Weekly Letter

Caleb:

I thought there were some great thoughts this last conference..  I really enjoyed re-reading this from Elder Christopherson:

"My dad, a steelworker, left home very early for work each day. Every morning he would … tuck the covers around me and stop for a minute. I would be half-dreaming when I could sense my dad standing beside the couch, looking at me. As I slowly awoke, I became embarrassed to have him there. I tried to pretend I was still asleep. … I became aware that as he stood beside my bed he was praying with all his attention, energy, and focus—for me.

"Each morning my dad prayed for me. He prayed that I would have a good day, that I would be safe, that I would learn and prepare for the future. And since he could not be with me until evening, he prayed for the teachers and my friends that I would be with that day. …

I hope you can picture our family, kneeling in family prayer praying for you.  I hope you can see in your mind's eye your little sisters asking Heavenly Father to bless you that you will do well and find people to teach.

In the moments that I commune with Heavenly Father, I ask him to bless you.  I ask that you will have good companions and good members who will love you and help you succeed and feel good about your mission.  I ask that you will be observant and learn from the experiences you are having.  I ask that you will learn basic life skills that will allow you to be a successful husband and father.  It is on this point that i dwell, ponder, consider, etc.  I ask myself if I have done what needed to be done to help you develop properly.  I hope you've seen my example and will think about things I've done right and wrong (I've done both) and that you will resolve to be great in the areas where greatness matters.

You need to be great:

1) As a Son of God (spiritually connected)

2) As a husband (testimony, education, social, emotional, etc.)

3) As a father (testimony, education, social, emotional, etc.)

4) As a provider (education, social, etc.)

The list goes on but in the areas that matter, I hope you will be great.

Have a good week and stop using that *bleeping* card... it's killing our finances.  We spend $400 to the church for you, then 350-390 every month on the card, then you're asking Mom to transfer more money to your bank account.  It's almost like having a second house payment and it's not right.  If you can't control yourself, I'll need to take more drastic measures, especially since Jacob will be in the mission field soon.

Love you,

Dad