This darling parenting tip is priceless! I’d love to write more about it, but I’m signing off to go and spend some quality time with my children, as modeled by the father in this video:
Category Archives: Faith
The Sweetest Christmas Video Ever!
Click on the small video screen to watch it, or for a better visual experience, watch it directly on its web site here.
The Perfect Books for Summer Reading!
What a wonderful series of books I have discovered! After a gruelling semester of full-time grad school and teaching children in my home school, my mother referred me to the enchanting Mitford
I wish I could put into words the inspiring, even therapeutic, effect that this book has had on my soul in recent days, but it is impossible to describe. My advice: go out and read this book yourself! You won’t be disapointed!
It says on the cover that At Home in Mitford (The Mitford Years, Book 1)
What are you waiting for? Get down to your local library and get a copy! This book is not to be missed!
Flights of Angels Sing Thee to Thy Rest
We got the news last night of the passing of our beloved leader, Gordon B. Hinckley.
Today I want to post Hinckley’s testimony of the Savior, as he recorded it in verse. We are able to sing his words because Hinckley’s friend and missionary companion G. Homer Durham put them to this music.
My Redeemer Lives
*
I know that my redeemer lives
Triumphant Savior, Son of God
Victorious over pain and death
My King, my Leader, and my Lord.
*
He lives, my one sure Rock of faith
The one bright hope of men on earth
The beacon to a better way
The light beyond the veil of death.
*
Oh, give me Thy sweet Spirit still
The peace that comes alone from thee
The faith to walk the lonely road
That leads to thine eternity.
Can’t Remember the Commandments?
I could never remember the order of the ten commandments! When teaching them to my children, I always resorted to “one of the commandments says. . .” But now I know all ten in perfect order, thanks to this little song my children learned in church.
With this song, note how the tune changes halfway through it. This is because many biblical scholars note how the first four commandments are concerned with our relationship with God, whereas the remaining six are all about our relationship with others. The music changes just after the fourth commandment to remind us of this.
This division of the commandments into two categories is also hinted at in the New Testament scripture where Christ said,
Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.
This is the first and great commandment.
And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.
On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets. Matthew 22:37–40
In these verses, the “two great commandments” actually encompass the ten commandments of the Old Testament. And so, I find it especially interesting that these two were also added to the end of this song!
Soul’s Sincere Desire
James Montgomery (England, 1771-1854) was an orphan whose parents had been missionaries in the West Indies. He became famous for his lecturing and poetry, including this poem which hung in my grandmother’s home. I chose to write about it because we sang it in church today. To hear it put to music, click here.
Prayer is the soul’s sincere desire,
Uttered or unexpressed;
The motion of a hidden fire,
That trembles in the breast.
Prayer is the burden of a sigh,
The falling of a tear;
The upward glancing of an eye,
When none but God is near.
Prayer is the simplest form of speech
That infant lips can try;
Prayer the sublimest strains that reach
The Majesty on high.
Prayer is the contrite sinner’s voice,
Returning from his ways;
While angels in their songs rejoice,
And cry, “Behold he prays!”
Prayer is the Christian’s vital breath,
The Christian’s native air;
His watchword at the gates of death;
He enters heaven with prayer.
The saints in prayer appear as one,
In word, and deed, and mind;
While with the Father and the Son
Sweet fellowship they find.
Nor prayer is made on earth alone;
The Holy Spirit pleads:
And Jesus, on the eternal throne,
For sinners intercedes.
O Thou by whom we come to God,
The Life, the Truth, the Way!
The path of prayer thyself hast trod:
Lord! teach us how to pray.
–James Montgomery
This Christmas . . . .
This Christmas, mend a quarrel. Seek out a forgotten friend. Dismiss suspicion and replace it with trust. Write a letter. Give a soft answer. Encourage youth. Manifest your loyalty in word and deed. Keep a promise. Forgo a grudge. Forgive an enemy. Apologize. Try to understand. Examine your demands on others. Think first of someone else. Be kind. Be gentle. Laugh a little more. Express your gratitude. Welcome a stranger. Gladden the heart of a child. Take pleasure in the beauty and wonder of the earth. Speak your love and then speak it again. —Howard W. Hunter, Ensign Magazine, Dec 2002, 16
Christmas Priorities
This brought tears to my eyes–a powerful reminder to me of where my priorities need to be!
(Thanks, Clark for making this video! Art+music=powerful as words, if not more!)
Start Your Day the RIGHT Way
Today is Working Mom Wednesday! 
As such, I will be caring for three children of a working mom I know–they are coming over after school, so I have a lot to get done before they arrive! Christmas cookies to bake, gifts to wrap, rented movies to return, gotta make a meal and take it to my husband’s potluck at work, gotta meet with my graduate adviser about a cognate I have to design for my graduate program, then I need to organize my desk and look over the file of a client who hasn’t paid me and wants copies of her invoices so she knows which payment is past due . . . . .oh yeah, and I also have to teach several subjects in my home school—-no problem!
Knowing I had so much to do today, I went to bed early last night. I started to really prioritize my time after I read a book by a woman I idolize. In it, she encourages the following introspective questioning: “When I awaken each day, is the devil happy, or does he say ‘Oh drat–SHE’s awake now! My day is RUINED!’ “ I prefer for the latter to be the case, so I try to use my time wisely.
I imagine myself the subject of one of the The Screwtape Letters
“My Dear Wormwood, This woman is trying to teach her children to love, to serve God, and to follow Christ. Get out there and STOP HER! Convince her to ignore the scriptures and read her favorite magazine, instead! Encourage her to work on her own projects instead of cuddling with her children–we wouldn’t want them bonding with such a religious mother! And don’t let her babysit for the neighbors–that’s terrible! Try to get her involved in some time-consuming extracurricular pursuit (think shopping, crafting, scrapboking) that will set her too far behind in her daily tasks to have time for others. Convince her that she needs to watch television, too–that could cancel out scriptures, service, marriage and home obligations in one fell swoop! If she keeps going to church, tempt her to stay out late Saturday night so she’ll be too tired to awaken early on Sunday. And please–if she keeps praying–distract her with thoughts of money, thoughts of new furniture, concerns for her business and clients–anything to keep her mind off the Good One with whom she seems so determined to communicate. If none of this works, start small. Get her on the computer for only a minute (she does like blogging!) and find ways to keep her online until the danger of her loving, serving, and doing good has passed.”
Time now to get back to my children, my home, and my preparations for Working Mom Wednesday!
Mommy Time
Here is a bit of inspiration to all you mothers out there! Special thanks to the Siler family for making and sharing this video:
