Life Goals

Life goals are complicated and they certainly change from time to time. Why? Somethimes things don't work out, sometimes things work out so well that if you don't modify your goals (raise your expectations) you will innevitably miss out. When I was younger I wanted to be an olympian, a world record holder, and an important person. As I grew I realized that somethings are not possible and other things are not desirable. I found out that it is very difficult to be an olympian and even though I showed enough talent in some areas of athletics I learned that I would have to give up some much more important things in order to chase that goal. I learned that faulty science can lead to a false positive doping test-thereby shaming my family name, and let's face it I never really was that competitive. Most hops on a pogo stick or the worlds longest movie marathon attempts seemed pretty cool until I found out how much paperwork, logistics, and personell would involved in the verification of something that to be honest is quite trivial.
Throughout my existence I have always maintained a few core goals. Stay true to my heavenly father, get married in the temple, raise a family and keep learning. I am always working on the first and last but I have managed to get married and I am now the proud father of a beautiful daughter. The major goal I have been working on since starting my family was providing for my family, a difficult task as a college student in this economy but one in which failure, my friend, is not an option. Most of my daily goals are tied into that goal and few long term goals are not.
Short Term: In the short term I have a few intrinsic things I would like to check off my bucket list. Graduating from college with a plan for the future. I hope to be in this position in five years. Recieve an honorable discharge from the Marine Corps and go on my merry way. I have three years in and three to go. Run a marathon and get my wife to run one with me, hopefully we can knock this one out this year and next. Establish myself as a professional in my field of choice, and I'm not entirely sure what that is yet and yes finish writing my fictional book. Maybe I will have the chance to do that in the next year or so.
Mid term is pretty simple. Keep my budget balanced, and save up enough money to purchase a home. My wife and I are not sure exactly where we wish to live, work will dictate much of that but I would love to see myself buying a home and retiring (partially) before I'm fifty- if my wife and I want to drive around the US for three months taking pictures I want to be able to do that. I want to save up enough money to take the family on a cruise as the kids are graduating from high school/college (I plan on taking one cruise).
Long Term: See my grandkids have kids and be able to horse around with them as well. However long I am going to live I want to stay healthy. I want to be able to interract with my family for as long as I possibly can and I hope I can convince my family to do the same. Don't get me wrong no matter what shape I am in at 90 I will still never let go of life until God himself picks me up and takes me home but if I can I would like to be standing up proud and alive when he calls.

Who Am I

Who am I? I believe that is a good question. I know who I am right now. I’m an Arizonan, a husband, a father, a sportsman, and an outdoor enthusiast among other things. I care deeply for other people and I do my best to act on that care, even if it is not always so easy. Part of who I am depends partly on those who came before me, in this way family history work is a way to rediscover who I am. Not that the behavior of those who came before me or those who are around me now necessarily effects my own behavior and optimistic view of the world but it is a story that I am a part of. I am here today because of many generations of lives and stories and I owe it to those who came before me to find out who they were. I have a strong moral standard for myself, and though it is nearly impossible to follow that code perfectly I know it makes a huge difference in my life and those around me when I do my best to follow it. A big part of those standards have to do with treating and caring for others better. It doesn’t matter who they are or where they come from. They have value, their lives and their salvation has value and though it is not easy I need to do my very best to keep them in mind when I am making decisions about my own life. If everyone cared for one another more, or at least thought deeper about how their decisions might affect another, they would make very different decisions. The world would be a much safer, grander place to live. I’m not saying everyone has to follow Jesus Christ or join the Church, the ideas that many people were raised with prevent them from accepting the gospel, but if people could just follow one commandment, love one another we would have a very different world. I believe this is something everyone needs to work on especially members of the Church. It has become far to easy for people of faith to judge people of other faith and people of no faith. I submit that you do not have to agree with someone’s lifestyle or path to care for them and that our judgment of others (not others actions but others) is a far greater sin 99% of the time than what they are doing in the first place. We also need to take care of our own salvation and lives. We can make sacrifices for others but we should never sacrifice our own lives or the joy of our lives for someone who would not do the same for us. We need to remember that each individual spirit, including ours is just as important as the next. I think the world is a great place. There are some who want to look at it as a grim place falling apart at the seams, but this is just not the case. People in general are striving to improve and though there is evil amongst us there is also greatness.

I have always been big on exercise and I have not changed. A healthy life is not only a commandment; it’s a good idea. We can’t help others if we ourselves are not fit to assist. Being a professional athlete is not the idea but a healthy life and even better, continual improvement if possible. Leading healthy lives will help us better feel the spirit and will keep us around longer to better the world. A healthy body is also very influential in keeping our minds sharp.

            We must always continue to learn. We will never learn everything there is to know; existence is so vast, our little world so vast, our family history so vast that there will never be a shortage of things to expand our minds. Sometimes it may seem we have reached the end of what we can learn and improve on but the end of one avenue will always be the beginning of another.

            I am very excited about the prospect of learning forever. Of living with my family forever in heaven but I also am taking as much advantage of my opportunities right now as I can. If I sit down and let life pass me by I will spend the rest of eternity wishing I had that unique period of time back.

Chris

Why I am doing this

Welcome to my family history blog. Over the next few months I will be researching and hopefully discovering a wealth of information about the history of my family. The stories and more importantly the individuals will be my main focus. I have a strong testimony of Jesus Christ and when He died on the cross he did it for everyone who lived. Not only for those who had a chance to accept His gospel in this life but everyone. That’s why family history and temple work are so very important and I believe strongly in these things. The LDS Church, I believe, is the only true church upon the face of the earth. It is either of God and directed by his hand or it and all of Christianity is a complete farce. I believe it is true. The Church was restored to this earth for the benefit of God’s children. He wants them to return to live with him once more and he is gathering them for this purpose. The teachings of Jesus Christ have greatly directed my life and make up much of my personal philosophy on all things, spiritually and worldly. Just as Jesus was concerned of the one sheep out of a hundred that was lost, I believe in caring for and valuing individual people regardless of who they are. I say these things in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.