I have decided that I would love if I could change my major to Education Week!! I was able to attend some of the classes at BYU Education Week last week and loved it. For those of you who don't know, BYU has this every year and around 20,000 people of all ages gather on campus from all over and there are so many classes to choose from like gardening, food storage, music, parenting, marriage, and many doctrinal classes and more. I've been before and was so glad that I was able to attend again. (If you happen to be a single mother, did you know there are single mother grants available if you apply ahead of time?)
I seem to have an unwelcoming face since seats filled up everywhere except next to me. One nice lady who was sitting a couple of empty seats away from me gave me this pretty scripture bookmark. She makes them for everyone she sits near. I showed it to my children when I got home. Alex said, "Wow. That must have taken a while to make.That was nice of her." And Elisa said, "She gave it to a total stranger? That's weird." I said, "Alex says it's nice and you say it's weird??" Haha! We got to talk about random acts of kindness.
Besides the good classes, I got to hang out with Paula. Our scheules were opposite most days so we only ended up going to a few classes together, but it was fun. I met Paula at a singles activity (at least I've made a few friends) and she is a wonderful mother of 5 and is back in school at BYU---in case any of you would like to set her up with a great guy. She deserves better than the LDS guys who tell her she is "too LDS". Yeah.
It's hard to choose what to blog about first from the classes I went to. Lots of good stuff! And now I have long list of recommend books that I want to read, but no time to read them even if I find any of them at the library. My classes start on Monday. Aaaaaaaaa!
There was a series of classes at 11:00 (Wednesday, Thursday and Friday) called Help, My Life's On Fire!--Finding Peace in an Unpeaceful World by Debbie Anselmi Bastian, Lori Hadley Hales, and Me’Chel Merrill Musgrave. I had never heard of them, but the topic was one I was interested in. The only problem was the same all the other hours. There are so many good classes that I had to choose one and miss the others. I missed the first two so I went to their Friday class entitled From Heartache to Peace...How Do I Get There? I hadn't noticed that after their names was this "(Heartbound)". They are a singing group, obviously named Heartbound.
So I wasn't expecting a class with the speakers singing, but what brings peace faster than music? They did also speak. Here are some of the quotes they included in their class.
"...Brothers and sisters, for the faithful, our finest hours are sometimes during or just following our darkest hours." Elder Neal A. Maxwell,The Great Plan of the Eternal God, Ensign, May 1984
"To know who we are is important, but to know where we are in relationship to our earthly home and heavenly home is essential if we are to receive all the blessings our Father in Heaven has for those who love him and keep his commandments. Our eternal home is our ultimate destination. A proper yearning for home can prevent our getting lost in detours or paths that lead us away." Marvin J. Ashton, A Yearning for HomeEnsign, November 1992, 21-22
"True success in this life comes in consecrating our lives—that is, our time and choices—to God’s purposes (see John 17:1, 4; D&C 19:19). In so doing, we permit Him to raise us to our highest destiny." D. Todd Christofferson,Reflections on a Consecrated Life, Ensign, November 2010
They are three lovely ladies who use their talents to uplift and bless others. Connect with them on their BLOG, WEB SITE, or Facebook. I found two of their songs on video and the final video is just a funny story in case you need a laugh today and a reason to make you really grateful that THAT didn't happen to you.
Hi Valerie, You posted a comment on my post called "I Give Up". I have to say that I am duly inspired by your post because I went to Education week but did not bring nearly as much uplifting thoughts into my posts as you did. It was a marvelous two days I spent there. I have to qualify my post that you commented on...I finally discussed it with my husband this afternoon. Husband 2 was actually trying to point out how short sighted and wrong he was for only thinking of wife superficially at first. I didn't get that from the first telling of the story, probably because I was unhappy with him from something that happened the day before. Lesson - our state of mind affects how we perceive. Thank you for including so much good stuff on your blog. It has inspired me. Best, Amy
I have always wanted to go to education week... but I never know when it is or how to sign up... or really much of anything about it at all except that everyone who goes loves it. Hmmm. Anyway, glad it was so wonderful for you! :)
I have only been to Education Week once and I loved it. I also love Women's Conference. What could be more great than wonderful speakers and classes each day. It sounds like you had a great time and I love the bookmark that sweet lady gave to you - that was nice thing :-D
i heart you. seriousness here. you are wonderful and deserve the greatest blessings offered in this life. especially peace. ::hugs:
i'm glad you were able to enjoy being edified for 3 full days. someday i plan on attending education week too, but until then, i'll live vicariously through your experiences and testimony you share here.
BTW, while in utah this week i totally thought about ya! especially when my family wanted to go see the exhibits at the Church History museum. :) alas, exhibits have changed since i was there last year. i looked but could not find the testimony section. perhaps i just missed it, but you were totally on my mind. it was a peaceful and comforting feeling to know i had my family there with me in the same place where you have taken your family. even though you & i weren't there together, it almost felt as if we were still connected nonetheless.
so grateful to have you as my friend. thank you! ::oodles of hugs::
Hi Valerie! It was so fun to see your comment on my blog about going to Education Week, too! The first time I went was in 2005 while I was investigation the Church. I was baptized in January of 2006, and have gone every year since. It's a highlight to my year.
I so hope some of these talks will be shown on the BYU channel. If you ever hear when that will be please let us know. So happy for you that you got to attend!
Hi Valerie,
ReplyDeleteYou posted a comment on my post called "I Give Up". I have to say that I am duly inspired by your post because I went to Education week but did not bring nearly as much uplifting thoughts into my posts as you did. It was a marvelous two days I spent there. I have to qualify my post that you commented on...I finally discussed it with my husband this afternoon. Husband 2 was actually trying to point out how short sighted and wrong he was for only thinking of wife superficially at first. I didn't get that from the first telling of the story, probably because I was unhappy with him from something that happened the day before. Lesson - our state of mind affects how we perceive. Thank you for including so much good stuff on your blog. It has inspired me. Best,
Amy
I have always wanted to go to education week... but I never know when it is or how to sign up... or really much of anything about it at all except that everyone who goes loves it. Hmmm. Anyway, glad it was so wonderful for you! :)
ReplyDeleteI have only been to Education Week once and I loved it. I also love Women's Conference.
ReplyDeleteWhat could be more great than wonderful speakers and classes each day.
It sounds like you had a great time and I love the bookmark that sweet lady gave to you - that was nice thing :-D
I was up there too and blogged about it. I had a great time. If I had seen you, I would have sat by you! I didn't get a bookmark from anyone.
ReplyDeleteI was all set to go this year and then family came into town. Next year (I hope!)...
ReplyDeletei heart you. seriousness here. you are wonderful and deserve the greatest blessings offered in this life. especially peace. ::hugs:
ReplyDeletei'm glad you were able to enjoy being edified for 3 full days. someday i plan on attending education week too, but until then, i'll live vicariously through your experiences and testimony you share here.
BTW, while in utah this week i totally thought about ya! especially when my family wanted to go see the exhibits at the Church History museum. :) alas, exhibits have changed since i was there last year. i looked but could not find the testimony section. perhaps i just missed it, but you were totally on my mind. it was a peaceful and comforting feeling to know i had my family there with me in the same place where you have taken your family. even though you & i weren't there together, it almost felt as if we were still connected nonetheless.
so grateful to have you as my friend. thank you! ::oodles of hugs::
good luck with school!!!!!!! :)
It's too bad that you can't get your Major in Education Week. So glad you could go. I went YEARS ago and loved every minute.
ReplyDeleteHi Valerie! It was so fun to see your comment on my blog about going to Education Week, too! The first time I went was in 2005 while I was investigation the Church. I was baptized in January of 2006, and have gone every year since. It's a highlight to my year.
ReplyDeleteThanks so much for stopping by!
I so hope some of these talks will be shown on the BYU channel. If you ever hear when that will be please let us know. So happy for you that you got to attend!
ReplyDelete