The magazine can always use new authors. So spread the word and get working on your own material to submit. Go back and read the archived stories to get a feel for what we're looking for and then get writing! Can't wait to hear from you!
Friday, October 28, 2011
Calling all children's story authors!
Hey all! I hoped you've already checked out knowonder like I told you to a few weeks ago. If you haven't then pleeeease do so now! My sister and I both starting working for the magazine and have had stories published recently. My story was just posted today so go read it and let me know what you think! It's a little Halloween story called Wait Til Simon Comes. My sister's story was posted a couple of weeks ago and it's called Matchless Melanie.
The magazine can always use new authors. So spread the word and get working on your own material to submit. Go back and read the archived stories to get a feel for what we're looking for and then get writing! Can't wait to hear from you!
The magazine can always use new authors. So spread the word and get working on your own material to submit. Go back and read the archived stories to get a feel for what we're looking for and then get writing! Can't wait to hear from you!
Wednesday, October 19, 2011
My "Done List"
I've been spending a lot of time on Pinterest lately. (I know I'm not the only one!) That site has got to be one of the most addictive things ever! At least for an OCD *nut* like me. I finally decided that I needed to make some "rules" for myself to channel my pinning obsession. My main rule includes the use of my "To-Do List" board. It's a board where I repin things I've pinned onto my other boards that I would like to actually do or make in the immediate future. This gives me easy access to my immediate goals so when I'm in a productive mood, I can cut right to the chase instead of getting lost in an endless sea of pins. The "rule" I've been trying to live by is that I'm not allowed to pin anything new unless I've done something off my "To-Do" board in the last week. In other words, if I go a whole week without actually USING the resources I'm pinning, I'm not allowed to waste time adding more.
This is an exclusively self-imposed rule. I really can't say if I've been officially sticking to the week time frame or not, but having this goal in the back of my head has helped at least some. The only real documentation I have so far of the things I've done is moving them from the To-Do board to my Tried It and Loved It or Experiences Worth Having boards. So I wanted to post more about it on here and motivate myself to keep going. So here are the things I've done since I started this goal-oriented approach to pinning. :-)
Recipes Cooked (with Kevin's help):
Long-term Project Begun:
Ingredients Purchased:
Family Activities Done:
If any one happens to read this and is inspired to make a similar board (or just set more goals), I do have a piece of advice: start small. It's GOOD to put recipes on your "To-do" list that won't require major shopping trips; ones that use stuff you have on hand already. Pin things you're already planning on doing anyway, like I did with the Corn Dawgs family activity. This is NOT "cheating". This is just a way to find motivation by having linked resources handy and to aid in making your inner awesomeness an outer reality. The awesomeness is something you already have, the list is just a way to remind yourself. As my old buddy C.S. Lewis always says, "Do not mistake it for the thing itself: and if it does not help you, drop it."
Thursday, October 13, 2011
Kevin and I gave talks in Sacrament Meeting this past Sunday so I wanted to take a minute for a little journaling about that.
We were asked to watch General Conference (Oct. 1st and 2nd) and come up with our own topic based on a talk that stood out to us. We both really liked the very first talk of the Saturday morning session. It was about using the scriptures. Not just reading, but studying and even memorizing our favorite verses.
As Kevin called me out when his talk began, I "cheated" and used two other talks in mine as well. In the end I decided on these three -
The Power of Scripture
RICHARD G. SCOTT
Of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles
A Witness
HENRY B. EYRING
First Counselor in the First Presidency
The Book of Mormon—a Book from God
TAD R. CALLISTER
Of the Presidency of the Seventy
Elder Scott talks about the complete standard works and about his love for the Old and New Testaments in addition to the Book of Mormon and Doctrine and Covenants. President Eyring tells a story about how even as an apostle he needs the remarkable example shown by different people in the Book of Mormon. President Callister's talk is about the Book of Mormon as well and receiving a basic testimony of its truth.
I jumped around a lot in my own talk and gave a couple of personal examples, like when I took Moroni's challenge myself and how hard it is for me to be consistent with reading my scriptures every day. A couple of my favorite quotes from the Conference talks are -
"Great power can come from memorizing scriptures. To memorize a scripture is to forge a new friendship. It is like discovering a new individual who can help in time of need, give inspiration and comfort, and be a source of motivation for needed change. For example, committing to memory this psalm has been for me a source of power and understanding" - Elder Scott
"Pondering a passage of scripture can be a key to unlock revelation and the guidance and inspiration of the Holy Ghost. Scriptures can calm an agitated soul, giving peace, hope, and a restoration of confidence in one’s ability to overcome the challenges of life. They have potent power to heal emotional challenges when there is faith in the Savior. They can accelerate physical healing." Elder Scott
"Would you like to have emblazoned on your soul an undeniable witness that the Savior descended beneath your sins and that there is no sin, no mortal plight outside the merciful reach of His Atonement—that for each of your struggles He has a remedy of superior healing power? Then read the Book of Mormon." - President Callister
"Your copy of the Book of Mormon may be hidden from your view by cares and attention to all you have accumulated in your journey. I plead with you to drink deeply and often from its pages. It has in it the fulness of the gospel of Jesus Christ, which is the only way home to God." - President Eyring
There was no coordination between us but it turned out that Kevin and I picked completely different quotes to use from Elder Scott's talk, so there wasn't really any overlap in ours talks when we gave them. I spoke for most of the time and only gave Kevin about 8 minutes for his talk but he had said that would be ok. He really enjoyed the second half of Elder Scott's talk because he basically just gave references for some of his personal favorite scriptures and talked about what they meant to him. So that's what Kevin ended up doing with his 8 minutes. The scriptures he talked about were -
Matthew 5:44
Mosiah 2:41
2 Nephi 25:26
The 2nd counselor in the stake presidency, President Jones, was visiting our ward that Sunday so he was there for our talks, too. He found Kevin and me individually after sacrament meeting to tell us he liked our talks. I thought it was funny because he told me I was "lively". I guess that means he wasn't bored :-). I hope everyone else in the congregation felt the same way even though I talked so long. He also asked me where I was from and when I said "mostly Kansas," he said "Well, welcome to the south." I always really enjoy President Jones' talks in stake conference so I appreciated his compliments even extra.
We were asked to watch General Conference (Oct. 1st and 2nd) and come up with our own topic based on a talk that stood out to us. We both really liked the very first talk of the Saturday morning session. It was about using the scriptures. Not just reading, but studying and even memorizing our favorite verses.
As Kevin called me out when his talk began, I "cheated" and used two other talks in mine as well. In the end I decided on these three -
The Power of Scripture
RICHARD G. SCOTT
Of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles
A Witness
HENRY B. EYRING
First Counselor in the First Presidency
The Book of Mormon—a Book from God
TAD R. CALLISTER
Of the Presidency of the Seventy
Elder Scott talks about the complete standard works and about his love for the Old and New Testaments in addition to the Book of Mormon and Doctrine and Covenants. President Eyring tells a story about how even as an apostle he needs the remarkable example shown by different people in the Book of Mormon. President Callister's talk is about the Book of Mormon as well and receiving a basic testimony of its truth.
I jumped around a lot in my own talk and gave a couple of personal examples, like when I took Moroni's challenge myself and how hard it is for me to be consistent with reading my scriptures every day. A couple of my favorite quotes from the Conference talks are -
"Great power can come from memorizing scriptures. To memorize a scripture is to forge a new friendship. It is like discovering a new individual who can help in time of need, give inspiration and comfort, and be a source of motivation for needed change. For example, committing to memory this psalm has been for me a source of power and understanding" - Elder Scott
"Pondering a passage of scripture can be a key to unlock revelation and the guidance and inspiration of the Holy Ghost. Scriptures can calm an agitated soul, giving peace, hope, and a restoration of confidence in one’s ability to overcome the challenges of life. They have potent power to heal emotional challenges when there is faith in the Savior. They can accelerate physical healing." Elder Scott
"Would you like to have emblazoned on your soul an undeniable witness that the Savior descended beneath your sins and that there is no sin, no mortal plight outside the merciful reach of His Atonement—that for each of your struggles He has a remedy of superior healing power? Then read the Book of Mormon." - President Callister
"Your copy of the Book of Mormon may be hidden from your view by cares and attention to all you have accumulated in your journey. I plead with you to drink deeply and often from its pages. It has in it the fulness of the gospel of Jesus Christ, which is the only way home to God." - President Eyring
There was no coordination between us but it turned out that Kevin and I picked completely different quotes to use from Elder Scott's talk, so there wasn't really any overlap in ours talks when we gave them. I spoke for most of the time and only gave Kevin about 8 minutes for his talk but he had said that would be ok. He really enjoyed the second half of Elder Scott's talk because he basically just gave references for some of his personal favorite scriptures and talked about what they meant to him. So that's what Kevin ended up doing with his 8 minutes. The scriptures he talked about were -
Matthew 5:44
Mosiah 2:41
2 Nephi 25:26
The 2nd counselor in the stake presidency, President Jones, was visiting our ward that Sunday so he was there for our talks, too. He found Kevin and me individually after sacrament meeting to tell us he liked our talks. I thought it was funny because he told me I was "lively". I guess that means he wasn't bored :-). I hope everyone else in the congregation felt the same way even though I talked so long. He also asked me where I was from and when I said "mostly Kansas," he said "Well, welcome to the south." I always really enjoy President Jones' talks in stake conference so I appreciated his compliments even extra.
I hope everyone else enjoyed General Conference as much as I did. I actually enjoyed having to go back and study so soon afterwards so I could prepare a talk. Now I just need to follow my own advice and get back to reading like I should.
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