Sunday, March 30, 2008
Princess Party
For our first's birthday she had a princess party. One hour of little ladies instructing each other on how to make this party "more fun". We refrained from using Melissa's new Christmas present, much to the appreciation of all involved. The girls made jewelry, danced and played with balloons. The cake was the shape of a crown. Yet another masterpiece of ... well... um... Melissa's mom still "takes the cake" on cakes, but this one stayed standing long enough for a picture! (That's approximately 1/400th of a second for those counting).
Thursday, March 27, 2008
Poetry corner? Having fun in Isaiah
For, me the best part of the entire standard works to teach, hands down without any question, is Isaiah. You can tell my colleagues and I are having to much fun when we have time to do the following...
Do you ever get tired of the poem "footprints"? You know...
"One night a man had a dream.
He dreamed he was walking along the beach with the Lord.
Across the sky flashed scenes from his life.
For each scene, he noticed two sets of footprints in the sand: one belonging to him, and the other to The Lord.
"When the last scene of his life flashed before him, he looked back at the footprints in the sand.
He noticed that many times along the path of his life there was only one set of footprints.
He also noticed that it happened at the very lowest and saddest times in his life.
"This really bothered him and he questioned the Lord about it,
"Lord you said that once I decided to follow you, you would walk with me all the way.
But I have noticed that during the most troublesome times in my life,
there is only one set of footprints.
I don't understand why when I needed you most you would leave me."
The Lord replied,
"My son, My precious child, I love you and I would never leave you.
During the times of trial and suffering, when you see only one set of footprints,
it was then that I carried you."
________________________
Awwww. Okay, enough of that. Aside from the trinity confusion in the passage some of us felt it could be improved upon. One of my cohorts wrote the following:
"One night I had a wondrous dream,
One set of footprints there was seen,
The footprints of my precious Lord,
But mine were not along the shore.
"But then some stranger prints appeared,
And I asked the Lord, "What have we here?"
Those prints are large and round and neat,
But Lord, they are too big for feet.
"My Child, He said in somber tones,
For miles I carried you alone.
I challenged you to walk in faith,
But you refused and made me wait.
"You disobeyed, struggled, and would not grow,
The walk of faith, you would not know.
So I got tired, I got fed up,
And there I dropped you, on your butt.
"Because in life, there comes a time,
When men must fight and men must climb.
When men must rise and men must stand,
Or leave their butt prints in the sand."
________________________
I personally really liked that one. Yet, still wrote one of my own, based on Isaiah 46:3-4
"One night a man dreamed a dream,
and in that dream there flowed a stream -
Events from his life passing by,
And the whole time he seemed to fly.
"His feet did not even touch the ground,
Yet he heard walking as a sound.
He looked to see his trials and such,
And all along these he learned much.
"But it was not him walking far,
Nor was he riding in a car.
"From birth to death, his life did go,
Across the sands of time, by the ebb and flow.
He smoothly moved along the way,
And felt embraced throughout the day.
"He came to realize, as we should too,
Success in life is not merely because of you.
And when we turn upward, look and see,
We can likewise notice, the Savior,
Carrying you and me."
________________________________________
You might now have a testimony of why I haven't tried my hand at poetry since proposing. (Hey, she still said yes through the laughter - so back off!) Oh well, Thought some of you might like those - particularly the second.
Do you ever get tired of the poem "footprints"? You know...
"One night a man had a dream.
He dreamed he was walking along the beach with the Lord.
Across the sky flashed scenes from his life.
For each scene, he noticed two sets of footprints in the sand: one belonging to him, and the other to The Lord.
"When the last scene of his life flashed before him, he looked back at the footprints in the sand.
He noticed that many times along the path of his life there was only one set of footprints.
He also noticed that it happened at the very lowest and saddest times in his life.
"This really bothered him and he questioned the Lord about it,
"Lord you said that once I decided to follow you, you would walk with me all the way.
But I have noticed that during the most troublesome times in my life,
there is only one set of footprints.
I don't understand why when I needed you most you would leave me."
The Lord replied,
"My son, My precious child, I love you and I would never leave you.
During the times of trial and suffering, when you see only one set of footprints,
it was then that I carried you."
________________________
Awwww. Okay, enough of that. Aside from the trinity confusion in the passage some of us felt it could be improved upon. One of my cohorts wrote the following:
"One night I had a wondrous dream,
One set of footprints there was seen,
The footprints of my precious Lord,
But mine were not along the shore.
"But then some stranger prints appeared,
And I asked the Lord, "What have we here?"
Those prints are large and round and neat,
But Lord, they are too big for feet.
"My Child, He said in somber tones,
For miles I carried you alone.
I challenged you to walk in faith,
But you refused and made me wait.
"You disobeyed, struggled, and would not grow,
The walk of faith, you would not know.
So I got tired, I got fed up,
And there I dropped you, on your butt.
"Because in life, there comes a time,
When men must fight and men must climb.
When men must rise and men must stand,
Or leave their butt prints in the sand."
________________________
I personally really liked that one. Yet, still wrote one of my own, based on Isaiah 46:3-4
"One night a man dreamed a dream,
and in that dream there flowed a stream -
Events from his life passing by,
And the whole time he seemed to fly.
"His feet did not even touch the ground,
Yet he heard walking as a sound.
He looked to see his trials and such,
And all along these he learned much.
"But it was not him walking far,
Nor was he riding in a car.
"From birth to death, his life did go,
Across the sands of time, by the ebb and flow.
He smoothly moved along the way,
And felt embraced throughout the day.
"He came to realize, as we should too,
Success in life is not merely because of you.
And when we turn upward, look and see,
We can likewise notice, the Savior,
Carrying you and me."
________________________________________
You might now have a testimony of why I haven't tried my hand at poetry since proposing. (Hey, she still said yes through the laughter - so back off!) Oh well, Thought some of you might like those - particularly the second.
Sunday, March 23, 2008
Wednesday, March 19, 2008
Easter (Revised)
After Maggie informed us that Easter was really about a bunny, it was time for an intervention. We skiffed an idea from a colleague on how to celebrate Easter that we thought we would pass on.
In 12 Easter eggs, you put little object lessons and a scripture reference. Hide the eggs along with the boiled ones. When the children find them, gather around and talk about the objects and the scriptures. Candy is the reward for learning what each symbol and representation is! We are going to try it out this weekend.
For those wondering, here are the objects we put in the eggs:
1 - Sacrament cup - Matthew 26:39
2 - dimes (Judas) - Matthew 26:14-15
3 - twine - Matthew 27:1-2
4 - soap - Matthew 27:24-26
5 - piece of red cloth & thorns - Matthew 27:28-30
6 - Nails - Matthew 27:31-32
7 - dice - Matthew 27:35-36
8 - Soil, sand and rocks - Matthew 27:50-51, 54
9 - white cloth - Matthew 27:58-60
10 - stone - Matthew 27:60, 65-66
11 - spices - Mark 16:1, 3,4 Matthew 28:5
12 - Empty - Matthew 28:6
In 12 Easter eggs, you put little object lessons and a scripture reference. Hide the eggs along with the boiled ones. When the children find them, gather around and talk about the objects and the scriptures. Candy is the reward for learning what each symbol and representation is! We are going to try it out this weekend.
For those wondering, here are the objects we put in the eggs:
1 - Sacrament cup - Matthew 26:39
2 - dimes (Judas) - Matthew 26:14-15
3 - twine - Matthew 27:1-2
4 - soap - Matthew 27:24-26
5 - piece of red cloth & thorns - Matthew 27:28-30
6 - Nails - Matthew 27:31-32
7 - dice - Matthew 27:35-36
8 - Soil, sand and rocks - Matthew 27:50-51, 54
9 - white cloth - Matthew 27:58-60
10 - stone - Matthew 27:60, 65-66
11 - spices - Mark 16:1, 3,4 Matthew 28:5
12 - Empty - Matthew 28:6
Sunday, March 16, 2008
Leftovers
Do you ever feel like you spend your life eating leftovers, and don't seem to remember the actual meals? Does that sound like the beginning to an odd spiritual lesson? Oh well, we enjoyed the leftovers from our trip to Olive Garden with the siblings. Good to see family this week, even when the time was limited due to unforeseen circumstances, thanks for visiting with us.
Friday, March 7, 2008
No Longer Working For CES
No, I have not been fired. The Church Education System has merely changed its name and adjusted focus a little as directed by the Brethren. I now work for S&I. That is how they would like us to abbreviate the new organization name, which is "The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints: Seminaries & Institutes". This is officially to (1) reflect to others that we work for The Church of Jesus Christ... and (2) to emphasize our separation from the Church owned Universities. (It seems obvious to me why this would be important. They function on a different standard and expectation set for their religious teachings - i.e. School educators are allowed to involve theory, personal opinion and current secular "scholarship" into the classroom without being fired. S&I employees are not. They answer to deans, we answer to Priesthood keys.)
So, if for some odd reason, our profession comes up in conversation with others, please inform them I work for S&I or for The Seminaries and Institutes of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. CES no longer exists.
So, if for some odd reason, our profession comes up in conversation with others, please inform them I work for S&I or for The Seminaries and Institutes of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. CES no longer exists.
Thursday, March 6, 2008
Graduation
Some of you have asked to be informed about BYU Graduation. David is graduating with a Masters in Educational Leadership and Foundations with an emphasis on religious education. He is top of his class for the department and depending on where the standard is set for the University, David will graduate either Summa Cum Laude or Magna Cum Laude. It will be held Friday April 25, 2008 at 8AM in the Smith Fieldhouse. Seating is by 7:30.
And no, we still do not know where S&I is assigning our family for the upcoming years. Updates will come as those plans are finalized, but if anyone is looking for a fair deal on a nice house in Utah this summer, let us know.
And no, we still do not know where S&I is assigning our family for the upcoming years. Updates will come as those plans are finalized, but if anyone is looking for a fair deal on a nice house in Utah this summer, let us know.