On the field

I am so proud of the Elders Quorum. We came out in force today to help the Bemis' move, it's a great blessing to see so many honor that call by one of our fellow brethren for help. That is how the gospel is supposed to be.
Tomorrow we have an appointment to visit with our home teachers, Matt Hoiland and Taylor Mallard, and I am excited. I have not seen a home teacher in over a year in the shuffle between the singles ward in Monmouth, the Brush Hills ward in Salem, and the creation of the Maplewood Ward in Portland. I've talked about it before on how a faithful set of home teachers really have meant so much to me and was part of the reason I stepped on the plane to Oklahoma. I earnestly believe that being a home or visiting teacher is the greatest calling one can have in the church. We were talking about entrance into the Celestial Kingdom last Sunday and how after we are baptized into Christ's Church we honor our covenant and the requirement came from the Doctrine and Covenants 76 on how we must be valiant to enter into the Father's Kingdom. I know that diligent home teachers who show through their valiant effort that they are faithful to Lord's commandments are the greatest asset to sharing the fullness of the everlasting gospel.

Sunday dinner

Food is the quickest way to my heart. Bar none. One of the things that i've grown to love is spending Sunday with friends and having food, drinks, and games. This is a tradition that dates back to the days of Vatican I (ps very excited for the Vatican's Thanksgiving, Brynn and I are totally there) and one that remains dear to my heart. Hanging out around the firepit, kicking back a few, and relaxing. The week lying ahead never mattered because you were guaranteed to always be in good company. Now that tradition is revived in some form as we make our rounds in the Maplewood Ward, eating and greeting, getting to know the other couples of the ward. Granted the dynamics are a bit different with the odd kid thrown in here and there, negotiating bed times and shoe off rules, but it's just as great. The setting is reminiscent of the traditional American Sunday dinner, though admittedly growing up in my home we didn't have one, it was always guaranteed that we would be home to spend time with family because Sunday was usually a day that our busy bee activities didn't intrude to lure us away from the hive. I am so happy that we are in Portland, surrounded by so many friends and making new ones.

It's like that.

Well of course like any personal blog this one has fallen into the cycle of neglect, wherein the owner decides that taking a day or two from blogging wouldn't be to bad until those days turn into weeks and weeks into month. The guilt building, memories fading. It's like that. But i've taken the positive approach on this sucker considering it's value not to the outside world but rather to my family. On an immediate level it's a way for us to share a little of what's going on with our lives but I think it's real value is two fold, one; for our children and grandchildren this will provide a meaningful way for them to understand our lives at this point. There is no other generation that has been able to be so open with others and record so much as ours. It will only get better. The second point is that it acts as sort of a pensieve (nerd alert if you know what that is) culling through the choice parts of memories and emotions and being able to recall them with vivid details that time often robs from us.
So on with the show!
Couple things have happen like the mundane (I really love school, my classes, and the possibilities that this will have on our future) and the really traumatic. This last week I lost my job over at Portland Indoor and I really don't know why. I've taught kids in some kind of sport since I was seventeen. I won't lie but I am really confident in what I do and the abilities I have to control a class and carryout the lesson plan. Which is exactly what they said was missing. What puzzles me is that the previous week we talked about my progress and I felt that all week I had really done my job the way I thought they wanted it done but when I went into the office Saturday I got suckered punch. I still feel it today and I think it was a mistake, not that I am biased or anything. A couple things have been running through my head ever since including how I am going to provide as a husband (though we will be helped in the coming months my my financial aid return), bitterness at not apparently measuring up (to some kind of standard that I still don't understand), the desire to prove them wrong that I am better than what they saw, apathy at looking for another job (because I won't lie that this new open schedule leaves plenty of time for study and goofing off), fear at the current job market and somewhat narrow job experience. All in all, it's a steep learning curve but most of all i'm hopeful. I think if anything the gospel has taught me that in everything there is hope. Paths that we may think will lead to happiness and security will ultimately need to be abandoned for the way the Lord wants you to go. And with that i'm secure.
Our ward is still wonky after the redrawing of the stake boundary lines and the reorganization of the whole ward (they released everyone though each member of the ward is still carrying out their old calling until a replacement is found). Two weeks ago was the first meeting and then general conference hit leaving us in suspense as to what will happen Sunday. Right now all we technically have is a Bishopric, a Relief Society President, and a Young's Men president. Weird wild stuff.
One of the blessings of living in Portland has been the realization of how close we are to the Portland Temple. Today we went with Bill and took through some of the names from my mom's side of the family. Right now my great grandparents are ready to be sealed and I had the pleasure to take Papabuleo's name through. In time our whole family will be connected, welded link by link, into an eternal family.