Sunday Random Thoughts

I got to go to a farewell for Leslie Bishop and her husband today. I taught with Leslie (4th grade teacher) up until this year. She was the one who hosted my Utah wedding reception and acted as my second mother. Anyway, she retired and she and her husband are now off to the Atlanta North Georgia mission. Five other teachers from my school were there and it was fun to go to church as a faculty. (I know, only in Utah!!) Anyway, it was so fun to actually listen, uninterrupted to a whole sacrament meeting. I love my kids, but it was nice to really enjoy the spirit, uninterrupted, again. The talks were great and I thought I'd record a couple of the comments that struck me.

Leslie's talk was on service and it was excellent. I wish I would have taken notes because my memory is just not very reliable! One thing I do remember was a comment she made about covenants. She said that all we need to do to break a covenant is to do nothing. Wow, that hit me. It doesn't need to be a big, terrible sin, just doing nothing is all it takes. It was just a reminder to me to make a more proactive approach to my life and the gospel. It's easy to sit back and let it all happen, but the gospel requires DOing. On the talk radio station this morning a woman talked about how just saying prayers for others to help them through the hard times is a huge service. We may not be in a position to do more, but we can let them know we are thinking about them and praying for them. Sometimes, that's all people need -- people on their side, cheering them on.

Clyn (Leslie's husband) got up and pointed out his tie. It was the tie their oldest son had received for his mission and worn. He returned and then passed the tie down to their next son. He, too, wore it on his mission. The third son was called to Brazil and ended up wearing the tie for his farewell. (They could see that the tie wouldn't survive many more missions!). Anyway, the tradition continued and each son thereafter wore the tie for his farewell. After the last son they put the tie in a shadow box on the wall for display. Well, today they removed the tie from the display and Clyn wore it for his farewell. He was misty-eyed as he related the story --as were we all! He said the tie would go back to the wall and be saved for future grandsons. I thought this was a neat tradition.

Well, I returned to grumpy children at home and prepared the rest of the family for our meetings. Our sacrament meeting was great and I have learned to be a pretty good distracted listener. One woman who spoke today talked about her upbringing in a devoutly Catholic home. She went every Sunday, attended the mid-week religion classes and was a member of the choir, etc. She related how although she had been so involved in the Catholic church, she had never gotten to know her Heavenly Father until she was introduced and later baptized into the LDS church. She talked about how the Spirit is the difference. We have the ability to learn through the Spirit. I remember as a missionary that fact being emphasized over and over. We were not the teachers, the Spirit was and we had to do all we could to make sure we invited Him into our lessons. Anyway, it was a good reminder of what we take for granted so often. It reminded me that in Primary I need to do the very same thing-use the Spirit to teach the lessons. It's easy to rely on yourself and forget to do that!

Well, on a less spiritual note, I have to share my Primary stories for the week. Apparently 6 and 7 year olds don't phase me anymore because I never share their funny stories. But these 9/10 year olds are fascinating me! :-) Remember Mason Myatt? Well, today we were looking at a map of Lehi's family's journey to America. He asked about it and then said, "But Columbus hadn't even discovered America yet, had he?" I have to admit I have never even thought about that before and I had to think quick to explain it to him. I am definitely tested on my gospel knowledge with these guys. They asked me if the Incas were the Nephites and Lamanites. Gee whiz, I'm in my VERY LOW 30s and I NEVER think of these types of questions. We had a Primary training meeting tonight and we filled in a survey. On the question of whether or not we feel qualified to teach our Primary class I had to give myself a low score. Give me 4 year olds and my gospel knowledge cup runneth over. But give me this class and I am scrambling to keep one step ahead of their amazing questions!

Well, to close I'll be grateful for fun movies that remind my children of the scriptures. We rented "Evan Almighty" this weekend and Scottie and Mason love it! They pulled out their Noah's Ark play set (that they never play with) and had a ball. Scottie has been walking around the house for two days with my bathrobe on being Noah. He even has a huge walking stick as his staff. He tied a jump rope from his dresser to the top of the bunk bed to slide the animals up (on hangers) to get them in the "ark" before the flood came. I'm glad there is wholesome media out there that my kids can relive. I have to admit that I have a new appreciation for Noah after they put it into a modern-day perspective. I felt for him and his wife!!

Well, it's a good thing tomorrows a holiday. I'm robbing my beauty sleep again! Until I have time to acquire more random thoughts...boa noite!