The look should never cause you to become cynical. “Cynicism is an intellectual cop-out, a crutch for a withered soul, a thin excuse for inaction and retreating commitment. Do not become cynical about government or education or civic affairs or relationships or religion or the human race or the time in which you live.” - Jeffrey R. Holland

Because of creation and the wonders we experience on this earth, an early morning walk, a hike in the mountains, a plane ride across the expanse of an ocean,  sunrise, sunset,  a field of wild flowers, all around us is the goodness of creation.

Today is a good day to take stock of where we are on the path of discipleship.  Do we have spiritual momentum?  Have we cast Satan out of our lives?  Do we let God prevail in our lives?

Self-pity was a daily companion that drained my strength, darkened my attitude, and left me in a void of despair. "Nothing dissipates our strength faster or more quickly drives away those who would truly wish to help us than self-pity.”

“I will never consider defeat and I will remove from my vocabulary such words and phrases as quit, cannot, unable, impossible, out of the question, improbable, failure, unworkable, hopeless, and retreat; for they are the words of fools. I will avoid despair but if this disease of the mind should infect me then I will work on in despair."

This mortal journey  isn’t just about focusing on your own life. No, this path inevitably leads you to become a blessing in the lives of God’s other children.  It leads us to echo the words of a child on a series saying, “I am blessed because of you.”

There have been times that I have not acted as I would if I could see the Savior next to me, I know that even when we make mistakes and choose to do the wrong thing, Jesus stays near us and watches over us anyway, waiting for us to reach out and hold His hand again. Because He loves us so dearly, we are always in His watchful care, even when we don’t know it, and someday we will all look back and realize how close He was, just when we needed Him.

The basic truths are always the same, but the emphasis needed will be made by the living prophets under inspiration from the living God. 

We may be rowing upstream against class 5 rapids in our world today, but we must teach our children that sin is sin. As you recall situational ethics or the new aspirational ethics would negate that right is right, wrong is wrong. We must teach our children every day that sin is sin and repentance is available. This is what builds their integrity.

This discussion reminds me of Thoreau’s admonition in Walden?    He told us if we have built castles in the air our work need not be lost, for that is where they should be.  The he urged us to put foundations under them.