The Book of Michael

Two Thoughts

2008-04-13T19:03:00.004-07:00

While thinking about how much I didn't want to go to the airport at 4:45am after going to bed after midnight, I had an epiphany. I thought my doing this will make things easier on my wife and my burden got lighter, it didn't seem like such a chore anymore.

It is now entering into my heart and not just my mind that Christ has paid the price of guilt. I don't have to feel terrible that I am weak. I am weak. God himself gave man weakness that he would be humble. My weaknesses have humbled me. I call on my Father in Heaven more for strength and am trying to be more forgiving of myself when fail. All I can do is all I can do, I can rely on Christ to make up the difference. This thought seems to have empowered me to choose better.

And for your viewing enjoyment here is some Wii boxing.

THE ELEPHANT IN THE ROOM

2008-01-16T19:36:00.000-07:00

THE ELEPHANT IN THE ROOM
by Ann Coulter
January 16, 2008

Unluckily for McCain, snowstorms in Michigan suppressed the turnout among Democratic "Independents" who planned to screw up the Republican primary by voting for our worst candidate. Democrats are notoriously unreliable voters in bad weather. Instead of putting on galoshes and going to the polls, they sit on their porches waiting for FEMA to rescue them.

In contrast to Michigan's foul weather, New Hampshire was balmy on primary day, allowing McCain's base -- Democrats -- to come out and vote for him.

Assuming any actual Republicans are voting for McCain -- or for liberals' new favorite candidate for us, Mike Huckabee -- this column is for you.

I've been casually taking swipes at Mitt Romney for the past year based on the assumption that, in the end, Republicans would choose him as our nominee. My thinking was that Romney would be our nominee because he is manifestly the best candidate.

I had no idea that Republican voters in Iowa and New Hampshire planned to do absolutely zero research on the candidates and vote on the basis of random impulses.
Dear Republicans: Please do one-tenth as much research before casting a vote in a presidential election as you do before buying a new car.

One clue that Romney is our strongest candidate is the fact that Democrats keep viciously attacking him while expressing their deep respect for Mike Huckabee and John McCain.

This point was already extensively covered in Chapter 1 of "How To Talk to a Liberal (If You Must)": Never take advice from your political enemies.

Turn on any cable news show right now, and you will see Democratic pundits attacking Romney, calling him a "flip-flopper," and heaping praise on McCain and Huckleberry -- almost as if they were reading some sort of "talking points."

Doesn't that raise the tiniest suspicions in any of you? Are you too busy boning up on Consumer Reports' reviews of microwave ovens to spend one day thinking about who should be the next leader of the free world? Are you familiar with our "no exchange/no return" policy on presidential candidates? Voting for McCain because he was a POW a quarter-century ago or Huckabee because he was a Baptist preacher is like buying a new car because you like the color.

The candidate Republicans should be clamoring for is the one liberals are feverishly denouncing. That is Mitt Romney by a landslide.

New York Times columnist Frank Rich says Romney "is trying to sell himself as a leader," but he "is actually a follower and a panderer, as confirmed by his flip-flops on nearly every issue."

But Rich is in a swoon over Huckabee. I haven't seen Rich this excited since they announced "Hairspray" was coming to Broadway.

Rich has continued to hyperventilate over "populist" charmer Huckabee even after it came to light that Huckabee had called homosexuality an "abomination." Normally, any aspersions on sodomy or any favorable mentions of Christianity would lead to at least a dozen hysterical columns by Frank Rich.

Rich treated Mel Gibson's movie "The Passion of the Christ" as if it were a Leni Riefenstahl Nazi propaganda film. (On a whim, I checked to see if Rich had actually compared Gibson to Riefenstahl in one of his many "Passion" reviews and yes, of course he had.)

Curiously, however, Huckabee's Christianity doesn't bother Rich. In column after column, Rich hails Huckabee as the only legitimate leader of the Republican Party. This is like a girl in high school who hates you telling you your hair looks great.

Liberals claim to be enraged at Romney for being a "flip-flopper." I've looked and looked, and the only issue I can find that Romney has "flipped" on is abortion. When running for office in Massachusetts -- or, for short, "the Soviet Union" -- Romney said that Massachusetts was a pro-choice state and that he would not seek to change laws on abortion.

Romney's first race was against Sen. Teddy Kennedy -- whom he came closer to beating than any Republican ever had. If Romney needed to quote "The Communist Manifesto" to take out that corpulent drunk, all men of good will would owe him a debt of gratitude.

Even when Romney was claiming to support Roe v. Wade, he won the endorsement of Massachusetts Citizens for Life -- a group I trust more than the editorial board of The New York Times. Romney's Democratic opponents always won the endorsements of the very same pro-choice groups now attacking him as a "flip-flopper."

After his term as governor, NARAL Pro-Choice America assailed Romney, saying: "(A)s governor he initially expressed pro-choice beliefs but had a generally anti-choice record. His position on choice has changed. His position is now anti-choice."

Pro-abortion groups like the Republican Majority for Choice -- the evil doppelganger to my own group, Democratic Majority for Life -- are now running videos attacking Romney for "flip-flopping" on abortion.

Of all the Republican candidates for president, Romney and Rudy Giuliani are the only ones who had to be elected in pro-choice districts. Romney governed as a pro-lifer and has been viciously attacked by pro-abortion groups.

By contrast, Giuliani cleverly avoids the heinous "flip-flopper" label by continuing to embrace baby-killing. (Rudy flip-flops only on trivial matters like illegal immigration and his own marital vows.)

And, of course, Romney is a Mormon. Even a loser Mormon like Sen. Harry Reid claims to be pro-life. So having a candidate with a wacky religion isn't all bad.

At worst, Romney will turn out to be a moderate Republican -- a high-IQ, articulate, moral, wildly successful, moderate Republican. Of the top five Republican candidates for president, Romney is the only one who hasn't dumped his first wife (as well as the second, in the case of Giuliani) -- except Huckabee. And unlike Huckabee, Romney doesn't have a son who hanged a dog at summer camp. So there won't be any intern issues and there won't be any Billy Carter issues.

It's also possible that Romney will turn out to be a conservative Republican -- at least more conservative than he was as governor of Massachusetts. Whatever problems Romney's Mormonism gives voters, remember: Bill Clinton came in third in heavily Mormon Utah in 1992.

copied from AnnCoulter.com

David Whitmer letter regarding the Book of Mormon July 15, 1887

2007-12-21T22:03:00.000-07:00

Mitt Romney

2007-12-12T18:21:00.000-07:00

Why I Decided to Support Mitt Romney
By Michael Novak

National Review beat me to it, alas, but I have been deciding to come out publicly for Mitt Romney for some days now. I have been supporting him privately for weeks, though I was trying to avoid supporting anybody publicly.

But the attacks upon Romney's religion have been a last straw. They are just not fair. I remember his father's campaigns and what an upright man he was — and no one even breathed a word against him because of his religion.

Over two public generations now, the Romney family has given us examples of upright, decent, warm lives, given to public commitment even though they did not have to be.

Someone has to protest, in the name of Christianity itself, that spreading bigotry and hatred for the sake of winning a political campaign is wrong. I for one don't want to let this issue of bigotry and suspicion pass by without protest — and without open support for its victim. The least Americans can do is speak up for each other on matters of religious liberty.

Romney is a good, executive-keen man, and without this mud he would earn the respect and love of the American people on his own.

2007-10-28T09:40:00.000-07:00

There are several things that can be done to overcome the tendency to procrastinate. The information I give in this blog is only a few of the suggestions that are found in “The 60-Second Procrastinator” by Jeffrey P. Davidson if you like some of these ideas I recommend picking one up.

When you feel like procrastinating realize tasks don’t get easier when they’re put off; in fact many tasks only get harder, like cleaning or mowing the grass. Also ask “How does what I do, or don’t do, affect others?” It is not only ourselves who is affected by our decisions but our families, friends and co-workers.
Reframe the task. It is not the task that is vital but what the task represents: The better job or position, keeping your word, being seen as a man that can be counted on or being a good husband.
Visualize success. Imagine successfully taking all the steps to achieving a goal. See yourself studying and understanding, going to the library, working on the computer, writing the paper, submitting the paper, etc. Try to see all the steps.
Our problem is often not with a task but with starting a task. Therefore, approach tasks differently. Don’t start a paper with the first paragraph start writing what you would want in it. Sometimes the first can be last and the last can be first. Allow yourself to start badly, but start. Allow for setbacks, 2 steps forward and 1 step back is often the rule for everyone.
Write down what the task or the problem is, getting thoughts down on paper reduces fear. Feel the fear and proceed anyway. You can let yourself feel fear and work anyway, learn to use fear as a trigger to get going. Replace limiting language. Quit using words like “Should, must, and aught.” These words usually have a negative connation from when we were young, when parents. teachers etc. forced us to do things we didn’t want to. Such language may cause additional resistance you don’t need. Instead start using words like “I want, I choose and I will”

The Big Book Continued: Spirituality

2007-10-23T17:49:00.000-07:00

This time I am not going to spend time pontificating I am just going to list my five ideas. All things I list should stand on there own if they are going to be of any value to you.

Offer daily listening prayers of faith. (6 Events, Steven R. Covey) When we pray we should be listening with our hearts to see if the lord has any direction for us.
Stay in prayer longer, your spirit is able to communicate in ways you are not aware of. (Romans 8:26) This is the actual scripture where I got this idea. “Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered” Therefore, when we don’t know what to pray for, pray on because our spirit is able to pray without words.
When planting a garden you don’t leave a place for weeds. I don’t know where this one comes from but I had this enter into my thoughts and I wrote it down. I understand this to mean control your thoughts. Don’t dwell on things we ought not, weather it is revenge, or what we would do with the million dollars if we won the Lottery, or whatever. The Prophet Joseph Smith “counseled that we should avoid, as he put it, "a fanciful and flowery and heated imagination." (Truman G. Madsen, Joseph Smith the Prophet [Salt Lake City: Bookcraft, 1989], 21.)
Be wise about righteousness and ignorant about evil. (Romans 16:19) the actual scripture reads “Yet I would have you wise unto that which is good, and simple concerning evil.” There really is no reason to learn the intricacies of what the damned are up to. We learn of the things of heaven and let the evil learn the things of hell.
When I am weak I become strong. (2 Corinthians 12) in other words, when I am humble the Lord turns my weakness in strengths. And Let the weak say I am Strong (Joel 3:10) even though we are not where we hope to be, there is hope for us. Let the Lord work with your imperfections and sins; freely admit them to the Lord in prayer and he will bless you.

Daily Life Part II

2007-10-13T12:54:00.000-07:00

“It does little good to talk about eternal progress if we are unconcerned with daily improvement”.[1] As a Latter-day Saint, eternal progress pervades every teaching and practice of the church. My casual attention to this truth has caused the majority of my personal progress to also be casually gained. Therefore, the progress I have made from one year to the next hardly reflects a year’s worth of effort. I now realize, if I am to make the kind of progress that’s worthy of a person who knows gospel truth, I will have to live by design. The following is part 2 of the “daily life” section of my big book of everything. These are the bits of direction I have had to assist me on my way.

Keep a record of what I need/want to improve. The simple act of writing a goal down tremendously improves the likelihood of success.[2] Even if you feel you don’t have time to work on it now, still write it down so you can come back to it again.
Find quiet time to think deeply about where you are going and what you will need to get there.[3] I have wasted so much of my life not knowing where I was going; I’ve been living my life with out vision. Like Helen Keller said “It is a terrible thing to see and have no vision.”[4]
Take time for self-reflection, look in the mirror and ask “Did I do my best?”[5] This is an example of when I try and emulate someone worthy of emulation; Dick Winters lived with such integrity I am confident that he lived this advice daily. If you have done your best it is enough, don’t get down on yourself if you didn’t get to everything.
Use your imagination to see yourself as your ideal self. In my mind’s eye I can see myself as a perfect man, honest, upright, hard working, self-directed, etc. I am far from being the perfect man I imagine, but my ability to picture myself living like him gives me direction.
If you think you can’t do everything on your list at least do something. If all we can do today is work on just one new thing, or improve in just one area, it is enough. God’s grace is sufficient for all men who humble themselves before him and he will make weak things become strong.[6] I think the Lord does this through blessing our daily efforts to improve.
[1] Neal A. Maxwell, Collected works of Neal A. Maxwell vol. 1
[2] Zig Ziglar, Goals Program
[3] M. Russell Ballard, Conference talk
[4] Helen Keller, as quoted at http://www.quotedb.com/quotes/2485
[5] Major Richard Winters, 101 Airborne, Beyond Band of Brothers, war memoirs of Major Winters
[6] Ether 12:27

The Great Big Book of Everything

2007-10-07T13:13:00.000-07:00

I started this blog as a place to set down my random ideas; over the last several months, I thought I did not have time to work on it. I was wrong. I am going to try and have something to add every Sunday. I think the things I write here will be of great value to me, and the few who visit this page will find some value for themselves.

Everybody has the bits of inspiration come to them everyday and I am no exception. Over the last few months I have been writing down my share of those evanescent epiphanies in an attempt to hold on to them a little longer. I have also gleaned, through study, small bits of knowledge that are precious to me, I have also included them in my collection. My hope is the accrual of these ‘small simple things will great things [come] to pass’[1] in my own life.

I have written all of these thoughts into a big notebook that I have called my ‘Great big book of everything’. Stanley from Playhouse Disney has the great big book of everything, but at the time I thought it originated in my own mind. I believe it was Thomas Edison who said that genius is one percent inspiration and ninety-nine percent perspiration; I don’t think hauling this notebook around with me qualifies as perspiration but what a difference it has made always having it with me to record an idea just after I thought it.

Each thing I have written in my notebook seems like a piece of a big puzzle. I feel like I am being gently led by the hand of the Lord. From week to week I would like to list a few of theses thoughts I find so valuable. When I know who to give credit to I will; otherwise the quote or what not is either my own or I have inadvertently lifted it from somewhere I am unable to recollect. So...

Daily Life part 1

Wake up a half and hour earlier[2]. For me this means 5am. I have been doing this for a couple of months now and that little bit of time has made it so I don’t have to rush and I feel much more focused throughout the day.. I have also started showering at night instead of the morning to have extra time to study the words of the prophets and to pray.
Write in Journal everyday. We have been told this time and again by our leaders. In today’s General Conference Elder Eyring told of the benefits his family have had by his writing in his journal everyday. I have not been as faithful with this but my frequency has increased. This is a good place for an aside, I get this inspiration because I am either not doing these things or not doing them as well as I should, therefore, everything I include here will be course correction for me. I really do expect what I write to have universal appeal.
Carry a notebook to record your ideas. I already went into this but let me add, just write your idea down, don’t try to organize it until you transpose it to a word document or the like. Then when you read and re-read what you have written organize over and over what you have written until you see clearly where the Lord wants your focus to lay.
Exercise for at least twenty minutes a day. This seems silly small and once you start you are likely to do more, but this is all you need to maintain good health.[3] But whenever I actually do this I think so much clearer and have more energy than if I had not.
Go to bed early. For right now my goal is 10pm if I were asleep right at 10 this would give me 7 hours of sleep. This is not ideal for me; I think I would be better off getting closer to the recommended 8 hours[4]. It was our very own Benjamin Franklin that coined the phrase “early to bed and early to rise…” well you know the rest.
[1] Alma 37:6
[2] Zig Ziglar, changing the picture
[3] New York Times Health Update
[4] WebMD recommends 8 hours a day.

Clarity

2006-11-01T18:00:00.000-07:00

Ever had an epiphany? You know that moment of perfect clarity; when you can actually see the future? “This is where this road leads; do I want to continue where it is taking me?” After such a moment, have you had to abruptly change course and leave those around you in dismay at your lack of mental prowess? Well I have. I once turned down a promotion because I could see it would content me just enough to not sufficiently strive to get our business started. Thereafter, I could sense the pity of those around me as another entered the job I refused. I know many of my friends and coworkers thought it was foolishness to sacrifice so much time, money and now a promotion for a pipe dream that would probably fail. But this is not about me, it’s about the one other person I know (besides my wife) who truly understands.

To me it seemed Justin was living the dream. I mean truly living the dream. In High School Justin and I were music fanatics. We spent endless hours listening to heavy metal, discussing heavy metal, reading metal magazines, and getting to know heavy metal bands through the pages of those magazines. We referred to the members of the bands by name and really felt we had a sense of who they were as people. Once, we were beside ourselves when we managed to sneak into a Megadeth sound check before the show. We were even able to touch their tour bus, wow! Well over the years music quit playing such a prominent role in my life but it continued to be Justin’s most important hobby.

This is where the “living the dream” stuff comes in. Justin started a metal website and began to review all the Metal bands he loves so much. Before he knew it the record companies were sending him albums for free. And it just snowballed from there. Soon he was interviewing bands on their tour busses and getting all of these wonderful perks, like backstage passes and tickets to the show and other sundry benefits. He not only got to know the bands but they also got to know him. This is actually what causes his moment of clarity.

Justin was standing outside a concert hall in Seattle when one of the members of the band walked out and said, “Hi Justin.” They talked for a while and the metal “rock star” asked him about his kids. Justin was taken aback. This was the same guy that was on the poster that adorned the walls of his bedroom all our high school years, “why is he asking [him] about [his] kids?” It seemed too surreal. This happened on the heels of Justin hearing another rock star on the phone to his wife saying how much he missed her when he was on the road. These men were becoming regular guys. Personally, I think such intimate knowledge would only endear me to them more. But, to Justin it began to distract and to take away from his music experience. He decided he loved his music experience too much to sacrifice it to be almost famous. Seeing these guys in a regular setting was taking away the magic. It is like knowing how a magician does his trick. You want to know but knowing destroys the magic. He pulled the curtain back and saw the wizard and politely said no thank you. Some things are best admired from a distance.

All that glitters is not gold. I think too often the average Joe misses that until the investment is too high to turn back. I don’t think I can adequately express how much it has meant to me over the years to have a friend like Justin that understands that. Having him as a sounding board and having him encourage me to make those hard decisions has meant the world to me. Thank God for good friends. My wife and I are working things so she can take over more of the aspects of our business so I can teach school. In the long run, and the short run for that matter, we will make less from our business without me dedicating myself to it. But, life is in the living and I may have the opportunity to be paid to do something I would do for free. That is true success. I may not have realized that if it weren’t for my loving wife and for my friend in Washington.

Censorship?

2006-10-14T15:12:00.000-07:00

I imagine we censor ourselves daily. At least, I think we should. We impose limits on what we are willing to say so we don’t hurt others feelings and so we don’t give off the wrong impression.

This is not being disingenuous; on the contrary, we often have thoughts at one moment or another that are inconsistent with our true character. Giving air to such fleeting thoughts would only cause others to get a false impression of who we are. Therefore, it is more dishonest to speak with an unbridled tongue than it is to refrain from speaking your mind.

I have recently thought the reason why I often run headlong into offending or leaving a bad impression is because of my misalignment of priorities. Through recent introspection I have come to realize I place humor above respect. Respect for others and respect for myself. If for just a moment, I think I can get a chuckle I will say whatever enters my mind without the slightest bit of forethought. Consequently, I cause others to think I believe things I don’t and to think I am insensitive when I am understanding.

Another area of priority mismanagement is my view of righteous indignation. By righteous indignation I mean the idea I have imbedded in my psyche that every wrong has to be addressed. How many times have I thought “I really ought to say something”? As if it’s my place to say anything. Over the years I have gotten better at resisting this thought but it still permeates my thinking.

We are our best when we give forethought to our words and deeds. Like James the Apostle of the New Testament says “The tongue … it is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison.” So it is, I am best served when I keep my tongue bridled that it will be my servant rather than my master.

IPOD

2006-10-10T19:52:00.000-07:00

I want to tell you about some of the wonders of my ipod. First, the obvious, I have my entire music collection on there. I have my entire eclectic music collection in one place. I will often listen to the most divergent of music back to back and it sounds most harmonious to my ears. I can create the type of play list you could never find on the radio, and that suits me fine.

But that is only a small part of why I love this little device so much. The other more significant reason is I am an avid audio book listener, and for this reason I find the ipod most rewarding. I already have quite an audio book library and I love to have it with me wherever I go. At http://www.lds.org/ I downloaded all of the scriptures for free. In a single listening session I have listened to the entire book of Mathew, and I must say listening to the whole thing in a single shot gave me a somewhat better perspective. I love that I can listen to the scriptures and go for a walk at the same time. I also downloaded The Ensign and yes they do have it in audio format. I have the priesthood manuals as well, and of course conference at no expense.

I-tunes also have a lot of excellent pod-casts at no charge. Some of my favorites are 60-Second Science, Grammar Girl’s Quick and Dirty Tips for Better Writing, The President’s Weekly Radio Address, Travel Chanel Features, and The Laura Ingraham Show. These are all short tid-bits but I think they are really great! There is so much I have been able to learn while mowing the lawn, driving to work, going for walks, cleaning the bathroom, just about anything that doesn’t require much thought. To quote Captain Jack Aubrey in Master and Commander “What a fascinating modern age we live in.”

Straight Talk

2006-10-09T21:43:00.000-07:00

Why do people not speak plainly? Actually, I already know the answer to this. People think if they don’t temper what they say others will be offended and of course they are often right. What’s the matter with people that they are offended so easily? It is my opinion that we really miss out when we don’t encourage people to give it to us straight.

If I sense tension from a friend or a coworker I will walk right up to the person and ask “Are you upset?” and find out, form the horse’s mouth, what’s the matter. I think most guys think this way, but for the women I know, with few exceptions, this is for sure not the case.

The women I know need to go through a lot of channels before they actually find out if someone is upset. And none of those channels involve asking the person directly, but it does seem to involve a lot of different women speculating. Then, after all the effort they expended finding out, as best they can surmise, who is upset with whom, their solution is always the same. Do nothing. Yep, you read that right, nothing. Don’t talk to the person, act as nothing has happened. No mater what: Do Nothing.

My Question and yours (if you’re a man) is why go through all the effort, involve so many people, get yourself and others upset, to not even try to resolve whatever the problem was in the first place? I suppose it’s easier for guys because we are never upset at the question. I have seen women get upset at such a harmless question.

If you were a fly on the wall you would hear things such as the following: Why would she think I was upset? Did I do something to make her think I was that type of person? (By the way women, asking if you’re upset is not a judgment on your character) Why would that upset me? I better call the upset committee. Ok, I am being facetious with that last one, but I have really heard the previous statements paraphrasing of course.

It is way too much drama. I recommend talking straight. If you don’t know, ask. Stop being offended, and find better things to talk about. Don’t even entertain anything that remotely resembles gossip. I could be wrong and this may be a little exaggerated but…..

Blog Postings

2006-10-05T20:23:00.000-07:00

Who do you write your blog to? Steven King says you should write to your ideal reader; for him, he is always writing to his wife. I do like the idea of writing to my wife and because she will be my most avid reader, that is not such a bad idea. The only problem I have is this, my blog will be published for all the world to see (not to mention critique) and I think I would like to be a little more guarded than what I am with my wife. Ann Coulter said she used to write to a woman who complimented her on her writing, she told Ann she had really found her niche and Ann wrote to her ever after.

I like the idea of having a friend as a muse; I could use the inspiration and encouragement. I suppose I will do as these two writers suggest and have an ideal reader in mind as I make my posts but I imagine I will have different people for different thoughts.

I really am curious though, who do you write to? Do you write to the anonymous reader, do you send it out into the “void” like Meg Ryan did on “You’ve got mail,” or do you actually think about who will be reading?