Book #28

"Alas, Babylon" by Pat Frank is an apocalyptic novel from the 1950s in which a small town in Florida is one of the few towns to not be hit by or receive fallout from an atomic bomb.  It is the story of how the people survived.

The book made me think about things like money and leaders and protection.  I also thought about being prepared.  The people on River Road in Fort Repose figured out how to survive right from the beginning.  They seemed to have all the right people and resources.  I (facetiously) made a list of all the important people and things to have around in case of an emergency. 

--A doctor--especially one who knows about the dangers following a crisis. 
--A library and/or books--the people relied on the library as a source of entertainment and information.  They learned about edible plants, where to find salt, how to make and fix things and how to hypnotize. 
--Animals--chickens for eggs, pigs for meat, cows for milk, fish for meat.
--A garden--the people lived off the orange groves, they made whiskey from the corn and sugar cane, and had fresh vegetables during the right seasons. 
--Weapons--to protect friends and family.
--Medicines and herbs
--Items to trade--alcohol, sweets, coffee, cigarettes, toilet paper, honey
--Water--they lived right next to a river and had access to the fish, but they also had artesian water for drinking and bathing. 
--Cars with gas and bicycles
--Radio--they hooked up the short wave radio to car batteries and access to news outside their community.
--Friends and family--they built a small community that relied on each other.  They shared and helped as needed.
--Leaders and hard workers--they each had jobs and had to work hard in order to survive, but someone had to organize their efforts and take charge. 

The people on River Road luckily had all the right things--that is what made the story good.  Though it is not realistic, it got me thinking about what I need to do to prepare. 

Book #27

I just finished reading aloud "An Elephant in the Garden" by Michael Morpurgo.  He is the author of "War Horse" and "Farm Boy"--2 books we read last year and enjoyed.  (On a side note--when I'm typing the title of a book, do I underline, use quotes, or italicize?) 

This book takes place in Germany during WWII.  A family adopts an elephant from the zoo where the mom works, bringing it home in the evenings.  One night, while on a walk, their city (Dresden) gets attacked by bombers and they have to escape.  They start walking and take the elephant with them.  Most of the story is about what happens on their long walk from Dresden to where the American troops were. 

Reading the book in the space of a week gave the false impression that their journey was short--only a few days.  But, the reality is that it took them several weeks of walking through snow and rain and always struggling to find food and shelter.  One of the refugees complained a lot.  But on a more positive day she says "If Peter (the navigator they found) was our guide, and Mutti (the mother) was our strength, then Marlene (the elephant) was our inspiration."  She recognized the strengths of her traveling companions.  The comment about the mom resonated with me.  I've been focusing on changing negative thoughts to positive thoughts and I realize how easy it is for me to get sucked into other people's negative thoughts and words.  The mother always said the same thing to the daughter who complained: "Just put one foot in front of the other and we'll get there."  She always tried to be positive.  I appreciated her example.  It's easy to be positive when things are going well, but hard when in the middle of a trial. 

Books #24, #25 and #26

I'm a little behind on my posting so I'm doing 1 big post to catch up. 

The kids and I have been listening to the Little Britches series in the car.  A year or two ago we read the first book in the series and loved it, but our library didn't have any of the other books so we forgot about it for awhile.  Then I reread the book for a book club and the kids got interested in it again.  I was able to find audio downloads of the remaining books.  We have been working our way through the series.  We just finished book #5--The Fields of Home.  In this book Ralph Moody moves to Maine to help his grandfather on the farm.  There is a lot of frustration and a lot of growth in both Ralph and grandpa.  They learn that their way isn't always the best and change can be good.  I love that the stories are all true.






I mentioned before that I like to read a fun and easy book to help me get through the longer, harder books.  I read the next book the Last Apprentice series called Rise of the Huntress.  In this book the apprentice has to fight an evil witch, mostly with out the help of his master.  He is learning more about himself and his friend and his master.

Mr. linden's Library
He had warned her about the book.  Now it was too late.

This next books is one I picked randomly of the library shelf.  The Chronicles of Harris Burdick is a collection of stories by 14 authors.  There is a story behind the collection.  A man names Peter Wenders was mysteriously visited by Harris Burdick.  Mr. Burdick left behind 14 drawings with 14 captions and promised to return with more stories.  Mr. Wenders never saw Mr. Burdick again.  People have looked at the pictures and read the captions and tried to think of stories.  The book contains what 14 authors thought the stories behind the pictures might be.  One day we even tried.  We looked at a picture, read the caption and created a story.  Our stories were very different from the ones in the book.  We enjoyed the variety and found a new author we liked--too bad he doesn't write children's books. 

 

 

Book #23

“I dreamed a dream in time gone by
When hope was high
And life worth living
I dreamed that love would never die
I dreamed that God would be forgiving
Then I was young and unafraid
And dreams were made and used and wasted
There was no ransom to be paid
No song unsung, no wine untasted”

These are the words sung by Fantine in the musical Les Miserables.  To her, a dream was hope, a better life, happiness.  John Eldredge, the author of Wild at Heart, says that a dream is a battle to fight (a better tomorrow and personal rewards), an adventure to live (experiencing new things), and a beauty to win (lifelong companionship).  According to Orrin Woodward in Resolved a dream is an idea that turns into plans which turns into goals.  To me a dream is our desires and wishes.  But, in his book The Dream Giver, Bruce Wilkinson has a different definition of the word dream.  According to his character, Ordinary, a dream is what we do best and what we most love to do. 

Ordinary lives a life much like most people—the same routine, the same friends, the same expectations—but, he starts to feel like something is missing in his life.  He realizes that he has been given a dream and was “made to be a Somebody and achieve Great Things.”  He decides he will leave his ordinary life and take the journey to make his dream a reality.  His journey is filled with discouragement, trials, excuses, and other obstacles. 

I, like Ordinary, have been visited by the “Dream Giver” and know that I have been put on earth for a reason.  I call that reason my mission or purpose.  I tried to compare my journey with his, but couldn’t figure out where I was on the path.  I’ve discovered my mission, but I’m still in the processes of defining what my mission looks like and feels like.  I’ve felt doubts and fears and wondered if and how I will be able to fulfill my mission.  I am blessed to be surrounded by people who support me.  Some may question why I am doing what I am doing, but they don’t try to stop me or persuade me to go a different route.  I know there will be trials and obstacles, but luckily I have yet to face them.  Bruce Wilkins writes, “The place we’re most likely to experience testing is exactly where we struggle most to trust God.”  He also says that if we are facing obstacles then we are on the right track. 

Until recently I never thought about missions or purposes.  If someone asked me what God’s plan for me was I would have said be a mom.  But now I am learning and understanding that God has a plan for everyone and it’s more than learn and grow and return to Him.  It is specific to me and it is specific to each of God’s children.  If I didn’t know about the idea of missions, how many other people don’t know?  Even though Bruce Wilkinson uses the word dream and I use the word mission, the idea is the same.  We all are called to do something.  In the words of Ordinary to his father: “Your dream is here somewhere, waiting for you.  And if you don’t pursue it, something very important won’t happen.”

Book #22

A pretend interview with Drew Brees (quarterback for the New Orleans Saints)

Based on his story from the book Coming Back Stronger: Unleashing the hidden power of adversity

I’m not a sports fan by any means, but the idea of finding positives in adversity intrigued me.  I was pleasantly pleased with the things I learned.  This faux interview contains some of my favorite parts of Drew’s experience.  The things he learned about adversity are things we can all learn. 

 

 

Interviewer: We have with us today Drew Brees, the quarterback for the New Orleans Saints.  Drew recently took his team to the Super Bowl and achieved a great victory.  Now we want to know about his journey.  So, tell us, Drew, did you always want to play football?   

Drew: I loved whatever sport I was playing; growing up I always had a ball in my hand.  Although I played both football and baseball in High School, I really wanted to play baseball.  Even after signing on to play football for Purdue I thought I could focus on baseball and get drafted after college.  Turns out that wasn’t in God’s plan for me. 

 

Interviewer: In High School, you tore your ACL.  You’ve said that that incident changed you; tell us how it changed you.

Drew: That injury was the best thing that happened to me up to that point.  6 months after surgery I was completely healed and physically stronger.  “But for me the real difference wasn’t in my body but in my head and my heart.  I had a new sense of confidence because I knew I had worked hard to fight through the injury.  I’d pushed myself past limits I’d previously thought I could not go beyond.  I was physically, mentally and spiritually tougher because of what I had endured in order to get to that point.”  I was young, but I learned that I should always try to find the positive out of every negative. 

 

Interviewer: You attended Purdue after graduation and after Purdue you were drafted by the San Diego Chargers.  Share some of the things you learned while playing for that team.

Drew: Well, I constantly had to evaluate my attitude toward my teammates and coaches. “Human nature tells me to be angry and resentful and defensive when things don’t go my way—to seek revenge.  I always have to fight that. . . Anyone can see adversity in a difficult situation, but it takes a stronger person to see the opportunity.”  

 

I also learned that I am only as strong as my weakest link.  I had a trainer who helped me to see that I lacked strength in certain areas, and those weaknesses affected how well I played.  My trainer helped me with my diet as well—teaching me that eating the wrong foods made my body work harder to fight against free radicals making me feel fatigued and not able to recover as quickly. 

 

Another thing I learned is that no matter how good you are at what you do, there will always be people who think you aren’t good enough.  I made a choice early on to be motivated by the people who believed in me instead of being goaded by those who doubted me. 

 

Interviewer: After a terrible shoulder dislocation and a yearlong recovery process you were drafted by the New Orleans Saints.  You’ve said that you felt “called” to New Orleans; called to help the city get back on its feet.  Can you tell us what you mean by that?

Drew:  Actually, I believe that “each one of us has a calling for our lives, and it’s up to us to pursue that with everything we have.”  God wanted me in New Orleans.  I and my team knew how important it was for us to give the people of New Orleans something to hope for.   “We knew how much our fans identified with the team.  With that connection, we hoped they could latch on to some of our hope.  We could lead them back to higher ground, where they could get a glimpse of a better future.” 

 

Interviewer: Will you share some of the team building activities you do with your team?

Drew: I realized early on that I needed to change the way I prepared for a game.  I had a ritual that I followed that didn’t include my teammates.  I decided that I needed to be pumped up for them—that put me outside of my comfort zone, but I knew it was important.  The things I do with my team are secret during the season.  I created chants for to us to say before games, we had positive thinking activities, we did team building exercises and anything I asked them to do I was willing to do myself.  We were a team. 

 

Interviewer: What is the best advice you’ve been given?

Drew:  I’ve gotten lots of great advice.  One of my favorites was from a good friend.  He told me “that each morning when you wake up, think about winning the day.  Don’t worry about a week from now or a month from now—just think about one day at a time.  If you are worried about the mountains in the distance, you might trip over the molehill right in front of you.”  So often we worry about future challenges instead of celebrating the daily accomplishments. 

 

Another favorite came from my mentor Tom House.  He told me once after a loss that I was thinking so much about winning that I forgot the process it takes to win.  In anything we do we “need to put as much emphasis on the process as [we] do on the result.”  I apply this advice to all areas of my life. 

 

Interviewer: What advise can you give to your fans?

Drew: We are all going to face trials in our lives.  Those trials make us who we are.  But, it’s not enough to know that, you need to take action.  “Knowledge alone doesn’t change anyone.  You have to get to the point where you not only accept it but own it and put it into practice.”  You need to see those tough times as opportunities for growth.  “Have faith that it is happening for a reason.  And when it comes, you can lean into the adversity, put your shoulder down, push through it, and learn from it.  Through those experiences, God will mold you into the person he wants you to be.  The person you’re meant to be.” 

 

Interviewer:  There you have it folks—an inspiration to us all.  Thank you, Drew, for sharing your insights to overcoming adversity. 

Book #21

I did something hard last Sunday--I played the piano in Primary.  It's a long story how it came about, but I suspected I would have to jump in and play so I practiced all week.  The chorister said that she would swap places with me, but I said it would be good for my kids to see me do something hard.  Let me share a little history about my piano playing skills.  I took lessons for about 8 years and finally got permission to quit.  I never loved playing.  After quitting, I would sit down and plink around every once in awhile.  Shortly before I got married I was called to play in Relief Society.  I was a nervous wreck every time I played.  I haven't played in church since.  I'll play for Family Home Evening if it's a song that Braedi can't play, but that's it.  I don't think I'm good enough to accompany.  But, I stepped out of my comfort zone and did something hard. 

"You can do hard things" is a phrase we use a lot in our family, so when someone told me there was a book with that title I bought it.  Too bad it took me 2 years to read it.  The premise behind it is that teenagers have too low of expectations set on them.  People expect them to spend their teen years partying and relaxing.  The authors disagree and set out to prove that teens can do hard things.  Even though the book is geared toward teens and shares only teen experiences, the principles apply to all ages. 

The authors (who are 16 year old twins) share 5 kinds of hard things: things outside your comfort zone, things that go beyond what is expected or required, things that are too big to accomplish alone, things that don't earn an immediate payoff, and things that challenge the cultural norm.  They also give tips to accomplish those hard things. 

I've learned that I like to be comfortable, but the more I step out of my comfort zone the easier it is.  A couple of years ago I decided that I would try to attend more of Arizona's TJEd group activities.  They typically meet far away from me, but I felt a push to meet more like-minded people.  It was uncomfortable for me because it was new and I didn't know anyone.  But because I did, so many doors have opened up for me and I have learned so much.

Doing things that go beyond what is required is an area I need to work on.  I will often do the bare minimum and avoid pushing myself because I know it will be hard.  I see this in my scholar studies.  I have a goal to read 45 minutes everyday.  I do that, but I'm a lazy reader.  I also have a goal to write about each book I read, but my writing is more of a book report than ideas.  I do what I said I would, but no more. 

Working with my Primary presidency and other groups where different personalities are involved is hard.  Sometimes there is confrontation or difficult situations, but being a leader means that I have to do hard things.  It means that I have to work with others to accomplish our goals.  There are others areas of my life that are hard--homeschooling challenges the norm, being patient and speaking kindly, exercising daily and eating healthy, living the gospel, communicating about tough subjects, and so much more.  I have to remind myself daily that I can do hard things.

 

Book #20

Our homeschool group held a biography fair last week.  I was a little behind in my preparation--we didn't have time for the kids to pick out their own person to study.  Luckily I found a biography on the bookshelf that I was able to read aloud and Braedi, Corbin and Dyllan did a group presentation. 

The book we read was from a series called Childhood of Famous Americans.  The famous person was Albert Einstein.  The book shared many experiences from when Albert was a youth.  We learned that he liked to ask questions and solve puzzles.  Through a lot of trial and error he figured out how to build a  boomerang.  We learned how much Albert didn't like living in Germany.  He was a poor student, but only because the schools in Germany were so rigid.  When he went to school in Switzerland he had a better experience.  Albert played the violin and loved to read books.  He didn't have many friends--he didn't fit in well--but he was kind and honest. 

It was interesting to learn about the childhood of Albert Einstein.  Now I would like to learn more about his scientific discoveries.