Another hard day in the class

 I have decided that the ESL teacher has it in for me this year because one of her students is not passing my class.  She consistently thinks I am not following accommodations and today went to the principal and told him that.  Within 20 minutes of the PLC meeting ending, the principal cam to my room and pulled me in the hall and told me they were not optional. I am quite bothered by this situation because not once was I asked what modifications I was making and when I told him I was following them, he preceded to tell me that like an IEP they are law.  I again told him they were being followed and his response was "So I am receiving bad information", which I was responded, "yes". I am in my 7th year at this school and this is her 1st so I am very bothered that he would take her work over mine.  I went to ask to talk to him and he informed me he did not have the time.  It seems the past three years, he has something against me and I am not sure what.  I have no idea what I have done that may have wronged him but I do not think it is acceptable nor professional.  He has made me feel that I am of no value to him and he is indifferent if I am here or not, so much so, I really want to look for another position.  With that said, I do know the grass is not always greener other places, but it is hard to be somewhere you feel unvalued.  Fortunately, I get to work with Jake each day and that itself makes it worth it.

Teaching is hard

 This year is especially hard for teachers. Some students have been out for 1.5 years and have forgotten how to act. Yes, there is some learning loss but that’s not the difficult part, it’s behaviors. To add to the normal stresses, this week there were two incidents of other people speaking negative about us. One was at the high school in a class,  Aubree’s friend told her that their teacher spent the first few minutes of class complaining to the class about our teaching style and unwillingness to help students. It shouldn’t have been said period and it makes me sad that my children hear others speak ill of us. Another instance Friday, a substitute teacher told the class that Jake and I mistreated her brother with autism, mind you she was subbing for a member of our team so our 8th graders are hearing this- that’s going to help this year with relationships. I just don’t understand why anyone would speak negatives about others to students period. It makes it harder. 

On a different note, last weekend we were able to go assist with hurricane Ida clean up. We took Will along with us and hope it was a good experience for him to learn to serve and see some of the impact. 

Careful vs casual talk

 Today, Jake and I spoke in sacrament.  He spoke on miracles and hit it out of the park.  I spoke on careful vs casual and did okay. 

Careful versus Casual

12 September 2021

Once upon a time, approximately 3000 years ago, there was an ancient city on the coast of Turkey named Troy. It was located across the Aegean Sea from the Greek city-state of Sparta. When the king of Sparta heard that his wife, the beautiful Helen, had been kidnapped by a prince of Troy, he called on the other Greek city-states to help him get her back. His call was answered. A thousand Greek ships set sail for Troy.

The city of Troy was protected by a high wall built around the city. Some parts of the wall were 20 feet high! There were gates in the wall to let people in and out, but it provided great defense for the people of Troy. It gave the Trojan warriors a relatively safe place to stand, while they rained arrows down on the people below, who were trying to break into the city.

At the time of this story, Greek warriors had been trying to breach the wall around Troy for about ten years. The Greeks could not find a way in, and the Trojans did not seem able to drive the Greeks away.

Things looked pretty hopeless until Odysseus, a famous ancient Greek general, thought of a trick. It was the custom back then to leave a peace offering behind to admit defeat. Odysseus suggested the Greeks build a huge, heavy, beautiful wooden horse, and leave it outside the gates of Troy. Then, the entire Greek army would pretend to leave, as if they were headed for home. But it was a trick. The horse would be hollow. Thirty men would be hiding inside. The very best Greek artists got busy carving the giant wooden horse, adding great detail, because everything in the Greek world had to be as beautiful as possible.

When it was done, the Greek warriors pretended to sail away, leaving the horse behind. The people of Troy rushed outside, cheering their victory! They dragged the heavy horse inside the city gates and put it on display, which is just what the Greek general thought they would do - gloat.

That night, while the Trojan people were sleeping, the men hiding inside the wooden horse climbed out and opened the gates. The waiting Greek army entered Troy. That was the end of Troy.

After years of consistently being on their toes, the Trojans had one moment of letting their guards down, and it led to a victory for the Greek and the fall of Troy. The Greeks chose a form which appealed to their targets, using a sacred creature and type of wood. Likewise, Satan does this today, he makes things appealing to our basic interests. He has more knowledge than we know and will do all he can to distract us from drawing near to Christ.

 Our lives can parallel this story as we too are in a constant battle and must be diligent in not becoming casual in our daily interactions. Today the word "Trojan horse" is used for things that are like that story: something that looks good, but in truth has another purpose, usually bad or to distract. The Trojan horse became a distraction for the people of Troy. Throughout this talk, please reflect on any distractions you may have in your life, some of which maybe good but deterring us from the best.

 As members of the Lord’s battalion, we must adhere to the path that leads to eternal life and be diligent in our choices. The scriptures contain various stories of where if we are not careful, we become casual.  Peter denied the Savior three times as he was casual, maybe it was an unintentional, but he failed to be careful in his circumstance and hold to what he knows true. The Book of Mormon tells the story of the vision of the tree of life where Lehis pleads with his family to hold to the “iron rod” or pure truth contained in the Lord’s gospel.  Sister Becky Craven counsels: “The vision of the tree of life shows us how the effects of casualness can lead us away from the covenant path. Consider that the rod of iron and the straight and narrow path, or the covenant path, led directly to the tree of life, where all the blessings provided by our Savior and His Atonement are available to the faithful. Also seen in the vision was a river of water representing the filthiness of the world. The scriptures describe that this river “ran along” the path yet passed only “near” the tree, not to it. The world is laden with distractions that can deceive even the elect, causing them to be casual in living their covenants—thus leading them near the tree, but not to it. If we are not careful in living our covenants with exactness, our casual efforts may eventually lead us into forbidden paths or to join with those who have already entered the great and spacious building. If not careful, we may even drown in the depths of a filthy river.¹

There is a careful way and a casual way to do everything, including living the gospel. As we consider our commitment to the Savior, are we careful or casual? Because of our mortal nature, don’t we sometimes rationalize our behavior, at times referring to our actions as being in the gray, or mixing good with something that’s not so good? Anytime we say, “however,” “except,” or “but” when it applies to following the counsel of our prophet leaders or living the gospel carefully, we are in fact saying, “That counsel does not apply to me.” We can rationalize all we want, but the fact is, there is not a right way to do the wrong thing!” Let me repeat that, there is not a right way to do a wrong thing.

It is a reminder to me that I am not the exception to what the Lord has already revealed, no matter how okay I think it may be.  I must review what the Lord expects of me and carefully make sure that I am not becoming casual in my choices, especially the small everyday choices where the devil wants to sneak in most, knowing if he does, he can more easily creep into my life. It can be hard to not try to rationalize our choices and see it as a gray area, saying that counsel does not apply to me because it was given twenty years ago or my circumstances deem alterations to it.  I am reminded of counsel provided by President Oaks in 2007- “As we consider various choices, we should remember that it is not enough that something is good.” The good can also become a deterrent or casual in our lives.

 

 “Sometimes we do find ourselves in the gray. Mists of darkness are inevitable as we journey along the covenant path. Temptation and casualness can cause us to subtly divert our course into the darkness of the world and away from the covenant path. For the times when this might happen, our beloved prophet, President Russell M. Nelson, has urged us to get back on the covenant path and to do so quickly. How grateful I am for the gift of repentance and for the power of our Savior’s Atonement.” (Craven, 2020) We will make mistake and we will be casual at times but there is a way to overcome and find our way back.

To be careful is to pattern our lives in a way that we make deliberate decisions to prepare for what may come our way.  It is being deliberate in our prayers, our scripture study, our service to others, and deciding now what we will do when temptations arise. Being deliberate is living like our good friend Teancum in the book of Alma. To recap my version of Teancum, let us think back to Moroni, the mighty Nephite leader. Moroni was a phenomenal leader, whom from what we know was a man of great faith. However, there is a story in Alma 51, where Moroni was engaged in good things but they were also a distraction that led to the bondage of the city of Moroni (Alma 51:20-23). Teancum, an unsung hero of mine, was called upon to help Moroni and Lehi defeat the Lamanites and regain the cities. As Teancum was preparing to rescue the city of Mulek, he was deliberate in his actions, which later led to a victory. How was he deliberate? First, he evaluated the situation and prepared to defend. Realizing he could not do it alone, he waited for the help of a leader but was not idle as he waited. Teancum sought out every opportunity to scourge the Lamanites, followed orders with exactness, but was not afraid to retreat for help.  His deliberate actions let to the freedom of the city.

I am blessed to surround myself with people who make me better. Frequently, our family is counseled by Jake to be deliberate in our actions and not casual.  He teaches our children that being deliberate (or careful) is more than just reading the scriptures but trying to learn from them and apply, whereas being casual would just be reading to check it off a list. Being deliberate in our prayers is more than just saying them but developing that relationship with God the Father, Jake suggests telling him a story each day. Being deliberate in living the gospel and making the better choices will increase our joy in this life and our relationship with the Savior. Sometimes being careful is being there for others when it may not be convenient yet making a difference in the lives of others.  Show up and know you are seen by the Lord.  Yes, we will be casual at times, but we have the opportunity to re-align daily through prayer and each week as we partake of the sacrament to be more careful.

Sister Craven ends her talk with the following: “It’s impossible to live a perfect life. Only one man was able to live perfectly while dwelling on this telestial planet. That was Jesus Christ. Although we may not be perfect, brothers and sisters, we can be worthy: worthy to partake of the sacrament, worthy of temple blessings, and worthy to receive personal revelation.

King Benjamin testified of the blessings and happiness that come to those who carefully follow the Savior: “And moreover, I would desire that ye should consider on the blessed and happy state of those that keep the commandments of God. For behold, they are blessed in all things, both temporal and spiritual; and if they hold out faithful to the end they are received into heaven, that thereby they may dwell with God in a state of never-ending happiness.”⁵

I testify that as we are deliberate (careful) in living the gospel and building our relationship with the Savior, we will not fall victims to the Trojan horses of our day.  Let us not just profess to be members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, as those in Helman 3:33, but let us be deliberate disciples of Christ as members of his gospel. Let us seek to become like Teancum- evaluating situations, preparing to defend, and not afraid to retreat as we await the help of others if needed. But if we are called to wait, let us not be idle and continue to prepare. 

Happy 17th baby girl!

Labor Day weekend- One of my favorites, I know it’s a strange one to love but 17 years ago today (on a Labor Day weekend Saturday), our Aubree entered our family. Aubree is blessed with the gift of believing. She is stalwart in her faith. She looks out for others and seeks out the unnoticed. She loves to leave unexpected happies for others and Aubree is a good friend. She loves acting, singing, squirrels, and Gus’s fried chicken. Happy Birthday Aubree—-you are an example and blessing to those around you. We love you. 

Facts about Aubree by Aubree:

You currently want to be when you grow up: Pediatric Nurse/ Actress (not stable)

Your favorite color is: Forest Green

Your favorite show is: Parks & Recreation 

Your favorite game is: Skull King & Taco, Cat, Goat, Cheese, Pizza

Your favorite toy or activity is: Work(?) & Theatre

Your favorite boy is: Jesus

You are really good at: ... Piano, maybe, I don't know

Your best friend is: Jesus

You want to vacation to: Ireland/ Greenland

Your favorite ice cream is: Birthday Cake

Your wish is to be: A mother and wife that helps to take my family (and others) to the Celestial Kingdom

Your hero is: Jesus & Mom

Your favorite thing to do with your friends is: Laugh/ Drive with the music up

Your favorite holiday is: Halloween/ Christmas

Your favorite person in the whole world is: Jesus

Your favorite song(s) is: "Nothing More" by Alternate Routes & "I'll Follow You Into the Dark"

Your favorite restaurant is: Gus's World Famous Fried Chicken

Your favorite foods are: Pork burritos, Gus's

If you had $1000 you would buy: I would, after tithing, put it into savings for my mission/ college. That's enough for two whole college books right there.