It's Monday again! I have decided that the missionaries are to write home once a week, and it is a tradition I want to keep in my family. I watch many families around me, and am taking careful notes of what their relationships are like with their extended families because... it won't be long before my family is... EXTENDED! Wow! Anyway, so I have long admired families who have a family newsletter that they pass around somehow to keep everyone linked.
This week we have been reading a little book about Abraham Lincoln - since today is President's Day. You can get it free on kindle it is titled Four Great American's (yep linked). We have been reading the Abraham Lincoln chapters. It is fun to learn new things! He was a great man and started in such humble circumstances!
Respect has been a good theme for us for the month. I am working on making these placemats to talk about the Proclamation on the Family. I heard lately that as a YM/YW they are to memorize the entire statement on the Living Christ. I am going to work on having our family memorize the proclamation on the family. What a great way to have it as a reminder as we sit at every meal! I love her talking points at the very end to remind us of those parts of the proclamation.
Here is a good discussion outline on what respect looks like and sounds like. I think I will make a similar list for our family tonight. Here is a cute idea similar to the relationship bank account from 7 Habits too. This link suggests using a bottle, and filling it with either something good, or something yucky. How often do we put yuck in?
Today we participated in a cleanup service project out on the BLM that was great! We had some 75-100 people show up to help cleanup the shooting areas. We divided the areas into 4 different sections, and asked people to help in one of those areas. We were scared that no one would show up. We waited to let the word out until Sunday before because we didn't want people bringing their household garbage to fill the 40 yard dumpster. WE had two tractors show up to help lift the stuff over the top after it got full. I am so grateful for all the great people that showed up to help! Someone asked me if this was "by assignment?" No, it wasn't we just decided that it needed to be done! Why does this community seem to think that they can only support or participate in projects if they are somehow "approved?" Wow, we have to have "approval" to keep our world clean. I thought we were supposed to "do many good things of our own free will! (See D&C 58:27-28)" It was a great project, and we filled that one dumpster in two hours! We had advertised that the cleanup would be 9-noon, but by 11:00 we were calling everyone off because we were out of space! Great job! My goal was to fill that dumpster! It happened quickly! I am so thankful for the many, many good people who came! Thank you new friends!!!! I am grateful to associate with so many that don't wait for someone else command them to do good, but rather do it of their own accord!
Among st the good, there was an older gentleman there who was very disrespectful. He said very loud something very mean about a young person who was there. I don't know much about the kid, but I know that his family struggles, and yet they came out to help... hey, the kid IS there on his day off school! This older guy was very loud and told everyone around him that that this kid "was worthless!" I think I will do this jar thing tonight, and talk about how that kid felt. I didn't hear about it until the very end, but I went out of my way to be nice to the kid, but it's really hard to erase the mean things said! Good lesson and very applicable.
Followup - we did have the discussion as outlined, and used my beehive jar to have the talk as described. We talked about how much negative we are told everyday, and yet what positives we hear. We talked about our home being a "Safe" place and that we each need positives so much to help us get rid of the bad things we are told. The beehive suggests that this is what happens here in our home, and that we each get to carry out and BE the person that we want to Be!
Then I made Beehive Poppyseed cakes! They are always a hit! We missed J but got to talk to him and include him in prayer! I am grateful for a great family!