Repost of "A Tribute to a Cousin I never met and a true Christian – Virgil"

 I almost just deleted this one, but then I read it.  It reminded me of some important things and I thought maybe you would enjoy it also.  Originally posted Nov. 4, 2007.  I received an email from his family telling me that it was read at his funeral.

Virgil died November 3, 2007, from what appeared to me to be a very quick disease. According to what I have been able to read on his MyFamily.com web site, he went in to the hospital on November 1^st because of a Hiatal hernia and elevated blood pressure. By 10:00 p.m. on November 3d he had passed on. He was 75 years old.

A few years back I was kind of testing the waters on some genealogical information and found that much of my family was already recorded on at least one of the most popular web sites for such. When I looked to see who had submitted it I came across this unknown person: Virgil C. Law. I contacted Virgil and was very pleasantly surprised by the warm welcome that I received. After doing a little checking we discovered that his Great Great Grandfather and my Great Grandfather were the same person. I don’t know exactly how that works out for # cousins, maybe something like 5^th or 6^th, but cousins none the less. Virgil spent his life as a Pastor primarily associated with the Wesleyan Church.

Why am I writing this tribute to a man I never personally met? Because I think there are some life lessons we can learn from what I knew about Virgil.

I liked Virgil. Why? Because I think Virgil liked me. And why do I think he liked me? Because he acted like he liked me. You may be looking at this and shaking your head and saying, what is this guy talking about? Virgil had some traits similar to my father, (They would have been one step closer on the cousin line. Maybe it’s a family trait). Both my father and Virgil seemed to be genuinely curious about people, and genuinely interested in them. Most (I’d guess 99.99999999%) people are mostly interested in themselves, even very good people like my dad and Virgil. It stands to reason that if you show an interest in people, and you find their good points, they are going to think that you are a really nice person and we all like a “really nice person”.

When I first contacted Virgil, he made it clear that he was glad I contacted him. He invited me to his family web site and opened up his family and his life to me. He joined in our family web site, and contributed. We exchanged many emails. In some of those emails I told him some of my thoughts and beliefs and shared some personal things with him. He never made me feel that I needed to apologize or be embarrassed. He always made me feel like what I thought or felt or did was important. On my birthday and my wife’s and my anniversary Virgil took a few minutes to send an email to remind us that we were important to him. When I posted items in our or his family web site he took the time to read them and make supporting comments. The more I visited his family web site the more it was clear that everyone was important to him. He loved to post photos and stories of every little detail of his family members’ lives. What they were doing and where they were and it was always done with love and without apology. He genuinely cared about people. Virgil had a true Christ like love for everyone around him. His interest was out more than in. In many ways he appeared to epitomize the principle of Charity. “And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three; but the greatest of these [is] charity.” 1 Corinthians 13:13

As we mourn the passing of this great man, a Christian man, who not only believed in Jesus Christ, but tried to emulate Him, perhaps we can take some time to reflect on how we can, like him, be a true Christian. Perhaps we can see how reaching out with true charity and love can bless others’ lives and bring happiness to them and ourselves.

I never got to meet Virgil face to face and yet I will miss him. I look forward to the day when I can meet him.

May God bless him and his family and the many many people who, like me, feel a void in their lives because he is gone, for now.

Repost of "As a Man (Woman) Thinketh" from The World's Best Blog

I only promised that that was the last repost for yesterday.  So here is another for today.  I received several comments on this one so it must have struck a chord. It was originally posted on Oct. 16, 2007.

The other day I was just clicking on "Next Blog" to see what I might find. I came across one of the saddest things I have seen recently. I came across a blog which a woman used to talk about her diabetes. It is unfortunate for her that she has this terrible ailment, but I believe that by focusing so much time and energy on it she is doing more to propagate it in her own life and possibly in some others. I read a book recently in which the author and others who corroborated believed that all diseases are brought on by the mind and thought process. I don't believe that that is entirely true, but I do believe that the mind does have a lot to do with how the body treats the disease, and I believe that by choosing what you spend your time thinking about can make the disease better or worse in your life. I believe you can choose to dwell on disease or you can choose to dwell on health, strength and well being, and that which you dwell on will get stronger and more prevalent. Every time I have a little twinge, or pain I try to give thanks for how healthy and strong and well I am, and more often than not the pain diminishes and I feel stronger, healthier and happier.

Repost of a repost of "My Family"

(Something really weird happened.  I posted this and it even went out in the email to those who get this by email, but it did not stick to the blog?????? Don't ask me what happened, cuz I don't know!?!?!?. Anyway here it is again and hopefully it will stick this time.)


This is the very first post I put on my other Blog: The World's Best Blog. As you probably know I am changing the format of that to make it primarily a Photography Blog, so I wanted to clean off most of the stuff that is not related to photography. Most of it is not worth taking a second look at but I wrote this with my heart and wanted it preserved.  So I have copied it to here where it really belongs.  This was originally published on September 26, 2007, when I first began that blog.  I have left it exactly as it was written.



----------------Original Starts Here-------------------
I will not say a lot about my wife. She is far too dear to me to put her on public display. Let me just say that she is the most important and best mortal influence in my life. She has given me wings to fly and at the same time has been an invaluable guide and helper.

You could say that most children come in to most families kind of by chance. That was more true back when my children were born than it is today. Today there is so much more "family planning". I lead with that introduction to tell you about my oldest son, because he did not come to me by chance he came by choice, because when I chose to marry his mother he came as part of the package. I not only knew that going in but I happily accepted it. When I fell in love with his mother I quickly came to love him also. That has been over 30 years ago and I have never not loved him as if he were my natural son. I'm certain that there were times when he really doubted that, but the mistakes I made were not made because of lack of love, but mistakes of lack of know how. His name is Wade and I'd like to tell you just a little about him. Wade is one of the most honest people you will every have the pleasure to know. You may not agree with him but you will never doubt that you know where he stands and what he believes. He gives his employer more than an honest day's work every day. You can count on him no matter what as his word is his bond. If he tells you he'll do something or be somewhere or whatever he might tell you, you can count on it. It will be done, it will be done right and it will be done when he says it will be done, and probably a little better and a little sooner. Wade tries very hard to come across as a tough old curmudgeon, but if you give him a chance you'll see he's a teddy bear in disguise. He will do everything he can for whoever needs it, especially if he calls you his friend or a member of his family. Wade is a wonderful father. He loves his children as deeply and completely as any man can. There is nothing more important to him than his precious children. They always come first.


Let me tell you a little about my son Eric. Eric spent his first nine months of life sharing his mother's womb with a twin brother. Sadly his twin died of a serious birth defect only a few hours after birth. If I were to try to come up with just one word to describe Eric it might be "resilient". And I would like to put the adjective "incredibly" in front of it. Like everyone, all of my children have had their struggles and challenges. Eric's have been very different from the others'. I won't go into detail but he and those who know him know what they are. When I look at Eric I see a person who would have had every excuse to have been a real problem child and gone the wrong way, but he has not. He has always fought the uphill battle and come out a winner. He said to me, not long ago, after a particular struggle in his life when I was very worried about him, "You know me, dad, I always land on my feet." I firmly believe that he does and the lesson to be learned by many here is that he does, in no small part, because he believes that he always does and always will. Eric is a devoted husband and father who loves his family with all his heart and wants the very best for them. He not only wants it, he is one of the hardest working people I know, so that he can get it.


I have three sons, three men I could not be prouder of if they were the presidents of the nation. Each is so unique and different from the other. My son Dustin has been said to be marching to the beat of a different drummer and I am so proud of him for not only marching to that beat but doing it with passion and conviction. Certainly one of the things I admire most about Dustin, and there are many things, is his passion. Dustin is like a bull dog with his jaw locked on the ring of those "bulls" that are important to him. As I muse in future posts one of the points I want to spend some words on is the importance of passion in our lives. Dustin is a giving person, almost to a fault, if that is possible. Money may be very tight, there may be no time left over, his strength may be spent, but if there is a need he will find a way to do whatever he can to fill that need. Dustin genuinely cares about people, all people, and that is one of his great passions. Like his brothers and sisters, his first passion is his family. He loves and cherishes his family and cares for them with all the tender feelings a great father can offer.


I have two amazingly wonderful daughters. One of the best things about these two are that they are best friends and always have been. Maybe part of that is because we moved around a lot in the military, and the one thing they could always count on was each other. I am so happy that they love each other so much.


Kathryn was our first daughter. What a joy she is and has been. She started life so shy that we were really nervous, but when she came out of that she was 180 degrees out of that. Kathryn is a natural leader. Whenever there is a group Kathryn is usually the instigator for new ideas and especially activities. Because of that we've always called her our "Party girl". And yet she has the innate sense to know when someone else needs to lead and she not only lets them but encourages them. Sometimes in today's world the title "Party girl" may carry negative connotations. Not so in Kathryn's case. When she gets a group together it's always for good. People come away from those events better than when they went in. Kathryn's children must have been some of the most choice spirits in Heaven to have earned the right to have her as their mother. There could not be a more choice, loving, thoughtful mother than Kathryn.


Melissa is our little caboose. And, we could not have picked a better one. Besides being a very best friend to Kathryn, she has always brought special joy to her mother. Melissa has always been so good about going and doing things with her mother when the other children had grown a little beyond that and Jeanne needed her. The best word I can think of for Melissa is just plain Sweet. She cares so much about all living things. If you have a chance to know or be around her you just know you are loved. Jeanne and I were both raised in those Victorian atmospheres where love was understood, not expressed. Sadly we were much the same way with our own children. Melissa has done more to try to break us out of that mold than anyone else could have. She is so thoughtful and considerate. She simply makes all those around her happy, happy that they are with her. Melissa has not been blessed with children of her own yet, but she treats each of her little nieces and nephews with such love that they all feel like she is their other mother.


Each of our children have selected a sweet spouse. I'm not going to spend any time on them, because I will let their own husbands or wives sing their praises in another venue. I will simply say that they are also the parents of my precious and choice grandchildren and that speaks volumes.

Repost of "Be A Sport" from The World's Best Blog

Boy I was smart back in 2007 ;-).  Seriously though, I do feel strongly about these posts and do not want to lose them.  They were my thoughts at the time and I still believe there is value to them.  This is my last copy from The World's Best Blog - tonight.  I wrote all of these, for you, my family.  Please take a few minutes to read them.  They are a letter, a word of advice, an idea, from me to you. I wrote this one on Oct. 10, 2007.

When I was young a famous ad showed the big muscular guy on the beach kicking sand in the face of the “90 pound weakling” and then walking away with the weakling’s shapely girl friend. Of course the ad was for muscle building equipment and supplies. Well I was that guy – the 90 pound weakling. I felt totally inadequate in anything to do with physical competition and so I avoided almost all sports and especially team sports, where I was always the last to be chosen when it came time to pick teams. Of course I always did a poor job and gave the other guys plenty of opportunity to laugh at my weakness and lack of abilities. I think I have an explanation for all that now – See the post called “90% mental and 90% mental” below. Because of my weakness I never encouraged my children in team sports like I should have. Without even realizing it I probably expected them to fail like I had and so I unknowingly sabotaged their efforts. Our oldest son, Wade, has done a great job of encouraging his children in team sports. I recognize now that having at least some success in teams sports can be an important part of growing up. Wade and Lori have discovered a real passion for soccer, particularly in one of their daughters. They have sacrificed a great deal of time and money to make sure she has every opportunity for success. At the same time they have encouraged their other children without brow beating them. Helping your children succeed in sports requires loving them and encouraging them. If I had it to do over again, here are some things I would try real hard to do, especially in their early years:

1. I would buy, or borrow, or beg, or whatever it took, to get more sports equipment around the house.
2. I would spend less time in front of the TV and more time outside using that sports equipment.
3. Whenever I saw my children do anything even remotely well, or slightly better than they had done it last time I would praise them, sometimes lavishly, but always praise.
4. If I saw something they were struggling with I would NEVER point it out to them, but I would find a way to help them learn it and practice it and praise improvement.
5. I would find a coach who LOVED the kids more than the game or the sport. A coach who’s joy came from watching them learn and improve and to whom winning the game was not as important as each child being better and happier. (If I couldn't find such a coach, I'd have to recruit or be one and then recruit help from someone who knew the sport.)
   
6. I would encourage my child in the sport they loved, not the ones I thought they should be good at.
7. I would openly praise every child on the team, all the while making sure that my child knew he/she was the most important player to me and NEVER comparing him/her to any other player.
8. After the game when I had my child away from the rest of the team I might point out great plays from both teams, always pointing out more good things he/she had done.
9. I would never say anything negative about their coach where there is any chance my child would hear it, and only then if it was to find a solution to any problem.
10. I would recognize that a different way is not necessarily a wrong way.
11. The only time I would say negative would be in the case of poor sportsmanship. My child would know that poor sportsmanship in any form, by anyone, was unacceptable.

Any sport can be a team sport if people are working together, under a coach, for a common goal. Besides Basketball, Soccer, Football and baseball, there’s volleyball, water sports, tennis, golf, etc.

Organized sports, when properly administrated and coached, promotes health, athleticism, exercise habits, proper respect for our bodies, teamwork, sportsmanship, goal setting, work ethic, and many other positive attributes.

When I first started putting my thoughts together on this topic, Jeanne asked me what I was writing about. When I told her it was about encouraging involvement in sports in our children she wisely reminded me that today many people get overly rapped up in it, hence the common description of the Soccer Mom and the mini van. It is so important that we remember “moderation in all things”. Never allow yourself to lose sight of the purpose of your involvement, as enumerated in the paragraph above. When winning at sports becomes the end all and only purpose it can easily lead to an obsession. Suddenly instead of athleticism, exercise habits and proper respect for our bodies, we have the use of dangerous substances to enhance performance. Instead of sportsmanship, goal setting and work ethic, we have cheating and dishonesty, and instead of positive experiences we have a downward negative spiral.

Last, but certainly not least, sports must never be a substitute for good academics. Sports is a great tool to enhance our soul and mind, but it must always be kept in its proper perspective.

Repost of 90% Mental and 90% Mental from The World's Best Blog

Another that I don't want to lose. I wrote this originally on October 4, 2007.


I like to golf. As often as I can I get together with family or friends and golf. With one particular friend we often joke that “Golf is 90% mental and 90% mental”. Many sports adages apply similarly to life. This is one of them. Life is pretty much what we think it is or is supposed to be. People are pretty much as happy as they make up their minds to be. Most adults get what they think they deserve. When I was a very young soldier I didn’t think very much of myself. I didn’t think I was very smart and I certainly didn’t feel comfortable with winners. One day in basic training I got pulled aside and told that I had done very well on all the Army entrance tests. They told me I qualified to go to Officer Candidate School. This blew me away, I didn’t think I was smart enough to pass the urine test let alone all that battery of tests the Army throws at you in Basic Training. Well after a tour in Vietnam and Italy I finally ended up in Officer Candidate School, but I still didn’t think I belonged there, so, guess what happened. I didn’t make it through. I failed. Over the years, I learned that I was just as smart and capable as most of the guys in that school, but the difference was all in my brain. I didn’t think I belonged there, and so I didn’t. It was nearly 12 years later that I finally pinned on the rank of an officer in the U.S. Army. The older I get and the more I learn, the more I’m convinced that life is 90% mental and 90% mental.

Keep It Simple

I may have mentioned before that I've been trying to learn Photoshop CS4 with a book that I have and recently I've been looking at the many ways to extract part of a photo. Today I approached the photo you see below with one of the most complicated but best ways to extract the flower portion so I could put it back on the black and white version and keep the original color. After a couple hours and a few tries I still was not happy, so I finally decided "to heck with it, I will just use the old Magnetic Lasso tool", not nearly as sophisticated, but guess what. . . It worked! This photo was taken with the others I posted earlier. Today happens to be Avery's 9 month birthday, but that had nothing to do with me posting this.

Mesquite Adventure

Right after breakfast these guys are about to go out into a cloudless sky at a temperature of about 98 degrees, but it is still very early, so it will get warmer quickly. So why are they smiling? Well, because they get to go golfing with me. Okay, at least they get to go golfing.

Sean

I was going through some of the photos I took on our trip to Oregon last month and I saw this one I took of Sean sitting on a little log chair by the South Falls (I think). Sean was a real sport and escorted Dustin and I clear down there and back without complaining. There must have been 500 stairs, but it was worth it. OBTW, I think he carried my tripod the entire way.

Speaking of Visitors

August is going to be a very busy month. It usually is. This Saturday is the Law Family reunion for my parents' descendants. Then on Sunday, after church we head South to Mesquite Nevada where we will spend a few days with Eric's family and Melissa's family. We will be back on Thursday and then on about Saturday Dustin and his family will be up and we'll get to spend some time with them. What a great month this is going to be! By the end of the month I will have forgotten all about the Water Heater incident. Here's a photo I took of Dustin, Tamra, Sean & Anna while we were up there just a few weeks ago when they took us to see these beautiful falls. Sean and Anna rode with us, and was so glad to spend some time with them.

Our Young Visitor

Melissa got brave one day last week and decided to go with friends to Park City. Oh, what to do with Avery? She would be bored and tired, maybe mom and dad will watch her?? You bet we would and we did. Just in case Melissa was worried about her putting up a big fuss and crying her eyes out while she was gone here are some photos.

OBTW: Let this be a warning to you. If you bring grandkids over for us to babysit you better bring some cute clothes (Like Melissa did) because they are likely to be photographed. And yes we are accepting models.