Flattered but I am not just ready for this...

I am saddened to hear about Mark McGwire admitting to using steroids though it is altogether not that surprising. Part of me held out hope that maybe just maybe he broke the home run record legitimately but now this is the nail in the coffin. The reason it hurts so much is because I remember the chase for the record and though I am not a Cardinals fan I made sure that I was near a television every time he was up to bat. When it finally it happened, when the ball finally sailed over that fence the room just exploded as my friends and I celebrated history which is funny because in retrospective I was the only real baseball fan in the room at the time (but my friends would humor me and watch what I watched, same thing happened when we made sure to watch the world cup in South Korea cheering on our boys over there, kicking the ball around at four in the morning.) When the record was broken we spilled out onto the street with signs in hand we had made announcing this great sporting triumph to anonymous cars as they drove by. That was then and now in the reality of adulthood steroid users are a dime a dozen and baseball reels from the damning evidence that continues to be revealed by the investigations into the integrity of America's pastime, little by little my childhood gets eaten away by the coldness fact.
Talked to a crazy guy about employment law today as we took the break from my four hour class. I was just sitting eating some bento (which was tofu, mushrooms, and rice which I do not recommend as tofu doesn't add a bit of flavor, just stands in there and is. Bring on the beef to this flavor party or at least some chicken) and this guy sits next to me (mind you that the cafeteria is maybe 5% full) and starts a conversation with me about being laid off. Now he look a bit disheveled and lost so I thought maybe he had just lost his job and perhaps I could comfort him but I in no way knew what was on his mind as he went off into space talking about where we draw the line between freedom of speech and the work place and his buddy who got fired in 1983. Moral of the story, always stare down at your rice.
Added to my bucket list is the desire to run a marathon. This dates back to my mission when I was serving in Edmond and often we would pass Edmond North and their track. After seeing a few meets on a warm hot days the running bug bit me and not long after my companion (Elder Green) and I were doing our daily runs during exercise time (a big departure from my infamous ankle rolls) in my new asics that my dad had bought for me. This lasted for maybe two weeks before the complacency shark bit and thoughts of enduring a 26.2 mile run were shelved for the comfort of being under a blanket for a half hour and some ankle rolls. The reason this all comes back to me is because my friend Joel Warnock is planning to run the Portland Marathon this year and I have to say i'm very interested but also quite apprehensive. A marathon is not only pushing yourself to the limit but also far past it and requires a singular dedication to train and finally go through with it. So thinking about it but if there is any time to do it it would be now while i'm young.

In God We Trust

The evolution of the country, of humanity in general is an interesting thing. Because in this day and age you never know what will be important or who will make an impact upon mankind, I've always wanted to be a time traveler so that I could experience what life had to offer when "giants walked the earth". We can only get so much from our daily intake of movies, television, music, and print and while I appreciate the outstanding efforts of Paul Giamatti, I can't help but ponder what was the real John Adams like? Which brings me to the point of the Founding Fathers and God.
It has been a concern of mine that as we progress further and the years roll away, mankind is losing their way. When I served a mission I went to Oklahoma which is firmly entrenched in the Bible Belt or so I thought. Though the great majority of people do belong to a church and the things I saw lead me to believe that on the whole they follow Christ, there was a surprising number of people who didn't believe in anything. And I feel that this a trend that continues to grow. I had one young man (when I was serving in Norman, OK) who told me at the doorstep that he was atheist and that unless we could show him proof from a book that he wanted no part of it (coincidentally missionaries love to share the Book of Mormon, just ask any of them). Now this was always one of the hardest arguments for me to accept because of my beliefs. I know there is a God. He is our Father and it is his plan for us to return to Him. That is something that I know. Obviously there is much confusion out there and people are allowed to make their own choice. But when I look out into this world and see the wonders of it I cannot help but feel there is something more to all of this. It is so spectacular the intricacies of the human body down to smallest molecule and the grandeur of the universe about us. God created this. When you sit down and think about what you have been through, the happiness and suffering that combine to form human existence, the mundane things you have to do to subsist and the titillating moments that bring you joy. This is part of God's plan. Our forefathers left their countries in search of something better. For freedom to pursue happiness. And then they were part of something bigger, helping to found a great country that allows this freedom to all of it's inhabitants. And that happiness, true happiness, can be found as we come to know who created to us and who loves us enough to give us His son. Our Father in Heaven has put us here on this earth to allow us to become as He is, to experience the spectrum of human emotions so that we can mature and know what He knows. A father who loves His children. Where the current trend might be to pursue freedom from religion, I know that coming to know God is true freedom. Not bound by religion often under the guise as the philosophy of man. It is the wholehearted pursuit of coming to know your creator and taking comfort that there is a purpose to life. I have no doubt about that. I only hope that others can find that answer in time.

Missionary Work

It is said that if a mission is the spiritual high point of your life then something is wrong. There has been occasion where this has crossed my mind because of how splendid serving a mission is. I think the reason one often glosses over the work, trials and hardships is because of the great return you receive in exchange for your service. Your perception of the world changes often changes and you know, to a large extent, what will be required to stay upon the Lord's path. Which can give you cause to worry when seemingly you are not having the same spiritual experiences everyday. As we gave our talks today I was able to see what has happened in a little over a year. While nothing compares to serving the Lord it has been surpassed as I took those fateful step into the Lord's House and kneeled on the altar with my beautiful wife in front of me. These moments in our life help to give us a well rounded perspective into the Lord's plan and helps to sharpen our gaze toward our goal of eternal life. Since my mission, I have realized, again and again I have been put in the right place at the right time in order to learn new things and the stregthen the testimony that was forged over two years in Oklahoma. With the Lord's blessing I will enjoy this for many years to come.