Trains & Temples

I took the train Friday down to BWI close to John-husband's work.  Worse moment was when another MARC train came the opposite way and startled me, made me jump, heart racing.  I had ridden the train & subway in Manhattan 2 weeks ago, and it was ok, as long as I didn't think about it, dwell on sad things.  Trains are modern tools, and if Max had died in a car accident I would still drive a car, carefully.  I have an aunt who died in a small airplane crash, but our family still flies.  John had an uncle die in a motorcycle crash, and those are kind of a family off-limit thing now.  The intersection is 7 houses down from our home, and I always pause a couple of seconds longer, thinking about his uncle Mike, take a minute to be safe and look for motorcycles before turning left...So maybe it is okay to think of Max with every train ride and pray for the engineers to be safe and pedestrians careful...

John was waiting on the sidewalk for me.  He towers above most of the commuters, so I could see him from a long distance off, very romantic and sweet of him.  He escorted me to the car, opened my door like always.  I don't want to take that gentlemanlyness for granted.  I count it as a blessing!

There was a huge accident on the beltway that we avoided taking 200, got to the temple in record time.   I feel such comfort and peace there and joy for the Atonement of Jesus Christ and the promised resurrection.  We talked about Maxwell and cried some together for almost an hour after our service.  My testimony of Joseph Smith (watch the film on the link to see my favorite actor portraying him) as a true modern prophet was strengthened tremendously this trip down.  I thought of him and the restored priesthood keys and ordinances revealed through him and felt a kinship/friendship that was new to me--like a reunion/remembering as I recognized his voice.

My eyes are squinty from the sun and allergies, but I am happy.  John is concentrating on pushing the right button.

Three Tables Full

These kids are incredible! They came in cheerful and talkative. They sang! They followed directions! They didn't groan too loudly when I took their picture! I noticed some neighborhood kids walking to school do double-takes at the group of beautiful teenagers coming out of our home this morning! They are impressive, and a powerful group for good.


Pillows are allowed for the hard metal seats, yes. Young Men walking to the High School will be encouraged to be gentlemen and carry music instruments and book bags of the Young Women. I actually insist on it. (Nothing romantic or dating about it, just the proper thing to do. Encourage the YW you know to BE ladies, and encourage them to encourage the guys to act their part. If we hop out of the cars before they have a chance to physically get to our door to open it, we rob them of the chance to be gentlemen. Sit and wait for it. It is worth the respect, I think.)

Did you know they changed the name? Instead of "Early Morning Seminary" it is now known as "Daily Seminary." Suggesting, perhaps, that it become a daily habit that we take on after high school, to our missions/marriage and throughout adulthood. Daily spending time with the scriptures is a great goal for all of us!



Students chose reading charts today. One is a pretty color-in-as-you-read fun one, the other has check boxes that encourage 10 minutes a day of reading the Book of Mormon. They will finish the entire book in 36 weeks of daily seminary with no problem. Or, they can do a Parley P. Pratt and read it straight through without stopping until they finish it several hours later. Either.

Students have all "adopted" a Scripture Mastery verse. Refer to the attatched Devotional calendar for reminders. They should be able to tell you what their verse says/means. If you have ideas on how they can visually illustrate a memory trick for that verse, please make suggestions! Each student is responsible for creating a visual clue, and giving a devotional on that verse in the coming month.

Special guest speaker tomorrow morning! Please be on time. Seats are slightly shifted to pull the tables out from the wall, just look for your large/small/tiny plates and scriptures and Scripture Mastery pictures to find your spot.

And students, think of another something you are thankful for to add to your blessings list (to put in the "Tiny Plates").

24 students---so for the time being, we are going to postpone Friday "breakfasts" and do something else. There will be educational food sharing on this Friday and I will talk to the students more about new traditions.

Thanks for your support!
(I had thought of making small & large plates during the summer, and then last Saturday was shown a website selling Small and Large Plate journals, but for more than I could spend on our budget, even reimbursed...Hack your own with composition books and Ensign/New Era pictures! Every day I want them to write something in at least one of the books. Assignments will be glued in for them. Trying different teaching methods to get the students into their scriptures and WRITING down their thoughts and feelings, without calling it a "journal" or making it scary.