360

360, three hundred and sixty, 360 that is what the scale said. I looked in disbelief I knew I was up there but I didnt think I would hit that number.  I had a health screening at work that was provided by my employer.  It was just the basic overview of my health. I knew going in it wasn't going to be pretty.  The nurse took my vitals, BP 170/118 the nurse was in a bit of a shock.  She took my BP again this time it was 156/100 she was still in shock.  She took my height and weight and my BMI was 46 which translates into morbidly obese.  I have always been fat. That's right fat, lets not beat around the bush on this.  I am not husky, big boned, or burly, I am fat.  I have always been fat, but this has truly gotten out of hand.

So its time for a change.  My wife and I have tried the Paleo diet before and it worked for us in the past and we are going to do it again.  I need to get active in life.  We went out and bought the DDPYOGA program and we have seen the results others have gotten from that program and we like those results. We have taken up hiking there are some different trails in the area that we want to explore.  I am done being fat.  I am done hurting. I am done wearing a CPAP at night when I sleep.  I am done having to buy bigger clothes. Its time to get my freedom back.  Its time to get up and out of the house and begin to eat better and exercise more.  So tomorrow begins a new day and a new challenge.  I know I can do this and that I can get into better shape. 

My New Calling within the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints

 

 On the 23rd of August 2015 I received a phone call from Brother Turner the Executive Secretary of the Stake President of the Wendell Idaho Stake.  He said that President David Gines wanted to see me and my wife Starla on Tuesday the 25th at seven o'clock. Starla and I speculated what it could be for. We knew that it was a calling we just didn't know what the calling would be.  Well Tuesday arrived and Starla and I went to the appointment.  Now usually when you have an appointment with a church leader its usually one on one or its the church leader meeting with a husband and wife. Well when we arrived we were greeted by President Brian Davis, First Counselor of the Stake Presidency. Shortly after we arrived Second Counselor President Devin Rigby showed up. President Gines showed up just a few minutes later.  They opened the office up and went in for a few seconds and then they invited us into the office. Now its pretty unnerving when you walk into the Stake President's office and there is the Stake President and his counselors sitting there waiting to greet you.  The thought that came across my mind "Oh crap what have I done now."  As we sat there and began to converse with them it became apparent that Starla or I was going to get a calling.  After answering some of there questions about our testimonies and such I was issued the calling of being the new Elders Quorum President of the Wendell 1st Ward in the Wendell Idaho Stake.  I was a bit floored and shocked but I accepted the call.  President Gines ask that I consider my two counselors and call him when I choose them so that they could extend that call to them.  The names were given and the calls were issued. If everything goes alright we will be sustained and set apart this coming week in Elders Quorum.  

President Gines told us how he came about my name and why I was called to this calling. As he and his wife were preparing to go to Las Vegas for some business.  His father in law gave him a couple of temple name cards to take along and do them at the Las Vegas temple.  Bishop Don Egbert had given President Gines some names that he thought would be good as the Elders quorum president. And as President Gines was sitting in the endowment room preparing for the endowment he looked down at the name of who had prepared the temple card and he noticed my name.  As he read my name to himself the Holy Ghost whispered that it should be Ryan Barnes that should be the new Elders Quorum President. 

Now I freely admit I am nervous and a bit scared as the new president of the quorum but I know through faith and courage the Lord will help me in this calling.  I asked President Gines to call Elder Lawrence Green as the First Counselor and Elder Carlos Rendon as the Second Counselor.  I know that I have made good choices for they are good and righteous men of God. We as a presidency are going to have fun and we are going to work hard.  There is a lot of work to do in the ward. Lots of less active and non active brothers as well as prospective elders that need to be found and taught and invited back to church.

Wow Its been a while.

Looking back at my previous posts I see that its been a while since I have last written anything.  There is a quote by an anonymous author that is both profound and entirely accurate.

 "Life is one of those precious fleeting gifts, and everything can change in a heartbeat."

Tonight I found out that one of my cousins from my Mother's side of the family had committed suicide last night.  A few short hours later I found out that one of my friends, her name is Chene, that I had met while chatting through the Yahoo chat rooms had a major cardiac event.  Tomorrow her family will remove her from life support.  Now I don't know what the circumstances of what happened to Chene, but I do know that she has had a difficult life with drugs and alcohol.  Life is so fleeting.  We have been told by the Lord that we will never be given more than what we can handle.  I sorrow for Chene and my cousin.  I have wondered why people do the things that they do.  Now I am not here to judge them, heaven knows that I am not perfect. I have my own burdens I deal with.  I ponder the how and why we do these things.  Even before I had a understanding of the Lord's gospel and His church I have always known that we have a greater purpose than what the world thinks we do. I know that the Lord has a greater purpose for all of us. That is why we are here upon this earth is to find out what that purpose is. I especially know that He knows us better than we know ourselves and what we have gone through and what we are going through here upon this earth and He will judge us accordingly. I take comfort in knowing that Jesus Christ is leading the way.

Elder Jeffrey R Holland of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints says it best:

don't give up

don't you quit 

you keep walking 

you keep trying 

there is help and 

happiness ahead...

trust God and

believe in good 

things to come  

We must keep going! We can not give up on ourselves! We each have our own loads to bear but we don't have to do it alone.  Jesus Christ is there to help.  He has been through it all.  He has sunk down into the depths of hell and come out again so that we don't have to.  Remember that our Heavenly Father and Heavenly Mother love us dearly and want us all to return to live with them.  I surely hope that we all make it home.

A picture of my father Barney, my Brother John and me. about July in 1999.

Family, Isn't It About...Time

This past weekend my brother John came up from Oklahoma to see both Uncle Tree and myself.  Between John and I there is a ten year difference in age.  As the weekend progressed we shared many stories of our Dad, Barney. We enjoyed a lot of good laughter reminiscing about him and his crazy antics. I do miss my Dad. I am looking at a family picture of the family that was taking in front of a dart board that my Dad put up in the living room.  I am guessing that my mother was not a happy camper when he did that.  John is home from basic training and I am probably about 8 or 9 years old.  That photo was taken some 27 years ago.  I have reflect back to when I was younger and think about my family.  Both immediate and extended.  I think about the fun times and sad times that I have experienced with them.  Some of the best memories I have is sitting around a kitchen table and telling stories.  Whether in Idaho or Oklahoma I have always enjoyed my family, even though some of us are a bit nutty. (me included) Over the years we have lost some amazing people.  Not only have we lost them but we have lost their stories and their experiences. I was just thinking of my Dad and when he would work on cars or trucks.  If my Dad didn't cut is arm open or smack his head causing blood to run.  He didn't do the job right.  When I blew the transmission in my pickup, my Dad was under the truck losing bolts and ask me to pass him a combination wrench.  Rather than passing it down to him under the truck. I decided to drop it down to him from engine compartment.  Well the wrench rather than hitting the pavement it actually hit my Dad on the head.  Well I was laughing and my Dad was cussing.  It is a cherished memory I have of my Dad and I spending some time together. 

Smitty part 3

        Please feel free to comment, cuss, and discuss what I have written here.  I have added one from the last post.         
  As Smitty looked out over the edge of the foxhole he could hear the artillery off to the south of his position. He could see the enemy moving back and forth with boxes of ammunition, guns and other supplies getting ready for battle. Smitty quietly radioed headquarters explaining the situation. He picked up his M-1 Grand rifle gently pulled back the bolt until he could hear that familiar click and emptied a magazine of 30.06 bullets into the enemies’ position.  In turn the enemy not knowing where the shots came from blindly fired back into the darkness.  Smitty smiled that smug smile he often smiled before battle.  He knew this was going to be a big and bloody battle. Both sides would have lots of causalities, he also knew the odds of himself getting killed or wounded were high. He reached and felt the scar on his left cheek. He already had three purple hearts for previous run-ins with the enemy.             His headset clicked and the orders came in.  Attack without prejudice, Attack ASAP (as soon as possible) and hold your position until further orders come in.  Smitty looked to his left and to his right and his boys were ready. They knew that the orders were in and they had been itching for this battle all day.  They were poised to fire upon the enemy.  As Smitty reloaded his rifle and raised it to his shoulder, the ever presence of both fear and elation were with him.  He loved the thrill and adrenaline rush from the battle and yet he was fearful for his men.  He had buried too many of his brothers in arms.             Smitty looked down the barrel of his rifle and his aim rested upon an enemy soldier carrying a box of ammunition. As he squeezed the trigger he felt the recoil of the rifle and all hell broke loose. Twenty-one rifles opened up on the enemy cutting them to pieces. The ten rifles to the right of Smitty took out the enemy position in the back of the supply truck.  The ten rifles on the left of Smitty took out the enemy that were loading the supplies into backpacks.  The enemy tried to fire back but it was in vain, they were caught by surprise and were unprepared to fight back.  Most of the enemies guns were leaning up against the trucks that they were just unloading before they were attacked.             As the last of the enemy were being dealt with, Smitty slowly began to advance on the enemy position.  He could smell the cordite from the M-1s and also he could taste the sweat that was rolling down his face into his mouth. He was weary of hidden enemy as well as hidden mines. As he took a step his foot came down on something that made a metallic clink.  Frozen in place, Smitty knew that he had just stepped onto a mine that the enemy had set up earlier that day. Smitty called for the bomb expert.  Boomer as he was known cautiously came up to examine what was under Smitty’s foot.  As Boomer carefully dug around Smitty’s foot, his M3 trench knife came in contact with a metallic object.  Boomer dug away some of the dirt and revealed it as an S-mine or a Bouncing Betty.  Boomer took a small eighth inch bolt out of his bag and inserted it where the pin used to be making it safe to handle and also safe for Smitty to move his foot.              As Smitty removed his foot from the landmine, he fished a Lucky Strike cigarette from his left shirt pocket and put one in his mouth and lit up. Walking closer to the enemy’s position he could hear a soft moaning under the supply truck.  Pulling is Browning M1911 out of the holster he approached the truck cautiously.  As he approached the truck Smitty could see a set of legs poking out from underneath the truck.  The wounded enemy could see Smitty walking towards him and in the last act of desperation the enemy raised his Machinenpistole 38, but Smitty put a .45 caliber bullet between the eyes of the young enemy warrior.  Smitty sighed deeply; he had cheated death for now.  Looking over their handy work Smitty’s boys had dispatched thirty-one enemy soldiers and captured enough guns, ammo, and supplies to sustain a battalion for two months. 

The Clearing

The rustling of the leaves breaks the silence of the cold night.  The light of the cigarette can be seen from the other side of the clearing. The smell of fear and death was in the air.  The Sergeant of C platoon orders his men out into the expanse.  As the soldiers move out across the opening in the forest, the enemy opens up with a heavy machine gun.  The men hit the ground and began to search for cover.  The sergeant begins to shout orders to his men.  Some of the men have been hit by enemy fire.  Others shoot back into the darkness trying to hit the machine gun that wounded their friends. The enemy opens up with a second and then a third heavy machine gun. The sounds of the dying and wounded filled the cold night air.  The Sergeant orders the men of C platoon to pull back into the safety of the trees.  As the medics tend to the wounded they try their best to squelch the wounded. The medics told the men they would be fine, and that the Sergeant would give them all out of here alive.  The Sergeant looks out of over his men.  Eight men are dead and thirteen are wounded.   The Sergeant’s orders were to take this clearing and hold it until relieved.   The Sergeant orders the remaining men to gather together.  The Sergeant orders Corporal to take ten men and circle around the clearing and to out flank the enemy from the north.  The Sergeant would take the other ten men and would go around the other side of the clearing and attack from the south. 

            As the Corporal and his men approach from the north they can see the enemy through the trees. The Corporal and his men crouched behind some boulders about twenty-five meters away from the enemy.  There is about nine of them from what the Corporal can see.  There are three men per heavy machine gun.  As the Sergeant is getting his men ready for battle the Corporal pulls the pin on the hand grenade he is holding and he and his men open fire on the enemy.  The Corporal throws the grenade into the first heavy machine gun position killing all three of the enemy.  The Sergeant and his men open fire on the third heavy machine gun position killing all three men with a volley of bullets from their M-1 carbines.  The second position manages to get off a few rounds towards the Sergeants group but the Corporals men acted fast and cut the enemy down with a grenade blast and finished off any wounded enemy soldiers with a hailstorm of bullets.