Forget yourself and go to work

Snow fell yesterday. I have a comfortable chair that reclines next to our bedroom window so I can look outside while I work, read, sleep, or watch television (F.Y.I., The Price is Right is pretty good these days). As I sat in my chair I heard the scrapping of snow on our driveway and looked out to see a friend, who I have not seen in months, out shoveling our snow. I called him this morning and I learned he was out of work. And yet what did he choose to do yesterday instead of sorrow in his jobless pity? He got up, put on a coat, grabbed his shovel, and served another.This friend is one example of many who have selflessly given of their time and talents to bless the lives of another even though their own circumstances are dire. Albert Einstein wrote, “Only a life lived for others is a life worthwhile.” And Gandhi declared, “The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others.”

I’m grateful to the Baron Music Group whose gathered many of my colleagues and friends for a benefit concert in behalf of our family called "Living for Eden." Our friends Kurt Bestor, Peter Breinholt, Ryan Shupe & The Rubberband, Colors, and Sam Payne are all incredible artists and musicians who normally get paid to do these acts of kindness and so we are truly humbled. Several of them spent last week in Bulgaria performing for some orphanages and yet they come home to do even more for others. I can tell you that if these guys were selling cars they’d probably make a fortune. Yet, they choose to uplift and inspire through the power of music.

In my own situation, and through the years, if I’ve learned anything about life it is that in order to have true and lasting happiness (which is “joy”) you can’t wallow in your own suffering or poverty but use it to an advantage in empowering yourself to reach out to those with much greater need. “Forget yourself and go to work,” said Gordon B. Hinckley. And from Neal A. Maxwell, "God does not begin by asking us about our ability, but only about our availability, and if we then prove our dependability, he will increase our capability.”

The Blessings of Christmas

Two months ago all I could do is lay around because doctors were trying to figure out how to get my heart failure under control. I was in need of a serious tune up.

Whether it's a consequence or not, I was humbled to learn that my family, friends, fans of my music, and those I don't even know began praying for me.

I want everyone to know that God is good to me and loves you because for the past two weeks, as we get closer to Christmas I have felt great. Not 100%, but well enough to get out a few ours each day. Well enough, to make gingerbread houses with my kid. Well enough to laugh and enjoy this time of year. And it's because of prayer and the wisdom of my doctors that I am tuned up for a time. And what better time than Christmas!

Prayer is gift. Life is a gift. Family is a gift. And I am more than happy this particular time of year to celebrate the Birth of our Lord.

106 days on the list. 15 weeks. All is Well.

106 days on the list. 15 weeks. Any predictions?

Despite the minor physical anxieties of waiting for a heart, always wearing oxygen, taking a bazillion pills, giving myself shots twice a day, and carrying around a bag of medication going directly into a permanent IV in my right arm, I have the larger anxieties experienced by those who are sick for a long time and happily married. Keep in mind that I am too tired to stay busy so all you have to do all day is think and reflect. Above all, you hope your wife, the love of your life, is happy, fulfilled, and appreciated because of her sacrifice, service, and love.

My dad is a journalist and once interviewed one of my hero's Howard Hunter, a former spiritual leader of the LDS church and community giant. The man was soft spoken and humble despite his enormous list of credentials and accomplishments. In the interview my dad asked about all the years that Pres. Hunter tenderly cared for his sick wife who later died in a rest home. "How where you able to do that all those years?" my dad asked. President Hunter with some emotion and pause in his voice said, "She would of done the same thing for me."

I'm also reminded of another time that I was at Bryner Clinic in Salt Lake to see my family doctor. While waiting I observed a feeble old woman waiting for the pharmacist to complete her prescription. She was with her husband. They were both very old, petite and weak. She sat in a wheel chair and was so tired that her head kept falling backward. And I watched this husband, who stood by her side, hold her head up, even though his hands shook and they had to wait for some time. I think he held her head for 20 minutes.

I also remember while serving a mission for my LDS church I was responsible for several missionaries of which were an old couple serving in a small mining town in California. Like all of our missionaries they were responsible to knock on doors and share a message of love about Jesus Christ. The wife had really bad arthritis and knees. At many times she couldn't use her legs because of the pain. But, she didn't want to give up. Her husband drove them in the car from house to house. He would get out and knock on the door while his wife waited. If people said yes to letting them he'd go to the car, open the door, pick up his wife and carry her into the home so they could do what they loved to do most which was bring hope to people through their message.

These several experiences that I observed are always on my mind. And I hope I get the chance to show the same expression of love and service for my wife who has so kindly sacrificed, served, and loved me through this experience. It is much easier to serve than to be served.