A Thanksgiving lesson learned

Just a quick Story, and a lesson.

Tonight during family scripture study,

 We were discussing some things we are going to do at Christmas to better serve others.

(I found it in a Rachael ray Magazine my wife receives, We call them service jars, for the next 25 days we pull out one slip a day which has written on it one way to serve others, that day we focus on doing that thing for as many as we can, 9 jars, everyone has a different item)

The conversation turned to money and family and blessings

We read Malachi 3: 13-18 which essentially teaches that one cannot judge on this earth the blessings that one receives from righteousness.

Then My twelve year old son said, "Dad this came into my mind as you were talking;

Money means nothing, Faith is the currency of the Lord"

What?! A twelve year old?

That was a lesson I learned on Thanksgiving day.

Birthday

This birthday I wanted to do something different.

I usually ask my children not to get me anything, as I don't really need anything.

They would draw cards or make things for me, but this year I wanted some thing more meaningful, so Sunday night we watched this video.

After the video a discussion ensued regarding; what the boys did? why the boys did it? and how they felt after they did it.

I informed them that this birthday, for their gift to me I wanted them to find someone and help them this week. It is a work in progress but tonight a few already shared some neat moments.

Tank- Said at school there were some boys teasing another boy their age. Caleb said he remembered what we had talked about so he stopped and told the teasers to stop or he would go get the recess monitor. The teasing stopped and he went on his way. Today a similar experience occurred.

Queen- Shared that when she was on her way to the student council meeting she saw a girl that was being made fun of, and had been for some time as she was new to the school. She decided that it was more important to help this girl than attend the meeting and so she and another, went and told the offending teasers to back down then spent time talking with and comforting the girl, afterward taking her to talk to a teacher.

Two small instances. That affected the lives a a few children, but it is a beginning.

I think for that reason, this has been a great birthday, my children are looking for opportunities to serve those around them.

I really don't think there is anything much better they can do with their time. They are examples to me, and I am grateful for them.

37th Birthday = 37 Things

On November 9th, the age 40 will be three years closer.
 I still feel young so what do I care?
Even in his 90's my Grandad walked 6 miles a day and mowed his lawn so I figure to be biking, hiking, snow hoeing and hopefully snowboarding and skiing at the same age.
However, I digress. My Sister listed 35  things, that people may not know,  about her on her Birthday. I liked it. I am going to steal the idea and do the same.

1. I like to sow, and I'm fairly good at it. In fact there is a sowing machine in my room. I have made; backpacks, bike bags, suspension trainers, camping gear, etc.
2. I love to cook. Today I made home made bread. One night I even made steak and beans look like a garden on a plate.
3. People. I love people. I care about them. . .however, I am not real talkative. I can sit in a room in absolute silence, without feeling awkward or a need to "chat". But with all these people I love, There are very few people I enjoy hanging out with.
4. I like Taylor Swift's music, there it's out.
5. I hate romantic movies. Matter-of-fact I hate romance in any movies. If I rent a movie with romance, I fast forward it. . .all of it. . .Can't stand it. . .at all.
6. I love mountain biking and other extreme sports (I know that. . .you say) Did you know I owned the first "Mountain Bike" that Schwinn ever made? It's true. My Dad got it for me. My uncle owned a Schwinn shop. I loved it.
7. I love having fun with my kids and other's kids, pinatas, tattoos, face painting, parties, wrestling, lacrosse, whatever, I love making it fun for kids.
8. I still read Portuguese at least one time a week so I don't lose the language entirely.
9. Before my mission, I wanted to be a ski bum and get married much older. I was 21 when I married. We had 8 children in 10 years.
10. I like doing new things. Even hiking or biking the same trail too many times gets old and boring.
11. Some day I want to base jump. My brother and I almost did it once, but the guy inviting us was quite drunk, okay, he was completely sloshed.
12. Wind chimes are amazing. There is a set outside my window and a set in my room. I love the sound of them.
13. Every night, I sleep with the windows open (even in winter) and a 30 inch fan blowing less than one foot from my face. My dream is a commercial wind machine.
14. I love reading. But I hate fiction. My favorite reads are early American history, business and science based. Currently I am reading about the eruption of Krakatoa, before that it was Benjamin Franklin.
15. My wife and I never would have spoken if she hadn't initiated it. I thought she was way out of my league. She still is.
16. I would rather be biking, hiking, snowshoeing or just being "in the wild" than at any amusement park. Hugh Nibley summed up my feeling when he said that "Disneyland was a hell on earth". Will I go there some day with my kids, perhaps some day, but only if includes surfing the waves and exploring the mountains.
17. When my children were young and I had but a few, I thought I was a good parent. Now that they are older, I realize I'm pretty much clueless, it's more survival.
18. I don't think newborns are cute. None of them. Not even my own. Before I would hold them I would always make the nurses wash and clean them. They become cute later.
19. I try to do creative things for valentines day. One year I made a Fruit bouquet. Another year I wrote the story of our meeting and dating from my point of view - things I remembered. My wife says I'm a romantic, I say I'm just creative.
20. I hate baseball.
21. Next year my brother and I are doing a 24 hour California trip - Drive - Surf - Bike -Drive --Die.
22. I enjoy blogging, my wife hates it. She can;t even say "Computer". But it's fun to hear her practice.  "Compppoooter".  No, shorter the "oo" sound. . .every night. But she is getting better.
23. I won the "Ruby's Inn Bryce Canyon Rim" WALK! Yes I hurt my knee so I walked . . . and won. Not proud of that.
24. I was in the choir that sang at President Hinckley's first priesthood session as the Prophet.
25. I was the only missionary in my mission who got Malaria in three years. The only one.
26. I fractured my C2 vertebrae (went on a forty mile bike ride the next weekend) and broke my tailbone within four months of each other.
27. I love lighthouses.
28. Every year my children get me a Lego bionicle for Christmas. I still have them all.
29. Next year, I am starting "canyoneering". I have the harness, carabiners, atc and figure eight. I just need my rope.
30. My whole purpose of losing weight is so I can go uphill faster on a bike. I'm always last. However, I can descend very quickly.
31. I have a stripped quilt I sleep with every night. The stripes must be facing outward and vertical, or I will not sleep, it drives me nuts.
32. I am copying my Mission journal onto the computer so someday I can make it a small book and pass it down to my children.
33. I love working on bikes. It relaxes me, most of the time.
34. Favorite Holiday - Christmas. 2nd- Halloween. Confession - I do not like thanksgiving. It's too boring. When my children are old enough thanksgiving will be spent riding bikes in Moab then a big dinner down there.
35. In a span of 2 years I had 7 concussions. One I got doing the half pipe at Brighton, then skied for the rest of the night with purple and yellow lines crossing my vision and a great desire to throw up.
36. My Name is Gage R Gillings. Why Gage? It was the name of a villain on a john Wayne show. Why R? (no it's not an abbreviation) My Grandad's name was Richard, Grandpa's name was Ray - you get the picture. Why Gillings? Here is a long explanation. My favorite part was that it is a derivative of "Julian" which comes from "Iuppiter" which means "The Supreme God".
37. Finally, the last one, I was reaching there for a while. Here it is; I think my wife is the most amazing woman. She is not perfect but she is perfect for me. She lets me be adventurous, puts up with long Moab adventures, and has never complained. She only says, "tell me where you are going in case you die, but if you die I will be very angry with you." She is smokin' hot, a blast to hang out with and takes care of the children so well. She is amazing and one of my heroes.

What an adventure that was.

That's me.

37 Years worth.

November 9th.

1917 Josef Stalin enters the provisional government of the USSR

1921 Albert Einstein is awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics for his work with the photoelectric effect.

1939 Adolf Hitler narrowly escapes assassination when a bomb explodes in the historic Buergenbraeu Hall in Munich shortly after the Chancellor had left to return to Berlin. (Dang it)

1989 Cold War: Fall of the Berlin Wall. Communist-controlled East Germany opens checkpoints in the Berlin Wall allowing its citizens to freely travel to West Germany. People start demolishing the Berlin Wall.

1989 East Berlin opens its borders.

In 1973 it was the day I was born.

The end. . .but not of me.

Naisi Zhao - An amazing person



Naisi Zhao is on the right,



I had the opportunity to teach a young lady named Naisi Zhao.  She was a transfer student from China, who enrolled in seminary, began studying the Gospel and scriptures voraciously, and was later baptized while attending BYU.

The link below will take you to an article by the New York Times that was published about her while she served as a LDS Missionary New York.

She is truly an amazing person. One of my heroes.

http://www.nytimes.com/packages/html/nyregion/1-in-8-million/index.html

Someday. . .when the kids are older. . .

RACE AGAINST THE SKY!

2010