"We've got nothin' to hide.."

Ever been patted down by a police officer and checked for drugs or weapons? Well... now I can say that I have. The other night, we were on our way back from a little campfire when we passed by a car that had been pulled over. We joked, "Who gets pulled over in a state park??" Well, we do. A few minutes later we we saw the flashing lights of a policeman behind us. We slowed to the side of the road and the Texas officer came to the driver side window and did his whole little speech, "Do you know why I pulled you over?" etc..

He asked the driver to exit, then he asked me and the other passenger to come out of the car as well. We put our hands behind our heads and he frisked us. I can't say I was afraid or even mad. It was kinda cool actually. Unlike him, I knew that we were just a couple of Mormon boys from Utah. He wouldn't find any drugs or booze in our car.

On the drive home we laughed and talked about how fun that little escapade was. I realized that it would've have likely been a different story had we been drinking or using drugs like perhaps other kids our age would've been doing around a campfire.

When you are doing what's right you've got nothing to worry about, you can enjoy life!

The Pride Inside

We've all got talents, things that we enjoy doing and are good at. Sometimes we are afraid to say what we think our own talents are. It's easy to point them out in others, "He's a great basketball player." or, "She has a real knack (yes, that's how you spell it) for painting." Why don't we share with others what we think our talents are? We are afraid that if we admit, out loud, that we think we are good at something that someone will disagree because there's always someone better.

The first thing that comes to my mind when I think of the word pride is Lion King. Not really, but it did come to mind earlier today. Simba belonged to a pride of lions and as a youngster he was pretty prideful too. He said things like, "I'm gonna be the mane (pun intended) event like no king was before.." Sure, Simba may have had a talent for leadership and certain gifts that would make him a great king but the pride was in comparing, and elevating himself above previous leaders, including his father.

It's not enough for us to simply be good at something and enjoy doing it. We often compare ourselves to others. We've got to be better. They may be good at this, but you're better than them at some other thing. Truthfully, it doesn't matter. Who cares? Find something you like and work at it for yourself. And don't be afraid to compliment people and point out what you've noticed they are good at.

And yep... I think that's it.