There was a broadcast on 10.20.19 from Boston, Massachusetts directed toward all people in the North America Northeast region. Elder Christofferson and Elder Ballard were the main speakers.
These are very brief notes from the regional conference:
Our Savior didn't focused on how hard and painful the atonement was. He focused on joy to get him through it. We, too, should focus on joy in our own lives and not how hard things might feel.
We need to pray daily for opportunities to invite others to learn - invite to church, invite to eat, invite to attend an event, invite to anything. Make friends. Be friends. The local leadership brother spoke about how his daughter moved to a new state and the first thing that happened was a neighbor brought over freshly baked cookies and asked her if she had a church to go to. They thought this man surely must be the ward mission leader. He actually was from another church. We need to be comfortable asking people to join us in the things that we are doing, just as this man and others in his daughters new community are.
Daily prayer keeps us centered on Heavenly Father. We need get away from out "Type-A" personalities of thinking that we need to do a certain number of chapters each day. We should set an amount of time for scriptures and allow for time to ponder in order to receive answers and promptings.
He recommended reading "Deep and Lasting Conversion" by Elder Cook Cook's talk
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ffO-5yh7YQ
and
"Try, Try, Try" by Elder Eyring Eyring's talk
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_aSsN2vru1A
As well as a lesser known article by Clay Christensen, who is a professor at Harvard. Each year on the last day of class, he would give a lecture on how to incorporate what you learn into who you become. Elder Christofferson explained that Clay Christensen spent an hour each night meditating and pondering on the purpose of his life, rather than spending that hour studying [insert some heavy college subject here]. This proved to be more beneficial to him than anything else he could have done with his time and then he gives the lecture on what he learned. It became so popular that Harvard Business Review published it. I found the book, "How will you Measure your Life?" by Clay Christensen and a Ted Talk: Christensen's talk
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tvos4nORf_Y&t=8s
His book is also available on Audible.
Don't forget to thank your God for all the things he has given you. We need more thankfulness and to verbally acknowledge those specific things.
And lastly, President Ballard spoke about the time he has spent in the New England area looking at all the sites that our founding fathers lived, worked, and died. He talked about the battles that were fought, the prayers that were said, and the miracles that proceeded because of the faith of these brave men who suffered greatly in trying to free us from the British. He spoke of one battle on Christmas (probably the Battle of Trenton) where God provided miracles via a drastic change in the weather (river turned to ice, allowing troops to cross; clear skies turned to fog and snow, allowing troops to go unseen by their enemies) all provided by the Hand of God. These men had fasted and prayed for help. We, too, need to fast and pray for our country. We have forgotten how much was sacrificed, and what God has done to allow us these freedoms. We need to pray for this country. We need to pray for our leaders, our people, our protection. We need a movement via social media and we need to invite everyone, everywhere to participate.
He also spoke of one of the men on the Mayflower who had fallen off and almost drown but through God's miracles, he survived. He and his wife had 10 children and a great posterity including many significant people in positions to change history (presidents, leaders, etc.).
God's hand is in our life and we need to stop chalking it up to "coincidence" and acknowledge that a loving God in heaven is protecting and guiding us. Look for His hand in your life. It is there.
Please share anything else you learned from this broadcast or any facts I got wrong. :)
Monday, October 21, 2019
Tuesday, October 8, 2019
Fundraisers are a scam
The hardest thing I did yesterday was get this Spring Rolls package open. Seriously. It was ridiculously hard to do. After that, I tried to fry the spring rolls so they would look like the golden brown things on the package. This was a fail. But you know what? I fed it to my family anyway. (Along with all the ice cream they wanted to make up for this offense to my cooking street cred.)
I recently started a job that I am not in love with. It is a parody of "The Office" every day - if "The Office" was filmed at an African American college. Naturally, I stand out a bit there, among other oddities that I have found.
My boss is kind of eccentric. She is a combination of Michael Scott and Stanley from Accounting. Ironically, we are the accounting department and are pretty much hated by the rest of the college, but I have come to conclude that everyone hates the gatekeepers of the money. It just comes with the job. I work on travel expenses and I get to explain why employees can't expense a $70 meal, that we aren't going to pay for your wife and child to travel with you for your business trip, or that the policy says that you have to get a compact rental car for you and your football coaches even if you are all 6' 5" tall and travelling together... Maybe it is a little obvious why we are hated...
Anyway, each day is a new adventure including the fact that: the HVAC is out, there are huge windows with indications that they once held blinds, and the water cooler hasn't been filled since 1996. Don't get me started on the fridge. Anyway, I have toyed with quitting but it really isn't that bad. My biggest complaint is that for the first month no one talked to me. This was the first time that I realized that my chosen profession - accounting - employs a bundle of introverts! I was a wilting flower with each passing day. I would hope to get fired but wasn't willing to just quit. It was a terrible conundrum. I wasn't sure if I was just having a hard time because going back to work at a real job after years of volunteering is just hard. Or maybe it was the people I work with. Or maybe it was because no one has dusted in 20 years. I don't know, but recently things have started changing. I got assigned to a specific type of account. I started having people ask me if I wanted supplies (this is a big deal in an office). I had a brand new comfy chair show up - which caused some hostility with the other employees. Then I got a new computer. Then I was asked if I would like to move into my own private office. This has been awkward because I am the newest employee and no one else is getting these favors. I turned the office down because: it doesn't have a window, I would be isolated, and no one would be forced to talk to me when they walk by. It is a strange problem to have but I can't handle people not talking to me. I eavesdrop on every conversation so that I can feel a part of it. Seriously. I am an extreme extrovert and probably have some disorder but it seems to be working at this place.
So I just keep showing up like it's the most important thing I do each day. "You're going to pay the college back for that nightcap, Professor."
This leads me to the next complaint in my life - I am fundamentally opposed to fundraisers as I feel that they are a scam. They scam you into paying triple the cost of some mediocre cookie dough. They entice children to hassle all their friend's parents, grandparents, and neighbors that they never talk to, and then you run the risk of all those people sending their kids to you when they have a fundraiser. The cost of sending your child out to do a fundraiser could reach bankruptcy levels when the favor is returned in kind. It is a scam.
My child brought home a fundraiser.
My kids tend to lack ambition, particularly this one, but for some reason one of the prizes has got this child on a mission to sell 20 items. 20 ITEMS! I don't even have 20 friends here who we can ask. We talked long and hard about this because despite all my bells and whistles going off, I have to let this kid explore something that they are finally interested in. However, I told said child that they will have to do the work for it. The prize is that you get to leave school and go to lunch with a group of other kids who scammed 20 people out of their money. I told said child that I will just buy a lunch at that restaurant - to no avail. I had to let this one play out.
The kid wants to sell them at church. Hard no. Then wants me to sell them at work. Um, no. For one thing, I don't want to start that at the office; for another thing, I don't want to be stuck working until the fundraiser items come in, if I should choose that I have had enough with Michael Scott and the crew. So now we are hitting up all the friends. I apologize in advance for those who are stuck in the scam. Said child has tried to be respectful in the way that they have asked, and is learning some good life lessons, but I couldn't have been more surprised that a Ponzi scheme would motivate this kid. Being a parent stinks sometimes. Being an employee also stinks.
So here we are, counting down our last 6 months in Ohio. Our plan is to move to San Antonio at the beginning of April but until then, we will all be struggling to survive, but hopefully not eating failed attempts at cooking spring rolls. Happy Fall!
I recently started a job that I am not in love with. It is a parody of "The Office" every day - if "The Office" was filmed at an African American college. Naturally, I stand out a bit there, among other oddities that I have found.
My boss is kind of eccentric. She is a combination of Michael Scott and Stanley from Accounting. Ironically, we are the accounting department and are pretty much hated by the rest of the college, but I have come to conclude that everyone hates the gatekeepers of the money. It just comes with the job. I work on travel expenses and I get to explain why employees can't expense a $70 meal, that we aren't going to pay for your wife and child to travel with you for your business trip, or that the policy says that you have to get a compact rental car for you and your football coaches even if you are all 6' 5" tall and travelling together... Maybe it is a little obvious why we are hated...
Anyway, each day is a new adventure including the fact that: the HVAC is out, there are huge windows with indications that they once held blinds, and the water cooler hasn't been filled since 1996. Don't get me started on the fridge. Anyway, I have toyed with quitting but it really isn't that bad. My biggest complaint is that for the first month no one talked to me. This was the first time that I realized that my chosen profession - accounting - employs a bundle of introverts! I was a wilting flower with each passing day. I would hope to get fired but wasn't willing to just quit. It was a terrible conundrum. I wasn't sure if I was just having a hard time because going back to work at a real job after years of volunteering is just hard. Or maybe it was the people I work with. Or maybe it was because no one has dusted in 20 years. I don't know, but recently things have started changing. I got assigned to a specific type of account. I started having people ask me if I wanted supplies (this is a big deal in an office). I had a brand new comfy chair show up - which caused some hostility with the other employees. Then I got a new computer. Then I was asked if I would like to move into my own private office. This has been awkward because I am the newest employee and no one else is getting these favors. I turned the office down because: it doesn't have a window, I would be isolated, and no one would be forced to talk to me when they walk by. It is a strange problem to have but I can't handle people not talking to me. I eavesdrop on every conversation so that I can feel a part of it. Seriously. I am an extreme extrovert and probably have some disorder but it seems to be working at this place.
So I just keep showing up like it's the most important thing I do each day. "You're going to pay the college back for that nightcap, Professor."
This leads me to the next complaint in my life - I am fundamentally opposed to fundraisers as I feel that they are a scam. They scam you into paying triple the cost of some mediocre cookie dough. They entice children to hassle all their friend's parents, grandparents, and neighbors that they never talk to, and then you run the risk of all those people sending their kids to you when they have a fundraiser. The cost of sending your child out to do a fundraiser could reach bankruptcy levels when the favor is returned in kind. It is a scam.
My child brought home a fundraiser.
My kids tend to lack ambition, particularly this one, but for some reason one of the prizes has got this child on a mission to sell 20 items. 20 ITEMS! I don't even have 20 friends here who we can ask. We talked long and hard about this because despite all my bells and whistles going off, I have to let this kid explore something that they are finally interested in. However, I told said child that they will have to do the work for it. The prize is that you get to leave school and go to lunch with a group of other kids who scammed 20 people out of their money. I told said child that I will just buy a lunch at that restaurant - to no avail. I had to let this one play out.
The kid wants to sell them at church. Hard no. Then wants me to sell them at work. Um, no. For one thing, I don't want to start that at the office; for another thing, I don't want to be stuck working until the fundraiser items come in, if I should choose that I have had enough with Michael Scott and the crew. So now we are hitting up all the friends. I apologize in advance for those who are stuck in the scam. Said child has tried to be respectful in the way that they have asked, and is learning some good life lessons, but I couldn't have been more surprised that a Ponzi scheme would motivate this kid. Being a parent stinks sometimes. Being an employee also stinks.
So here we are, counting down our last 6 months in Ohio. Our plan is to move to San Antonio at the beginning of April but until then, we will all be struggling to survive, but hopefully not eating failed attempts at cooking spring rolls. Happy Fall!
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