Great way to perk up your teaching!

Telling stories...

Little-known fact: I was voted best actress in high school. Well-Known Fact...er...uh, Opinion: I love to talk. One of the favorite things I love about teaching is that I have a captive audience for my stories. OK...I know that sounds like a selfish reason to teach...and that is not why I went into teaching...but it definitely is a side benefit for someone who likes to talk and act things out. You see, whenever I teach something, I model making a connection...and so I always have a story to tell. All I have to do is say, "I have a story..." and my whole class instantly sits up with grins on their faces and begs for me to tell it. It is incredible. They love me. I could be a stand up comic. I can get them laughing and crying in a single story. It's a great job. And then...they all want to tell their own stories. They all have them. I love to see their excitement when they 'get' something...and  those connections come from their own life...their own stories. And in the telling of those stories, they often 'get' it. It is their light bulb moment. And what fun it is just to talk, write, and share those connections. Love my job!

April birthday wishes

to Linda and Susan!

Fortunately...

Friday and Saturday was the state Destination Imagination Tournament in Corpus Christi, TX. and I was asked to go. Yay ...and my husband came with me.

Unfortunately, we were on the other side of Houston when I realized I left my daily  medicine at home…but we kept on driving, thinking we could call a local Kroger and transfer the pills.

Unfortunately, there is no Kroger store within 145 miles of Corpus Christi…so I was out of luck.

Fortunately, we arrived in time to go to the beach…with perfect water temperature and  weather.

Unfortunately, I didn’t bring a swimsuit.

Fortunately, I just took off, my sandals, rolled up my jeans and waded in.

Unfortunately, the waves splashed up to my jean rolls, which acted like a wick, bringing water up to my rear end.

Fortunately, I had a change of clothing so I could go to the Friday dinner and Challenge set up.

Unfortunately, my name was not on my challenge’s list. A clerical mistake had marked me as changing challenges…but since it was a mistake, I was never added to anyone else’s challenge.

Fortunately, Kathy Milkie took me to the ‘powers that be’, who told my original Challenge Master to find me something to do, so I had to wait till after registration to see who didn’t show up to get a job.

Unfortunately, since I wasn’t on a list anymore, they didn’t have a T-shirt for me and they couldn’t find an extra one in my requested size.

Fortunately, they found one the next size down and told me to keep it till after dinner, when people would start trading sizes. Dinner was great, with 6 different kinds of salads, two barbecue meats with accoutrements, and peach cobbler.

Unfortunately, it was too much food to eat, and just as I was going to throw my plate away, an announcement was made to keep our plates because prizes were being given out from something on the bottom of the plates.

Unfortunately, upon examining the bottom of my plate, the plate flipped over and food splattered on me, the table, and the too-small shirt I had planned on trading in. I cleaned up the mess and almost got all the stains off the front of the shirt., but now I couldn’t trade it in. Who would want a shirt with food stains?

Fortunately, the shirt ended up being sized big and fit anyway. And…fortunately the challenge master said a lady wasn’t coming, so I would take her place checking in the Senior High, University level Improvisation teams.

Unfortunately, it was doing the one thing I had requested online to NOT do.

We went to our site to set up and it was freezing…at least 65 degrees inside.

Fortunately,…(and unfortunately), my job was sitting outside the entire day  (6 a.m. to 5 p.m.) in the heat to check in teams because the performance site had no halls surrounding it.

Fortunately, my lack of medicine made my body feel cold and the heat actually felt good to me (when all else around me were complaining and sweating). Also the few mosquitoes didn’t even come near me in the morning before it got too hot for them.

Unfortunately, I didn’t get to watch the performances (except the last one).

Fortunately, I did get to watch all the dramatic preparation and exercises. A group of standup comics all making me laugh. They are very talented, very funny, very polite, very creative, very bright, and I watched them each form groups and participate in student led prayers before they performed. It seemed that many of the schools were also having Prom, and several teams were dual registered in DI Extreme…so there was a lot of excitement.

After the fact, I wished I had judged DI extreme. (They had one day to take a topic and designated prop materials to make a flash mob song and dance with original lyrics about the topic/situation and integrate another object…using 200 plus people. Those kids were using anyone they could find, brothers, sisters, parents, competitors who were free, little children, anyone who would help…and they rehearsed all over, used their smart phones to send the lyrics, music, and dance moves.) I would have loved it. They were all talking about it.

Fortunately, because I was not judging, I was able to leave earlier than the judges, giving me extra time to eat at Landry’s with my husband before we drove home.

As it was, with all the unfortunate things that happened, I smiled/laughed most of the day. It was pure joy to be in such a beautiful city with the ocean and actual breezes. Pure joy to see the ‘cream of the crop' youth. ….and although my glass wasn't full of my choice of experiences, the rest of my glass was full of a delightful surprise.

Next year state DI is going to be in Katy, TX.

Musings as of late...

1. Conversing with Deity.

My husband and I listen to conference talks or read articles from the Ensign for Family Home Evening. On several occasions, I could tell who the apostle was who was speaking because of their unique way they write. I could always tell Neil Maxwell. The last time my husband read a Bednar article, I know my husband was speaking, but I heard Bednar's voice even before my husband told me the author. This has happened to me frequently: I have heard the apostle's voices so frequently, that when their words are read, I recognize and even hear their voice saying the words.

I have pondered as to translating this into hearing the voice of the Lord. I do not recollect an audible voice, but since the voice is often the voice of the spirit feeling I have become accustomed to that voice. I hear the words He speaks, in the language and manner he speaks when I read the scriptures. Am I reading the scriptures frequently enough to recognize the manner in which He speaks? Am I reading the scriptures in such a way that I take time to ponder and feel the voice of the Lord when He speaks? Am I living in such a way that my spirit will always be able to recognize that voice when the still, small thought or feeling ratifies His words?

And another thought...conversely, to hear one pray and say "thank you" as opposed to "thank thee" when speaking to Deity, it is very jarring to someone, who is used to communing in the language of the Lord as opposed to using commonplace colloquialisms. I find, that audibly speaking in the language of Lord as one does in prayer is very easy if one is familiar with the language in the scriptures.

2. Soul food:

I've thought a lot about the word nurture. Nurture to a mother often conjures images of cuddling, rocking, feeding. Indeed, the root word is tied to that of nutrients. I often wonder how I nurture or feed my spirit. Do I feed it the way I do my physical body? Do I feast or is it famine? Do I choose wisely what I feed my spirit or am I feeding it junk food? Am I hungering and thirsting after righteousness and/or things that edify and uplift, or am I hungering after things that do not satisfy the soul and in fact may be causing it to shrivel and feel abandoned? If the body continually regenerates cell by cell, what kind of cells are regenerating in a spirit that used to be Godly? What am I now? Am I spiritually worthy to withstand the presence of my spirit parents? Would CPS be called if the way I am feeding my body is akin to the way I feed my soul?

I rarely just sit to watch TV without papers to grade or other work, but in my attempt to dovetail, I find myself hungering after reality TV, crime shows, and other entertainment that causes momentary exhilaration, but exploit the work of Satan. In the end, I feel empty and frustrated that I wasted my time watching something that was not only worthless, but even destructive to my soul. Perhaps it is like drugs would be, I need to feel the temporary excitement and titillation of trying to predict the outcome, yet in the end my spirit is left damaged. I need to pin this on the TV and computer "If there is anything virtuous, lovely, or of good report or praiseworthy...seek after these things." Perhaps this is truly what endure to the end means. Will I be as pure in the end (spirit cell to spirit cell regeneration) as I was coming into this world?

3. The fine line between good intentions of good people and becoming evil when parenting teenagers. It amazes me that the Eternal question that was raised in the premortal life of freedom vs. coercion still exists today...among the those who have the most righteous of intentions. I watched a show (48 Hours) on Honor Killing. (I hear you all laughing, per my #2 musing above). I saw a family with religious convictions that are forced upon every person in the culture, bring their family to the United States and see their teenage daughter become Americanized. Was she doing anything evil? No. She was merely associating with both girls and boys. She was wearing makeup. She still espoused her religion. She still attempted to wear the Muslim garb on occasion, but she chose to also wear Western style clothing...that was very modest I might add. But the men in that family were embarrassed that she was not walking in accordance with their customs. It was a custom where the women were supposed to do what the men say or they will be punished...and she was...many times over. Long story short, to save the 'honor' of the men in that family, the father intentionally, killed her.

Yes, this was horrible, but I thought longer on this. You see, that family thought they were being righteous as to their culture and religion and that their daughter, in her disobedience, was evil. (I could go another way on this musing and talk about all the evil lies that have crept into religions that have lost the authority and revelation, and became subject to the Devil, but that is not why I am writing this.) I am writing this because I thought of me. I thought of many would be 'righteous' parents, who are saddened by the paths their teens choose at some time. Rather than loving them unconditionally as the Savior teaches, they either take away their teenager's free agency in forceful coercion (for their best good) or they put conditions on the love they give...some even kick them out and disown them. I am not judging anyone who has done the above because each has their own, personal revelation in parenting and there might be times where the above must happen for the good of the rest of the family. I also know how hard it is as a parent, when all you work and hope for in your child-raising appears to have not worked. I feel the 'weeping' of the Savior as he saw his 'vineyard' continually bring forth evil fruit...but there is a point and a line when a parent has to let the person have their free agency and keep unconditionally nurturing, feeding, loving, fertilizing--as it were, in hopes that through emulating the love of Christ, as opposed to the force of Satan, the vine will eventually bring forth good fruit. It is sad, that some of the most evil parenting is from those who desire righteousness and even think they are parenting in a righteous manner, but they do not step back and see that it emulates Satan's premortal plan, as opposed to Heavenly Father's...and the odd thing is that even though some do it to 'save face' some blindly, ignorantly do it because they honestly love that child and want them to be happy. Somewhere that 'love' got skewed.

4. What I saw in the minute Easter Egg hunt of my grandchildren.

You saw a child rapidly spying and snatching up the eggs. I heard a grandson say, "Gwate job, Hannah" instead of being selfish or jealous. I also saw Hannah get one for herself, then take the next egg and put it in her cousin's basket. I saw her share without being told...and then I heard Will say, "Thank you."

You saw a child with a near empty bucket tentatively walking around like she didn't know what to do... and as you pointed at the egg and next (after Will was asked to help her find eggs) she slowly approached it like she didn't know what to do you saw Will snatch it up. But I saw that he put it straight in his sister's bucket and was helping her get more eggs like you had asked him to do. 

Thank you for sharing the video, because what I really saw was that my grandchildren have been taught kindness, unselfishness, and how to share...and I am so proud to see such good parenting!

5. A parenting "AHA" moment from today.

Today in our Sunday School class, as we were discussing the definitions, differences, and need for both 'nurturing' and 'admonition' in parenting, a lady quoted the scripture, "...spare the rod, spoil the child". She pointed out the that we, as Latter-day Saints, know that the 'rod' is the word of God (as opposed to a tool used to inflict pain)...so how important it is to teach the word of God to our children. I think I've heard it before in a conference, but I had certainly forgotten it. It is quite a paradigm shift, don't you think?