Holy Week Activity

Does Easter sneak up on you? I have been meaning to update our Easter scripture activity for years, but I am surprised every year, so I don’t get it done. This year, even though I have two adult age children, I finally did it. I wanted more of a Holy Week activity, with readings about the Savior’s actions and teachings during the last week, not just Gethsemane and the Crucifixion. I found a good LDS podcast which educated and inspired me to do more to commemorate the week and looked up several reading lists for Holy Week to help me narrow down which Bible passages to use. In the end, my favorite additions are the alabaster vial with a reading about the anointing woman and some doves for the reading about the cleansing of the temple. Instead of an empty egg representing the empty tomb, I have small Christus in the final egg. He is tangible and present, and not a missing person.

Here is a list of the readings I chose. I typed out the passages, printed, and folded them into numbered eggs along with these small objects. This year, we will read them all in one or two sittings. In the coming years, I hope to do two readings a day in the week leading up to Easter.

  1. Jesus Enters Jerusalem: Matthew 21:1-11 (palm leaves, donkey)
  2. Jesus Cleanses the Temple: Matthew 21:12-15 (money, birds)
  3. Mount of Olives Discourse about the Second Coming: Joseph Smith-Matthew 1:1,4-11, 22, 31, 37 (picture)
  4. The Anointing Woman: Mark 14:3-9 (small white vial)
  5. The Last Supper: Luke 22:7-8, 15, 19-20 (bread, cup) additional: John 14:6-7, 15, 18, 25-27
  6. Gethsemane: John 14:31; Matthew 26:36-45 (picture)
  7. Arrest: Matthew 26:14-16, 47-50, 56; (30 quarters, rope)
  8. Trial and Peter’s denial: Mark 14:53-72 (rooster)
  9. Jesus is Brought Before Pilate and Sentenced to Death: Matthew 27:1-2; Matthew 27:24-30 (scourge, purple cloth)
  10. The Cross: Luke 23:33-34, 44-47; John 15:13 (nail)
  11. Jesus is Buried: Luke 23:50-54 (white cloth)
  12. The Stone is Sealed and a Watch is Put in Place: Matthew 27:59-66 (soldier, stone)
  13. An Angel Appears to the Women: Mark 16:1, Matthew 28:2-8 (angel)
  14. The Resurrected Lord Appears to Many: Mark 13: 9-15 (Christus)

My words

Someone asked us at church to come up with a word that described our individual focus for the year. It was just an exercise and she wasn’t saying that a theme word should have to be a thing we do. But it is a good exercise to get you thinking. Some examples women came up with: acceptance, kindness, patience, love, and joy.

I couldn’t think of one word, so I chose this phrase from Alma. This has been in my head this year, and some good has come from it. Unfortunately, it hasn’t had an effect on my exercise habits.

And this little letterboard makes me really, really happy.

Gratitude lists for mid-March

3/12-3/18

  • A good family home evening lesson
  • Ideas flowing for writing
  • Protection from harm during a lightning storm on a playing field
  • An evening listening to a member of the Presidency of the Seventy
  • Paige’s visit
  • Midnight drive with Daniel to ask someone to a dance
  • Good visit with Helen
  • Time and energy to serve someone who was busy and frazzled

3/19-3/25

  • Beautiful lunch with my presidency after a visit thanks to Kristy
  • Finding reassurance from conference talks
  • My presidency
  • Sunshine on Friday
  • Lunch with sisters
  • Richard’s happy Deacons quorum after completing their Duty to God requirements go to a Jazz game together 😃😃😃
  • Daniel’s vocal trio at the choir concert and watching him accompany choirs on the piano
  • Sunshine on my face on Friday
  • A new kitchen faucet
  • A good interaction with a sister in my ward, despite my fear of more failure in my fumbling efforts to reach out
  • My nephews’ reactions to the toys and candy at the family Easter egg hunt
  • A Sunday full of resolutions to dilemmas and efforts

Post #1500

FrisbeeScoutsVisitsCompassionateServicePianoViolinLessonsLaundryVacuumingCleaningDishesGroceriesDrivingReadingSortingPatiencePatienceWorryMoodyLettingGoFormsDoctorsLeadershipBaffledChoirMidnightDeadlinesRoboticsIWon’tMissYouQuietHidingMyScarHaircutsWaitingJazzBandForgetfulUnmotivatedSomebody’sOffendedAgainMoreVegetablesNowLet’sGetRidofSugarMasterpieceHomeFiresWhatWereYouThinkingButILoveTheBookAboutQueenVictoriaIAmReadingLowUnsureIShouldMakeADollNoMaybeEmbroiderCactusesWhyHaveINotPaintedThisRoomYetShe’sTryingToGetOutOfThisButICan’tHelpHerAreWeReallySurprisedFacebookIsBadAreWeReallySurprisedAboutViolenceInOurAreaAreWeReallySurprisedKidsAreHavingAHardTimeWithSocialMediaWhyCan’tIMakeTheTimeToWriteThatLetterNoOneIsGoingToWantToReadThisNewProjectIWillWriteItAnywayIMayNotGoThisTimeLivingLifeToTheTuneOfLaundryAndOvenTimersIWouldLikeToGoBackToTheDayWeVisitedANaturePreserveInSierraVistaAndWatchMyCuteKidsAgain

My 1500th post should be worthy, but since this is the state of my mind, well, you get this.

Family Home Evening about Technology Use

Our lesson this week came from the Gospel Library app under the Missionary category, “Safeguards for Using Technology.” I asked each family member to teach one of the safeguards, then we listed three goals we will work on this week.

This guide is awesome! It is so wise and concise. Here are a few of our favorite quotes:


 

Turn on your device only after your intention is clear. Before turning on your mobile device or computer or opening an app, determine … what you will be doing. Consider the amount of time you will take and how these activities will lead to helping people …. (Safeguard 2)

 

Limit the use of technology when you are feeling bored, lonely, angry, anxious, stressed, or tired, or when you feel any other emotion that makes you vulnerable or susceptible. (Safeguard 2)

 

Experience has shown that people are more likely to encounter inappropriate content on the Internet when they are casually surfing the web without a specific purpose in mind. (Safeguard 2)

 

All missionaries experience weaknesses and feelings of vulnerability. Instead of hiding or ignoring these feelings, honestly acknowledge them in order to help yourself choose a better response and overcome temptation. (Safeguard 3)

 

Learn to recognize patterns in your thoughts, feelings, or behaviors that make it difficult for you to use technology righteously. You can avoid temptation by avoiding these patterns. (Safeguard 3)

 

Avoid checking or sending messages during sacrament meetings, ward council, or missionary training meetings (Safeguard 3)

 

Develop the discipline to use your mobile device only when it is appropriate to do so. When you are talking face-to-face with people, do not check messages or answer calls. Take control of how you use these tools. Do not let them control you. (Safeguard 3)

 

“Handheld devices, such as smartphones, are a blessing, but they can also distract us from hearing the ‘still, small voice.’ They need to be our servants, not our masters” -Elder M. Russell Ballard. (Safeguard 3)

 

Never use your device when you are alone. (Safeguard 4)

 

Remember, nearly all challenges associated with the Internet or with pornography happen in isolation. (Safeguard 4)

 

Reminder

I was away from the house yesterday afternoon at a rainy Ultimate Frisbee game in Alpine when this picture showed up on my phone, taken by my neighbor Lindsay. I was glad for an update on our little circle of houses and to see that Daniel was home, as the van he drives was in the shot. I couldn’t believe how similar this rainbow was to the one I was seeing in Alpine.

This was the picture that I had just taken, a mountain apart from our home:

I am taking it as a reminder that God knows where we live and where we spend our days. He knows what I am worried about and has solutions. He knows we are feeling opposition knows that we need reminders now and then that he is with us.

 

A memory

I step into her small apartment, book lined and bright in the late afternoon. I notice the skin on her arms is translucent and tinged with blue. This is the first time I have seen her since her diagnosis of bone cancer. She is just home, exhausted from treatments, and the television is on. It is September 11, 2001, and I have made sloppy joes. I slip into the kitchen and see that her refrigerator is full of food, almost untouched. I see that my food is not needed, and wonder how long my meal will sit in her refrigerator before she throws it away. It is a day of utter waste. In protest, I break a rule and give her a hug when she asks what’s become of the world. I have come to know that when we bring a meal to someone, the food is just a vehicle for connection.

I like this.

My friend recommended this to me and now I am telling you. It’s The Book of Mormon, 2013 edition, organized by events, not chapters. Nothing has been taken out and it is still written in the same order.

I like it because:

  • It is easier to read than normally formatted scripture, as it is written in paragraphs. (Verses and chapters are still visible.)
  • The authors’ and speakers’ names are written in the left margins so it is clear whose voice you are reading.
  • There are large margins for notes.
  • Dates and places are in the right margins, making it easier to place the events.
  • Because the authors are identified, and I think for the most part the editors are accurate, I have been able to see Mormon’s efforts in greater detail. I read more emphasis into the words that are directly from the Lord, and like isolating the doctrines from different prophets. I am coming to know each prophet better.
  • The book has a nice feel; it’s not too light, and opens flat, even though it is a paperback.

Let me know if you give it a try and enjoy it.