One of the Best

Here's a great speech by one of my very favorite apostles. This speech seems really appropriate as there are many new beginnings for many of us right now. Have a great day!

Text:http://speeches.byu.edu/reader/reader.php?id=12522

Video:http://byutv.org/watch/7c1b2fce-20bf-4688-bc0b-622ef958e2c0

Tap Dancing

I really enjoy a great tap dance number. Whether it's the snappy rhythms, well dressed guys, or happy songs, I don't really care. All I know is I love a good tap number. Have a great day!

Alleluia

This is my favorite song from the "Men of the Mormon Tabernacle Choir" album. It's also one of my favorite words to say, so hey! It's a double whammy!

Have a great day!

The House by the Side of the Road by Sam Walter Foss

There are hermit souls that live withdrawn
In the place of their self-content;
There are souls like stars, that dwell apart,
In a fellowless firmament;
There are pioneer souls that blaze the paths
Where highways never ran-
But let me live by the side of the road
And be a friend to man.

Let me live in a house by the side of the road
Where the race of men go by-
The men who are good and the men who are bad,
As good and as bad as I.
I would not sit in the scorner's seat
Nor hurl the cynic's ban-
Let me live in a house by the side of the road
And be a friend to man.

I see from my house by the side of the road
By the side of the highway of life,
The men who press with the ardor of hope,
The men who are faint with the strife,
But I turn not away from their smiles and tears,
Both parts of an infinite plan-
Let me live in a house by the side of the road
And be a friend to man.

I know there are brook-gladdened meadows ahead,
And mountains of wearisome height;
That the road passes on through the long afternoon
And stretches away to the night.
And still I rejoice when the travelers rejoice
And weep with the strangers that moan,
Nor live in my house by the side of the road
Like a man who dwells alone.

Let me live in my house by the side of the road,
Where the race of men go by-
They are good, they are bad, they are weak, they are strong,
Wise, foolish - so am I.
Then why should I sit in the scorner's seat,
Or hurl the cynic's ban?
Let me live in my house by the side of the road
And be a friend to man.

Just a Little Post

"Ah music! A magic beyond all we do here!" - Albus Dumbledore

Hey, why don't you go listen to a great song? A symphony, a movie score, a country tune, a pop hit, a classic rock ballad, a hymn, whatever it is, go enjoy it. Nothing quite like a song, nothing quite like it all.

Have a great day!

A Noiseless Patient Spider

A Noiseless Patient Spider
By Walt Whitman

A noiseless patient spider,
I mark'd where on a little promontory it stood isolated,
Mark'd how to explore the vacant vast surrounding,
It launch'd forth filament, filament, filament, out of itself,

Ever unreeling them, ever tirelessly speeding them.

And you O my soul where you stand,
Surrounded, detached, in measureless oceans of space,
Ceaselessly musing, venturing, throwing, seeking the spheres to connect them,

Till the bridge you will need be form'd, till the ductile anchor hold,

Till the gossamer thread you fling catch somewhere,
O my soul.

A Worthy Cause

Vote everyday and help Now I Can win the grant! Thank you so much!

An August Rush

Enjoy!

The Art of James Christensen

One of my favorite artists is James C. Christensen. Though his work is easily recognizable by many, I always enjoy it. If you want an entertaining and inspiring hour or two, flip through "Men and Angels: The Art of James C. Christensen," a book of his paintings. Art is just another way we can feel the beauty of life and I'm grateful that Mr. Christensen has helped me to learn and feel things in new and beautiful ways.

Carpe Diem!

My favorite moment in the movie "Dead Poets' Society." Have a great day!

I'm a Man of Constant Sorrow

I love the movie "O Brother, Where Art Thou?" Maybe its just because I also use pomade to style my hair or simply the fact that nothing beats three men wandering through the wacky and wild wilderness of the south. Either way, its a great movie with many a memorable quote. Here's just a few.

George Nelson: Cows! I hate cows worse than coppers!
[fires his Tommy gun at them]
Delmar O'Donnell: Oh, George... not the livestock.

Ulysses Everett McGill: We're in a tight spot!

Delmar O'Donnell: Them syreens did this to Pete. They loved him up and turned him into a horny toad.

Ulysses Everett McGill: Well, I don't want Fop! I'm a Dapper Dan man!

Delmar O'Donnell: They... left... his... heart!

Homer Stokes: Is you is, or is you ain't, my constituency?

Ulysses Everett McGill: What's the meaning of this Big Dan?

Delmar O'Donnell: Hey mister! I don't mean to be tellin' tales out of school, but there's a feller in there that'll pay you ten dollars if you sing into his can.

Delmar O'Donnell: What are we gonna DOOO?

The Giving Tree

Here's a plug for one of my favorite children's books The Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein. Its a simple story with a simple message, but it is an important one. Have a great day!

Have a Great Week!

I hope that all of you have a great week this week!

Here's some things that motivate, uplift, and encourage me. Hope they will do the same for you.

My Favorite James Taylor Song


A Favorite Dr. Seuss Quote
"So be sure when you step,
Step with care and great tact.
And remember that life's A Great Balancing Act.
And will you succeed? Yes! You will, indeed! (98 and ¾ percent guaranteed)
Kid, you'll move mountains."
"So...
be your name Buxbaum or Bixby or Bray
or Mordecai Ali Van Allen O'Shea,
you're off to Great Places!
Today is your day!
Your mountain is waiting.
So...get on your way!"

The Words of a Prophet
Doctrine and Covenants Section 128, Verse 20, 22
"Now, what do we hear in teh gospel which we have received? A voice of gladness! A voice of mercy from heaven; and a voice of truth out of the earth;....Brethren, shall we not go on in so great a cause? Go forward and not backward. Courage, brethren; and on, on to the victory! Let your hearts rejoice, and be exceedingly glad. Let the earth break forth into singing!"

A little touch of Maurice, Philip and Verdine.

This song is guaranteed to put a smile on my face. Hope it does the same to you!

You are the handicap you must face.

This poem was recited at church today by a very enthusiastic Brother Buckley.

Equipment by Edgar Guest

Figure it out for yourself, my lad.

You've got all that the greatest of men have had.

Two arms, two hands, two legs, two eyes.

And a brain to use if you would be wise.

With this equipment they all began.

So start for the top and say, "I Can."

Look them over, the wise and the great.

They take their food from a common plate,

And similar knives and forks they use,

With similar laces they tie their shoes.

The world considers them brave and smart,

But you've got all they had when they made their start.

You can triumph and come to skill.

You can be great if you only will.

You're well equipped for the fight you choose.

You have arms and legs and a brain to use.

And the man who has risen great deeds to do,

Began his life with no more than you.

You are the handicap you must face.

You are the one who must choose your place.

You must say where you want to go,

How much you will study the truth to know.

God has equipped you for life, but He

Lets you decide what you want to be.

Courage must come from the soul within.

The man must furnish the will to win.

So figure it out for yourself, my lad.

You were born with all the great have had.
With your equipment they all began.

Get hold of yourself, and say: "I CAN!"

A Little Love Poem

Love - by Billy Collins

The boy at the far end of the train car
kept looking behind him
as if he were afraid or expecting someone

and then she appeared in the glass door
of the forward car and he rose
and opened the door and let her in

and she entered the car carrying
a large black case
in the unmistakable shape of a cello.

She looked like an angel with a high forehead
and somber eyes and her hair
was tied up behind her neck with a black bow.

And because of all that,
he seemed a little awkward
in his happiness to see her,

whereas she was simply there,
perfectly existing as a creature
with a soft face who played the cello.

And the reason I am writing this
on the back of a manila envelope
now that they have left the train together

is to tell you that when she turned
to lift the large, delicate cello
onto the overhead rack,

I saw him looking up at her
and what she was doing
the way the eyes of saints are painted

when they are looking up at God
when he is doing something remarkable,
something that identifies him as God.

Praise to the Lord!

This song is so true!

Praise to the Lord the Almighty

Praise to the Lord the Almighty, the King of Creation!
O my soul, praise him, for he is thy health and salvation!
Join the great throng,
Psaltery, organ and song,
Sounding in glad adoration!

Praise to the Lord! Over all things, he gloriously reigneth!
Bourne as on eagles wings, safely his Saints he sustaineth.
Hast thou not seen
How all thou needest hath been
Granted in what he ordaineth?

Praise to the Lord, who doth prosper thy way and defend thee!
Surely his goodness and mercy shall ever attend thee!
Ponder anew
What the Almighty can do,
Who with his love doth befriend thee!

Praise to the Lord! Oh let all that is in me adore Him!
All that hath breath, join with Abraham's seed to adore Him!
Let the Amen
Sum all our praises again
Now as we worship before Him.

(listen to a stellar choir sing this and it'll be absolutely brilliant.)

The Darkling Thrush

The Darkling Thrush
by Thomas Hardy

I leant upon a coppice gate
When Frost was spectre-gray,
And Winter's dregs made desolate
The weakening eye of day.
The tangled bine-stems scored the sky
Like strings of broken lyres,
And all mankind that haunted nigh
Had sought their household fires.

The land's sharp features seemed to be
The Century's corpse outleant,
His crypt the cloudy canopy,
The wind his death-lament.
The ancient pulse of germ and birth
Was shrunken hard and dry,
And every spirit upon earth
Seemed fervourless as I.

At once a voice arose among
The bleak twigs overhead
In a full-hearted evensong
Of joy illimited;
An aged thrush, frail, gaunt, and small,
In blast-beruffled plume,
Had chosen thus to fling his soul
Upon the growing gloom.

So little cause for carolings
Of such ecstatic sound
Was written on terrestrial things
Afar or nigh around,
That I could think there trembled through
His happy good-night air
Some blessed Hope, whereof he knew
And I was unaware.

Enjoy!

Here's something that always makes me smile!

Homeward Bound

Here's a song that I have been listening to a lot lately, especially with the new year and all the changes it brings.

Homeward Bound as performed by the Mormon Tabernacle Choir

"In the quiet misty morning

When the moon has gone to bed,

When the sparrows stop their singing

And the sky is clear and red,

When the summer ceased its gleaming,

When the corn is past its prime,

When adventure's lost its meaning,

I'll be homeward bound in time

Bind me not to the pasture

Chain me not to the plow

Set me free to find my calling

And I'll return to you somehow.

If you find its me you're missing,

If you're hoping I'll return,

To your thoughts, I'll soon be listening

And in the road, I'll stop and turn.

Then the wind will set me racing!

As my journey nears its end,

And the path I'll be retracing

When I'm homeward bound again.

Bind me not to the pasture

Chain me not to the plow

Set me free to find my calling

And I'll return to you somehow."