An Unexpected Role by Leslea Wahl Review + Giveaway

An Unexpected Role by Leslea Wahl



Josie, a clumsy teen and theater nerd, has an abundance of mortifying moments. These moments are unfortunately incorporated into her mother's novels, which are then published for all of her school to see.

Embarrassed and needing to escape, she leaves home to visit her aunt on Coral Island and resolves to spend a perfect summer on the beach where no one she knows can find her. She spends day after day on the beach, becomes best friends with her elderly neighbor, and gets a boyfriend. Everything is going perfectly- until Ryan shows up.

Josie is convinced he is going to ruin her summer. Ryan is a boy from school who seems to follow her everywhere and is annoyingly certain that her boyfriend has something to do with the robberies that are plaguing Coral Island.

As the mystery continues to unfold, tragedy strikes, and Josie must decide if she believes in God, who she stands behind, and who she is.

I loved this book! It was fantastic. Josie was a great character and it was fun to see where the story took her.

Also, we are doing a GIVEAWAY of this book! On the 27th of September, we will put up a post titled "An Unexpected Role Giveaway". If you comment any book you would like us to review on that post, you are automatically entered into the giveaway. The comment section will be closed on the 4th of October and the winner will be announced on the 5th.

One more thing! We are going to be posting a lot more now. If you could email us requests to review a book you like, or if you are an author hoping to get more publicity for your book, that'd be great. Thanks!

-Grace

Thoughts on the Meaning of Education

It's difficult for me to encapsulate my definition of education because education is everywhere in everything. It is life. It's growth. It's improvement. Education is so much more than school (or home school), which is merely one structure from which we aim to become educated.

Education, to me, is placing ourselves, and those we are responsible for, on the path of eternal progression, and moving forward. All light and knowledge are part of this. There is no division between temporal and spiritual. All truth is God's truth. In this way, there is no end to education. There is no graduation from eternal progression.

Part of our eternal path, is to gain success in our earthly life. I feel that my role as a mother is to help my kids obtain success here that will prepare them for this life, and in turn, for the eternities.

This includes, but is not limited to:

1. Building Christlike attributes and character.
2. Loving and understanding the Gospel.
3. Being exposed to a broad base of knowledge, with deep understanding of topics of interest, talent, and passion.
4. Realizing personal life mission.
5. Possessing skills that will enable them to support themselves and their families when/if necessary.
6. Embracing God-given gender roles.

When people ask me what we do for home school, it's difficult for me to explain. We don't structure it like public school. It's a life style of learning. I like to call it Life Education.

Happy Learning!

Book Review: Heaven is for Real by Todd Burpo

Heaven is for Real: A Little Boy's Astounding Story of His Trip to Heaven by Todd Burpo

Just before Colton turned four, he had a life-changing experience. During an emergency surgery when he almost died, Colton visited Heaven.

Over the next several years, he told his parents bits and pieces of his astounding story, revealing that he met Jesus, his miscarried sister, his deceased grandfather, and many others in Heaven.

This quick read is a bestseller, but I admit that I don't believe it completely.

Pros: It helps readers imagine Heaven, makes Jesus feel personable and shows His love for children, and supports the idea of eternal families.

Cons: I don't believe angels have wings. Four-year-olds can have pretty vivid imaginations, especially when they are exciting the interest of their parents. It was months after the surgery when Colton first mentioned having an out-of-body experience.

Who knows? It was an interesting read, and I don't feel like it was a waste of my time. My guess is that sweet Colton had some type of wonderful near-death experience, but the story became embellished over the years.

Heaven is for Real is written and narrated by Colton's father, who is a pastor. It is engaging, although it felt stretched a bit to be book-length. Also, the father's never-ending surprise with every new revelation about Colton's vision/dream/whatever you want to call it, was rather tiresome.

Thoughts and Quotes on Humility: My Sunday Talk

On Sunday, I spoke in Sacrament Meeting (our main meeting at The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints) on the topic of humility. I thought I'd share my thoughts here, as well.

President Hinckley said, “There is no place for arrogance in our lives. There is no place for conceit in our lives. There is no place for egotism in our lives. We have work to do. We have things to accomplish. 

·         (Then he quoted Doctrine and Covenants 112:10) ‘Be thou humble; and the Lord thy God shall lead thee by the hand, and give thee answer to thy prayers’.

·         (Pres. Hinckley goes on…)People ask me what is my favorite scripture, and I say I have many of them. But that is one of them. ‘Be thou humble; and the Lord thy God shall lead thee by the hand, and give thee answer to thy prayers.’

After reading many quotes and scriptures about humility, I concluded that it is essentially this: Humility is giving our will over to the Lord. It is putting our faith, trust, and confidence in the Lord. It is believing that everyone on this earth is a Child of God and knowing that our Heavenly Father’s will is ALWAYS best.

English author John Ruskin said, “The first test of a truly great man is his humility. Really great men have a curious feeling that greatness is not IN them, but THROUGH them. And they see something Divine in every other man.”

This quote reminds me of one of my favorite LDS songs. It is “A Window to His Love”.

A Window To His Love
Words and Music by Julie de Azevedo

I want to be a window to His love,
so when you look at me you will see Him.
I want to be so pure and clear that you won't even know I'm here,
'cause His love will shine brightly through me.

I want to be a doorway to the truth,
so when you walk beyond you will find Him.
I want to stand so straight and tall, that you won't notice me at all.
But through my open door He will be seen.

I want to be a window to His love,
so you can look through me and you'll see Him.
And some day shining through my face, you'll see His loving countenance,
'cause I will have become like He is

A window to His love
A doorway to the truth.
A bearer of the message He'd have me bring to you.
And with each passing year
I want to disappear
'Till He's become ev'rything
and I've become a window to His love.

One of the great stories of humility in the scriptures can be found in 1 Kings 17. This is the story of Elijah and the Widow of Zarephath.

·         The Lord told Elijah to go to the city of Zarephath where He had commanded a widow woman to provide food and water for him.

·         He found the widow there and asked her for a drink.

·         Verse 11, “And as she was going to fetch it, he called to her, and said, Bring me, I pray thee, a morsel of bread in thine hand.”

·         Verse 12, “And she said, As the Lord thy God liveth, I have not a cake, but an handful of meal in a barrel, and a little oil in a cruse: and, behold, I am gathering two sticks, that I may go in and dress it for me and my son, that we may eat it, and die.”

·         Verse 13, “And Elijah said unto her, Fear not; go and do as thou hast said: But make me thereof a little cake FIRST, and bring it unto me, and after make for thee and for thy son.”

·         As a mother, this story speaks to me. Put yourself in the position of this widow. I see her pleading with Heavenly Father. I see her praying fervently for a way to be able to feed herself and her son and live.

·         A stranger comes. A prophet. And the Lord commands her to sustain him. This prophet, Elijah, asks that she make him a cake first. I picture her watching the prophet eat in front of her starving son. THIS IS THE DEPTHS OF HUMILITY. She turned her will over to the Lord, trusting that it was best.

·         Verse 15, “And she went and did according to the saying of Elijah: and she and he, and her house, did eat many days. And the barrel of meal wasted not, neither did the cruse of oil fail.”

·         Remember the scripture I read earlier. We are told that if we humble ourselves, THE LORD WILL LEAD US BY THE HAND AND ANSWER OUR PRAYERS.

 C. S. Lewis: “Pride gets no pleasure out of having something, only out of having more of it than the next man. We say that people are proud of being rich, or clever, or good-looking, but they are not. They are proud of being richer, cleverer, or better-looking than others. If every one else became equally rich, or clever, or good-looking there would be nothing to be proud about. It is the comparison that makes you proud: the pleasure of being above the rest. Once the element of competition has gone, pride has gone.”

Again, this illustrates that we are prideful when we are placing the focus on ourselves…and humble when we place our focus on others, especially the Lord.

Story of one of my ancestors, Ellen Breakel Neibaur:

• Ellen Breakel was a wealthy farmer’s daughter in England. She married Alexander Neibaur, who was also very wealthy. They joined the church in England and decided to join the Saints in America. They left almost everything they had.

·         Circumstances became very difficult for them as they crossed the plains. They could not afford shoes for everyone in the family, so Ellen crossed the plains with her feet wrapped in rags.

·         After their arrival in the Salt Lake Valley, the family, consisting of 7 children along with father and mother, lived in a tent. They often went hungry.

·         When they got settled and began to make a little money, Alexander bought his wife a nice pair of shoes and then she knitted herself some stockings that were blue and white stripped. She was very proud of them and thought they were very pretty.

·         A short time later, the Brethren came around collecting clothing to take back with them to meet another company of pioneers, and when they came to the house, Alexander said he had nothing to give them, but Ellen answered, "yes, we must give something,"

·         and she took them from her feet, the pair of new shoes and stockings, and gave them to the Brethren, binding her own feet in rags.

·         This story reminds me of the quote by President Bensen, “Either we can choose to be humble or we can be compelled to be humble.” Circumstances forced Ellen Breakel Neibaur to be humble at first. They simply could not afford shoes for everyone. But, when she willingly gave up her new shoes and stockings, removing them from her feet, she CHOSE to be humble.

·         She chose to be humble, then came the great blessing: The story says that when the next group of pioneers arrived, everyone went out to greet them. Everyone was looking at their faces, except Ellen who was scanning all the feet in the crowd. She spotted her beloved shoes. And looked up to find that the woman who got them was one of her dearest friends from England. The friend converted to the Church after Ellen left. So that must have been a glorious surprise.

Once we have mastered a humble feeling, what does humility look like? 

·         In the movie version of Emma by Jane Austen, there is a character named Mrs. Elton. Her comments may appear humble. When a man says to her, “These sandwiches are delicious, Mrs Elton. You really are a gourmet!”, Mrs. Elton responds, “Well, I never compliment myself, but my friends tell me I 

certinly know how to make a sandwich.” Several times in the movie, she uses the phrase, “my friends say…” to give herself a compliment. 

·         Does this portray true humility? True humility is taking the attention off yourself, thus glorifying God and serving your fellow man.

·         Our prophet, President Monson, is a good example of true humility. He is in a powerful position. I wouldn’t call him weak at all. There is a big difference between weakness and humility. He does great things, mostly in the form of service, but he doesn’t do them to draw attention to himself.

Please think about the answers to these questions from Alma 5: 26-28,

·         “Could ye say, if ye were called to die at this time, within yourselves, that ye have been sufficiently humble?

·         Are ye stripped of pride?

·         If ye have experienced a change of heart, and if ye have felt to sing a song of redeeming love, I would ask, CAN YE FEEL SO NOW?”

Finally, I can’t give a proper talk on humility without mentioning our Savior, Jesus Christ. He shows us that humility isn’t weakness. It is acknowledging the Father’s will and putting it before our own.

·         We are actually stronger when we are humble because we are acting WITH GOD, NOT ALONE.

·         Perhaps the most sacred words ever spoken were the words the Lord spake in the Garden of Gethsemane. In Luke 22:42, “If thou be willing, remove this cup from me: nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done.”

Making Easter More Spiritual

I'm more excited about Easter than I've ever been.

As a family, we've been studying the New Testament, and it just so happens that we were right in the final chapters of Matthew this week. Some things that have impacted me through this study include...

1. Jesus said that He could call tens of thousands of angels to His aid to stop the events leading up to the crucifixion...but He never did.
2. When the council brought Jesus to Pilate, they didn't enter the chamber for fear of being defiled and unclean from entering the home of a Gentile where there was leaven (yeast). Yet they didn't care that they were putting an innocent Man to death.
3. Judas betrayed Jesus with a kiss, a symbol of love and fellowship for the price of a servant. He retured the money, and then killed Himself.
4. Jesus was convicted by the Jews of blasphemy against Jehovah (himself).
5. Many laws were broken in the process of convicting Jesus.
6. At Passover, the tradition was to release a prisoner. Pilate wanted to release Jesus, but the croud insisted on releasing a murderer instead.
7. One of the thieves who was crucified next to Jesus, asked for Christ to remember him when they were in Christ's Kingdom.
8. After being mocked, scourged, and hung, Jesus still wanted His Father to forgive His killers.

Tomorrow, we'll be having some fun family Easter festivities, including an Easter Egg hunt and a fancy dinner with Robby's family.

Sunday morning is going to be special. We are going to read the story of Jesus washing the Apostles' feet, and then Robby and I will wash the kids' feet. Then we are going to give the kids new scriptures of their own, scripture pencils, and scripture journals.

Sunday is also Fast Sunday. Once a month, we refrain from eating two meals. The money that we would use for those meals is donated to the needy. My favorite thing about Fast Sunday, is that we have an opportunity to bear testimony of our Savior during our Worship Services.

And Sunday evening, we'll have a yummy dinner with Robby's parents.

Happy Easter!

My Gratitudes this CHRISTmas

It's Christmas Eve Eve. I have mixed feelings about that. I LOVE Christmas, but the days leading up to it are almost as wonderful. If they go too fast, it'll be over. I'm wondering if this will be the first year my kids will wake up before me. Probably not. I mean, Welly's middle name is Noelle...and she was a June baby.  :)

My Top 5 Gratitudes this Christmas...

1. My Savior, Jesus Christ. He came to the most humble beginnings. He was a man acquainted with grief. He knew what He was getting Himself into, and He did it anyway. He lived and died for me.

2. My completely blissful marriage to my Robby. My heart is full to bursting.

3. My babies. I adore being a mother. I wish my memory was perfect so I could memorize every moment of their growing up and treasure it in my heart...Bubs and his funny jokes and cheerful giggles. Welly-Bell and her snuggles and whispers of "I just love you." Y and his sweet prayers and soft, kissable cheeks.

4. Extended family. Robby and I have the best parents in the world, and our siblings are our dearest friends. They are why we are who we are.

5. The Christmas Spirit of giving. The joy we feel when we give thoughtful gifts to one another, modeling after the greatest gift ever given.

Have a merry, merry CHRISTMAS!

Warmly,

Emily

Thanks Giving

Here is Bubs' latest creation. He made it for a local Christmas art contest.

And I've been thinking about it in terms of Thanksgiving. Thanks Giving. Giving thanks to God, of course. But how about giving thanks to others, as well?

I struggle sometimes with looking outside myself. It's easy to get caught up in my own life, in how I look, what my kids are doing, what I'm going to make for dinner...

Yet I appreciate when others look outside themselves and really see me. I am thankful for them.

This Thanksgiving, I'm going to make more of an effort to show my gratitude to others, and to give them the gift of really seeing them.

Stand for the Family by Sharon Slater

I know. This book is all I can talk about lately. I wrote more about it, though, for Latter-day Homeschooling and thought I might as well share it here, too. (Don't forget to sign the petition...See the end of the post! Thanks!)




Stand for the Family by Sharon Slater

If you've followed Latter-day Homeschooling for a while, you know I'm a serious book-lover. What you probably don't know about me is that I am a rather mellow, laid back kind of person.

There are a few things, though, that I feel very passionate about. Family is one of them, and more specifically, defending the family, as explained in this book.

Stand for the Family has called me to action. Have you ever wondered what it means to 'stand/fight for the family'? I have. I had the desire to do it, but I didn't know how.

Stand for the Family clearly states how each one of us can fight for the institution of the family (and make a real difference!), as well as why it is important.

Speaking of important, there are several books that I consider Must-Reads (The Read-Aloud Handbook by Jim Trelease, The Hiding Place by Corrie Ten Boom, A Thomas Jefferson Education by Oliver DeMille...), but I don't think any book I've ever read is more pertinent for our generation as parents. It opened my eyes.

I know. It sounds like I'm bearing my testimony or something. I guess I sort of am.

My husband and I went to hear Sharon Slater speak last week. Before the event, my husband was really dragging his feet. He didn't think he'd hear anything he hadn't heard before. She told a couple stories from the book and illustrated how even a full-time mom with fishy crackers in her purse can make a genuine difference...worldwide!

During her speech, I didn't know if my husband was interested or even listening.

When Sharon Slater closed her remarks, I headed to the back to purchase ten books. (Yes, 10!) As I started the transaction, my husband came up behind me and said, "Make it 20."

What is it about Stand for the Family that empowers two laid-back people to make a stand? Well, besides being a critical issue that we believe in, Sharon Slater shows over and over through research in her book, that it is best for society to preserve the family. It is well-written and well-documented.

Honestly, what else can I say? Please go read this book! And if you want to start standing for the family right now, check out the website Family Watch International and sign the petition at the bottom of the page.

For a breakdown of the chapters in Stand for the Family and to view the press release, click here.


Emily is passionate about books (especially this one). You can find more of her book reviews, as well as day-to-day ramblings at Homespun Light.

Motherhood: An Eternal Partnership with God

What the Holy Spirit Feels Like (Part 2)

I've been surprised by how many people come to my blog by googling the question, What does the Holy Spirit Feel like? I wrote about the kids take on what it feels like to feel the spirit here, but because so many people seem to be asking, I want to give you my take, as well.

The Spirit can manifest himself to people in different ways. I, myself, have felt his influence many times, and it isn't always the same experience. Most often, I will be praying or attending a religious meeting and feel an overwhelming peace. How can peace be overwhelming? It's a joy that is strong enough to fill my insides to bursting and sometimes bring tears to my eyes. It usually begins in my chest and grows from there.

When I prayed about marrying My Robby, the answer came in the form of a scripture verse and an accompanying sureness that it was right. I can't imagine having made that life-altering decision without prayer and the Spirit.

There was one time when I was warned that my son was in danger. I was warned through an image that came to me at night before I went to sleep. I can hardly express how important this little event was. I could have lost him, but God gave me the ability to protect him that night by warning me through the Holy Ghost.

Sometimes the Spirit helps me know I should do something by helping me feel happy and excited about it. That was how I knew I should go to BYU. I had a perfectly good community college in walking distance, but the whisperings of the Holy Ghost let me know that wasn't the right path for me.

When something isn't right, I feel empty or confused, and I feel a desire to keep looking for a different answer.

One of the main roles of the Holy Spirit is to comfort. The hardest thing I ever went through was when I miscarried at 11 weeks before I had any children. Through the comfort of the Holy Ghost, I felt Heavenly Father's love for me. I knew He was there and cared about me. The trial was difficult, no doubt about it, but looking back, I never felt so loved as I did during that time. He helps me know that I'm not alone.

I feel the Holy Spirit in my life on a daily basis. Sometimes it's a thought. Sometimes I'm not sure where the thought originated, whether it was my own or from the Spirit. At times, I find later that I was able to be the Lord's hands in answering someone's prayer. And other times, someone comes to answer mine.

I have felt his witness that my Heavenly Father cares about me and that my Savior, Jesus Christ cares. I know They are real.

If you care to share how the Spirit manifests himself to you, feel free.

Have a beautiful day.
XOXO

The No Cussing Club

From The Christian Home:

McKay Hatch, at the ripe old age of 14 founded the No Cussing Club. He also authored a book by the same name. McKay encourages fellow teens not to swear. The idea germinated in seventh grade when McKay noticed his friends beginning to use profane language. He formed the No Cussing Club and invited others to join. Within a year, the entire city of South Pasadena got on the bandwagon and declared the first week of March as No Cussing Week. Nearly 30,000 people have formed No Cussing Clubs in all 50 states and several foreign countries. Today, the No Cussing Club has a website, T-shirts, and a hip hop theme song on YouTube. McKay has appeared on Dr. Phil, The Early Show, Good Morning America and on many other news shows.

Awesome, huh? Find out more about The No Cussing Club here.

Family Gratitude Journal

I have been wanting to do this for years (literally) and finally got around to it. I bought a large journal (at WalMart for $8) and covered it with some cute paper and one of my satiny flowers.

This journal was inspired by a Church leader, President Henry B. Eyring, who said,

I wrote down a few lines every day for years. I never missed a day no matter how tired I was or how early I would have to start the next day. Before I would write, I would ponder this question: “Have I seen the hand of God reaching out to touch us or our children or our family today?” As I kept at it, something began to happen. As I would cast my mind over the day, I would see evidence of what God had done for one of us that I had not recognized in the busy moments of the day. As that happened, and it happened often, I realized that trying to remember had allowed God to show me what He had done.

More than gratitude began to grow in my heart. Testimony grew. I became ever more certain that our Heavenly Father hears and answers prayers. I felt more gratitude for the softening and refining that come because of the Atonement of the Savior Jesus Christ. And I grew more confident that the Holy Ghost can bring all things to our remembrance—even things we did not notice or pay attention to when they happened.

This talk was given in Oct 2007. (You can see it in full here.) I remember being struck by the thought of the Lord touching my life each and every day. If I could only look and recognize Him in my life at the close of every day, I knew I would come out strong in testimony and gratitude.

I want that for me and my family, so each night before we study scriptures together, we are writing down in our Family Journal of Gratitudes and Inspirations, the way He has manifested Himself to us.
I also glued a copy of the talk onto the inside cover of the journal to remind me of the goals and blessings behind daily use of the journal.

We have only done this for a couple days so far, and I have already been surprised in looking back over the day, at the ways He has been there for us.

How to Make a Burp Cloth into a Cupcake

You've probably seen these little burp cloth cupcakes around. I mean, cupcakes are all the rage these days. When I went to make one, though, I couldn't find a tutorial, so I made one up. (I know this is really un-Christmas-ish. Sorry.)

1. Fold your burp cloth in half longways.


2. Place a coordinating piece of ribbon face-down on the top edge, and fold diaper in half again.



3. Roll the pieces together. Once in a roll, use your finger to press from the bottom and form a higher middle section.



4. Secure with another piece of ribbon and a safety pin.



5. Place in cupcake cup or tin to complete the look.


A lady in my ward (congregation) makes the burp cloths for all the new babies born...and believe me, there are quite a few, because we Mormons, we believe in babies. Really. It's in our proclamation.

I make the cloth diapers/burp cloths into little cupcakes and arrange meals for the family when the baby is born. I am grateful for the opportunity to serve. It's about the best job in the church.

Thanksgiving: What are you thankful for?

I'm thankful for...

homemade rolls
laughter
friends that are like family
family
hugs
kisses
my baby's voice
exercise
creating things
my family
warm fires
hot chocolate
the holidays
traditions
scriptures
prayer
the Atonement
love
hope
faith
a husband that loves me and treats me well
my belief in forever families
my comfy bed
good books
hot, running water


How about you?

Camping

Camping. I love it.I love the smell of the campfire and the taste of the bubbly brown marshmallows. I love the warmth around the fire and in my heart as we sit together in the evening...without phones, without computers, without even my beloved books. Just the family together around the fire.

After a lovely evening, comes the camping morning. Brisk and dirty. The morning in the mountains is when I can't help but feel close to my Creator. The mountains, the lake, the trees...all remind me of the One who made all these beauties for our pleasure.He must love us. A lot.

What the Holy Spirit feels like.

We were reading scriptures as a family the other night, when I overheard a conversation that I will hold dear for always.

Welly: Wouldn't it be amazing if you could feel Jesus in your heart?

Bubs: You can. I felt Him last week when I gave you the pink doll I made.

Welly: What did it feel like?

Bubs: Like a warmth in my heart.

A few minutes later, Welly was saying her evening prayers...

Welly: Heavenly Father, please help me to feel the warmth.

After kissing her goodnight, I went to kiss Bubs. I told him how very grateful I was for his good example to his sister.

Me: I hope Welly feels the warmth soon.

Bubs (placing a hand on my cheek): She will.

A few days later, I asked if she had felt Jesus in her heart. She told me that the night she prayed, she had felt Him.

Me: What did it feel like for you?

Welly: Like sleeping. With a warm blanket.

Learning to be a Reliable Servant of the Lord

It's not often that I wax religious on the old blog, but I have been thinking about something. So, here it is...

Sometimes we are in the exact place someone needs us to be, and it's not a coincidence. And when that moment comes, we have a choice to make. We feel what we are supposed to do, but we still have to act. We choose to act on our impressions or not.

A while back, I saw one of my old Sunday School teachers at Costco. I felt like I should stop and say something, but I was afraid. I was afraid she wouldn't recognize me, that I wouldn't know what to say, that it would be awkward FOR ME. I wasn't thinking about her. I let the moment pass. Again, I saw her from a distance and let the moment pass. Guilt started to creep up my soul and I knew I had missed an opportunity that God had given me to help someone.

Fortunately the story doesn't end there.

My heart uttered a prayer as I continued my shopping. Father, I know I messed up. I know I need to be a more reliable servant to thee. If this was an important moment I missed, PLEASE give me another chance. If it is somehow important that I talk to her today, please let me come across her again.

I finished shopping and was in the car. I felt that I should drive around the parking lot. I saw my Sunday School teacher loading up her car. I pulled over, chatted a few minutes, gave her a hug, and left. I felt better, but I didn't feel that I had done anything spectacular or even important.

Months later, I received a letter from this sweet lady. The brief words shook me. She wrote, "You may never know what it meant to me that you stopped, when you were obviously busy, to talk."

I am trying to get over my fears. My silly fears of people. My silly fear that someone won't want to talk to me when, in fact, maybe they need to see a friendly face.

I am striving to be a reliable servant of the Lord.

Inspiring Creativity

*These are some notes from a lesson I recently gave at Church.*

CREATIVITY IN THE HOME

When I told Robby I was teaching about Creative Things to do as a family in the summertime, he said, “like cleaning your room blindfolded one day, cleaning your room with one hand behind your back one day, cleaning your room while Daddy is spanking your buns one day...?”

Yes. He keeps me laughing.

But I couldn’t have handpicked a topic I am more passionate about than Encouraging Creativity as a Mother. In researching the topic, I quickly filled over 20 pages with quotes about creativity, motherhood, and spending time as a family.

For me, summertime is about saying YES to things you don’t get around to the rest of the year.
· Learning new skills
· Studying the scriptures at a deeper level
· Reading longer books.
· Enjoying the outdoors.
· Making ice cream.

I used to believe I missed out on the creative gene. I connected creativity with an ability to draw, but it really has a lot more to do with allowing yourself to be inspired.

Amanda Soule, writer of The Creative Family wrote, "A large part of nurturing a spirit of creativity comes from being mindful, slowing down, observing, and looking around you at the beauty and inspiration all around…Stop and watch your children often. Really stop and watch, and you’ll see them using such creativity in everything they do."

President Uchdorf of the First Presidency of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints said, "After all, was it not the Creator of the worlds who called our attention to the beauty of the lilies of the field, to the power in the tiny mustard seed, and to the leaves on the fig tree?"

Author Anna Quindlen said: “The biggest mistake I made [as a parent] is the one that most of us make. … I did not live in the moment enough. This is particularly clear now that the moment is gone, captured only in photographs. There is one picture of [my three children] sitting in the grass on a quilt in the shadow of the swing set on a summer day, ages six, four, and one. And I wish I could remember what we ate, and what we talked about, and how they sounded, and how they looked when they slept that night. I wish I had not been in such a hurry to get on to the next thing: dinner, bath, book, bed. I wish I had treasured the doing a little more and the getting it done a little less.”

Elder Oaks of the Council of the Twelve Apostles of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints told the following story. "A friend took his young family on a series of summer vacation trips, including visits to memorable historic sites. At the end of the summer he asked his teenage son which of these good summer activities he enjoyed most. The father learned from the reply, and so did those he told of it. “The thing I liked best this summer,” the boy replied, “was the night you and I laid on the lawn and looked at the stars and talked.”

This story reminded me of something that happened recently with Bubs. We heard an ice cream truck in the neighborhood. His eyes opened wide and he said in wonder, "Someone in my class got to buy ice cream from an ice cream truck once." Ah, the little joys of childhood.

I firmly believe in leaving kids time to explore and treasure these childhood joys.

So, here’s the question. How do we make time for creative play and unscheduled time and not hear the phrase “I’m bored” all the time?

We have to participate. It’s hard, but I think sometimes being a taxi all day is harder.

I recently bought a drawing book from Amazon. When it arrived, I laid it out on the table with three pieces of paper and pencils. The kids quickly realized that I was planning to draw with them. They were so excited. Since then, there’ve been times when the kids asked what they should do, when I said to draw a picture, they didn’t want to unless I was doing it with them. Really though…what’s more important than spending that time with them? They grow up so fast.

We all know that kids model our own behavior. If they see us creating and valuing creative endeavors, they will want to join in. We inspire them by being inspired. We have to do encourage them. Praise their work.

They are natural creators.

We all are.

Relativism or Good vs. Evil?

Relativism is Absolutely Wrong
By Rabbi Mark S. Miller
Editor's Note: This talk was given by Rabbi Miller at the National Day of Prayer Breakfast for the Newport Mesa Irvine Interfaith Council, May 7, 2009.

A Cambridge professor of philosophy, Simon Blackburn, attended an ethics forum in which representatives of the great religions held a panel. First, the Buddhist spoke of the ways to calm, the mastery of desire, the path of enlightenment, and the panelists all said, “Wow, terrific, if that works for you that's great.” Then the Hindu spoke of the cycles of suffering, of birth and rebirth, the teachings of Krishna and the way to release, and they all said, “Wow, terrific, if that works for you that's great.” And so on, until the Catholic priest spoke of the message of Jesus Christ, the promise of salvation and the way to life eternal, and they all said, “Wow, terrific, if that works for you that's great.” The priest thumped the table and shouted: “No! It's not a question of if it works for me! It is the true word of the living G-d, and if you don't believe it you are all damned to hell!” And they all said: “Wow, terrific, if that works for you that's great.”

I do not offer this vignette because I endorse the priest's position. I do so because I respect the certainty of his faith's truth. His certitude is at odds with a society that recoils from moral absolutes, that is infatuated with moral relativity, that prefers to not judge one way of living and believing as superior to any other. For the relativist there is no ultimate good or evil, no absolute right or wrong, no truth and no falsehood. They are simply what each person deems to be good, right, and true. As Shakespeare wrote in Hamlet : “There is neither good nor bad. But thinking makes it so.” For the relativist, all expressions are equally valid. Everyone is correct by his own standards and unjudgeable by others. Everything is morally symmetrical. “Wow, terrific, if that works for you, that's great.” Protagoras said: " Man is the measure of all things ."

What is morally wrong for me may be right for you. Opinions are unassailable. The 20th century was the worst arena of coldblooded evil in human history. Yet, large numbers of young people are unable or unwilling to make the simplest distinctions between right and wrong. Even horrific acts on the scale of Nazi genocide are declared to be unjudgeable. "Of course I dislike the Nazis," one upstate New York student told his professor, "but who is to say they are morally wrong?" The same argument can apply to the terrorists of 9/11, or to the Somali kidnappers. We are more concerned over the human rights of pirates than their inhuman wrongs. The Marquis de Sade took relativist assumptions to a logical extreme: “If you prefer having a good dinner at a restaurant to hurting people, that is your prerogative, fine, and I don't judge you. But if I prefer hurting people, what grounds do you have for judging me?” If there are no moral absolutes there are no moral absolutes. Moral relativity leads to moral equivalence. As Francis Beckwith writes: “When ethical judgments are relative and possess equal validity, we are led to the bizarre conclusion that Mother Teresa is no more and no less virtuous than Hitler.” Relativists may object to cruelty, but on what basis? Because they happen to feel that it isn't nice? You must not target civilians? Says who? You must not discriminate against others? Says who? Every moral statement a relativist makes falls when confronted with the simple question, “Says who?” "Says I" is the only ultimate response a relativist can make.

During the Nuremberg trials, Nazi defendants claimed they were only following the laws of their land. In frustration, a judge asked, “But is there no law higher than our law?” A moral relativist would be forced to answer “no.” One who arrogates to himself the power to define right and wrong will most likely decide it by his whims and wishes, and will then rationalize his choice. Hitler didn't deny that murder was wrong when applied to humans. So he defined Jews as vermin who spread moral disease. Exterminating them was not murder, but self defense. Any of us can find ideological excuses for doing what we want to do. Without clarity of what is murder, what are the lines that differentiate murder from self defense? Moral systems created by human beings are valid only as far as their executor has the power to implement them.

Without G-d, what prevails is the system of “might is right.” Of course, a person who doesn't believe in G-d can be good--many such live worthy lives. But we must appeal to G-d if we want to adequately answer the question, "Why should we be good?" Otherwise, the answer is simply up to you. If we do not follow the Ten Commandments, we end up following ten thousand personal desires. In this era of " moral deregulation," what is right is only what works for us. In a class on ethics, I discussed a Kansas high school teacher who gave failing grades to a number of her students. There was no doubt they had cheated on an assignment. It was disturbing to my class to hear intelligent students at that high school justify themselves, admitting they would stoop to whatever it took to win admission to an elite university. It was disconcerting to my class to hear the parents of the failed students defend their children with ludicrous excuses. One parent said: “They may have cheated, but it was not intentional.” Another: “They were told to not cheat but they were not taught to not cheat.” It was distressing to my class to learn of the school board's capitulation to the parents' demand that the children's grades be raised to a passing level, and that the teacher's authority be overridden. Where were right and wrong? Where were crime and punishment? …drowned in a sea of relativity, where college admission trumps morality. The ultimate blasphemy in the American religion of “success at any cost ” is: “Thou shalt not fail.”

In times past, getting caught in a moral misdeed was an embarrassment. Now, the scarlet letter does not have the scar it used to. I pointed out to my class that we live in a morally polluted climate, an era of entitlement in which the end justifies the means. Today, if immoral conduct pays off, it is considered acceptable behavior. I taught the students that while there used to be two classifications of behavior, right and wrong, now there is a third definition of morality: “everybody's doing it.” I cautioned them that even if everybody is doing it, that does not make it right. The popularity of a sin does not make it permissible. The problem of wrongdoing is not solved by multiplication. In the journal of Hillsdale College , philosophy professor Christina Sommers asks: “Are we living in a moral stone age?” She charges that today's young people are suffering from "cognitive moral confusion." They not only have trouble distinguishing right from wrong, they question whether such standards even exist. They are ignorant of and alienated from the Western moral tradition.

This was recently demonstrated, she writes, by Jay Leno during his popular "man-on-the-street" interviews. One night he asked young people questions regarding the Bible. "Can you name one of the Ten Commandments?" he asked two college-age women. One replied, "Freedom of speech?" Mr. Leno said to the other, "Complete this sentence: ‘ Let he who is without sin... '” Her response was, "Have a good time?" Mr. Leno then turned to a young man and asked, "Who, according to the Bible, was eaten by a whale?" The confident answer was, "Pinocchio." As with many humorous anecdotes, the underlying reality is not funny at all. These young people are morally confused. Ask them if there are such things as right and wrong and the answer would no doubt be, "It's kind of like whatever works best for the individual. Each person has to work it out for himself.” The trouble is that this kind of answer, which is so common as to be typical, is no better than the moral philosophy of a sociopath.

Allyson Hornstein from Yale University writes: “On the morning of September 11th, 2001, my entire college campus huddled around television sets, our eyes riveted in horror to images of the burning, then falling, Twin Towers. By evening, there were candlelight vigils where people sought to comfort and be comforted. But by September 12th, as our shock began to fade, so did our sense of being wronged. Student reactions expressed in the daily newspaper and in class pointed to the differences between our life circumstances and those of the perpetrators, suggesting that these differences had caused the previous day's events. Noticeably absent was an outcry of indignation at what had been the most successful terrorist attack of our lifetime. These reactions and similar ones on other campuses have made it apparent that my generation is uncomfortable assessing, or even asking, whether a moral wrong has taken place.” In a college seminar on September 12th , 2001, a professor said he saw little difference between suicide bombers and American soldiers who died fighting in World War II. The students nodded in agreement when the professor said that both were fighting for their ways of life in declared "wars." The professor and the students could not see the distinction between American soldiers in uniform who did not target civilians, and suicide bombers who wear plainclothes and do target civilians. One student then cited poverty and colonialism as justifications for terror. Not one of them questioned its morality. Nothing, to these students, was objectively wrong if you are downtrodden and oppressed, you have an excellent excuse to commit terror. At a lecture on the Middle East that I presented at UC Irvine, a young woman said that she could understand that poor people, who had been discriminated against would use any means, including suicide bombings, to ameliorate their plight. I invited her to contemplate an analogy. I offered that few people on earth were as brutally oppressed as African Americans through centuries of enslavement and brutal segregation. What if Dr. King, I inquired, had advised young African American men and women to strap on explosives, enter restaurants and shopping centers, religious observations and social gatherings, and murder innocent men, women, and children? Would that be justifiable? “Yes, it could be,” she answered. She would sympathize with a desperation that left no alternative. When I said Dr. King proved that there is another way and that resorting to violence is never acceptable, the expression on her face registered pity for my antiquated perspective.

It was not always thus. When Jefferson wrote that all men have the right to "life, liberty, and pursuit of happiness," he did not say, "at least this is my opinion." He declared it as an objective truth. I proposed an experiment to my class comprised of young teens. I asked the students to close their eyes and point northward. I then told them to keep their finger pointed, open their eyes and look at their classmates. They saw that there were fingers pointing every which way, from pole to pole and east to west. I taught them that we cannot, from within, point ourselves in the right direction. We need a compass to find our ethical true north. I remember Jeb Stuart Magruder's testimony over his role in the Watergate cover-up. He lamented, “Somewhere between my ambition and my ideals, I lost my moral compass.” Without external authority, without transcendent commandments, without a moral compass that points due north, we go astray.

Religion stands for timeless truth, calling upon us to distinguish clearly between good and evil. It does not accept that we are morally autonomous beings who are permitted to act by our own standards. A society that removes G-d as its moral barometer does so to its great peril. Absolute good means that whatever is good at one time and at one place is good at all times and at all places. What is good for one person is good for all persons. Good is revealed by G-d; it is not invented by man. G-d did not place Adam and Eve in the garden to make up the rules as they went along. No one can be a moral and righteous person without yielding to a binding set of rules other then his own. If man is left to decide for himself what is right or wrong, he will always set the standards to fit his own drives and desires. How long can a society exist when based on an attitude of “Wow, if that works for you, that's terrific?” A man underwent a physical exam. It was discovered that he was in a serious condition. “The best thing you can do,” the doctor warned, “is to give up drinking, smoking, and carousing.” After a moment's thought, the man asked, “What is the next best thing?” The next best thing is useless. A little morality is of little avail. When our young adjust to evil, rather than stand out against it, they are crawling down a road to a bad end. We hear today that there is a new morality. But the so-called “new morality” is just a new name for the same old immorality. We hear calls for a new code of ethics to govern behavior and confront malfeasance. We do not need to create a new code of ethics. The old is the only one that matters.

Happy Memorial Day!

Here am I; send me.

Here am I; send me.

I think about this statement often...Often enough that I wanted it above my mantel.

In Isaiah 6:8, we read, "Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, Whom shall I send, and who will go for us? Then said I, Here am I; send me."

I want to be available when the Lord asks something of me. I want to be a servant He can rely on.

Marjorie Hinckley said, "I don't want to drive up to the pearly gates in a shiny sports car, wearing beautifully, tailored clothes, my hair expertly coiffed, and with long, perfectly manicured fingernails. I want to drive up in a station wagon that has mud on the wheels from taking kids to scout camp. I want to be there with a smudge of peanut butter on my shirt from making sandwiches for a sick neighbor's children. I want to be there with a little dirt under my fingernails from helping to weed someone's garden. I want to be there with children's sticky kisses on my cheeks and the tears of a friend on my shoulder. I want the Lord to know I was really here and that I really lived."

I want Him to know that when He calls, I'll say, Here am I; send me.

I want to do what this song about serving others teaches.