Letter to My Son

I sent this letter to Ben, our son serving as a missionary for the LDS (Mormon) Church in Guatemala, and felt you folks might be interested. He is now in his 6th month.

-Les

My sister and I at Disneyworld.

Your mother and I are back from a great week in Florida. We toured the adult way, visiting family, sleeping in, taking our time, seeing shows while avoiding roller coasters, relaxing during meals and having encouraging conversations with total strangers, and talking together about the many opportunities and blessings in life. We enjoyed an airboat ride and a stunt car show and a horse show and leisurely shopping and nostalgia rides and the weather. We talked a lot about children and parents and the future, and much about God. We had joint prayers and daily gospel study, and I added eight pages to my journal. And we exchanged lots and lots of hugs. Altogether, it was a great time.

Isaac has been told that he is going to get a black shirt in the Marines, a great honor, something he is excited about. He is doing very well and is very eager to ship out for basic training. One friend has returned from basic, and Thomas comes back this Saturday. Isaac is glad to see them and to be able to pick up many tips about the intense training, but it frustrates him that he hasn't shipped out yet.

Your last letter was very heartening. It signaled a possible turnaround within you, which we hope brings you much peace. We also hope it brings you much joy and enthusiasm, and that this change grows. We pray that it leads to answers to all your questions, and that your enthusiasm becomes infectious and irrepressible.

And most of all, we pray that it brings you a powerful, deep, permanent and growing relationship with God through the Holy Ghost. Become a master in that relationship, Ben, a very experienced expert in feeling the subtle and deep and powerful promptings of that spirit. Follow those promptings fearlessly and with much faith. That will permanently change your life and will powerfully affect the lives of others, including your future family.

God bless you in the things you do. You are doing a hard work. God bless you to succeed, to feel good about your efforts, and to have joy.

We love you, Ben. I love you.

-Dad

Double Eagle

My wife is now the proud mother of two Eagle Scouts. Ben (on the left) is now serving a mission for the LDS Church in Guatemala, while Isaac (on the right) is waiting to be called into boot camp for the U.S. Marines. And Mom, long involved in Girl Scouts and Cub Scouts and now a Boy Scout Unit Commissioner, is very proud of them both. Dad is, too!

Rejected 60 Times

You may have seen this story, but in case you didn't, it is really inspirational to artists of any type, or any other endeavor you care about: The author of "The Help" says her book was rejected 60 times before it was finally accepted for publication.

Yahoo Shine's blog post: Kathryn Stockett's "The Help"

Art Studio Joys

For the first time ever, I got to experience what the joys of being in an art studio, or art commune, or whatever, might be. Instead of being a teacher or lecturer or a student, as I have many times, or laboring alone in my room, for a day I was an equal, a partner in a relaxed, casual art setting. It was wonderful.

To start the ball rolling, I approached a young lady I have known since she was in kindergarten with an oil painting illustration job. She has some painting experience and a knack for it. I told her that I would help her get started on the project and guarantee that she would meet the client's needs. My client was happy with the arrangement and agreed to give her a reduced fee for the work. The young lady came to my home studio today and we spent a very relaxed, happy four hours, she blocking in the colors on my easel while I worked on a Christmas book I wrote and am illustrating on the computer. Family members came in every so often to add comments.

I had a great time. The lady and I joked, told stories, caught up on news about friends, listened to some Weird Al Yankovic songs, and ended the day watching Youtube videos by the jazz band Jive Aces. We each made some great progress on our projects, and with all the jazz tunes we played, by the end of the day I was dancing on the ceiling. Still running the tunes through my head.

I was really impressed with this lady's skills; she says she's not a people painter, but her work belies that. She admitted that she was nervous and intimidated at first but she jumped right in anyway. I give her great credit for chutzpah.

As usual, I won't be able to work in my studio again until next weekend, but I gave her permission to continue the project even if I'm not there. She's an ice dancer and just got her EMT certification. Whatever she puts her mind to, she can do. I wish her very well.

If that's what the collegial atmosphere in an art studio is like, I'm all for it.

Jive Aces on Youtube.
Weird Al Yankovic on Youtube.

Battle: Los Angeles

While I'm recommending things, check out "Battle: Los Angeles". I saw it three times and have the soundtrack. My youngest son just joined the Marines, and this movie really grabbed me. It shows the ultimate use of the military: To protect the weak even in the face of overwhelming odds. A squad goes into a war zone to extract some trapped civilians and gives everything to save them. Shock and awe, this time from our perspective. Intense, powerful.

Unbroken

Those interested in stories of survival, determination, overcoming impossible odds, and redemption should check out Laura Hillenbrand's book Unbroken. It is a powerful story, very well told, and very moving. If you enjoyed Corrie Ten Boom's "The Hiding Place", this book will move you. My wife and I raced through it, she through the book, I the audio version. When she was busy I read portions to her, which was a treat because I got to see how some of the Japanese names were spelled and she got to hear how they were pronounced. Very good stuff.

Joseph Smith Movie

Last night I took my wife and a person interested in our church to see the movie "The Joseph Smith Movie - Volume 1" (http://josephsmithmovie.com/) during its East Coast pre-release run. Got to meet Dustin Harding, the man who played Joseph. Wonderfully done. Powerful impressions. I learned a lot about the man. I loved the inclusion of so much of Emma's perspective and influence during these very formative events.

Dustin's testimony before and after the movie was a powerful spiritual experience. Our guest cried. I also very much enjoyed learning historical details of Joseph's life in the question and answer session afterward. Go to the web site to check out local screenings.