No Coincidences
Recent Posts
Spanking
This last weekend Beth went out of town so it was Daddy weekend with my girls. We had an awesome weekend. We had Daddy Dinners which included meals Dad loves but Mom doesn’t (there’s a whole lotta chili involved). We…
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Lighten Up by Chieko N. Okazki
These are the highlights of the book Lighten Up that I read in 2021. “…” usually indicates the next part of the quote was later in the paragraph. Quotation marks indicate the author is quoting someone else. A line starting…
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Where Can Faith Take You?
I recently read a passage from a book titled The Sinbad Voyage. This book details a 6000-mile voyage from Oman to China in a replica of an ancient Arab ship. The passage that sparked this thought was: “The Arabs took…
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Discipline, Sharks, and Freedom
I watched a video recently. You can watch it here: In the video, some surfers are complaining about a barrier in the ocean. They’d travelled for a once in a lifetime surf trip and a barrier was keeping them from…
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Text to a Friend
I want to share an exchange with one of my oldest theological friends. I invited this friend to hear me speak in church. My topic was Ephesians 1:10 which reads: “That in the dispensation of the fulness of times he…
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Responsibility to Love
I’ve written on this topic before. What to do With All the Love. Love Has Afforded Me Much. A slightly new thought came to me on this topic. There is a great responsibility for firstborns to love. Think about it.…
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Who Will You Become?
“You wasted it,” he said. I looked back, confused by what I was seeing. I considered a response. All that came was, “Who are you?” “I’m all that you could have been,” he replied. He looked just like me. I…
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Satan is Jesus’s Older Brother
Stay with me. Before I go down this path let me acknowledge some things: Now that’s out of the way, I think there is a fun thought experiment/argument to be had that despite Jesus Christ having the title of “Firstborn”,…
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Repentance
3 Nephi 11:32 reads: “And this is my doctrine, and it is the doctrine which the Father hath given unto me; and I bear record of the Father, and the Father beareth record of me, and the Holy Ghost beareth record of the Father and…
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Abraham’s Faith
I had a thought (shocker). I shared last week about Abraham’s shared experience of almost being sacrificed by his father. Here’s another way to look at it. We marvel at the faith of Abraham to sacrifice his son. He didn’t know that God…
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Abraham’s Sacrifice
“Yet Abraham himself came from a troubled family – his father, who had abandoned the true worship of God, tried to have Abraham sacrificed to false gods.” Come Follow Me Curriculum And you thought your parents were bad. They ever try…
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RSVP
I recently attended a wedding that had 100 people RSVP. Of those 100 RSVPs, 90 people showed up. A few years ago Beth put a ton of effort into planning a semi-surprise birthday party for me. It was semi-surprise because I…
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Holier Than Thou
*I wrote the below in 2022. I don’t remember what made me write the below. I don’t know what I was so frustrated about. That frustration comes out in what I wrote. I hopen no one ever thinks I think…
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The Room and Freedom
I just finished the book The Room. Without spoiling too much, it’s about a woman who is captured and kept locked up in an 11 foot by 11 foot room with her five-year-old son who is born into captivity. It is a good book. The most interesting…
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Guilt
Every once in a while, I feel guilt for things I did, the person I used to be, the people I hurt, the pain I caused, the horrible things I was a part of. I know it seems…like I haven’t really changed…
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Monumental Moment
I’ve written about seemingly small moments in my life that made a huge difference on the trajectory of my future. I’ve mentioned a postcard. I’ve also mentioned a seemingly inconsequential invitation to join a basketball team (from that same link). I’d like to elaborate on that basketball invitation story. I was so…
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A Letter to my Brother
You think you’ve lived. You think you’ve loved. You think you’ve cried. You think you’ve felt. You haven’t felt anything yet. Prepare yourself. When that baby girl is born in June you’ll realize in one momentous second that you’ll never…
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Six Flags Trip Report June 2024
Another Six Flags trip I don’t want to forget! They must all be documented for posterity. Unlike the previous one in April of 2025, Beth did not plan to join this trip. Her sister was getting married and Beth already had plans to go solo.…
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Incommensurable
I was listening to a podcast about the incommensurability of Joseph Smith being able to describe what the translation process for the Book of Mormon was like. Incommensurable is like indescribable, without relation to anything, unquantifiable. Joseph Smith had many…
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What is Hell?
Studies have shown that humans will prefer pain over boredom. We as humans need stimulation. When left in a room with the options being complete boredom or a painful electric shock, many will choose the electric shock just to feel something. You…
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Jesus Christ
At church last week, we had an uplifting meeting focused on music. Ivy and Sage even participated, singing my new favorite song: That evening, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints hosted an interfaith concert. Beth and I took…
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Do Miracles Exist Today?
In his talk, “Has the Day of Miracles Ceased?”, Elder Donald L. Hallstrom provides some interesting thoughts on miracles. Elder Hallstrom discusses what defines a miracle. In his talk he says, “Often we describe a miracle as being healed without a full…
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Simplified Husbandship
These are the highlights I typed up for myself from a book called Simplified Husbandship | Simplified Fathership by Richard M. Eyre. I typed this up mostly for myself to refer back to. This is only on the simplified husbandship…
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Books 2025
I was disappointed in the number of books I read in 2024. I tried to improve in 2025, despite another new baby and the continued busyness of life. I read 15 books in 2024. Not hard to improve on that.…
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Hook
I watch a lot of old movies from my childhood with my daughters now. I think Ivy has already started not taking me seriously when I say, “This is one of my favorite movies ever.” But Hook is really one…
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Profession of Faith
*Before I post this I want to unequivocably say that I respect any church and its teachings, especially if they bring people and families closer to Jesus Christ. I don’t get to interact with teenagers much outside of coaching, but…
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Good Samaritan Mechanic
I referenced our “van issues” in this post about our trip to Six Flags in April 2024. It is a story worth telling even all this time later. The six hour drive turned into 10 hours. This is how. We…
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The Hearts of the Fathers
I always thought about the mission of Elijah (turn the hearts of the fathers to the children and children to the fathers) from my perspective, as one of the “children.” I hadn’t thought about it from the other perspective. What…
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Grandpa Frank
My most vivid memory of Grandpa Frank, aside from the “Wogs” (the nickname he had for me) and sitting on his lap as a kid, being squeezed into a ball, and being told I would grow up that way, is…
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Marriage
I wrote this in September of 2023, when Beth and I were practically still newlyweds (married just over 4 years when I wrote this, now we’re approaching 7). Beth and I had a fight the other day. I’ve been reading…
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Lazy Christianity
I wrote this in 2022. As I re-read it before posting, I cringed a little. I wondered if I should post it. It’s a little aggressive. I felt this way in 2022. We all go through ups and downs in…
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Story of Compassion
*This is from a true story I read 4 years ago that I can’t find the source for now. There is a story of a person named Om whose mother was killed when he was a young child. After his…
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Salt of the Earth
In studying the scriptures, it can be beneficial to have an understanding of the cultural background of those people and situations we read about. I recently read something that added a whole new perspective to the phrase “salt of the…
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Growing Up
I recently saw a compilation video. This video showed dads seeing their daughters with their boyfriends for the first time. This made me think about when this will happen to me one day. I started to think about Ivy, Sage,…
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Walking into Darkness
As we start a new year, I was pondering on a simple but powerful concept. Have you ever noticed that if you walk into darkness, with light at your back, you can’t see anything? On the other hand, if you…
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Is Roseto, Pennsylvania Zion?
There was an extraordinary thing happening in Roseto, Pennsylvania in the 1950s. I read about it in an awesome book called Outliers by Malcom Gladwell. Roseto, Pennsylvania was an outlier when it came to heart disease. For some reason, instances…
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Six Flags Trip Report April 2024
I posted about Ivy’s first trip to Six Flags in 2023 – I also posted about our fourth trip in 2025 – You’ll notice a one year gap there where two trips were never shared. Here is our trip report…
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Parenting is Hard and Rewarding: Polar Express
We took the girls to Williams for the Polar Express. If you live in Las Vegas or Phoenix, this is a must-do activity if you have children under the age ~9. This was Ivy’s third time and Sage’s second time.…
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Amos and Joseph Smith
The book of Amos in the Old Testament is an underrated book of scripture which I believe is extremely important to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. In 2021 I was reading through the entire Old Testament for…
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Faith in Man or Faith in God
Since I’m posting this on Thanksgiving day I think I’m obligated to say I’m grateful for the Book of Mormon, how it makes me a better person, how it makes my home a happier place, what it teaches me about…
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San Junipero
I really enjoy the show Black Mirror on Netflix. For those who don’t know the show, each season includes independent episodes that usually (but not always) have a futuristic, technological theme. One of my favorite episodes is called San Junipero.…
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Tolkien’s Knowledge of Eternal Truths
I’ve written before about Tolkien’s uncanny parallels to what the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints knows to be true due to modern revelation. These truths include information on the premortal life, Satan, and the afterlife. See The Wisdom…
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Adultery and Card Sharks
I was recently watching one of my all-time favorite game shows: Card Sharks. I was watching old episodes from 1978. A timeless treasure is Card Sharks. Anyways, the show is filled with questions about human nature. They would poll 100…
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Your True Identity
*I originally wrote this in 2022. I’d like to discuss Grace and our Identity. In a recent address to young adults of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, the prophet of the Lord, President Russell M. Nelson, talked…
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Eternal Families, Children, and The Best Part of Me Was Always You
*Originally written 4/19/2022, edited for posting in 2025. I was having a discussion with my mom a frew years ago about the trend in China of younger people not wanting to have children. We talked about this trend spreading through…
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Attack in Michigan
For those who didn’t hear, there was a shooting at an LDS church 18 days ago. I’m not sure if this was big news outside of LDS circles. Sad when there is “just another shooting.” For these last two weeks…
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The Conflict of Peter
Christ’s number one apostle, Peter the Rock, has been used an example for his moment of weakness in denying the Savior for hundreds of years. He is looked at as the perfect example of what not to do, then used…
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The Mis-Education of the Negro
I read a book recommended by CJ (thanks CJ) that I’ve wanted to write something about ever since reading. It was such an interesting and powerful book. It proposed some thoughts I’d never considered and really opened my mind to…
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The Limits We Put on Ourselves
There’s an interesting exercise you can do. Start by pointing straight out with both of your hands. Now turn one direction as far as you possibly can. Keep turning. When you’ve gone as far as you can go, see what…
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Revenge and Forgiveness
Israel Palestine Israel and Palestine Israeli War Aggressors in War Revenge Forgiveness 9/14/25 As I prepared to write on this topic that I quite honestly don’t want to write about, I listed out those possible titles for this post. If…
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Are We Living in the End Times?
A simple Google search led to something I found very funny. My attention was caught by a headline for a link, “Do you believe Jesus will return to Earth?” Yes, yes, I do. But do others? This article was from…
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The Ladder of the Atonement
When we came to earth and committed our first sin, knowing right and wrong, we fell. Coming to Earth was an inevitable fall. Why then did we shout for joy when the plan was laid forth and we were told…
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Beauty
What is beauty to a boy? As a boy growing up, the idea of beauty evolves so rapidly. As a toddler, anything that can be put in your mouth is beautiful. As you begin to walk, a ball becomes the…
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Six Flags Trip Report 6/13/2025
Ivy just had her fourth Six Flags trip and Sage her third. If we’re keeping score, that’s four trips in four years (of age) for Ivy and three trips in two years for Sage. We’re on track. To some people…
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Parenting Without Faith
Moments where you feel like a good parent doing good things sometimes don’t come often enough. And then one comes that is so impactful it brings you to tears. Ivy claimed to be sick this morning. I thought she was…
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Forgiveness, Doves, and The Chosen
Surprisingly I haven’t written about the Chosen yet. I’m about to finish season 3. I think this is an important TV show. In this season, there is a moment when Mary is talking to Tamar, a woman from Ethiopia. Mary…
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A Lesson Learned
*I wrote this when Ivy was 5 months old. I had an Ivy experience that I wanted to write down. It’s something I think I’ll never forget, but still good to get it written to make sure I don’t forget the…
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The Many Literary Parallels to Satan
I’ve always been struck by the parallels to Satan made in so many fantasy fiction books. I think the authors of these fictions are writing from a place that their soul understands, even if they don’t fully remember it here…
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Reach Out
In Mark Chapter 5, Jesus of Nazareth performed a miracle that would foreshadow his great mission. It is in this chapter that the account of Jesus raising Jairus’s daughter from the dead occurs. It’s what happens in between Jairus coming…
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Developing Patience in Turmoil
I gave a talk in church on 6/29/25. Since I put so much time and effort into typing out the thoughts for the talk, I like to put it into a blog post. The problem with my talks is I…
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Simplified Fathership (Must read for all Dads!)
These are the highlights I typed up for myself from a book called Simplified Husbandship | Simplified Fathership by Richard M. Eyre. I typed this up mostly for myself to refer back to. This section is only on simplified fathership.…
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A Lesson on Prayer from Ivy
“Become as little children” (Matthew 18:3). I think about this a lot. Ivy and I pray together often. Most nights at dinner. Most nights before bed. I used to say the prayer almost every time. Then most nights we both…
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Pondering on Death, Eternity, Growth, and Mortality
Emma Smith, the wife of the prophet, was once given a promise that is worth pondering. Emma had a 14-month-old child die. As a father of three, the thought is unimaginable. Reading through the list of Smith children that died…
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Resilience and Will to Win
Before you read this – I start this post with a brief description of this year’s NBA playoffs. After this introduction I get into personal stories and what basketball this year has taught me. If you don’t care about the…
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A Ward Family
When Beth and I got married, we were required to leave our ward or church building we had been attending. That ward was for young single adults (YSA). As we were no longer single and saying goodbye to the days…
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A Corny Video but Compelling Witness
I came across this extremely corny 8-minute video that I had to share. It depicts a somewhat realistic interaction between two high schoolers that is then transported (classic short video trope) into a courtroom debate. I’m poking fun at the…
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One Eternal Round
I started making some bad decisions in high school. These decisions nearly derailed my life. During that time I was becoming friendly with a girl. She knew about some of my bad decision-making. One night when we were hanging out…
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What Really Happened with Noah’s Curse of Ham/Canaan?
There’s a story from the Bible that’s never sat right with me. The Bible tells of Noah and his three sons after the flood. As the story goes, Noah planted a vineyard after the flood waters receded. He then drank…
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My Ignorance and Further Light and Knowledge
I have an embarrassing story I’m going to share. I’m not that embarrassed by it or else I wouldn’t share. Though, part of the reason I’m not embarrassed by it is probably due to how I’ve progressed from the ignorance…
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Ministering
Alma 35:7 “And it came to pass that Alma and his brethren did minister unto them.” This is referring to the poor people of the Zoramites who had been forced to leave their homes and their city because they believed…
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A Kingdom Divided
The first step for Zion is to stop distinguishing ourselves from one another. We are first Children of God. President Russell M. Nelson has been clear about the three primary identities we should all focus on for ourselves. Those three…
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Ministering of Angels
I read something from Hugh Nibley recently that stood out to me. It was very simple, but it jumped out at me. I think there is a profound truth about our existence in the vast universe behind this simple realization.…
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Worldwide Family
*This was written in 2022, thus the mention to only Ivy. Beth and I are blessed in our lives to have the maximum amount of support from both of our families. If we ever needed support or help in any…
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Why is the Book of Mormon Needed?
In honor of General Conference this weekend, I’m going to post a short and simple message. I know that we take the Book of Mormon for granted. I know that there are infinite purposes and benefits to us having the…
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Wheat and Tares
Christ gives the parable of wheat and tares in Matthew 13:24-30: 24 Another parable put he forth unto them, saying, The kingdom of heaven is likened unto a man which sowed good seed in his field: 25 But while men slept, his…
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Ivy, Sage, and Wren Thoughts
A lot has changed since Ivy and Sage thoughts was posted in June of 2024. Since then, Wren has joined the family. Sage is very much forming full sentences now (callback to last post). She has a lot to say.…
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Sickness
I’d like to share a poem by Boyd K Packer. In ancient times the cry “Unclean!”Would warn of lepers near.“Unclean! Unclean!” the words rang out;Then all drew back in fear, Lest by the touch of lepers’ handsThey, too, would lepers…
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Raising our Children
I don’t understand the timing of eternity. I don’t understand how it’s going to work out. There is a peculiar promise made to Emma Smith in church history. That promise was that she would be able to raise to adulthood…
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Ivy and Jesus with the Light
I was working on my laptop and Ivy saw a picture. It was an abstract-looking drawing of a long-haired individual meditating. Ivy said, “It’s Jesus.” Her and Sage say this if they see pretty much any image of a long-haired…
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Thou Shalt Not Covet a Perfect Day
*This was written in 2022. No I did not forget about my other daughters or Bengie’s death. The morning of the 4th of July I woke up to a disaster. Our dog, Bengie, was not feeling well, and despite letting…
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Why I Hate the Lakers
When I was in fifth grade my best friend lived across the street. He was a Lakers fan. He and I would watch basketball together. I remember one game when the Jazz were playing the Lakers and we watched it…
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Books 2024
Since my 2023 list came out so late and I had a hard time remembering the books, I decided to get a jump start on 2024. Here is my list in order of favorite/most enjoyable reads of 2024 down to…
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Bengie
We met it seems, such a short time ago. You looked at me, needing me so. Yet from your sadness our happiness grew. And I found out I needed you too. I remember how we used to play. I recall…
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Wren Sonora Quackenbush 1/20/2025
It’s interesting considering what you can glean about a soul in the signs they give before their arrival. On Monday 1/20/25, someone asked me if I wanted to play basketball that night, I said I probably shouldn’t because Beth wouldn’t…
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Why can’t Anyone go in an LDS Temple?
In the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, our temples are sacred. Many people know this by the fact that they aren’t allowed in. This can, understandably, cause some negative emotions. Nobody likes to be excluded from anything. I…
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Suffering, a Moment, a Breakdown
I want to share a story that just happened to me. I don’t know why it happened. I don’t know what happened. That’s why I’m writing it. Maybe writing it down will help me to understand. It’s 1/2/25 at 9:00…
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Romney as Hamlet
This was an assignment for a class I took. I liked what I came up with so much, I decided to turn it into a blog post! I’m merging two topics I’m not super familiar with in this post: Shakespeare…
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Who was Jesus Christ
I may have written about this idea before, but given we just celebrated Christmas I’m going to share the thought again. If you’re reading this, you chose to come to earth. You don’t remember this choice, but trust me, you…
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Why we REALLY don’t Drink Coffee
Members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints abstain from tea and coffee, along with other drinks and substances. We refer to this as the “Word of Wisdom.” The question often comes up, “Why don’t you drink coffee?”…
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Books in 2023
My books read have an inverse correlation to how many children I have. 58 in 2020, 45 in 2021, 26 in 2022, 21 in 2023, and in 2024 I’m on pace to finish 15. I miss reading 50 books in…
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Ignorance and Spontaneous Generation
Do you know what spontaneous generation is? Spontaneous generation is the outdated idea that living organisms can spontaneously come from other living organisms. For example, it used to be believed that a horse was how bees were created. People used…
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Book Review: How Money Works – Stop being a Sucker
How Money Works – Stop Being a SuckerBy: Tom Mathews and Steve SieboldCopyright 2019 This book was given to me to help me understand finances. I’m still pretty much hopeless in this category. This book could be described as “a…
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Misogi
On 11/2/24 I learned an Olympic Triathlon includes a .93 mile swim, 25 mile cycle, and 6.2 mile run. I also learned an Ironman includes a swim of 2.4 miles, cycle of 112 miles, and run of 26 miles. I…
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God will Provide
I often make the comment around certain individuals who I know will understand my meaning (like my wife, close friends, people from church), that God will provide/protect/etc. An example of this recently was when my tires were extremely worn. Beth took…
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Purpose and What Did You Eat Last Week
I recently did a meditation that I couldn’t get myself into, I disagreed so much with the premise. I can usually go with the flow with any guided meditation, at least the ones I’ve done. Often the guided meditations lead…
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The Refiner’s Fire
*I wrote this in March of 2022. One of Newton’s Laws of Motion states “For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction.” In life, for every sorrow, there is equal and opposite capacity for joy. For all our…
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Be like Little Children
There is a Neil deGrasse Tyson video that I watched early on in my parenting journey that has helped me ever since. In the video, Tyson points out that when a child makes a mess, or destroys something, or does…
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Morning Commute, Family, Purpose, and Eternity
Today I was driving into work and a thought occurred to me. This wasn’t the first time this thought has come to me, but seldom has it hit me so clearly and with such impact. The thought was this: “I’m…
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Are Stupid Decisions Sins?
I was listening to the story of a guy who was riding his motorcycle 140mph when he lost control and crashed. His body skidded across the pavement at an unknowable speed when he hit a pole. I won’t go into…
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Destruction of Christ
While looking at the cover picture for this post, an obvious realization came to me. Look closely at that picture. What do you see? The top of the picture is glorious. You can faintly make out a being in that…
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No Coincidences 