Music for teaching

I think that songs from the Primary Children's Songbook are some of the best ways to teach children. You can teach a child almost anything about their world or the gospel with a primary song. When I tell people that, sometimes I get a look like, "Yeah, yeah. That's nice."

Well, I'm going to prove it here by sharing a few really fun primary songs. I'll bet you hadn't thought much about the lessons in these songs since you were a kid if you even remember them at all!

I will follow God's plan (about the plan of salvation and our purpose on earth)
My hands (parts of the body)
Every star is different (how differences are good and help us serve our purpose on earth)
Healthy, wealthy and wise (healthy sleep habits)
We are different (how to embrace differences)
Hum your favorite hymn (self-discipline)
Friends are fun (how to be a good friend)
Because God loves me (ways to see that God loves us)

You can learn any important life's lesson from the Primary Children's Songbook. I dare you to try and see if you can't. :)

Something everyone seems to forget ...

I read this article in the Ensign a while ago, and was struck by the truth of the message. I've seen it in my own life and in the lives of others. I just had to share it for others to read.

One Key to a Happy Family

By President Dieter F. Uchtdorf

Second Counselor in the First Presidency

The great Russian author Leo Tolstoy began his novel Anna Karenina with these words: “Happy families are all alike; every unhappy family is unhappy in its own way.”¹ While I do not have Tolstoy’s certainty that happy families are all alike, I have discovered one thing that most have in common: they have a way of forgiving and forgetting the imperfections of others and of looking for the good.

Those in unhappy families, on the other hand, often find fault, hold grudges, and can’t seem to let go of past offenses.

“Yes, but …” begin those who are unhappy. “Yes, but you don’t know how badly she hurt me,” says one. “Yes, but you don’t know how terrible he is,” says another.

Perhaps both are right; perhaps neither.

There are many degrees of offense. There are many degrees of hurt. But what I have noticed is that often we justify our anger and satisfy our consciences by telling ourselves stories about the motives of others that condemn their actions as unforgivable and egoistic while, at the same time, lifting our own motives as pure and innocent.

The Prince’s Dog

There is an old Welsh story from the 13th century about a prince who returned home to find his dog with blood dripping down its face. The man rushed inside and, to his horror, saw that his baby boy was missing and his cradle overturned. In anger the prince pulled out his sword and killed his dog. Shortly thereafter, he heard the cry of his son—the babe was alive! By the infant’s side lay a dead wolf. The dog had, in reality, defended the prince’s baby from a murderous wolf.

Though this story is dramatic, it demonstrates a point. It opens the possibility that the story we tell ourselves about why others behave a certain way does not always agree with the facts—sometimes we don’t even want to know the facts. We would rather feel self-justified in our anger by holding onto our bitterness and resentment. Sometimes these grudges can last months or years. Sometimes they can last a lifetime.

A Family Divided

One father could not forgive his son for departing from the path he had been taught. The boy had friends the father did not approve of, and he did many things contrary to what his father thought he should do. This caused a rift between father and son, and as soon as the boy could, he left home and never returned. They rarely spoke again.

Did the father feel justified? Perhaps.

Did the son feel justified? Perhaps.

All I know is that this family was divided and unhappy because neither father nor son could forgive each other. They could not look past the bitter memories they had about each other. They filled their hearts with anger instead of love and forgiveness. Each robbed himself of the opportunity to influence the other’s life for good. The divide between them appeared so deep and so wide that each became a spiritual prisoner on his own emotional island.

Fortunately, our loving and wise Eternal Father in Heaven has provided the means to overcome this prideful gap. The great and infinite Atonement is the supreme act of forgiveness and reconciliation. Its magnitude is beyond my understanding, but I testify with all my heart and soul of its reality and ultimate power. The Savior offered Himself as ransom for our sins. Through Him we gain forgiveness.

No Family Is Perfect

None of us is without sin. Every one of us makes mistakes, including you and me. We have all been wounded. We all have wounded others.

It is through our Savior’s sacrifice that we can gain exaltation and eternal life. As we accept His ways and overcome our pride by softening our hearts, we can bring reconciliation and forgiveness into our families and our personal lives. God will help us to be more forgiving, to be more willing to walk the second mile, to be first to apologize even if something wasn’t our fault, to lay aside old grudges and nurture them no more. Thanks be to God, who gave His Only Begotten Son, and to the Son, who gave His life for us.

We can feel God’s love for us every day. Shouldn’t we be able to give a little more of ourselves to our fellowmen as taught in the beloved hymn “Because I Have Been Given Much”?² The Lord has opened the door for us to be forgiven. Wouldn’t it be only right to put aside our own egotism and pride and begin to open that blessed door of forgiveness to those with whom we struggle—especially to all of our own family?

In the end, happiness does not spring from perfection but from applying divine principles, even in small steps. The First Presidency and Quorum of the Twelve Apostles have declared: “Happiness in family life is most likely to be achieved when founded upon the teachings of the Lord Jesus Christ. Successful marriages and families are established and maintained on principles of faith, prayer, repentance, forgiveness, respect, love, compassion, work, and wholesome recreational activities.”³

Forgiveness is positioned right in the middle of these simple truths, founded on our Heavenly Father’s plan of happiness. Because forgiveness connects principles, it connects people. It is a key, it opens locked doors, it is the beginning of an honest path, and it is one of our best hopes for a happy family.

May God help us to be a little more forgiving in our families, more forgiving of each other, and perhaps more forgiving even with ourselves. I pray that we may experience forgiveness as one wonderful way in which most happy families are alike.

Article published Feedlot Magazine

Here is a link to the e-magazine that published another of my articles:

http://feedlotmagazine.epubxp.com/t/23441

If you click on the link and go to page 16, you will find my article.

Is marriage a contract or a relationship?

Find the answer by watching this video.

Our wonderful bodies!

This little video touched my heart. I hope you enjoy it too!

Why liberty?

These are some thoughts that I've been mulling over recently because of recent events and our country's continual progress towards socialism. Some of this is "doctrine according to Alisa," but I firmly believe everything I write here.

Sometimes I feel that "liberty" and "freedom" are misunderstood or only vaguely understood concepts. Common understanding usually seems to boil down to "doing what I feel like" or "pursuing happiness as I see best." Liberty is hailed all over the world as important to human dignity, and it seems to inspire a lot of passionate actions and wars.

But why do we need liberty? Why is it an innate human need? What does it really mean to us?

With only a shallow understanding of liberty, it is easy to lose sight of its importance to us as human beings. We watch employers abuse liberty and oppress employees. We watch people perform foolish or even evil acts in the name of religion. People withhold from helping those in need physically and emotionally. Children are neglected and abused. And madmen get a hold of guns to take revenge on innocent victims.

The simple solution seems to be to have an overarching authority control people and circumstances so we can be safe and prosper equally. What's the use of liberty if we have an authority that can make our lives peaceful and perfect and safe? We could live in a social and political infrastructure built for us and it would make everything easy.

I think the answer lies in how our Father in Heaven governs us.

God created us in His image and gave us the ability to choose. Then He put us on earth and asked us to walk by faith. Through this, many of His sons and daughters have strayed or suffered greatly. This must be difficult for Him, seeing that He is a god of love. Have you ever wondered why He doesn't come down to earth to govern us more directly and to prevent so many tragedies by His All-Powerful Presence?

I believe that the answer is found in the why of liberty.

Without making important, unsupervised choices, we can't develop into the people we ought to be. Making good choices of our own will without any other influential presence or coercive action develops a power and character in us for good. It is the only way to truly develop a character. Without that development, we aren't any better than puppets or animals.

Heavenly Father understands this perfectly. He knows that if He came to earth and governed us directly in all his might, power and glory, we'd never become like Him. We'd never learn to make those choices of our own will because we'd be overawed by His majesty.

So He asks us to live and work by faith, and to make choices, one at a time, until we develop to our full potential.

Liberty is all about your inner growth.

As parents we take care of helpless infants and make all decisions for them. As they grow, we teach them to think and make their own decisions. We give them tools, gradually as they are ready, to make the best choices possible. According to The Well-Trained Mind: A Guide to Classical Education in the Home, children start to develop logical thinking at about eight or nine years of age. Prior to that, they are in a parrot stage, where they imitate everything, from learning to walk to habits in reading.

This makes sense to me. As a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, I know that children reach the age of accountability at eight years of age, which is when the Lord commands that they should be baptized. Before this, all of the children's mistakes (that come because of mortality and their parents' follies) are covered by the Atonement.

But after that, children are required to repent and do better to be cleansed by the Atonement. According to their understanding, their sins are their own.

Meanwhile, we continue to teach these children to make choices that enhance their growth. Soon, in the teenage years, part of that teaching process is to gradually let go and give them more liberty.

Once the children are adults, they should be in charge of their own lives. And these children, we hope, will continue to make choices that will draw them closer to their Father in Heaven. But we can't restrict their liberty to insure they do. Unless they make those choices of their own will, without supervision or coercion, they can't draw close to God. Their character can't become their own.

If we continue to manage and control the lives of our children after they are capable of making their own decisions, they become dependent on us. They become less capable, less motivated, less responsible and less moral. They lose their innate connection with God because they aren't making the choice to come closer to Him.

When they lose that connection with God, they lose love for their fellowmen, for noble and great things and for anything that might make them stretch out of their comfort zone.

These same parenting concepts apply in our society at large. If we have some "great parent" that makes sure we all share nicely, complete our schooling and that all temporal needs are met, we fall into the same trap. Our inner growth is stunted, and our character is not our own.

But what about some of the horrible things that people have done in a free, capitalistic society? While a free government has laws that protect its citizens from great injustices, it can't prevent all tragedy. It can't prevent all self-destructive behavior. What good does liberty do us then?

A free government isn't all about freedom of choice. And it definitely isn't about the economic advantage it has over an alternative system. It's about honesty, a desire for the welfare of the whole, education, and a belief in God. This is a whole topic in and of itself, and it's not the purpose of my post. But it is necessary to say that the purpose of liberty is supported by these four elements. Without them, liberty can seem a negative thing, more like anarchy.

It's so important that we choose the path we take.

Liberty means growth. It means doing difficult things; being creative; facing the natural world; and having faith in God, man and yourself. It means your character and your choices are your own, as well as any consequences that come with them, good or bad.

Please feel free to comment ... any critiques, differing opinions, additional thoughts. Have you ever thought about why we need liberty?

A Sunday citation

Here is another great quote that I found in the Old Testament Institute manual:

"The story of Joseph, the son of Jacob who was called Israel, is a vivid representation of the great truth that "all things work together for good to [those] who love God. (Rom. 8:28) Joseph always seemed to do the right thing; but still, more importantly, he did it for the right reason. And how very, very significant that is! Joseph was sold by his own brothers as a slave and was purchased by Potiphar, a captain of the guard of Pharaoh. But even as an indentured servant, Joseph turned every experience and all circumstances, no matter how trying, into something good.

"This ability to turn everything into something good appears to be a godly characteristic. Our Heavenly Father always seems able to do this. Everything, no matter how dire, becomes a victory for the Lord. Joseph, although a slave and wholly undeserving of this fate, nevertheless remained faithful to the Lord and continued to live the commandments and made something very good of his degrading circumstances. People like this cannot be defeated, because they will not give up. They have the correct, positive attitude, and Dale Carnegie's expression seems to apply: If you feel you have a lemon, you can either complain about how sour it is, or you can make a lemonade. It is all up to you." (Hartman Rector, Jr., "Live Above the Law to Be Free," Ensign, Jan. 1973, p. 130.)

Recent article published in Progressive Forage Grower

Progressive Forage Grower just published one of my most recent articles online, with the hard copy coming out soon. Click on the link below to read it:

Good business skills critical in custom bale-wrapping

I have to say, I struggled more writing this article than I have struggled with an article in a long, long time. I was beginning to wonder if I was going to be able to pull it off! Sometimes I have a hard time getting people to respond, or when they do, we can't always make an appointment to talk before my deadline. But that wasn't the case this time! For some reason, I had a very difficult time just pulling the material together into a coherent form. I had to change my angle three or four times before I got it right. And although my husband was home to take care of our little girl so I could write, I just couldn't seem to write it!

But it worked out and I even got it turned in on time (although I sure was wondering if I would!). I have to say, I definitely had Heaven's help with this one!

Awesome blog post: Marriage isn't for you

If I could give an award, I would give it to Seth Adam Smith for his awesome post. To read it, click the link below:

Marriage isn't for you

Have you wondered if marriage is too hard, scary or just not what you want? You should definitely read this! It's something that I'm gradually learning ... and mostly learning from my husband, Brian.

30 day song challenge: Day 30 ... I did it!

Well, this is fall, and Thanksgiving is coming up. I really love grateful songs and harvest songs this time of year. Last year I think I was singing the hymn "Come, Ye Thankful People, Come" a lot last year. Although I think I sing it a lot every year. :)

This arrangement that I'm sharing was done by Mack Wilberg, and it is performed by the Coral Ridge Presbyterian Church Chancel Choir and Congregation. (Today is Guy Fawkes day ... so I suppose I had to pick a protestant performance!:))

I've heard it sung by the Mormon Tabernacle Choir and the BYU-Idaho choir, and I think I liked what they did better. But this version is a pretty close second.

Come, Ye Thankful People, Come

Thanks for bearing with me as I went through with this challenge! I hope you enjoyed the music as much as I did.

30 day song challenge: Day 29 ... almost there!!

This is the very first (or one of the very first) songs my mom taught me to sing when I was tiny. I have started singing it to Little Pink Girl in the mornings. It is such a fun song!

A Sunday citation

This long quote (sorry it's so long, but it's so good I didn't want to cut it down!) is from Teachings of Presidents of the Church: Lorenzo Snow:

"It is the business of those who profess to be engages in His work to move on, to go forward, ... without murmuring or having to be urged; so long as there remains a step forward to be taken, that step should be taken. ...

"This is the work of God, and He is directing its course and progress in the earth, and this work should ever be uppermost in our mind; and so long as we are found in the path of duty we can surely remain fixed and unmoved and determined in our purpose, and thus exhibit to the world our faith and devotion to the principles of truth which God has revealed. ...

"The Lord very possible may cause a heavy pressure to bear upon us, such as will require great sacrifice at the hands of his people. The question with us is, will we make the sacrifice? This work is the work of the Almighty and the blessings we look for which have been promised, will come after we have proven ourselves and passed through the ordeal. I have no special word to this people that there is, or that there is not, before them a fiery ordeal through which they will be called to pass; the question with me is, am I prepared to receive and put to a right and proper use any blessing the Lord had in store for me in common with His people; or, on the other hand, am I prepared to make any sacrifice that He may require at my hands? I would not give the ashes of a rye straw for any religion that was not worth living for and that was not worth dying for; and I would not give much for the man that was not willing to sacrifice his all for the sake of his religion."

Music and fun for toddlers

With all the music I've been sharing, I thought that I'd share some more! Little Pink Girl and I love to sing and listen to music. I can turn some music on and it will generally keep her occupied (which is really nice!).

Here are a few songs that we like to sing and do the actions to:

Hinges

Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes

The Wise Man and the Foolish Man

30 day song challenge: Day 28

Some of these writing prompts are a little weird. I don't think that I've ever heard a song that made me feel guilty. Sigh. What should I substitute this time?

Since I've shared classical music the last couple of days, I think that I'll share another classical favorite today. Bach, along with Vivaldi, Handel and Pachelbell, is my favorite classical composer. Here is a piece that makes the cello my favorite instrument for a few minutes:

30 day song challenge: Day 27

Besides the violin, I also play the piano. I think I like listening to the violin better, but I'm better at playing the piano. I also get a lot more opportunities to perform or accompany on the piano that I do on the violin.

But I'm still not very good at the piano. I think I would be considered an intermediate. Someday, I hope to play Mozart's Turkish March on the piano! I tried to learn once, but it was too far above my skill level.

So here it is for you to enjoy! (Happy All Saints Day!)