Well I am a homeschooling momma. I figured when I moved to MT, I would just put the kids back in school. However, I guess that was not the right path- as much as I hoped the spirit would say-YES these schools are exactly where your kids need to be. It didn't happen that way.
I am not sure if you all know or not, but I am a member of the church of Jesus Christ of Latter day saints. That title is a mouth full, though when broken down, it means a lot. It means Christ restored church on the earth, in these last days before the time when the Savior comes again. We are also commonly referred to as Mormons.
I am telling you this today, because it is a precursor to some very exciting news that the prophet of our church told us during a worldwide meeting we had last weekend.
http://www.mormonnewsroom.org/article/church-lowers-age-requirement-for-missionary-service Male missionaries will leave from home to serve full time missions at the age of 18 now. That is a huge deal! My boys (I have 4) have always planned on leaving for their missions at age 19. But, now they get to go a whole year sooner. Females (I have 1) will also get to serve full time missions at the age of 19, instead of 21.
Today we had our first lesson. We used the scripture about hiding your light under a bushel. It can be found in Matthew Chapter 5 and in 3 Nephi chapter 12. I asked the kids what they thought it meant to let our lights shine. They came up with all sorts of answers that let me know that they weren't really sure. So we sang some songs and then I lit a candle. I showed them how bright it was, and let them feel the warmth. Then I covered it. The light of course went out. That really got their juices flowing. They understood that when we share our light, we can "light someone else's candle" and when we cover it or don't use it, it goes out. Then they understood that our light comes from our testimony of the savior.
This turned in to a mini-sub science lesson, about what a fire needs to burn. (fuel, oxygen, heat, and a chemical reaction) This mini lesson got the kids looking for what those things might represent in the spiritual sense.
fuel is scripture study
Oxygen is sharing your testimony
heat is the light of Christ
chemical reaction is the change of heart
After the lesson the kids decided to practice being missionaries. They knocked on my door. When I invited them in, they bore their testimonies of the Savior, his atonement, and the happiness that the gospel brings.
Day one success!
