Looking Up

Missoula, MT

Government Frugality

"To preserve our independence, we must not let our rulers load us with perpetual debt... I am for a government rigorously frugal and simple."

-Thomas Jefferson


 So who is gonna tell Obama? Maybe I will just email this to him.  You know, see if he agrees with Thomas J.

Small and Simple Things

"By small and simple things are great things brought to pass." 

Alma 37:6 Book of Mormon

Missoula, Montana

"I couldn't possibly have understood this when I was young like I do now.  When we look back on decades of life we see that the seemingly insignificant things we do over and over actually weave the pattern of our lives.  And if those small and simple things are good, we will end up having a fulfilling life-"and that is a great thing!" 

Marjorie Pay Hinckley,  Small and Simple Things

Tree Reflection

Frenchtown, Montana

To Walk with Heads Held High

"For those who eschew evil and live good lives, who strive for a brighter day and keep the commandments of God, things can get better and better even in the face of tragedy. The Savior showed us the way. From Gethsemane, the cross, and the tomb, He rose triumphant, bringing life and hope to us all. He bids us, 'Come, follow me' (Luke 18:22)."President Thomas S. Monson has counseled: 'If we are to walk with head held high, we must make our contribution to life. If we are to fulfill our destiny and return to live with our Father in Heaven, we must keep His commandments and pattern our lives after the Savior. By so doing, we will not only achieve our goal of eternal life, but we will also leave the world richer and better than it would have been had we not lived and performed our duties' (Thomas S. Monson, used with permission)."
Keith B. McMullin, "Our Path of Duty," Ensign, May 2010, 13

Dock

Frenchtown, Montana

There is Beauty all Around

“I believe in the beauty of nature—the flowers, the fruit, the sky, the peaks, and the plains from which they rise. I see and believe in the beauty of animals.

I see and admire beauty in people. I am not so concerned with the look that comes of lotions and creams, of pastes and packs as seen in slick-paper magazines and on television. I am not concerned whether the skin be fair or dark. I have seen beautiful people in all of the scores of nations through which I have walked. Little children are beautiful everywhere. And so are the aged, whose wrinkled hands and faces speak of struggle and survival.

I believe in the beauty of personal virtue. There is so much of ugliness in the world in which we live. It is expressed in coarse language, in sloppy dress and manners, in immoral behavior which mocks the beauty of virtue and always leaves a scar. Each of us can and must stand above this sordid and destructive evil, this ugly stain of immorality.”
Gordon B. Hinckley, “I Believe,” Ensign, Aug 1992

Beauty

The world is a beautiful place but sometimes it is easy to forget.  We focus on busy lives and not on the beauty around us. So this blog is dedicated to beauty.  To good.  To optimism.  It’s dedicated to things that are uplifting, motivating, happy, lovely, praiseworthy, optimistic and beautiful.
I will start focusing on the good in the world and not all of the ugly things.  I want to be an optimist again.
I will start with photographs.  My specialty.  I want to take photos of beautiful things and places.  Lets do good daily.  Lets see good things.  Lets find the good in the world.  Together.
So join me on my journey to find the good in this world.  It could be fun.