Dad's papers

  Hello Family, It’s the last week of October, and holiday season (and wedding time) are close. That makes mama and I so happy because that means lots of family time spent together is just around the corner. We can’t wait! Noah, without your permission, I’m adding you to the weekly email that I send to all my kids. You get to choose your spouse, but you don’t get to choose her family, we are just a package deal for good or bad. :)  This email is just something I started a year ago or so. They are thoughts from my personal study from the week.  I try to always include an invitation of something I’m trying better to implement or focus on personally. As our family has grown up and our “bigs” began to leave the house, I felt as a father that I was loosing opportunities to bear my testimony, or be a positive influence for my children regarding things that matter most. I felt impressed to  share in email form things that inspire or strengthen my faith, in hopes that they m...

  Hello Family, I was set apart yesterday to serve as the Elders Quorum President of the Spurwing Ward. I’m excited for the call. I have enjoyed working as a Deacons Quorum advisor over the past couple of years, but I’m looking forward to this new calling.   As I’ve thought about all those I will be able to work with, one of the greatest priorities will be time spent working with Prospective Elders. Those who may have wandered off the path at some point, and may be looking for help getting back on to the path.    I love the simplicity of the message that we will take to them. It is the same message for us, or any who are trying to draw closer to God. It is Come unto Jesus Christ!  This past conference President Oaks gave a talk with this exact message. His talk is titled Following Christ.  I love the emphasis on the continual effort and commitment it take to be a true follower of the Savior. He said, “Following Christ is not a casual or occasional practice....

  Hello Family, Thank you so much for all the wonderful birthday cards! They made my whole day! While I know I don’t live up to your kind words, it makes me feel grateful that you each feel a sense of how much I love you. Even before each one of you were born I loved you like crazy! It was so fun to be with all of you this past weekend! Thank you for making the time to gather, even for a short while. It was the best part of my weekend for sure! This week in my personal study I have started to re-listen to conference talks. One of my favorite talks from Conference was President Eyring’s talk about the simple Doctrine of Jesus Christ and its impact on those who seek to follow these truths. As I studied this talk I couldn’t help thinking of the next generation of our family, your children. President Eyring emphasized the critical need to create an environment in our homes where young children learn the simple truths of the Doctrine of Christ. He said that “at times we underestimate an...

  I think it is safe to say, after this weekend of General Conference, no one left hungry spiritually or physically. :) Mama takes such great care of us all and makes gathering events so much fun. We are so blessed to have her as ours!   It is always wonderful when mama and I have the blessing of having you all home at once. But as I sat there this weekend and watched as you each prioritized and look forward to hearing words from living apostles and prophets, it was all the sweeter. I’m so proud of each one of you, and all you are becoming.   Lainey mentioned to me after listening to President Nelson’s talk yesterday, that she thought the prophet talked about the Second Coming a lot. How sweet is that, in the excitement of 17 new temples being announced, what she heard from the prophet and was pondering is the Savior’s return. I think deep down, it probably caused her to wonder when that event would occur, and if it would happen in her lifetime. It wasn’t something t...