Sunday School on Monday Night

So should we call it blogging home evening? Or would that just be wrong?
Probably.

Moving on.

Yesterday, at church (which seems like ages ago right now at 10pm on Monday night), I sat in on a class of Young Women having a lesson on developing your talents. It was beautifully taught by a woman who I wished I had recieved this lesson from when I was a girl. Except that when I was a girl she probably wasn't even a baby and maybe not even a gleam in her father's eye. So that would have been weird.

Anyway, she taught it beautifully. She had a great attention getter at the beginning where the students (me included) were to put checkmarks on a two-sided paper list of 'talents.' There were many unusual ones on there. That activity really brought the girls' minds into the lesson. So clever.

Then she went on to the meat of the lesson. You can find the entire lesson here. I don't think she followed this lesson plan exactly, but I think she knew what we students needed and she drew from it in a way that the girls really seemed to get.

And, I loved that she brought in the scriptures! We were in them through almost the whole lesson. And I needed this lesson, because "Wo unto me" if I don't get my little writing fingers and brain going. I'm going to be "Wo-ing" scripture style if I don't pay attention to what I learned yesterday.
("Wo" pronounced with a long o.)

She had a little gift box and inside were six scripture references for us to look up. We lucked out because there were six of us in the class, so everybody got one. Woo hoo. Here is what they said & the interpretation from the lesson-you will see why I'm a little worried about the "Wo." Hopefully I can get my act together and make up for my lost writing and other gift hiding time.

(The Doctrine and Covenants is a distinctly LDS scripture of modern - meaning beginning in the 1800s times. You can read it online here and if you have questions about it, you can ask here or shoot me a message :).)
1. Doctrine and Covenants 46:11–12  -  Everyone has a gift.
2. Doctrine and Covenants 60:2  - Some fear and hide their talents.
3. Doctrine and Covenants 67:3  - Some fear in their hearts.
4. Doctrine and Covenants 60:13 - Do not bury your talent.
5. 1 Timothy 4:14 - Do not neglect your gift.
6. Doctrine and Covenants 82:3  -Responsibility comes with gifts

Yep- yesterday I got versed.
Very, very versed.
And it's time to do something about it.

Wordle from here.

Happy Thanksgiving.

What fortunate people we are to live in a free country (USA).

And to have so many blessings.

At the beginning of November, a facebook friend started a 'thing' where we would list something we were thankful for that day, everyday, through Thanksgiving.

I've enjoyed it so & it's really made me think a lot about what I am most grateful for.

I didn't share everything on facebook, because some things I'm thankful for are just too personal or to hard to put in words.

While I've always loved my simple days, this experience has made me really think about what really is most important to me.

I am grateful I participated in my friend's challenge & as a gift for you, I'm going to give you a peek into what my 'grateful for' month looked like:

1. Make November a month of gratitude. Each day, post as your status, something you are thankful for. It may be something big - or something small, the point is to keep an attitude of gratitude for 30 days! Will you join me? Starts Monday 11/1 :-)

(Well, looks like I forgot about the fine print-I've got a few more gratitude days to go. It's not over until the end of November-I'll just share what I've shared so far.)

2. I'm thankful I have the priviledge to vote.


3. I am thankful for a dark laundry room and clothes with static.


4. I'm thankful for all the teachers at our high school who, after working all day, stayed late for parent teacher conferences.


5. I am thankful I stayed calm while driving with S. We even went on turnpikes & in mall traffic. I didn't holler once. I did cringe a few times, but over all, she did great. 50 hours-here we come!

6. I am thankful this busy, busy day is over. And for the wonderful people our family gets to associate with.
7. I am thankful for opportunities to serve in my church. (I'll miss my last one & I'm very excited for my new one-good bye RS, hello YW.)


8. Thankful for the stairmaster and the funny old man who told me I will never make it to the top. He was right.


9. Thankful that my Senior is happy about her great ACT score.


10. Thankful it's only 10something pm and not 11something like I thought. Thankful that I realized I was about to post today's gratitude on somebody else's wall before I hit share. What I am most thankful for today are our ward's lovely young women who have accepted this new old lady in such a sweet way.
And the awesome people- YW leaders, R & my kids who helped in so many ways to make tonight so nice.

11. Thankful for my father, cousin, in-law, friends & all others who have sacrificed so much. Thank you is not enough.


12. I am thankful that 18 years ago a sweet little girl arrived and turned me into a mom!


13. Thankful my son's happy with his league championship. Thankful we get out Tues, Thurs, & Sats back for a while. Thankful this season is over.

14. I am thankful for an awesome conversion story a man shared at church today and how it touched my heart.


15. Thankful for pay-it-forward coming backwards, good karma & small business owners who really know how to win repeat business and referalls.


16. Today I am thankful for the little acorn caps on the sidewalk that crunched when I stepped on them. Way better than bubble wrap!


17. I am thankful that J didn't throw up in our bed last night after we woke up to his brother saying, "Mom, Mom, J's throwing up" and his bedding was getting a middle of the night launder. I am thankful to R for being a full partner in the clean up and care in the many subsequent visits to the porcelin throne thoughout ...the night. I am thankful the little guy feels better today.
 
18. Grateful for opportunities to swallow my pride & open my heart.


19. Thankful for the late night movie date with R and my 11 year old boy last night. Today I'm thankful that there are no games to go to, no 'have to' items on the schedule, and a calm day in store. (Only problem-the day is going by too quickly.)

20. I am thankful for my 5 year old's night time prayers. He was thankful for the day and asked Him to "please bless grandma's and his friend's dad's backs to feel better, the missionaries, baby Delany, the people in Haiti, and to have a good day." What a sweet kid.

21. I am thankful for M. Adair's 10 week fitness challenge!


22. Greatful for the O. School community and the wonderful volunteers from the O. Baptist Chuch. They made today's feast wonderful!


23. Today I was thankful for our 80 degrees-while so many of my friends and family were telling us how cold it was in their areas of the country. Tonight I am thankful for warm pajamas and a heated home, because it's supposed to get to 22 degrees, high in the 40s tomorrow. I am thankful for crazy Oklahoma weather that keeps me on my toes.
 
24. I am thankful that for these past couple of weeks, I've really thought about all that I am grateful for. I haven't shared everything I am thankful for, but I've sure been thinking of a lot. What a blessed life I've been given-thank you for being a part of it!


I wrote that kind of 'I'm done writing my thankfuls' entry on facebook before I went back and read that it was a challenge for the whole month- I will come back and update this post when November 2010 is over. :)
 

What are you most thankful for?

Braggart

You have been warned.

I am going to brag.

But I want you to know that I am not bragging in an 'in your face' kind of way.

I am just so happy for this family of mine.

I am blessed to be the wife and the mom.

And we have had a good month.

It's nice to have those once in a while.

We will start with my mr.

He won an award.

Our family was invited to a dinner

and he was honored.

The presenter said that out of 500 coaches he was chosen because,

"he represents everything a YMCA coach should be."

miss h.

She got a score she's happy with.

That is huge.

miss s.

While this is a picture of her musical hands, her voice got her into All State Mixed Chorus.

(According to the high schoolers, the more advanced choir.)

And she even had a cold.

little mr b.

He was one of three fifth graders chosen to read their essays on Veteran's Day.

It was touching.

And

He helped his team get first place in their age division.

little mr j.

He won that run (that I ran with him and I didn't die).

He was the first place boy in the PreK division.

He was very pleased.

Especially to get a trophy.

And that his good friend got the 2nd place trophy.

me, the mrs

I kept everyone clean and fed and where they were supposed to be most of the time.

No trophy,

but I don't mind.

Quite a month for us.

Not a normal one,

that's for sure.

But it's sure been nice to celebrate

each other's little victories

and be reminded of what

wonderful people

we are surrounded

by daily.





Chore Update

Just to let you know,

this weekend

the windows were washed

and the flower beds weeded.

Thanks to help from my family.

Thanks, you guys!

SundaySchool

Picture from here. I didn't actually visit the website and don't know where he got the image-but it was too wonderful to pass up.

I actually went to Sunday School today. Yay.
I was looking forward to it because we would be discussing Ezekial 37-the one about dem dry bones.

The reason why I was excited: the day of the run that my son and I ran in and I didn't die, we were waiting for their class to get called out for their turn to warm up in the gym. It was before Halloween and the PreKers were studying the skeleton. They learned a song and they sang it for us while we were waiting - in their best little Okie drawls. It was wonderful.

The toe bone's connected to the foot bone.
The foot bone's connected to the leg bone.
The leg bone's connected to the hip bone.
The hip bone's connected to the back bone.
The back bone's connected to the neck bone.
Then neck bone's connected to the head bone.
Now he-ar the werd of the Loord.
Dem bones, dem bones, dem dryyii bones
Dem bones, dem bones, dem dryyii bones
Dem bones, dem bones, dem dryyii bones
Now he-ar the werd of the Loord.
Dem bones, dem bones, dem dryyii bones

Dem bones, dem bones, dem dryyii bones
Dem bones, dem bones, dem dryyii bones
Dem bones, dem bones, gonna jump around
Dem bones, dem bones, gonna jump around
Dem bones, dem bones, gonna jump around
Now he-ar the werd of the Loord.

They wouldn't have sung that song at my girls' elementary in Washington state.
And maybe even not in our Texas ones.
It was awesome.
Maybe someday when I have a new computer and awesome editing software, I can edit the video & you can hear this precious Okie version of the song that made me so excited to go to Sunday School today.

(FYI-I didn't type in the correct order of what bone is connected to what bone.  For that reason, I would like a very cool coffee table book on human anatomy for Christmas-even though I don't have a coffee table. I am just very intrigued by how everything is connected. R OK aka my mr.-there are some neat ones at the dreaded WM's big brother store who's name starts with an S. Please just be sure to go shopping with me so I can show you the correct one.)

Can you tell why I've never been called to teach Sunday School? I'd be one of those teachers who get way off on a crazy tangent and have a hard time getting back to the main point of the lesson.


Back to Ezekiel.

When I read this chapter, I could visualize the dry bones coming together and the sinews attaching themselves and the bodies reforming. It looked like a movie with very, very cool special effects in my head.
Our teacher today made a comment about what a strange vision this Ezekial had and that if people can accept that he had this vision, what makes it so hard for them to believe in the vision that Joseph Smith had.
That was interesting.

Actually-this awesome vision is about the house of Israel coming together, the scriptures coming together, and resurrection. Pretty awesome stuff.

I enjoyed Sunday School today.
I heard the werd of the Loord.

The Dog (part 8)

Why I am very unhappy with the dog, again.

Score since this spring:

Hoses 0

Dog 3.

Question for you, dear reader

I am getting ready to try to get on some "lists" of blogs.
(In honor of my goal - which I think might have been a little ambitious.)
I don't really know much about this arena, but do know that when I apply or whatever it's called in this blogging world, they ask for my best posts.

So, I know which ones I like the best-but I can't decide which to submit.
I would like to know which ones you've like the best.
Which ones do you think I should submit to catch these folks' eye?

Please don't be shy-let me know which ones you like or which ones you don't.
And my indecisive heart will be very grateful.
Thanks!

Tasks

There were 9 very specific things on my "to-do" list last week and I only completed part of one of them.
(And my goal of writing at least two meaningful blog posts wasn't even one of the 9-should have been-but wasn't.)

As my daughter would say, "meh."
(I'm not sure what that means, but it seems appropriate here.)

I did accomplish a lot.
So I wrote those things down after the fact and crossed them off, so it would look like I was getting a lot done.
Which I was.

So, this week I have 9 extra items to add to my two that are on the list right now for this week
and I wonder what I will get done that I don't know about yet.
And, would anyone like to come wash windows or weed the beds (flower,that is-the inside one's are not that bad) with me?

The Load He Chose - Sunday School

(This was the summer loaner, we have a later model at this time.)

When little mr. b came home and told me that all kids in his grade were required to take band, I said, "That's great."

When little mr. b told me he wanted to play the tuba, I said, "Really, are you sure?  You already take piano and have pretty good rythm, maybe you could do percussion." (Real meaning "Tubas are really loud and big-are you sure you want to lug that thing around?")

When little mr. b came home and told me that the band teacher had a private meeting with each child in his grade and chose the best instrument for the child, I reminded little mr. b of our previous conversation.

When little me. b came home the day of his meeting, he told me, "Mr. S thinks the tuba is a perfect fit for me."

And I rembered that some things should just be out of my control, because little mr. b wanted to play it and his teacher thought it would be a good fit and it's time for me to step aside and let things be.

But I did get excited when the orthodontist said that braces would be in the works next year. I don't know much about band, but I did think that braces would probably make blowing in a tuba painful.

Mr. S told little mr. b that it would be fine. He could keep playing. little mr. b had already checked.

I was worried about transporting that giant instrument everyday. Mr. S fixed that problem, too. We are blessed with a loaner. A loner that looks to be 100 years old and had a case bigger than my son. Whose  case take up one quarter of my little boys' room and latches cut my leg when left open and I walk by. But, he doesn't have to carry that load back and forth every single day.

And now little mr. b is practicing faithfully (when he remembers or is reminded).

We can recognize some tunes.

And he is happy.

He chose a heavy load

and I am grateful.

Sunday School

Today's Sunday School was very busy.
So busy, in fact, I didn't attend.

Instead, I sat in the foyer and talked with a woman who is replacing me in a position I've held for a year, helping serve the women in our ward (a ward is a geographical boundary that defines who belongs to which congregation - you can see what ward you are in -even if you don't belong to my church- by clicking here). 

We don't have paid clergy.
More about that here.

We participate and are giving "callings." That means we are given a specific job to do (if we accept-and we most always do), serving in different areas in the organization.

I was the Relief Society (women's organization) Secretary.
I have to say that calling has kept me on my toes. Tippy toes. Running.
And I've loved it.

Since I was the secretary, I took care of most of the clerical stuff & had the opportunity to watch the three women in the Presidency (President, 1st Counselor & 2nd Counselor) doing their work.  It was beautiful to watch the love these women had for the other women in our ward and the service they gave to them. It was also beautiful to get to hear a tiny bit about how people in our congregation blessed each other's lives and lives outside of our congregation.

So, now I'm out.
That crazy phone list didn't kill me.
I have passed it on.
Thank goodness.
And I know it is good hands.

That's the beauty of the way the Church is organized. We are a group of people who are willing to work for a higher purpose - to further His work, and do what we are asked. Of course we are human and it's not always perfect, but we do our best.

And I will do my best, with a lot of help, serving the lovely Young Women in our ward.
And I have a secretary.
Who has already asked if I have a current contact list.
I think I'm in love!

_________________________________________________________________________________

There were a lot of changes in our ward today. A lot. They rearranged the Primary (kids ages 3-12) & Young Women (girls ages 12-18) leadership. Because I was very focused on myself, I don't think I took the opportunity to say how very much I've appreciated all the people who have served and done so much for me & my family. We are better people because of you and I am grateful. I don't know if they will ever see this or not, but I want it out there--Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

Stir

Stir frequently has a different meaning than stir constantly.

A Link to a Story that I didn't write.

Picture from here but I think they got it somewhere else.

But that fit
And I needed:

A Case of Mistaken Identity

Harshing on myself

I am having a really hard time with getting on here and writing anything lately.
I love to write.
I love to do this.
I know there are a few of you who come to read. Not a lot, but a few.
I love that but it scares me incredibly.
I'd love to have more readers, but the thought of more people paying attention makes my ideas freeze up.

I'm insecure about the things I put "out there."
I've been to quite a few events in the last few weeks.
The thoughts in my brain have been: "Sit back and be quiet, enjoy the people around you, put on your manners, ask about them"-anything to have any attention focused my way diverted.

Maybe I'm going through another "shy attact.'
Maybe I really am a perfectionist (I claim I'm not) who is afraid of putting something "out there" that isn't just what I think it should be. (And with all my grammer killing and typos, am I really a perfectionist?)
Maybe by putting this "out there," I can jump start out of the silly place my brain has been in over the past few weeks.

Maybe

I need to get over myself.

This is my happy place.

It's ok to be me.

If other people don't like it, they won't visit and if they do visit, they won't come back.

Readers or not, I am happy here. It's making me a better person.

So, here's what I'm going to do:

Set a goal-two quality posts a week.

Set a goal-find one way a week to put myself "out there."

Set a goal-find specific time to get on the blog, because the tug of my work in other areas of my life is very easy to give in to and hide in and if I don't do this, my time won't happen.

Thanks for putting up with my early morning self therapy.

I appreciate your patience.