Meaningful record keeping

I've been contemplating this for quite a while now -- like a couple of years at least. I've been wanting to write regular posts about family history, about my history. I've recently finished a book titled Make Every Day Meaningful by Randal A. Wright, and the quote at the beginning of the introduction chapter says:

"No intelligent person in youth or old age should meremly drift along. Look the world squarely in the face, listen and learn and not pass along, in life, indifferently, for there are grand lessons before you every minute." --Harvey Cluff

There are grand lessons to discover every day and I want to record them not only for my benefit that I can look back and see how I've grown, but also for those who come after me that they may look to my life to be inspired and draw strength and build their testimonies and faith.

I've kept a journal most of my life. But the quality hasn't been the best. My first journal entry was Saturday, July 5, 1986 when I was ten. "We picked and shelled peas. We did our jobs. I read one whole book. Mom burned the pease. Sick!" Makes you wanna keep reading, doesn't it :) I obviously could use some help with sentence structure and adding some detail.

Andrew Jenson, a previous assistant Church Historian, gave a thought-provoking statement about the role personal records can make in protecting us from making mistakes:

"The keeping of a journal has the tendency to keep both mind and body in the straight and narrow path. If we keep a journal we naturally desire to write something that will read well. We want to make a good record of ourselves. But in order to do so we must live a good and useful life, and thus by our actions produce materials for a clean and interesting record. We might falsify our records, but, as record makers we would constantly think of the recording angel who is making a true history of all our actions; and if we felt convinced that our record did not correspond with his in the main, we should not feel uncomfortable."

So I am going to attempt to chronicle my life history here on this little ol' blog of mine in an attempt to rediscover life lessons that were sprinkled throughout my life thus far. When we begin to look for life lessons, life becomes a little more exciting and meaningful.

LIVE LIFE DELIBERATELY!

Good things
swimming lessons
chocolate chip cookies
running shoes

** I'm going to try to record family history stuff Thursdays or Fridays.