Realigned Priorities

One beautiful day I sat on the grass outside the Tanner Building at BYU pondering and praying. I prayed with intense fervency in my heart that my first priorities in life would always be my family and the kingdom of God.  I prayed that the Lord would not curse me with wealth if it would lead me toward materialism.  If my heart would be true and full of charity, then I prayed that the Lord would bless me with the means to be generous.  

Well, the Lord has answered my prayers...I have a great job and have survived numerous rounds of layoffs.  My family has always had its basic needs.  In spite of some poor financial decisions and losses on real estate risks, we're still okay.  

I've had a decent part time job at RC Willey, a furniture store, which has been helpful in paying the bills, but it has been a counterweight on that precious balance of family, church, and work.  This last week I cut back my hours at RC Willey so that I could rejoin my family.  For the first time, I will be an assistant coach on Kyle's soccer team.  We may lose our house in the coming months, but our credit scores mean so little compared to developing the eternal relationships of family.  We would happily rent a home half the size for half the monthly rate just to be together more.

The Lord has been working on me the last couple of weeks to make this obvious to me.  Jessica and I have had lots of discussions regarding my two jobs situation.  She is the greatest source of my balance in life.  She keeps my ego in check and is good at letting me know when my balance is off.  

Last Sunday in our church meetings, a couple spoke about how they became millionaires by starting up a scrapbooking company and how they lost everything after the husband received a brain injury in a wakeboarding accident.  The Lord loved them enough to remind them of their dependence upon Him and their story deeply affected me.

My mom and dad invited Jessica and I to attend "Time Out for Couples" sponsored by Deseret Book.  I love this acceptable form of priestcraft that we have in our Mormon culture.  Its always cheesy and gets your out of your comfort zone, but being outside of comfort zones is often where real learning happens.  It was a great night!  The speakers were awesome and they helped bring my mind back to my biggest priorities...my wife and my kids.  They also reminded me to spend more time simply being thankful to God for all that I do have and not to measure my success in life by the accumulation of things and the honors of men.  That Brad Wilcox had me laughing myself to stomach cramps; reminding me to never forget the importance of humor in my life.  A more eternal perspective on marriage and family was awakened in my soul.  

So anyway, here I sit tonight with a renewed motivation and perspective on life.  Thanks for listening!

"...seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you."  Matthew 6:33

"Verily, verily, I say unto you, ye are little children, and ye have not as yet understood how great blessings the Father hath in his own hands and prepared for you;

  And ye cannot bear all things now; nevertheless, be of good cheer, for I will lead you along. The kingdom is yours and the blessings thereof are yours, and the riches of eternity are yours.

  And he who receiveth all things with thankfulness shall be made glorious; and the things of this earth shall be added unto him, even an hundred fold, yea, more." DC 78:17-19

And it came to pass...

Monday morning at approximately 4:30 a.m. (Labor Day) I woke up having contractions, not of the motherly sort, but of the kidney kind as my right kidney was pushing a jagged crystal covered pebble into my ureter tube.  Oh the pain!  Being lactose intolerant, I am used to waking up at night with abdominal pain followed by explosions better left unmentioned.  But this was different and I quickly summoned my eternal bride to chauffeur me to the emergency room.  

Jessica called Crystal our friendly neighbor who quickly answered "What's wrong?" and immediately replied, "I'll be right over to stay with the kids."  

Man, I tell ya, I was hurtin' somethin' fierce and every bump in the road was another nightmare. 

I gave a urine sample and the amount of visible blood in it let me know right away what I was experiencing...my dad, my boss, and two co-workers all having had them recently.  The sympathetic physician's assistant promptly inserted the IV and started the good stuff a flowin' and I was sent to a new world of peace and tranquility while Jessica handled all the questions and information.  It was strange in that I was mentally aware of the discussions being had around me, but completely unable to respond.  I wonder if that is what being in a coma is like?  Weird, but I felt the pain no more.

They prescribed me some psychedelic narcotics, some anti-nausea stuff that I didn't know why they were giving me (until later), and some pills that help old men with swollen prostates pee better, aptly named "Flomax".  The Flomax proved quite useful and for the next couple of days I could give any race horse a run for his money (as long as the competition related to the frequency and volume of urination and not actually running).  I was also given a handy plastic urine filter to catch any particles that might issue from my internal organs.

The pain meds really messed me up.  For three days they put me in a zombie state that bored me, but they were effective in keeping the pain to a minimum.  I don't understand why people get addicted to those things as they didn't make me feel good at all.  Monday night the pain came back along with terribly violent vomiting that lasted a good hour.  I should have taken one more of those anti-nausea pills.  Maybe they explained to Jessica in my comatose state that hurling your guts out is part of the process of passing a kidney stone, but I missed that one.

Tuesday came and went with general uncomfortableness and incoherency.  But I did step up my water in-take figuring the floods of Noah would wash my system clean.  I think I actually felt the stone scratching its way down the ureter tube toward my bladder.  This is the worst part!  I always thought it would be the toughest having the stone pass through my man-parts, but the trip from the kidney to the bladder is the tough part.

Wednesday morning started well with the Flomax working perfectly along with my flooded bladder.  Did  you know your bladder can completely refill in just seconds?!  After many many trips to the little boys room within a very short period of time out came that little sucker.  It was pretty cool and had tons of Robert-made crystals all over it that glistened in the sunlight.  I was a proud father of my very own creation.

It was time to go to the Urologist and present them with my little stone.  The Flomax still had not let up even though I has passed the stone, but I had to hold back on releasing my bladder so that it would be nice and full so the CT scan would be able to see everything well.  (The CT scanner at the emergency room was down, so I was diagnosed on the assumption of it being a kidney stone)

The CT scan was quick and easy, buy my eyes were turning yellow as my bladder was about to burst.  Not to mention that they had a water fountain running in the lobby which made the need to pee all the worse.  I begged the nurse to please take my urine sample now and they obliged.  We never actually saw the Urologist, but the P.A. was sure a cute little thing and I tell Jessica that it might be worth another kidney stone just to see her again!

I spent the rest of the day resting at home, still in a drug-induced stupor.  Today I went back to work having not taken any more pain meds.  I must be coming off those drugs as my head is still throbbing.  My right kidney is still tender but I am well on my way good health.  The CT scan showed a second stone, but they said it was so small that it will probably pass unnoticed. 

So, when one of  you need a kidney transplant, I'm happy to give you my right one and I hope it provides you with as much joy as it gave me.

Musings: Personal and Political

So it's been awhile hasn't it! Life has been busy! We have added a new little one to our family. Claire was born a couple weeks ago. She was 9lbs 6oz with cute chubby cheeks. She has been a joy and a blessing in our home.

My family is moving to Idaho next week as I was offered a job within my own company at our project north of Boise. We are thrilled for the opportunity and we are excited to be close to family. We are very sad to leave Arizona as we have grown to love it and the people we associate with so very much.

It is still officially winter in Arizona, but the whether the last couple days has reached 100 degrees! Idaho has been around 70 degrees. You can't beat winter in AZ, but you also can't beat summers in ID. My father-in-law got me into birding over the last couple of years, so that is another reason that I am sad to leave Arizona's prime birding locations. I am excited to explore more of the state of Idaho where I grew up and see which birdies I can find there.

One of the saddest things for me is the fact that I have to leave the Red Mountain Swing band that I have been involved with for the last couple of years. What a great group of talented people and we've had some dang good fun.

If you haven't realized it by now, I am a well-rounded nerd.

On a political note, I just want to tell Rosie O'Donnell and Donald Trump to keep talking bad about each other and to stay out of politics. Either way, they sound ignorant and juvenile.

The '08 presidential race has gotten an early start. Religion aside, Mitt Romney is the most in line with my political views. If you think Mormonism is narrow minded, just look at LDS Church member Harry Reid (D- Nevada) and compare him to Mitt or Orin Hatch (R-Utah) to show yourself how open-minded LDS voters and politicians can be. The LDS Church has a pretty clear statement on political neutrality.

I'm tired of the war too, but I'm encouraged by the recent poll of Iraqis that seem to show that they feel they are better now without Saddam. I would really like to hear from the White House or from the media if there are any Thomas Jefferson's or George Washington's, or John Adam's, or James Madison's, or Benjamin Franklin's among those Iraqi leaders. I want to see that the political changes over there are coming from within their own hearts rather than being imposed upon them from the big democracy-consultant that we seem to be. If liberty is the true desire of their hearts, then the deaths and injuries of our soldiers have so much more meaning.

Oh, the latest edition of Imprimis from Hillsdale College is excellent! It points out the difference between Regan's vision of America and that of FDR. Pres. Rooselvelt knew full well that he was altering the direction that the founders intended. Unfortunately, we have ever since been heading in a socialist direction rather than a libertarian direction. So what is Hugo Chavez whining about?! We are slowing becoming what he thinks is the best form of government.

The whole topic of the firing of US prosecutors is a bore. Pres. Bush and his team haven't handled it well at all. I thought they all had more mettle than that. I'm very disappointed. I feel consigned to give my man W the lame duck title now.

The company I work for, SunCor, just had it's 20th Anniversay and had a pretty sweet party to celebrate it. If you're ever by Tempe Town Lake, just make a special note of the beautiful nautical themed glass buildings near Sun Devil Stadium. Even the parking garage is loaded with wonderful architectural embellishments.

I've been reading novels related to the Knights Templar recently. They were fairly good story lines. I was disappointed by the way that Christianity in general is treated in them. It is easy to rip on people who have faith in angels and heaven and in eternal consequences, because the natural man rejects all that because it can't be seen or proven through the normal senses. However, my faith is daily reaffirmed. When I live the principles of my religion I am happier, my family is happier, I am a better employee, a better neighbor, and I have peace within myself in spite of the commotion in the world all around. Call me a whacko if you want to, but I have heard God's still small voice speak to my heart and mind on numerous occasions, so much so that I cannot deny it. If I did deny it, I'd do myself a great dishonor by lying to myself.

All right, enough Bible thumping...I'm stepping off my personal religion soap box.

How about some shameless confessions of my own weaknesses, just for the sake of the therapy of laying them out on the table:

I am addicted to television. I got this DVR thing through my cable supplier which is nice as I can watch tv on my schedule, not on theirs. The shows I like, in no particular order are:

*24 (I used to wait until it was out on DVD because I couldn't handle it if I missed an episode, but DVR took care of that problem)

* Boston Legal

* CSI (any of them)

* House

* American Idol (actually, I confess that I like almost all the talent related reality shows, but I am rarely a voter!)

* The Apprentice (in spite of Donald Trump, I like the scenarios they are presented with and wonder how I would do as the project manager)

* Lost

* Myth Busters

* Studio 60 (I can see past the Christian mocking...or maybe I like to watch it because it arouses my indignation)

* Dirty Jobs (Mike Rowe is a great host)

* Medium (I suppose this show is subtley decaying my wall against the evil of soothsaying, but come on, she's helping people right?)

* The fad games shows, but only for about one season (right now I'm into Smarter than a 5th grader, hosted by Jeff Foxworthy)

This television addiction is really harmful. It seems like tv is the priority in our home, when lots of more noble things should occupy our time. Our little family does a far share of outings, but we could definitely be more involved with service to our fellow men and more old fashioned forms of education/entertainment like music appreciation and classical literature. Those dang drama series writers! They are too good at what they do and they now how to create addicts!

My final confession of the night is...I'm fat. I'm about 70 pounds heavier than I was in high school and I'm not too proud of that fact. I still love sports and exercise, I just don't make time to do it. Perhaps this move to Idaho can be a new beginning for me to watch less tv, excercise more, work harder, be a better husband and father, give my heart and talents to others to build them up, and serve God with more of my heart, might, mind, and strength.