Our Journey vs Mountain Biking

 Ski lifts take forever. I remember sitting there sluggishly cruising up the mountain looking to the sky. It was clear. The summer day blew a gentle breeze just perfect to the skin. Not too warm or cold. I left the sky and dropped my view to the ground blow. My eyes winded up paths, darted through trees and then turned around leaping down short ledges.  An excitement grew in me with every moment. With our bikes securely fastened to the back of our bench, my friend and I started to figuring path's we wanted to take down the sloped mountain. We did this possible an hour till the lift finally reached the top but spend that much time was so worth what we were about to get into. We were about to go mountain biking down this mountain.
 Mounted on our steads of iron or what ever they make bikes out of, we peddled the short declined from our ski bench to the beginning which looked like tunnel with tall trees growing on the left and right shading everything in between. This part was the novice trail for its wide area and gradual slope. My friend and I wanted excitement. This beginner path wasn't doing it for us. Well the way the mountain worked the starter trail was to be light for it was more like a hallway which contained many different doors. If wanted to, one could take the easiest and safest run so follow the hallway path that lead down to the bottom, or take one of the optional doors that will also lead you down the mountain but with more adventure, danger, and sloped. That's what I had in mind. So not to far further my friend and I took one of the optional door's down a new trail we went.
 It was exhilarating! The speed blowing current through your hair, the rush pumping blood through my veins. I was enjoying it so much. My friend led us down the path then split down a new trail then again a different trail to making the ride more intense each division.
 At this point of our bike ride all was great! We hit a few bumps sometimes and maybe almost tumble off a few cliff ledges to our death... But we didn't so it's ok. But my friend did do at one point was guide us down a really rough path. I was doing fine. The trail was bumpy and rocky but I could do this no worries. That attitude change when my eyes skipped up the path to see what was coming next. The path curving to the left and was divided in half into two. One side, the right side, big rocks, the kind big when the smallest are half a foot tall. The other half little rocks but compact together. Looked like the rocks you may see in someone's yard, all so close together that you can't see the earth through that cracks. And we were head strait for these rocks.
 My friend darted right through rocks like nothing. That is not really fare I feel, rocks just mean trouble for biking. But sense he went through that ment I was committed now to go through also. So reasoning in my head, I knew that the big rocks were impassible with out some sort of devastation. As for the small rocks, I wasn't sure if I make it past or not riding over them. Either way there was no doubt in my heart that this wasn't a good idea. The mind set wasn't to dwell on those things but be thinking I will get passed this. No problem at all. I had just see my friend glide right through I'm sure I'll do the same. Can't tell you if my head was totally convinced I darted to follow the path over the gravel. It doesn't matter because when my tires roll on to the rocks the front tire and back tire of my bike were facing the right way and rotation the right way, just the motion of my bike was going else where. The smaller rocks made the ground turn to ice, so my momentum and direction went the same course as the way I approached, which I'll explain was not the way I need to go.
 My bike slide, hit and completely shifted my front wheel ninety degrees. Having the tires parallel to my handle bars the next play for my bike was flip the back tire over the front ones. Now, the guys back at the biking shop told me that if you fall hold on to the bars to prevent less scratches and injury. I knew I was in to deep for that. I let go and the bike tossed me. I flipped and tumbled and rolled and slid down this mountain trail, the bike shadowing all my acrobatics. The tumble and rumble ended with me sprawled on my back with one leg flat on the ground the other stuffed through the bike frame. I particular was not in the greatest of conditions. In simple terms... I hurt very badly. That was not what I would consider fun at all.
 Hearing a clash behind him, my friend turned around to see the ruckus. Watching me tobble he saw me one moment on the ground the next rolled on the bike then back to the ground then on to the bike, till he witness my ending pose which was something you would relate seeing in a cartoon, sprawled with the back tire infinitely spinning and with my chest slowly rising up then spasticly releasing air and hearing me laugh-groaning over come the pain that just described earlier as hurting badly. The moment finished when I rolled my head onto my cheek to stare in his very worried shocked eyes. With held in tears blurring my vision and teeth gridded I lied aloud in a whispered, "I'm ok..."

 I made to the bottom. Some casualties had occurred from the accident. My knee turned a strange yellow dash dark purple. My bike had this weird feeling while riding it after the incident. Almost like it had biffed over so rocks and just had tumbled down a mountain or something. My pants were torn way down the back. That's cute right. But that all didn't matter. I made done the hill and I learned a lesson about the destruction of small rocks.
 While there at the bottom I reflected the accident. I was following my friend down what ever direction he would take me. He then put me through an uncomfortable situation that I wasn't quite prepared for. He zipped through like there was no danger. I chose to follow, which resolted me spilling on the ground down the mountain path.
 This relates to us in everyday situation. We'll often find ourselves following closely behind some type of leader, whether family, friends, superstar, etc. What if who ever it is leading us does something we know is wrong? The results to the situation could be nothing happens to them. They come out on top and continue like doing the wrong doesn't really matter at all. So we fallow them. But its to late for us. We can't turn back, we're moving to fast and we fall.  Are we careful that we aren't letting the people in our live lead us down dangerous paths?
 Also let look at the accident in this perspective. The rocks in our paths represent transgression because for biking rocks serve no purpose but run us of course or knock us down. Now some sins are big and some are small. It easy for us to look at a big sin and say, "I'm not going to do that. That's a terrible idea. That's going to make my life real hurt if I try that." But then man looks at the sins that are small. He begins to compare them with the big ones around them. "Well that transgression really isn't as bad as the large one over there. I'm sure I'll be alright. I'm sure." If we look back to my experience, the small rocks gave the same results as the big ones would. I fell. I got hurt. Didn't matter if the rocks are big or small the fall is the same. The tumble and hurt is the same.
 Brothers and sisters, we all have made these mistakes in our life. We all have fallen by the temptations of life whether we fallowed a friend into them or chose it on our own. We all have at moments lost righteous judgement and forget that all sin is evil and carries the same destructive power no matter its size.  Sin is wrong in all accounts and can only leads to unhappiness. And we can't avoid it. But we shouldn't lose hope in our fallen states.
 Jesus Christ the Redeemer of all man kind came to earth and died to over come our sins. He love us so much that he went in the Garden of Gethsemane and took the pains of all man kind upon himself so that through our faith and repentance and effort to do his will we can be forgiven of our sins and saved by his mercy. He love us. Jesus wants this for us. He wants us to use his atonement that we again one day can return to our Heavenly Father and receive eternal life.
 When we fall on the mountain our journey isn't over. Though Jesus Christ our mistakes can be forgiven. Our paths can be redirected. Believe in the Savior, let him lift you up and guide you home down the mountain. If  you are darting through rocky paths at this time think you'll be ok, stop. Jesus can us overcome the destructive nature sin. He is there to help us guide us if we just turn to him. I know that through our faith in Christ we can be saved and this is his plan for all the children of man. Don't hesitate to find him. He's there and he love each and everyone of us. He can helps even after the time we have tumbled. I know this to be true.
 In Jesus Christ name, Amen.

Our Journey vs Rotating Doors

  I had one of those school year resolutions given to me one year. More often than not, I would try and avoid these kind of things. I didn't want to write somthing down then a year later feel bad about it. I know I'd feel bad because I know I wouldn't have come close to doing my goal. It was easier to have a resolution be nothing because nothing is pretty easy to acheive. Well at the begining of a class called seminary, which is a class that a student can study religion in highschool, they gave the students tiny pint papers with small print writing on one side. The text read something to the effect of write down a year long goal that will help you improve yourself in life, world, gospel, etc... In other words what ever helps you become better. Well I was tempted to dispose of the slip but I had a change in heart for once. I decided to give it a chance. See if I chould actually do a school year resolution. But what would I decide to do was the hard part. Grinning to myself, I wrote down, "smile every day no matter what".

  I woke up one morning, it was a Tuesday. I was to getting ready for school. But before starting all the tasks to prepare myself to go, I told myself something. What I persuaded myself that morning, "This will be a good day." I pause now and look back at that moment. I was a pretty good liar. Even fooled myself.

  I made it on time to class. Chemistry was the A hour I took first in my day. Really confuses me most of the time. Not the test I took on Friday. I was convinced that I did a phenomenal job on it. I was just so excited to see if it was an A or maybe high B. F! The paper came to me and read F! But I felt so good about it. Shocked, I kept my conposure and didn't let this ruin my "Good Day". So I smiled and contiued out the door to my next class.

  On the way to German, I was walking down the outside hallway and, unfortunately for me, I stepped in one of those yellow half circles the tell you the range of a rotating door. WACK! Door swung out, and the corner popped me in the face between my nose and my left eye. Persperation blurred my vision as I tried analysing what just had happened to cause this pulsing throb, circulating through the left side of my face. I had realized I'd become victom to the potentially dangerous everyday door. Darn it... but it's ok because I'm going to have a good day. So one eye half closed, I proceeded to my next hour course.

  I sat down in in my seat waiting for class to start. Head pounding was a strange begining to my "really good day" that I prodicted this morning. Unconvinsed and refusing to give up on my inspiration I stayed possitive, remembering that I was to be returned a quiz I took on Friday. When I recieved my paper my heart sank in disappointment. F. It was large, legible and legitimate. My bright and sunny morning was turning into a gloomy rain cloud. But even with my prediction of the wrong weather, doesn't mean I can't play in the rain. I refused a frowning face and smiled a half meaningful smirk.

  My directions next were to go to math class. It was a considerably longer walk then the rest of them. But I didn't mind that, as so I thought. Not a far ways down the outdoor hallway, I came to yellow half circle on the ground and I step in its premises. Before my memory could recollect earlier events and before my body could defend and react, a rotating door was kicked open. This time it hit the right side of my face and a good punch to my sholder. Pain ached on both sides of my face, my eyes blinded me with moisture a second time. I was not happy anymore. My smilely face was no fun face. And it stayed that way as I slowly stolled across school to my class.

   Having completely given up at this point on having a good day, I had a personal stare down with my teacher's stack of papers as she held them, knowing that in that stack one of them was mine. Serious in expression and eyeing each page as it was lifted and passed back to each student, my teacher eventually rounded to me. The grade on the test was exactly what I suspected. F. It was only tradition for my supposedly wonderful day. I thought class would never end but time came to leave and I exited with vigor.

  I kept my eyes out now. My next hour was my weight class so now I headed for the locker room. But no door was going to take me out this time. I'm nobody's fool I told myself. So I took an alternate route. My course went around the buildings away form any class rooms or hall doors. I was not going to be shamed again. Victorious, I approached the locker room doors feeling a sense of peace. But as I got closer to the enterance I heard a voice of a very adible coach inside. His verble threats and angry foot steps got louder as I stood standing at the foot of the door. I remember sighing in defeat and telling myself, "Oh come on..." when the stomps finally reached the door. The rotating door slamed open! This time it lifted me up from the ground and I was smashed between a cinder block wall and an iron plated door. As the door shut the coach looked at me all scrunched up, tush to the ground and then left me with out an appology.

  All the events seem to be leading to this point. A dark part of me just wanted to explode with rage over all that had happened. But as I took the moment to think about events I remembered a goal I had given to myself at the beginning of the year. Then the biggest smile filled my face. A bright warm feeling filled my spirit. And I was able to look past the pain and heartache. I was happy.

  Looking back now, I realized two things. One, that I wasn't a liar but that I did indead have a wonderful day. But the second thing I noticed that struck with power, was how a smile truly can make the difference. Many people think that we have to be happy before allowing our selves a smirk or grin. But that isn't true. We can be happy now. Smiling doesn't need to be something foreign or earned, but should be the way you live. True happiness comes through Jesus Christ and his Charity toward men. He paid the price of our sins, was taken and crucifided on the cross. And in three days time, rose again. His sacrifice was the ticket to our salvation. Without him taking the sins of the world upon himself, dying, and on the third day reserecting, when his body and spirit reuntited, we would be lost in our own doom. But Christ did die for us and rose for us, that through this ever lasting Atonement we may be saved.

  My friends, no matter how hard the days may be and how hard the trials that we endure, we all have reason to wear a smile. It'll brighten days surrounded in darkness and greif. A grin can give you strength through times of trials. Jesus Christ truly has brought hope to our souls. And remember there is nothing warmer to your heart then a sincere joyful smile.

  I say these thing in Jesus Christ's name, Amen.

Our Journey vs Loose Change

  I never was a fan of getting loose change. Generally someone would take that change given to them and shove the coins down a purse or pant pocket. I had it all stuffed in a wallet. The teeth to a zipper was a mouth on the right side of my wallet. I would feed that pocket full of all the loose change. Pretty soon I had this brick in my pocket made up of heavy coins in a bloating wallet. It was filled of copper pennies because the other coins always seemed to get bailed out. Quarters, nickels, and dimes can actually be recycled in purchaing further items but pennies just stayed there forever. In frustration, I would empty the wallet of change hoping that it was actually more then 24 or 31 cents of pennies that was weighing me down. My friend's approach to change was never take it in the first place. He deemed it worthless. So every time my friend got his change he'd give it right back.
  How much value is in some loose change? What a dollar? Half a dollar? Not very much. I felt that way. The money wasn't worth a lot. But that all changed when my brother came home talking about special coins.
  Jason, my brother, told me about rare coins. Change that's worth twenty, thirty, or even a thousand times

more than its base value. A penny I might have held could have been worth hundreds of dollars but with out searching it first, the coin might have looked worthless. Which means, he explained, people handle and exchange what they think is worthless change but really could have been so much more. The dime or penny that was once in my hand could have been worth thousands of dimes or thousands of pennies.

  I was convinced. From that point forward I'd look at the change I handled to see its true worth. My brother and I even decided to search my parents old change to see what they were truly worth. After gathering it all we went to work. Every coin was studied, cleaned, and inspected to see what the coins real worth was. The biggest find I ever found was a miss printed penny. Its worth only 5 bucks or so but if we put that in perspective that 500 times its face value!
  I realized that there is symbolism between the value of coins and everyday people. We tend to look at someone and judge his worth from the out side. How easy it is to say this man is worth a penny or nickel than to actually take the time and find out his true worth. The world gives out labels among people. A man is a slum, a man is middle-class, a man is rich. But not every person is only worth the value the world will give them. The time must be given to find out who someone truly is.

  How often do we cast out the change given to us wanting to know what this coin really means? What stops us from taking the time to search and understand? I know Jesus Christ would not have passed on the opportunity to know who someone is. He already knows and understands all of us better than we do. I know its worth the time find out who someone really is.
  Even today I take the time to look at my change to find out whether its worth more than its value. It has become a hobby for me from my past. But finding out the worth of someone else should be a part of our every day interaction with the world. How much value does someone really have? I'll tell what Christ thinks. Everyone's value is worth more than the world itself. No soul is less important than the other and desires each and everyone of us to return back and be with him. But something that's better about people than everyday coins they don't have to be unique to help them find more worth. With the gospel, it'll make people less value to our world, priceless in the eternities of the world to come. In Jesus Christ's name, Amen.