Generation Clean

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."