Sunday, August 31, 2014

Carson gave a talk on "Lifelong Learning"

Here is the talk Carson gave yesterday:  (he wrote it himself as  Brad and I BOTH fell asleep while helping him)  Tender Mercies of Teens!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
LIFELONG LEARNING

Hello everybody. Now I'm betting that a lot of you still in school... Let's just say dislike it strongly. I know that feeling, I've been there. But I'm here today to tell you to, in the words of Dieter F. Uchtdorf, to stop it. School may not be very fun, but it's necessary to our eternal existence.

Heavenly Father has commanded us to learn all that we can in this life, be it at school, at work, or on our own. Everything that we learn in this life will remain with us when we pass into the next life, so it's important to fill our heads with as much knowledge as we can cram in. And knowledge isn't just little tidbits of information that we pick up here and there, like how the metal part on the end of a pencil is called a ferrule, but instead knowledge is things like y=mx+b, what happened during the Middle Ages, don't let petty disagreements separate you from others; these things are going to be much more helpful to you later on in life- and even into the next life than knowing the difference between an alligator and a crocodile.

 And when school has you memorize facts like that, that don't seem to be very helpful to you, then just remember the words my father once said to me: school isn't about teaching you facts and figures, it's about teaching you how to learn. Along with teaching you how to learn, school can also teach you some really good moral lessons, especially in history and reading classes. For example, in many of the books you will read, there is at least one lesson you can learn, some easier to see than others. One good example is To Kill a Mockingbird, which, coincidentally, is also about learning. I'll try not to reveal too much of the plot for those of you who haven't read it, but in it the main character, a girl named Scout, learns that storied you hear about someone aren't necessarily true, and you shouldn't judge someone based on stories that you hear about them, or what you think about them. As you should hopefully know, this is a very important thing to understand, because if you treated people based on your initial judgement of them, and no matter what you remained constant in your treatment of them, then you would miss out on so many opportunities to meet great people.


Getting back on the subject of learning, it doesn't only have to be at school. As I mentioned at the beginning of this talk, it can really be done anywhere. And it doesn't have to be only about worldly things. The Lord wants us to learn about his Gospel as well. And, again, this can be done anywhere. The places we think of most when we think about the Gospel are places like church, seminary, etc. But really, we can also think about places like home, school, work, and anyplace else that comes to mind, because the inspiration can happen anywhere and at anytime. Of course, you usually have to be in a spiritual mood for it to strike.


I began this talk by saying that most of you probably don't like school, and that even though it's necessary it isn't very fun. This isn't entirely true though. You can make school fun if you tell yourself that it is. Really, truly believe that school is fun, and you just might find that it is. And trust me, school gets quite a bit easier when you enjoy it. So when you go to school, have fun, learn all that you can, and you'll be one step closer to eternal happiness. I say these things in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.
Stephanie E. Bishop
sebishop4.blogspot.com/

Wednesday, August 27, 2014

Missionaries from Lenexa KS Stake open their calls

 Use this link to access a video created by a member of the Lenexa Kansas Stake of the LDS Church, showing young men and women opening their LDS mission calls!


Monday, August 25, 2014

A visit from Brandon & Allison

A week-long visit from our oldest son Brandon and his lovely wife, Allison, was a perfect ending to a super Summer!  Even though Carson and Jessie were in school ALL week, we made the best of family time.











I have used the slideshow feature of I-Photo and included all the other photos I took while Brandon and Allison were in KC!   VIEW SLIDESHOW HERE



While attending the T-BONES minor league baseball game, Carson, Jessie and Brandon got to participate in activities during the innings.

--Jessie ran the bases
--Brandon guessed a country song correctly
--Carson was in an AIR GUITAR contest

 I have included their break-out performance in this short video clip. Brandon and I are easily heard cheering during the kids moments of fame and our comments and enthusiasm could brighten your day!


Sunday, August 24, 2014

Balloon Festival movie Trailer--2014
























Thursday, August 14, 2014

RS Temple NIGHT

Kelly Black, Marilyn Keine, and I went to the temple and took this beautiful photo. Kelly Black is my counselor in the RS presidency and Sister Keine is on the RS Committee. They are beloved women and mothers in my life!!!!!!!!



Wednesday, August 13, 2014

Goodbye to Summer---Hello to School 2014-2015

Carson spent a fantastic week and the BVN Band camp prior to beginning his 2nd year at the high school as a sophomore! Joia White is his good friend and car pool buddy to all the band events.



Jessica is a 4th grader at VPE and loves her teacher, Mrs. Frandsen!