I enjoyed "The Help"...the perspective of the south during the time of the Jim Crow laws. I loved the way they portrayed the humanity of the African American women and the incredibly ridiculous mindset of the whites locked in prejudice.
I also just watched "North and South" last night with Quinn's sisters...a wonderful story from BBC that is soooo similar to "Pride and Prejudice", the A&E/BBC version, for any who loved that one. (In fact, Quinn stopped watching it because he thought it was too much the same and it was like he watched it before :).) There are definitely similar themes--probably because it is based in England at a similar time--but I thought it was so very clean and well worth it. It also helps describe a little of why and the how of unions...
Any others people like?
Thursday, March 29, 2012
Friday, March 16, 2012
What I see in the Mirror
I seldom look at myself in the mirror.
Sure, first thing in the morning, I'll take a quick look to set the hair briefly, but really, other than that, I spend little to no time looking at myself.
When I do, I go from place to place, looking for blemishes, flaws, and basically try to make sure it is as good as it is going to get for the moment :).
This morning, in my prayer, I was struck by a thought: What if I tried to see in myself what Heavenly Father sees in me every time I looked at myself?
I took a moment and did just that, and felt a very different feeling from my usual analytical, and sometimes harsh experience. I think I have come to a point where I just accept that what is in the mirror is not where I want to be in regards to physical beauty, so it is a "good enough" attitude.
This morning, I discovered that that is not what my Heavenly Father sees when He looks at me.
How powerful would that be if all of us tried to literally look at ourselves through Heaven's eyes...not just in potential, but in where we are at right now!
(I'll admit, it has made me want to do it again :)...soon I'll be as bad as Quinn :)...)
I just felt love, pure love. I couldn't focus on the individual blemishes I revisit in my usual perusal of my face. It was just me. And I felt love.
Sure, first thing in the morning, I'll take a quick look to set the hair briefly, but really, other than that, I spend little to no time looking at myself.
When I do, I go from place to place, looking for blemishes, flaws, and basically try to make sure it is as good as it is going to get for the moment :).
This morning, in my prayer, I was struck by a thought: What if I tried to see in myself what Heavenly Father sees in me every time I looked at myself?
I took a moment and did just that, and felt a very different feeling from my usual analytical, and sometimes harsh experience. I think I have come to a point where I just accept that what is in the mirror is not where I want to be in regards to physical beauty, so it is a "good enough" attitude.
This morning, I discovered that that is not what my Heavenly Father sees when He looks at me.
How powerful would that be if all of us tried to literally look at ourselves through Heaven's eyes...not just in potential, but in where we are at right now!
(I'll admit, it has made me want to do it again :)...soon I'll be as bad as Quinn :)...)
I just felt love, pure love. I couldn't focus on the individual blemishes I revisit in my usual perusal of my face. It was just me. And I felt love.
Thursday, March 15, 2012
ChuggerDude-Birthday-Google
When I was creating an account on Khan Academy so Chugger Dude could keep track of his own math without using his siblings' accounts, I typed in a bogus birthday.
"Why did you do that, mom? Because you don't want them to come to my birthday?"
Funny :).
"Why did you do that, mom? Because you don't want them to come to my birthday?"
Funny :).
Sunday, March 11, 2012
Cool video!!!
http://mormonchannel.org/mormonmessages?lang=eng
So worth the 2 minutes and 19 seconds :)...
So worth the 2 minutes and 19 seconds :)...
Thursday, March 8, 2012
good news about homeschooling in Hungary!
Woohooo!! It's legal!!
http://www.hslda.org/hs/international/Hungary/default.asp
http://www.hslda.org/hs/international/Hungary/default.asp
Tuesday, March 6, 2012
Blessings-running-manna
Blessings can be found anywhere, like manna on the ground, if you look for them :)..even in transition or doing something I don't do often enough--exercising...
Blessings of going running (or lumbering...I like to call it "running") this morning:
1)I discovered I have my own personal, lit running track not 10 yards from my house :)- I mentioned before I live on a circle now, and all the houses (except ours) either have their front lights on all night or an even higher powered motion-detector light, not to mention the street lamp on the corner of the circle.
2) Because I don't know how far around it is (and it stresses my orderly brain out not to know that), I will have the chance to have a measuring geometric lesson with my kids later this afternoon so I can at least know approximately how far around it is.
3) I got to ponder on whether or not I am in the prime of my life:
--records for (anything having to do with) climbing Mount Everest have been set by people in their late forties, early fifties
--iron man record: for 2011, set by a man two years older than I am
I must be!
4) It gave me time to think of my blessings: amazing children and husband, time to spend with my family here, the fact that our cars are running, chances to finally be a visiting teacher here and help these woman know that God loves them...
The whole experience helped me realize, as I posted from a quote earlier, the true job of every mother (and person!!) is to find joy and share it with their family and those around them.
It made me think of the whole "pay it forward"/karma concept (couldn't watch the movie).
And it made me realize that our blessings are truly all around us, like manna from heaven if we take the time to look for it.
(Read "The Hiding Place" for incredible examples of this...)
Blessings of going running (or lumbering...I like to call it "running") this morning:
1)I discovered I have my own personal, lit running track not 10 yards from my house :)- I mentioned before I live on a circle now, and all the houses (except ours) either have their front lights on all night or an even higher powered motion-detector light, not to mention the street lamp on the corner of the circle.
2) Because I don't know how far around it is (and it stresses my orderly brain out not to know that), I will have the chance to have a measuring geometric lesson with my kids later this afternoon so I can at least know approximately how far around it is.
3) I got to ponder on whether or not I am in the prime of my life:
--records for (anything having to do with) climbing Mount Everest have been set by people in their late forties, early fifties
--iron man record: for 2011, set by a man two years older than I am
I must be!
4) It gave me time to think of my blessings: amazing children and husband, time to spend with my family here, the fact that our cars are running, chances to finally be a visiting teacher here and help these woman know that God loves them...
The whole experience helped me realize, as I posted from a quote earlier, the true job of every mother (and person!!) is to find joy and share it with their family and those around them.
It made me think of the whole "pay it forward"/karma concept (couldn't watch the movie).
And it made me realize that our blessings are truly all around us, like manna from heaven if we take the time to look for it.
(Read "The Hiding Place" for incredible examples of this...)
Thursday, March 1, 2012
Power of quotes
The other day, as I was reading some quotes sent from a youth I love, it made me reflect back to my own youth, where quotes were one of my favorite things, and anything I could get that was a great quote was like a gem in my life.
So I asked the question, "Why is it that most youth are so enamored with quotes?"
And then I thought: Maybe it is because, when a child becomes a youth, I have heard that they are, in a sense, going through a "birth process". When they are first born as an infant, they are emerging from their mother's womb into the world around them. They become separate from their mother in a physical sense...but not so much in a emotional and mental sense. You can see the gradual distancing from the "ties of mother" as they grow and discover that they, too, have an impact on the world around them. (The terrible twos :)? "I can say 'no', and be distinct from my mom! I have my own mind!")
When they are youth, they are emerging from their family environment and childhood experience and see themselves, really for the first time, as independent beings, with a life and mission distinct and unique from that of their parents. Some youth manifest this in more extreme ways, but to all it is a realization that there is a whole big world out there, and they need to find their place in it.
Bombarded with information as we all are, imagine how overwhelming it must be to these young people! Truths, impressions, fallacies, messages of all types are surrounding them, which can be frustrating as they seek to discern the truths for themselves.
So, going back to the quotes, I realized that quotes seek to be bite-sized snippets of truth: big truths captured in quick, small, generally easily understood phrases. How wonderful to have little phrases, simply said, that make sense and resonate with the light of Christ they have within to discern truth! No wonder they enjoy them :).
It's kind of like babies, repeating phrases over and over that they understand to learn how to communicate: these youth find phrases (hopefully that are true :)...) and repeat them over and over to themselves as they learn to communicate with the hugeness of the world around them and try to find their place in it...
Just a thought...what do you think?
So I asked the question, "Why is it that most youth are so enamored with quotes?"
And then I thought: Maybe it is because, when a child becomes a youth, I have heard that they are, in a sense, going through a "birth process". When they are first born as an infant, they are emerging from their mother's womb into the world around them. They become separate from their mother in a physical sense...but not so much in a emotional and mental sense. You can see the gradual distancing from the "ties of mother" as they grow and discover that they, too, have an impact on the world around them. (The terrible twos :)? "I can say 'no', and be distinct from my mom! I have my own mind!")
When they are youth, they are emerging from their family environment and childhood experience and see themselves, really for the first time, as independent beings, with a life and mission distinct and unique from that of their parents. Some youth manifest this in more extreme ways, but to all it is a realization that there is a whole big world out there, and they need to find their place in it.
Bombarded with information as we all are, imagine how overwhelming it must be to these young people! Truths, impressions, fallacies, messages of all types are surrounding them, which can be frustrating as they seek to discern the truths for themselves.
So, going back to the quotes, I realized that quotes seek to be bite-sized snippets of truth: big truths captured in quick, small, generally easily understood phrases. How wonderful to have little phrases, simply said, that make sense and resonate with the light of Christ they have within to discern truth! No wonder they enjoy them :).
It's kind of like babies, repeating phrases over and over that they understand to learn how to communicate: these youth find phrases (hopefully that are true :)...) and repeat them over and over to themselves as they learn to communicate with the hugeness of the world around them and try to find their place in it...
Just a thought...what do you think?
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