How Firm a Foundation

I had never particularly loved the hymn "How Firm a Foundation". It was fine but nothing special to me. I didn't really like the music and never paid much attention to the lyrics. Recently, however, I have heard a lot of people talk about how much they love this hymn. We even had a whole lesson dedicated to it in Relief Society a couple weeks ago. Members of the ward, including the current and former bishops, shared experiences of when the words of this hymn strengthened them and "caused them to stand". We sang the words to the tune of "Away in a Manger" because some feel that the current tune sounds too much like a march. It was beautiful, and I was able to focus more on the words. I have typed up my favorite verses below. As a sidenote: I always thought we were the ones speaking in the last verse - "I will not, I cannot desert to his foes" and that we will never forsake God. But God is speaking in the rest of the hymn. Why not in the last verse? To the soul that has sought rest and peace in Jesus Christ, God says, "I will not, I cannot desert to his foes". And even though all hell will shake, God will never forsake that soul. I believe that.


Fear not, I am with thee; oh be not dismayed,
For I am thy God and will still give thee aid.
I'll strengthen thee, help thee, and cause thee to stand,
Upheld by my righteous, omnipotent hand.

When through the deep waters I call thee to go,
The rivers of sorrow shall not thee o'erflow,
For I will be with thee, thy troubles to bless,
And sanctify to thee thy deepest distress.

When through fiery trials thy pathway shall lie,
My grace, all sufficient, shall be thy supply.
The flame shall not hurt thee; I only design
Thy dross to consume and they gold to refine.

The soul that on Jesus hath leaned for repose
I will not, I cannot, desert to his foes;
That soul, though all hell should endeavor to shake,
I'll never, no never, no never forsake!

Wins and Stats

I often feel like the goal of my life is to rack up personal successes, but if we're all on the same team, that reasoning doesn't make sense. Winning the game together is so much more satisfying than a few individual stats.

Peaceful Tones

The colored leaves,

That spill the sun,

The waters clear,

That flow as one.

We see Him there,

And vanish groans,

In silent songs,

And peaceful tones.

So close to earth!

So bare the sight!

And not in words,

But through the light.

But more to my view,

As the great vision grew,

Were the faces so bright,

Of the children of light.

And in the great waters,

We hear His soft voice,

Speaking great things,

And our spirits rejoice.

The Hope of God's Light

The Mormon Channel sent me this video, a true story of a man seeking to understand God.  It touched me.  Each of us has a unique experience on this earth finding our way.  Through the struggle, God is there working with us and giving us "line upon line...here a little, there a little" according to our needs and our ability to accept and act upon His will.  He is active even when we may or may not recognize His workings for what they are.

Discovering Passion (Why I Write Children's Books)

 When family and friends find out that I write and illustrate children’s books they frequently ask how I got into it, often suggesting that it must surely have grown out of some lifelong dream. As much as I would like to confirm that inspiring explanation, I must admit that it wasn’t like that at all.

The truth is that making children’s books came upon me rather suddenly and inexplicably. True, my whole life I’ve drawn and written poetry abundantly, and creating things has always been of highest fulfillment to me. Perhaps the books are the natural conjoining of these long-existing passions. Predictably, therefore, the creation of these books has been a treasure to me – a life source to my spirit.

I guess it all started when I had an idea for a storyline based on the hilarious true experiences of my younger brother. I created a character for the story and began writing. I had no idea what I was doing… or what I was starting.

The books evolved from there. Each subsequent book was better than the last – I began to find my style and niche.

Often I’m asked, “What is the lesson taught in your books. What is your theme or moral?” Again, I find myself unable to confirm their expectations that my books are intentionally designed to teach lessons to children. Actually, I’ve always seen that approach as a betrayal of my friends, the kids, to tell a story with a hidden agenda for indoctrinating them. Rather, the stories come to me and I write what I imagine. The stories are meant to be fun and entertaining. The interesting thing is that my own morals and beliefs naturally show through in my writing. It is how I view the world. So I suppose there are themes and messages, but they are subtler, originating from the most sincere part of my heart.

Many times, it wasn’t until after the book was written that I discovered the meaning it contained. As I recognized this, I realized how the books could benefit all with heart-warming, hopeful, and inspiring messages. Thus, a hope has been born in me that each book will inspire not only the child, but also, and possibly more importantly, the parent who reads it to them. In this way, I’ve come to believe confidently that these are more than average children’s books, but something much more – something magical.
All that being said, one of the most fulfilling part of this is interacting with the kids in school readings. We have a blast watching Marker Kid videos, coloring, making up our own character like Ethan the Earth (totally dictated by the children, only drawn by me}, and of course reading the books.  The best thing is seeing the creative characters created by the kids themselves. That makes me happy.

http://www.markerkid.com