This year's lyric submission

Well, it's been a while. Work has been pretty crazy lately, and this week should also be fairly busy, as I'm trying to catch up from last week's meetings that got me behind on all my normal stuff. Too bad I don't have time now to blog about all the idiots I've been dealing with this month. Suffice to say, I find it a lot more difficult to negotiate with my company's own sales guys than with our customers or partners. The latter can be tough but are usually reasonable. The former only want to get commissions and usually take the position that our maximum possible concession on an issue ought to be our starting point for negotiating. :-(

Anyway, here's what I've decided to submit this year in the LDS Church music competition:

Thy Word a lamp is to my feet,

A light unto my path.

As honey are thy counsels sweet,

Such nourishment they hath.

No idol dumb may speak to me

Or give me sacred word,

Nor graven image hear my plea—

I seek thee only, Lord.

So by thy light, I shall proceed

On straight and narrow way,

Rely on thee for every need,

Until the perfect day—

When falling at thy feet, I’ll feel

The marks in side and hand—

Yet shall not cease, with holy zeal,

To praise thy Word so grand.

Things kids say

This evening, I went to brush the teeth of L, my just-three-year-old. When I put her on the counter, she began rubbing her hands on the bar of soap instead. I asked her what she was doing, and she replied, "I put my finger in my bum, and now I have to wash it!"

I also had her tell me the story of Goldilocks tonight, with some prompting, as in, "What did the bears make? Who came while they were gone?" To this latter question, my towhead replied, "Goldilocks, and that's me!" It was cute to see her act nervous, hide under the covers, and become reluctant to continue with the story as the confrontation between Goldilocks and the bears approached.

Enos

The lesson I'm preparing to teach my Primary class tomorrow (I have the 9/10 year old class, the one my oldest child is in) is on Enos. Since I've written a hymn on Enos as part of my prophet cycle--which is still very much incomplete--I thought I'd put it in here.

Enos, hunting forest beasts,
Did yearn to be made whole.
Deeply sunk his father’s words
Into his hungry soul.

Then he knelt in mighty prayer
That stretched from morn till night.
Sweetly, softly, came God’s voice
To set his soul aright.

Humbly, then, the prophet asked:
“O Lord, how is it done?
Newly, I am born again,
For Thou canst lie to none.”

God replied, “By faith in Christ,
Thy guilt is swept away.
Thou didst hearken to my voice
And sought to walk my way.”

Gladly, then, I’ll seek his face,
With grateful heart, o’erfull,
For God only can assuage
The hunger in my soul.

"We expect to sign it this week"

I hate it when sales guys commit me to an unrealistic goal without consulting me. I have one significant partner deal that we hope to conclude in time to make an announcement at a major user conference. It's pretty close to being done, but there's no guarantee. Funny thing is, the sales guy swore to the business unit executives that it would be done by the end of the week. This was in October, and he's repeated that promise so many times since then, he's lost all credibility.

I try to never promise too much, since my schedule is often subject to major revisions. I may have a straightforward document that will take me only an hour to turn around--until I get blindsided by a million-dollar deal that takes huge amounts of my time for the next several days. Many of these problems could be avoided if the sales guys did a better job at communicating what's in the pipeline instead of trying to give away the farm and then bring me in at the last minute for contractual damage control.

Contract Negotiation Techniques

I've felt like this negotiating contracts a few times lately. Curiously, some of the hardest people to negotiate against are among my own sales reps, who are eager to throw the company or their own mother under a bus if it means a larger comission check.

New guy

We got a new guy in the department today, a pricing strategist. He just relocated from Texas. Actually, he hasn't quite relocated yet--his family is still in San Antonio and he's staying with his in-laws nearby. He made cookies for everyone. They were grasshopper cookies--chocolate with bits of Andes mints baked inside. They were very good.

I think he will fit in just fine.

Jacob and Sherem

I teach a class of 9- and 10-year-olds in Primary (junior
Sunday School). Tomorrow, our lesson is about Jacob, the brother of Nephi, and his confrontation with Sherem, the anti-Christ. I thought I'd post this text about Jacob from my series about prophets. I'm going to read it tomorrow and try to have the class guess who I am talking about.

In wilderness I came to earth,
A wanderer, alone since birth.
The promised land I sought in youth,
By heeding Liahona's truth.

Though elder brothers strayed apart,
Still Nephi's words did pierce my heart,
And goodly parents planted me,
Like nether branch of olive tree.

The mantle passed, I prophesied,
When came the anti-Christ who lied,
Sign-seeking Sherem, who did shame
By blaspheming against his name--

'Till by the word of holy God,
I smote him dead, my mouth the rod.
Astonished, all the people fell,
And bid Christ save from awful hell.

My life has passed as if a dream.
World-weary, soon I leave life's stream,
My body spent to last sinew--
My brethren, I bid adieu.

I'm guessing none of the kids in my class know who this is about on the first reading, though they may get it if I read it a second time carefully and point out clues.