This moment.

My 2 year old decided to paint the the big picture window with a strawberry.

Now I am going to eat Chinese food for lunch, while I try to watch squirrels in the backyard through my hazy window.

Church today

I am sure church today was very uplifting. I wouldn't really know since I missed most of it.

Caleb stuffed a dried blueberry up his nostril and I spent most of the meeting in the hall with some friends trying to remove it before it re hydrated and swelled larger.

I am sure it was a great meeting.

Time.

Here in this life we all get the same amount of time in the day, in the week, month and years. Everyone gets 24 hours each day, 60 minutes per hour. In this time we have things we must do.
We have things we want to do. Plus a few things that just seem to happen whether we want them to or not.
At the end of the day some of the most common sources of relaxation are watching TV and goofing off online. Both can be quite enjoyable. There are however other hobbies of pleasures that seem to have a bad rep. Obviously these are not exact quotes but you have most likely heard the same sentiments or felt them before.

• "Video games are such a waste of time."
• "What a bunch of geeks, playing role playing games."
• "Comic books are for nerds."
• "Wow, you have way too much time on your hands if you are spending it painting miniatures."

Here are some thoughts going through my head on the subject. ( I know you have been begging for me to weigh in on this for a while now... )

• When you play video games, you are actively participating.
• When a group of role players get together they are interacting with other human beings.
• Some comic books have really great stories and morals in them.
• Miniatures give you a real physical product you can handle when you are done.

Now there are people who take any of these things to extremes. We all know someone who does something to the point where they have lost balance.

I have a few questions about these past times.

• Why is TV watching considered a perfectly acceptable use of time? Please consider

1. There is no generally no human interaction
2. The morals are frequently questionable
3. There is no way to participate
4. You have absolutely nothing to show for the time you spend there

So... painting a miniature is a complete waste of time- but watching House is not? At least later on in life I could actually give it to someone. It is hard to pass on what I just sat back and absorbed.

Gratitude

In case you have never heard the story of the ten lepers from the bible let me give you a cliff notes version. Ahem, there were ten lepers who came to Jesus and asked him to heal them. He said go show yourselves to the priests. As they were following his instructions they were healed. One of the 10 turned back immediately and thanked Jesus. Jesus then asks about what happened to the other 9.

Then the Sunday school class talks about how terrible it is that 9 of them never even turned around to say thank you. What terrible people they must have been not even being thankful. We all need to say thank you is the lesson that we get, right?

As I have listened to, read and thought about this story the lesson that I get is not quite the same.

Let's put our selves in the lepers place. You are suffering from a terrible disease in which your body very literally is falling apart. Perhaps you are nose-less at this point with gaping wounds in your flesh, a complete outcast from society. You hear of a man who can perform miracles. You believe he really can. You come to him with such faith. He has compassion on you and gives you the directions to heal yourself.

Now, when Jesus gives you instructions what do you do? I would like to believe I would follow them. That is exactly what these 10 do. They head on down the road to complete the task they have been assigned.

One looks at himself and realises what is going on and IMMEDIATELY turns around. This is good. We should admire him.

I doubt however that the other 9 are running down the street laughing about what a sucker Jesus is for healing them. Though I can hardly prove it,I sincerely believe that at least several more, if not all would most likely return to him after they had completed their task. After all, it was Christ who sent them on this mission. They are doing exactly what they have been asked to do.

The lesson that I get from this story is that we need to not only feel gratitude we need to express it IMMEDIATELY. Who knows if you will have a chance later.


Please don't condemn the leper who was following directions.

Random Things

Last night when getting ready for bed Naomi put a piece of cloth around her waist and announced "This is what I wear when I fight in Portuguese."

Caleb wants you to understand that he is correct. If he thinks you are not listening or are paying less attention to him than he wants he says " I talking to you!" You'd better listen up.


I might possibly burn that Lego Star Wars Dictionary.

I was informed "People in Texas don't have cars. They all ride horses."

Today

Today:

• I ready my scriptures and wrote in my journal
• Helped my kids read scriptures personally
• We practiced the Articles of Faith
• We practiced writing and identifying letters
• Practiced addition
• Tried to keep the house clean
• Did laundry
• Had a very unsuccessful nap
• Made salt map clay
• Bathed my filthy children
• Did some more cleaning up
• Made dinner

For all these efforts we ended with:

• Playing in the ash in the fireplace while mom cooked dinner
• A filthy house even after all the cleaning we had done
• Filthy children who were put to bed with one slice of bread for dinner
• A lot of crying

Some days I am a very in attentive mother. I admit it. I should play with them more, I should read to them more, I should worry about the house less than I do. Today I put forth great effort to have fun with them, to teach them, to enjoy them. I don't see how this is a very fair trade.

Reading, ever reading.

Ok this is an interactive post. Within the last few years I suddenly realised I actually LIKE reading. Took my 25 year to figure it out- but I do in fact ENJOY it. My problem is I am really picky. I feel as though my time is short and I need to learn SO much. So I was hoping you could help me out by suggesting books that have influenced the way you look at things. I want books that uplift. Books that inform. Books that will help me be a better person. Or just books with really great dialogue ( I don't care how poor the story line is, you give me witty conversations I will follow where ever you lead.)

I am currently reading "The 5000 Year Leap." It is about the miracle that took place in putting together America's government, the 28 principles that the constitution was based on and how America has helped the world leap forward in many ways. So far I have learned A LOT. ( I bought it if you want to borrow it. )

I am asking you to take the time to suggest books you think I should have in my resume. Be they classics or instruction manuals please list them if you think I would benefit from reading them.