R.E.D.

Ever since Ewan started in primary, it has been my favorite part of each Sunday to sit in the back with my class and watch him in Opening Exercises. It's all I can do not to run up to the front, grab him and squeeze him right in front of everyone. Bryce and I have only been doing very sporadic Family Home Evenings with him since he was about two. Neither one of us grew up having Family Home Evening, so it's something we have to remind ourselves to do, and even then half the time we're clueless how to do it. So I've enjoyed being able to see what he's learning just in Opening Exercises, then to see what he has to say after church when we asked what he learned in class. (The answer is usually, "I don't remember," but with some prodding we can get something better out of him.)

So this morning in Opening Exercises, Sister Hutchinson was talking about the scriptures and how important it is to read them. She told the kids even one verse a day, and for them to go home and tell their parents they wanted to do this. We do read four verses every night, one for each member of the family, and the reactions from Ewan have been mixed. I know lately he's been confused because every night it seems we're talking about Nephi's vision. At any rate, today after primary, we were sitting out in the foyer during sacrament, when Ewan grabbed my scriptures and proceeded to "read." It was sweet, cute, hilarious and inspiring all at the same time. I couldn't believe the stuff that was coming out of his mouth. Tonight, he did it again, and I was able to get it on tape. He always begins with "Behold," and somewhere in there he says, "The still small voice is Heavenly Father speaking. Don't do anything wrong." And, "The scriptures are true."

Proof that I DO have a soul...

CNN actually posts little snippets like this one quite frequently, but they are probably the only thing on the planet that make me literally bawl instantly every time.

Living Biblicially

You HAVE to read this book, The Year of Living Biblically by A.J. Jacobs. I could barely put it down. This man, a writer in New York City, spent one year of his life obeying every single commandment, rule and mere suggestion in the Bible. It was fascinating, inspiring, and I learned so much about the Bible, stuff I'm ashamed to say I didn't know. (Shame on me for sleeping in seminary!) I highly recommend it. He's a good writer, without trying to sound smarter than everyone, and he is just so easy to relate to, especially when he talks about his family. I loved this book so much, I am going to check out his other one, The Know-It-All, about when he read the entire Encyclopedia Britannica.

Breathtaking

While editing the front-page article for our R.S. newsletter, I came across this quote:

"And I said to the man who stood at the gate of the year: 'Give me a light, that I may tread safely into the unknown.' And he replied: 'Go out into the darkness and put your hand into the hand of God. That shall be to you better than light, and safer than a known way.''

~ Minnie L. Haskins (1875-1957), “The Desert” (c.1908), Introduction