Sandcastle For Sale

There are times when it feels like strengthening my testimony and spirituality in my life is like building a sandcastle on the beach. The waves seem to drag chunks away almost as fast as I can pile wet sand on top. Building a sandcastle in the wake of ocean waves can go on for hours and hours with no, or relatively little, progress being made. Believe me, I try it almost every time I go to a beach. Most of my effort is exerted in regaining what is lost to an occasional large wave. This leads me to believe that sandcastle testimony building is not a wise endeavor (duh!). How, then, can a firm testimony be built on the beach of life among the waves of adversity and doubt so we can say like Jacob "wherefore, I [can] not be shaken." Jacob 7:5? We ought to take a look at how we approach the spiritual activities in our lives such as church attendance, scripture study, prayer, and fasting. Are we merely piling wet sand on our sandcastle testimony day after day? Or are we exerting the necessary effort to quarry stone and build on a bedrock foundation? (Hint: you don't find a bedrock foundation on the part of the beach where the world likes to play and sun-bathe) What it all boils down to is this: don't make do with a temporary sandcastle when a little extra effort and wisdom could be the difference in gaining a rock-solid fortress.

Ya wanna see a card trick?

I'm no magician by any stretch of the imagination, but I do have one card trick up my sleeve. I learned it from a friend at work, and I reserve it for those days of knocking doors when I need a little extra help putting a smile on my face. This is how it works:

Prospect: Sounds great, why don't you just give me your card and I'll think it over.
Me: Okay.
(Lesson one: if someone asks for your card when you come knocking on their door they don't plan on calling you. They just don't know how to say no.)
Me: Here you go.
(I reach into my pocket, pull out a baseball card and then hand it to them. Straight face. They take it. Wait a second... a quizzical expression comes across their face.)
Prospect: Uh? ...
Me: Oh, sorry.
(I reach out, take the card back, autograph it and then return it.)
Me: There you go.

Depending on their reaction to this there are a number of directions you take the trick. You can use it to redirect and continue the sale, or make a memorable exit from their doorstep. There was only one man I shared this trick with that didn't laugh at all. I still can't understand why he didn't get it. It had been more than a decade since I bought baseball cards, but let me tell you, that was the best dollar I ever spent on a pack of baseball cards (especially since it included a stick of gum)!

Just Get Out of Bed

I was reading in the Book of Mormon this morning and came across Jacob 3:11. I thought about the number of times sleep is associated with sin and hell in the scriptures. Personally I think it is a great parallel. Getting out of bed can be so hard sometimes, but you'd miss all the wonderful things in life if you never got out of bed.
At the moment the alarm goes off it is easy to be apathetic and procrastinate getting started, especially after growing accustomed to a warm soft bed all night long. Sleep fogs our vision and overshadows our resolve to take action and get things done. But didn't we come to this life to do, to experience, to live, to choose, to be challenged; not to be acted upon in an apathetic dream-like state as if we are just spectators of our lives sitting and eating popcorn in the movie theater of life.
Also, there is more of a correlation than we may think at times between the physical and spiritual aspects of our lives. So if we can't get out of bed in the morning and start living each day, we should be wary of drooping into the deep sleep of sin (you're guaranteed to be guilty of sins of omission if you spend all day in bed). I only say all this because I am guilty of it. However, I have also found it is easiest to get out of bed when I am excited about doing some activity in the morning, and when I have someone to do it with. Fellowship and enthusiasm about the gospel are so important to keeping us, and those around us, out of bed.

see also 2Ne. 1:13, 2Ne. 4:28, Alma 5:7, Alma 32:27

15 minute river-walk

What to do? It's a little late to get on any rides at Navy Pier so paying $20 bucks for parking just doesn't seem reasonable at all. As for on-street parking... well, there isn't any (that is unless you're a scooter or motorcycle). But wait! There's one spot in a 15 minute parking zone under a hotel. Let's take it.
Now the question is, how much of Chicago can you see in 15 minutes? Luckily we parked right next to the river so a quick speed-walking river stroll seemed the best option. It was short, sweet, simple, and over before I knew it.
We made it back to the car in time, just in case you were wondering. No ticket, no tow truck, no problem.

Unexpected

You'll never believe how I talked my way out of this one!

Oh, the things you'll see...

At this point in the summer I've probably knocked about 7,000 doors. Not too shabby if I do say so myself. Well, in those moments between when I knock on a door and they answer, I generally look around and admire the many things found on people's steps and porches. Whenever I see something of note and no one opens the door I usually whip out my phone and take a picture. First, let's examine a few of the notable porch geese you're sure to come across in Chicagoland.

Don't ask me why they dress up their geese. Sometimes people will try and break the goose mold by putting out penguins or something crazy and unexpected.

Then there are the homes that don't take very good care of their exteriors. No decorations, but plenty of spider webs in the corners. It didn't take me long to realize that a favorite spot for spider webs is right by the door bell.

Among other interesting insects I found an extremely furry caterpillar the other day. After some research I came to the conclusion that it was a caterpillar destined to become a moth and not an elegant butterfly. However, that did not diminish it's coolness in my nature guide book. It's orange antenna thing and suction cup feet were fascinating!

No, there is never a dull moment on the doors. But the most interesting things I find on the doors are most definitely the people that sometimes come out from behind them.

New Phone

So I dropped my Razor, my first cell phone down some cement steps a little while back. The drop proved fatal and it forced me to get a new phone, which was something I probably should have done anyway. So after a weekend of suffering without any phone I went to the T-Mobile store and got myself the Nokia Xpress Music. It's a cool little phone. It's so small it might fly right out of my hand if the wind blows too hard though. The only complaint I have is that it is impossible to text message a true zero. I can replace it with a capital "O" but that doesn't work if you're texting Google for a Little Caesar's address. I read the manual and I've come to the conclusion that it's a software problem that hopefully will get corrected with a downloadable update. (I don't know if downloadable is a real word.) Regardless, I love my new phone.