CHRISTmas in Michigan

I AM SPENDING CHRISTMAS IN MICHIGAN WITH MY BROTHER, RICHARD AND HIS FAMILY.  THEY HAVE OVER A FOOT OF SNOW!  I LOVE BEING WITH FAMILY!

WHEN I FLY, I GET SETTLED AND SNOOZE.  I USUALLY AM OUT UNTIL THE FIRST BEVERAGE SERVING.  I WOKE UP TO SEE THAT WE WERE STILL ON THE GROUND.  NO, IT WASN'T THE SNOW THAT WAS KEEPING OUR PLANE ON THE GROUND.  THE LAVORATORIES WEREN'T FLUSHING.  2 HOURS LATER WE WERE UP AND FLYING.  4 1/2 HOURS LATER WE ARRIVED IN DETROIT.  RICH LIVES IN MIDLAND, ~100 MILES FROM DETROIT.  THE WEATHER WAS SO BAD THAT IT TOOK US THE SAME AMOUNT OF TIME TO DRIVE AS WE FLEW. 

DON'T MISUNDERSTAND ME.  I AM NOT COMPLAINING.  I LOVE BEING HERE.  THANKS MA AND PA!

ON CHRISTMAS EVE RICHARD BLESSED HIS NEW SON, LUKE.  IT WAS SUCH A WONDERFUL EXPERIENCE.  I KNOW, I KNOW, I AM MISSING OUT ON THE REWARDS OF MARRIAGE AND PARENTHOOD BUT WHEN IT HAPPENS IT HAPPENS, RIGHT?!

CHRISTMAS MORNING, I DECIDED, MUST BE DONE IN THE PRESENCE OF CHILDREN.  I LOVED THIS MORNING. MY NEPHEW, SPENCER, WAS AFRAID OF SLEEPING IN TOO LATE.  HE WOKE UP AT 3 AM JUST AS I WAS GETTING UP TO USE THE RESTROOM.  HIS PARENTS SAID NOT UNTIL AT LEAST 5 AM.  HE PROCEEDED TO WAKE UP AT 4 AND THEN 5 AM.  THE BABY ALSO WOKE AT 5, THUS CAVING MY BROTHER AND HIS WIFE'S RESERVATIONS OF GETTING THE HOUSE UP THAT EARLY.

I AM HERE FOR A FEW DAYS MORE AND AM EXCITED FOR THE DAYS AND ADVENTURES IN THE COMING DAYS!

GOLF BALLS

I GOT THIS EMAIL A LITTLE WHILE AGO AND THOUGHT IT MAKES A VALID POINT. I'M SURE MANY OF YOU HAVE HEARD VERSIONS OF THIS BEFORE. BUT I HAVE A STORY TO GO WITH IT. I'LL PUT IT AT THE END OF THE STORY SO IT WILL MAKE MORE SENSE.

The Mayonnaise Jar and 2 sodas

When things in your life seem almost too much to handle, when 24 hours in aday are not enough, remember the mayonnaise jar and the 2 sodas . A professor stood before his philosophy class and had some items in front of him. When the class began, he wordlessly picked up a very large and empty mayonnaise jar and proceeded to fill it with golf balls. He then asked the students if the jar was full. They agreed that it was. The professor then picked up a box of pebbles and poured them into the jar. He shook the jar lightly. The pebbles rolled into the open areas betweenthe golf balls. He then asked the students again if the jar was full. They agreed it was. The professor next picked up a box of sand and poured it into the jar. Ofcourse, the sand filled up everything else. He asked once more if the jar was full. The students responded with an unanimous 'yes.' The professor then produced two sodas from under the table and poured the entire contents into the jar effectively filling the empty space betweenthe sand. The students laughed. 'Now,' said the professor as the laughter subsided, 'I want you torecognize that this jar represents your life. The golf balls are the important things---your family, your children, your health, your friends and your favorite passions---and if everything else was lost and only they remained, your life would still be full. The pebbles are the other things that matter like your job, your house and your car; the replacable items in your life. The sand is everything else---the small stuff. 'If you put the sand intothe jar first,' he continued, 'there is no room for the pebbles or the golf balls. The same goes for life. If you spend all your time and energy on the small stuff you will never have room for the things that are important to you. 'Pay attention to the things that are critical to your happiness. Spendtime with your children. Spend time with your parents. Visit withgrandparents. Take time to get medical checkups. Take your spouse out todinner. Play another 18. There will always be time to clean the house and fix the disposal. Take care of the golf balls first---the things that really matter. Set your priorities. The rest is just sand.' One of the students raised her hand and inquired what the soda represented.The professor smiled and said, 'I'm glad you asked.' The soda just shows you that no matter how full your life may seem, there's always room for a couple of sodas with a friend.'

I WAS RELAYING THIS STORY TO A FRIEND AS SHE WAS GIVING ME A RIDE TO THE TEMPLE. (THANKS BY THE WAY). SHE MADE SOME COMMENT ABOUT THERE NEEDING TO BE MORE REED IN HER LIFE AND I JOVIALY SAID, AFTER JUST FINISHING THIS STORY, I'M SORRY BUT YOU'RE NOT A GOLF BALL YET. WE LAUGHED THE REST OF THE WAY TO THE TEMPLE. WOW! THAT WAS A GOOD LAUGH.

TEMPLES AND ANNIVERSARIES

THE OTHER DAY I WENT TO THE TEMPLE. I HAD THE WORST HEADACHE OF 2008 DURING THE SESSION. I THINK OF HOW JOSEPH SMITH MUST HAVE FELT SOMETIMES WHEN HE WAS TARRED AND FEATHERED AND THEN THE NEXT MORNING STILL DELIVERED HIS SERMON.

I LOVE THE PEACE THAT COMES TO ME WHEN I KNOW THAT I AM DOING WHAT I AM SUPPOSED TO BE DOING, REGARDLESS THE SURROUNDING NOISE.

AS I WAS LEAVING THE TEMPLE I SAW MAMA AND BISHOP ISAAC. THEY WERE CELEBRATING THEIR 27TH ANNIVERSARY. IT HIT ME LIKE A TON OF BRICKS. THE TEMPLE IS WHERE IT ALL STARTED FOR A COUPLE AND THAT IS THE PERFECT PLACE TO CELEBRATE AN ANNIVERSARY. I HOPE I CAN KEEP THAT IN MIND THROUGH AND BEYOND MY 27TH ANNIVERSARY. THANKS FOR THE EXAMPLE.

ITALY AND THE GOSPEL

I BOUGHT A PLANE TICKET TO ITALY! I LEAVE SEPT 23 (I ALMOST WROTE DOWN HOW MANY DAYS UNTIL I LEAVE BUT REALIZED THAT RELEVANCE WOULDN'T HELP IF READ AT ANOTHER TIME).

I NEED TO BEGIN BY BEING GRATEFUL THAT I HAVE A LOVING FATHER IN HEAVEN THAT NOT ONLY HAS A PLAN OF SALVATION AND HAPPINESS FOR HIS CHILDREN ON EARTH BUT HAS ONE SPECIFIC FOR REEDO.

I HAVE BEEN DISTRAUGHT THE LAST FEW MONTHS ON THE PREMIS OF NOT FEELING THAT I HAVE MADE THOSE CHOICES AND SACRIFICES TO BE WHERE I "NEED" TO BE OR WHERE I THOUGHT I NEEDED TO BE (MOSTLY BEING GRADUATED/MARRIED/BEING A DAD/ETC...)

I WAS SURPRISED AS SUMMER WAS COMING TO A CLOSE AS MY CELL PHONE RANG AND AWOKE ME ONE SUNDAY MORNING. IT WAS ALEX AND KIM WADSWORTH (SOME OF MY FAVORITE PEOPLE).

ALEX AND I MET IN WASHINGTON DC FALL 2006. I THEN MET HIS, SWEETHEART, KIM THE NEXT SPRING IN 2007, ALSO IN WASHINGTON DC. WE WERE PART OF A STUDENT ORGANIZATION THAT TAUGHT STUDENTS CIVIC ENGAGEMENT AND THE BLESSED ART OF LOBBYING. WE ALL HIT IT OFF RIGHT AWAY. I WAS AMAZED AT ALEX'S DISPOSITION TOWARD MY BELIEFS AND CONVICTIONS AS A MEMBER OR THE LDS CHURCH. HE AND KIM BOTH WERE VERY RESPECTFUL.

BACK TO THE PHONE CALL...
ALEX CALLED TO TELL ME THAT HE AND KIM WERE STATIONED IN ITALY, HE BEING IN THE AIR FORCE. HE CONTINUED TO TELL ME OF HOW THEY GOT INTO A HOUSE THERE. THEY WERE RESIDING JUST OUTSIDE OF VENICE. HE CONTINUED ON THEIR RECENT CHURCH ATTENDENCE. IT WAS AWESOME TO HEAR HIM SAY THAT THEY HAD CHOSEN TO ATTEND AN LDS CHURCH AND WERE TAKING THE LESSONS FROM THE MISSIONARIES!!!! AS OUR CONVERSATION CONTINUED I TOLD HIM THAT IF HE AND KIM DECIDED TO BE BAPTIZED THAT I WOULD COME OUT FOR IT, BUT I GAVE HIM AN ADMONITION NOT TO GET BAPTIZED FOR ME.

ROUGHLY THREE WEEKS AFTER THAT PHONE CALL I RECEIVED ANOTHER CALL. THIS TIME IT WAS THE MISSIONARIES. HE SAID THAT HE WAS THERE WITH BROTHER AND SISTER WADSWORTH AND HEARD THAT I HAD A PROMISE TO KEEP. I, AT THIS TIME, WAS IN THE HALL RUNNING A TABLE FOR CLUB RUSH. I WAS SO ECSTATIC!!! ALEX CALLED ME SHORTLY THEREAFTER AND ASKED IF I WOULD BAPTIZE BOTH HE AND KIM.

I HAVE HAD SOME TIME TO REFLECT UPON THIS INCIDENT SINCE THE PHONE CALL AND BOOKING THE FLIGHT.

I THINK OF HOW I WOULDN'T HAVE MET ALEX AND KIM IF I HAD SOLEY FOCUSED ON SCHOOL AND NO EXTRACURRICULAR. ALSO, I THINK OF HOW IF I HAD BEEN GRADUATED I LIKELY WOULD BE IN A POSITION TO JUST TAKE OFF AND GO TO ITALY FOR A FEW DAYS. I AM REMINDED OF D&C 101 SPEAKING OR ZION'S CAMP, WHEN THE LORDS COMMANDS THEM AND US IN OUR DAY TO "BE STILL AND KNOW THAT I AM GOD." HE KNEW EVERY ACTION AND REACTION THAT I WOULD MAKE AND WILL MAKE. THERE WILL COME A DAY WHEN I WILL STAND BEFORE HIM, MY GOD, AND KNOW THAT HE DID EVERYTHING HE COULD TO SAVE ME.

THIS IS TRULY A TENDER MERCY OF THE LORD. I WILL BAPTIZE TWICE AS MANY PEOPLE IN ONE WEEKEND IN ITALY THAN I DID IN TWO YEARS IN KOREA. I DON'T MEAN TO ALLUDE ANYTHING TO NUMBERS BUT I HOPE TO EMPHASIZE THE POINT OF CONSTANT MISSIONARY WORK. SINCE COMING HOME I HAVE BEEN HALF AT BEST AS ORGANIZED AS I WAS ON MY MISSION. I KEEP LONGING FOR MY DAYS TO GO AS WELL AS THOSE; DAYS WHERE I KNEW THE LORD WAS GUIDING ME TO THE LEFT OR RIGHT; DAYS WHICH I KNEW I WAS TRULY ON HIS ERRAND. THIS IS THE BEST FRUIT OF MY LABORS. I THANK HIM FOR ALLOWING ME THIS AND I THANK ALEX AND KIM FOR CHOOSING TO ENTER INTO THIS COVENANT WITH HIM.

THE CREATION OF A BLOG

HERE IS MY BLOG!

I WAS SHARING SOME NEWS WITH A FRIEND WHEN HE TOLD ME THAT I SHOULD CREATE A BLOG. I AM NOT VERY GOOD AT KEEPING A JOURNAL. I HAVE SEEN SOME OF YOU, MY FRIENDS AND FAMILY, KEEPING A BLOG. I LOVE HOW IT HAS UPDATES THAT IS JOURNAL-TYPE SETTING.

PRES. EYERING GAVE A TALK ALONG THESE LINES IN OCTOBER 2007 CONFERENCE. HE SPOKE OF HOW HE WOULD WRITE HOW THE HAND OF GOD HAD BEEN A PART OF HIS DAY. THIS WAS THE "REED! KEEP A JOURNAL TALK!" I HOPE THAT THIS BLOG CAN HELP ME IN DOING THAT.

I LOVE LIFE AND LIVE IT THE BEST I CAN! I TAKE SOME CRAZY ADVENTURES THAT I DON'T REALLY HAVE PLANNED OUT. THANKS FOR BEING A PART OF MY LIFE AND PART OF MY ADVENTURE!

YEAH THIS IS A GOOD PREFACE.