Traveling life’s bumpy road I’ve found turns around the bend Unexpected ups and downs Acquaintances and friends I admit at times it’s lonely When the lane fits only one And great gumption is required To stoically soldier on But suddenly crowds will appear Where the road is wide and even Many feet make the dust rise up It can be difficult to see then Sometimes the path leads to a mountain And I struggle with the climb But when I look down from the top I see a grand design How all things in this world connect Each person is part of a plan To teach and stretch and strengthen To press forward hand in hand We need each other to reach our goals Who knows what’s round the next bend In helping others we help ourselves Along a journey that never ends What ever lies on down the road I’m no longer afraid to press on The grand adventure of life awaits New wonders arise with each dawn When the last sun sets in the valley low And the winds sings a final lullaby I’ll smile to myself at the memories made I’ll float peacefully up to the sky
Around the Bend
P’s & Q’s
Sing when you’re happy, Smile when you’re sad, Remember to be thankful, Hold your breath when you’re mad. Laugh if it’s Funny, Understand when its not, Cry with the low in heart, Help those who are lost, Fight for justice, Have mercy on the weak, Educate the clueless, Adventure always seek, Pray for those who hurt you, Serve those who have a need, Find joy in other’s gladness, Love all by word and deed.
Music
Music Brought to life by inspiration a universal form of communication with endless works of imagination Expressing ideas, feelings, and other sensations All part of God’s plan and creation — a journey ending in harmony
Live The Vibrant Life
Oh my twisted heart, I wait wistfully, patiently, uncertainly For thy doubts to unravel. Sooth the crinkled corners of your secret places; Stretch the forgotten strength of youth. Find again the confidence and faith born Greatly and simply from truth. Oh My frenzied mind, Let go calmly, deliberately, thoughtfully Of cares beyond thy sphere. Center the immediate moment; Relish in the color and taste of today. What went before and what comes after Reflect mere shadows in the haze. Greatness is cousin to growth, gained by doing, seeking exercising The promise buried within. Crack the brittle shell that binds Let the green and tender shoots rise up Live the Vibrant Life!
What I Learned From Mexican Food
420
Last weekend, I went with some friends to a little hole in the wall Mexican restaurant in Orem, UT called “Mama Chu’s”. The atmosphere is a little ghetto, but the food is great. I recommend the carne asada. The service is pretty good, and it’s awesome if you’re tired of eating at chain restaurants like Chili’s or Olive Garden etc. If you’re ever in the area, you should definitely check it out; preferably right before you head up into Provo Canyon, which is what we were doing. (Just a couple shout outs about the scene here in Utah County. I love living here!) Anyway, everyone was laughing and joking around when one of my friends said something that really resonated with me. She said, “Mexican food is all the same, it’s just packaged differently.” This of course is true, which is why we all laughed. But it struck me as a wonderful metaphor for the human race. Everywhere I go lately, I feel bombarded with messages about how labels divide people. Fill out any application and they ask you your gender, age, and ethnicity. Stereotypes abound. Are you a hipster, a jock, or possibly a thespian? Are you introverted or extroverted? Are you fat, short,…
My Mind At 3 A.M.
Sometimes I catch myself watching “What Might Have Been Movies” in my brain. Glimpses of an alternate reality that I can see so clearly it’s “almost” real. Like a black and white movie that came out a week before it could have been released in color. I’m stuck watching Dorothy before she went to Oz. Just a slight layer of richness is missing, but what a difference it makes. It’s like unfolding a crumpled piece of paper to discover song lyrics that didn’t measure up. When I read the words I want to cry, and I think about the difference such a song could make if only the artist finished it. But the artist has moved on. The creator of that song no longer exists, and scribbled words on a wrinkled page are destined to live forever in the land of “almost was” or “could have been”. I think there is actually a chain of islands with names like that located in the realm of possibility. It’s a favorite vacation spot within the world of imagination. I find myself visualizing these “might have been’s” so vividly, and I wonder about the choices I’ve made and the version of myself that…
Two Sentence Horror Stories
For some reason, some friends and I have been on this kick lately of getting scared. There have been some minor pranks with rubber snakes at my house, and last Saturday we watched a great old movie called, “Wait Until Dark” with Audrey Hepburn. It was fantastic; nostalgic and suspenseful at the same time. So there has been this theme the last couple weeks with the thrill of fear. Anyway, my friend introduced us to a wonderful literary device called, “The Two Sentence Horror Story.” If you google the term, you will see that there are a lot of them out there. Some are really frightening. So we decided to have our own little competition today, and I think I came up with some pretty good ones. Check them out below if you dare . . . . Bwah hah hah ha ha ha. My mouth watered as I bit into the ultimate American cheeseburger. Then I tasted blood. The night crept its way into pure blackness. I reached my hands in front of me, and I felt hot breath and a long protruding nose. I sighed with relief when I woke up from the nightmare of being paralyzed. I…
Farm Reflection
I remember driving in gravel; hot and dusty on a summer’s day. We called it the “Rocky Road”, bumping along to the rhythm of the car as we drove into my father’s past. Visiting your grandparents is always exciting when you are a child, but when they live on a farm it’s a double blessing. There is something about life on the farm that never changes; a constant sanctuary in an unstable world. There are smells of “real food” in the kitchen, rich clean dirt, and grease from the farm machinery. There is the sight of millions of stars on a night unclouded by city lights. Warm breezes in summer and biting winds in winter both ruffle your hair in their respective seasons. Birds can be heard singing, bees buzzing, and the cycle of life marches on. There is a solemn quiet that comes from the respect of life and growing things, but also a joy in the air that makes you feel you could laugh at any moment. At twenty-eight everything feels the same as it did when I was five years old. The farm probably held that sameness when my father was a child thirty years further back…
Lamplight
There is nothing so comforting as the quiet glow of the lamplight, On a night stand while the world outside is asleep, It is a warm presence; not too bright and not too dim, But the exact disposition of light to calm hurried thoughts at the end of the day; A beacon guiding souls to distant lands hidden between the lines of a bedtime story, During the day’s earliest and latest hours it is a reminder that you are never truly alone.
A Tuesday Sunset
This is the view I came home to today after work. It’s miraculous how the everyday grind of going to work etc. melts away with a little light and fresh air at the end of the day. I am so thankful to live in such a beautiful world. My heart pangs on a daily basis from magical little moments like this.