Quote of the Day- April 1st

“It is in the home that we form our attitudes, our deeply held beliefs. It is in the home that hope is fostered or destroyed. Our homes are to be more than sanctuaries; they should also be places where God’s Spirit can dwell, where the storm stops at the door, where love reigns and peace dwells.” – Thomas S. Monson

Quote of the Day- March 31st

“If you want your children to be intelligent, read them fairy tales. If you want them to be more intelligent, read them more fairy tales.” - Albert Einstein

I Testify of Christ: An Easter Devotional

We have had a family tradition for about two decades of an evening Easter Devotional. Two years ago we created an LDS Thanksgiving Devotional and an LDS 24 Days of Christmas Devotional- people loved them. So, people have asked if I was going to make available my Easter devotional. Yes! This is a Christ-centered devotional.

"I Testify of Christ: An Easter Devotional" is designed for Latter-day Saints and is a Christ Centered Anthology of  Scripture, Quotes, Hymns, Testimonies of Church Leaders, and family traditions. 

Quote of the Day- March 30th

"Tomorrow's joy or tomorrow's despair has its roots in decisions we make today. Perhaps some people think to themselves: 'I know I need to change some things in my life. Maybe later, but not now.' Those who stand at the threshold of life always waiting for the right time to change are like the man who stands at the bank of a river waiting for the water to pass so he can cross on dry land. Today is the day of decision." - Joseph B. Wirthlin

Quote of the Day- March 29th

“Get over the idea that only children should spend their time in study. Be a student so long as you still have something to learn, and this will mean all your life.” -  Henry L. Doherty

Quote of the Day- March 28th

"As parenting declines, the need for policing increases. There will always be a shortage of police if there is a shortage of effective parents! Likewise, there will not be enough prisons if there are not enough good homes." - Neal A. Maxwell

Quote of the Day- March 27th

“We can easily forgive a child who is afraid of the dark; the real tragedy of life is when men are afraid of the light.”  - Plato

Quote of the Day- March 26th

"Joseph Smith himself was a great friend to many. He said, 'Friendship is one of the grand fundamental principles of "Mormonism"; [it is designed] to revolutionize and civilize the world, and cause wars and contentions to cease and men to become friends and brothers.'" - Kathleen H. Hughes

Quote of the Day- March 25th

“Hide not your talents. They for use were made. What's a sundial in the shade?” -  Benjamin Franklin

Quote of the Day- March 24th

“We encourage you wherever you may live in the world to prepare for adversity by looking to the condition of your finances. We urge you to be modest in your expenditures; discipline yourselves in your purchases to avoid debt. . . . If you have paid your debts and have a financial reserve, even though it be small, you and your family will feel more secure and enjoy greater peace in your hearts (emphasis added).” - The First Presidency of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints

Quote of the Day- March 23rd

"Until you have a son of your own... you will never know the joy, the love beyond feeling that resonates in the heart of a father as he looks upon his son. You will never know the sense of honor that makes a man want to be more than he is and to pass something good and hopeful into the hands of his son. And you will never know the heartbreak of the fathers who are haunted by the personal demons that keep them from being the men they want their sons to be." - Kent Nerburn

Quote of the Day- March 22nd

"When people are able but unwilling to take care of themselves we are responsible to employ the dictum of the Lord that the idler shall not eat the bread of the laborer." - Boyd K Packer

Quote of the Day- March 21st

“People think dreams aren't real just because they aren't made of matter, of particles. Dreams are real. But they are made of viewpoints, of images, of memories and puns and lost hopes.”  - Neil Gaiman

Quote of the Day- March 20th

"No matter what circumstances you sisters experience, your influence can be marvelously far-reaching. I believe some of you have a tendency to underestimate your profound capacity for blessing the lives of others. More often than not, it is not on the stage with some public pronouncement but in your example of righteousness and the countless gentle acts of love and kindness done so willingly, so often on a one-to-one basis." - James E. Faust

Quote of the Day March 19th

"Almost no one is foolish enough to imagine that he automatically deserves great success in any field of activity; yet almost everyone believes that he automatically deserves success in marriage." - Sydney J. Harris

Quote of the Day - March 18th

"There is no knowledge, no learning that can compensate the individual for the loss of his belief in heaven and in the saving principles of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. An education that leads a man from these central truths cannot compensate him for the great loss of spiritual things." - Doctrines of Salvation, 1:321-322.

Quote of the Day- March 17th

"As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them." - John F. Kennedy

Quote of the Day- March 16th

"I believe it is by divine design that the role of motherhood emphasizes the nurturing and teaching of the next generation." - L. Tom Perry

Quote of the Day- March 15th

"If you can't feed a hundred people, then feed just one." - Mother Teresa

Quote of the Day- March 14th

"The Word of Wisdom does not promise you perfect health, but it teaches how to keep the body you were born with in the best condition and your mind alert to delicate spiritual promptings." - Boyd K. Packer

Quote of the Day- March 13th

“If a child is to keep his inborn sense of wonder, he needs the companionship of at least one adult who can share it, rediscovering with him the joy, excitement and mystery of the world we live in.” - Rachel Carson

Quote of the Day- March 12th

"Patience may well be thought of as a gateway virtue, contributing to the growth and strength of its fellow virtues of forgiveness, tolerance, and faith."-Elder Robert C. Oaks

Quote of the Day- March 11th

“Courage doesn't always roar. Sometimes courage is the quiet voice at the end of the day saying, "I will try again tomorrow.”- Mary Anne Radmacher

Babylon or Zion?

One of my favorite parts of the Book of Mormon is the beginning of the Book of Mosiah where King Benjamin gives his final address to his people. His sermon was a powerful testimony of a true disciple of Jesus Christ. Yet, it is a simple scripture found before the sermon actually began in chapter two that has been on my mind lately.

Quote of the Day- March 10th

"[God] loves us because He is filled with an infinite measure of holy, pure, and indescribable love. We are important to God not because of our résumé but because we are His children. He loves every one of us, even those who are flawed, rejected, awkward, sorrowful, or broken. God's love is so great that He loves even the proud, the selfish, the arrogant, and the wicked. What this means is that, regardless of our current state, there is hope for us. No matter our distress, no matter our sorrow, no matter our mistakes, our infinitely compassionate Heavenly Father desires that we draw near to Him so that He can draw near to us."- President Dieter F. Uchtdorf

Quote of the Day- March 9th

“That discipline which corrects the eagerness of worldly passions, which fortifies the heart with virtuous principles, which enlightens the mind with useful knowledge, and furnishes to it matter of enjoyment from within itself, is of more consequence to real felicity than all the provisions which we can make of the goods of fortune.” – Robert Bridges

Nesting Day Anyone?

Nesting Day anyone? Some people are planning trips for spring break, others are nesting, otherwise known as spring cleaning!  Rather than taking a trip to escape, I want to spend time making a place I want to be.  I choose to clean the nest, rather than adding more feathers to it.

Quote of the Day- March 8th

"We must not lose hope. Hope is an anchor to the souls of men. Satan would have us cast away that anchor. In this way he can bring discouragement and surrender. But we must not lose hope. The Lord is pleased with every effort, even the tiny, daily ones in which we strive to be more like Him. Though we may see that we have far to go on the road to perfection, we must not give up hope." - Ezra Taft Benson

Why Drink Water?

I have always been told that drinking water is important. I have also been told that if I am trying to loose weight and get into shape that drinking water will help. Yet, I have never understood why this is. It is probably due to my lack of understanding about water that has led to me always being slightly dehydrated.

Quote of the Day- March 7th

“I long to accomplish a great and noble task, but it is my chief duty to accomplish humble tasks as though they were great and noble. The world is moved along, not only by the mighty shoves of its heroes, but also by the aggregate of the tiny pushes of each honest worker.”- Helen Keller

How Would You Teach Educational Technology in Home School?

This question was recently asked on Utah-LDS Yahoo Group:

I'm just wondering what everyone's opinion on this is...in the homeschool law for elementary you have to teach "educational technology".  What would you consider something that covers this?

Michele

I thought I would answer the question here:

Quote of the Day- March 6th

"There is great power in prayer. I strongly encourage personal and family prayer, which are important in building strong families. . . . I'm wondering if many of you parents, you couples, have lost that essential moment of kneeling together at the end of the day, just the two of you, holding hands and saying your prayers. If that has slipped away from your daily routine, may I suggest you put it back—beginning tonight!"- M. Russell Ballard

Quote of the Day- March 5th

“A truly good book teaches me better than to read it. I must soon lay it down, and commence living on its hint. What I began by reading, I must finish by acting.” - Henry David Thoreau

Quote of the Day- March 4th

"Remember that the mantle of leadership is not the cloak of comfort, but the robe of responsibility. Accountability is not for the intention but for the deed. You must continue to refuse to compromise with expediency. You must maintain the courage to defy the consensus. You must continue to choose the harder right, instead of the easier wrong." - Thomas S. Monson

Teaching the Gospel in the Home

Today, I gave a talk in Sacrament meeting at church. My assigned talk was Teaching the Gospel in the Home. I approached it from the angle of using "family work" to teach the Gospel in the home. I thought I would share the written version here... 

Quote of the Day- March 3rd

“Home is the one place in all this world where hearts are sure of each other.  It is the place of confidence.  It is the place where we tear off that mask of guarded and suspicious coldness which the world forces us to wear in self-defense, and where we pour out the unreserved communications of full and confiding hearts.  It is the spot where expressions of tenderness gush out without any sensation of awkwardness and without any dread of ridicule.” -Frederick W. Robertson

Quote of the Day- March 2nd

“Learning the lessons of the past allows you to walk boldly in the light without running the risk of stumbling in the darkness. This is the way it’s supposed to work. This is God’s plan: father and mother, grandfather and grandmother teaching their children; children learning from them and then becoming a more righteous generation through their own personal experiences and opportunities. Learning the lessons of the past allows you to build personal testimony on a solid bedrock of obedience, faith, and the witness of the Spirit.” -M. Russell Ballard