A Family That Grooms or Plays Together....

We had a weekend full of pimple extracting and hair coloring and cutting.  We had to do my niece Megan's hair 2x.  She didn't like the blue/black we applied first.  We went back over it and made it just good ole black/black.  

As far as the blackhead removing strips that were industrial strength.  I think I lost some skin off my nose while trying to remove it.  My eyes were watering so bad while trying to remove it....some of the water was probably tears from the pain.  It was so much fun seeing the long tubular grease forest on the strip after though.  The things we do for fun... 

 We also tapped into our creative juices.  I started working on making 30 super hero masks and the kids recycled a project board to make a bank teller window for their game of monopoly.  The positives of having no furniture in a room is that there is plenty of room to spread out and play.  

I really should go and work on those masks...too bad I don't have a green one to channel my inner hulk while I'm sewing....maybe I'll just wear the batman one instead ;0) 

ps, our ward was assigned the value color yellow while up at girls camp -which stands for good works. We will be saving the camp one good deed at a time.  Also....the theme is "come unto Christ."  We came up with the super hero theme as our own take on the overall theme.  It will be the basis of our flag, skit, t-shirts, cheer etc that distinguishes us from the rest of the wards.  What better way to 'come unto Christ' than anonymous acts of service....pretty perfect, eh?

Wisdom At Any Age

I've mentioned before that on Friday's I help out in Jordyn's fourth grade class.  This last Friday I worked with a group of 5 kids on a science workbook.  I love getting to spend time with the kids.  While trying our best at doing the assignment I found ways to get to know the kids better and enjoy our time.

I found out that one of Jordyn's friends, Julisa, had entered a poetry contest at the school and won a bicycle.  She was in my little group and she told me all about the bicycle she had won.  Jordyn went over to the recycling bin to retrieve the submitted poem.  I was shocked that it had been discarded and Julisa calmed me down by telling me that it was just a copy that she had written down for the teacher because she had wanted to see the winning poem.  The real one was safe and sound at home.  Phew.

We took some of the work time reading her winning poem.  Here it is:

I could be strong

I could be weak

I could be gentle

or I could be tough

I can explode when I have enough

sometimes I laugh

sometimes I cry

sometimes I loose

but I will always try

I get up when I get knocked down

I make a smile out of any frown

You should have seen her eyes light up as we read it together and then each kid in the group wanted to see it and read it for themselves.  What wisdom shone thru my brown eyed little friend.  What I especially loved about it is the pure wisdom coming thru all the misspelled words.  

I forgot that I had taken the poem home with me until I found it in my purse this morning, when I went to retrieve my wallet - to pay for yet another thing broken in my life.  Perfect little post to counter my crummy attitude yesterday. 

Having a Bad Moment

Ever have one of those days where you come home from church and say, "well, the verdict is in, I suck."  It really was great and I took down some notes a few times which doesn't happen as often as it should while I'm at church.  The thing is - my to do list started building and then I started comparing myself to others.  While helping my husband make dinner something happened that formed all my thoughts into a, ripe for the popping, pimple.  I said something like "and there's the reason right there, we will never be called to serve as missionaries in a presidency.  I suck too bad, there's no hope!"

I decided to come up with a list of the top 10 reasons why we won't be called to serve as mission presidents.

10.  I can't get the basics down with my own family.  I'm not the "my life is complete because I'm a mother" type of person.  I realized today that I am most definitely a 'glass half empty' kinda gal.  What a bummer!  I watched an inspirational video during 3rd hour and came away feeling bad about myself.  That's jacked up!  You know- when you realize that you've got like zero problems compared to some and you are still living below average- especially when it comes to being a mother.

9.  Doing things I don't want to makes me grumpy.

8.  I don't want to do most things ergo - I'm always grumpy.
"That's my secret Cap, I'm always angry!" ~Hulk
I have gotten better about doing things I don't want to do.  It actually becomes easier when you change your heart.  The thing of it is that the changing of ones heart doesn't happen overnight and I have certain character traits that I'm up against.  I'm the person usually saying "fine!" while I storm off to do what it is that I don't want to because I know it's the right thing to do.

7.  We're not independently wealthy.  We love to get the church news and see who all the mission presidents are and how old they are and what they did for a living - then we always talk about our plan to be retired in a few years.  Fingers crossed that the economy holds out long enough to pull it off.  It's not looking good for that, but we can dream.

6.  I haven't rescued droves of people- probably not even 2 ( I know, I know - I'm doing saving ordinances for my ancestors so the count is higher than 2, but I'm not in the mood to be consoled).  There are just some people that are good at being the person who is always inviting someone to church or having the missionaries in their home teaching someone.  Or just really good at seeking out those needing service and providing it.  I can be way too wrapped up in myself- most of the time.  I live in my head a lot.  I like to think and therefore I like alone time to do that - even it's in a room full of people.  When judgment day comes along and all the witnesses line up to advocate for me - it will be like the scene from "Ever After."  I will be looking around seeing no one and have to say " a lot of people seem to be out of town."  And the sentence will be off to outer darkness with me.  Then the only advocate that I will have will be the Savior and he will spare me from being shipped off and instead send me to do a little more working on myself in the eternal laundry room.  (do you think there is laundry in the eternities?  How do they keep all the white robes white? maybe there's no dirt?)

5.  When we hit retirement and put in those mission papers - we are going to be the couple that gets called on a mission to scrub toilets somewhere.   We will be the best darn toilet scrubbers around.  It's like I tell my son - just because you're learning Mandarin - you will probably be called to speak spanish or english somewhere.  Just because Nathan has medical training we will probably be called to scrub toilets.  The principle of humility is always being driven home to us in our family.

4.  I haven't taught our kids to speak 3 languages.   Ok, see- I told you I was having a bad day.  I was reading about a General Authority that just got called that is like 2 years older than me and they are converts and they've taught their kids 3 languages.  I can't even speak pig latin.  My husband just said "what is pig latin?"  HA!

3.  I'm selfish!  My husbands answer to all of these was "Boom!  Blows it up!  Whom the Lord calls, he qualifies, so all those negatives are blown up and don't matter."

2.  I'm anti-social.  Again my husband chimed in with "Boom, blows it up - gone."

1.  I am writing this list.  I obviously heed the nonsense of the destroyer.

The good news is that I stopped writing and went and had scripture study and prayer with the members of my family that were home tonight.  So, I'm not completely selfish.  Before my 2 youngest go to bed we have to tell each other what our favorite and worst part of the day was.  I told them that my worst part of the day was letting myself feel bad about myself.

Some days I just feel like the children of Israel and say something like "I'm sick of eating this mana." I'm pretty sure that if I'd been there I would have been one of the ones causing Moses so much grief.  You know, the kind of grief where he begs God to just kill him.  It's found in Numbers 11

14 I am not able to bear all this people alone, because it is too^aheavy for me.

 15 And if thou deal thus with me, kill me, I pray thee, ^aout of hand, if I have found favour in thy sight; and let me not see my wretchedness.

It's not funny, but it's kinda funny because I can totally see it.  We have the same problems today that the children of Israel had.  The little list I just made is proof positive of that.  We all struggle and have bad days but we've got to keep moving forward.  Lucky for me, I had a husband loaded with a nerf gun that shoots at me whenever I start talking nonsense.  Today was one of those days and I've left permanent evidence of it here.  

Quote of the night - when my husband saw what I was doing and asked if I was writing about my tales of inspiration and miracles and I told him that I was actually writing about me being a poo head he said "oh brother, you're only a poo head when you are being a poo head."  Oh really?  That was deep! hahaha

Witness

Can we have a conversation?  I know, that's a weird request.  I've been doing a lot of thinking about being a disciple of Jesus Christ.  Living in the last days.  What is happening to the world we live in and wondering why on earth I have taken to writing all of this down here.  I really don't know other than - I feel compelled to.  'Standing as a witness of Jesus Christ at all times and in all places'...has been occupying my thoughts.  How changing my individual life can change the world.  How my being a mother is a divine heritage and responsibility.  I've come to understand there is nothing -and I mean nothing -of greater importance- I didn't come to that realization easily- I fought against it for quite some time.  I've been struggling to know my place and role in the plan set forth by our creator, my Heavenly Father and yours.  I've been wondering how we are going to survive the challenges and what it's going to look and feel like when the wheat and the tares begin to be sifted - because I feel it coming.  With every fiber of my being, I feel it coming.  

The long and short of it is this.  I need to be a worthy vessel.  I've got to know my Heavenly Father and I've got to trust His plan.  Then, I've got to witness of it.  What is one simple small way that will not only witness to others, but cement the witness I earn for myself when I testify to others?  While I was studying the Doctrine and Covenants this morning, I came across this quote in the study manual:

When we consider the great events that lie in the future, we can see why the Saints are encouraged to keep personal histories and journals. The return to Jackson County, the building there of the temple, the return of the ten tribes from the north countries, the council at Adam-ondi-Ahman, the establishment of the kingdom of God, the battle of Armageddon, the return of Christ in glory--think how future generations will treasure firsthand accounts written by Saints who witness these events. President Spencer W. Kimball gave the following counsel:

“Your own private journal should record the way you face up to challenges that beset you. Do not suppose life changes so much that your experiences will not be interesting to your posterity. Experiences of work, relations with people, and an awareness of the rightness and wrongness of actions will always be relevant. …

“Your own journal, like most others, will tell of problems as old as the world and how you dealt with them.

“Your journal should contain your true self rather than a picture of you when you are ‘made up’ for a public performance. There is a temptation to paint one’s virtues in rich color and whitewash the vices, but there is also the opposite pitfall of accentuating the negative. Personally I have little respect for anyone who delves into the ugly phases of the life he is portraying, whether it be his own or another’s. The truth should be told, but we should not emphasize the negative. Even a long life full of inspiring experiences can be brought to the dust by one ugly story. Why dwell on that one ugly truth about someone whose life has been largely circumspect?

“The good biographer will not depend on passion but on good sense. He will weed out the irrelevant and seek the strong, novel, and interesting. …

“Your journal is your autobiography, so it should be kept carefully. You are unique, and there may be incidents in your experience that are more noble and praiseworthy in their way than those recorded in any other life. There may be a flash of illumination here and a story of faithfulness there; you should truthfully record your real self and not what other people may see in you.

“Your story should be written now while it is fresh and while the true details are available.

“A journal is the literature of superiority. Each individual can become superior in his own humble life.

“What could you do better for your children and your children’s children than to record the story of your life, your triumphs over adversity, your recovery after a fall, your progress when all seemed black, your rejoicing when you had finally achieved?

“Some of what you write may be humdrum dates and places, but there will also be rich passages that will be quoted by your posterity.

“Get a notebook, my young folks, a journal that will last through all time, and maybe the angels may quote from it for eternity. Begin today and write in it your goings and comings, your deepest thoughts, your achievements and your failures, your associations and your triumphs, your impressions and your testimonies. Remember, the Savior chastised those who failed to record important events.” (“The Angels May Quote from It,” New Era, Oct. 1975, pp. 4–5.)

(Section 69 Instructions to Preserve Historical Records)

I can only hope that I am doing this recording and sharing in the way God wants me to.  I try really hard not to romanticize any of the things that I share and try not to be too gloomy either.  It's a fine balance.  I do know that because it is public, I temper my thoughts more and don't share as deeply.  I've come to terms with that and try to make up for it with other journals - although I'm pretty awful at that.  Sharing your journal publicly is not for everyone.  A personal journal to be read only by family members is the way to go for most everyone.  The point is to do it and do it now.  

The world is changing at such a rapid pace and you want it documented for your posterity.  When this period in history is examined, our grandchildren are going to want an explanation for how things got to such a horrible loss of freedom.  They're going to want to know why no one saw what was coming and why they're inheritance was squandered.  I'm here to document what I see.  I'm here to tell what the cure is.  I don't want our 'houses left unto desolation.' In a time of great trials come greater miracles.  I'm here to give credit where credit is do and witness to the miracles I see in my life and in the lives of those around me - no matter how small and insignificant in the scheme of things they are.  I need the reminder as much as anyone else.  

I mentioned a little about our new dog, but I didn't classify it as a miracle.  I've been wanting a small indoor dog since before we got out gigantic outdoor dogs.  The problem I've always had was that I didn't want to fork out the kind of cash they cost when I 've got a husband that really doesn't want one.  I didn't want a dog that shed.  Didn't want a out of control yappy dog that annoyed everyone, including myself.  I didn't want to have to potty train a dog.  I didn't want a dog that chewed up my house.  I really wanted the dog to love me and cuddle with me.  The biggest part of this dream is that I really just wanted a perfect stray dog to just walk into my life and my families and that would be that.  What did I get?  Every single solitary thing on my wish list.  Is that a miracle?  Yes, it certainly is.  Will it change the world?  You know what?  Yes it will and here's how.  The more we know God is aware of our desires and blesses our lives, the more we want to serve him and the more we want to serve him the more we will bless the lives of those around us and the more we bless the lives of those around us the more the world will change!

Our dog couldn't be more adorable if he tried.  We got him and 5 days later we hopped in the RV and took a week long road trip with him.  He makes my heart smile.  I do have a tiny worry in the back of my mind - because I'm a little hard wired to expect disaster- that he may be preparing me for something tragic.  I already have issues with being too happy.  I'm a little twisted, I know.  Hey, we've all got baggage.  

btw, if I didn't mention it before, the tour of the Nauvoo temple is completely and totally in the miracle category.  I've had a couple of questions on my mind since I've been home from our trip and I came across the answers in my scriptures.  I was complaining about how every time family history gets brought up, someone talks about their famous ancestor to inspire us all to do family history.  There are lots of people that aren't going to find something amazing in that sense.  Guess what I just watched last night from the Sunday afternoon session?  William R Walker could have been looking straight into the tv at me saying 'Heather, quit being a pill' when he said " whether you are a descendant of a pioneer doesn't matter, it is your heritage as a Latter Day Saint" - or something to that effect.  The trip to the fabric store to purchase some items that I needed for girls camp with my own money (instead of submitting receipts because of a lack of budget) every thing I bought ended up being 1/2 off.  I didn't even know about the elastic I needed until I got up to pay for it and the lady and I did a little rejoicing together in my good fortune.  Which reminds me.....

I'm a little embarrassed to admit this because it seems like something I shouldn't have to make myself do.  It seems a completely natural thing that doesn't need working on.  I am trying to be more truthful in my interactions with people.  Now before you go thinking that I'm admitting to be a big fatty fat lier, I'm not.  Here's what I mean - I may have mentioned this too, but I can't keep track.  Anyway, if I've got a baptism to go to and someone asks me about my weekend or what I did, instead of saying "nothing" or mentioning everything else I did but that, I am going to start talking about it.  I'm going to start telling people the church stuff I do.  

I had the opportunity with my myo guy and repented when I didn't tell him about the baptism that I attended and vowed that I would bring up whatever I was doing the next time.  Well the next time I was working at the temple.  I was wishing that I had just explained the baptism the week before because explaining working in the temple is so much harder.  I was very vague, but he kept pursuing and I would be a little less vague hoping that would end the discussion, but he kept pressing forward.  I felt like an idiot.  

I'm a little disappointed in my performance at the fabric store with the lady I was rejoicing with over the elastic.  She asked what I was doing with all the yellow felt.  I told her that I was making masks out of it.  She then asked what they were for and then I just said, "for a church activity."  I could have done so much better.  I don't know what my problem is.  For as much as I write, when I'm out and about, I think people only want the least bit of information out of me, so I don't do too much talking.  If I know you well, all bets are off and good luck getting me to shut up.  

So, that's what I'm working on.  Changing the world by changing myself.  In the process I hope I'm also helping my children to become who they were born to be.  One thing I do know that has come out of this blog is;  the roots of my testimony have shot down into the deep rich solid soil.  I feel like cement was then added to the soil and stabilized my foundation.  Things I used to do out of obligation I now do because I genuinely want to.  President Packer tried to explain the change that had come over him as his knowledge of the Savior grew and explained that it's impossible.  I get it.  There aren't really words to describe what I can now see.  

Soda on the Brain

I gave up the evil nectar of my beloved 1/2 and 1/2 coke and diet coke.  I'll admit it, it was my drug.  I had no life goal of giving it up. I did have thoughts of wondering if I could.  I also didn't really like that I was so dependent upon a caffeinated drink of carbonated bliss to cure me of my bad moods.  I wanted to see if I could take a step towards 'sacrificing all' or 'giving away my sins' - not that drinking it was a sin.  I wanted to see if I could sacrifice something that I love for something better.  It was not all about soda and carbonation destroying my stomach health kick kinda thing, because I'm no health nut.  Just a religious nut ;0)

I went on the brain killing juice diet and had to quit for that.  I never set out with the goal of quitting. Everyday I think to myself, "is this the day that I will have a soda?"  When I ask myself that question, I never want it to be "the day" so I just haven't had one since October.  

I have had 2 dreams since then about drinking coke.  The last one had me questioning my integrity.  I took a drink and became shocked when I looked down at the cup and realized what I was drinking.  Then I had a little conversation with myself.  Well, I've already broken my streak so I might as well just finish it off.  I mean, I totally shouldn't waste it.  So, I drank it.  Then I felt guilty and bad about myself and wanted to hide the evidence.....most especially from my family that would certainly revel in my caving in to temptation.  My integrity is obviously in trouble! haha

My husband and my kids are constantly taunting me with sodas.  They are begging me to start drinking again because I was "nicer" on it.  Great!  Isn't that like calling someone a happy drunk?  

While we were traveling home from Nauvoo, we stopped in Independence for the night.  After I cooked dinner in the RV we drove it over to this little place for some homemade root beer with ice cream....which they called a "brown cow."  Here's the thing.  I forgot that a root beer float was actually made with.....soda!  I got about half way thru and realization dawned on me.  I'm such an airhead sometimes.  At least it wasn't caffeine because I probably would have fallen completely off the wagon at that point. 

As further proof of my airheadedness OR brain starved of caffeinated beverages....I was bragging to my husband how long it had been since I'd had a soda.  I was like-  Oh my goodness it has been so long...it's been like a year...I think I'm cured.  He looked at me like - really? is your brain working?  Obviously not, because when I whipped out my fingers to count on, I quickly discovered that it had only been 5 months....OR like 1 year in some other form of measurement!  Dude, I've got problems.  

The most wonderful day of all days....or not

Yesterday my son brought home this nifty little kit from school.  They had a nifty man from the energy company come and give a nifty little speech about conservation and mother earth.  Golly, I'm sure sad I missed it.  I may have had a wee bit of over reactionary comment when I saw his goodies;  "Oh, how nice, a commi kit."

Now, as many global warming believers believe, we should do everything we can to protect mother earth - at all cost.  Me, being a "God is the creator" of all and we are just the stewards of this earth He gave us.  He indeed gave it to us - Humans.  He intended for His children to live here.  He knows the beginning from the end.  He knows what technology we are going to come across.  He expects us to have honest, real, truth seeking questions about how to care for this earth we've been given.  Not have an agenda and a way to control the people and a money making scheme.  My problem is when people start saying "the science in settled" and things like "global warming deniers should be thrown in jail."  You know? For the greater good.  We have to protect the planet from such heathens.  The very first earth day in 1970 they were talking about global cooling and all the nifty things they were going to try - to you know - outsmart God.  I mean, don't get me wrong.  Flooding parts of the earth by melting the icecaps sure did sound like a nifty idea at the time (now we have to save them)  Too bad nobody cared about the polar bears at the time. You know. The one polar bear trapped on a minuscule chunk of ice that we hear about all the time now.  Excuse me while I wipe away a tear for the utter lack of love back then towards the poor polar bear.....never mind the people who would loose homes or die because of all the flooding.  Good thing we've got a handle on this whole warming cooling thing - and you know - picked our favorite animals to care about - usually at the expense of people.  It's totally awesome.  So, you can see how excited I was to receive this nice little kit from the government run energy company.  I looked on the bottom of the box to see if a picture of the president was included to hang on our wall at home.  (I'm sure NSA and IRS will be saving this post on their hard drive- again, super awesome! I mean, who doesn't want to be flagged as a domestic terrorist? It's all the rage, you know?)

Now, for the exciting bit of news.  You can save a whopping 62.00.  In 1 year, you say?  Well.....not exactly.  Ok, Ok, it's got to be 2 years?  Nope.  You've got to read that pesky fine print.  It's really not made for us simpletons to understand.  Luckily my brain hasn't been infected by common core yet and I can still do some simple math equations.

So according to the packaging this saving occurs with 3 hours of use a day throughout the 11,000 usage hours of the curly bulb of earth saving wonder.  Get a pencil out.  Are you ready?  I'll try to go real slow like.
12,000 (hours) / 3 (hours a day) = 4,000 (days)
4,000 (days) / 365 (days in a year) = 10.95 years
Now, you can see by the box that they rounded that up to 11.  Yea, they can do math too!
OK, here's where it get's fun.  Start counting up that money.  We can have us a real nice party with all that savings....ooops, I mean we are totally doing this to save the earth.
11 (years) / 62.00 (total savings for life of the bulb) = .177
Oh my goodness that's amazing!  18 whole cents.  Woot Woot!
Now, if my electric bill is directly related to how much electricity I'm using - or how much I'm killing the planet - wouldn't this tell you that you are doing diddly squat for the planet or your pocket book.  Now let's not even go into proper discarding procedures for the earth friendly lighting apparatus full 'o mercury.

Even better news.  These super bulbs that are better than -so last years technology- cfl, is currently not available to buy.  You can only get them in these super awesome kits.  Oh, btw. Super love the sand timer for the shower (in the picture of the kit).  I mean, how many times have I sat here and wondered how I could get a 2 minute shower and want to time it....especially while using the no-flow shower head of non-exsistant water pressure.....you can't get the shampoo out of your hair with one of those things in less than 2 minutes.

So, where is this super rant leading me to?  Now, come on.  You've got to know I'm about to get biblical.  I spent 19 months studying the Old Testament.  I loved it.  I want a bunch of Rabbis for friends so I can learn even more.  You know what the major theme was?  False idols.  I've had these thoughts before about global warming being a religion, but it is becoming so obvious that you don't even have to have had a serious study of the old testament to get it.  Things are spiraling out of control at such a rapid pace that it's hard to catch your breath.  An example of the rate of spiraling; It was just 8 years ago you could be for traditional families and not be chased out of town.  You could deny global warming and just be called ignorant and stupid not having (at least in the open) calling for jailing such deniers.

Well, all of this got me thinking about a little story.  It is found in the book of Daniel, like the picture quotes.

Starting in Chapter 3

10 Thou, O king, hast made a decree, that every man that shall hear the sound of the cornet, flute, harp, sackbut, psaltery, and dulcimer, and all kinds of musick, shall fall down and worship the golden image:

 11 And whoso falleth not down and worshippeth, that he should be cast into the midst of a burning fiery furnace.

 12 There are certain Jews whom thou hast ^aset over the affairs of the province of Babylon, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego; these men, O king, have not regarded thee: they serve not thy gods, nor worship the golden image which thou hast set up.

 13 ¶Then Nebuchadnezzar in his rage and fury commanded to bring Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego. Then they brought these men before the king.

 14 Nebuchadnezzar spake and said unto them, Is it true, O Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, do not ye serve my gods, nor worship the golden image which I have set up?

 15 Now if ye be ready that at what time ye hear the sound of the cornet, flute, harp, sackbut, psaltery, and dulcimer, and all kinds of musick, ye fall down and worship the image which I have made;well: but if ye worship not, ye shall be cast the same hour into the midst of a burning fiery furnace; and who is that God that shall deliver you out of my hands?

 16 Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, answered and said to the king, O Nebuchadnezzar, we are not ^acareful to answer thee in this matter.

 17 If it be so, our God whom we serve is able to ^adeliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of thine hand, O king.

 18 But if not, be it known unto thee, O king, that we will not^aserve thy gods, nor worship the golden image which thou hast set up.

 19 ¶Then was Nebuchadnezzar full of fury, and the ^aform of his visage was changed against Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego:therefore he spake, and commanded that they should heat the furnace one seven times more than it was wont to be heated.

 20 And he commanded the most mighty men that were in his army to bind Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, and to castthem into the burning fiery furnace.

 21 Then these men were bound in their coats, their hosen, and their hats, and their other garments, and were cast into the midst of the burning fiery furnace.

 22 Therefore because the king’s commandment was urgent, and the furnace exceeding hot, the flame of the fire slew those men that took up Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego.

 23 And these three men, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, fell down bound into the midst of the burning fiery furnace.

 24 Then Nebuchadnezzar the king was astonied, and rose up in haste, and spake, and said unto his counsellors, Did not we cast three men bound into the midst of the fire? They answered and said unto the king, True, O king.

 25 He answered and said, Lo, I see four men loose, walking in the midst of the fire, and they have no ^ahurt; and the form of the fourth is like the Son of God.

 26 ¶Then Nebuchadnezzar came near to the mouth of the burning fiery furnace, and spake, and said, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, ye servants of the most high God, come forth, and comehither. Then Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, came forth of the midst of the fire.

 27 And the princes, governors, and captains, and the king’s counsellors, being gathered together, saw these men, upon whose bodies the ^afire had no power, nor was an hair of their head singed, neither were their coats ^bchanged, nor the smell of fire had passed on them.

 28 Then Nebuchadnezzar spake, and said, Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, who hath sent his ^aangel, and delivered his servants that ^btrusted in him, and ^chave changed the king’s word, and yielded their bodies, that they might not serve nor worship any god, except their own God.

 29 Therefore I make a decree, That every people, nation, and language, which speak any thing amiss against the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, shall be ^acut in pieces, and their houses shall be made a dunghill: because there is no other God that can ^bdeliver after this sort.

 30 Then the king ^apromoted Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, in the province of Babylon.

So, (I seem to use "so" a lot) where does this leave us, or how does this fit this story?  What kind of "sacrifices" are we expected to make to "mother earth"? Well, we have to pay taxes on imaginary things like carbon and air and the latest.....cow farts!  Absolutely true about the cow farts.  Some birds we are allowed to kill with wind turbines, how you decide which animals it's ok to kill, is a mystery.  We are expected to use expensive light bulbs that hurt your eyes and are ugly, to show our dedication to lowering our carbon foot print.  We should give up coal and buy electric cars....which btw....how does one make said electric cars....with electricity...produced by coal!  We should not have as many kids because that is irresponsible and contributing to overpopulation.  We should burn food to put in our cars.  Let me say that again.  We should burn food.  Is it any wonder people hate us when we are so self righteous as to burn food for transportation when people don't have enough food to eat to live throughout the world.  We should use 1 square of toilet paper and 2 minutes worth of water.  I should give up meat because, well, animals are the superior species and they shouldn't be eaten.  We should kill babies so as not to overpopulate - which raises our carbon footprint. Maybe we will start using the killing of babies to help it rain.  Sounds like a good idea, no?  We should kill old people that we deem to have no value...while we are at it, the mentally ill as well.  There are lots of sacrifices to this earth god. 

Here's the thing.  If you believe in an earth god and you want to make sacrifices to it (other than the killing ones), have at it.  I'm not gonna stop you.  I am also not going to let my government force me into worshiping too.  Call me crazy, but I thought it's why we came to America in the first place.  Freedom of Religion.  Like Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego, even if my God will not deliver me  from the fiery furnace, I will not fall down and worship an idol.  Isn't it interesting that my silly 'ole bible full of fairy tails  could so accurately describe the events of the day.  The more we believers stand our "weak minded" ground, refusing to worship the god of man, the louder and more upset they become and when they can no longer call us names, they finally start firing up the furnace to deal with the dissenters.  

Here's the good news.  Nebuchadnezzar saw the light when the boys were not burned up....not fully because he still wanted to cut people up, but he was getting there.  They were delivered by their God and it bore witness to the king.  We have to be courageous and stand our ground.  We have to be like Captain America.  Oh yes, I'm working that in here too.  OK, I just love him.  Not just because he is gorgeous, but for everything he stands for.  I also love that the only thing he needs (other than his modified body of hotness) is his shield - a shield of faith.  The Lord promises throughout the scriptures that he will go before our face.  He will take those first blows for us.  The rest of our armor has to be strong and in place, but we can have the added protection of the shield because we might loose that shield temporarily and be left vulnerable.  I just saw CA 2 and it was completely about everything I've been talking and eluding to in this post....the data mining thru the healthcare system and the eduction system, the policing of thought, the one sided tolerance...peace thru violence, all of it goes under the god of man idol worship.  The overreaching arm of the government acting in a "what's best for the collective" mentality.  

There's a perfect line in there about it taking courage to protect billions of people at the expense of millions and the response to that was that it takes courage not to.  Freedom comes at a price.  The other thing that I really loved was the interaction between old friends who are enemies now.  Cap reminds him saying "you know me!"  It is our responsibility to let our brothers and sisters know, that we know them.  We have to keep reminding them who they are, where they came from and where they are going.  We are probably going to be taking some serious blows from them and not being treated well but we can't give up, even if we have to say, "just finish it, I'm with you to the end."  

I'm not there yet.  I think that's why I keep thinking about it and writing about it.  I want to be there, I just don't know how to get there.  I think it's because I haven't fully realized that I can't get there on my own.  It's not a natural talent I was born with.  This is a gift given by the Holy Ghost thru the atonement.  It is something that will have to be given to me.  

So, in the meantime, to help me make it through the rough days when I wonder how we are ever going to survive the trials of this life.  The trials of a hard hearted and stiff-necked people...the oppression that we are willingly allowing to be inflicted upon us.....because I can't set sail for the America's because there is nowhere to set sail to.  I can sing my new favorite song that I've been torturing my family with for 3 days from another movie I really enjoyed....along with the original movie it goes to.  
"Let's go fly a kite"

btw, that was 1 rant, 1 bible reference and 2 movie references including a song, wrapped up into 1.  Awesome!

Something Weird

I love the creative writings of elementary school aged kids.  I wish I would have been more diligent when Ethan was writing because he wrote some very entertaining stuff.  Jared did as well, but I was hardly using my blog back then.  So, Jordyn seems to keep getting her work published here.  I'm sure it will be brought up by the other kids later in therapy sessions...haha

Jordyn's use of the word "weird" and her sentence; "Then she saw him do something weird she should have never seen in the whole world" had me chuckle out loud.  So, without further ado, the story without a title:

"When Jordyn arrived to school in the morning and she realized there was a new student.  He was strong he had pale skin, black, and looked very strange.  He talked like this blub blub blub.  His name was bubble bubble which was funny to say.  When we were doing math, he wrote in a weird language.  He was all weird.   All the students to call him Douglas instead.  At lunch they all saw him eating fingers and when he drank he drank with his toe.  At recess she decided to spy on him.  He said he was from blub blub they decided to say he was from California.  But the day was weird very, very, very weird.  So weird he ate all the desks and chairs.  He almost ate a kid.  Then he started to talk English. He said he was from planet bubble bubble.  He told us everything but that he was an alien.  Then she saw him do something weird she should have never seen in the whole world.  She was disgusted.  He zipped his clothes and skin off and he had slimy skin and 3 eyes.  He also said that feels good.  Then she realized the skin on the floor was the skin of the old new student John.  She had to tell the teacher so she did.  He got kicked out of school.  The End."

It would appear that Jordyn developed her keen sense of comma usage from me....which is; to not have one where there should be one and throw some in random places, for good measure, because it feels like you should probably use some....she actually did a better job than I do....when it doubt, throw in some of these.....  :0) 

Happy Easter

The Easter Bunny decided to be a bit unconventional and completely practical this year.  Instead of hoards of candy, he brought pool gear.  It seems every year we need new stuff either because the sun destroyed it or the dogs did.  It helped us get excited for summer.  It also reminded me of how much it's going to cost to have the pool fixed.  The pool guys are coming this evening to drain my pool so they can start working on replacing a bunch of the tile.  As my son likes to call it, it's a "first world problem."  Yep, it sure is.  Somehow that bit of reality doesn't seem to make it suck any less.  My new phrase for events such as this, "everything is awesome!" and yes, I'm being facetious with a hint of optimism.  

Dad was in charge of the bunny duties this year.  I decided that "load in the back of the truck" wasn't worth my worry.  He could do it however he wanted and I would be fine.  He didn't disappoint by doing it the completely "man way."  He put everything on the fireplace and threw a blanket over it.  When the kids started looking in their baskets, they realized that only some got some kinds of candy and the others didn't.  At first they were all excited until they realized that they had to divide it up themselves.  He had just thrown a full bag of candy in each of the baskets.  His only response was, "hey, have you seen the inside of those buckets, they're nasty.  The bunny knew they didn't want their candy touching the baskets."  Felt buckets stored in the garage of a dust bowl we call a land of enchantment = no bueno. Hey, at least he knew better than to throw the candy in nasty baskets.  He must have forgotten that I usually divide it up into bags to avoid that very problem, but the kids didn't care. I'm really not sure what the 2 little ones think about the easter bunny.  I know at Christmas they both were adamant that Santa existed.  They didn't seem to notice that the pool equipment wasn't marked and I was just handing it out to everyone.  

 We don't have church until the afternoon, so we got to pretend we were hanging out in the sun by the pool.  

 The funniest thing was that Jared read the back of the box for his chair and thought there was some fancy quick valve that would blow up the thing for him.  It provided me lots of entertainment seeing him try to figure out how to make it inflate itself and then when the realization hit that he would have to do it himself.  The valve being "quick release" technology really means that while you are blowing it up, you have to have ninja quick fingers to close the valve before you release all the air you just blew into the dumb thing.  Mr smarty pants had to be told by simpleton mom that you have to use your tongue to hold it closed until the last second while you are pretty much closing the valve in your mouth.  The entire process exhausted Emma, especially because every time she would try to close the valve, it would loose half the air.  My poor kids didn't grow up in the land of low technology like I did to learn these tricks.   

I bet you are wondering where the spiritual true meaning of easter is.  This is just a fun one about my family being a family on Easter.

ps, isn't Watson adorable?  He looks like a stuffed animal.  

Quote Wall

I finally got everyone to turn in their favorite quote from conference.  I had a hard time narrowing it down, but I thought that the quote I chose summed up all of conference for me.  Looking at it again today, I'm seeing a reason for the dream.  I was printing those quotes out last night before I went to bed, so I must have had thoughts of courage on my mind.  The quotes may not be exact because they were taken from the notes of my family members.  I didn't look them up.  I did look mine up because I couldn't remember the beginning of it - so I cheated just a little.  It took Nate awhile to turn his into me because he wasn't prepared mentally for the ramifications of the quotes I was asking for.  He didn't realize that it was supposed to shape his life for the next 6 months and that was too much pressure. haha  I think it is cool that none of us chose the same quote or even a quote by the same person.  Conference is always individualized to the person receiving the message.  I love that.  Even in a general meeting the Lord is teaching, through the Holy Ghost, one by one.  Nate also teased me that it was blasphemous that I didn't choose an Elder Bednar quote.  No worries, I still love him, but I can learn from everyone....which is the way it is supposed to be.  

----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Truth is truth, 

it is not  

divisible 

and no 

part of it can be 

set aside

~Russell M Nelson

Emma

_________---------------------

Courage, 

not compromise 

brings the smile of 

God’s 

approval

Thomas S Monson

Jared

-------------------------------------

Do it now, don’t wait, 

your 4 minutes will

pass fast, you will 

be sorry of what you’ve 

done.  This is your 4

minutes, use it wisely, 

don’t waste it.  

Do it now, not later!

Gary A Stevenson

Jordyn

-------------------------------------

You may wonder if it is 

worth it to take a 

courageous moral stand... 

Yes, it is worth it! 

Because the alternative is 

to have our houses left unto 

us desolate - 

desolate individuals, 

desolate families, 

desolate nations

Jeffery R Holland

Heather

------------------------

He accomplishes His 

miracles one prayer

at a time

Jean A Stevens

Ethan

-------------------------

Sometimes we think

 of the restoration as 

something that is 

complete... in reality, 

the restoration is an 

ongoing process;

Are you sleeping 

through the restoration?

Dieter F Uchtdorf 

Nathan

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I found this on a kitchen counter today and thought I would include it.  Evidence that we were standing in a holy place....now, to make all places we stand holy!