I am grateful for the attorneys I know who are kind and compasionate in their work. As a group, they are oftern criticized, but I know several who do not fit into the mold that society places upon them. I was impressed with a talk by James Rasband who spoke about how attorneys (and all of us) should approach their profession. Among many other ideas, he shared the paraphrased scripture below. It is taken from one of the last sections of his talk entitled, “Forgiveness and the Lawyer”.

No power or influence can or ought to be maintained by virtue of [a lawyer’s status], only by persuasion, by long-suffering, by gentleness and meekness, and by love unfeigned;

By kindness, and pure knowledge, which shall greatly enlarge the soul without hypocrisy, and without guile. [D&C 121:36–37, 41–42]

Link to talk:

http://speeches.byu.edu/?act=viewitem&id=2075

I am grateful tonight for the sensitive approach taken by Marco Villareal who interviewed me Sunday. He is one of the reporters who came to our home over a year ago and told the story of David’s disappearance. I was a bit hesitant to share my feelings on TV at such a tender time for our family. But ultimately I thought it would be right to share some of my heart and some of my faith. I am thankful for how the brief newsclip was put together. Click on the video link below.

http://www.ktnv.com/news/local/180777941.html

I highjacked Kevin’s blog, because I wanted to add a post. Synergy is when the interaction of two things produces a combined effect greater than the sum of the individual parts. Kevin plus Michelle equals synergy. When adversity comes, it can either strengthen a couple or pull them apart. Fortunately for us, the events of the past 14 months and our faith in God has brought us closer together. The words to Michael Buble’s song, “Hold On,” sums up how we feel.

‘So hold on to me tight, hold on, I promise it’ll be alright.

Cause we are stronger here together than we could ever be alone.

Just hold on to me, don’t you ever let me go.”

People with experience are often wise and can teach us much if we will allow them. I love the optimism of Monroe who just entered his 90th year. The other day he shared with me the following: Plan ahead. Live one day at a time. What a great balance of planning for the future yet living in the moment. Thank you Monroe.

Visiting the Shelter Valley Fire Station last weekend gave me a new appreciation for our public servents. Fire fighting is often glamorized in the public eye. What is not seen is that the path to being a fire fighter requires many years of hard training, testing, certifications, job applications, and temporary disappointments. I was very impressed with the quality of the men and woment we met at Shelter Valley, people who are completely dedicated to serving the public good even when the path is not easy.