Rise and shout!

Hey. It's me. Derek.

My idea for the title of this blog got shot down. I wanted to call it "Are you gonna eat that?" Even though I still think that's a better idea for the title, I'll write an occasional post anyway.

So I'm sure you are wondering why I've gathered you here today. Usually Kaylie writes about cute stuff like gardens and flowers and poems. While I like cute stuff like that in its own way, it's about time we had a manly blog post.

So, I'm going to give a midseason analysis for BYU football! Now that we are six games in to the season, the team is starting to develop an identity and we are getting a better idea of how the rest of the season will go. So I'm going to push the rewind button and look at each game so far!

For those of you that don't know me well, I really really really love BYU football. I grew up going to all of the home games sitting with my family in these seats:

Any closer and you can't see over the heads of the players on the sidelines. P.S. For those non-football aficionados out there, this is a picture of the marching band, not the football team. I used to get those confused too.

I know, I know, I am spoiled. Watching a game from the 8th row on the 45 yard line is an awesome experience! So anyways, these are my thoughts on the season so far.

The Virginia game...this one hurts. The further we get into the season, the more we realize that Virginia is a really, really bad football team. The only team they have beaten other than BYU is Virginia Military Institute. Extra credit to anyone who knows who their mascot is. While a bunch of bizarre events affected the outcome of this game (a two-hour lightning delay, ankle-deep water on the field, and a late interception that never should have been thrown) BYU lost to a team it should have beaten. It's one of those games where you look back and say that even with all of those crazy side stories, BYU would still win 9 times out of 10.

The Texas game. After a lackluster performance in Game 1, this one blew the roof off the stadium. Although there was another lightning delay (I thought they said lightning never strikes the same place twice??), BYU's offense came out firing on all cylinders. Taysom Hill had an amazing game carrying the ball, and the Cougar offense set a school record for rushing yards in a game. We knew from last season that Taysom could run the ball, but he ran for 259 yards and three touchdowns! Incredible! The Longhorns are my second favorite team, but I'm glad the Cougars won that day. Because of this game, Texas fired their defensive coordinator (which now looks like a great move because they were dominant against Oklahoma yesterday...Hook 'em!!!).

And now the game I don't like to talk about. The Utah game. 16 of the last 20 games in this rivalry have been decided by a touchdown or less, and this one was no different. The Utah defense did a great job shutting down the rushing attack, especially in the first half, but the defense made enough plays to keep it close. However, Jamaal Williams was carted off the field with a concussion and severe stinger, and the BYU offense was never the same after that. The Cougars rallied to have time for a final drive, but when the ball fell to the turf as time expired, the stadium went silent. After four years of losing to the team up north, it was a long walk home. (Especially because Kaylie and I still had to prepare our talks before going to church at 8 AM the next morning...)

Middle Tennessee State was a fun game. After poor passing performances in the first three games, there was a segment of the BYU fan base that had been calling to change out starting quarterbacks (funny how a guy can be a hero after the Texas game and then the scapegoat after losing to Utah). However, in my opinion the offense just needed to do a few things differently for Taysom to be successful. They slowed down the pace, which allowed Taysom to make better reads and allowed him to have time to throw since the linemen were better at recognizing the blitz packages. They also started calling shorter, quicker pass plays to develop a rhythm and limit the pressure defenses could send. Taysom (and the offense as a whole) played much better and despite several turnovers, there was never any doubt as to the outcome of the game.

Me and my cute wife at the game! It was a whiteout.

BYU went up to Logan with a 2-2 record and with a lot of questions. Sure, Taysom Hill had thrown the ball better the previous game, but that was against a pretty weak pass defense. The game against the Aggies would be the best measuring stick so far this season, and would be key to building momentum for the rest of the season. The Aggies are a great team, and they had one of the best quarterbacks in the country leading the way. However, the Cougars came to play. On the very first play of the game (right after Kaylie and I found our seats...thanks Moons for the tickets!!!) Kyle Van Noy picked off a pass and took it into the endzone for a pick six. The Aggie students, known to be very supportive of their team, got pretty quiet pretty fast. After that play, I knew we had a shot. Later in the game on a third down attempt, Chuckie Keeton went down with an injury. While Chuckie's backup played well considering the circumstances, the Cougar defense dominated the rest of the game. Taysom Hill and Mitch Matthews had a breakout game, connecting on three touchdown passes, which answered a lot of the critics. It was a big win for BYU.

Finally, last night was the game against Georgia Tech. As a fan, I was excited about this one because the offense was finally starting to click, and there were rumors that Spencer Hadley would be back from his suspension. Hadley did return and made some big plays including a sack and a fumble recovery. Van Noy (who is an absolute beast) had two sacks and a key tackle for loss. The offense was basically unstoppable in the first half, and Taysom Hill was right on the money on all of his passes, especially this one (the catch by Hoffman was UNREAL!). Here's the video (which was #3 on ESPN's top 10 plays of the day).

In case the video doesn't work, here is the link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hQEDIooczjg

While the offense slowed down in the second half, it was still a very impressive game and all of the people that wanted a new starting quarterback are pretty quiet these days.

The outlook for the rest of the season is pretty good. The most challenging game left on the schedule will be against Wisconsin in Camp Randall Stadium (always a tough place to play). My prediction is that BYU only loses one more the rest of the way. Yes--you heard it here first--that means I am predicting a Cougar win in South Bend against the Fighting Irish (going to a game in that stadium is on my bucket list for sure). After finishing the regular season 9-3, BYU will win its bowl game and end up in the top 25.

For those of you that clicked on the blog post expecting to see something a little less footballish, sorry to drag on for so long. But I really like football and I'm glad Kaylie is willing to come along to all of the games with me :) We've had some fun times together! Kaylie is learning lots about football and she now knows that "false starts kill drives." It's fun that she at least pretends to enjoy something that is really important to me. I have the best wife ever!!!

Why educate?

When I was younger, I loved the parts in the movie The Testaments when the Savior healed the boy with seizures and made the blind man see.  That’s one of the first times where I know I felt the Spirit.  Something about the Savior helping these people who were in so much pain really moved me.  Because of this, one of the things I love most about the BYU College of Nursing is the emphasis on “Learning the Healer’s art.” 

The Healer’s Art is a multifaceted skill.  Throughout nursing school, we learn how to be there emotionally for someone about to go into surgery; how to hang IV fluids, insert a nasogastric tube, or administer medications; and how to teach a child about their new diagnosis of diabetes.  We learn about the body and how miraculously it works; we also learn how to take care of it when it doesn't work.  It’s pretty fun stuff.

What a blessing it is that as I attend college, I can learn how to become more like the Savior.

But the cool thing is, so does everybody else!

Let’s take engineers for example.  [Yep, Dad.  You trained me well—I listed your folk first!] These creative minds are hired to find new ways to solve problems.  They are inventors:  creating ideas and things that weren’t there before.  If creating the world—mountains, oceans, rivers, fish, elephants, flowers, people—wasn’t inventing, I don’t know what is.

An English major learns how to write and convey ideas to people.  They learn to relate.   The Savior related to people as He told parables and was able to understand the way they think.  Similarly, those in theater and the arts are also able to communicate life experiences in a way that touches us deeply.

We have our high school teachers and our kindergarten teachers.  Our Savior taught hundreds of people according to the way they learn best.  He continues to teach us as we read scriptures and attend church.

Derek’s major is finance.  He is learning to make the most of what money we have and how to help others do the same. (Sorry love, you probably could have made this part a lot cooler than I just did.)  And based on the loaves and fishes, we know that if anyone knows how to make the most of our resources, it’s the Savior. 

So.  As Sister Dalton lovingly reminded us a conference ago, “what e’er thou art, act well thy part.”  Because chances are, whatever you’re doing is pretty important J

Somewhat related:  I read the coolest article on Sunday about how important it is to educate women in our society—even if they “just” become mothers.  While in the workforce one is able to influence hundreds of lives, but what about influencing the next generation?  Mothers have a direct impact and influence on their children and the kind of people they will become.  If we left all higher education to the men, women at home would have so little to provide for their children.  If we decided secondary education was not important for women, why educate them at all?  Do they even need a high school degree?

Anyway, I’m not exactly sure how to end this, but I really think education is important!  It doesn't matter what you study or whether or not you plan on using it for the rest of your life.  And it doesn't even need to be a college education.  But any education and any degree of knowledge we achieve in this life will put us at so much the advantage in the life to come.

So three cheers for education.  Homework is hard, tests are frustrating, and class can be long.  But just like the primary song says, “I’m Trying to be Like Jesus.” And working for our education puts us one step closer to becoming perfected. 

On Loss

These are excerpts from a journal entry I wrote a while ago, but I really wanted to share it: 

It’s amazing how awful loss is but how everyone must experience it in some way or another.  It might be lost experiences, loss of a loved one, or something as seemingly simple as a breakup.

I was reading a book yesterday that had a picture of a little pioneer family eating their meal.  They looked like they had been through a lot and had experienced loss.  They probably lost friends and family members and had to move on without them.  That’s how it can feel as you are moving into a new phase of life and saying goodbye to old friends.  Yes, there are still other people to love and care about, but you don’t feel ready to leave them behind.  And yet, you have to.

During high school, I distinctly remember realizing that if there was one thing I never wanted, it was a breakup.  I had heard songs about breakups and loss my whole life, but it finally occurred to me how devastating it actually would feel to put so much into something and then lose it completely.  That was one aspect of human experience I didn’t want to understand. 

And yet, it happens.

So this whole loss thing!  Why do we have to go through it?  We put so much of ourselves and our souls into relationships and then it must be taken away.  Why do these trials happen?  I’ve discovered a couple reasons.

One reason for trials is it helps us to understand our fellow human beings.  We finally know what the widow next door has been experiencing for 20 years.  We finally understand the emotion behind Kelly Clarkson’s hazel eyes.  We finally understand what it might feel like to switch jobs and move your family across the country.  Just as Harry began to see threstrals after witnessing Cedric Diggory’s death, so we join a group of people that know.  And with this knowing comes empathy and the chance to help others. 

Jeffrey R. Holland said of Liberty Jail, “No, Joseph was not greater than the Savior, and neither are we. And when we promise to follow the Savior, to walk in His footsteps, and be His disciples, we are promising to go where that divine path leads us. And the path of salvation has always led one way or another through Gethsemane. So if the Savior faced such injustices and discouragements, such persecutions, unrighteousness, and suffering, we cannot expect that we are not going to face some of that if we still intend to call ourselves His true disciples and faithful followers.”  That brings me to my second point.  As we go through trials, we become more like the Savior. 

Alma 7:12 states, “And he will take upon him death, that he may loose the bands of death which bind his people; and he will take upon him their infirmities, that his bowels may be filled with mercy, according to the flesh, that he may know according to the flesh how to succor his people according to their infirmities.”  Because Christ took upon Himself our pains, weaknesses, and afflictions, he can succor us.  That is what makes Him our Savior.  He understands it all.

We do not have to drink Christ’s bitter cup.  Our path is much easier.  But the trials that do come give us a chance to feel a little bit of what the Savior did.  Just as He suffered to understand us, so we suffer to understand Him.

That brings me to the concept of love. Huey Lewis song, “The Power of Love” has more truth than I used to think.  “It's strong and it's sudden and it's cruel sometimes, but it might just save your life, that's the power of love.”  As explained in the lyrics, despite its glorified pedestal, love can bring us to our knees.  When I have a loved one suffering, it breaks me to the core.  I’ve spent nights sobbing because those I love are struggling with sickness, friends, school, or loneliness.  When Leslie went through cancer treatment, I think that all of us would have taken that hardship in a heartbeat from her if we could.  Our love for her caused us to ache and we longed to take that pain away from her.  And yet we couldn’t.  

But the Savior can.  And He did.  The thought of us suffering alone and without hope was enough to for love’s power to take its effect.  Love allowed the Savior to perform the Atonement for us.   Because of the Savior’s love for us, we are redeemed.   

Is this what life is about?  We come to earth, get bodies, feel happy, feel sad, grow up, make families, have kids, and start this process over?   Actually, yes!  This is what it is all about. 

“For behold, this is my work and my glory—to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man.” (Moses 1:39)

Life is one big cycle of growing and learning and becoming.  And you know what?  It’s wonderful.  Loss and suffering are involved, but so is JOY.  “Adam fell that men might be and men are, that they might have joy.”  (2 Nephi 2:25).  There is so much to be happy and joyous about.  The world is beautiful with its wooded mountains and sparkling rivers.  There are sunsets and butterflies and new baby fingers and toes.  There are friends and laughter and dinner with family.  There is running and moving and learning and creating.  There is performing and watching and reading and enjoying. 

Is it worth it?  I think so. 

Dumbledore told Harry, “If there is one thing Voldemort cannot understand, it is love. Love as powerful as your mother's for you leaves its own mark. To have been loved so deeply, even though the person who loved us is gone, will give us some protection forever.”   Voldemort cannot understand, but he is missing out.  There's a line in "Ever After" I really like, “a life without love is no life at all.”  Guess who has two thumbs and wants to live?

To sum it up:  “And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent.”  (John 17:3) As we increase in love, we come to understand the Savior, and that is life eternal. 

If I am seeking life eternal and am choosing between horcruxes and love to get me there, I choose love.