I grew up with Uncle Marvin being part of my life. He and Aunt Connie lived just down the street. While technically my great-Uncle, his son Richard, Stitch as we called him as kids, was my age and we were cousins who grew up together. Uncle Marvin passed away October 28 at the age of 95. Read his obituary here. Uncle Marvin was the local milkman when I was a kid. He worked for Ideal Dairy, bottling the milk and…
Three years ago today Elisa’s beautiful and kind mother finished her journey on earth. As a tribute to her kindness and love, we share one of her most favorite songs “My Kindness Shall Not Depart From Thee.” This song comes from one of Julia’s favorite scriptures, marked by a green tab in her well-worn scriptures, found in the Book of Isaiah, chapter 54, verses 7-8 and 10. “For a small moment have I forsaken thee; but with great mercies will…
There was a time I thought no one saw me. I felt invisible. I felt like the good in the world bypassed me and only the bad found me. I was invisible. An unknown. A cipher. If you haven’t yet heard of the word “cipher” in this context, it means “a person of no influence; nonentity.” I first learned it from the short film “Cipher In The Snow.“ That’s the story I told myself for a long time. But like…
Navigating to a new place before the days of GPS required a map, a general sense of cardinal directions, and a basic understanding of what one may encounter along the route. With these tools navigating from city to city or even across state lines is a fairly simple process. Except when it isn’t. Despite having great tools, sometimes I would still get lost! It’s so easy to miss a street sign, take a wrong turn, or simply be distracted. Sometimes…
“Our Savior’s love shines like the sun with perfect light.” What does this perfect light of our Savior’s Love feel like? Elisa compared it to the feeling one gets when sitting outside on a hot summer day — or maybe even a warm fall afternoon — when the rays of the sun seem to warm and completely fill your entire body. You know the feeling… Perhaps you also feel the Savior’s love this way. Or maybe you feel His love…
If in hindsight we can see our trials of yesterday were exactly what we needed for today, perhaps we can create a new perspective on our trials of today. I shared this thought with a friend last week and it has really stuck with me. You know, kinda like “hindsight is 2020.” I realize by now the whole 2020 vision thing is totally overdone, but that doesn’t mean it’s not accurate. Perspective is more than just a perspective, it really…
Les and I took the wonderful opportunity this weekend to travel to visit our son, Brenin, who works on Cannon Air Force Base outside of Clovis, New Mexico. It has been a while since we’ve seen him and our parent hearts needed to spend some time with him. I was a bit apprehensive about the trip because this was our first time flying post-COVID. Because of the lengthy quarantine period we have all been through and the civil unrest I…
When I deployed to Iraq several years ago, my dad gave me his first year AA coin from Alcoholics Anonymous to carry with me. It’s the coin right in the center of the photo with the Roman Number ( I ) Number One on it. I remember him saying to me, “Son, if I could make it through and survive my first year of sobriety, you can make it through and survive a year in Iraq.” When my dad passed…
If you could go be with God, to “Hie to Kolob,” would not your soul be filled with beautiful peace? Would knowing where the “Gods began” bring comfort and solace? Such is the promise of this beautiful hymn. We invite you to simply feel that peace as Elisa plays this beautiful arrangement by Jason Tonioli. Have a beautiful Sunday. We love you! Les & Elisa
There’s a lie when it comes to grief. We think grief should be done and over with quickly. Others tell us to just move on. And life dictates we keep going, jumping back into our routine after a brief pause to say goodbye. And that’s the lie. Grieving in all reality is a complicated mess. A sticky, gooey mess. In “A Grief Observed,” the quintessential book on the subject, C.S. Lewis describes just how messy grief can be. “They say…