Early Morning Christmas Day

This year I put up banners around the house. They were simple felt bags we found on sale. Ho, Ho, Ho and Merry Christmas -- Let It Snow with simple pictures. A reindeer, Santa, a penguin, and various snowmen. I'm not sure what that all means for Christmas but it does fire the imagination and invokes positive thoughts.

The creative energy put into this one holiday season is amazing. When I look through the Christmas sections of books, albums, games, knick knacks, clothing, posters, decorations, and so forth ... I don't think it is simply materialism at its height. I love the festive air and the lights. I love the hustle and bustle as people find gifts for each other. I love the setting aside of some time to take a break in a cold, winter time. I love the extra effort many make to give during this season to those who need help.

This year we watched "Miracle on 34th Street" twice. What a great movie. This Christmas celebrating Christmas was putting up lights and decorating the stairway. There is a small Christmas tree in a window. It isn't about one single gift but the journey that makes this Christmas special. Every gift we did buy for others, we did so in a simply way and found things that fulfilled that moment. I think everyday of my life at this time is Christmas. Every day and every moment is a gift.

Jesus Christ was born in a lowly manger to parents who traveled to pay their taxes and ended up sleeping with the animals. The angels sent sheppards to greet Him and share in the moment of the Savior's birth. He came to fulfill a mission on earth to bring us back home safely. Our lives are so richly blessed by His life long quest to restore truth and to bring hope to all mankind. So many will never know His goodness or His mission in life. Still, He will be a magnet to good people who have lived in all ages. He will greet them on the other side and lead them to a more perfect understanding of their journey here on earth. He will lead the way for all people everywhere to hear the gospel clearly and partake of its blessings.

I do not believe that there is one path for everyone that saves everybody. We all have and will continue to have a choice. Our choices will lead us through life, and through the next life. As we find and connect with true principles, our lives will improve and bless others. I think God blesses all people everywhere with truth to the extent that they seek it. Anyone who seeks God will find Him. And those that do not choose will eventially receive that knock at their door -- hello, hello, is anybody home?

Maybe as important, I believe everyone can simply bow their head or choose a quiet place and listen deep inside -- God reveals to us what we need to do or should be doing for the asking. Seeking will lead to finding the truth that we need in our lives to move forward.

Washington, George that is

If you want a "fantastico" read, please pick up "Being Washington" and begin to understand what a great man George becomes ... I finally understand more of how our country came about. What is unique about this book is that Washington comes alive with those who struggle beside him. This covers so many colorful characters of our past who become humanly recognizable.

Most of all this book will give perspective to our current day. Valley Forge, Trenton, Yorktown, Mount Vernon all come alive. Revolutionary ideas come alive with the adoption of principles to guide the united states forward. The making of a man shows the making of a nation.

George was a reluctant warrior with the British early on in the battle against the French on the frontier. He learned the importance of understanding the battlefield. His courage and daring was unparalleled.

George was a reluctant general bringing our troops into battle against the British. His course of action often meant retreat. He was not a popular general to the other officers or congress. To the men in battle he was a rock upon which they could all depend while many others failed to support the cause.

George was a reluctant mediator to congress as the Articles of Confederation were too weak to hold the country together -- as proven in Shay's rebellion. That early trial in our history almost opened the country up to another war. Learn about George's role in both incidents to bring about unity between all the states and all the issues.

George was a reluctant president who set 37 volumes of precedent -- he defined Presidential and his conduct used to be the very fabric upon which the office of the Presidency was founded. It defined a strong but flexible balance of powers between legislative, judicial, and executive.

This book signals a return to our roots for which we all need. All of us need the compromises that George made to make America become a reality. Although we may all be reluctant to think so or do so -- it is our duty to protect and defend the torch of freedom that he set into place.

In the end "Being Washington" is all about being you and being me and being honest with the truths that set into motion a country molded by the "invisible hand of Providence." It is about a power much greater than all of us that united all the states.

Open Letter on Jobs Bill

The Honorable President Obama,

Everyone I talk to including the unemployed is against government spending. We can not spend ourselves out of debt. Government needs to get out of the way. We are on the brink of a fiscal disaster after limitless spending by Washington. A number of states and cities are showing better ways to manage this recession. That should be a shining example of where to start.

It does not help anyone for the American public to remain silent.

Here is my view after watching the speech on a jobs bill and seeing the behavior of the administrative officers.

The all smiles, cheering section fit Washington but not the nation. The warm embraces of mostly the black men in the room seems racist to me. We need an example of embracing all people, all of us -- we are all part of God's community irregardless of color, race, or economic condition. This is a serious moment of reflection on over 17 percent unemployed and many of us have given up looking for equivalent employment and settled in for the long haul by doing something far less which gets us by. Many of us are totally out of work. I personally have worked hard to keep my friends employed by being a cheer leader for simply working anywhere. Preserve your dignity and carry your own load has been the message. Get out and pull your load to help America come back.

This is a job for the private sector. I love Paul Ryan's plan to take out all loop holes for corporate America. Like embracing only the black men in the room for the most part -- it represents an unbalanced view of America to give stimulus money -- almost 1/2 trillion more in debt to those chosen ones on your list. We need leadership in America. Stand up and listen to the leaders in congress with bipartisan solutions on the floor. The list of bills not passed is the political in-fighting. Spending our way out is not the answer.

Institute a flat tax for everybody ... lower the load for everybody and remove all loop holes. Get a line item veto and strip all bills of all pork. Let the states do their business locally.

The media does a good job of highlighting how government cripples business. Gibson guitar is a good example. EPA over regulation is another good example. Crippling oil development in the states is a good example. Show leadership by giving contracts to those who can do an infrastructure that will be solar / wind / alternative fuel where it makes sense for the government to do so. Cover our interstate freeways with solar panels and give us 3 times the amount of electricity that we need now. Let the utility companies provide the conduit from it but keep the nickle for developing the service -- use the service money for entitlement funding. Do not give us unfunded government programs!

Don't peddle our dignity by funding entitlements. Fund the future with the type of infrastructure we need. Solar Roadways will cost us the price of repaving the interstate highways and leave us with a national fault tolerant grid. And it will not be done through our major corporations. It avoids cronyism which seems to be the next favorite buzzword in this struggle between parties.

Isn't medicare and social security prime examples of unfunded, untended social programs that need help? Create a service sector in the government which supports them. Put people to work through such programs. Let that stimulus be an example to the private sector of renewable energy successes. End of story.

Let fair taxes eliminate all the lobby effort to maintain the loopholes both in the private and public sector. Make the public sector justify their budgets yearly. Eliminate such words as Czars and come back to ground zero where we all live. Embrace all of us in the room of politics.

Thank you for your time Mr. President. I know we can do better that what we have seen as quite a show for something that you repeatedly said was, "already paid for!" No, this is a stimulus bill -- clear and simple. Please give us leadership. Listen to the other party and the ideas that take out entitlements to the big donors of the present government on both sides of the aisles.

Riding with Reagan

That book was a fantastic read. And the Young American's Foundation for Freedom put out a Calender of Reagan this year. It is a must read.

Here are various quotes from the Calender ...

"We will always remember. We will always be proud. We will always be prepared, so we will always be free."

"America's best days are yet to come."

"Every promise, every opportunity is still golden in this land."

"If we ever forget that we are 'One Nation Under God,' then we will be a nation gone under.

"The Constitution was never meant to prevent people from praying; its declared purpose was to protect the freedom to pray."

"Within the covers of the Bible are the answers for all problems men face, if we'd only look there."

"Our leaders must remember that education doesn't begin with some isolated bureaucrat in Washington. It doesn't even begin with state or local officials. Education begins in the home."

"All great change in America begins at the dinner table."

"Government is not the solution to our problem; government is the problem."

"Government's view of the economy can be summed up in a few short phases: If it moves, tax it. If it keeps moving, regulate it. And if it stops moving, subsidize it."

"The nine most terrifying words in the English language are, 'I'm from the government and I'm here to help.'"

"There's nothing better for the inside of a man than the outside of a horse."

"Our willingness to speak for freedom is no bargaining chip. It's an integral part of our foreign policy."

"Trust, but verify."

"We cannot play innocents abroad in a world that is not innocent."

"Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall!" (1987)

"Freedom is not something to be secured in any one moment of time. We must struggle to preserve it every day. And freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction."

"Freedom is one of the deepest and noblest aspirations of the human spirit."

"Freedom is the right to question and change the established way of doing things. It is the continuous revolution of the marketplace. It is the understanding that allows us to recognize shortcomings and seek solutions."

"Wouldn't it be better for the human spirit and for the soul of this nation to encourage people to accept more responsibility to care for each other rather than leaving those tasks to paid bureaucrats."

"On my desk in the Oval Office, I have a little sign that says: 'There is no limit to what a man can do or where he can go if he doesn't mind who gets the credit.'"

"Of the four wars in my lifetime, none came about because the U.S. was too strong."

"Well, one of the worst mistakes anybody can make is to be against Americans."

"When you can't make them see the light, make them feel the heat."

"The size of the federal budget is not an appropriate barometer of social conscience or charitable concern."

"Balancing the budget is a little like protecting your virtue: you just have to learn to say 'no'."

"Government is like a baby. An alimentary canal with a big appetite at one end and no sense of responsibility at the other."

"We are a nation of freedom, living under God, believing all citizens must have the opportunity to grow, create wealth, and build a better life for those that follow."

"We in government should learn to look at our country through the eyes of the entrepreneur, seeing possibilities where others see only problems."

"Each generation goes farther than the generation preceding it because it stands on the shoulders of that generation."

"Work and family are the center of our lives, the foundation of our dignity as a free people."

"We have the duty to protect the life of the unborn child."

"We make a living by what we get, we make a life by what we give."

"We the people" tell the government what to do--not the other way around."

It is time we remembered that freedom in America and stood up for the right and privilege to be free.

Invasion of America

It has stuck in my mind for years that our first president

George Washington had a dream in which America was invaded.

We fought the enemy off but they had brought us to the banks of the Mississippi river before we were able to fend them off. Our founding fathers saw the weaknesses of governments and set in place a style of government which could sustain the various changes in life while preserving life and liberty among the people. They believed in the equality of man. They fought to restore these principles in a document at a time when these principles were not honored because they had slaves in the southern societies. They compromised and set in place mechanisms to amend and change with time so that all men and women may be free.

As I'm reading

The Miracle of Freedom: 7 Tipping Points that Saved the World,

I see that our enemy today is preparing like the enemies of yesteryear to invade us. We will have to defend out borders from without as the enemy gains access with sophisticated weapons that we have designed and built to maintain freedom around the globe. They will buy it much like Genghis Khan purchased it and then use it against us -- even as Genghis Khan purchased it and came after the Chinese who sold out for money.

It helps me understand

the enemy within who strives to form a global government

to control large amounts of territory like every other dominant power that has risen over human history. Only we who preserve the constitution stand in their way -- because the constitutional form of this republic prevents them from conquering within. And it uses leadership with checks and balances to restore the balance of power between legislative, executive, and judicial branches.

It is clear that when the people are forced into health care it steps over the line. The government control of industry and trade steps over the line. We need leadership in these areas but to the extent that they control -- it gives

external power to the few

that can control the purse strings. And the heart of the matter is hidden beneath many powerful factors who stand to make money ... to shake money from the people by laws and regulations.

I can understand why Glenn Beck has moved out of mainstream cable into the ether world of the internet. He can now offer

choices which educate us about freedom

all along several mediums. It strikes me that my work on a vision of America in songs needs to go forward. With every breath we take, we are all warriors in this mission to be prepared for our future. American values will have to be defended and many of them won back one at a time until we are firm in holding up the torch of freedom for our sons and daughters ... and for one of the few places on earth where freedom of religion is a reality.

Claude I. "Scotty" Scott

Scott, Claude "Scotty" I., 84, retired Air Capital Advertising owner, passed away Tuesday, June 14, 2011. Memorial service: 1pm, Saturday, June 18, 2011, West Side Baptist Church 304 S. Seneca. Claude is preceded in death by his daughter Linda S. Simmons. Survivors: wife, Elaine; children, H. Delynne Merrill of Davenport, FL., James R. Scott of Lenexa, David M. Scott of Wichita, Richard A. Simmons of Oklahoma City; 17 grandchildren including Marsha Dull and Steven Simmons; 13 great- grandchildren. In lieu of flowers, the family requests memorials to West Side Baptist Church. Arrangements with Culbertson-Smith Mortuary.

Read more: http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/kansas/obituary.aspx?n=claude-i-scott-scotty&pid=151992925&fhid=4882#ixzz1Ps7xmIZD

Saturday, June 19, 2011 as a memorial to my Father who died the 14^th of June.

It is an honor to be able to share a bit of my Dad with you today. It is an honor to be his son and to have shared a bit of his life.

My dad bought me my first baseball glove at Western Auto. It was an amazing glove that lasted me for years. It was chosen with care and well practiced with Dad in a short time.

My dad sent me my first bike and I remember taking it to a hill and jumping on. I had no idea how to ride but I knew I was going downhill and I could hold on. I forgot about the clothes line at the bottom of the hill but, no problem, I could duck. Then I hit the fence and went flying over it. I think I was blessed with many of the same gifts as my Father. His determination and will was strong. I picked myself up and rode that bike over and over through many spills.

Dad sent me an article on an interview with God which he called profound and said, "it is about so many things we've been talking about together."

Dad, today we have gathered together to talk about you and your wonderful life. I'd like to lead with excerpts from an interview with God.

"What surprises you most about humankind?"

"That they get bored with childhood. They rush to grow up and then long to be children again."

What I love about my Father is that he always had the capacity be a child. He told me that we need to pay attention to the little boy or little girl in all of us. He would tell me when he felt I needed more of that little boy in me.

God went on to say, "That they lose their health to make money and then lose their money to restore their health."

Dad spent the time to study out various health cures and tried his best to recover from various long term health problems. Still he did not over do it. He made reasonable choices that fit with his view of life and let go of the results.

God went on to say, "That by thinking anxiously about the future, they forget the present, such that they live in neither the present nor the future. That they live as if they will never die, and die as if they had never lived."

My dad told me at the end, "I have lived a full life and I am ready to die." It was harder for me to accept than for him. He took it in stride.

In the interview God took his hand and was silent for a while. "What are some of life's lessons you want your children to learn?"

God replied with a smile.

"To learn they cannot make anyone love them. What they can do is let themselves be loved."

"To learn that it is not good to compare themselves to others."

"To learn that a rich person is not one who has the most, but is one who needs the least."

"To learn that it only takes a few seconds to open profound wounds in persons we love, and it takes many years to heal them."

"To learn to forgive by practicing forgiveness."

"To learn that there are persons who love them dearly, but simply do not know how to express or show their feelings."

"To learn that two people can look at the same thing and see it all differently."

"To learn that it is not always enough that they be forgiven by others. But that they must forgive themselves."

"And to learn that I am here always."

I do know that I loved my Father every day of my life and feel blessed to be his child

I learned early in life that I could trust my Father with my life and the lives of others. I watched him pull off the side of the road and pull out people caught in a burning car. He risked his own life to save them. Another time I watched my dad run into a burning house and pull the family out safe and alive in the midst of burning flames. I was a small child, but I knew he was my hero.

The way Dad treated me told me how he felt about me. And life around him, was precious to him. He willingly sacrificed for those around him.

My dad's life gives me the strength to sacrifice for others in life, to move beyond the challenges thrown at me and to accept what comes my way as a blessing.

My dad is a true hero by the way he conducted his life. His integrity and principles survive his death even in my dad's short military career he choose difficult assignments and gave his life for liberty. As a volunteer he helped bag the bodies in Nagasaki after the bomb had dropped which ended the World War II. He suffered a lifetime of physical suffering from radiation, yet, rarely did he complain of any of his complaints.

My Dad taught me what I knew from Oriental Medicine as I worked on him. He helped set me on a path to help the body heal itself from long term chronic problems.

I learned early in life that my Father loved people and loved to work. On the farm I remember the harvesting with a combine machine. Everyone there shared in the efforts of the harvest. I remember being on the tractor as they bailed the hay. My dad lived close to the soil in the early days of his life. He liked to call himself a country boy.

After a long day of work in the country, the relatives gathered to sing and play hymns. On the farm they shared the bounty of the earth and mixed together joy, laughter, fun, singing, and learning.

I think it is a miracle that kids survive to be adults. My dad felt the same way. He always had a special way about working with kids of all ages. He was always the teacher especially in music. I never tired of having him explain how music works. It is as simple as counting on your fingers, he would say.

My dad would say, "The older I get the wiser my parents get". Dad said, "I think my Mother was the wisest person I ever met". Grandmother Scott was a nurse and home midwife to those in the area. She helped many a baby be born. She helped preemies survive by nursing them in a shoe box. She created her own incubator long before it was in common use. Grandmother Scott had her own wisdom of folk medicine. She had her own spirituality -- a strong faith in God. Dad said when she saw him not sharing she would say, "if that toy truck means that much to you, you need to give it away."

My dad said his father had a strange sense of humor, he said once "Son, the last 10 rows of corn are for you to plant, you can keep any profit you make in them." My dad watered those rows like crazy and still they grew poorly, only the hedge beside them grew. Those practical lessons taught him wisdom. His first sales job came from knowing fruits and vegetables. He knew exactly how long they would last & which were best.. He grew the grocery business dramatically. They knew he had no where to go in their family business so they gave him a vital reference which helped him secure a good sales position at another company.

Great grand dad's lessons began to stick with him. My dad became a hard worker on the farm. His chores were farming from another century where plow shares, horses, reaping with a hand reaper were his tools. My dad became a walker on the farm. Why it was 10 miles to the local store. His dad did not hook up the team or ride a horse into the store. He simply turned to his son and said, let's go. They walked ten miles to the store and carried supplies 10 miles back. Dad said his dad's walk was more like running with a long stride.

My dad became a financial manager on the farm. His dad put him in charge of all the figures. He managed the yearly budget and kept all the details. He was amazed at how they could live yearly for less than $200.

My dad became a dreamer on the farm. He imagined how his life could be to be a part of an emerging world with electricity, cars, and modern life. My dad was educated in a one room school house where he absorbed all 12 grades by hearing them in the same room. This gave him time to learn even more on his own. He read all the books in their library.

My dad became a speaker on the farm putting in rows of corn and planting seeds pretending to speak to audiences while he spoke, cracking jokes, introducing people, making great speeches, and imagining a future life of doing the same.

My dad became an athlete on the farm where he would hit rocks with a 2 by 4 and skip them across the water. He increased the number of skips with solid hits.

My dad became a singer on the farm where people came from miles around to give him a ride to hear his clear tenor voice. Amazingly enough, Dad had a wonderful bass voice as well.

My dad had his own music book on the farm as he collected song after song that was popular in his time and gained the skills to play, write, and arrange music. His musical family exposed him to the best in gospel and country.

My dad became quite a competitor in baseball, golf, and bowling. There were many sports we enjoyed with him as children including horse shoes, badminton, and table tennis he was always throwing something with us.

My Dad is a renaissance man. He always pursued multiple facets in life. As an educator he took many classes across many topics, he collected books, and gave back to young and old students.

As an investor he boldly looked across 100 penny stocks, for example, and picked his favorites. He became a savvy investor.

As an entrepreneur he invested in other companies that were failing and helped pull them up into profitability.

As an artist he painted with a large brush and kept re-inventing himself with various styles.

As a musician he learned all the songs of his day and kept learning new material all the days of his life. He tried to play something for everyone who might be in the audience. As a composer he continued to write songs his whole life. He copyright protected them and often helped others to put their songs down on paper. Sometimes he collaborated with putting other's words to song. As a singer he had a high tenor to low bass range. People picked him up to take him to sing. He continued that tradition his whole life.

As a manager he was fair to his employees and worked hard beside them. As a salesman he could sell snow to an Eskimo. He called himself a peddler and had his magical formula for sales.

I learned of his financial wisdom while doing business for Koch industries. I had stopped off nearby home when I met a salesman who was talking about buying his 11th home. He was saying he was finally paying them all off and I told him he sounded like my Dad. When he heard my dad was Scotty or Claude Scott, he told me that he learned how to be independently wealthy from my Dad because he taught classes in finances. That day I helped Dad to clean up one of the basements in one of the houses he rented. He told me, Son, if you ever own a home or rent there are two things you can not ignore. Always keep a good roof on it and take care of the plumbing. Water damage is one of the quickest ways to loose your investment.

I enjoyed his spiritual strength in the many times he guided me through hard times. One time he wrote me to read Isaiah 40:31

"But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint."

What stands out for me in my dad’s life is his creative genius, homespun wit, love for his parents, friends, family, and even strangers. But most of all is his love of truth.

I’ll end with three things of advice from my Father.

Dad wrote in a letter to me that in his greatest times of stress -- three things helped him. That is faith, hope, and love. These will stand the test of time -- and the greatest of these is love.

I want to include Dad's magic sales technique

1- Imagine the sale is made.

2- Talk to the person on their needs.

3- Put your sales item in plain site.

4- As they are comfortable they will ask about it.

5- Leave a descriptive card with no response.

I believe the true magic of my Father came from his heart – he truly had love and concern for other people.

Lastly, Dad wrote me once to learn to give and not expect to receive. He said “be open” and do not close the door on any relationship.

Jelly Telly - a Revolution in Programming

Into this winter cable has been increasingly boring to me. I've had to search for good programming and found it to be hit and miss. Netflix has filled in the blanks where there is no programming. In an era full of movies, shows, specials, discovery, nova, and so forth -- the bill for cable keeps creeping up with almost every choice on the set being dedicated to commercials and mixed in with creepy programming. What is one to do?

The revolt has begun. The internet has begun to offer less commercial offerings. Hulu dot com has been a life saver. And specialized programming can be connected to the T.V. via a good internet connection and a digital T.V. antennae. Suddenly for one price, cable goes away. And Jelly Telly dot com represents the opportunity made real ... people can support programming of their own choice for the family.

The Logitech Revue product represents a powerful, emerging market trend ... it turns the internet into an High Definition digital highway on the T.V. I think it will be the next tip of the iceberg for control over programming.

Somehow I don't see this emerging out of an Arab society dedicated to the Gihad. I don't see this coming out of any communist country dedicated to brainwashing everyone into believing that they are the savior for their fellow citizens. I don't see this arising out of the socialistic trend to offer everyone end to end medical, dental, education, job, and retirement. Freedom is more than the words that you give. I think Napoleon Hill is right when he said he watched what someone does more than what they say. I think it applies to our society. What do we do? We move forward with balance striving towards greater independence and freedom. That is the continued revolution in America.

So what is Jelly Telly ... check it out as presented by Focus in the Family.

One Who Cared

A Call to Serve a Mission

I'm sure I have many stories to tell from being in Chile for two years. I'm sure you have many stories to tell. I tell them because they will not leave me alone. They keeping coming to the surface and inspiring me.

I don't know how it happened that I would go to Chile. Like everyone one else I received a call from the prophet of our church. And I remember hearing a audible voice the day the call came which said to me, "you are called to Chile".

I instantly recognized that country because it's narrow, long geography stood out when I read through the Junior Britannica when I was sick at home from school early in life. Copper, many different climates, cowboys, desert to the arctic chills of an ice formed continent.

I told my Mom instantly where I was going. How do you know she said? An answer to prayer I said. The mail man brought the letter that day within an hour of the pronouncement. One who cared for me wanted me to know where I was going and confirm it so.

One Who Cared

That is what a mission is all about. It seems to me that harder that I tried, the less things worked out. The harder I let go and let God lead the work -- everything seemed to fit. One who cared for the people of Chile needed me to listen and obey His word and let go of my own preconceptions of His work.

I remember teaching in a city where we had a political split between members. I could not figure it out. I never did figure it out. In the middle of my confusion I found common ground with the one who struggled with political issues. He was a songwriter and so was I ... so I sang his song and he came to hear despite the split. And I came to know his inner spirit shining through the voice of music to us all.

I am not sure it is important how we struggle with our own inner voices. Were we ones that cared for each other or were we ones taking sides? I asked everyone I could to sing and play and that night was a night of truce and truth.

Music on my mission was a central theme and I often played despite my inability to read. Once I played for a wedding. Another time I helped perform the Wedding ceremony. In a time of crisis members of the church were responding to a call to become more Christ like despite the setbacks of a difficult economy, changes in political views, and widespread unrest as the schism drew serious ramifications to everyday life.

Back to Freedom

I believe these were the saints that were called to lead their people back to freedom. And that feeling oozed out of every pore in my body. I wrote new lines to hymns I dared not sing, words held close to my heart. The greatest struggle we had was preaching the gospel openly, fairly, and squarely.

I'll never forget the prayers of President Gorden B. Hinckley to the people of Chile to repent and call upon the Lord or lose their freedom. A stake was born that led their people to greater strength. The church multiplied at a time of greatest strife and conflict in their world. The gospel was the ring of peace and freedom. It was a clarion of hope to those around them.

One day all foreigners were ordered on the local radio to appear at the local constabulary or be shot. I brought the missionaries to a friendly station. They led me out to a truck due to a simple mistake in my documentation. I was taken to a military site and stood against a wall at machine gun point.

My companion offered to go with me. They told him they would only take him dead. He stepped back and watched me being whisked away with the other undesirables.

In one difficult moment on my mission I was facing a wall with guns aimed at my back. After hours we were allowed to rest against a wall and take a break. An officer came up to me and hit me on both hands before I could pull them out of my pockets with is billy club. As I stepped up to him I felt two cold barrels poke into my sides. We were all taken back to the wall after that tense moment. Any movement or slouching would bring swift strikes to the tired, worried foreigner against the wall.

I was taken to a pit where others were being shot and pushed into hastily dug graves. I was interrogated at gun point and asked pointed questions from angry faces. At one point a circle of officers gathered to grill me. One asked me, "is it true that Mormons have more than one wife?" I smiled and said, "I wish it were true." He started laughing and they all laughed. It broke the ice. One who cared touched his heart and I was taken back to a wall ... interrogated at gun point and, eventually, sent back home.

The people in my house had some contacts in the military that pulled me out of the military site. That led me to a General's home where I could present a Book of Mormon and talk about a living prophet.

One who cared about these people sent us there to give them the one thing that would help pull them through this trial. The gospel of Jesus Christ and the blessing of his servants, the prophets. I recognize that same need today in our own country.

A Personal Choice

Our personal choice to obey the gospel does and will make a difference -- on or off a mission.
It is a clarion of hope for those around us. Like Abraham of old we have a prophet asking to help save our freedom.

I had many days of interrogations from the local FBI-like organization. All of them at gun point. At one point, I stood up and said, "go ahead and shoot me. Or shoot me as I walk out the door. One thing is for sure, you will find me anytime you want on Sunday at church or out and about preaching the Gospel of Jesus Christ but I am never coming back to here. If you need to, shoot me as I leave."

I never came back. That trial was finally over. One who cared loved me enough to protect me as I served out the rest of my mission.

Missionaries Invited

From 1972 to 1974 I served as a missionary in Chile.

A Chess Game

It was quite a trip for the missionaries to gather in Conception in our district. We always had stories to tell from the gathering. The weather could be so windy and changing that the umbrellas would throw you completely off balance.

Typically the political climate was tenuous in those times and young soldiers walked around with rifles pointed forward, guarding the streets. It made one a bit uneasy to pass them.

I can remember some great times in that travel time. Like the time my companion and I entered a Post Office passing toward the meeting. The room was filled with tables and chairs -- everyone was playing chess intensely. A British sounding chap asked my companion to play chess and he turned him down. I told him I'd play.

Apparently, the chap had won the tournament and I was the American challenger. This was around the time of Bobby Fischer beating the Russians at chess. I had been good at chess since a young child and could beat everyone in my family. But I did not have the experience at tournaments. The crowd gathered around and silently watched our every move.

The intense pressure made both of us shake while we moved pieces on the board. He would get ahead, and then I would. The power struggle went on for the whole of the match. I finally won the match and had a wonderful time talking about the game with my new found British speaking Chilean friend.

True Christians

As we traveled about as a group, we were picked up by some American missionaries from another church. They invited our whole group to come join them in a meal. They knew we were LDS and up to that point I had not experienced the joy of sharing the gospel with friendly non-Mormon missionaries.

They made home made peanut butter, home made mayonnaise and spread out a true American feast. We did discuss scriptures but it was unique because there were no arguments. They genuinely listened to our story. And I must say we found true Christians in our midst.

Sometimes it was refreshing to be simple missionaries invited, able to laugh and enjoy the friendship of someone friendly around us.

Is Government Help the Only Way?

Is Government Help the Only Way? How ridiculous!

It has been my habit most of my life to not turn to the government for help whenever I can. I also try not to run to my family. I want to make it on my own. It doesn’t always work but the attitude keeps me hopping sometimes when I could have sat around complaining.

I remember the first time I took welfare when a job loss kept me out of work for a few months. I realized over time that I could have taken a job somewhere for far less but did not because I considered it my right to be working in a job that was bringing in more money. What does this have to do with it? I don’t believe that is reality or clear thinking.

I prefer the other reality. I went to work at a bio technical company and saw a sea of companies around me that were striving to gain money from government grants to stay afloat. Our visionary leader had started up over thirty companies with good ideas. His overall focus was to do so only on the merits of it being a good business idea. He sought clients that would pay for research because it made good sense in the market place for this to be developed.

This prince of bio technology companies went on to produce over 50 successful companies before he went on to do other things in his life. What a relief to come to work for someone who strove everyday to be profitable and be of some value to the people and companies around us. We grew carefully as it made sense.

I realized that in my hobby life that my talent for setting bones in a martial art studio had led me to a satisfying talent that I wanted to share in my retirement years. I gave up a great computer career although I still teach in that area to study acupuncture and herbs. I live in a state that doesn’t even recognize acupuncturists as legally able to practice. Insurance doesn’t cover us. Still, I find clients the best I can and I live on less. I take care of the people around me the best I can and it slowly multiplies toward opportunities of service and work.

I think what I’m trying to say is that the American way should be standing on our own first and not depending on a government to hand us anything. I don’t want social security unless I absolutely need it. I don’t want someone to hand me health insurance unless I can’t provide for myself. By default, most of us should be striving to be doing business because business makes good sense to those around us whom we give service.

As I move toward retirement it is being clear to me that retirement is not my end goal. A long and successful life with good work habits and a healthy outlook on life is my end goal. Yes, I may retire as I can but the reality is that I’d prefer to work and help others work around me. Good employment for a good day’s wages is a pleasure in life even if it is not the top wages I pulled down in the computer industry.

At college a friend of mine went on government welfare. I talked him out of it. He and his wife took jobs while he went to school. They still made it. Our intention to take from the government first and not work on our own to pull out of it is not a healthy idea. I admire his fortitude of earning his way through college while raising a family.

Another friend was feeding his children on a government program because his children were underweight for their age. He earned good money in the computer industry but pulled in the government perks because they were there. Another bad idea. When I explained to him the idea of self-respect and self-industry – he quickly agreed and stopped the dole. How many programs do we have right now that give our children free lunches or other free programs from the federal and state grants? Does our government have the money to hand out treats. I personally believe that the federal response at the local level should be the last resort and only called upon when nothing else works – including us.

People should be looking after people – not governments. I think we have the roles reversed. Is that why we elected President Obama for change? To feed our children in lunch programs? To give out free health care and take away personal choices in how and what we believe to be our own personal health care choices? I think we have missed the point for the role of government and we pay a price with the loss of self-respect. We can and must be self-sufficient as a people, as a nation, and as a government.

I often helped people look for jobs while I worked in the computer industry. I helped fill out resumes, gave job interviews, did mock questions with feedback. I was often called upon by my companies to interview people to give a personal assessment, could they do a good job for us? It was thrilling. It was a blessing to me and I cherished those moments. We need that today.

In the job I work in today I often find myself giving care to those who can’t afford it because I am in the business of health care. Often people find themselves stuck without the ability to get better for many reasons. And after a few sessions for free, they sometimes break free and realize, “I can overcome this”. Sometimes the realize “I can live with this and I do have options”. We all have more options than we realize. I will always be grateful to the prince of biotech who led our company with a positive can do attitude and who made all of us think daily, we are here to contribute to the bottom line of profitability in every way. We can contribute positively in our life, in the life of those around us, and into the economy of an open market.

I am tired of hearing out the handouts, the programs, the guarantees, and the generation of good fortune from the politicians of our nation. In reality, I believe he that governs least, governs best.

I don’t believe it is a good idea to close your eyes while in government. Nor do I believe we should place people in homes who can’t pass the regular standards laid out for decades for good business transactions.

We need a return of common sense to our political scene. We need someone who will make the hard decisions to take government out of the picture where we have messed up large industries that were doing much better on their own. We need to savor the programs that are essential and pare down and remove what is no longer feasible because the money is not there. We need to return to moral values in this country that made each one of us self-sufficient, able, and willing to help our neighbors.

Arrivals ... you have mail

Life is an interesting journey. I don't believe in arrivals ... it is the passage of time that never stops that gives all of us the clue that each moment is opportunity to move forward or backward. Life is sufficient in itself.

As I peer out my window this morning into the glistening snow and see the ice forming across the cover on the pool, I marvel at the ingenuity of the animals about us who survive the outdoors and frolic in the daylight hours. I see them peck through the ice or chirp in the trees. How about us -- would we feel so lucky to be alive or would we perish in such hardship? Each of us in our own way carries similar burdens and yet we find our own solace in the sunlight moments. Even now I feel the smiles and laughter of friends as we have many times enjoyed a sunlight moment.

I watched "You have Mail" with a wonderful friend last night and enjoyed every moment of it. Even in pain my friend laughed and we found ourselves both crying in its delightful messages. Good music, good times, and moving through the sunlit hours with joy help us all carry the burdens of life peacefully.