tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-74284226545170938632024-03-13T16:21:35.763-07:00What Happen Me...?The Story of My LifeNathan Alldredgehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07420505318796090816noreply@blogger.comBlogger132125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7428422654517093863.post-22991868818681528172024-02-05T09:57:00.000-08:002024-02-05T09:57:41.413-08:00Talk from December 2023<p> <span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">The Prodigal <span> </span></span></span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span> </span></span></span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span> </span></span></span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span> </span>12/09/2023</span></span></p><p dir="ltr" id="docs-internal-guid-1c4e8c6f-7fff-fa13-a32c-7fe1cf53747f" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: georgia; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Good morning everyone, I am grateful to be able to share a message during this holiday season. I know most everyone likes to give the bishopric a hard time when they are up here at the beginning of their discourse, so as my gift to them, I will refrain from doing so. </span></span></p><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: georgia; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Today I’d like to talk about one of Jesus’ most famous parables. Elder Uchdorf also spoke about this parable in the last conference session, so I will also be pulling some material from there as well as from my own thoughts. </span></span></p><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: georgia; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">He mentioned that it has been called by some, the greatest short story ever told. It has been translated into many languages all across the world, and perhaps not a day has gone by since its initial telling, that someone somewhere hasn’t made a reference to it.</span></span></p><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: georgia; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">It starts like this: A certain man had two sons. We learn that one of these sons was feeling brash. Perhaps he felt that life in his fathers house was stifling, that dealing with his fathers traditions and rules was holding him back from his full potential to experience all that the world had to offer. Whatever his reasoning, he asserted himself and requested his half of the inheritance so he could go live his life on his own terms. You might know this parable by the name “The Prodigal Son” </span></span></p><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: georgia; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Now, from my reading of this parable in Luke 15, the word prodigal is never actually mentioned in the scriptures. I have read it several times over the last couple of weeks and it wasn’t until preparing this talk that I focused on what the word prodigal even means. I like definitions, and I think that clarity is important, especially when we are talking about what is arguably Jesus’ most famous parable, especially since Jesus apparently never actually said it. Now, I have always taken the definition from context, and the only context I have ever had was from the chapter summary. Jesus shares this parable right after telling the parable of the lost sheep that the shepherd searches for and finds, and a lost piece of silver that a woman searches for and finds. The story is about a lost son, who returns and is celebrated, so I thought that prodigal had something to do with the moral of the story, that the uppity son was lost, and then found. But I was wrong.</span></span></p><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: georgia; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">When I went to the dictionary, I found that there are two similar definitions. Prodigal means wastefully extravagant, or giving on a lavish scale. I think, based on these two similar but very different attitudes, we can see how the definition applies to the story. And we all know it. I mentioned earlier the attitude of the younger son. According to the first definition, he is prodigal with his inheritance. The scripture says: “And not many days after the younger son gathered all together, and took his journey into a far country, and there wasted his substance with riotous living.” We don’t know how long the inheritance lasted, but like Elder Uchdorf, I always thought this son likely” felt a thrill of adventure and excitement.” That “at long last, he was on his own, free from the principles and rules of the culture of his youth.” We all know the story. He goes, rejects his fathers way of life, wastes his fathers efforts and even his reputation, on riotous living. Wild and uncontrolled behavior. Likely he didn’t think his luck was going to run out. He had finally made it, on his own. He was finally his own man.</span></span></p><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: georgia; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">And then his luck ran out. Famine. Maybe he was already running low on funds when the famine hit, maybe not. That’s not part of the story. All we know is that according to the scripture, “he began to be in want.” “No man gave unto him.” He had hit rock bottom. He went to work for someone who had more resources, and that guy sent him to feed the pigs. Terrible. I can imagine that the folks listening to the story were revolted. Pigs are unclean, and he wasn’t any better than a pig, eating with the pigs and taking care of the pigs. I think of the movie Willow when Bavmorda says at the top of the castle wall “ you’re all pigs” and then everyone turns into a pig. It’s hilarious. But probably not for this kid. We know the story from here. He runs back to dad after all his bad choices and bad luck. He maybe sees the error of his ways, and is determined to repent and make things as right as he can. </span></span></p><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: georgia; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Now here is where the other definition of prodigal pops up. The father is out looking at the path “and from a great way off, the father saw him, and had compassion, and ran, and fell on his neck, and kissed him.” The son apologizes and asks for a job, saying that he isn’t worthy to be a son anymore. But the father wasn’t going to allow that. He called to the servants and said “Bring forth the best robe, and put it on him; and put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet. And bring hither the fatted calf, and kill it; and let us eat, and be merry.” I think he was especially giving, and even forgiving, on a lavish scale. The second definition of prodigal. The son's reception was rich, and lavish. The best clothes, the fancy jewelry, the fatted calf! A lavish feast and celebration, and freely and joyfully given with only the best of intentions. </span></span></p><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: georgia; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">For me, this season, I’d like to think that this story isn't so much about the son who messed up as it is about the father who understands his child and loves him anyway. A father who provided everything that his children needed for his family to be happy. A safe home, comfortable living conditions, rules and boundaries and instruction, but saw that his kid might have needed to learn to be happy the hard way. It speaks to me of our loving Father in Heaven, who prepared a plan for us to receive our eternal inheritance. He has given us the knowledge of the gospel of His Son Jesus Christ, who’s birth we celebrate this Christmas season. He has given us commandments to keep us on that strait and narrow path, and scriptures to keep us on that path and guide us back into his presence. He has given us the greatest gift ever: his Son, so that through Christ’s atonement, he can say “For this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found.”</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: georgia; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></span></p><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: georgia; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Brothers and sisters, I hope that during this Christmas season we can all remember that God has given us all the best gifts. He has been more than generous in the way he has blessed and continually blesses our lives, we should in turn be generous and share the joy those gifts and blessings bring us with the people who mean the most to us.</span></span></p><p></p>Nathan Alldredgehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07420505318796090816noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7428422654517093863.post-60733750169569588412021-06-03T17:49:00.013-07:002021-06-03T19:46:30.971-07:00The Boat, the Island, the Park<p> It's Thursday! My sister Bonnie has been sending out weekly emails to members of her family, and it seems like such a good idea to take a few minutes and remember the good things that happen during the week. I don't know that I will ever be as regular as she is (you can see by the number of posts that I did well for a couple of years and then things kind of petered off). No matter, any opportunity to write down some family history is an opportunity to be taken. We went out to Point Robinson Lighthouse Park on Monday with Andy, Aaron and Courtney, Matt and Wayne and Jaaron and Elise and our respective families. It was our first sunshiney/outdoorsey trip of the year and it was pretty great. Great weather, the beach was nice, a pretty great grass area with picnic tables and of course a lighthouse. The ferry ride was neat, albeit short, and we saw some kind of dolphin/porpoise pod from a moderately close distance. I didn't know there were dolphins in the Sound, but I saw them so they must be there. </p><p>At the park the kids tried to fly kites, but the wind was not steady enough and they got frustrated pretty quickly each time they tried to fly them. They also played lacrosse. The adults played on the beach, and we did corn-hole (beanbag game) up next to the picnic tables. Andy, a few of the girls and I hunted for beach glass. Matt asked for a piece of beach glass at least 10 inches in diameter, as measured by his large hands, and I was pretty sure that given the meager supply on that beach, we wouldn't find anything remotely close. Found a few nice pieces, a few "too new" pieces, and then Andy and I were walking along the beach talking about how to make millions of dollars, when he stopped and picked up the biggest piece of each glass I have ever seen. It was probably 7" in diameter, and even had barnacles on it so you know it's legit. Anyway, we walked back towards the group, because now what was the point and showed it to Matt and I had to eat crow and proclaim Andy the winner of beachglassing. I did find a pretty cobalt blue piece later on, and everyone knows those are the best so really, I won in the end. </p><p>We all had fun until we realized that none of us brought sunscreen. We are still dealing with the sunburns days later, each in our own way. Me, with lidocane aloe, Rachel with her oils and a new yogurt salve that she found on the internet, Ammon by being mad at us and taking cool baths, and Noah by not wearing shirts. Emma I guess found either Elise or Courtney who put sunscreen on her, and so she was mostly fine. Noah only had to not wear shirts because he wore sweatpants to the beach. I asked him why he wanted to wear sweats to the beach before we left, and he said he wears them everywhere, and why should the beach be special. I chuckled and told him it was going to be hot, and wouldn't he rather be in shorts, but he said no. So Noah got the last laugh, because it was only his arms and the back of his neck that got burned, not his legs like everyone else. He was hot, but at least he wasn't burned. </p><p>After the beach, we went to go get some dinner at a burger place on the island called Island Queen. Not Dairy Queen. It was not cheap, and I don't know that I would actually recommend that place to anyone unless they didn't have anywhere else to go, which we didn't, not really. It was pretty expensive, and the portions were not so big to the kids disappointment. We ordered them kids meals for $10/each. Ammon and Emma got corndogs, and Noah got a grilled cheese sandwich. They come with fries, a small drink and an ice cream cone. When the food came out, I chuckled because I saw the corndogs... They were about 4 inches long. It was like they had taken a bun length hotdog and cut it in half. It was pretty funny to watch the kids faces as they realized what they got! Noah's "grilled cheese" wasn't much better, it was just a burger bun with some melted cheese, probably microwaved. And the ice cream cones they got afterwards were two scoops of ice cream, about 1.5" in diameter. We realized later on that the restaurant charges a dollar for those cones. </p><p>After eating, we went back to the ferry terminal. The Petersons lagged behind a little, but it wasn't a big deal, because the ferry wasn't supposed to be there for another hour or so. We were all expecting to wait a while. However, when we got there, they were still loading the ferry from the earlier time! Matt and Wayne left the restaurant a little earlier than the rest of us and were safely on board which was good, because Wayne needed to get home, and waiting would have put him in a time crunch. But Aaron and I were able to squeeze into two of the last three spots on the boat! We frantically called Jaaron to see where he was, but then a truck came around the corner, and that was that. The truck got on and the Alldredges waved goodbye to Vashon Island, leaving the Petersons to spend the next hour by themselves waiting for the next ferry. It was pretty funny. I thought about making a sympathy sign and sticking it on their door, but Rachel said it would just be rubbing it in. </p><p>Here are some photos I took!</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVZD5Omfyw14IYDy5DIVrz69y_gbgAEx_sSLmOqMtWFLrO3CysKhDEdOT49m59ZTuAi5CTm1eG3nZlCtUoBrWja7t5yJsVkbxb4lmaGCwUpOss9JLJmJoKxeXk72R2PpYPLudaYJwd47I/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br /></a></div><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1152" data-original-width="2048" height="181" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVZD5Omfyw14IYDy5DIVrz69y_gbgAEx_sSLmOqMtWFLrO3CysKhDEdOT49m59ZTuAi5CTm1eG3nZlCtUoBrWja7t5yJsVkbxb4lmaGCwUpOss9JLJmJoKxeXk72R2PpYPLudaYJwd47I/w320-h181/20210531_105940.jpg" width="320" /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoDePg1WZ05nvLAF6r1yYsjvkW3fHg7_t9URGMl_nFteczDr-u9TB2A-A_C4S3y1fxaosGATLsNpjuzBRytVSohoxaGLPbDEZ_Ef_MGjtXmw05KznB7tH-Hi817pRVem5xeT_z_hOLAnE/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1152" data-original-width="2048" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoDePg1WZ05nvLAF6r1yYsjvkW3fHg7_t9URGMl_nFteczDr-u9TB2A-A_C4S3y1fxaosGATLsNpjuzBRytVSohoxaGLPbDEZ_Ef_MGjtXmw05KznB7tH-Hi817pRVem5xeT_z_hOLAnE/w320-h180/20210531_131244.jpg" width="320" /></a><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglyxtv7TjWtzO3DzIez_01oJWgP-vx3xvkrKvhPsBdbC4kU3DJZkxr0WQmOKvRT6TysLvuc5CzFuuJoCkzZBDmjeMDjlVVg_bsPlUu8kyuDtzC2i1qEFUC-nmxJmttHlij724GIHJHn1Q/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1152" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglyxtv7TjWtzO3DzIez_01oJWgP-vx3xvkrKvhPsBdbC4kU3DJZkxr0WQmOKvRT6TysLvuc5CzFuuJoCkzZBDmjeMDjlVVg_bsPlUu8kyuDtzC2i1qEFUC-nmxJmttHlij724GIHJHn1Q/w225-h400/20210531_155448.jpg" width="225" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgcPWZfyFYJvujiG3Ck-vDE0C93sbJjAzvj5bCCa1cCfw2pInzL1SXZnVHRQT8LzTBp_g-ZghxyrJ9NcekE278N5sW6M9U3WDDbmAE9YUgf77ag9JntqKzLsTQR-EYKQYjYvBDutJqPeQ/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1152" data-original-width="2048" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgcPWZfyFYJvujiG3Ck-vDE0C93sbJjAzvj5bCCa1cCfw2pInzL1SXZnVHRQT8LzTBp_g-ZghxyrJ9NcekE278N5sW6M9U3WDDbmAE9YUgf77ag9JntqKzLsTQR-EYKQYjYvBDutJqPeQ/w320-h180/20210531_162308.jpg" width="320" /></a><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiBG0rxFFkgJ7c4b3T1Zp0n2mNL3EruRojvnt-odeeBvRhfr7dG83SmWGdBGMO0Z6drzfsX8DfCZqODWJf2oc8SJ1ckJXC_n-gKUW4C33n07JPLdbCOSH6oAz4HJGBkGXDz0ToZWoqIbU/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1152" data-original-width="2048" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiBG0rxFFkgJ7c4b3T1Zp0n2mNL3EruRojvnt-odeeBvRhfr7dG83SmWGdBGMO0Z6drzfsX8DfCZqODWJf2oc8SJ1ckJXC_n-gKUW4C33n07JPLdbCOSH6oAz4HJGBkGXDz0ToZWoqIbU/w320-h180/20210531_180257.jpg" width="320" /></a></div></div></div><br /><p></p>Nathan Alldredgehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07420505318796090816noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7428422654517093863.post-52266420792061297012021-06-02T12:19:00.004-07:002021-06-02T12:19:41.974-07:00It's Been a Rough Year<p> I guess the thing to do is talk about how our family has coped this last year with Covid-19. </p><p> </p><p>So, at the end of 2019, word was just starting to come out about this new virus that was apparently coming out of China. Its a coronavirus strain that they think made the jump from bats(?) to humans. It is a pretty contagious disease (maybe), that has caused lots of illness around the world. There is a big battle right now over how deadly the virus actually is, and how the government counts coronavirus deaths, and whether or not hospitals were ever overloaded with COVID patients, and how the government and pharmaceutical companies fast tracked a vaccine, and how the government and all the doctors are telling everyone how we all need to get the vaccine or else we are bad citizens (which just makes me not want to get one), and the whole world getting basically shut down for a whole year while everyone tried to figure out how to stop a virus from spreading (which didn't work), and people wearing masks, and making masks being a new business opportunity for lots of individuals and organizations, and everything getting really expensive because the world shut down and companies ran out of stock of everything. Toilet paper was a precious commodity for a while. Also, the Church made everyone do church at home. And no one could see anyone or go anywhere, because of lock-downs. Schools did virtual classrooms, I work remotely still, Rachel's music classes were over Zoom (a video calling program), kids had Zoom birthday parties, people had Zoom weddings, Zoom Thanksgiving and Christmas. Then there was Zoom church. It has all been pretty interesting. Now, with a vaccine available, governments are slowly allowing people to do stuff again, but only if you wear a mask, or have a gold star on your chest (not really) or a vaccination card that can be lost, stolen, forged (easily) or lie about your vaccination status, because there is no central directory that anyone can access (yet). </p><p>ANYWAY! Our family has had a pretty good time though it all. We still went to California to the Bohlin's cabin, we went to families houses, had real birthday parties, went to Arizona to stay with Pat and Judy for a week. We did our best to include everyone who was not scared for Thanksgiving and Christmas, got our Christmas tree from the same guy at work. We pulled Noah out of public school and put him into a home school group that met regularly in person, and Ammon kept attending his own home school group. That was kind of a logistical nightmare, planning on where those groups were going to meet on which days and scheduling it so we could get them to different places. Since I was working at home, I was able to take some of that responsibility so Rachel could keep her music studio open. She helped teach one group, and I taught the outdoor class for the other group.</p><p>Church has started up again, meeting for sacrament and 2nd hour classes, but the timing still hasn't been figured out in our ward at least. I got called to be the Assistant Ward Clerk, and that has been an eye opener into the state of the ward. I now know lots of things that I don't want to know. I am also now responsible for maintaining our neighborhoods well property. So I have to go over to the pump house every other day or so and monitor how much water is being used, how much chlorine is in the system and send reports to the county Health Department. fun stuff. <br /></p>Nathan Alldredgehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07420505318796090816noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7428422654517093863.post-91103399051297075002019-06-20T16:35:00.000-07:002019-06-20T16:35:37.353-07:00Musings, and Other Nonsense<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I want to catch up on some of the things I am working on. We are doing a couple of big projects and I think it is time to talk about some of them. The first on is the conversion of our garage into a workout room/music studio for Rachel's music classes. We are getting so close to being done. I have insulated and sheetrocked the garage walls and ceiling, installed lights and plugs, painted and trimmed out windows and walls and doors, put carpet down in the workout space and just last week, I bought carpet tiles to do the floor of the studio space. It has been a long project, because I haven't been able to clean out the garage until about two weeks ago, so we are just now going to start and carpet the floor. That has been waiting now for about a month or two.<br />
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We also started working on putting the back yard together again. That has involved making kids pick up rocks in the yard for quite some time. It was good work for them, and on the plus side, now I have about 10 yards of cobblestones to line all the yard paths, build fire pits, and any number of other uses. We are even going to put in a meditation maze in the rocky area under our horse chestnut tree:<br />
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As a part of getting the yard ready, I cut down three trees in the yard, three pines that were not very nice to look at. One was rotting in the center, and the other two were just kind of in the way. So I had a friend come and help cut them down. We got lucky and only hit one fence (chain-link, that popped right back up once the tree was off it) and nothing else in the yard. I have been splitting firewood for several weekends by hand. It's a good workout, especially since these were 40yo trees that had a ring of branches every three feet. And then stump removal has been the other issue. I have been burning one of them out, and that has been fun. I drilled out the middle, and a hole or two in the side and lit it up. It wasn't going fast enough so I added some air. I also decided to try melting some aluminum. It worked.<br />
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We also had 72 yards of topsoil brought in to plant grass, since I was never going to be able to remove enough rocks to make enough of a difference: </div>
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The landscaping guy says this isn't enough, so when he cones to do the yard work, he will bring more. He says the dirt I bought (for way too much) will make a pretty top dressing...</div>
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We also had new windows installed on the ground floor of our house. I don't have any pictures of this, but it has made a BIG difference in our heating bills. They are triple-pane, argon filled, foam filled fiberglass framed, low-e coated, and a ton of other things. I took the heat vision camera home from work one day to see if it really made any difference, and while I don't have the photos to back up my claims, I can tell you that it really does.</div>
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Nathan Alldredgehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07420505318796090816noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7428422654517093863.post-44381647868689435642018-03-13T19:39:00.001-07:002018-03-13T19:39:42.640-07:00I Gave Another Talk at ChurchI was asked to give a talk a couple of weeks ago, this time on prayer. I thought that I would post my thoughts on the subject:<br />
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<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Calibri Light",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">Drawing Closer to Heavenly Father through
Prayer:</span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Calibri Light",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">Good morning Brothers and Sisters.
It’s nice to be here at church on this beautiful Sabbath day. It has been a
couple of years since I have had the assignment to give a talk, and hopefully
after today, a few more will pass until I get to do it again. During that time,
there have been many talks, I sure much better than this one, and I have
enjoyed all of the ones I have managed to stay awake for. You might know my
family, or at least remember seeing my family: We have a tendency to show up a
little late and then walk right up and sit in the front pew as has been the
custom in my family for the past 30 some odd years that we have all been coming
to church in this building. My name is Nathan Alldredge. My wife Rachel is
sitting down there with my sons Ammon and Noah, and my daughter Emma.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Calibri Light",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">A little bit about me, I am not
the greatest communicator. My wife will confirm this for you if you have any
doubts.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As an example, yesterday we were
scheduled to go out to my sister’s house to participate in a baby blessing,
since her husband has been scheduled to work for the last several Sunday’s in a
row, and it looks like he will continue that trend for the foreseeable
future.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Anyway, this had been scheduled
for a few weeks, and I am sure that she had told me about it. But I probably
wasn’t paying attention and so it didn’t get processed in my head as something
that I was scheduled to do. I had lots of plans in my own head, projects that I
wanted to get done yesterday. It seems like I never have enough time during the
weeks to get anything done, and so when I thought I didn’t have any plans
yesterday, my first thought should have been “What am I missing?” “What did I
forget about?” But it wasn’t. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I was
going to do some electrical wiring, and get out our wood chipper to take care
of the big pile of brush in the backyard… Luckily I have a wife that pays
attention to things and events, and so she was able to set me straight. I
really should try harder…</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Calibri Light",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">In my example above, there were
several fails in communication on my part. I likely went through the motions of
listening to the event being communicated to me, but I didn’t REALLY pay
attention. I may have even nodded and smiled. Maybe I was too tired to process
the communication, or I was thinking about something else at the time that the
day and time of the blessing was communicated to me. I also mentioned that when
I thought I had a bunch of free time, I should have known better. I should have
asked someone (my wife) if they had better plans for me and my day. Not that my
plans were bad, because those were all things that need to be done. But there
were better plans that I might have missed out on if I didn’t have someone to
remind me.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Calibri Light",sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">I
mention this because there are several things about this story that draw
parallels to developing a real, personal relationship to God through prayer. Listening,
paying attention to responses, asking what gods wants for me… I don’t know if
this is what Brother Fairbanks had in mind when he called me to speak, but it
is what I immediately thought of when I heard the topic. I felt like I needed
to work on this myself, and perhaps share these thoughts with you all as well.</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Calibri Light",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">What is prayer? Elder James E
Faust listed several attributes that make up a prayer in a conference talk
entitled “The Lifeline of Prayer” First, prayer is a humble acknowledgment that
God is our Father and that the Lord Jesus Christ is our Savior and Redeemer.
Second, it is a sincere confession of sin and transgression and a request for
forgiveness. Third, it is recognition that we need help beyond our own ability.
Fourth, it is an opportunity to express thanksgiving and gratitude to our
Creator.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Fifth, it is a privilege to ask
Deity for specific blessings. I would like to add a sixth, that prayer is an
opportunity to align our motives with those of our Heavenly Father. In essence,
Prayer is a perfect form of one on one communication. </span></div>
<div class="verse">
<span style="font-family: "Calibri Light",sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">Once
we become familiar with these different aspects of prayer, the whole reason for
prayer becomes more than just something we do. It becomes an opportunity to
learn about God, and speak with a loving Father. James 4:8 teaches us that if
we Draw Nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. What that scripture tells me
is that the harder we try to come to know and understand our heavenly father,
the more open and available he becomes for us. He becomes more than just a
nebulous idea in our minds, he becomes a real person. Someone we can really
truly pour out our hearts to, someone who understands and cares. Someone who
has our best interests in mind. Someone who will help us find true happiness. It
is a way for us to open ourselves up completely to a person who completely and
perfectly understands us. Once we begin to accept the idea that prayer is a
true two way form of personal communication, we can begin to ask real, heartfelt
question and listen for the responses that God sends us. Sometimes they may be
immediate, sometimes they may be slow in coming. Sometimes we may hear a voice.
Other times, a feeling of peace or comfort. Many scriptures teach about the
ways God will speak to us if we listen. My purpose in giving this talk is not
to enumerate those ways, but simply to remind us that he does listen, and he
definitely can answer, if we are willing to hear. It is also an opportunity to
speak to someone who knows exactly what we are talking about. Matthew 6:8
teaches For your Father knoweth what things ye have need of, before ye ask him.
We can be completely comfortable knowing that we are not going to be
misunderstood, because God knows our thoughts and intentions. We can feel
comfortable praying for things like Amulek teaches in Alma 34: </span><span class="verse-number">20 </span>Cry unto him when ye are in your fields, yea, over
all your flocks. Cry unto him in your houses, yea, over all your household,
both morning, mid-day, and evening. Yea, cry unto him against the power of your
enemies. Yea, cry unto him against the devil, who is an enemy to all
righteousness. Cry unto him over the crops of your fields, that ye may prosper
in them. Cry over the flocks of your fields, that they may increase. But this
is not all; ye must pour out your souls in your closets, and your secret
places, and in your wilderness. Yea, and when you do not cry unto the Lord, let
your hearts be full, drawn out in prayer unto him continually for your welfare,
and also for the welfare of those who are around you.<span style="font-family: "Calibri Light",sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Calibri Light",sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">Elder
Faust relates the experience of one Daniel Tyler, an associate of the prophet
Joseph Smith: “At the time William Smith and others rebelled against the Prophet
[at Kirtland], … I attended a meeting … where ‘Joseph’ presided. Entering the
school-house a little before [the] meeting opened, and gazing upon the man of
God, I perceived sadness in his countenance and tears trickling down his
cheeks. … A few moments later a hymn was sung and he opened the meeting by
prayer. Instead of facing the audience, however, he turned his back and bowed
upon his knees, facing the wall. This, I suppose, was done to hide his sorrow
and tears.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Calibri Light",sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">“I
had heard men and women pray from the most ignorant, both as to letters and
intellect, to the most learned and eloquent, but never until then had I heard a
man address his Maker as though He was present listening as a kind father would
listen to the sorrows of a dutiful child. Joseph was at that time unlearned,
but that prayer, which was to a considerable extent in behalf of those who
accused him of having gone astray and fallen into sin, [was] that the Lord
would forgive them and open their eyes that they might see alright—that prayer,
I say, to my humble mind, partook of the learning and eloquence of heaven.
There was no ostentation, no raising of the voice as by enthusiasm, but a plain
conversational tone, as a man would address a present friend. It appeared to me
as though, in case the vail were taken away, I could see the Lord standing
facing His humblest of all servants I had ever seen. … It was the crowning … of
all the prayers I ever heard.”</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Calibri Light",sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">I
believe that this is the kind of relationship we should all be striving to have
with our Father in Heaven.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There have
been points in my life where I have felt that this is true for me as well. That
I really had a grasp on my relationship with my Father in heaven. There have
been other times when I have not felt that same closeness. Again, like James
teaches, it was not my Father that drew away from me during those times, but I
who had drifted away from him. </span><br />
<br />Nathan Alldredgehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07420505318796090816noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7428422654517093863.post-2193506864797006922017-06-07T12:35:00.003-07:002017-06-07T12:35:59.264-07:00Work hasn't been very interesting lately.At work, I can usually count on all sorts of things to work on. New parts to look at, parts to send out, quotes to mull over, vendors to call, vendors to visit, bills to fight, problems to solve... You get the idea. However, lately we haven't been very busy. I have been struggling trying to find things to do until the time when we get another large project released. And of course, when the floodgates do finally open, there will be WAY too much work for one person to do. When it rains, it pours.Nathan Alldredgehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07420505318796090816noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7428422654517093863.post-80337859810977168522017-05-31T12:15:00.003-07:002017-06-07T12:18:20.307-07:00Selling Our HouseTwo Sunday's ago, Rachel and I saw a For Sale sign on the side of the road, and decided to see where it was. We have been thinking about moving, ever since Rachel got serious about doing a music based Pre-School, which requires parents to stay and be an active part of the lesson. Our HOA wouldn't allow people parking like that in our neighborhood, so we have considered looking for something a little bigger and more parking friendly. Anyway, we got the urge to look that Sunday and found out it was an open house. We went in and looked around. It was a triple wide manufactured home, very nicely maintained, it had a separate garage, and another outbuilding on 4.8 acres. It was listed at $650k though, and we can't afford that, even if we wanted to live there. It didn't feel right. We thought about it for the next couple of days, and decided to get a realtor. One of my good friends has a brother who is a realtor, so we called him up to have him show us some houses. We looked at another one on Thursday, it had a converted garage with a bathroom and it's own separate door that would be perfect for the pre-school, but the house still didn't feel right. The price was good, but I wasn't feeling it. The next day, we went to tour a third house. It was not necessarily the most beautiful house, but it was on a little more than an acre, it had plenty of parking, there was no HOA, and there is room inside for the pre-school. It was going to stretch our budget some, but not too much that we couldn't make it work. We made an offer on it the next day. The only hang-up was that in order to afford this house, we had to sell our other house first: so it was a contingent offer. The real estate agent also suggested that we write a short note about our family and why we wanted that house. I wrote one up and Rachel didn't like it, so she took what I had and wordsmithed it a bunch. She said I was not professional enough. I thought it was supposed to be a personal statement, and so I wrote it like I was talking to the person. I ended it by saying "Please let us buy your house!" Anyway, completely by accident, I sent the letter that I wrote to our agent, instead of the one Rachel fixed. I didn't know it until he sent the letter with the offer to the seller's agent. Oops.<br />
Long story short, they loved my letter and accepted our offer. That meant that we had 5 business days to get our current house on the market. Luckily we had been working on our house, and so there wasn't tons to do. Or so I thought until we actually started working on it. We went from room to room listing all the things that needed to be done to get it ready. I ended up with a list that was like 75 lines long, and then we found out that the bathtub was leaking... That set me back two full days. Luckily we have lots of good friends and I have a retired father who is willing to come help. One friend was there every single day, morning till night. I had people fix my yard, cut up a bunch of logs, make dump runs, straighten up my garage, paint, finish my fireplace, do minor electrical work, remove the remnants of a wood burning stove, plug a hole in the house left by the removal of the wood burning stove, clean my gutters and roof, spread bark, make storage unit runs, bring food, watch kids and more. So many people helped, and I am grateful for all they did. There were so many people, I was being pulled in so many different directions I became more of a project manager than an actual laborer.Anyway, we got our house listed in the requisite time-frame. And I am so tired...Nathan Alldredgehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07420505318796090816noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7428422654517093863.post-83873870669118405272017-04-27T15:08:00.002-07:002017-04-27T15:08:53.705-07:00The End of a Cold Rainy WinterNow that it is almost May, the sun has finally started to come out! I am so glad, it has been the wettest winter that I can remember. I don't have Seasonal Affective Disorder, but I got to tell you, 5 months of mostly gray skies will test even the happiest guy's resolve. On the plus side, it did get pretty cold at times, and we had plenty of snow. The school district cancelled school a couple of times, and had late start for like three weeks in a row. It was starting to get a little ridiculous actually. Ammon started playing Lacrosse this year, and he ended up having to practice in the snow on a couple of occasions. The coach thought having them lay in the snow would be good for them!<br />
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Anyway, the school district would have late start if there was even just a dusting of snow on the grass, even if there was nothing on the roads. It made getting to work on-time a nightmare, mostly for Rachel. And because it was cold enough for long enough, we got to go ICE SKATING!!! It hasn't happened for like 20 years, but it did this ear. The entire lake at my dad's house froze over to about 4 inches thick. It was amazing to get back out onto the ice.<br />
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I was a little wobbly at first, but it didn't take long to remember how to do it. And amazingly, my dad even had an old pair of skates that would fit me. They were super old hockey skates, the blades were dull as a rock, and the laces weren't long enough to lace them up to my ankles, but it was still so much fun. We got up at 5AM one morning to get the whole family out on the ice before sending the kids off to school, and before I had to go to work.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<br /><br />Nathan Alldredgehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07420505318796090816noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7428422654517093863.post-75290469265299692016-07-31T16:16:00.001-07:002016-07-31T16:16:06.254-07:00What Dreams May ComeIt's official, we finally sold our lakefront lot in Federal Way. We got close to our asking price, which is good. It's kind of a bittersweet event, I can still remember all the things that happened in order for us to be able to buy that property. And all of the things we did after purchasing it. It was definitely a catalyst for change. It forced us to sell our house in Tacoma, and move in with my grandfather. Living with my grandfather got me to try going back to school. Going back to school got me to think bigger than working at my then-current job. I quit that job, and went to work with my brother for a while. I moved back to Maple Valley, got a great new job, bought a house and my kids are going to school in a great school district. I think I have ended up ok, and I will be OK letting that property be someone else's dream come true now. There will be another time and place for my family to get the lakefront house I want, but I wouldn't be where I am today, if not for taking that first big step to dream a little.Nathan Alldredgehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07420505318796090816noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7428422654517093863.post-64950690015214454612016-06-28T11:39:00.000-07:002017-04-27T15:11:40.854-07:00I Am Struggling With Change.Today I am sort of at a loss. Not that today is anything special, it's not a holiday, not an anniversary, not any meaningful day for me in particular. It's just one of those days where I feel loss. I miss my family today. I miss those members of my family that are no longer with me. My grandparents, my mother, my nephew.<br />
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But I also miss my family that is still around, alive and kicking. My family is moving on, moving in separate, new directions. What once was holding us together (in my opinion, at least) can now be a source of tension. Where once it seemed like there was unity, there is now division. Where I turn for peace, many members of my family now turn away in.... Anger? Contempt? Disillusionment? Fear? Condescension? I personally find the "new" direction to be dissatisfying and disappointing. It seems to have little meaning or purpose. It seems to be self serving and close minded, while proclaiming it's open-mindedness.Maybe they feel the same way about me?<br />
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I also miss my family who lives farther away than I can drive in a day. I don't get to see them often enough, but I don't enjoy where they live. And I wonder sometimes if they even still like me, as a person. I will be the first to admit that I am not the easiest person to get along with. My wife can attest to that, but overall, I feel like I am a good person. I wonder how much my family and I still have in common? What is left that really, truly binds us together? Visits are few and far between. Phone calls just as rare. I know some of my family is struggling right now, and I want to be there to lend support, but is the support I know how to lend even wanted? I don't know, because I feel like they are different now, and don't see things the way I see, don't find peace in the way I do.<br />
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There is a hymn at church that I feel like I can relate to right now:<br />
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Where can I turn for peace? </div>
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Where is my solace, when other sources cease to make me whole?</div>
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When with a wounded heart, I draw myself apart, searching my soul?</div>
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Where, when my aching grows, when I languish, in my need to know... Where can I run?</div>
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Where is the quiet hand to calm my anguish?</div>
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Who? Who can understand?</div>
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He, only one. </div>
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<br />Nathan Alldredgehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07420505318796090816noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7428422654517093863.post-54705181167694434962016-04-26T15:43:00.000-07:002016-04-26T15:54:02.272-07:00I Gave A Talk In Church<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /><br />Here it is:<br /><br />How to Seek and Receive Answers Nathan Alldredge 4/24/2016<br /><br />About a week and a half ago Brother Bills called me up to ask me to speak to you all today. I don’t know that I have had the opportunity to do so in the years that I have been attending this ward. I am not really surprised, there have been fabulous talks given in the past, and I have enjoyed all the ones that I have managed to stay awake for. <br /><br />You might know my family, or at least remember seeing my family: We have a tendency to show up a little late and then walk right up and sit in the front pew as has been the custom in my family for the past 30 some odd years that we have all been coming to church in this building. My name is Nathan Alldredge. My wife is Rachel and I have a 9yo son Ammon, a 7yo son Noah and a 3yo daughter Emma. I buy things for a living, and work for an engineering firm based in Seattle. My wife also works there, a couple of days a week. We are trying to get to the point where she doesn’t have to work a full time job any more, and this job that I have now has gone a long way towards making that happen. <br /><br />Today it is my goal to try to encourage those here in attendance today to seek for truth, and also to trust their faith. This is a topic that has recently become near and dear to my heart. Many of you knew my mother. She was diagnosed this last December with cancer, and passed away the following month. One of the last conversations I had with her involved me telling her I wasn’t ready for her to go. I wasn’t ready for her to leave. My family has depended so much on her strength of character, her willingness to serve her family, and her testimony. I didn’t know what it would be like, couldn’t imagine what it was going to be like to not be able to talk with her. Many of you do not know that about one year earlier, my 5 year old nephew Joel was also taken by cancer. Both of these instances naturally started me down the path of sorrow, confusion and doubt. I had questions. Questions I NEEDED answers to. My religion told me that everything was going to be ok, and the Lord had my back, and that all would work out in the end. But I needed personal, individual answers.<br /><br />In the scriptures, there are many accounts of people seeking for truth. Some do it the right way, some do it the wrong way. I would like to devote some of my time to both ideas. Let me start out with a few examples of the wrong way. <br /><br />We read in 1 Nephi chapter 15: 2 And it came to pass that I beheld my brethren, and they were disputing one with another concerning the things which my father had spoken unto them.<br /> 3 For he truly spake many great things unto them, which were hard to be understood, save a man should inquire of the Lord; and they being hard in their hearts, therefore they did not look unto the Lord as they ought.<br />6 And it came to pass that … I spake unto my brethren, desiring to know of them the cause of their disputations.<br /> 7 And they said: Behold, we cannot understand the words which our father hath spoken concerning the natural branches of the olive tree, and also concerning the Gentiles. <br /><br />(and I might also add they probably didn’t understand why they were there in the wilderness, what God’s plan for them was, why their younger brother kept telling them what to do… and likely various other points of doctrine were also unclear to them as well. I also imagine that they discussed it at length amongst themselves, otherwise Nephi wouldn’t have noticed in the first place. I also imagine it was a heated discussion, going back and forth, trying their best to disseminate the vision of the olive tree, and the Gentiles. Because it seems like, at least this time, they were interested in the topic material. If they would have had the internet, I don’t doubt that they would have spent hours consulting various sources, getting the opinions of various noted and reliable experts, and likely would have come to different conclusions based on their limited understanding and experiences. But I am going to tell you why they were still confused: let’s get back to Nephi’s response in verse 8)<br /><br />8 And I said unto them: Have ye inquired of the Lord?<br />9 And they said unto me: We have not; for the Lord maketh no such thing known unto us.<br /><br />Now imagine that. They DIDN’T EVEN ASK! I don’t know why they didn’t, perhaps they just figured that God wouldn’t tell them, so why bother?! Don’t let yourself fall into this trap!<br /><br />Let’s look at another example in the New Testament: The story of the rich young ruler:<br /><br />Matthew 19: 16 And, behold, one came and said unto him, Good Master, what good thing shall I do, that I may have eternal life?<br /><a href="https://www.blogger.com/null"> </a>17 And he said unto him, Why callest thou me good? There is none good but one, that is, God: but if thou wilt enter into life, keep the commandments.<br /><a href="https://www.blogger.com/null"> </a>18 He saith unto him, which? Jesus said, Thou shalt do no murder, Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not bear false witness,<br /><a href="https://www.blogger.com/null"> </a>19 Honour thy father and thy mother: and, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.<br /><a href="https://www.blogger.com/null"> </a>20 The young man saith unto him, All these things have I kept from my youth up: <br /><br />Let’s put ourselves in this persons shoes. Here is a young man, who is faithful in keeping the commandments. I imagine that he frequently attends church, is perhaps even a priesthood holder, maybe he holds a calling and does what is expected of him. He has done everything he has ever been asked to do, and likely it has all made sense to him and he sees the immediate temporal benefit of obedience. And I imaging that he feels pretty good about it. But then he asks one more question: “What lack I yet?” That is such a loaded question. I wonder if he really meant to ask the question we all hear when we read this chapter. It is a very personal, very defining question. What is the one single the one thing I can do to ensure myself a place in the Kingdom of God?<br /><br />21 Jesus said unto him, “If thou wilt be perfect, go and sell that thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come and follow me.”<br /><a href="https://www.blogger.com/null"> </a>22 But when the young man heard that saying, he went away sorrowful: for he had great possessions.<br /><br />Now this young man asked a question. And he got an answer. But it was what he did with that answer that defined him. He couldn’t believe it, wouldn’t believe it. Couldn’t accept it for whatever reason, be it simplicity, like when Elisha sent Naman to wash in Jordan and be cleansed of leprosy, or stubbornness like those Israelites who perished just because they wouldn’t look at the brazen serpent. He couldn’t accept that answer. The answer wasn’t what he was expecting, and wasn’t something he was willing to do. <br /><br />Now what do these two examples have in common? To me it seems that they were all “trying” to seek for truth. They were trying to get answers to their gospel questions. But what did they do wrong? I will tell you the answer: They lead with their doubts. The first example doubted they would get an answer from God in the first place, so they didn’t even ask. The second example they doubted the answer they received, and refused to follow counsel.<br /><br />Now let’s talk about the right way to get answers to gospel questions.<br /><br />In a talk titled “Lord I Believe” by Jeffrey R Holland, we learn about the Saviors interaction with the man whose child was possessed by evil spirits. <br /><br /> The man says to Jesus, “If thou canst do any thing,” he said, “have compassion on us, and help us.”<br />Jesus said unto him, “If thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth.”<br />And straightway the father of the child cried out, and said with tears, “Lord, I believe; help thou mine unbelief.”<br /> </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">The father comes to the Savior for help, in what must be dire circumstances, under terrible conditions. <br /><br />The thing I take away from this interaction is that the father, in response to Jesus’ question IMMEDIATELY says “I believe.” There is faith there, and hope. This same father acknowledges that it might not be enough, because he follows that declaration by pleading for help with his unbelief. Here is what is interesting. Jesus didn’t tell the man that he didn’t have enough faith, didn’t make comments about the unbelief. He healed the boy. He answered the prayer. Because it doesn’t matter HOW much faith you have, just that you have some. The Lord says that all things are possible to him that believeth.<br /><br />In Alma chapter 32 we learn just how important “some” faith is:<br /><br /> 21 And now as I said concerning faith—faith is not to have a perfect knowledge of things; therefore if ye have faith ye hope for things which are not seen, which are true.<br /> 22 And now, behold, I say unto you, and I would that ye should remember, that God is merciful unto all who believe on his name; therefore he desireth, in the first place, that ye should believe, yea, even on his word.<br />27 But behold, if ye will awake and arouse your faculties, even to an experiment upon my words, and exercise a particle of faith, yea, even if ye can no more than desire to believe, let this desire work in you, even until ye believe in a manner that ye can give place for a portion of my words.<br /><br />Alma teaches us that faith is not perfect knowledge. However faith can lead to a perfect knowledge. That our faith starts out with a desire to believe and that if we let that desire to believe grow within us, and we nurture it and maintain it, it will grow into a perfect knowledge of the thing we are trying to understand. What we see here is that faith does not come to us by chance, it comes by choice. We need to choose to believe, choose to have faith that our questions will be answered. This is the key thing that Laman and Lemuel lacked in the example above.<br /><br />Asking honest questions is an important part of building faith. Building faith through diligent study should be the focus of our questioning. The Lord may not answer our questions immediately, but most answers to gospel questions can be had through sincere study and prayer. Another thing we must remember is that Faith never demands an answer to every question, but seeks the assurance and courage to move forward. Sometimes you just have to acknowledge, “I don’t know everything, but I do know enough to continue on the path of discipleship.”<br /><br />Elder Holland later counsels “In moments of fear or doubt or troubling times, hold the ground you have already won, even if that ground is limited.” He asks us to remember “The size of your faith or the degree of your knowledge is not the issue—it is the integrity you demonstrate toward the faith you do have and the truth you already know. Be true to the faith that you do have.” “It is ok to have questions, questions are a part of life. The key to dealing with these questions is to be candid about them, but do not allow those questions to get in the way of faith working its miracle.”<br /><br />You may remember the sons of Mosiah. They started out in a good family, and lost their way. They went about mocking church members, and doing what they could to bring down the church. But then they had an experience that changed their lives. Do you think it was the angel that appeared to them on the road one day? I do not. If you recall, Laman and Lemuel also had angels visit them, and they felt the power of the Lord. They shaped up for a while, but then eventually turned away back to their old ways. No… I think the real defining point in the lives of Aaron Ammon Omner and Himni was when “they had given themselves to much prayer, and fasting; therefore they had the spirit of prophecy, and the spirit of revelation. And they had waxed strong in the knowledge of the truth; for they were men of a sound understanding and they had searched the scriptures diligently, that they might know the word of God.” (Alma 17:2-3) Their questions led them to find greater understanding and greater faith.<br /><br />On my mission I often spoke with people who we referred to as Eternal Investigators. They asked lots of questions, and I think they tried to impress us with the variety and depth of their questioning. No matter the answer, they had another question. They were never satisfied, their search for truth was leading them around in circles and either they didn’t realize it, or they weren’t honestly seeking answers in the first place. But the end result was the same: They would not receive the answers they supposedly sought.<br /><br />And finally let’s talk about how answers do come. The Apostle Paul in 1 Corinthians 2 teaches that spiritual things are only discerned through the spirit.<br /><br />1 And I, brethren, when I came to you, came not with excellency of speech or of wisdom, declaring unto you the testimony of God.<br /><a href="https://www.blogger.com/null"> </a>4 And my speech and my preaching was not with enticing words of man’s wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power:<br /><a href="https://www.blogger.com/null"> </a>5 That your faith should not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God.<br /><a href="https://www.blogger.com/null"> </a>10 But God hath revealed it unto us by his Spirit: for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God.<br /><a href="https://www.blogger.com/null"> </a>11 For what man knoweth the things of a man, save the spirit of man which is in him? even so the things of God knoweth no man, but the Spirit of God.<br /><a href="https://www.blogger.com/null"> </a>12 Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the spirit which is of God; that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God.<br /><a href="https://www.blogger.com/null"> </a>13 Which things also we speak, not in the words which man’s wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth; comparing spiritual things with spiritual.<br /><a href="https://www.blogger.com/null"> </a>14 But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.<br /><br />Paul teaches that there are going to be things, spiritual things, gospel-related things, that can only be learned through the spirit of God, who speaks quietly to our minds in a still small voice. That people on their own will never be able to understand the things that God understands. But that through the spirit, people who honestly seek with Real intent, having faith in Christ will be able to uncover the answers that they are looking for. Real intent means it must be more than just a passing curiosity. <br /><br />We must also be aware of where our information comes from, where we are looking for answers. There are many sources of information widely available to each and every one of us. M Russel Ballard said “We should find thoughtful and faithful individuals to help us.” Parents and bishops are much more likely to help us find spiritual guidance to gospel questions than someone on the InterWebs who is not interested in our personal salvation. “And if necessary, we should ask those with appropriate academic training, experience, and expertise for help.” Jesus promises in Matthew: But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you. Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you: For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened.<br /><br />If we truly want answers to our questions, we must first exercise belief and have faith. We must understand that our intent is an important part of the process. We must be willing to hold on to the faith and understanding that we do have, in preparation for receiving further understanding and knowledge. We must be willing to accept that we may not get the answers that we want, when we want them. We should be willing to accept the answers that we do receive with humble hearts and a willingness to change our ways if it is required of us. <br /><br />As I have faced the challenges to my own faith I have come to a greater understanding of the Atonement of Jesus Christ. I know that he is my savior. I know that because of his sacrifice and resurrection, my mistakes can be forgiven, my pain and anguish can be comforted and that I can look forward to the day, hopefully after I have had a good long life of my own, that I can run to my mother’s embrace, see her smiling face and tell her that I love her once again. I believe in the gospel of Jesus Christ, in the power of the priesthood. I believe in the truthfulness of the Book of Mormon. And I know that Heavenly Father does answer prayers. In the name of Jesus Christ, amen.</span></span>Nathan Alldredgehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07420505318796090816noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7428422654517093863.post-64527874519365916632016-04-06T20:54:00.001-07:002016-04-06T20:54:47.941-07:00I Had an IdeaSo today during my lunch half work/half break, I had this idea. I always wanted to start a website, and I have a cool idea for a business. I am pretty cheap, and there seem to be lots of different "build a Website" websites out there. In fact, as a side note, Rachel did just that about a year ago as a project for school. She used one of those website building/hosting websites to build an online clothing consignment store. We ran it for about 3 months and never made a sale. It wasn't very successful. I blame society. But she did come out with an A grade in that class, so spending $400 was a pretty good investment, in my estimation. Your mileage may vary. Anyway, she worked pretty hard on it, spent a lot of time getting it set up so that people could come and help us clean out her and her mother's closet. It looked pretty good. But I don't think I want something that fancy.<br />
So I decided to start reading up on using html. There are so many online guides for learning to write in html, and one can easily be overwhelmed with the speed at which it gets complicated. I look at the websites online and I see that many successful sites don't necessarily have "complicated-looking" webpages, lots of them are just headers and footers with banners and lists and pictures of the things they are selling. And I think I wan to learn how to do some of that. So I go online and start browsing through tutorials. I came across one on one o my favorite sites "Instructables" and it is about creating a simple webpage in 18 easy steps. I start to read through it and think, "I can do that," and so I download notepad++ and start typing. Following the instructions I build a webpage with a title, a couple of paragraphs, a list and a few pictures. Now, you may be thinking "I want to see this amazing self built webpage! Where can I go to see it?!?!" Well... it isn't published to the web. It is saved as an html document on my computer. But it is real, and it loads properly and I made it. I am feeling pretty good about it. And in about 10 years, I may have it working just the way I want it and will publish it to the World Wide Web. But until then, I will probably just use one of those "build a website" websites to host my ideas.Nathan Alldredgehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07420505318796090816noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7428422654517093863.post-70010084950835095512016-02-02T22:13:00.000-08:002016-02-02T22:13:21.550-08:00Beyond the GraveSo tonight I was going through the pictures on my mom's cell phone, downloading them and seeing what else there might have been on it that I would want to save for posterity. I looked in her music folder and got rid of a few pop songs that I'm sure no one cared about, and all of a sudden I got a text from the phone. Three simple words: "I love you" were waiting in the queue. I noticed early on in my searching that the storage space was running low, the hard drive icon was showing up at the top left of the screen, and apparently whatever messaging service Mom used stored the messages, both incoming and outgoing, on the phone storage instead of the SD card. So when I cleared the songs, the message in the queue got sent out.<br />
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As always, my mom was thinking of her family. She just couldn't figure out her phone...Nathan Alldredgehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07420505318796090816noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7428422654517093863.post-36001646716693870292016-01-25T22:36:00.002-08:002016-01-25T22:36:42.181-08:00Today at WorkToday at work, I was in the bathroom in a stall towards the end of the row, minding my own business when all of a sudden, the other guy who was in there with me finished washing his hands, dried them with a towel, opened the door and promptly turned the light off. All of a sudden I was there in the stall, sitting in the dark. I was pretty startled (as you may imagine), and before I could say anything, the door closed and I was alone.<br />
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Now in all fairness, I don't think the guy saw me but remember that I work with a bunch of engineers and they can be pretty focused and have a tendency to miss things that are happening in the world around them. And I am sure that turning the light off after you walk out of the bathroom is a good habit to have, because that's what my parents always told me to do and my wife still tells me the same thing. So I get it, why he did it.<br />
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But at the same time, it's a public restroom. Who turns the lights off in a public restroom, especially without making sure that the restroom is empty? Anyway, what would I have said, right? "Hey, I'm still in here doing my thing?" No. Rule Number Four of Men's Bathroom Etiquette clearly states that there is no talking or eye contact allowed in the Men's Room.<br />
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(In case you might be wondering what the other rules are:<br />
No. 1: Always leave a one stall/urinal buffer if it is physically possible, and do your business in a place that allows others to do the same.<br />
No. 2: Announce your presence when someone comes in after you. You want them to know they are not alone in there. A little cough is appropriate.<br />
No. 3: Clean up after yourself. If you spill some soap/water while washing, clean it up. If you drop a paper towel, pick it up. Flush the toilet. If you don't, it is automatically out of commission until the custodial crew gets in there. Not cool.<br />
No. 4: See above. No chitchat in the bathroom, and keep your eyes forward. Otherwise, it's weird.<br />
No. 5: Don't linger in the public bathroom. Get in, git'er done, and get out. Make room for the next guy and help him avoid having to break Rule No 1.<br />
No. 6: NEVER bring food into the bathroom. That's just gross.<br />
No. 7: Don't talk on your cell phone, or conduct business in the bathroom. <br />
There are others, but they are situational and don't always apply)<br />
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Now, luckily I was prepared for this event, and just got out my phone and turned on my flashlight app to light my way till I was done. Those little lights are sufficiently bright to allow you to do your duty. However, it would have been akward if someone else had walked in, and I was still in the stall, in the dark, with my light on... If I had walked in on that, I would have promptly turned around and walked out and gone to the other restroom, or come back 5 minutes later. I will say though, that the last thing I did as I walked out of the bathroom was TURN ON THE LIGHT!!!Nathan Alldredgehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07420505318796090816noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7428422654517093863.post-27439205630224329152016-01-18T22:37:00.000-08:002016-02-02T22:16:35.335-08:00The "Thing" I Didn't Want to Write About (My Mom and Cancer)<br />
My dad thought it would be a good idea for me to put down on paper what happened today, along with my thoughts and feelings. So here goes...<br />
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Today I lost one of my best friends, and one of my biggest supporters. Someone who has been with me through my ups and downs.<br />
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My mom was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer one month and one day ago. She had been complaining about some mild back pain for a few days and we kept telling her that she needed to go in to see the doctor, just like she would normally tell us to do. But she didn't want to take her own advice until one night the pain got so bad that she couldn't sleep through it anymore. She and her nurse sister were pretty sure it was a gall bladder problem, and she just didn't want to have to deal with that over the holiday season. My parents went to the hospital and the doctors did some scans and ran some tests and came back with the worst kind of news anyone wants to hear:<br />
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"I'm sorry but you have cancer, and there isn't anything we can do about it."<br />
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You never think that cancer is going to happen, or that it is a possibility until it is right there in front of you. Needless to say, we were all shocked and heartbroken. I went to visit her at the hospital and found out that I had been preceded by several other family members, and my parents good friends the Wilkensons. I was happy to stay for a few minutes, but I get claustrophobic and that hospital room wasn't very big so I was glad that Aaron leaving gave me an excuse to not stay very long. Rachel dropped me off, and I was going to get a ride back with him.<br />
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Well, she came home and we had a great Christmas season. Everyone was able to make it up this year, it had been several years since that had happened. I know it made Mom's Christmas that much more special. And it was certainly nice to see everyone and get to see nieces and nephews that I haven't seen in a while. My mom spent a lot of time sitting over the holiday season, and I want to say that I noticed that she was really starting to have trouble getting through the pain really only about three weeks ago. We just plowed through Christmas and New Years like our family always had (mostly). But like I said, about three weeks ago, the pain started to get to be more than she could take on normal meds, and so they started to up her dosage, and switch her to stronger narcotics. Now, the good part about the narcotics is that they do take the pain away. The bad part of narcotics is that they also start to make a person groggy. So as the next few weeks progressed, she would be fine for a few days, and then the pain would get to be bad, so the doctors would up the dosage. That would wipe her out for the next day, and then she'd be up and awake and alert for a few days until her body got used to the new dosage and the pain would start getting through again. So they would up the dosage and the whole cycle would start over again. Except that as the meds wiped her out it took longer and longer to recover, and she got worse and worse. It didn't help that she wasn't eating or drinking very much either.<br />
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Anyway, she started to slip away much more quickly this last week, and I think those of us who were here to see, got a sense that she didn't have much longer to stay with us.<br />
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On Sunday, we were at my parent's house as is customary for us. I went in to talk to her for a little while, and had a few nice moments of lucidity with her. Rachel and I talked about our kids, about the nice dinner we had had the night before, and about life and how much we loved her. She responded a few times at appropriate places, asking about the kids, and squeezed my hand to let me know she was there and that she loved me. Then she told us that she needed to say goodnight, because she was tired and to please let Dad or Molly know so they could come up and help. That was my last real conversation with her. I think it was appropriate, talking about the things that she would have been interested in on any normal day. But last night I got it into my head that I needed to go into work early so I could come home early and see her without everyone else hovering and waiting for their turn. I got up at 5:30, with is about an hour and a half earlier than I have been doing for the past couple of months and got to work so that I could get off at 2:30pm. I tried to stay busy at work but I was pretty distracted, and when time came to leave, I am pretty sure that I left several things in different states of completion. I will get to them later. I got to my parents house at 3:45pm, and went into the kitchen to see how it was going. Molly told me it was not good. I asked if she had been awake at all today, and Molly said barely any, just enough for the lawyer and the witnesses to be convinced that she could sign the updated will that they had worked on the week or so before. I asked if it was still a medication issue, or if it was worse than that, and I think she told me at that point she hadn't been able to take any pain pills that day, but was still not alert. I walked upstairs and saw my dad, kneeling by the bedside with my mothers hand in his, telling her that he loved her. I hesitated a moment before going any further, but my dad saw me and got up. He had me sit down with Mom and asked me, if I could get her attention, to offer her a blessing. I took her hand and squeezed, but I didn't get any squeeze back. I looked into her eyes and told her that I loved her and that I was going to miss her. I sat with her silently for a few minutes, and then she looked right at me. I asked her if she wanted a blessing and I got what I will say is a yes and said that I would call Dad up. But as he was listening on the baby monitor, he was already rushing up. My mom then gave us another precious moment of lucidity and said "I love you." The speech wasn't very clear, and she had trouble getting it all out, but I heard it and that is how I want to remember it, that my moms last audible words to me and to my dad were "I love you." We gave Mom a blessing and my dad said that it was ok for her to go, that she didn't need to feel like she needed to stay, and that our Heavenly Father was waiting for her to come home. He ended the blessing, and I looked down at her. Her lips looked so dry, I wanted to do something to help, so I went down to get some ice chips. My dad gave her one, and she took it, but then immediately scrunched up her face in what may have been a mixture of discomfort and strong dislike, with maybe a dash of frustration thrown in (because after all, she wasn't really thirsty), and tried to spit the ice chip out. She put her hand up over her face and eyes and then she put her hand down, her body relaxed and we could tell she was going. We called for Molly, who had been all sorts of fantastic and patient and supportive and helpful. Molly came up and then my mom left. Quite literally 5 minutes after she received that blessing, and less than a half an hour after I got there. I am so glad that I listened to the promptings I received, that allowed me to be there for her final moments and to be there with my dad and Molly as she returned to be with our Father in Heaven.<br />
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I love my mom. I will miss her fiercely for the rest of my life, and look forward to the day, after I have had a good long life of my own, that I can run to her embrace, see her smiling face and tell her that I love her once again. I am so grateful for a loving Heavenly Father that has offered us a way to be a family forever. I know that this is NOT the end, that I will see her again and that we will be happy.<br />
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Mom, I love you so much, words cannot say. You have been my friend, my confidant, my cheerleader, my example. You picked me up when I was down, hugged me when I was happy and sad, took my own wife and kids under your wing. You made me feel loved and important. I will miss you while we are apart but I know, in part because of your testimony, that the separation is not permanent.<br />
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I miss you.<br />
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Love NathanNathan Alldredgehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07420505318796090816noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7428422654517093863.post-36653729210609177892016-01-09T13:03:00.000-08:002016-01-09T13:03:58.356-08:00Life updatesThis last year has been an interesting year to say the least. The engineering firm I work for was added to the collection of companies owned by the Fives Group, a French conglomerate. And for those of you wondering, it is NOT pronounced "5s" It is FEEvs. If that makes phonetic sense, cause it's, ya know, French. They (we) have been in business for over 200 years, so that's a pretty long time I guess. And it seems like they have business interests in just about every sector (automotive, aerospace, aluminum, cement, sugar, composites, heavy machinery, manufacturing... etc). Anyway, their network of suppliers has been a big boon to me personally, it has opened doors into the manufacturing world that I might never have seen, working with the limited resources of a smaller company. There are some pretty crazy parts that I am looking at trying to get built right now, and if it wasn't for the Fives manufacturing contacts, I would be struggling (even more than I am) with finding vendors who would be willing to take the work. It has also been good, because part of our integration into the Fives family of companies means better name recognition, access to new markets, and the ability to sell our services in new and more competitive ways. I am working on a project right now worth several million dollars that I am pretty sure we only got because of our association with Fives. So now we are no longer Lund Engineering, we have become Fives Lund LLC. Pretty exciting.<br />
Another development: I was finally able to finish paying off my debt. Now the only debt I have is my house and property, and I plan on keeping it that way. No more watching interest rates, or making sure I am on time with my monthly payment or trying to figure out how to make the money stretch to cover the payments. We can finally start saving again, I have started putting away for retirement again (though I never should have stopped) and we can save for fun things that we actually want. It feels pretty good. My job at Lund has been really good for me.<br />
Also, Rachel has been working there as well. She started in June of this last year, and has been working the front desk with another girl. It has been nice to wander up front and see her. And it has been nice to have her home more often, and not have to drive into downtown Seattle. She gets to put the kids on the bus in the mornings, and I get to come home and get them off the bus in the afternoon. That has been a real blessing. She also isn't stressed out all the time about work, because it is truly a job that we both can just leave at work.<br />
Christmas this year was nice, all my family came to town at some point, even Danny and Makay were able to get away from their wildly successful online business (http://www.simpleaddiction.com) and spend some time with all of us. They don't get to do that very often, so it was good to see them. I don't make it down to Utah very often, and the times I have in recent years, have not given me the opportunity to stop by and say hi. We got to go to the Supermall this year with everyone and do our Christmas tradition of drawing a name from a hat, and buying a $10 gift within an hour. We have been doing this for years, and this is the first time that everyone has been all in one spot. Actually I think we were missing Ben. But he works at the hospital and doesn't get normal days off.<br />
I'd like to talk about a few other things, but I don't know if I'm ready to start putting that down on paper.Nathan Alldredgehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07420505318796090816noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7428422654517093863.post-13984140290228824842015-09-05T22:28:00.001-07:002015-09-05T22:28:18.942-07:00Progress in the Back YardWe decided it was about time to start in on the back yard again, although I think Rachel would have rather had me help more with the laundry... Anyway, today I decided to get started cutting down the trees that are in the way of our landscaping plan. These were all pine trees about 10"-15" in diameter. I had good luck with the first one, it came down exactly where I wanted it, right across the back property line.<br />
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The second one though was a little more trouble, the trunk came out of the ground and kind of curved up, like a J. And I needed it to fall opposite the direction it was leaning. So I went and got my rope and tied it up about 20' and then tied it to another tree in the direction I wanted it to fall, thinking that I would be able to pull it down. I knew I needed to be careful, because it was naturally growing towards the neighbors, and was only about 5 feet away from the property line. I got the wedge cut out at the base of the tree and then started the back cut on the other side. I got about 1 inch from the middle and then went to the tree where I had tied the guide rope and started to pull. I got it to wave and bend, but it wouldn't come down... Ammon and Noah were trying to pull too. They mostly bounced up and down on the rope. It wasn't enough though. I needed to back cut a little further. I went to sharpen the blade, and took about 10 minutes to get it to where I was ok with it again. Anyway, I think that was a mistake, because when I went to start in on the tree again, the sharp chain just cut right through and the tree started to go exactly where I DIDN'T want it to go, towards the neighbors house! I tossed the chainsaw away (and it died thankfully) and grabbed the trunk of the tree to try to direct it away from anything important on the neighbors property. I got lucky, because with the rope tied where it was and my little bit of weight on the base, the tree fell onto the fence, and landed on a fence post and then teeter-tottered. I was able to use my weight on the trunk to keep it from hitting the neighbors shed, or do any damage to anything on their property. LUCKY. My arms sure did take a beating though. Bruises, scrapes and a couple of deeper cuts where some branches got as I was hanging onto the trunk.<br />
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The next one couldn't have been any easier. It was a simple one, it grew perfectly straight, and there wasn't anything in the way of it coming down exactly where I wanted it. That one made me feel pretty good.<br />
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The last one I tackled today was the biggest one, about 15" diameter. This one was also a straight growing tree and should have been easy, except for where it was growing. It was at the very back of our property, right next to the fence and there were several larger trees with branches that were right in the way of where I was trying to get it to fall. I couldn't see how to get it to fall where I wanted, as the branches would have directed it towards the same fence I had trouble with earlier. I wasn't interested in playing chicken with that fence again. I went and got a ladder and decided to climb the tree and cut it in half, letting the top fall first, and then tackling the rest of the trunk. I was pretty sure that it was a great idea, I even used my rope to tie the handle of the chainsaw, with about four feet of "leash" and then tied the ladder to the tree, and myself to the ladder. I was getting ready to start up the chainsaw when wiser heads prevailed. My wife came out and said that she didn't think what I was doing looked very safe. I looked down, I was about 25' up, and thought, "What could possibly go wrong? EVERYTHING!" So I decided to listen to my wife. However, as I was up there, I glanced towards our house, and noticed that there was a much clearer path for the tree to fall than the direction that I was intending for it to go in the first place, one that would let me cut the tree from the base with no trouble. So I untied everything, then tied the rope by itself up above where I was to use as a pull. I climbed down and started cutting. It couldn't have come down any more perfectly. It ended up coming down about 5' short of the brand new deck we had just finished building. I didn't break any of the branches of the trees I wanted to keep, ruin anything else in the yard, or hurt myself in any way. It was so perfect that I decided to take a picture of it:<br />
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<br />Nathan Alldredgehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07420505318796090816noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7428422654517093863.post-91700114265439555052015-07-30T14:15:00.000-07:002015-07-30T14:15:21.687-07:00No TitleThings have been going pretty well for us lately at home. Rachel quit the bank (finally) and came to work part time with me at Lund Engineering. It's kind of a funny story, I was getting tired of her having bad, stressful days at the bank, and one day she asked me if she could come to work with me. I told her that I would see what I could do. I thought about it for a few days, and decided that having my wife work with me wouldn't be a bad thing, and that her stress level would definitely go down working where I work, so why not? I went in and spoke with the office manager (the owners wife) and asked if there was anything that my overqualified wife could do. She thought about it for a few minutes and started coming up with things Rachel could do, things that she could stop worrying about and trim her own hours down to a more reasonable 40 per week. The more she thought about it, the more she liked the idea, and this all happened in the space of about 5 minutes.<br />
From there it was only a matter of checking with the other office staff to see what they thought, and confirming with the Boss that she could hire someone if she wanted. Rachel is sitting out there now, at the front desk right now! And she comes home happy, they offered her pretty good pay, and at three days a week, she has plenty of time to do the other "mom" things she wants to do.<br />
Rachel also just finished up with her online schooling, completing a Bachelors Degree from BYU-Idaho online. That has been a nightmare for our household these last few years especially. Lots of time spent on the computer, not going out with friends, not having time to clean, to play with kids. I stepped in to help as best I could, but I'm not the Mom. I do ok at being a Dad, but I am definitely not a Mom. We are going to have a graduation party here in a few weeks, assuming all goes as planned.<br />
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As for me, I am still very happy with my job. I was given a a few months ago and that really helped the income situation stabilize in our home. Things are pretty slow now, and I am having to get creative in order to find enough to keep me occupied. I have spent time in the shop helping with assembly, I have spent time finding and meeting with new potential vendors, I have gone to visit existing vendors to reassure them that we will be busy again soon. I have been doing clerical work here and there, record keeping and such. But I find myself staring out my office window a lot lately. All this sunshine we have had here in the Pacific Northwest is pretty addicting. Not really good for the rhododendrons outside my window though...<br />
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One of Rachel's classes was how to start an online business. After looking at the possibilities suggested by the professor, she decided on a consignment type online business. We found out that it is WAY harder to do that previously thought. My hat is off to all those who are able to start, grow and maintain their own successful online business. We gave it a good try, and still have hopes to be able to do something else in the future, but I think we would have to be way more passionate about the business model/product. You can see our effort at www.Rachae.com<br />
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<br />Nathan Alldredgehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07420505318796090816noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7428422654517093863.post-74074467287874717092014-09-04T07:19:00.001-07:002014-09-04T07:19:30.856-07:00Back AgainGood Morning World.<br />
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After a long hiatus, I have again decided to return to the world of blogging. Mostly because I taught a lesson at church about the necessity of keeping a journal, and because I didn't want to come off hypocritical.<br />
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In the last few years we have made some changes. This will be mostly a list of things that are different:<br />
We bought another house, in Maple Valley. We still own the lake front property, but decided against building because of daycare and school. Maple valley is better than Federal Way for both of those.<br />
We added another kid to the family, Emma Lee Alldredge. She will turn two in about a month and a half. Her favorite words right now are "stop it" and "no."<br />
I stopped working with Aaron and Matt at Used Computer Pro. Was offered a job as a purchasing agent with Lund Engineering. It's a good job and I don't have any complaints. Good benefits too.<br />
Rachel and I have survived 13 years of marriage, with way more ups than downs. Here's to the future!<br />
I guess that's about it for now. I will elaborate on these changes, and more stuff as it happens in future posts. I am determined to be better at this whole journal thing.Nathan Alldredgehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07420505318796090816noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7428422654517093863.post-44395309642907900842012-09-19T01:25:00.001-07:002012-09-19T01:25:09.543-07:0025 Random Facts About Me<h5 class="uiStreamMessage userContentWrapper" data-ft="{"type":1,"tn":"K"}">
<span class="messageBody" data-ft="{"type":3}"><span class="userContent">Random Facts About Me:<br /> <br /> 1: I am 2 of 9.<br /> 2: I think dark chocolate is the greatest thing I have ever put in my mouth.<br /> 3: I enjoyed math until Calculus.<br /><div class="text_exposed_show">
4: I own a half an acre of lake-front property that I hardly ever visit.<br /> 5: I can fix almost anything, except people.<br /> 6: I have a wife and two kids. Almost three. Nov 19.<br /> 7: I like turtles. (Have you seen that YouTube video?)<br /> 8: ^ False. Turtles are disgusting, but they taste good.<br /> 9: My current job is selling computer parts on eBay.<br /> 10: I R LDS<br /> 11: I am a Republican. With Libertarian tendencies.<br /> 12: My favorite car is my 1974 STD VW Bug. It is my work in progress.<br /> 13: <= I don't believe in luck. Only promptings.<br /> 14: I still think it's funny that Spanish speakers have a hard time with my last name.<br /> 15: Both my son's names come from the Book of Mormon. Don't tell Noah.<br /> 16: I love the water. Listening to it, swimming in it, floating above it. Love it.<br /> 17: I used to weigh a lot less.<br /> 18: Santa is as real as you want him to be.<br /> 19: God is real, whether you want Him to be or not.<br /> 20: I believe in forgiveness.<br /> 21: I play video games.<br /> 22: My wife doesn't like me to play video games.<br /> 23: I'm not a fan of planning ahead. Sometimes I regret this.<br /> 24: I am a night owl. It's in my genes.<br /> 25: I am still trying to figure out the over-arching story of my life.</div>
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Nathan Alldredgehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07420505318796090816noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7428422654517093863.post-48671756655070369442011-08-25T23:11:00.000-07:002011-08-25T23:30:25.131-07:0010 Years!Yesterday Rachel and I celebrated our 10 year wedding anniversary! It has been a great ride so far, with infinitely many more ups than downs. We spent two nights in Seattle at the Warwick hotel and just had a good time wandering and shopping and eating. And other stuff. My mom took the kids so that we could spend the kind of time we don't usually get to spend together, what with Rachel's crazy new work schedule (she is now the customer service manager at the bank) and my school and odd work schedule. That and we have two rambunctious boys that keep trying to kill themselves as they chase each other. It was good to get out and just spend a little quality time with my BFF/wife. She said that she would marry me all over again, so you know she still loves me! And I love her.
<br />We got to the hotel Tuesday night cause Rachel was working during her vacation. Apparently she was the only one who could interview prospective employees and that took most of the day. So we got to Seattle at 7:30 or so, and went down to eat at the hotel restaurant, the Bra Margo or something. It was a french name and it sounded like bras to me. Anyway, we ate there and after went to the market across the street just cause we were bored. Then we went and crashed in our room. The next day was spent walking and shopping and eating, not all at the same time. We also saw HP7.5 which was ok, but I didn't like how they changed the story at the end, before 19 years later. And they didn't age them very well for that last part by the way. Anyway, we were going to go eat at the Space Needle, but we had to wait till 9:45, and we didn't make it, what with the movie and the waling and all, so we ate at the Cheesecake Factory instead. I was happy with that #1 cause it was less expensive, and #2 cause I didn't have to dress up in a suit and tie. Then this morning we checked out and drove down to the market, because you have to do that if you ever go to Seattle for fun. If you don't, you are a fail. We had a great time overall.
<br />Nathan Alldredgehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07420505318796090816noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7428422654517093863.post-20075370487329655392011-04-11T16:08:00.000-07:002011-04-11T16:17:00.568-07:00SchoolI started school again. I am at Bellevue College, trying to pick it up where I left off after so many years of slave labor working at FedEx. Not really slave labor, cause they pay really well, and have great benefits, but you know what I mean right? It's just that even though we were doing well while I was working there, I was never really happy with my job and wanted something more out of life. I wanted to resume my education, so I could find a job that I really like so that going to work didn't have to be so hard every day. <br />So anyway, this is the beginning of my second week back at school and so far, so good. I am taking Calculus and Chemistry this quarter and so far my teachers are great. I really like my math teacher (which is something I haven't been able to say in a while) cause he likes to explain not just the how, but the why too. When I ask a question, the answer isn't, "Because I said so." He takes time to explain and discuss. That and he uses real world examples, not just numbers on a board. <br />Hopefully, I won't have so much trouble this time around.Nathan Alldredgehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07420505318796090816noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7428422654517093863.post-59981311681723547892011-03-23T23:20:00.000-07:002011-03-23T23:30:47.200-07:00I Just Feel Like I Have to Post SomethingI don't know what to post about tonight. I probably could post about cleaning up the garage today and all the cool tools that I found under the mess. I could post about feeding the ducks in the lake waffles that I made yesterday and how they come right up and eat out of your hand if you don't scare them off. I could write about problems Rachel's friends are having, but that would take all night and I don't want to do that, except to say that I'm glad Rachel and I are not having those problems and that we are generally happy with our marriage. I could talk about the new blu-ray drive I got for my computer and how nice it is to be able to back up 25gb worth of pics and video all at once and not have to worry about them getting lost in a hard drive crashes. I could also mention that I finally got Rachel's karaoke stuff squared away and what a painus in the anus that was, but at least she can make her own karaoke cds and do her recording. <br /><br />I could talk about all that stuff, but I don't want to.Nathan Alldredgehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07420505318796090816noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7428422654517093863.post-52900144651285082682011-02-12T23:06:00.000-08:002011-02-13T00:31:41.424-08:00Things to Catch Up OnOk, since my last post i have done a few things that are worth mentioning. We went to Whistler BC this last week and had fun with Rachel's family. We didn't have to stay with them though, and that was fantastic. It's also worth mentioning that our cell phone service didn't work in Canadia. We are with Boost Mobile, and while they have fantastic service here in the states, up there.... not so much. Although Terry (Rachel's dad, and also a Boost Mobile customer) was able to receive text messages on his Blackberry, which I thought was odd. Not calls, just text messages. But we have phone cards, so any calls we needed to make were covered. That and I bought new walkie-talkies so we could stay in touch if we wanted to. Rachel took some ski lessons with her Aunt Judy and had fun doing that, we played in the snow with the kids, rented snow mobiles for a few hours, celebrated multiple birthdays and just generally had fun. Here are some pictures:<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9uoFxBHoaSXcnqE_8OCrNczBJJFlZVvoqSq03BL9KKJT_AjSkm6w3e1J_YqncSgZaUkFare2ad54qkSOOv5T3ArbVeaWrs2weOUsyShOwnpUDnBfjI3hMjLDNj35IVJqCTUPcHJ1svHc/s1600/676A0105.JPG"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9uoFxBHoaSXcnqE_8OCrNczBJJFlZVvoqSq03BL9KKJT_AjSkm6w3e1J_YqncSgZaUkFare2ad54qkSOOv5T3ArbVeaWrs2weOUsyShOwnpUDnBfjI3hMjLDNj35IVJqCTUPcHJ1svHc/s320/676A0105.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5573086288072242594" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5txKNIDLxmsw1X4YhFV8TwFcqpt7Vtujem4D-kwkbKOfiKApnUHFUQ4RQ9u2ow5agngrq9yBwkW6bnIcFR9Lmhm6vM6WXquJX3q4TZFwRoHKettPmJst4ie2zCbB4nsAemPGaHklZfys/s1600/676A0106.JPG"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5txKNIDLxmsw1X4YhFV8TwFcqpt7Vtujem4D-kwkbKOfiKApnUHFUQ4RQ9u2ow5agngrq9yBwkW6bnIcFR9Lmhm6vM6WXquJX3q4TZFwRoHKettPmJst4ie2zCbB4nsAemPGaHklZfys/s320/676A0106.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5573086285306133218" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXXe6fD3bxFT7dqaNkFl2FdN_0EzgjguvLdXq5M23GfiIa3-9cchbHW-bEhEVbluXI3rpFDojMz9cKZjm2a1kvApbXjH3NCVkycxyB8y_NoH1PlPROzVu_m8cpX6Ons-fzoxtZMd014pE/s1600/676A0101.JPG"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXXe6fD3bxFT7dqaNkFl2FdN_0EzgjguvLdXq5M23GfiIa3-9cchbHW-bEhEVbluXI3rpFDojMz9cKZjm2a1kvApbXjH3NCVkycxyB8y_NoH1PlPROzVu_m8cpX6Ons-fzoxtZMd014pE/s320/676A0101.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5573086283119410674" border="0" /></a><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dz41mkgESDHs57gPRkNN2GMhvjX4rH8SZhEMBf6TIB03VV8lvQz-L-Qf0Xhj_rhInGk3RPsB2KCZnJNRz8XHg' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe>Nathan Alldredgehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07420505318796090816noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7428422654517093863.post-18114683686882731522011-01-26T02:12:00.000-08:002011-01-26T02:21:14.214-08:00January 24Monday was my birthday. I am officially one year older that I was last year. It doesn't feel any different though. I still feel about the same as I did the day before my birthday. I guess once you hit a certain age, a birthday is just another day when it all comes down to it. We didn't really do anything special on my birthday, but we did go out and watch the latest Harry Potter and then we went to Shari's afterward. In my family, on our birthday, we get to choose what we will have for dinner. This year I didn't really get to do that, since my kids have been so sick recently. We were going to do my birthday dinner on Sunday, but we decided that it would be better for the kids if we just took them home after church. I'll have to come back and edit this post later, because there is more that I would like to add, but I am too tired now and Rachel is stirring in the bed next to me.Nathan Alldredgehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07420505318796090816noreply@blogger.com0