Gratitude Week at the Telefund

So, I recently got a new job at the BYU Telefund, a branch of the organization BYU Philanthropies.  For those of you who are like me and have to look up the meaning of the word “philanthropies” in the dictionary, dictionary.com tells us that it means “altruistic concern for human welfare and advancement, usually manifested by donations of money, property, or work to needy persons, by endowment of institutions of learning and hospitals, and by generosity to other socially useful purposes.”  (Just to be brief in its definition).  BYU Philanthropies is a really neat organization under the direction of the Presiding Bishopric of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and it has an amazingly uplifting atmosphere!  So what do I do exactly?  I’m a caller.  That’s right, I am THAT GUY who calls you asking for money donations to the school and for funding need-based scholarships.  Yes, if you are a BYU alumni, I may be THAT GUY giving you a call for the millionth time from the university’s phone number because you haven’t answered yet because you don’t like answering numbers that you don’t recognize.  I know, don’t you love me more now?!...  Thank you so much if you have donated; you’re awesome!  If you can’t donate because of tight financial situations, it’s ok; I understand, and I hope that things start getting better.  And if we straight up do nothing but bug you sorry about that, but it’s all for a good cause, and if you can’t donate, there are no hard feelings J.

Anyway, as I said, the Telefund has an amazingly uplifting atmosphere.  At the beginning of every shift for the callers, we all get together and have quick spiritual devotional.  This week apparently is “Gratitude Week” at the Telefund, so all of the devotionals have mostly been based on gratitude.  Today I gave the devotional for first shift and read a short quote by Gordon B. Hinckley:

When you walk with gratitude, you do not walk with arrogance and conceit and egotism, you walk with a spirit of thanksgiving that is becoming to you and will bless your lives.

I then shared what I was grateful for in my life.  I found this exercise very refreshing, and the leaders at the Telefund encouraged us to share what we were grateful for in our lives on social media.  So, here’s my list!

1.    My parents.  My Mom and Dad are alike in many ways, but polar opposites in other ways.  People that I look exactly like my Dad but act exactly like my Mom, (which, if you’ve met the two before, you know is nothing to complain about).  They are the most influential people in my life and my greatest heroes and idols.  They raised me and continue to teach me so well, and I love them for it.  I’m so grateful for them.

2.     The rest of my family.  Zander, Rebecca, Kamille, Evan, Winston, Samantha, and even that guy out in Argentina who I used to always get into fights with, brotherly love style (Tanner).  I’m grateful that I’ll be with these guys forever.  I’m especially grateful that I can see Kamille, Evan, Grandpa, Grandma Hutch, and my cousins every week for a wonderful home-cooked meal!

3.     My friends.  I have the best friends.  Some are near; some are far; I have school friends, mission friends, old friends, new friends, friends in other countries, and even “special” friends if you know what I mean… ladies.  Whether or not these people that I love most (outside of the family) remain in my life forever may be out of my hands, but for me, they are truly what makes life worth living.  I love them all and I’m so grateful for them.

4.     My dog.  Meet Bevo.  No, he's not dead; he's just playing dead, and yes, he is named after the Texas Longhorn’s mascot.  Besides the fact that this dog is so ADHD (like myself) and quirky that he can be an entertainment just by watching him chase around shiny things, it’s also good to have a dog just because sometimes he’s the only one that understands you.  He’s in Pennsylvania, so I don’t have him now, but I miss him and am grateful for him.

5.     My roommates.  I actually haven’t needed a dog these two semesters even on the toughest of days, because of Ryan, Taylor, and Jordan.  Thanks so much for being there for me, guys.  I couldn’t ask for more support than what I’ve already received from y’all.  Also, I’m a fan of our late-night-roomy dance parties, mandates, Risk wars, and woman talks.

6.     My mission.  Elder Holland, an apostle, once stated “my mission meant everything to me.”  Amen to that, brother!  President Villarreal and his wife Myrna not only helped me for two years, but they continue to be an inspiration and personal help to me.  Also, I met so many young, inspiring men that have helped mold me into a more complete person.  And I can’t forget the people that were moved by Christ’s message when I brought it to them in Mexico and who joined the church.  Many of these wonderful people will claim that I converted them, but really it was God.  And if you ask me, it was the experience of watching their conversions that really converted ME.  I’m so grateful for my mission.

7.     Music.  Dear anyone who has ever lived with me:  you already know this.  Dear future wife: I love music, and I sing in the shower, at the steering wheel, and pretty much everywhere else at all hours of the day.  Please, learn to love it, or invest in some really thick earmuffs to block out the sound if you can’t.  Music makes me happy, and if I can sing something well, then it makes me happier.

8.     My new job.  This is the first time that I have ever had a job while going to school and my first one that doesn’t involve some kind of yard work.  Although there are up days and down days even at the Telefund, I just feel so much more responsible and fulfilling with this in my life.  I thank Heavenly Father for helping me get this job, and I’m grateful that I don’t have a job that involves being outside in the heat of Texas or the cold of Utah all the time.

9.     Basketball.  Anytime I don’t feel like doing homework, college and pro basketball has been there.  Not mention that March Madness is coming up!!!  OK, it’s still not for two months, but we have to have something to look forward to here at BYU since there’s no spring break!

10. The Holy Ghost.  John 14:26 “But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.”  Yesterday morning I was driving home from the temple with my music off just reflecting on life.  Those moments of silence where you can and just sit and converse with God are so important.  I was thinking about where I would be and in what direction I would be going without His constant help.  I might still be here at BYU, but there are many decisions that I’ve had to make in my life (including more recent ones) that have been pretty tough.  Without this Comforter who can literally teach me “all things” guiding me, I know that I would have made some pretty rational and bonehead decisions.  Even when I don’t understand why he tells me to do something, I have gained a testimony and a certainty that whenever I feel in my heart and my mind that something is right I must continue with full confidence in the path that He has shown me.  Ever since receiving the Holy Ghost by the laying on of hands after my baptism, I have had this to keep me in the correct path, and I’m especially grateful for it today.

Your turn

What are YOU grateful for?  I want you leave as many comments as you want telling me about the things that you are grateful in your life, whether you’re a close friend or a complete stranger!  Write down what you are grateful for, and you’ll know why it feels so refreshing!

¡Hasta luego!

The Best Time to Plant a Tree

The best time to plant a tree is 20 years ago.  The second best time is now.

My Grandpa Hutchinson who has planted an arboretum next to his house in Alpine, Utah would probably agree with that chinese proverb more than anyone else.  We're already 16 days into the new 2014 year.  How's everyone doing with their resolutions?!  I resolved to gain 10 pounds of muscle, to be more patient, and to manage my time better.  I'm doing well with all three so far... I think!  The "tree" that is being planted in the proverb represents an improvement.  This could be our very New Year's resolutions.  It could also represent a number of other things:  a goal, a task, a leap of faith, repentance, a chore, homework... whatever it is in our own lives that we need or that we need to do.  We probably should have done it long before, but if we haven't, what better time to go through with it than now?

Dieter F. Uchtdorf, an apostle of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, gives a great brief message on this that is definitely worth the 5 minutes that it takes to read it.  Here's the link below.  Hope you enjoy!

https://www.lds.org/liahona/2014/01/the-best-time-to-plant-a-tree?cid=HPWE010114311&im=true&lang=eng

Knee deep... in change

As I mentioned, I like country music.  One of my favorite songs is the song “Knee Deep” by the Zac Brown Band which talks about escaping all the stress and the world by being in the “Knee deep in the water somewhere” in his “own kind of paradise.”  Sounds to me more like his home if you ask me.  But, speaking of being knee deep in stuff, I recently have found myself nearly knee deep in something else…

So, THIS has been happening to me since Thanksgiving.  As you can tell, all of the pretty colors of fall have been replaced with the new early winter color of white everywhere.  Don’t get me wrong, it’s very pretty still, but it comes with a price.

Yes, as a native Texan, living with this much frozen water all around definitely is a different experience that causes mixed emotions within.  Don’t be fooled by our ego; big, tough Texan men, including myself are actually complete woosies when it comes to the freezing cold and the snow.  The worst part is probably when we try to haul a huge load in our rear-wheel drive trucks in the beginning of a snow storm like I did (as you can see from the picture below).  I didn’t run into anything, but let’s just say I’m not a fan or a pro at controlling a vehicle’s direction while it’s sliding everywhere on ice.  That’s why in Dallas, Texas, instead of trying to drive on the ONE day of the year that there is ice on the road, we just cancel everything and call it a day.

Change is real and constant

Seeing all of this made me remember all of the changes that we experience in our lives.  I remember looking out the window into a sea of green hills and trees and very limited civilization for the first time near the end of a bus ride to Tenancingo, Mexico with no one but a scary 21-year-old guy who said we might kill me (my mission trainer) that I had literally met 4 hours before.  Soon I would be spending 12 non-ending weeks 24/7 with this guy and I would be speaking a language that I couldn’t understand.  This was not going to be the average experience that your typical 19-year-old has in college in the U.S.  TALK ABOUT CHANGE!  There was a lot that I would have to adapt to.  Eventually, though, this kid become one of my best friends and now Tenancingo, Mexico is like a home away from home to me.

Change is one of the few things that you can guarantee will be constant in life.  We experience change every day of our lives.  Sometimes we see good changes like when someone decides to change their lifestyle to be able to live a more Godly life.  Other changes aren’t so good like the increasing lenience toward sin, profanity, sexual immorality, and violence that the public media and press seem to inculcate in our society.  We can cause change and sometimes the change is completely out of our power.  But speaking of all this change, I happen to know a family that is experiencing a pretty dramatic one in their lives:  my own family.  I think it would be more meaningful to you and them if I touched more on the kind of change that requires a tough decision on our part and leaving something beloved behind.

The new Hutchinson home

This Christmas break, I spent my vacation with the family, but we weren’t back in my dear Texas this time!  This time we were up in West Chester, Pennsylvania, a place that my parents and darling little sister will call home for the upcoming years.  All of the siblings and the spouses and the grandbaby gathered in this new home and we celebrated an unforgettable Christmas holiday together.  Not only was this vacation full of sight-seeing, movies, football, board games, nerf gun wars (oh yeah, this family knows how to party) and an improv life-size nativity (where I was lucky enough to get picked to be the sheep). That stuff was definitely fun, but more importantly, this Christmas Break reminded us all that although weather, surroundings, circumstances, and sometimes friends change, it is all part of Heavenly Father’s plan so that our families can be eternal with him.  The only one absent was our missionary, little Tanner (aka "Pretty Boy") who was able to skype us from Argentina.  It was such a great experience talk to him!  I don't remember any other time that I've felt the Spirit of God so strongly with my entire family than during that 40 minute call on Christmas Day.  God and family really are the most unchanging things that we will see in our lives, and because of that, if we have to make a decision or a major change in our lives, we should first consider what He wants us to do and what is best for our current and future family.  And although my family was perfectly comfortable for the 21 years that we lived in Arlington, Texas, God and family are the very reasons why they had to make this move.

My Dad has a new job in Pennsylvania, but he actually had been searching for a new one for quite some time.  I remember in 2009 right before my senior year of high school when we almost moved to Palo Alto, California because of a great offer that he received.  As a junior in high school, this obviously meant the end of the world to me, but my parents were very enthusiastic and open to explore new frontiers.  With a great offer, a nice house picked out, and even a great high school to go with it, all seemed perfect and ready for the change, but the Big Man upstairs had another plan in mind.  Thanks to my parents’ constant inquiring to God in prayer, they began to feel for some unexplainable reason that it was not right.  God still had a purpose for us in Arlington.  And so, we discovered that this was God’s will and it was certainly what was best for our family.  It was a tough decision at the time for my parents, but looking back on it, I know without a doubt that although it was only one more year for me in Texas, God had many reasons for each of us to remain.  I have discovered what these reasons were, and I’m so grateful that God has revealed them to me.  I’m grateful that my parents trusted in the Lord’s judgment rather than their own.  That's the ONLY way we can handle change well!  Just trust Him.  Although they could not explain why they were supposed to stay back at the time, they discovered with time.  On this occasion, the Lord told them to move out, but the reasons will probably come to them the same way.  Time will tell us.

Samantha, my outgoing, beautiful energy ball of a little sister, of course, is now attending a brand new school with completely foreign surroundings and finds herself a little bit more nervous than usual.  Seeing that I as a big, tough, almost-senior guy was extremely nervous about moving away from Arlington, I can only imagine what a sweet 8th grader might think.  I think we all can share some sympathy towards a kid going through something like this.  Sometimes we understand why God puts us through certain changes.  Sometimes we don’t.  Nevertheless, regardless of whether we do or not, just like the southern folk here at BYU have to adapt to the snow, there are some unpleasant changes that we all simply must experience in our lives.  If you can't do anything about it, you might as well make the best of it!  I believe that more important than the change itself is how we react to the change.

You can’t have it all, but you can make the most of it!

I didn’t have to deal with a change as big as a move until college, but I did have to deal with a major one in high school.  You see, I love football.  I started playing when I was 9 in the fourth grade, and I’ve loved it ever since (thank you, Texas).  My roots of diligence and determination probably sprouted from that very sport, because I always gave my all in football.  In 7th grade when I rocked my part as Rooster in the play Annie Jr. with my 12-year-old mustache and received a standing ovation in front of more than a hundred people, that was the moment that I decide that I also really loved theatre!  Since then, I got more involved with it, loving the social setting and the glory in my accomplishments.  There on stage, I also gave it my all.  So in my first two years of high school, I participated in football during the season, and I participated in the open-audition musical during the off-season..  I loved this because it gave me the chance to spend a substantial amount of time in both theatre AND football, which gave me a good feel and deeper understanding of these two clubs.  I always could participate in both hobbies without sacrificing one, but going into my junior year, there was a change that made theatre and football conflicting in schedules.  The open-audition musical would only be available during football season, and I wouldn’t be able to participate because football practice would be during rehearsals.  This change was out of my hands.  I had come to a time where I had to choose one or the other.  I could no longer take part in both.  So, what did I do, cry and complain?  Of course not!!!  Well, maybe a little... but this did nothing for me.  What I needed to do was to act, not be acted upon.  I immediately began to do everything to prepare myself for this tough decision.  After a lot more experimenting on both sides and after lots prayerful consideration, I made a dramatic change (pun intended), dropping football for good and switching to theatre fulltime.  I think this was a great early lesson for me.  I couldn’t have everything I wanted (football AND theatre); I was forced to choose between one or the other.  I feared to leave something beloved behind, and I feared of what other people would think of me, but I felt that God had something more for me, my family, and my friends in theatre.  Once I chose, I went hard, and I gave it my all.  And because I gave my all (despite some of the uncomfortable changes that it caused) that junior and senior year without playing football became two of the best years of my life.

I don't really wonder what would have happened if the circumstances were different.  Had I handled the situation with less care, I'd probably be asking myself, "What if I chose football over theatre?  What if there never occurred any unexpected change and I was allowed to keep participating in both?" or  "What if I had dropped football sooner?"  All of these "what if" questions would only bother to me if I could have done more but failed to do so.  But I did everything I could... so it DOESN'T bother me!  I’m satisfied because I know that I spent enough time in both clubs, I experimented enough, and I prayed enough to know what decision to make.  I did EVERYTHING that I could in MY power to make the best of it, and in the end, I was proud of my decision.  I was giving my all on stage AND on the field, but once I dropped one of them, it only strengthened my efforts rather than weakening them.

Now, let’s face it, my change in high school is probably only light compared to some of the changes and challenges that you face today.  Sometimes we are put in very uncomfortable situations, and things are going as we planned.  But how will we react to change in our lives?  Will we flee at the sight of it?  Will we waver in making a decision?  If the change is out of our control, will we complain against God’s judgment to allow discomfort in our lives and refuse to adapt due to some kind of inner rebellion towards our situation?  Or will we go forward in faith and hope exploring the new frontiers that our Lord has placed before us?  Let us trust in God and consider our beloved families through all of the changes.  If we keep those two things constant in our lives, confronting all changes with them in confidence and trust, then we will have constant satisfaction in our lives.

Until next time!

And now behold, I ask of you, my brethren of the church, have ye spiritually been born of God?  Have ye received his image in your countenances?  Have ye experienced this mighty change in your hearts?  (Alma 5:14, The Book of Mormon)