Tender Mercies - Answers to Prayers - You never know whose life you are touching.

I LOVE EFY!!! For those of you who know me, I have loved my experiences of being an EFY counselor for the past 4 summers. Altogether, I've done 25 sessions, and I learned and enjoyed different things from each session. I don't even know how many boys that I worked with throughout those 4 years, but there have been a lot. This past Thursday, I was sitting in institute and I was wondering if I've made a difference in somebody's life with the thing's I've been involved in. I said a short little prayer in my heart that at some point in my life I'd be able to know that. Well Heavenly Father being the amazing person He is didn't even wait 24 hours to let me know that. I received a letter from one of the boys from my first year of EFY who is currently serving his mission in Brazil. It was very surprising to me to get a letter from this particular boy because he was one of those guys that kind of was quieter and more reserved. Regardless, I tried to get to know him and involve him with the things we did. I didn't know that I'd have a big impact on his life. In his letter he sent he said, "How are you doing Shane? I am from EFY 2005. I just wanted to thank you for your testimony and example. You helped me make the decision to serve a mission. I am serving in the Brazil Londrina mission." He then went on to share his testimony. I couldn't believe that I got an answer to my prayer so quickly! I was so surprised and happy that I went to my room and got on my knees and just cried. I needed that letter a lot! I am thankful to Elder Westover for following the prompting to send the letter when he did. It wasn't a coincidence that it came the day that it did. I am grateful for young men like him who go out into the world and selflessly serve the Lord for 2 years. I'm thankful to Heavenly Father that I was given the opportunity to work for EFY for those 25 sessions and to associate with the boys that I did. I'm grateful for the truthfulness of our church. I am thankful for answers I've received that have helped my testimony. Also, I am grateful to Heavenly Father for answering Tyler's prayers as well so that he is able to boldly serve as a missionary. It was an awesome day for me and something I will be forever grateful for.

What am I willing to do to see Him?

So I have been thinking a lot about a man in the scriptures in Luke 19 whose name is Zacchaeus. He is the man who tried to see Christ in the crowd but couldn't because he was too short. Therefore, he decided to climb a tree so that he could have a better view of Christ. After he did that, Christ saw him up in the tree and tells Zacchaeus to come down and that He will abide in his house. As I have been reading that lately, I've been asking myself, "What am I willing to do to see Christ more constantly in my life?" I, like some of you, sometimes find myself in my life making small surges of effort to jump up above the crowd to see Christ in my life. Those efforts get exhausting and unfortunately come to an end because of the energy required to sustain that effort. Or can I be more like Zacchaeus and go upward and find myself in a tree where I can have a better constant image of Christ rather than short spurts of effort. It's not to say that making small short efforts is a bad thing, but I want to have it more constant in my life. It's when Christ sees our effort to see Him that He invites Himself to abide in our homes and our lives because He knows that we made the effort to move upward to see Him. So I find myself asking myself, "How can I change the position of where I am to better see Christ?" Or I ask myself, "Where would my position be right now if it were to be likened to this scripture? Would I be making those small exhausting efforts on the ground or have I made changes in my life so that I can see Christ constantly rather than little bits at a time?" It's my hope that you and I can change where we are and put ourselves in a position where we can be focused on Christ at all times. Thanks you guys!

Book of Mormon vs. Our Cell Phones

I just saw this online and thought it was very thought provoking. It's definately something to think about.

I wonder what would happen if we treated our Book of Mormon like our cell phone. What if we carried it around in our pockets everywhere we went? What if we turned back to our house to get it if we forgot it? What if we flipped through it several times a day? What if we spent an hour or more using it every day? What if we used it to receive messages? What if we treated it like we couldn’t live without it? What if we used it as we travel? What if we gave it to our kids as a present and they asked for one for their birthday? What if we used it in case of an emergency? Unlike our cell phones, in regards to the Book of Mormon, one plan fits all, unlimited usage, no roaming charges, you always have reception, no weak signals, we won't be charged if we use it too much, and we don’t have to ever worry about our Book of Mormon being disconnected.

Skouching

Here is a video of me enjoying the snow this past winter.

Roommate Weddings

Devin and Kati Barlow - January 3, 2009

Steve and Tamara Smith - January 3, 2009

Daniel and LeaDawn Grant - December 20, 2008

Tis the Season to be getting married if you have been one of my past roommates. It was awesome being able to go to my friend's wedding receptions. They all were so very happy and picked amazing girls to marry. It's kind of sad to know that all the good times we had as roommates in the bachelor pad are just memories now. But I couldn't be happier for these guys. Congratulations Steve, Devin, and Daniel.

Glance at Fall Semester 2008

I am half way done with my grad program! 4 semesters down, 4 to go! I'm still very excited about becoming an occupational therapist. I know that it's a job that's just right for me. This was our pediatric semester so we got to learn about how to be occupational therapists for kids. It was a very fun semester. This next semester is going to be our adult semester, so we will learn how to do therapy on people from 18 and older. There's something energizing about starting new classes. I will still be with the same 26 people. I really enjoy the people that I'm in the program with. They're my second family. Anyway, some of the videos on here include: a party we had at my house in Salt Lake, Crazy Lady dancing, Oregon State winning fieldgoal, rushing field #1, TCU touchdown, Katie and Rachelle (girls from my program) after TCU game, rushing the field at the BYU game, singing "Utah Man" at Battle of the Chapters, juggling handkerchiefs for one of our pediatric skills labs, Rachelle and Jason singing "Finger Pushups", our rap we made to present our chapter info to our class, standing in front of the building before Wicked, the cool toilet in Chicago airport, Me, Tony, and Tyson (some friends) doing the dizzy challenge thing at temple square, Michelle dancing during my program's end of semester lunch at the Pie, and me making kids cry as Santa at our program's Christmas party.

My Tribute to Joseph Smith on his birthday.

Here is a tribute to Joseph Smith on his birthday. I made this slideshow to commemorate the life of the prophet Joseph Smith. As I looked through the pictures and video of him, my gratitude for what he did for the church increased greatly. I can't imagine where I would be without the gospel in my life. I thank him for never giving up on what he saw and for him remaining faithful and true to those things in everything he did. I am thankful that he translated the Book of Mormon. It truly is the word of God. I KNOW that Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ appeared to him in the Sacred Grove. There are few experiences in my life that I have had that I can never doubt. However, the answers I received when praying about the truthfulness of the Book of Mormon and the First Vision are experiences that I can never deny. That knowledge has saved me on so many occasions. Please watch this tribute and enjoy and leave your thoughts on Joseph Smith in the comments if you'd like. You might want to pause the blog music at the bottom of the page before you watch this. Praise to the man!

Broken Things to Mend

In Nazareth, the narrow road,
That tires the feet and steals the breath,
Passes the place where once abode
The Carpenter of Nazareth
And up and down the dusty way
The village folk would often wend;
And on the bench, beside Him, lay
Their broken things for Him to mend.
The maiden with the doll she broke,
The woman with the broken chair,
The man with broken plough, or yoke,
Said, "Can you mend it, Carpenter?"
And each received the thing he sought,
In yoke, or plough, or chair, or doll;
The broken thing which each had brought
Returned again a perfect whole.
So, up the hill the long years through,
With heavy step and wistful eye,
The burdened souls their way pursue,
Uttering each the plaintive cry:
"O Carpenter of Nazareth,
This heart, that's broken past repair,
This life, that's shattered nigh to death,
Oh, can You mend them, Carpenter?"
And by His kind and ready hand,
His own sweet life is woven through
Our broken lives, until they stand
A New Creation-"all things new."
"The shattered [substance] of [the] heart,
Desire, ambition, hope, and faith,
Mould Thou into the perfect part,
O, Carpenter of Nazareth!"
- George Blair

I've been reading Elder Holland's book, "Broken Things to Mend," and it's amazing. I would highly recommend it to anyone who's looking for an awesome book to read. I think we've all felt like that broken thing to mend at times and the Master Carpenter has entered our lives and like it says in the poem, his life is woven through our broken lives and then we stand a new creation.

HOW ABOUT THEM UTES?!?!?!?!?!?!?!

Utah Utes 13-0 (Only Perfect Season in College Football)!!!

Michigan (25-23)

UNLV (42-21) #22

Utah State (58-10) #22

Air Force (30-23) #20

Weber State (37-21) #17

Oregon State (31-28) #15

Wyoming (40-7) #14

Colorado State (49-16) #14

New Mexico (13-10) #10

TCU (13-10) #8

San Diego State (63-14) #7

BYU (48-24) #7

Alabama (SUGAR BCS BOWL) (31-17) #6

FINAL STANDING - #2 in the nation!

Excellent Season!

Occupational Therapy conclave in Chicago

Spoiled/Smart pigeons in downtown Chicago. They made me laugh huddling around the fire on this cold night.
All the people in our program that went to the Occupational Therapy Conclave in Chicago. 6 of us got our trips paid for. Free trips are always great! I really enjoyed it. I was able to have my resume critiqued by some people there on how to make it catch a clinic's eye. It was awesome being able to talk to some people in the American Occupational Therapy Association and network with some of them. It was just an awesome experience.

The first night in Chicago I was able to go and see Wicked. It was incredible! If you haven't seen it, I highly recommend that you go. It will be worth the money!

Game Winning Touchdown against TCU

Amongst the pressence of giants

Jace, Daniel, Devin, Dax, Me, Dave

This weekend I was able to go up to Rexburg and see some friends from BYU-Idaho. It was an awesome trip! It was good to see how awesome Jace is after his mission. I could tell he was a powerful missionary. It was fun seeing Daniel again and staying up till the wee hours of the morning getting caught up with him and his life. It was also fun to get to know his fiancee a little better as well. It was fun to see Dax's little boy Hayden and to see what great parents Dax and Jen are. And Devin and Dave....well, I get to see them every day in Salt Lake. It was so awesome to be with my friends and old roommates that have been HUGE examples to me in my life. They are my heroes. As I sat there and spent time with them, I thought of an entry I put in my journal lately. It said, "I'm so blessed to be associated with some of the strongest people alive. I am dwelling amongst the presence of giants." I truly believe that. The people in this picture and other people who are not have been lifesavers to me. I am sure that you who is reading this right now is also someone that I respect a ton and have learned a lot from. It was so awesome though to spend time with the guys again. I don't know if all of us will ever be in a room like that again anytime soon, but the time was highly enjoyed and valued. What an awesome weekend!

He knows, if you just need your hair brushed.

So this post might be kind of long. I just heard this story tonight at a fireside that Kenneth Cope gave. I"m going to try to paraphrase some of it so that it isn't so long, but here it is. Enjoy it. If any of you care to share, it would be awesome if you left a comment of a time that God sent someone to "comb your hair." So here is the story..... There was a Catholic lady that was waiting to board an airplane and was reading the Bible in an airport. She saw a strange man humped over in a wheelchair, he was skin and bones, dressed in clothes that obviously fit when he was at least twenty pounds heavier. His knees protruded from his trousers, and his shoulders looked like the coat hanger was still in his shirt. His hands looked like tangled masses of veins and bones. The strangest part of him was his hair and nails. Stringy gray hair hung well over his shoulders and down part of his back. His fingernails were long. Clean, but strangely out of place on an old man. As she saw the man, she tried to ignore him and pretend like she didn't see him. But she had a feeling that she should interact with him. She says, "And it may be embarrassing. I immediately began to resist because I could feel God working on my spirit and I started arguing with God in my mind. "Oh no, God please no." I looked up at the ceiling as if I could stare straight through it into heaven and said, "Don't make me witness to this man. Not right here and now. Please. I'll do anything. Put me on the same plane, but don't make me get up here and witness to this man in front of this gawking audience. Please, Lord." Then I heard it..."I don't want you to witness to him. I want you to brush his hair." I looked up at God and quipped, "I don't have a hairbrush. It's in my suitcase on the plane, How am I supposed to brush his hair withouta hairbrush?" So she goes up to him and asks him for if she could comb his hair. He responded by saying, "If you really want to." Are you kidding? Of course I didn't want to. But God didn't seem interested in my personal preference right about then. He pressed on my heart until I could utter the words, "Yes, sir, I would be pleased. But I have one little problem. I don't have a hairbrush." "I have one in my bag," he responded. So she went and got a brush out of his bag and started brushing his hair. She continues...... A miraculous thing happened to me as I started brushing that old man's hair. Everybody else in the room disappeared. There was no one alive for those moments except that old man and me. I brushed and I brushed and I brushed until every tangle was out of that hair. I know this sounds so strange but I've never felt that kind of love for another soul in my entire life. I believe with all my heart, I for that few minutes felt a portion of the very love of God. That He had overtaken my heart for a little while like someone renting a room and making Himself at home for a short while. The emotions were so strong and so pure that I knew they had to be God's. His hair was finally as soft and smooth as an infant's. I slipped the brush back in the bag, went around the chair to face him. I got back down on my knees, put my hands on his knees, and said,"Sir, do you know my Jesus?" He said, "Yes, I do." Well, that figures, I thought. He explained, "I've known Him since I married my bride." "She wouldn't marry me until I got to know the Savior." He said,"You see, the problem is, I haven't seen my bride in months. I've had open-heart surgery, and she's been too ill to come see me. I was sitting here thinking to myself. What a mess I must be for my bride." Only God knows how often He allows us to be part of a divine moment when we're completely unaware of the significance. This, on the other hand, was one of those rare encounters when I knew God had intervened in details only He could have known. It was a God moment, and I'll never forget it. He knows if you're exhausted because you're hungry, you're serving in the wrong place or it is time to move on but you feel too responsible to budge. He knows if you're hurting or feeling rejected. He knows if you're sick or drowning under a wave of temptation. Or He knows if you just need your hair brushed.

Beta Retreat 2008!

We had our Beta brotherhood retreat this weekend. It was fun getting to know all the guys in our frat. For those of you who don't know, I am a member of the fraternity with the institute here at the U of U. They're great guys. I'm in the Beta chapter. For our retreat, I was in charge of one of the activities. We played 5 different games and each game you were on a different team. If you won you got something good in your shake, and if you lost, you got something bad. The options were banana vs. pickle, peach vs. SPAM, ice cream vs. corn, pineapple juice vs. vegetable juice, and berries vs. fish. It was a lot of fun. Since everyone was on a different team each time, each person had different contents in their shake by the end of the night. My shake consisted of peaches, a pickle, corn, pineapple juice, and berries, so not too bad. The pickle taste was overpowering though. Here are some pictures and video from the activity.

Ethan's first day of school

Wes and Becca and Ethan at our baby lab for my pediatric class. We were looking at little kid's reflexes in our lab. It was Ethan's first day of school. I can't say that he made it through his first day of school without any tears, but then again, whose first day of school isn't filled with tears?