Freedom is a Choice

Since July 4th is on Sunday this year, I spent some time looking up scriptures about freedom. Here are a few I found that apply directly to America and our freedoms.

When introducing the promise land to Israelites, the Lord explains in Deuteronomy 11:26-28 that the gift of the promise land comes with a big condition.

Behold, I set before you this day a blessing and a curse; A blessing, if ye obey the commandments of the Lord your God, which I command you this day: And a curse, if ye will not obey the commandments of the Lord your God, but turn aside out of the way which I command you this day, to go after other gods, which ye have not known.

Joshua reminded the Israelites of this promise shortly before leading them into the promised land. (Joshua 24:14-15)

Now therefore fear the Lord, and serve him in sincerity and in truth: and put away the gods which your fathers served on the other side of the flood, and in Egypt; and serve ye the Lord. And if it seem evil unto you to serve the Lord, choose you this day whom ye will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.

The Old Testament is full of examples of how the Israelites forgot to serve the Lord and suffered as a nation. They were only allowed to live free when they choose to follow the commandments.

The same cycle is repeated in the Book of Mormon. In Ether 2:12 Mormon warns those living in America that they have an obligation to serve Jesus Christ to maintain their freedom.

Behold, this is a choice land, and whatsoever nation shall possess it shall be free from bondage, and from captivity, and from all other nations under heaven, if they will but serve the God of the land, who is Jesus Christ, who hath been manifested by the things which we have written.

Notice how similar that promise is to the promise given to the Israelites. In 2 Nephi 2:27 we are reminded that we a free to choose freedom or captivity.

Wherefore, men are free according to the flesh; and all things are given them which are expedient unto man. And they are free to choose liberty and eternal life, through the great Mediator of all men, or to choose captivity and death, according to the captivity and power of the devil; for he seeketh that all men might be miserable like unto himself.

So today as we celebrate our country’s freedom we need to remember that our freedoms are a blessing that must be earned through obedience to the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Anyone that says otherwise does not understand our history and is leading us to destruction.

FAIL

This letter was sent home today from Spencer's school about a standardized test. I'm not an expert on grammar, but I was able to find 6 mistakes. How many can you find?

How Smart Are Your Kid's Toys

For Christmas Leah got one of those stuffed dogs with buttons on its paws that plays songs and says cute little phrases. The cool part is it has a USB port and can be connected to a computer. The included software lets you customize how it interacts. It will learn your kids name, favorite color, animal, and food. That information is used in the songs and phrases. You can also change the songs that it sings and set up a bedtime routine where the dog will play a certain amount of bedtime music to help your child fall asleep. Over all it is very cool and one of Leah's favorite toys.

So what smart toys did you kids get this Christmas?

The Joy of Christmas

It’s Christmas!!! Santa Clause brought me TWO presents! Andrew wake up!
Those are just a few of the reactions Spencer had this morning. After months of waiting, his favorite day is finally here. It was impossible for him to contain his joy, he had to share it. For him, today is a simple day full of wonder and happiness.

Today is a simple day.

Born without earthly fanfare to parents who lived a simple life and who I’m sure didn’t have many worldly things, Jesus Christ was finally here. The joy was impossible for heaven to contain, it had to be share. A new star was born to light the world. The sky was not darkened for three days in the Americas. Angels rejoiced and sang glory to His name. The scriptures tell of other wonders and happiness for those waiting for this day.

His birth was announced to a group of simple shepherds who understood the eternal meaning of Christ’s birth. I’m sure they could not contain their joy as they ran to Bethlehem, to witness the birth of their Savior. Wiseman knew the significance of the new star and immediately started their journey to honor their Savior.

Today we cannot travel to Bethlehem or listen to angels sing. However, we can still honor our Savior with simple acts of giving. There is joy and happiness found in the giving and receiving of even the smallest gifts. That joy is a reminder of the joy we receive from Christ’s gift. It is a joy that is magnified with each gift we give and the more we give the better we understand the joy we receive from Christ. It is a joy that is impossible to contain, it must be shared.

Today is simple day, it is all about joy.

Virus Alert at Airport

I was stuck at the Cincinnati Airport yesterday during the FAA computer system meltdown. This was on one of the departure information screens in the terminal. It makes you wonder if it really was a router that went bad. I also wonder what idiot designed their network so if one router goes down it takes down the whole system. Haven't they heard of redundant systems?

Some Pictures from Montreal

I had some spare time while in Montreal so I went to check out one of their main landmarks, St Joseph's Oratory.

This is the view of the bottom.

This is the view from half way up. (I couldn't get all the way to the top doors due to construction)

Inside one of the lobbies they had this shrine for the founder. Yes, that is his real heart.

This is inside the chapel.

This is their pipe organ. I didn't get to hear it, but I'm sure it sounds awsome.

Some Thoughts from Montreal Canada

I was in Montreal for a business trip to help our new dealer setup four test sites. I work for a company that makes radar sensors that monitor traffic flow (nothing with law enforcement). Our dealer was having issues with these sites so I flew up there to train them on how configure the sensor and help them get these four test sites working. The setup was a little trickier than our normal installations so the help they needed was understandable. Due to the rules in Canada and the locations where the sensors were mounted, we had to do all the work at night so they could close an on-ramp and an off-ramp. I was able to help them get all fours sites working to their satisfaction, so I’m pleased with the results of the trip.


I won’t bore you with all the details, but the picture below reminds me of two questions I often ask myself when driving through constructions zones.

1. Why is the road closed and no one is working?
2. Why are all those people standing around doing nothing?



Well, now I have some answers. They aren’t good answers but at least they are answers.

1. One of our test sites was located near the end of an on-ramp. The only way we could safely work there was to close it. We didn’t know how long it was going to take to configure that site so they went ahead a closed the off-ramp where the last site was located at the same time they closed the on-ramp. It ended up taking us about two hours to configure the site on the on-ramp (the other sites were about 30 minutes). So that off-ramp was closed for 2 hours with no one even there to do any work. I bet that was annoying for anyone that needed to get off there. I know I would have been annoyed.

2. In the traffic industry everyone has a specialty. There was a total of 6 people working with the sensors. There was one person from MTQ’s project department, two people from their planning department, two people for our dealer, and myself. The guy for the project department was there to operate the bucket truck and make any adjustments to how the sensor was mounted. The two planning people were there to make sure we got it working. I was there to make sure our dealer knew how to get it to work. We had important roles, but could not all do our jobs at the same time. However, it was more efficient for us to be there together. I’m sure the same thing is true for other construction work and that is why you often see people just standing there.