-building.html

No Rain, No Rainbows!

The clouds have burst here in Santa Rosa (/Sebastopol).  It's raining.  After a month of solid rain in Ukiah I was done with drippy skies, but now after a little break, it was nice to see some moisture again and get to enjoy the sights:

Makes me think of this T-shirt my dad gave me one time after he came back from Hawaii on a business trip.  It had a bunch of really slick Hawaiian catch phrases on it--you know, really "hang loose", flip-flops-on-the-sand, Joe Cool style--the last of which has stuck with me for years:

No Rain, No Rainbows

I've thought about that from time to time, especially when I see rainbows streaming through the gloominess of an ashen, rain-washed sky.  It makes me grateful for the rainbows my Heavenly Father sends my way whenever it seems I can't hold on any longer or when the rains are going to wash me out.  I could go off about all the different "rainbow connections" (right, Kermit?), but I think I'll just leave you one more thought in this little snippet. 

We heard from an Apostle of the Lord Jesus Christ today, Elder Neil L. Andersen.  He talked a lot about our faith in Christ and how that can help us raise families and deal with the day-to-day.  I loved one thing in particular that he said about or lives here on Earth; he said, "We can't know everything about this life.  That's impossible!  we will never figure out every reason why bad [or good] things happen to us.  We will never have all the answers.  But that's because this is not our Heavenly Home.  We are here, away from our Father in Heaven, being tested and tried to see if we will be faithful, obedient, and true.  And if we have trust in God, no matter the outcomes, no matter the unanswered questions, we will be happy with Him forever in that Heavenly Home." 

I absolutely love that.  It rains a lot in our lives (like a spiritual Seattle!), and sometimes we even forget what the sun looks like.  But I can promise you God will send you rainbows.  He has for me.  Just look for them and you will find the splash of color against the dismal background of your trials.  I know that is true.  No rain, no rainbows!

Much Love,

Elder Spendlove

Minesweeper

"Great.  We've come this far and now we're stuck," spat Jonesie.  It had happened--we'd gotten through the jungle only to find ourselves in front of what was obviously a minefield.  It wasn't very wide across, but it we'd seen the telltale signs enough to know that it would be less-than-smart to traipse across the stretch of dirt in front of us--I could even see some of the treacherous green devices on the ground ahead of me.  Despair was as thick as the humidity as we set our packs down and drank for a minute from our canteens.  I looked around the group--a ragtag platoon out here in the hellish nightmare of Vietnam, stuck between impending Vietcong action on the other side of the jungle and a treacherous minefield in front of us.  Talk about a rock and a hard place!  It was me--Spendlove--, Jonesie, Smitty, Burt, and Cap'n (Captian Scott Buckman); we'd lost the other half of our little band in the jungle and to enemy gunfire.  We were dirty, sore, almost out of ammo, and doing our best to not lose hope. 

I thought of home, my mother and father, my brothers and sister, my friends, the folks in our town who frequented our family store where I'd swept and stocked shelves and counted change before I was drafted.  It all seemed so far away.  I had gotten over the tears long ago, but I couldn't help wondering, once again, if I'd ever see those faces again.  I leaned up against a tree and sighed heavily as Jonesie got up and began to pace.

"What're we gonna do?  I mean, it's not like we have any metal detectors or anything!"  He was right.  It's not like we were equipped to make it through unharmed. 

Bring It On



Everyone likes The Emperor's New Groove!



How many of you have seen Disney's hit movie The Emperor's New Groove? (**almost everyone's hands go up**)  Excellent.  Because that's one of my all-time favorites.  (I do a mean Kronk impression.  You'll have to ask me to do it for you sometime.  But I digress...once again)  As silly and ridiculous as that movie is, if you are looking, you can find applicable principles to govern your life.

Por exemplo:



One of the most oft-quoted scenes is where Kuzco and Pacha find themselves "tied to a log...careening out of control down a raging river of death!" (as little Tipo later puts it after having a comically-timed and strangely prophetic dream).  Then he says... you know what?  Just watch it.

Oh man.  SO.  Good.

The lesson?  We all face huge waterfalls with sharp rocks at the bottom from time to time in our lives.  That's life!  If it were all smooth sailing, how would we learn?  Of course, we don't try to get thrown around; but when we face insurmountable odds, we can have the steely-nerved chutzpah of Kuzco, knowing that whatever comes, God will make it all right. 

BOOYAH!

Much Love,
Elder Spendlove

Video from YouTube...duh
Image from: http://digitalmediafx.com/Columns/JimHill/02getgroove.html

FAQ Fridays: Do Mormons Worship Joseph Smith?

As members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, we gratefully sing the hymn, "Praise to the Man", which goes, in part:

Praise to the man who communed with Jehovah!

Jesus anointed that Prophet and Seer.

Blessed to open the last dispensation [or period of time when the gospel is upon the earth]

Kings shall extol him, and nations revere.



Joseph Smith: Prophet of God



Obviously there is no lack of gratitude among the latter-day Saints for this wonderful, selfless man.  But to many not of our faith, he is a mysterious figure, whose life and name have been "had for good and evil among all nations, kindreds,...tongues,...and people" (Joseph Smith--History 1:33).  Many believe we worship him, or that he is some kind of savior to us.  Others believe we follow blindly the account of his communion with God the Father and His Son, Jesus Christ.  Who is Joseph Smith, and why is he so important to us?

Joseph Smith was, and is, the prophet through whom God restored the priesthood (the authority to act in God's name--see Matthew 16:19 and Acts 8:14-24) and the Church of Jesus Christ in these last days before Jesus Christ comes again.  He was a man with a special mission from God to restore and share plain and precious truths about Jesus Christ's teachings.  He was led to an ancient record of scripture written by believers in Christ, prophets even, who lived in the ancient Americas--we now have this precious record as The Book of Mormon: Another Testament of Jesus Christ.  He was called upon to bear incredible sorrow and eventually give his life as a martyr.  He is no savior to us--that title alone belongs to Him whose church Joseph was called to restore, Jesus Christ.  He is no fanatical or insurrectionist--truly he lived a Christlike and Christ-devoted life.

I know, by the power of the Holy Ghost, that Joseph Smith was in fact a prophet, called like any prophet has ever been called--by God Himself.  Read the Book of Mormon, which is the "good fruit" (Matthew 7) of the Prophet.  Ask God if it is true and if Joseph really was His prophet.  I know God will tell you too!  I add my voice of gratitude as I sing: "praise to the man!" 

Much Love,

Elder Spendlove

Here's the mormon.org page that also answers this question.