Generation Clean

One summer day I was sitting on the back porch with my then toddler son. He was standing next to a large empty hammock and was pushing it back and forth. The momentum was increasing and I was worried that it would eventually come back too fast and knock him over. I said to him, “be careful sweetie.” He continued to push the hammock. I said to him again with more concern, “be careful!” He looked at me with a puzzled face and asked, “What is careful?” I realized that I had not made it clear what I really wanted. I had not talked to him about what was worrying me. My saying, “be careful” meant nothing to him. I think about this a lot when I find myself speaking in generalities and admonishing my kids to “be careful” online, or “be good.” Being specific is an essential part of teaching children how to analyze a situation and make a decision on what they should do about it. We need to teach them what it means to be careful, good, or bad.  The ultimate goal is to teach our c...

Beginning in 1848 when gold was first discovered in California, thousands moved west hoping to find chunks of precious gold metal in the hills and become wealthy.  I went on a field trip with my daughter’s school class to learn about the Gold Rush and was shown a big chunk of shiny gold rock called iron pyrite. We all were impressed by it, and were told how many gold miners came across these large golden chunks and thought that they had struck it rich. After they had gathered up all of this rock they could find, they tried to cash it in at the bank. They were told it was completely worthless. They had been fooled by its appearance. Iron pyrite does not contain the unique properties that give true gold its value. In fact it is not even a metal. It is made up of iron and sulfur. Hence the nick-name for it became “fool’s gold.”   All the time those prospectors had spent gathering this sparkling rock had been a completely wasted. They had nothing that they could tur...

They are a blessing and a curse. Screens everywhere: phones, tablets, games, televisions, and computers. Many things we find on them are good, clean, and fun. However, kids are able to find trouble or stumble across things that are not good for them too. As interactions with electronic devices increase, so does the risk of exposure to the trash that is floating around out there as well. There are numerous ways kids can see inappropriate things. Unfortunately, much of it is inappropriate for adults as well. It can seem so overwhelming- like there is no way to have control over what they find. Here are some ways that we deal with it in our family. We have only one computer in the house which is out in our main living area. We also only have one television in our house. I know, it’s shocking. It has always been very important to us that our kids be out where we can see them and not holed up in their rooms watching who-knows-what. But it’s getting harder to keep that up. ...

When I was a little girl I was uncomfortable with the word “woman.” I didn’t want to say it. I would substitute, “lady” or “girl” whenever I could. I felt the same way about the word “purse,” and tried to avoid that word as well. Maybe it was because I didn’t want to grow up. Maybe I wanted to be little and without the responsibilities that all women with purses have. I didn’t have an explanation. I just did not want to be called a woman or carry a purse.   I am over that feeling now. I am in the final year of my thirties and have a son that will be an adult in less than two years, so it’s time. However, when several months ago I started to feel a strong pull toward writing about womanhood, I felt an opposing pull telling me not to. Being the mother of a teenage girl and boy I find myself constantly running into issues related to this topic of womanhood. There has been a lot of discussion about modesty, controlling thoughts, body image, and feminism amo...

It is said that the eyes are the window to the soul. If you look someone in the eye you will connect with them in some way. Have you ever been in a conversation with someone where you just could not look away from their eyes? Chances are that it was an experience you remember because of it's emotional or spiritual impact on you. There is an energy and emotion that is seen and felt by the way we look at someone or by the way they look at you. When I walk my kids to school, or through the store, or past a homeless person, it is easy to keep our eyes on the ground instead of looking at those around us. I have to make a conscious choice to look at the faces of people I do not know. It makes me wonder why. Is it because there is a real power and connection that can be sent? Are we afraid that someone will discover something about us hidden in our eyes, or is it that we will discover something about them that we will then need to process? It is my theory that we avoid these connectio...

I came across a beautiful Christmas movie called "Silent Night." It is the story of how the German priest, Joseph Mohr, and the church organist, Franz Gruber, came to compose the famous carol in 1818. Mohr was known for his compassion for all, including the poor, and the hymn was born because of his desire to share a hymn with his congregation in spite of the church organ having broken. The film has a wonderful message of hope and is a hidden gem; much like another Christmas film produced by Brigham Young University in about 1980 called "Mr Krueger's Christmas" which stars Jimmy Stewart (whom we love so much in his most famous Chrismas movie, "It's a Wonderful Life" ). So, if you are looking for a great family Christmas movie I suggest this one!

Whether you were standing at the proverbial water-cooler with your fellow employees, or at a park play-date watching kids run and scream on the play equipment, you've done it. You have told the story of something awful or terribly hard that happened to you and then sighed, with relief and a smile, when someone else understood how you felt. It's natural for us to want to commiserate about things that are tough. Maybe that is why mommy blogs, and Facebook, and Pinterest all suck us in. We want to have shared experiences. We share on all sorts of subjects. The one I want to address now is parenting . I have noticed an awful lot of articles with lists of things that stink about parenting (for some reason we all love lists). Most talk about the everyday things that are frustrating, and sometimes they throw in that little abstract statement, "...but it's all worth it" at the end. But they don't really convey why it's worth it . Everyone understands tha...

I am a missionary in my church ward (congregation). There are several members in every ward who work with the official tag-wearing missionaries you usually think of as they teach the Gospel of Jesus Christ. We also encourage all members to share the gospel by inviting their friends to activities, and into their homes to learn about our church. We recently put on a fireside (a meeting to share inspirational messages) to remind the members how they can share the gospel through everyday interaction and conversation. Below is the "transcript" we used to outline the meeting. It does not have every word written out, but gives a general idea of what was said. If you use this for your ward, feel free to expand on the ideas in your own words. The first skit is meant to be funny because the member is not sincere when speaking of the church. The other skits show a member sharing what they believe in a friendly and open way . The comments in italics are meant to help with the di...

I was at a conference for women a few weeks ago, and a quote by Tolkien was mentioned. I loved it and jotted down in my notes, 'they may have clean earth to till. -Tolkien.' It struck me because it reminded me of this blog that I started years ago and have neglected for a long time. I came home and googled the quote. It was a little different than my notes, and after finding it, I had to read over it several times to feel like I fully understood it. “It is not our part to master all the tides of the world, but to do what is in us for the succour of those years wherein we are set, uprooting the evil in the fields that we know, so that those who live after may have clean earth to till. What weather they shall have is not ours to rule.” ―  J.R.R. Tolkien ,   The Return of the King I have not read the book the quote comes from, so I do not know the context in which it was written, but this is how it translates for me: I don't have to do everything or know everything,...

“We have a  family home evening program once a week [Monday night] across the Church in which parents sit down with their children. They study the scriptures. They talk about family problems. They plan family activities and things of that kind. I don’t hesitate to say if every family in the world practiced that one thing, you’d see a very great difference in the solidarity of the families of the world .” --- Gordon B Hinckley My family meets for FHE every Monday night. We try not to get too elaborate or it feels overwhelming. Here is a quick outline of what we do. We rotate who does what each week: Opening Song. Someone picks a song and we sing it together. It's usually a children's song from church or a hymn. Opening Prayer. Someone says an opening prayer asking Heavenly Father to help us have a nice time and that we will feel His Spirit. Family Business. We talk about what is coming up this week so we all know what's going on and who needs to be where. Lesson. ...

This video is so powerful! Leave it to Elder Holland to say this right. He gets right to the heart of the reason I do this blog. It's the reason my kids are still begging for cell phones of their own, and I have not caved in. It's the reason I have passwords on the computers, Wii channels like Netflix, and my cell phone. It's the reason I worry over which friends my children choose. And it's the reason my husband and I do scripture study and still say individual prayers (yes, even with the 13 year old) with each of our kids at night: I don't want to see my children suffer because of bad choices. Some may see me as paranoid or strict. I know that children need to learn how to be independent and how to take the consequences of their actions. Believe me, there are still plenty of choices they are allowed to make, and still plenty of consequences when they make poor ones. What I want to do is be sure that everyone in the family feels that home is a safe place. I wa...

Image by Castronova Designs I watched Taylor Swift: Journey to Fearless with my daughters. It's a sort of documentary about Taylor's "Fearless" tour in 2010. It was great fun to see her personality and how she put the show together. She seems like a sweet girl who is still genuinely surprised by her success and enjoying sharing her songs and herself with the world. We really liked seeing how she treats her fans so well: walking through the arena and giving out hugs and bracelets, holding a tea (T) party after each show for some big fans they find in the audience... Stuff that's just fun and personal. As a mom I loved seeing the relationship "Mama Swift" (that's how she's known by all on the tour) has with her daughter. They seem to be happy spending time together and it's nice to see a daughter respect and love her mother so much. She even wrote her a beautiful song! (If you want to cry, or just feel warm and fuzzy watch  The Best Da...

This quote comes from an exceptional talk about envy by Jeffrey R Holland . He gave this in April 2012 General Conference. Another one of my favorite quotes from his talk is:  "Envy requires us to suffer all good fortune that befalls everyone we know. What a bright prospect that is! Downing another quart of pickle juice every time anyone around you has a happy moment!" When you put it that way, it sounds so obviously ridiculous to be bitter for others successes. I think "pickle juice" is going to be our family's new catch phrase for identifying jealousy and envy.  Ok, and there's just one more that's really good too.  I wish I could put this one on a banner at the kids' middle school! "Coveting, pouting, or tearing others down does not elevate your standing. Nor does demeaning someon e else improve your self image."

Inspired by this article by Pat Archbold, I created the image above. I agree with the general theme of what he says. It is true that the "pretty" (a calm, innocent beauty) of women has been replaced for the most part by the agitated gaunt look of  "hot." And a hearty "Amen" to the part of the article about how disappointing it was to see Olivia Newton John's character in Grease throw away her prettiness to become hot and attract a guy. I have never understood why that movie was so popular for mothers to show their daughters. Maybe because the music is catchy? I hope that my daughters will understand that when they live a good life it shows in their faces, and that is what makes them pretty. It's not the makeup, outfits, or hairdos that do it, beauty grows from the inside out. That brings me to a favorite quote by my sister Erica: "It's more important to be nice, than pretty." Ooh, I need to make another artsy quote of that ...

image by freeimageslive.co.uk - BrianNorcross Quote by Gordon B Hinckley Design by Generation Clean

I have a friend named Marilyn who is a professional story teller. I think that is just about the coolest job there is. She has such a talent. I believe it is a real blessing to be able to tell a story that is meaningful, interesting, imaginative, and teaches something. Entertainment is often noisy and visually over-stimulating, so it is a relief to quietly sit and listen to a story being told or read. And if there is beautiful artwork to go with it, that makes it even better!  Marilyn recommended that I look at  Barefoot Books , and I'm so glad she recommended it!   The next time I'm in Massachusetts I would love to go experience their studio with my kids. Their website is wonderful, and even offers podcasts featuring some of their stories, which are great for older children who are able to focus a little more and use their imaginations to create the pictures in their heads. For younger children, there are also some fun videos featuring book illustrations and so...

What is a Hero? A hero is a person of distinguished   courage   or   ability,   admired   for   his  brave   deeds   and  noble   qualities. A hero is a person   who   is   regarded   as   a model   or  ideal. A hero is someone who helps other people, or helps to make other people's lives better.   A hero is a person who tries to make the world a better place.   A hero is a person who does something that is more than what is expected. A hero is someone that doesn't do something for his or her own problems but for the benefit of others. A hero is a person that doesn't want to be a hero just to be famous.  sources:  dictionary.com  and  thinkquest.org "Hero In You" by KSM Here is a fun song to keep you heroes going: KSM - Hero In You Powered by  mp3skull.com Kids Are Heroes Kids are Heroes is an inspiration...