If I had $100.00

By: Peter

If I had $100.00, I would buy a manchen (mansion). Maybe with the other money I'd had before. But what I really want would be the Kings Castle! I would also get a few video game contrls and video games and the right disc player for the espeseiley. Totally two dogs. That is what I'd buy if I had 100 dollars.


Ummm...I hate to break it to him...$100 probably won't stretch that far!

Reverence

We've been working on reverence during the Sacrament at our house. Actually, it's a continual, on-going effort. Peter made this cute booklet, stapled together with all different sized pages called "This story is things that you can thingk of when waiting for Sacroment." I just spilled water all over it on my night stand so that's why I am recording it here instead of saving it. He drew very cute photos to go with each thing though. The things he listed were: the temple (picture of Angel Moroni), house and car (picture of a house on a car), Holy Ghost (no picture), light, church, trees (pictured), family (stick figures), Him at death (Jesus on the cross). Sure love my serious and spiritual young man.

Seminary Graduation

The kids just got out my old seminary scriptures and I found this sacrament meeting talk I wrote about seminary. Just thought I'd record it, as a piece of me as a teenager.

Good afternoon, Brothers and Sisters. Early morning seminary is a program the church puts out for youth. Every morning before school, here in Pennsylvania anyway, we meet for 45 minutes to learn about one of the four texts of scripture. This year we studied the New Testament. My favorite thing we learned was about Christ. He was smart, brave and even sarcastic. He risked so much every time he took the less popular side, like the woman who had committed adultery. He called for the person without sin among the persecutors to step forward and cast the first stone. Of course, no one could.

In Matthew 22:37, he gives us the commandment to love the Lord thy God with all thy heart and with all thy soul and with all thy mind, along with loving thy neighbor as thy self. He knows there are going to be trials so he tells us to come unto Him, he will lighten our burden. In Mark 8:35-37, it reads:

For whosoever will save his life shall lose it; but whosoever will lose his life for my sake and the gospel's, the same shall save it. For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? Or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?

Don't these scriptures seem to lay it out straight for us? Love the Lord, Serve Him, and your fellowmen and endure. In seminary there are also 25 important scriptures that we focus on and try to learn, called scripture mastery. My favorite scripture mastery has to do with this (Not sure which one it was?) One thing I find interesting is that Satan isn't physically going to be bound but that the saints will be just too strong for him to get to them.

I'm glad that this year I was able to learn so much more about Christ's characteristics and personality.

I'd like to bear my testimony that going to seminary will strengthen your testimony of the gospel and Christ. I'm grateful Bobbie was willing to come and teach us every morning. I'm glad to know God loves me and for my family and I'm grateful for friends that I can come here and see every Sunday and Sarah during the week who will support me in the decisions I make to become who I am.  

Happiness

I really enjoyed a continuing ed class I took to renew my nursing license on HAPPINESS. One idea shared was that happiness is made up of two elements, pleasure and meaning. I'll go a step further and offer that often we spend our time in search of pleasure, which can bring more immediate gratification, but put meaning on the back burner, when we should occasionally seek pleasure and regularly seek things that will bring long term meaning into our lives.

While there are many benefits of health mentioned, one I found interesting is that happy people have lower levels of cortisol, and therefore better immune systems. Happiness is a predictor of long-term health and long life as well. Those who are happy are also "more likely to have community involvement, fulfilling marriages and relationships, high incomes, a long life, superior work performance and robust health. Positive emotions and sustained happiness are often associated with characteristics that parallel success, including altruism, energy, optimism, originality and sociability."

The author also found multiple sources that said about 50% of one's happiness is genetic, so that's considered a "set point." After that 50%, 10% is due to life's circumstances, and another 40% is determined by factors that are under our voluntary control, like if we seek meaningful activities, keep a gratitude journal, etc. I liked those numbers!

Strategies for happiness that are listed include:
Connect socially
Keep a positive attitude
Tend to your body
Leave baggage behind. "Forgiveness is the feeling of peace that emerges as we take our hurt less personally, take responsibility for how we feel and become a hero instead of a victim in the story we tell."
Be grateful. One study actually showed that "writing down three things that went well each day and their causes every night for one week increased happiness and reduced depressive symptoms for six months." That seemed very remarkable to me!
Be kind to your mind
Pursue goals (The most beneficial goals are positive. Instead of not getting into an argument, make a goal to make a new friend.)
Live a meaningful life (Identify character strengths and virtues on which to focus.)

And I liked this thought for a tangible plan to become more mindful and happy.

One way to start is to track your time for a week or two and then create a table that lists your activities, the meaning and pleasure (on a scale of 1 to 5) you assign to the activity, how much time you spent on it and whether you want to spend more or less. Remember that it takes time to change behavior. As many people point out: “Happiness is a journey, not a destination.”

Things Dad Loves About Lucy

There are LOTS of reasons to be in love with this girl. Here are a few Kevin wrote down for Lucy for Christmas:

Spunky dresser
Doesn't take no for an answer
Great hugs! Loves to cuddle
Loves helping Dad and Mom cook
Great sense of humor
Loves to help Molly
Always remembers to read scriptures
Willing to try new things! Like holding a snake! And new foods!
Always comes running with things Dad needs

We love this sweet girl!

Thing Dad Loves About Jillian

Here's Jillian's list of things Dad loves about her:

Super smart
Great friend
Very artistic
Confident
Love sewing with Mom
Awesome at piano
Always helping Mom
You are beautiful
Avid Reader
You love to laugh

The Sound of Moousic

I love his little play on words. And if his writing isn't legible, it says:

Once apon a time alittle non named Mooreia singing in the fields like a nun person. She was late for church because of herself. (On the next page) She's always late.