ENDURE TO THE END

This wouldn't be such a bad place to work.............if I wasn't in the basement!

A heartfelt thanks.
At the end of five years of service to the great people of the Picket Lane Ward, it's time to say “THANK YOU”
(actually it was 5 years, 1 month and 1 week, but who is counting).
What a pleasure it has been to serve as your bishop.
I have so many great memories I could not hope to share them all. Some are so close to my heart that they could not and should not be shared.
Together we have seen unprecedented growth. Five years ago the Picket Lane Ward consisted of everything in Stansbury Park that was South of Village Blvd. the same area is now the better part of three different wards. Together we watched as our new Stake center grew out of the dust of old farm land, and had the blessings of being the first ward to occupy the new facility.
We have seen countless babies come into the world, and bless the lives of our families.
I have officiated at five weddings, uncounted baptisms and one funeral.
We have seen couples united for time and eternity, children sealed to their parents to create eternal families. We have seen miracles come to a pass through Priesthood blessings, and the united faith of families and ward members.
We have had four missionaries serve with honor. As I ponder all that has taken place over the last five years, I take no personal credit for any of these wonderful happenings, they are result of a ward family working together to serve the Lord and to build one another.
We have seen lives changed and testimonies strengthened.
I want to say thanks to everyone that has served in any capacity within the ward, this work is definitely not a one man job. It takes the dedication of everyone serving and working together to make the work go forth.
I would like to thank personally those that have served with me in the bishopric as we have moved along together.Ward Clerks:
Jode Allen, Chad Jarvis, Jeremy Blaine and Devon Ransom
Executive Secretaries:
Nate Bready and Doug Merrell
Counselors:
Adam Smith, Quinton Selin, Dar Smith, Chad Jarvis and Rob Tripp
Eleven of the greatest men I have ever had the privilege of working with.
Thanks to everyone who has given service to help your fellow ward members. I cannot hope to express my feelings in an adequate fashion, only to say I love you all and will continue to love and pray for all.
Thanks for the memories.

IT'S NOT EASY

IT'S NOT EASY TO STAY SANE.....
IN A WORLD WHICH OFFERS SUCH A WONDERFUL CHOICE OF MADNESSES.

"Now, my brothers and sisters, we have built temples throughout the world and will continue to do so. To you who are worthy and able to attend the temple, I would admonish you to go often. The temple is a place where we can find peace. There we receive a renewed dedication to the gospel and a strengthened resolve to keep the commandments."

President Thomas S. Monson

CHOOSE

"You have brains in your head.
You have feet in your shoes.
You can steer yourself any direction you choose.
You're on your own.
And you know what you know.
And YOU are the one who'll decide where to go...

Dr. Suess

FRIENDS

You can't just suddenly be my friend. . . . . . . . . . . .

You have to go through a training period

GOODBYE ARNOLD

"Art is always at its best when serving a cause greater than the artist."
Arnold Friberg 1913-2010

Arnold Friberg, one of Americas greatest artist and definitely one of my personal favorites, has left us.
At the age of 96 he has gone to meet his maker and give an accounting of his work. A body of work that speaks for itself.
He is probably best known to members of the LDS Church as the illustrator of the Book of Mormon. In all the editions of the Book of Mormon that I grew up with his beautiful paintings brought to life the stories of that great book.
In 1975 he painted what would become his most recognized work, "Prayer at Valley Forge", one of the top selling art prints in history.
Arnold Friberg also worked for a few years in Hollywood primarily as the head art director for the classic "The Ten Commandments" for which he won an Academy Award nomination.
Thanks to Arnold Friberg for his talents and his inspiration.

IT AINT EASY!!!

I think, trying to eat healthy is contrary to the nature of man!

MOST PERFECT BOOK

180 years ago (March 27th 1830) the first copies of "The Book of Mormon" went on sale in the book store of printer E.B. Grandin. Ten days later on April 6th, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-saints was organized as a recognized religion.
Since that day the Book of Mormon has flooded the earth with God's truth. the Prophet Joseph Smith called it "the most perfect book ever written".
The very printing of this book was a miracle. the small country printing office of Grandin was not a book printer. Grandin printing shop printed small weekly newspaper and various advertising posters, he had never undertaken such a large job and had little knowledge about printing books. the type for each page had to be hand set, one letter at a time. and pages printed and folded by hand.
the work of printing the first copies began in August of 1829 and was completed at the end of March 1830. Grandin and his family worked 11 hours a day six days a week to meet the schedule agreed upon.
President Gordon B.Hinkley said "...those who set the type, those who worked the press, and those who had to do with that work never in their wildest imaginations dreamed that this marvelous testament would go forth across the earth in the fashion in which it has gone forth. It carries with it an inspiration, a power that is wonderful to behold. It is more that just an ordinary book; it is something which touches the hearts of those who read it prayerfully and carefully."

I'M NOT DEAD......YET

Mark Twain once said "Reports of my death have been greatly exaggerated."
Well, I just heard that Dan Lee had died, which greatly peaked my curiosity, since that is "me"
This Dan Lee was actually a sketch artist for Disney/Pixar. and was the creator of the Nemo caracter in Finding Nemo. He worked on Pixar productions such as Toy Story, Monsters Inc and Bugs Life. The last picture that he worked on was Ratatouille, and there is a dedication to him in the credits.
There are too few artists in the world to loose one at such a young age (he was 35) so I think I should spend more of my spare time sketching and drawing. I will never attain the success as the other Dan but at least I can use up a little more graphite and paper than I am now.

HAPPY FREAKIN' VALENTINES DAY

THE BAG LADY AND THE SHEEPHERDER

This handsome couple (who loved each other dearly) were my grandparents. Pearl Grant and David Lee.
Pearl was actually an educated lady, she went to the Brigham Young Academy and was an elementary school teacher, in Duchesne County until she got married and started a family. David and Pearl had seven children 4 boys and 3 girls.
David had a sixty acre homestead in the Rock Creek area of Duchesne and had a sizable herd of sheep. During the mid to late 1920's David sold his homestead so he could open an auto repair business in town, with his brother. Not long after getting the business up and going the country was hit with the "great depression" and the Lees lost everything they had. David and Pearl moved into a home in Charleston, Utah in an area that is now beneath Deer Creek Reservoir. After a house fire that destroyed their home David moved his family around several times but eventually went to work for US Steel in Orem, Utah, and built a home in the river bottoms area of Provo.
I was eight years old when Grandpa died so I don't remember much about him except that he had a mop of white hair that reminded me of Mark Twain, and it seemed that he smoked a lot.
I remember visiting Grandma in her home in Provo, where she had moved the bed into the living room next to the kitchen so she would not have to heat the whole house. She was always afraid that if the house was too warm it would start on fire (in addition to house fire in Charleston Pearl had been burned badly as a child, when her dress got too close to the stove). Grandma was a bit of an eccentric artistic type. She would walk the streets of Provo gathering "stuff" that she could make crafts with. I remember her making artificial flowers out of cellophane bread wrappers (her sons refused to let her leave them on any graves at the cemetery). She once gave us grand-kids small necklaces that she had made out of old tooth brushes by cutting the handles into small squares and stringing them together. She always had coffee cans full of buttons, broken ceramics or anything else that she found interesting. Just before Grandma died she was moved into a rest home, I remember that my Dad and his sister's husband took their trucks to her house and just loaded everything she had and took it to the dump. I don't think anybody even went through anything to see if there was something of value, either monetary or sentimental. In general I think most of Grandma's family (at least her children) saw her as a bit of a kook or nut case. But I always saw something more. I was captivated by her artistic talents and her ability to see beauty in what others saw as junk.

HOW BLESSED WE ARE

In the right hand side bar of my blog you will see a "flag counter" it tracks where in the world people are located that view this blog. Recently a flag appeared for a country I have never heard of. This prompted me to learn more.
The country is in Western Africa North of Ghana, and is known as Burkina Faso.
The country has a population of just over 15 million, and is about the size of Colorado. The life expectancy for a Male in this country is 50. They have an unemployment rate of 77% and about a 20% literacy rate.
They have very little industry and almost no agriculture. Most of the working adults leave the country for seasonal work in surrounding countries.
This is the first hit on my blog from the entire Continent of Africa and it amazes me that anyone is over there setting at a computer surfing the web at all.
I am so thankful that I was born and live in the United Sates,we are so blessed, or maybe even spoiled a little. We take so much for granted about our life style and the beauty that surrounds us. The ability we have to get in a car and go. We have houses to live in and food to eat. And even those that we call poor, are better off than the people of Bukina Faso.