Update

It seems to me as though the “most wonderful time of the year” is kind of the “most pitiful time of the year” when it comes to blogging. I know I haven’t blogged in a while but it seems as though no one else really has either! So I thought I’d just publish an update so I am not completely guilty as well.

Well… Tis’ the season to be a Swimmer. And all the wonderful things that come with it. Namely: 3 hours of practice a day, painful grunts as I tackle stairs, begging relatives for money for our fundraisers (thanks Jer and Barbs and Kerry!), and my personal favorite, hair slowly losing all color till it gradually resembles straw. You know you spend too much time in the pool when your hair is likely to burst into flame at any sign of fire. But alas, I somehow manage. The team got the opportunity to go down to St. George a few weeks ago and swim against our rivals, Snow Canyon. And I was surprise to be met by my own fan club! It was really great to have Barbs, Kerry, Grandma, and even Allie there! That still has been the best meet I’ve had all year. I have high hopes for the team this year. We look very competitive for state. So cross your fingers! It's also great to have family on the team! that's a picture of my cousin Ryan and I. Can't you see the resemblence?
I have this bad habit of taking mediocre-at-best ideas and capitalizing on their supidity. However, I got this idea a few days ago that I think would be awesome! As an athlete, I have always had this dream of competing in a Triathlon. However I don’t know much about it. If anybody has any information about how to train, or someone I could contact, it would be very much appreciated! Also, information on where I can purchase a decent road bike would be wonderful too! I really am going into this stone cold, but competing in an Olympic or Half-Ironman triathlon would be an awesome rite of passage to complete before my mission. And usually after stewing over these ideas for a few days I lose all interest, So who knows, I may be on to something with this! If anyone has any info that’d be great!

New Blog!

It seems I commonly misuse the word Blog. A blog is the page; a post is what is on the page. But just to set things straight, I have started a new Blog. It seems as though my spiritual posts (or blogs as I commonly misname them) were taking over my personal blog. So I have decided to let that corner of my head branch off and stop crowding my personal life. The new blog is called www.withexactness.blogspot.com. I’d love it if you became a follower of it! I am going to try to update it every Sunday as my Sunday activity. Thanks!

Dont Buy Stuff You Cannot Afford!

This skit speaks for itself.

Solid Models of Influence

A few weeks ago, my dad and I went out to Bonneville Seabase to get dry suit certified. On the hour and a half drive there, instead of listening to the usual talk radio that we do that either gets us discussing politics or puts me to sleep, (usually the latter) he put in a book on tape called Living the Seven Habits by Stephen R. Covey. This book is a sequel to his very popular book called The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People. This book overturned some secret interest I have in sociology that rarely gets exposure. And as such, I am making it a point to continue the book. There is a chapter however that I found so interesting that it was very well blog-worthy.

Covey starts drawing a visual of a pyramid which he calls “The Pyramid of Influence” that looks something like this. (I apologize, my Microsoft paint skills are extremely limited.)

I find it prophetic that this is exactly how the church tells us to do missionary work, the first step being example. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints does not tell us Member Missionaries to go door to door asking our neighbors if we can give them the first discussion. We would grow a notorious reputation alarmingly fast if we did. Rather, they tell us to lead by example. No matter how hard someone’s heart is, they cannot help but be touched by someone’s example, whether they outwardly admit it or not. Leading by example is the base of which any other influence is conceived. This level of the pyramid builds our credibility and trustworthiness as a church. As people see how we act, it will spark an interest on why we do the things we do.

The second level is the relationship. In an earlier chapter Covey states “When the level of trust is high, communication become easy, effortless, and efficient”. A level of trust needs to be established if we are to ever persuade anyone to come unto Christ. They need to understand we truly care for their well –being and want them to be happy. Coming from a high school standpoint, you will constantly see people who just need a friend. That is all they want. I love the TV show Monk, and there is a particular episode in the 5th season where someone supposedly is genuine about being Monks friend. (Turns out it was all part of a big plot to kill him.) But Monk was so ecstatic to see someone so interested! All through high school he had been a loner and said (though it was comical at the time, it sent a strong message to me) “If only I had had one friend…that would’ve made all the difference”. That is such a tragic thing when people can look back over years of time and not remember a single genuine friend. But I can only imagine the influence that single friend could have if they had taken the opportunity to build a relationship with this individual.

The last level is, of course, teach. It is natural and logical for people to have the attitude “I don’t care how much you know, until I know how much you care.” That just makes sense. As a member of the church how will we ever expect people to let us teach them what we know, until we show them how much we truly care for their well being? I have found this to be the most defining characteristic between high school teachers and seminary teachers. High school teachers will have science or cultural acceptance on their side. They don’t care if you argue their points, because they know they are right. And no matter how much you fight it, you cannot change certain socially accepted norms. But the gospel is not like that. As it is based on faith, there needs to be an influence that has risen above logic or social acceptance. I believe that is why seminary teachers spend so much time and energy building the base of example, and strong relationships with each student individually. And it truly works!

Covey ends this chapter with an eye-opening statement. “You cannot talk yourself out of problems you’ve behaved yourself into”. We’ve always heard the phrase “actions speak louder than words”. But as a member of the church, our actions speak not solely for ourselves, but for the entire church! That is why it’s so important we all pave ways of solid examples for the world to see. That is why each membership in the church is so important. So I pray I will be able to be an example of righteousness to the world. There is way too much negative media about the Church. We can’t afford a single member to assume that people don’t notice. I pray I can always have the strength to be that solid example for the church, to help continue to build the churches growing influence in this increasingly dark world.

Weezer Rocks Face!

(Tee Hee, This picture makes me laugh)
This last Tuesday I had the wonderful awesome opportunity to go the Weezer concert! I had literally waited 10 years for that day. Weezer was the first band I ever listened to, as Eric was a huge fan. So I have literally grown up listening to them. Actually seeing them on stage seemed so surreal! Rivers, (the lead singer) was such a goof, in the coolest way possible! He would use words that if anyone else used they would be mocked mercilessly. I.e. hootenanny or humdinger. He never seemed to be at a loss of things to do with his hands. He would move and shake them around in a way that reminded me of the Claymation, Wallas and Gromit in the part where Wallas was exclaiming “Cheeeeeeese Gromit! Cheeeeese!”. It was all quite comical, but nonetheless brilliant.

I’m sorry I didn’t get the chance to take any pictures, I was a little nervous about taking a camera as I was in the pit and it was quite likely it would be broken. However for your listening pleasure, I have arranged a KILLER Weezer mix that I hope you are enjoying while reading this blog. Enjoy!

Obey With Exactness

I am a huge fan of quotes. Church related or not, I think philosophy is fascinating. And the greatest part is, the vast majority of them can be directly paralleled to gospel truths. I read a few quotes recently that stood out to me.

“There is no terror in the bang, only in the anticipation of it”- Alfred Hitchcock

Being a senior in high school, and having so much life before me, I have much to fear. Fortunately, most of the things I fear lie under my jurisdiction to choose. And yet, the fear of a bad decision seems to degrade my moral to the point that I sell my own self discipline short. When in reality I can withstand more temptations than I really believe to be possible. When I think of opportunities to be unrighteous in any way, I fear nothing more than the option posed to choose wrong. Not necessarily the consequence of choosing wrong.

Being born and raised in the church I think I have set my focus too much on the choice and not enough on the consequence. The choices we make always have gray areas. From a high school perspective, you could say “There’s no way I’d ever cheat on a test, but cheating on homework isn’t too bad”. It is one of those things you will not really see the consequence of until it is too late and the “test” has come. It can be applied to morality, kindness, honesty, and just about anything else. And it all winds down to Satan’s power to influence us to rationalize. But the consequences will never change. If we would just be able to see all the small steps the led to the big consequence from the start, every small decision would become black and white. Which will instantly immune us to any fear of choosing wrong.

We learned in Sunday school today that the Armies of Helamen were protected because they “Obeyed with exactness” every commandment given them. That statement seems awfully overwhelming. And could be simply terrifying to anyone who approaches it thinking of all the small choices they will need to make every day. But for one who approaches it thinking of all the terrible sins, guilt, heartbreak and pain they will avoid as a consequence of choosing the right, it becomes a comfort rather than a challenge. So as I anticipate those “bangs” that will inevitably come every hour in every day, I pray I can meet the challenges with honor, not thinking of fear or the difficulty of the choice, but the glory found in the consequence.

One of Those Stories

It seems to me that as school kicks in I start becoming more of zombie going through the motions than a human being making decisions like “where I want to be” and “what I’m doing”. But alas, it is time to reminisce.

I remembered this yesterday, and I don’t think my parents know about it. And since the wonderful cushion of time has been installed between me and the story, I think it is time to share.

I was 15 years old on a Saturday morning. I wake up at 8:30 and get ready to mow lawns. After filling up my water bottle and changing into my gym shorts and sleeveless shirt, I was ready to go. I head out only to find to my disappointment, the new truck my grandpa gave us parked right up against the fence that my lawn trailer was parked behind. Making it impossible for me to pull the 4X6 trailer out and then pull it, by hand, the 3 blocks to my lawns. Not unlike the pioneers crossing the plains did as I imagine it. (Yeah it sucked being such an ambitious 15 year old).

My parents were both gone before I woke up, and so was the only key to the truck. I had no idea where they were or when they would be back. But the wheels in my mind started to turn.

I didn’t know much about stick shifts, but I did know the emergency break is the only thing that keeps it from rolling forward or backward while the engine is off. And even better, I knew where this particular emergency break was! To top it all off, my driveway is on a slight slant! So I formulated a plan. I would get in the driver’s seat and take off the emergency break. The truck would start to roll backwards slowly and I would steer it till it was parallel in the driveway. I would then pull the E-break, bringing the truck to a stop, get my equipment out, and go mow lawns! I would return home later that day to my parents so inquisitive about how I got the truck out after which I would reveal to them my genius plan. And of course, they would praise my actions and ingenuity.

The facts I didn’t know were these: The particular spot I was parked on wasn’t slanted, steering columns will lock up if being driven without a key. And lastly, trucks are very heavy.

So I hop into the driver’s seat, push in the E-break, and nothing happens. I turn the wheel to try and get it to move enough to roll backwards, and the steering column locks up. I am convinced I didn’t have a brain at this point, because I then get out of the truck, with the emergency break still off, and walk to the tailgate and pull it backwards in an attempt to get it rolling. Of course, I succeed. The truck starts to roll backwards, and I am behind it. I panic and push against it with all my weight, bringing it to a slow stop after about 10 feet. I was now in a pickle. I am stuck in my driveway, on a Saturday morning, holding up a very heavy truck with my measly 140 pounds body weight. The cherry on top was the tree, about 20 feet away, that just so happened to be planted in the direct line of fire of this truck in the likely event of it to continue rolling.

So I sat there. Or for a more descriptive term, I grunted, quivered, panicked, sweated, and pushed against that truck with all my might for about 5 minutes. Luckily we live in the age of cell phones, and I was fortunate to have one on me.

So I call my friend who lives across the street. Trying to keep my voice sounding normal and unstrained. And it went something like this. His dad answers. I ask for Tizzy. He tells me he’s asleep. He asks me what I need. He happens to be next a window. He glances over at my house. Starts laughing. My face, amidst the sweat, goes even redder.

He walks across the street and helps me push the truck back up to its original resting place and we put the E-break on once and for all.

My parents came home about 10 minutes later. I don’t quite remember what I told them. I might’ve told them this whole story, I’m not sure. But moral of the story: Don’t be stupid!

Amazing, Amazing Grace

This is the coolest version of Amazing Grace ever. I saw this performed live by Josh Wilson years ago but I just barley found a good video reference to it. Be sure to watch till the end because that's where he uses the really cool live performance effect called "looping". That is where the guitar player lays down multiple tracks of him playing with himself and becomes a One Man Band in a sence. It is amazing! Enjoy!

Brilliant British!

Two amazing men: C.S. Lewis and Sir Winston Churchill. Though one was a British Prime Minister and the other an author and teacher, they both were gifted with the ability to speak in a way that really voiced the emotions most of us a feel, but few of us can express. I heard a quote by Winston Churchill in church today so I went online to find it, but instead discovered a huge library of other great things he said. So I decided to find a few of my favorites, mesh them with some of my favorite C.S. Lewis quotes, and make a post out of it! Enjoy!

C.S. Lewis

“I think one may be quite rid of the old haunting suspicion, which raises its head in every temptation, that there is something else than God, some other country, into which he forbids us to trespass. Some kind of delight which he ‘doesn’t appreciate’ or just chooses to forbid, but would be real delight if only we were allowed to get it. The thing just isn’t there. Whatever we desire is either what God is trying to give us as quickly as He can, or else a false picture of what he is trying to give us, a false picture which would not attract us for a moment if we saw the real thing” – C.S. Lewis

“To love at all is to be vulnerable. Love anything, and your heart will certainly be wrung and possibly broken. If you want to make sure of keeping it intact, you must give your heart to no one, not even to an animal. Wrap it carefully round with hobbies and little luxuries; avoid all entanglements; lock it up safe in the casket or coffin of your selfishness. But in that casket- safe, dark, motionless, airless--it will change. It will not be broken; it will become unbreakable, impenetrable, irredeemable.”- C.S. Lewis

"A silly idea is current that good people do not know what temptation means. This is an obvious lie. Only those who try to resist temptation know how strong it is... A man who gives in to temptation after five minutes simply does not know what it would have been like an hour later. That is why bad people, in one sense, know very little about badness. They have lived a sheltered life by always giving in."- C. S. Lewis

“Nothing can deceive unless it bears a plausible resemblance to reality. No one can deceive you unless he makes you think he is telling the truth”- C.S. Lewis

Sir Winston Churchill

“This is the lesson: never give in, never give in, never, never, never, never—in nothing, great or small, large or petty—never give in except to convictions of honour and good sense. Never yield to force; never yield to the apparently overwhelming might of the enemy”- Sir Winston Churchill

“We have surmounted all the perils and endured all the agonies of the past. We shall provide against and thus prevail over the dangers and problems of the future, withhold no sacrifice, grudge no toil, seek no sordid gain, fear no foe. All will be well. We have, I believe, within us the life-strength and guiding light by which the tormented world around us may find the harbour of safety, after a storm-beaten voyage."- Sir Winston Churchill

"Today is Trinity Sunday. Centuries ago words were written to be a call and a spur to the faithful servants of Truth and Justice: 'Arm yourselves, and be ye men of valour, and be in readiness for the conflict; for it is better for us to perish in battle than to look upon the outrage of our nation and our altar. As the will of God is in Heaven, even so let it be.'"- Sir Winston Churchill

Aren’t those great!? There are so many more out there! A few good links are:
http://www.quotedb.com/authors/cs-lewis/1
http://www.winstonchurchill.org/i4a/pages/index.cfm?pageid=388
Check them out and please share what your favorites were!

Dived Vs. Dove

This world wide question has raised eyebrows and violent controversy throughout the centuries. Should it be Dived, or Dove? I personally feel it should be Dived, as to not confuse any readers of my blog. Because no, I had nothing to do with a little white bird that carries an olive branch in its mouth, as a symbol of peace. And likewise, I am not trying to promote a brand of soap and other hygiene condiments. Dived just plain sounds better!

Anyways! My family went on a little camping trip to Trial Lake this last week. We decided fishing Trial Lake was getting bland, so we decided to dive it this year! My Mom, Dad, Nate and I recently got certified this last February and I have been itching to try out my new skills! The cold water did not strike my Mom as a good time however, so my Dad was kind enough to be my dive buddy. He also let my brother Eric dive with me after a quick crash course (don’t worry, we only went to 15 feet so it was very safe).

We tried out a night dive Thursday night. We were excited to see the swarms of fish attracted to our lights and cheese whiz. We were quite disappointed though when we discovered fish like to SLEEP at night! And we were nothing but a nuisance to them! So we would swim around the bottom, find a sleeping fish, and try and shove cheese whiz in their mouth. This is was all in vain. I actually almost got to the point of completely burying a fish in cheese whiz. Because that’s what I do…pull pranks on sleeping fish. But an air bubble came out of the cheese whiz bottle making a “pop!” and waking the fish up, after which it quickly darted off.

I also got to try a few navigation dives. No one knows the meaning of disoriented until you’ve kicked for 10 minutes underwater only being able to see 8 feet around you, and having no view of the ground. Luckily, compasses are standard scuba equipment and we were able to navigate the ¾ Mile across the lake and come up pretty close to our original header! This may not sound fun to most but I had a great time.

Now that I’m done boring you all with my talk, just so you can get a feel for our little adventure, we took some pictures. Some turned out better than others but you’ll get the idea!


Best bread stick known to the human race. Good, old-fashioned, camp fire guitars.

Those tanks look light, But that package weighed about 50 lbs!

That thing looks like a shark! only...12 inches...

Our Strategy...Cheese Whiz in the hand. So hard to get a good picture of a hungry fish!

Be Bold

I had the opportunity to witness something really cool a few weeks ago. As most of you know, I seem to slave my life away at the Murray Outdoor Amphitheater. And in doing so I get to brush shoulders with a lot of different people, mostly of which are actors. During the performance of The Sound of Music I met a truly remarkable lady.

She is a short, plump lady who is very sweet and kind. If she ever bumped into you she would be the first to apologize and would quickly bustle on her way to get ready for her next scene. She didn’t have a major part in the play. She didn’t even have any lines. But she played her part as a nun in the abbey well and had a solid dynamic voice that fit into the nun choir beautifully.

The only thing that set this lady apart from all the others in the cast was she was completely blind. In all of her scenes she would be standing very close and holding loosely onto another nun’s robes or linking arms to insure she was staying in sync with the others, or not wandering to the 7 foot drop into the orchestra pit. She would come out for curtain call by herself with her white cane feeling the floor for objects and would always receive significant applause as the audience realizes she is blind. The directors were always stressing the importance of a brisk curtain call. Because of this, one night this lady was walking too fast and tripped over a set piece and fell very hard onto the stage. A gasp from the audience was clearly heard through the clapping. But even still, this lady picked herself back up and continued walking to her spot on side stage by the other actors.

The more I thought about this the more I was amazed. What a huge amount of courage this lady has. The only knowledge she had on that stage was the knowledge of what she had been told to do. She had learned the songs by heart, she knew who would guide her as she walked on stage, and she knew the voices of the people and music that would cue her to act.

I mow lawns. Mowing lawns does not require much brain activity. So I have had a lot of time to find parallels in my life with this story. But in reality we are all that blind lady on a stage. We came to this earth and were taught the plain and simple truths of life. We know what we believe. We know the voice of the spirit who will guide us in righteousness. And we know what is right and wrong and the ways we should act.

And similar to that blind lady, we cannot see who is watching us. But we must have faith that they are in the seats cheering us on every day as we step onto the stage. Our friends and family for generations in the past and in the future are in the stands watching our every move and cheering for us every step of the way. Occasionally we are thrown a chance to let go of the hand that guides us and be independent of parent’s testimonies or church leader’s recommendations. Though we may bruise our shins and fall at times, the people in the stands understand and are still cheering for us regardless.

Most important of all, our Father is in those stands watching us also. He fully understands how confusing this life is and how easy it is to get lost. But he is the author of the script. And knows how significant our one roll is to the outcome of the main plot. So we must be bold on our stage. And not be afraid to fall. The Father knows of our hardships and knows it’s difficult. But if we hit it with all we’ve got he’s promised we will succeed.

Sorry to get all churchy on all of you! But I’ve spent a lot of time thinking about this and I hope you’ve all enjoyed it. And sweet! I’m totally prepared the next time I’m asked to talk in sacrament meeting!

Ready... Set... Blog!

Hello to all! As I glance over all my friends new blogs I am amazed to see how many people Ellen and Lindsay have converted to this blogging cult of theirs. And I am happy to say I am yet another one of their victims. Well this is my first blog (speaking of which, who the crap came up with that name? It sounds like “blob”, only uglier. And there isn’t the best visual that comes to mind with either of those words. But alas, it’s too late to change it now) and I guess a good place to start is to tell a little about myself.

Well first off, my name is Adam. I invest a great deal of time thinking about the future. Some, may argue, too much. And ever since I was very young I’ve enjoyed finding strange little ways to make money. Some may say I’m too “money oriented”, but I like to think I’m “Money MAKING Oriented”. Given the fact that some of my ideas have been better than others, I still have fun doing what I do.

As any good old-fashioned boy may have started out, my first form of income was a lemonade stand. My brother and I would get our cute little Fisher Price cash register, a retro-colored picnic bench, a huge umbrella, and head out to the street corner for a day of hard work, and little pay. The whopping 30 dollars we would make (on a good day) seemed like a fortune! And it was, to an 8-10 year old kid. My ideas grew into what they are today. A moderately successful DJ and lawn care company, which are enough to keep me out of trouble, I guess you could say. If you know anyone know needs a lawn mowed, or a DJ for a church dance or house party, you’re definitely on the right blog!

Now, for the not-too-great-of-ideas, I like to think of it this way. If one out of every ten of my ideas succeeds, that’s a good enough ratio for me. And that’s about what it’s been. A few of my ideas have been: Putting a vending machine on my front porch, (parents weren’t a fan of our porch being high traffic area for loiterers) running an air-soft gun rental business, (yes, I still own 6 air-soft pistols and 2 snipers) and building a rock wall on the back of my house and charging people for climbing there. (May not be a great money making scheme but would still be freaking tight!) Not all of my ideas have been money making however, some of those include: Building a racing Hover-Craft from scratch (I actually bought plans off line, but never started), getting a pet ferret (no comment), and creating my own smoke bomb lab out of 50 pounds of potassium nitrate and a sugar substitute (I went through a little anarchist/pyrotechnics phase). Most of my friends probably don’t know of any of those crazy ideas I had. So I guess this is what a blog is all about huh?