• First and foremost, I’m thankful to God for my life and the opportunity to participate in life’s journey. I’m also thankful for Jesus Christ and His atonement for my sins and the opportunity for eternal life.
• Next I’m thankful for my good health and the influence my wife and family have had on me to continue to focus on maintaining a healthy lifestyle. 
• I’m also thankful for everyone I’ve come into contact with, even those whose relationships have had a level of conflict since without conflict, one cannot learn and grow. 
• I’m especially thankful for my wife and kids who play the most key roles in my life”s journey. I’m thankful to take part in the development and raising of my children and hope that with all my mistakes, they will still manage to be prepared to meet their life’s challenges.
• I’m also thankful that God has blessed me with a stable income and the ability to continually support my family. I believe we are truly blessed by where we live, our wonderful view every morning of the sunrise over  Mount Hood.
• Finally, I’m thankful for my ability to both enjoy and make music which fills my soul with joy.

Now that I’ve expressed what I’m thankful for. Here is what I look forward to in the future, or where I believe I should set my sights.

First, as blessed as I am, I think that there is much that still needs to be done to improve both my life and the lives of others. I would like to in some way be able to inspire others to lift themselves up to the level of blessings I have enjoyed for my entire life. I believe that there is abundance in the world and there doesn’t need to be “winners and losers”. I believe that with the right attitude and the faith of God, we can all be “winners”. Some just need a little help getting started, however it is ultimately up to the individual to use the tools provided to them and use them to their growth and benefit.

There are some things that I continually struggle with and am hopeful that I can improve over the coming years.

• I tend to fall into the trap of living in the moment and not stepping back and looking at the big picture. The net effect is that I’m not as thoughtful toward others as I ought to be and come across as “moody” and “selfish”. I’m thankful that many of my friends can both live with these faults and are supportive and can see beyond them.
• As good as my health is, it could be better and I seek the strength to overcome the urge to eat some of the things that I know are not good for me. 
• I seek to grow a stronger relationships with both friends and family and to never lose focus of how important they are all to me. 
• My hope for this life has always been for financial independence which would provide me the ability to spend more time in building relationships and positively influencing others to realize their own dreams. I pray that in doing that and with my faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, I will be worthy beyond this life to spend eternity with God. 

Thanks for reading this. I hope in some small way this might inspire you to take the first steps in realizing your own dreams!

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!