Welcome to the World Molly Anna!

Molly, let me start by saying you are almost 6 months old and enough time has passed since your birth that I think I can now write about it without getting too emotional...but we will get into that.

On March 22nd, 2012 all of Utah was waiting with great anticipation for what had been years in the making.  You see a huge reconstruction of downtown Salt Lake City had been taking place with 1 million dollars being spent daily to transform the city into a posh shopping center and today was the day that City Creek was opening.  Hundreds of people were gathered to see the ribbon cut and all of my work colleagues were there representing the Salt Lake Chamber where I worked...we had VIP seats.  I wasn't there because I too was waiting with great anticipation for this moment...you could even say our whole lives we had been waiting to be reunited with our little girl who was coming this very day.  Your mom and I packed our small bag and arrived at LDS Hospital around 7:30 am excited and a little nervous for what lay ahead.  You big sister Sophie was spending the day with Grandma and Grandpa Seelos.  Your mom was induced because Sophie was such a big baby and you were ready to join our family.  The wait was on....hours ticked by with the monitor letting us know that you were okay and every hour or so an alarm would go off indicating your mom's blood pressure had dropped to dangerous levels.  We knew this would happen and had planned for it because when Sophie was born there had been some issues, no one seemed concerned including us and so we waited for you to come.

Hours went by and nothing...Grandma and Grandpa Seelos came around 1pm (the expected time) and still you didn't come.  Late in the afternoon we heard from your midwife Gretchen Faucett, a stylish granola grandma of a woman, said that you were ready to come.  Your mom was told "Push when you are ready" and your mom said "I'm ready" and pushed....as quick as that one push later you were here and you were so beautiful!  Ten fingers, ten toes and a very healthy pink flush topped off with a head covered in dark hair.  Your mom had done great and after I cut the cord quickly took you into her arms and nestled you against her chest, something she had been unable to do with Sophie.  Your mom was ecstatic as she was alert and able to look you over and have you in her arms....what a beautiful site.  I went out to let Gma and Gpa know that you were here to tears and relief and said as soon as your mom delivered the placenta they could come in and see their newest grandchild. So I headed back in the room to get my chance to hold you while your mom tried to deliver the placenta.  For the next hour she would try on and off with no success and your midwife was getting nervous.  She decided to call a specialist to come in and see if he could deliver it.  He came and had no success...now they were concerned.   They called for the anesthesiologist to come back in because they were going to have to basically rip the placenta from your mom's body and it would be painful and traumatic.  Still all seemed to be going well...I stood by your mom with you in my arms and they delivered the placenta by ripping it out with their bare hands (kind of graphic but how it happened).  There was a lot of blood but everyone seemed relieved to have it out and the two doctors began to chat about their weekends while they still stood over your mom.  That is when the day changed for the worse.





















 I looked up into your mom's eyes and there was a look of concern and then terror as she gasped "I can't breath".  The doctors, too engrossed in their chat didn't hear her so I said "She can't breath".  They rushed to her head to see what was wrong and your mom passed out.  They revived her and she promptly passed out again.  This happened several times and Gretchen got a look from the Doctor and picked up the phone and said "I need a Code Blue Team (Emergency Response) team in here now".  I was sent to the back of the room away from your mom as a team of 25 people literally ran into the room and surrounded your mom who was laying lifeless on the bed, all color drained from her skin.  They began to attach wires and flip her around listening and testing all the while she lay lifeless.  Her body flopping around like a rag doll with every movement they made.  A nurse rushed in and took you from my arms and said "we need to take Molly for her own safety" and asked me to follow.  I walked out of the room torn between my new baby girl and the love of my life.  I hope you will forgive me but you were okay and your mom clearly was not.  I found myself alone in the hall.  Gma and Gpa had left to go home to Sophie.  You had been wheeled away with the nurses and my wife was laying lifeless on a hospital bed surrounded by strangers.  I secreted myself around the corner and called my mom.  I needed someone because I was scared to death that my worst nightmare was about to come true.  I think that it is important to note that up to this point I hadn't shed a tear...i was in shock...but the second I heard my mom's voice something broke inside of me and I cried.  Rather I sobbed and asked for prayers to be said on your mom's behalf.  I suddenly needed to be back by her side to see this through together.  Upon approaching her room I found a team of paramedics outside the door with shock pads at the ready in case your mom's heart stopped.  I weaved my way through the people but still couldn't get near your mom as she lay surrounded by doctors and machines.  The nurse that had been with us all day and when you were born saw me and rushed over to my side and asked me to stay close because they were doing everything they could to save your mom but it could turn and they would need me close in case they weren't able to save her.  Talk about  a punch to my gut.  I must have looked like I needed comfort or perhaps Gretchen needed comfort as well but she worked her way over to me and took me by the arm and simply said, "They are doing all they can to save her".  Minutes passed that felt like years...slowly the number of doctors and nurses in the room started to decrease...and then to my everlasting and eternal relief your mom woke up and I was beckoned over to hold her hand as she slowly came to.

I clung to her hand as if it was my anchor to this earth...clearly I know understood that this woman laying on this hospital bed truly was my anchor.  She was my ALL, my EVERYTHING and I never wanted to be without her by my side.  Your mom steadily grew stronger and within an hour was much better off then she was two weeks after Sophie was born.  I think it is important to pause here and say surely your Father in Heaven heard the prayers of your extended family and certainly the prayers of a man that didn't want to lose his love.

Your mom's heart was monitored throughout the night but again she felt great and had no idea what a scare she had caused not only to me but the entire hospital staff as she soon found out she was quite the gossip on the floor.  One funny benefit we didn't expect was that we got to stay in a larger room because of the heart monitor.  We still don't know what caused all of this...immediately after they thought your mom had a clot in her lungs but she didn't.  They then thought she lost too much blood and went into shock because of the severeness of ripping her placenta out.  They later found a hole in here heart and thought this was causing her problems but have since been told it was not.  We hope that we will be able to solve this before your next sibling comes but we have to wait and see.

Let me be clear about one thing...you were and are beautiful.  We were so happy to have you with us again here on earth and you have been such a wonderful content little baby.  We couldn't ask for a greater gift or blessing in our life then to have you and Sophie in our lives.  I love you and although a little delayed.  Welcome to the World!

Silent Battles

On July 1st 1863 the battle of Gettysburg began.  This battle has been touted as the turning point for the Civil War and therefore the most important battle during that war.  Many have even gone on to say one of the most important battles and victories of all time as it preserved the Union and made America a force for good in the world.  Yesterday I was able to visit the site of the battle in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania and although it has been 150 years since the battles occurred I still felt like I could hear the cries of the wounded and the thunder of the cannons exploding around me.    It was as if this ground with their 'witness trees', as they are so aptly named, held on the pain and suffering that occurred here where more than 20,000 were left wounded or dying.  You could feel these men urging you not to forget them...many of them remain the nameless faces in a crowd of lost lives.  But as I stared at a wall of unknown faces I realized they have not been forgotten by our Heavenly Father and their lives, each individual life with their fears, their struggles, their ups and and their downs, were recorded in the annals of Heaven.  I came across a quote that struck me to my core.  It reads "Every name...is a lightning stroke to some heart, and breaks like thunder over some home, and falls a long black shadow upon some hearthstone."  How easy we forget the masses and favor those chosen few who lead when the masses are making the same sacrifices oft times on a grander scale.

What also shocked me was to learn that this tactical battle that would change the world was not planned.  As it happens neither side was ready or planning on making a stand at Gettysburg, yet it was here they met and after a small skirmish on the first day the battle ground was set.  This struck me because as we look back with the power of hindsight and we see how important this battle was but when these men woke up the morning of July 1st they weren't planning to fight this all important battle.  They didn't know they would be changing history forever.  This may not seem like a thunderbolt moment but for me it was.  I thought of my own life and those around me and realized that we may not always be aware when we wake up that on that very day the battle that will change our lives and those of generations to come will begin.  I'm not talking of a physical battle rather I'm talking of the silent battles each of us must face, the battle to chose the right and return to our Heavenly Father.  Often times we are very aware of our own battles as we fight with difficulties in our lives from heartache to feelings of inadequacy but are we as kind to others who are fighting similar battles we can't see?  I love the quote "Be kind, everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle".  If anything I realized that we are all the masses in this GREAT and LAST BATTLE and each of us does matter.  Each of us must continue to fight on a daily basis to win because again we don't know if this will be the day the battle that will change all will come.  As I was preparing to leave Gettysburg I came across a quote from the Confederate General James Longstreet speaking about the Union General Ulysses S. Grant, he stated "That man will fight us every day and every hour till the end of this war."  Wouldn't it be great if Satan and his followers were quoted as saying the same for us.  That is my goal.

September Homefront Message--Are we too busy?

Fall is quickly approaching and for many of us that means we are rushing around making preparations for school or rededicating ourselves at work.  Gone are the lazy days of summer but let’s be honest for many of us that saying doesn’t apply as our Summer’s have become just as busy as any other time of the year.  Let me share an excerpt from a story I often think of when my days seem crowded with more tasks then seem possible.  “Satan called a worldwide convention of demons. In his opening address he said, "We can't keep the Saints from going to church. We can't keep them from reading their Bibles and knowing the truth. We can't even keep them from forming an intimate relationship with their Savior. Once they gain that connection with Jesus, our power over them is broken. So let them go to their churches; let them have their covered Dish dinners, but steal their time, so they don't have time to develop a real relationship with Jesus Christ." "This is what I want you to do", said the devil. "Distract them from gaining hold of their Savior and maintaining that vital connection throughout their day! "How shall we do this?" his demons shouted. "Keep them busy in the nonessentials of life and invent innumerable schemes to occupy their minds, for those who resist all the temptations of worldly pursuits, crowd their lives with so many good causes that they have no time for inner search. Soon they will be working in their own strength, sacrificing their health and family for the good of the cause."

                Elder Uchtdorf echoed this when he stated, “Let’s be honest; it’s rather easy to be busy. We all can think up a list of tasks that will overwhelm our schedules. Some might even think that their self-worth depends on the length of their to-do list. They flood the open spaces in their time with lists of meetings and minutia—even during times of stress and fatigue. Because they unnecessarily complicate their lives, they often feel increased frustration, diminished joy, and too little sense of meaning in their lives.  It is said that any virtue when taken to an extreme can become a vice. Overscheduling our days would certainly qualify for this. There comes a point where milestones can become millstones and ambitions, albatrosses around our necks.”

                Elder Dallin H. Oaks, in a recent general conference, taught, “We have to forego some good things in order to choose others that are better or best because they develop faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and strengthen our families.”

                So what is the solution?  May we suggest that it would be to focus on the basics of the Gospel.  Let us strive to build our relationship with our loving Father in Heaven through learning of him and by turning to him in prayer.  To strengthen our ties to our family and loved ones by spending time together through things like Family Home Evening and family prayer.  We are also very blessed to have a Temple that if we attend we will be blessed with a peace the world cannot provide.  President Monson stated, “The world can be a challenging and difficult place in which to live. We are often surrounded by that which would drag us down. As you and I go to the holy houses of God, as we remember the covenants we make within, we will be more able to bear every trial and to overcome each temptation. In this sacred sanctuary we will find peace; we will be renewed and fortified.”

                It is our wish that we take a moment to reflect on our lives and see if we are choosing the good or if we are striving for the best.  May we make whatever sacrifices are necessary to build a relationship with our Father in Heaven, with our families and striving to attend the temple that we may have the spirit of the temple in our hearts and in our homes.

Blessings...both Sophie's and Molly's

Baby Blessing given to Molly Anna Seelos

by father Daniel Joseph Seelos

May 6, 2012

Bountiful, Ut

     We bless Molly that she knows that her Heavenly Father loves her and that she feel His love for her in every fiber of her being and in every day of her life.  We bless her that she knows and feels the love of her parents, her family and her friends but more importanly that she eminates that love to those around her.  As she does this she will find herself surrounded by friends as she reaches out to those who are lonely or need love in their life.  Bless her that she will be a peacemaker in her family and that she will be a bright spot to those around her and that through her positive attitude people will be attracted to her.  Bless her that she will have a testimony of the gospel and will base her decision in her life after these truths and through these descisions she will be able to enter the temple and be sealed to a worthy preisthood holder of her choosing.  Bless her that she will know her role in Heavenly Father's plan of salvation and know who she in in relation to her Heavenly Father.  These blessings we bestow on her in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.

Baby Blessing given to Sophia Florence Seelos

by father Daniel Joseph Seelos

February 6, 2011

Bountiful, UT

      Heavenly Father we ask that thou will bless Sophie that above all else she will know that she is loved. That she will feel the love of her family, and of her parents, of her extended family and of her friends, but most of Heavenly Father we ask that thou will humbly bless her with an understanding and recognition of who she is as a daughter of Thee. That she will recognize that as a daughter of God that she is entitled to Thy love and that she will have Thy love as a constant companion through her life. We humble ask Thee to bless her will a special knowledge of who she is that she will have the faith to stand up for what she knows to be true throughout her life. That she will stand as a witness of Christ. We ask that Thou will bless her to have the Spirit as a constant companion that she will cravethat companionship and look for opportunities to strengthen that bond with the Holy Ghost. Heavenly Father we ask that Thou will bless Sophie that she will be able to have friends surrounding her throughout her life and that she will be social and will make friends easy and watch for opportunities to include others who may feel left out and that she will always have the spirit of inclusion and that she will, speak her voice and speak her mind. We ask that Thou will bless her with intelligence, that she won’t be afraid to learn new things and try new hobbies, that she will watch for opportunities to grow. Father we humbly ask that Thou will watch over her through her life. Help and teach her and how to guide her to the points of the Gospel that she will walk upright and one day will enter into the

Temple with a man who she will desire to spend eternity with and who will treat her like the princess she is. Father we humbly ask a blessing over her that she will be watched over in her life with safety and she will recognize the opportunities that come from Thee that she will recognize the hardships and through learning and she will constantly pick herself back up and keep walking. Father we are so grateful for this opportunity to have this child in our life and humbly ask that Thou will bless her in the name of Jesus Chirst. Amen.

June Homefront Message, Brother of Jared

In our recent Stake Conference Elder Holland counseled us to put into practice the things that we learned from our living prophets in the last General Conference. Elder Holland admonished us to be doers of the words not hearers only (James 1:22). In 2 Nephi 2 13-14 we are taught that among all of God’s creations there are things to act and things to be acted upon. Elder Bednar has taught us similarly that we are “endowed with agency, [and therefore] you and I are agents, and we primarily are to act and not to be acted upon.” (And Nothing Shall Offend Them, David Bednar Oct 2006)


So often in our busy lives it can feel as if this call put out by Elder Holland is just one more thing we have to add to our plate or one more thing we are failing to do. In other words we can feel overwhelmed as we juggle the daily obligations with our own spiritual growth and development. In these moments of despair it is paramount that we not forget the Lord’s promises to us as his children. Although there are several examples in the scriptures for us to refer to, the story of the Brother of Jared is a favorite. The Brother of Jared was similarly chastened by the Lord for the space of three hours for failing to call on the Lord (Ether 2:14). The brother of Jared repented and turned to the Lord for direction. The Lord then proceeded to give direction on how to build the barges to cross the deep providing very detailed instructions on not only how to build the barges but also how to get air and supplies. However, the Lord left it to the brother of Jared to determine how to provide light to each barge. In Ether 2:25 the Lord in his loving way stated, “And behold, I prepare you against these things; for ye cannot cross this deep save I prepare you against the waves of the sea, and the winds which have gone forth, and the floods which shall come. Therefore what will ye that I should prepare for you that ye may have light when ye are swallowed up in the depths of the sea?”

Brothers and Sisters, the Lord has not left us alone. He knows we will face our own storms, floods and winds in our lives but he also has asked that we turn to him and let Him know what He should prepare us that we may carry His light with us through the storms. This light may be strength, it may be endurance, it may be patience or for a friend to reach out on His behalf. Let us all repent as did the brother of Jared and turn to the Lord for the light that we need Him to prepare for each of us. This is our prayer.

Just a pile of happy moments

Sophie getting her hair done

B and I at the Giant in Our City event 2012

This is a typical day for Sophie....busy busy...but at least she was quiet for a few minutes

Anna with our little Molly...3 weeks to go.

Sophie has learned to fold her arms for prayer.

Moving Mountains

This is my introductory talk in Sacrament Meeting as a new Bishopric

Moving Mountains

February 2012

Have you ever been in bed after an exhausting day and you are so comfortable there is no place you would rather be then where you are at that very moment…then you hear it. Something like water dripping in the next room or the ticking of a clock…nothing loud or really that obnoxious but the more you try and ignore it, the louder and louder it gets until you can’t concentrate on anything but that noise. Recently I wrote in my journal and told Anna about just such an experience that was troubling me, although mine was a very light but insistent knocking. I’ve tried to ignore it in hopes that it will go away but there it is…tap tap tap…knock knock knock…BANG BANG BANG. Finally I couldn’t take it anymore and clawed my way out of my comfortable spot only to realize that the knocking was coming from within me and only when I truly took the time to listen did I hear in a clear but stern voice the words “Daniel, it’s time to get up…you have rested long enough in your comfort zone it is time to stretch those muscles and grow”…I wasn’t sure in what way I was about to grow until about a week later we got a call to meet with the Stake President. After our meeting Anna turned to me and said “I guess now we know what all that knocking was about”

So here I find myself with this tremendous opportunity to grow and serve and at times the calling can feel like a mountain in front of me as I try and live up to those who have served before me and feel like I have something to add to those with whom I’m serving. We are all faced with our own mountains in our lives that come in various forms from callings to trials to opportunities to grow and move forward. The Lord has promised each of us that “if [we] have faith as a grain of mustard seed, [we] shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible to unto you” (Matthew 17:20). This has always troubled me a little bit because I have seen the size of a mustard seed, as I’m sure many of you have, and it is almost invisible to the naked eye. There have been times when I have doubted my faith because if it takes so little to move a mountain I must have none at all. That was before I realized that the Lord doesn’t guarantee that we will be able to literally move our personal mountains from our path forgoing the experience but rather He will give us the tools to overcome those mountains and more often than not through our faith, we will have to simply start climbing the mountains that lay before us. Not to worry, however, the Lord never leaves alone to conquer our mountains and many times we have the tools within us to overcome and simply don’t recognize them. Let me share a few examples of what I’m talking about.

The Lord Prepares us for our Challenges

There are several examples throughout the scriptures that we can turn to in which people have faced their mountains or in some cases the mountains take on the form of actual giants. Through their faith they have triumphed with faith in the Lord. Of course I’m speaking about the story of David and Goliath. This story has always intrigued me because what would possess a young boy to One, want to stand up to Goliath when everyone else in his land was afraid and Two, why would King Saul trust this young man with all of Israel’s fate. The key is in recognizing that the Lord prepared David for the challenge he was facing through past experiences. In Samuel 17: 34-37 David tells King Saul that he “kept his father’s sheep, and there came a lion, and a bear, and took a lamb out of the flock: and [he] went out after him, and smote him…[and] slew both the lion and the bear: and this uncircumcised Philistine shall be as one of them…The Lord that delivered me out of the paw of the lion, and out of the paw of the bear, he will deliver me out of the hand of this Philistine”. In other words the Lord had given David challenges in his past that prepared him for the current challenge he was facing. S. Michael Wilcox in his book “Finding Hope” brings up a great point when he stated: I’m sure David could have easily thought his life hard to have not only a bear but also a lion come after his flock. How easy he could have called to the Lord, as we so often do, “What did I do to deserve both a Lion and a Bear?” and the Lord could have easily answered “Because you will one day face a Goliath”

Sometimes we must simply “Just Keep Swimming”

Often times we won’t see the Goliath looming in our future or recognize the lion’s and bears in our past that have prepared us for the challenges we are facing. In fact too often we feel lost and alone in our trials unsure of what we are supposed to learn or in what direction we are supposed to go. I remember several times in my life where I would cry in humble prayer and frustration to the Lord that I was willing to take the steps neccessary if he would only tell me what direction I was supposed to be walking. In these times I find myself repeating the phrase “Just Keep Swimming”. This may sound like a strange phrase after all what does swimming have to do with overcoming our challenges. Let me explain. Years ago, my sister and her husband were struggling financially and had skimped and saved for months to take a family trip to Arizona to visit their Grandma that lives there. This was the only trip there were going to be able to take that year and their kids looked forward to it with excitement and anticipation. The day before they were to begin their 15 hour family road trip their car broke down with no clear explanation as to what was wrong. Well, as you can imagine my sister took this news hard. The dam that had been holding back all the fears, the stresses and the frustrations finally broke and she sat at her kitchen table with her face in her hands and silent tears running down her face. At this moment her then young son, too young to understand the gravity of what was happening, came and put his hand on her back and said “Mom it will all work out we need to just keep swimming”. He went on to explain to my sister, as only a child can, how he had learned an eternal principal in the Pixar movie “Finding Nemo”. For those of you who aren’t familiar with the film it is the story of two fish Dory, the eternal optimist, and Marlin, a worrier in every sense of the word, who set across the ocean to rescue Marlin’s son, Nemo. In a particular scene Dory leads Marlin into the depths of the sea. As it grows dark around Dory and Marlin, Marlin complained that they didn’t know where they were going and couldn’t even see what was ahead. Too this Dory response was simple…”When life gets you down, do you know what you need to do…just keep swimming”. Needless to say everything works out for Dory and Marlin and everything worked out for my sister as it was a simple, and more importantly free, fix to their car and they were on their way to Arizona as scheduled. So although we may not see the reason behind our trials or even know the answers to our questions, sometimes the Lord simply requires that we “Just Keep Swimming”.

The Lord is the Gardner

This brings me to one of my favorite stories as told by Hugh B. Brown.

I was living up in Canada. I had purchased a farm. It was run-down. I went out one morning and saw a currant bush. It had grown up over six feet high. It was going all to wood. There were no blossoms and no currants. I was raised on a fruit farm in Salt Lake before we went to Canada, and I knew what ought to happen to that currant bush. So I got some pruning shears and went after it, and I cut it down, and pruned it, and clipped it back until there was nothing left but a little clump of stumps. It was just coming daylight, and I thought I saw on top of each of these little stumps what appeared to be a tear, and I thought the currant bush was crying. I was kind of simpleminded (and I haven’t entirely gotten over it), and I looked at it, and smiled, and said, “What are you crying about?”

You know, I thought I heard that currant bush talk. And I thought I heard it say this: “How could you do this to me? I was making such wonderful growth. I was almost as big as the shade tree and the fruit tree that are inside the fence, and now you have cut me down. Every plant in the garden will look down on me, because I didn’t make what I should have made. How could you do this to me? I thought you were the gardener here.” That’s what I thought I heard the currant bush say, and I thought it so much that I answered. I said, “Look, little currant bush, I am the gardener here, and I know what I want you to be. I didn’t intend you to be a fruit tree or a shade tree. I want you to be a currant bush, and some day, little currant bush, when you are laden with fruit, you are going to say, ‘Thank you, Mr. Gardener, for loving me enough to cut me down, for caring enough about me to hurt me. Thank you, Mr. Gardener.

Elder Hugh B. Brown goes on to tell that later in his life as he faced a trial that seemed both overwhelming and unjust he cried unto the Lord “How could you do this to me, God? I have done everything I could do to measure up. There is nothing that I could have done—that I should have done—that I haven’t done. How could you do this to me?” and then, he continues “I heard a voice, and I recognized the tone of this voice. It was my own voice, and the voice said, “I am the gardener here. I know what I want you to do” and who I want you to become.

Brothers and sisters, the Lord knows each of us individually. He knows what he wants us to become and he sees our potential. He loves us enough to give us each our Lions and our Bears that when our Goliaths come we will be able to overcome them. Each of us will be faced, from time to time, with our own souls knocking whether thru callings we receive, trials that come or opportunities to move forward and grow. As Dr. Seuss once said “Today is your day, your mountain is waiting…so get on your way.” It is my prayer that we have the faith enough to put on our hiking boots and head up into the canyons to overcome our personal mountains.

Knock Knock

Have you ever been laying in bed after an exhausting day and you are so comfortable and so tired that there is no place you would rather be then where you are at that very moment. Then you hear it…something like water dripping in the next room or the ticking of a clock (B has one that ticks out every second) and the more you try to ignore the constant noise the louder and more pervasive the noise seems to get until it feels like it is booming in your ears. Well, this has been happening to me a lot lately, although mine has been a very insistent but light knocking. I’ve tried to ignore it. I’ve rolled over and pulled the pillow over my ears. I’ve even shouted out in frustration that “I’m tired and I’m comfortable and don’t want to get up” but there it is…..tap tap tap……knock, knock, knock…BANG BANG BANG. At last I claw my way up from my resting spot…and I’ll admit…a little more than upset that my rest has been interrupted only to realize the knocking is coming from within me. Finally I stop to listen and hear that calm clear voice say to me “Daniel, it’s time to wake up. You have rested long enough in the comfort of the status quo. It is time that you stretch those muscles and grow….” At this I am known to grown and try and stumble back to bed but now I can’t ignore the voice “…it won’t be easy but you are missing out on what the Lord has in store for you. You are missing the real you and doesn’t B and Sophie deserve the real you over this shadow of a man that you have become.” WOW that hurts…but the truth does hurt at times. So with this in mind I have decided that I need to get up and start setting goals for myself to accomplish in the year 2012. I’m not going to call them resolutions because I think that connotes a sense of unimportance or that I can break them a week after I set them…for that reason they are my goals.


Goal #1
Read the Book of Mormon

It seems like forever since I have read the Book of Mormon cover to cover and realize that perhaps this is why my spirit tends be asleep at the wheel. I not only want to just read the Book of Mormon but try to see what the Lord has to say to me directly from those pages. I have heard it said that you talk to the Lord through prayer and he answers through the scriptures. This leads me to my second goal.

Goal #2
Study Patience and work to obtain it

One area in my life that for better or worse I tend to lack is patience; patience in others, patience that the Lord is in control and that I’m following his timeline, patience in myself that I can overcome my weaknesses and trials. I want to take on the challenge (dare I utter this out loud for the Lord to hear and try my patience as a lesson) to learn more about this attribute, trough scriptures, talks etc. and work on showing more patience in every aspect of my life.

Goal #3
Hold FHE

This is something that B has strived to do from day one in our marriage but I have resisted. I’ve resisted for many reasons…none of them good…but have come to realize that as the Priesthood holder in my house I need to be the one to takes the lead on this and makes sure that we have this stability in our family from the start. After all there is nothing worse than having your wife remind you (in a kind way) when you are fulfilling your duty.

Goal #4
Take Time to be Creative

I feel like I have been so blessed by the Lord in so many ways creatively from writing, to art, to landscaping and beyond. My goal this year is to take the time to build on the gifts that I have been given. This can be anything from doing more art projects for me or others to taking the time to do plans for other people’s yards….heaven knows I have enough people asking me to do it. I also want to learn to sew this year and B has told me she will teach me. I would love to be able to make a quilt for myself just for the accomplishment of doing it.

Goal #5
Write my Story

I have always had the best intentions to write my story for myself and my posterity but then when my posterity, Sophie, came along all those best intentions went out the window with the daily grind of meeting her needs. This being said, I still have the desire to share my story with those I love so that the Lord’s actions on my behalf aren’t forgotten or noticed.

Five goals…all of which have a particular meaning to me and all of which won’t be easy to accomplish but will be fulfilling in the end. Here is to 2012!


(*****After writing this entry I got a call from the Stake President calling me (and Anna) to be the 2nd Councilor in our new Ward Bishopric. Maybe that is what all the knocking was about…all I know is I’m terrified, I’m humbled and hoping that the Lord won’t abandon me as I try and do my best to fulfill this calling. All my goals take on such a greater meaning with this in mind.*****)