When the weather starts to cool it seems there is just a natural tendency for me to break out my wood working tools.  Something about Christmas time makes me want to build something for those I love.

I am excited to announce that my new book, “Quiet as a Church Mouse,” is officially out today!  You can find my book through my publisher Cedar Fort, or through Deseret Book, Amazon, and Barnes and Noble.

In addition we have three great events for this upcoming Saturday November 18th, 2017.  At 10:00 AM I will start the day at the Mendon City Library.  There will be live music, stories, art/drawing, and a Q&A opportunity.  At 1:00 PM we will be at the Hyrum City Library for a similar event.  Then at 4:00 PM we will have a party at The Book Table in Logan, Utah.  If you are in the area I hope to see you at one of these events.  If you won’t be able to make it to these events there are more coming-so hopefully we can see you next time.

Like most people–Monday means it’s time to get back to work.

Camping trips with the scouts are done.  Hikes with the family are now pictures and fun memories.  Walks with the dog get a little shorter.  And the daily grind begins.

This morning, on a short break, I couldn’t help but make a little doodle about how I felt this morning.  I hope it makes your Monday a little better.

You know when I was a kid I remember going to the elementary school library.  I borrowed a book on drawing people.  The book started by having you draw a circle then add a few lines here or there.  But that circle didn’t look much like the end result a few pages later.  I didn’t want to ‘waste time’ drawing circles so I jumped right to the page with the finished picture. I did my best to draw that final picture with none of the construction lines or process.  I just jumped to the last page and gave it my all.  The end result– was a picture that looked pretty bad.  The proportions were all wrong.  The ears were next to the mouth and chin, and the legs were too long erc.  It didn’t look much like the final picture in the book.

It wasn’t the books fault, it was mine.  I chose not to tackle the project ‘line upon line.’  When we try to move too fast, when we skip the basics because we are not patient– eventually to paraphrase Isaiah, we realize we have fallen, we are broken, and we are caught up in the snare.  The trap of impatience led us to mistakes and a lot of wasted time.

On the other hand when we move slowly and with patience when we listen to those who have tread this path before, when we willing follow the best example, ‘line upon line,’ step by step we see successes.

Patience is a virtue we could all benefit from.  A virtue that could save us a lot of time snared in traps and replace it with a lot more joy.  Yet sometimes we all find ourselves skipping to the last page huh?

Autumn- the time of year that lasts the shortest where I live these days.  One day you are charbroiling in summer and then the next you are trying to find your winter coat because it is 30 degrees!?!

I do love seeing the leaves change from their various shades of greens to reds, yellows, and oranges.  The splash of color on this desert landscape reminds me of the vibrant fall colors of Maryland when I was growing up.  I remember the hard work and the sweet taste of apple cider, as well as preparing fields for next years planting.  I remember sitting around a campfire with other farmhands and playing guitars and singing.  I remember walking through the woods and finally taking time to visit friends that summer work kept me from seeing as often as I wished I could.

I remember using some of the last of the summer produce to help at local homeless shelters.  I remember long walks from the bus stop with my mom, and long bike rides where my fingers would get cold as the temperatures started to drop.  (Where did I put my gloves last year?).  I remember 50 mile overnight hikes with fellow scouts and friends.  (Speaking of which– the four of us really need to do that again, and invite a few more people–but no snakes on the trail this time!)  I remember so many things of autumn that make me smile.

What memories do you have of autumn that make you reach back in your memory and smile?  Please share.

My grandmother was an amazing artist.  I clearly remember watching her draw and paint and I remember that feeling of awe at her talent.  I wanted to be an artist just like her.

When we got to Grandma’s house she didn’t show off her paintings, but instead she let us use her art supplies to paint something for her!  I loved how I felt when she would praise my art and hang it up with hers.  I loved her, and I loved to draw.

A couple of sad experiences when I was 12 years old changed everything, I lost all my confidence and my will to even try.  I realized my artwork was never going to be very good because I was foolish enough to compare–and I quit.  I quit drawing for about 26 years, because I wasn’t as good as I wanted.

About a year ago I decided I was just going to practice and try to be better at art.  It started with simple and cheap mediums.  Cheap paper, oil pastels, colored pencils, and pens.  I drew on and then threw away one piece after another.  I watched video tutorials and tried some more.  I carried a sketch book with me just about everywhere.  Finally things started to improve little by little.  I was spending at least 15 minutes a day drawing, sketching, painting, and doodling.  Each day I just tried.

Although my art is still not great, it is finally getting to where I don’t mind showing it.

If you have a dream don’t quit, just keep trying and you will get better.  Keep going and you will find that eventually you can look back down that trail of countless steps and see just how far you have come.  It may not be your destination yet, but it will definitely be closer to your goal.

Saul was a real trouble maker.  He pursued the early Christians with determination, and became a true terror.  On the road to Damascus the Lord appeared to Saul and really laid it on the line.  After blindness and some serious soul searching Saul, the trouble maker, became Paul the dedicated disciple, and avid apostle.

I am no apostle but perhaps my own story will sound familiar to you. When I was four years old my father was deployed for two years with the military. My saintly mother walked each week with all of us children to church. It was just over a mile from our house to church, but my mother would load the baby into the pram and all of the older children would follow behind like a bunch of ducklings. You think I would have been tired by the time I got to church. A mile is a long way to walk when you are four years old! But it never seemed to fail that after a drink of water and about 30 seconds, I was ready for adventure.

Somehow my four year mind thought that army crawling under the pews was acceptable church behavior. Climbing the door frames also seemed completely okay. My mother’s desperate pleas and frustrated expressions went unnoticed, (it was just too much fun untying shoes laces under the pews). It wasn’t till my mother asked me to sit still and be, “as quiet a church mouse” that things began to change for me. It took a while, but people who know me know would probably never guess I was that little trouble maker army crawling under the church pews. My mother could have given up and said walking a two mile round trip just so I could embarrass her every week at church wasn’t worth it, but she persisted with love and kindness until finally I came to know the Lord.

Some of us face a child, sibling, friend, or foe and think they are such trouble makers that there is just no hope. Church on Sundays is just a nightmare, or they just don’t seem to ever want to be anything but be a trouble maker. Just keep trying, just keep praying, there is hope if we persist with love and kindness.  The Lord is ready to turn any “trouble maker” into a devoted disciple once they are ready to come to him.