Here’s the pizza we had on Halloween night for our Book of Mormon party. We used Tillamook mozarella which my friend Amy brought and it was so yummy! She said she is a cheese snob so Tillamook is the only brand she buys. I can’t afford Tillamook right now but enjoy it when I get it! Thank you Amy for sharing!
My camera’s batteries died so I couldn’t snap a picture of it. Then last week I made it again, on Election Day, in fact, but used cheddar and I got my picture.
Either way, it’s delish! For a truly “whole foods, Sally Fallon-approved” crust, instead of a Boboli crust, I do Caralee’s Soaked Bread Dough using whole wheat flour, one batch makes enough for two jelly roll sized pans of crust, which is perfect for the 8 of us at home. In the bread dough recipe I usually don’t have kefir or buttermilk, I use 4 cups of water with 4 Tbsp of apple cider vinegar (1 Tbsp vinegar per cup of flour) and it turns out perfect.
It’s a perfect dinner for fall and winter. You can make and bake the crust ahead of time when supervising your little ones doing breakfast and lunch dishes. That’s what I did on Election Day. I had to pick my son up from my sister’s home (45 minutes away). I knew that would cut into dinner prep time so I baked the crust while we were doing lunch dishes. Then at dinnertime all you have to do is add the toppings and pop it in the oven for 10 minutes. Add a salad and you have a meal!
This comes from mothering.com:
Incredible White Bean Pizza
Start with a store bought crust (i.e Boboli), puree one can of drained, rinsed white beans with one clove of garlic, 2 Tablespoons water, and 1/2 tsp oregano in a blender. Spread mixture over the pizza crust. Sprinkle with shredded mozzarella cheese, fresh, diced tomatoes and chopped basil. Bake in a 425 degree oven until cheese is bubbly, about 10-12 minutes.
A storm blew in yesterday after we had mild weather for for the past two weeks, and it’s still snowing. I am so happy I caught these pictures of my neighbors’ cheery housefront decor and decorative kale before the storm hit! I aspire to someday have such a welcoming look for my home! We’ve had a fire the past two nights to motivate the kids to get their evening chores done. I love being cozy together and reading stories with the fire crackling and popping.
Here are three darling read aloud stories for you and your children to enjoy on these dark cold nights: We read chapter 1 of two of them on Thursday night. I am looking forward to enjoying the rest of the stories!
We read the first chapter and so far it so charming. Brings back my own memories of going to Grandma’s for Thanksgiving. You can get it in ebook or audio file here.
This comes from Louisa May Alcott from her collection of short stories called Aunt Jo’s Scrapbag. You can find the picture book from the library, or listen to the audio file or get the ebook here.
I feel drawn to this book in the winter and a few times we’ve listened to the first chapter several times when we’ve gathered on homeschool morning to fold the clean laundry. For some reason we haven’t moved past the first chapter. The cheery scene of schoolchildren “coasting” on a hill of snow always warms my heart. This winter I think we will listen to the rest. Listen to it or read aloud here. I don’t know if it talks about Thanksgiving, but it does refer to Christmas.
The holidays are coming! That means turkey, pumpkin pie, mashed potatoes, stuffing, gravy, cranberry sauce, more pie, Christmas trees, hot cocoa, sugar cookies, lights, fudge, toffee, egg nog, music, gingerbread, presents, and more food! It’s enough to make any girl gain a few sizes!
Do you look forward to and dread the onslaught of treats at the same time? Does neither abstinence nor self-control work for you, because you end up bingeing and overeating? Do you just wish sugar wasn’t soooo enticing?
Come take this 4 week mentoring course over the phone and break free of sugar addiction forever, while still enjoying sweet treats. Start the New Year with no extra pounds to lose and a transformed you that has made peace with sugar! You don’t have to swear sugar off forever, but you can make it so you simply don’t want to and can’t eat much of it. What would it be like to have no more sugar cravings? What would it be like to be able to enjoy sugar without eating too much? You can reach that place, I can teach you how!
Break Free of Sugar Addiction Teleseminar (over the phone)
Classes meet on Fridays
Dec. 7
Dec. 14
Dec. 21
Dec. 28
1 PM PST
2 PM MST
3 PM CST
4 PM EST
on the phone for one hour
Phone number will be emailed to you at the time of registration.
4 hour long telephone mentoring sessions
Cost is $47
Classes will be recorded so you can listen at a later time if you miss the class.
To register, send payment by paypal to info (at) treeoflifemothering (dot) com.
If you would like to arrange another method of payment please call Celestia at 801-544-7548.
You will learn:
why white sugar is so bad for you (like we need to know more, just kidding, but yes! Some scientists say white sugar even causes cancer.)
why willpower alone simply doesn’t work for avoiding sugar
what foods you can eat that minimize and even ELIMINATE cravings for sugar
how to make scrumptious, wholesome versions of your favorite treats using natural sweeteners: pumpkin pie, hot cocoa, fudge, cheesecake, brownies, thin mints, gingerbread, toffee, sugar cookies, pumpkin spice bread, chocolate chip cookies, peppermint stick ice cream, and more (a PDF of recipes is included in the cost of the course)
customized information for gluten free and pregnant participants
how to enjoy sweet treats without overeating and bingeing
how to feel satisfied, nourished, and full of clarity and energy
the four steps to conquering sugar addiction FOREVER!
End the cycle of overeating, gaining weight over the holidays, and then dieting! This mentoring course will allow you to conquer sugar addiction for LIFE!
I just got a message from my friends Amy and Tresta about the mp3s being ready for the LDS Homeschool Conference held in August 2012:
The audio recordings are available and up on our website!
The LDS Homeschool Conference took place in August at the American Heritage School in American Fork, Utah. Many who attended commented on the how they enjoyed the beautiful building, the wonderful speakers and the personal touch of thank you cards, family dance and youth panel. Some of the presenters included: Michelle Stone speaking about Celestial Education; Sam Martineau, a well known Speech and Debate homeschool teacher; American Heritage introducing “The Family School, an LDS Curriculum“; Myra Johnson on loving Mothers in homeschool, and many, many others.
Join us next year for an event filled with wonder, ideas and spirit lead discussions for your LDS Homeschool Endeavors. We pray for your success and happiness in teaching your children.
So I went and voted bright and early this morning before 8 AM. No lines, it was perfect. The deed is done! I have a desire to lighten things up around here so please share your Halloween and Harvest Party pictures in the comments box below. I would love to see them. I would love to see how you celebrated fall/Harvest/Halloween, as long as you don’t post gory pictures.
I LOVE that we have had such beautiful weather lately, perfect for playing football. My son actually got me out in our backyard to play football with him last week. It just seems to make Halloween more benign to me somehow. The picture at the top of this post is my kids and the friends we had over for our Harvest Party, although I cheated and took this picture two days later at the Treehouse Museum, which has costumes at every turn. We don’t have a great selection of dress ups so maybe if I take my kids to the museum every year and to my sister’s grand dress-up collection in October like I did a few weeks ago they won’t resent me when they are grown and realize I deprived them of years of trick or treating.
The kids raided my sister’s dress-ups above, and had fun with friends at the Treehouse Museum in Ogden below.
We had our Book of Mormon party on Halloween night. It was simple and fun. I didn’t go all out and do glowing rocks for the brother of Jared or a lighted tree of life, like this blog post I found. I had to face reality that I didn’t have time or money to do those things! I simplified. The kids dressed up and got my husband to dress up. We had the girls over that I teach piano lessons to plus the rest of their family. Their mom is a dear friend. We played Book of Mormon charades and pictionary and then had white bean pizza (recipe coming soon) and salad. I wanted to serve the pumpkin cookies with yummy yam frosting that I posted earlier but they weren’t done yet! Then they left to go trick or treating and our second round of guests came, my friend Katie who is co-mentor with me for our Sword of Freedom class on the Civil War.
I had a fulfilling weekend and haven’t really had a chance to blog as much as I would like. On Friday our Sword of Freedom class held a mock Gettysburg battle using air soft guns. I decided I would rather babysit 6 children 8 and under instead of 8 children 12 and older with guns so I got a parent to go battle for me while I took my co-mentor’s children to Treehouse. Then we had to rush home and swap kids and take our daughter to GWU’s Open House at its new Salt Lake City campus. She is college shopping and I hope she picks either GWU or one of the BYUs. We will see what happens. She is set on another college but I know what it’s like to be almost 17 and full of dreams (that change). She graduated from her Eternal Warriors class the night before, which my friend Aneladee mentors. I am really happy about that! See picture below.
My husband hatched a plan to get my firstborn who is 19 home for the weekend from Provo, where he is living and working a full-time job, before he leaves for his LDS mission the end of this month. So he got our oldest son who is carless to come to the open house by riding UTA. Oldest son got to see us and his GWU chums (he went there last year for school), and even took off with them after the Open House to party instead of coming home with us, although he rode public transportation home late that night to spend the weekend with us. Another son was at a teenage party for his ballroom dance class. With one car and the open house to attend, that took some finagling to get him there! I didn’t really want to go to bed with two sons out, thinking of Pres. Benson’s admonition to be at the crossroads of your children’s lives. So I stayed up and indulged in Facebook, looking at my sister’s pictures of her cute kids at Halloween. She’s so good about taking pictures every year and having really cute costumes. That’s one thing I haven’t missed, is coming up with costumes, since I banned Halloween in this home years ago. Those pictures make Halloween more benign to me as well. Here is her picture from last year. So cute!
I think next year I will plan more ahead and maybe still do the Book of Mormon party on Halloween, to show satan I am not celebrating his day, but the most correct book on earth. Then to turn the whole thing into a three day Harvest festival, maybe I will do a big party on All Saints’ Day, November 1, for great saints who have died for the cause of Christianity. We will maybe dress up but at least tell the story about that person. Ambitious, I know, especially when I don’t really like to come up with costumes! Maybe I can just assemble a big collection of huge pieces of fabric. I found my friend Liz’s blog here where she shows how to come up with costumes from simple blocks of fabric.
I also want to remember our ancestors on All Souls’ Day, Nov. 2. I just found out about this day. It seems like a fall Memorial Day when people visit their loved ones’ graves. Maybe by then I will be burned out and just tell stories of ancestors over dinner. I want my kids to get more excited about the heroes of history, including their own ancestors, and see that these people have left us a legacy of liberty and light. It seems appropriate to do this at harvest time and even Halloween.
Election Day is almost here! I have interspersed this blog post with some informative videos about our responsibility to study the issues and vote conscientiously. They come from the http://christianvotersguide.com web site. This site has some great resources to help you use what God says in the Bible as your measuring stick for candidates. Check the resources tab.
So are you voting for Mitt, Obama, or liberty? Are you worried that if you vote for liberty you are “throwing away your vote”?
Many LDS I know have called for fasts these past Sundays, and especially yesterday Sunday Nov. 4, so that Mitt Romney will win. I got another email recently from Gayle Ruzicka of the Utah Eagle Forum pleading that we fast for Mitt’s victory. So many people seem enamored by Mitt: Billy Graham, David Barton, and supposedly Oprah, according to an email my neighbor sent me. I know not all Mormons are for Mitt, including my brother, who is an Obama fan. I won’t go into that. It boggles my mind that any LDS would be willing to vote for Obama, after he has put into place so many un-Constitutional things. My bigger concern or question is the following: are all conservative Mormons smitten by Mitt? The biggest question of all for me is, if I don’t vote for Mitt, am I voting for Obama? Is my third party vote a “wasted vote”?
At the Zion Women’s Weekend retreat two weeks ago I asked Connor Boyack, a staunch LDS supporter of liberty and also one of our presenters, who he is voting for. He said that he is writing in Ron Paul’s name. I mentioned that on Facebook. One of my homeschooling mom friends said that was a vote for the regime, and that he just as well vote for Hitler. I am not very fast-witted, and I thought she was implying that Ron Paul is fascist. My husband, who is a quick-wit, pointed out to me that she meant that she believed that Connor is “throwing away his vote,” meaning that his vote for Ron Paul is one less vote for Romney, making it more likely for Obama to win, and that Obama is as bad as Hitler. (I have included a list of Connor’s recent speeches on mp3 audio and one in print for you to peruse at the bottom of this post.)
In Connor’s talk (see link to his prepared remarks at the bottom of this post) he said that when we are preparing for Zion, we can become tempted to come down from the mountain, just like Lehonti was tempted in the Book of Mormon to come down to Giddianhi. He eventually did come down, or lower his standards, and got in trouble. I am wondering if lowering my standard to vote for Mitt is similar to this situation. I believe Mitt is a good guy, but his track record shows that he is for statism, for government solving all of our problems, instead of sticking to the Constitution’s principles of limited government.
Connor believes that if Obama wins the cause of liberty will actually move forward more than with Romney, because if Romney wins people will be apathetic and lazy about safeguarding liberty, thinking “all is well.”
I like what my Tree of Life mothering friend Andrea Rice wrote recently:
Every election cycle, we are told the same things:
-We must vote for the lesser of two evils in the hopes that this will move the nation in the right direction, even if its a teeny tiny course correction, that’s surely better than the path to hell in a handbasket that the supposedly greater evil will take us down.
-We must vote for one of the two main parties because there *might* be supreme court justices replaced
-Third party candidates are never going to win, despite the fact that the majority of americans would prefer a third party candidate
Sadly, most people believe this fear driven propaganda, and vote based on fear rather than on their principles.
Let’s go through this point by point.
Every four years, the vast majority of Americans vote for the lesser of two evils, and they still end up with more evil then we had before. We never make that teeny tiny course correction. We end up with far more corruption and far fewer rights left intact. So voting for the lesser of two evils gets us far more evil than the administration before it. It’s a voting strategy that has been a tremendous failure. Voting for the lesser of two evils is a logical fallacy, because if you are voting for evil, can you really have any confidence that it’s the lesser evil?
Hopes of supreme court justices making a difference has been shot out of the water for me as we watched supposedly the supposedly conservative justice appointed by Bush vote for Obamacare. No matter if one supports Obamacare or not, I don’t feel any confidence in trusting the justices appointed by either candidate. I don’t trust that the supreme court justices of either candidate will follow the constitution since neither candidate holds constitutional views.
Finally, if the vast majority of americans on both sides of the aisle would stop voting based on fear and would vote based on principles, third party candidates WOULD have a chance! how sad that we believe “them” when they tell us that our choice for principle does doesn’t matter!
I keep wondering, “when will we learn that voting for the lesser of two evils doesn’t work!” Well, I’ve already learned my lesson. I won’t wait for everyone else to wake up.
I won’t vote based on fear. I will only vote on principle. I will do the unpopular thing until it is popular. I will take a stand for principle to show that there are people who will vote 3rd party, then maybe next time, others will have the courage to do it too.
Being a part of that minority that speaks truth to power is never a waste.
I strongly believe that both parties are controlled by the same people, the powers that be, or “insiders,” so a vote for either party is a vote for the same system: statism. I am leaning towards writing in Ron Paul. (If you are rolling your eyes about my allusion to conspiracy, controlled by insiders, please go to this trustworthy site here that gives proof that those holding fiscal responsibilities in the United States government have been involved in illegal, unconstitutional activities. I believe these same people who control the money control the politics of who gets elected.)
I am copying here some words from another friend on an email list I am on. Her words are too important not too miss, including a quote from the prophet Joseph Smith about voting for a third party candidate:
Carol Quigley, who was an insider himself, said it really well in his 1966 book Tragedy and Hope,
“The argument that the two parties should represent opposed ideals and policies, one, perhaps, of the Right and the other of the Left, is a foolish idea acceptable only to the doctrinaire and academic thinkers. Instead, the two parties should be almost identical, so that the American people can “throw the rascals out” at any election without leading to any profound or extreme shifts in policy.”
Is this not exactly the case today? A perfect example of this is when Bush was in office and had a Republican controlled congress. Did they do anything meaningful? No. Among other things they brought us the patriot act, medicare part D, no child left behind, they declared war on terror and did nothing to protect the unborn (all totally unconstitutional) . They set the perfect stage for Obama to come in and do what he is doing now. They both are willing to take the people’s money by legalized plunder (yes, Republicans have done it slightly more slowly), then just argue about where to spend it.
Romney’s positions (even as he professes them, let alone what he would have the power or courage to actually do) are so drastically different than what I believe is right that if I voted for him I believe I would be putting that weapon into his hand to destroy us. Or others- the foreign policy of both leading candidates is needlessly destructive not only to our country and troops but to thousands of innocent civilians. This is a literal and figurative destruction in my mind. Romney or Obama? Either one is still a vote for the establishment/ the powers that be/ the elite. Whether you make deals with the devil or join his team outright it doesn’t make a whole lot of difference. Carol Quigley, who was an insider himself, said it really well in his 1966 book Tragedy and Hope,
“The argument that the two parties should represent opposed ideals and policies, one, perhaps, of the Right and the other of the Left, is a foolish idea acceptable only to the doctrinaire and academic thinkers. Instead, the two parties should be almost identical, so that the American people can “throw the rascals out” at any election without leading to any profound or extreme shifts in policy.”
Is this not exactly the case today? A perfect example of this is when Bush was in office and had a Republican controlled congress. Did they do anything meaningful? No. Among other things they brought us the patriot act, medicare part D, no child left behind, they declared war on terror and did nothing to protect the unborn (all totally unconstitutional) . They set the perfect stage for Obama to come in and do what he is doing now. They both are willing to take the people’s money by legalized plunder (yes, Republicans have done it slightly more slowly), then just argue about where to spend
I don’t believe Romney is an insider and I don’t think that the “powers that be”(PTB) want him to be elected because Obama is their man and has been a perfect puppet for their agenda because he is morally compromised. Romney has legitimate conservative instincts but is extremely ambitious and wants this really badly- too badly. He has surrounded himself entirely with globalists. The solutions he has put forward either have no substance or are mere shadows of Obamas policies- at least they would be in practice if not in theory. He has already shown a great willingness to compromise. If he is elected (which I don’t think he will be because I believe the PTB will initiate voter fraud, etc to prevent it) he could slow down the American train as it careens toward destruction but he would not even be attempting to stop it. He either does not understand or chooses to ignore what I believe to be God-ordained principles that this country was founded on. His foreign policy plays right into the hands of the globalists. While I know we have many faiths represented here I believe the words below of Joseph Smith have universal application.
There was a two party system in the United States in 1844, much like there is today. In regards to the question of whether to vote for the “Whig” candidate or the “Democratic” candidate in the election of 1844, and his unwillingness to vote for either, the Prophet Joseph Smith stated: “…we shall have the satisfaction of knowing that we have acted conscientiously, and have used our best judgment. And if we have to throw away our votes, we had better do so upon a worthy rather than an unworthy individual who might make use of the weapon we put in his hand to destroy us.” (Times and Seasons, Nauvoo, IV, 441. Cited also in Roberts, Comprehensive History, II, 208-209.)
Romney’s positions (even as he professes them, let alone what he would have the power or courage to actually do) are so drastically different than what I believe is right that if I voted for him I believe I would be putting that weapon into his hand to destroy us. Or others- the foreign policy of both leading candidates is needlessly destructive not only to our country and troops but to thousands of innocent civilians. This is a literal and figurative destruction in my mind. Romney or Obama? Either one is still a vote for the establishment/ the powers that be/ the elite. Whether you make deals with the devil or join his team outright it doesn’t make a whole lot of difference.
After reading this I am I have decided I am either writing in Ron Paul’s name or voting for the Constitution Party candidate. Who is with me on either of these candidates, and why are you voting for one over the other? I still have to decide between those two.
For further study I encourage you to use these resources:
I copied the following from my friend Mindy Heath’s site. She is doing an amazing teleconference next week with Nicholeen Peck and other great people to help you learn about money, marriage, real beauty, and more.
Each day for five days in a row you’ll be able to listen via your phone to the life changing info!
It’s absolutely FREE! If the time is not good for you, register anyway so you get the recording!
Hi! I’m Mindy Heath, creator of LivingTheJoyfulLife.com where I inspire people to live with peace, joy, clarity and connection in every area of their lives, every single day. Often the pain and struggle we face in life is not for a lack of trying to be happy and successful but a lack of knowledge of how to be. There are specific principles, paradigms and tools that lead to peace, joy and success in life!
Join me as I interview FIVE top experts who will share their most life changing tools and insights on how you can be happier and more connected NOW!
On the telesummit you’ll learn:
1- What you can do right now to create an amazing marriage! 2- The 3 things in the way of your financial success and stability! 3- How to get your kids to stop arguing and do their chores! 4- How truly powerful your thoughts are and how to teach your kids to use the power of their thoughts! 5- The definition of real beauty and how to truly accept yourself !
Five Experts in their industry are collaborating to bring you the information you need to succeed in your life!
Shannon and Dino Watt creators of The Business Of Marriage are personally redirecting the trend of divorce across the globe! The Business of Marriage training helps people incorporate basic business systems, and fresh ideas on communication and intimacy into relationships. They are well known as the best in the industry for helping couples create passion, unity and fun into their marriages! They are also the authors of several books and cd’s including The Business of Marriage Creating million Dollar Marriages
Shannon and Dino will give you ideas to implement NOW in your marriage to increase closeness and trust and even how to argue successfully!
Nicholeen Peck world renowned author and teacher of “Self Government”. What Nicholeen teaches parents and children has saved thousands of families! Nicholeen and Spencer Peck are parents of four and previous foster parents of many. They have been trained and certified in using the “Teaching Family Model”, which was developed at Boys Town and is used by the Utah Youth Village. The Pecks did foster care for very difficult teens. They taught children with ADHD, OCD, kleptomania, compulsive lying, anger control issues, etc. Nicholeen said, “I taught behaviors, not medication. They would come to us on many medications and usually leave not on any medications. Many children are misdiagnosed. They just need to learn cause and effect better.” Nicholeen has been teaching self government skills to people all over the world for 11 years and has published a book on this subject called “Parenting A House United.” They have a new Implementation Program that Nicholeen calls, “…the greatest thing we have to offer families yet!”
Nicholeen will help you look at parenting in a whole new way and give you skills to help your kids be responsible and help you feel closer to each other!
Tony Purcell is a money and relationship expert and the author of You Have The Power To Conquer Your Life: How to Create True Lifelong Transformation. After spending years teaching people how to succeed with money, Tony realized none of it mattered if their relationships were not in order! He took the skills he’d used personally to create a thriving marriage, plus everything he knew about money, and began helping people excel in every area of their lives. As a speaker, trainer, mentor, author and business coach, Tony has influenced thousands of lives for good.
Tony will help you see money in a whole new way which will help you break through to the next level of abundance and security!
Valerie Ackley has mastered the law of attraction and the power of thoughts to improve her life, parenting, personal struggles and more. After gaining a better understanding of the effect thoughts have on every aspect of our lives, she had a strong desire to introduce these concepts to her sons. The idea for “What are You Thinking?”, her book for children, was born. She now speaks and teaches adults and children how to use their thoughts to create success and joy in their lives.
Valerie will make the applying the law of attraction and being positive so easy you’ll be able to teach it to your kids!
Amy Walker is the President and founder of A Celebration of Real Beauty Foundation. The Foundation hosts large scale community education events with the goal of promoting healthy self-image in women of all ages. Amy believes each woman has a unique brand of beauty that should be embraced and celebrated. Amy also works in schools teaching girls about body image and personal value. Amy is a Wife, Mother, Trainer and Mentor. She wears many hats and understands the value of balance. Amy has been married to her husband Stephen for 12 years. They have 4.8 sons ages 10, 7, 5, 16 months and boy number 5 will be born in December. Amy recognizes that women are at the heart of every strong society. Her mission is to assist women in valuing themselves so they can create the strength they need to fulfill their many demands. Amy works with individually with clients and speaks to groups. She has trained for many different organizations including; Utah State office of Education, Utah Women’s Realtor’s Council, Mary Kay Cosmetics, State Farm Insurance, Keller Williams, Lifetime Products, Parker Hannifin, private and church groups and more. Amy has created an audio library to support women in their education that includes 7 CD’s. Her Powerful Parenting Forum is being used in charter schools. Amy loves working with and inspiring women of all ages. Amy’s motto: “When you impact a woman, you impact her entire community!”
Amy will help you see yourself and others in a whole new way!
Get the knowledge you need to be more connected in your relationships. Get the knowledge you need to live with more peace and joy NOW!
**It is too late to enter for the drawing now. ** I am sorry I didn’t give enough time for people to make arrangements for this. Watch for a giveaway in February. I will give more of a head’s up. **
I am giving away one ticket to Kirk Duncan’s Master of Influence! Kirk is the awesome guy in the video above. He is promoting the Body Language Show, and what he says applies to what you will learn at this event as well.
(Sorry for the late notice but I would rather give this away now then wait for the next event.)
It’s this Thursday, Friday, and Saturday
November 1-3 Master of Influence Salt Palace Convention Center 100 S. West Temple, Room 355 Salt Lake City, UT 84101
At this event you will learn:
how to be aware of the message you are giving off in your body language
how to read others’ body language
how to create a vision board and achieve your goals and wildest dreams
how to attract a lot more money into your life, even if you are a stay-at-home mom
how to feel more energy, clarity and peace in your life
how to feel more joy in your relationships as a wife, mom, and friend
how to be a “master of influence”
This event comes around every three months and it has always sold out! Maybe it is your time to go right now! The organizers have moved it to the Salt Palace so there is a lot more room. It gets bigger and better every time! If you would like to enter for a chance to win a ticket, please comment below as to why you want to win and “Like” Tree of Life Mothering on Facebook.
Winner will be announced around 1 PM Wednesday Oct. 31!
Celestia, Thank you for posting this recap on our Zion Women’s Weekend. It was soooo fun to gather with so many like minded women who are busily engaged in doing good in their personal sphere of influence. I too was inspired and amazed at the spirit and knowledge that was shared by everyone. Im still trying to absorb much of information that was shared, since the content, amount of knowledge, and my own personal shift in paradigm need to be adjusted to accomodate this new information. The feeling there was truly Zion!
Hooray! Years ago Oliver DeMille wrote his book, A Thomas Jefferson Education, to promote the idea of “agency-based education.” He wrote it because he was inspired by the book Teach the Children, an Agency-based Approach to Education, by Neil Flinders, a BYU professor of education.
Oak Norton and his friends are pursing this idea with a conference…
2012 Agency-Based Education Conference
Details:
Date: November 17th, 2012
Location: Southtowne Expo Center in Sandy, Utah
Time: Registration from 8-9 AM, conference from 9 AM to 4 or 5 PM.
Cost: Costs have been subsidized by donors and are $25 for an individual, $20 additional dollars for your spouse. Lunch will be provided.
The speakers presenting at the conference happen to all be LDS and there are some LDS themes in a few of the talks. This, however, is not an LDS conference, nor is it heavy in LDS doctrine. The principle of agency, means free will, choice, and is regarded as the supreme principle in LDS theology such that a war was fought in heaven over this principle which resulted in the casting out of a large body of rebellious spirits. Compulsion in any form is repulsive to God. Persuasion and allowing an individual to make an informed choice is the direction this organization is trying to move in. This conference reflects this principle in a variety of settings. You do not need to be LDS to benefit from this conference. Just apply the principles taught within your own framework of belief. The conference speakers will include:
Oak Norton, Director of Agency-Based Education:
Recapping the creation of this organization, and speaking on the need to end compulsory education and laying out a plan to do so
Alisa Ellis, Utahns Against Common Core:
Speaking on the global education agenda which incorporates Common Core
Jack Monnett, Author, Lecturer:
The LDS Church has always had a keen interest in education–how, what, who, and why to teach. All of these issues were tackled by the early Church and principles were formed with varying degrees of success. Many of the formative principles have been set aside, however, in favor of modern methodology and the all-consuming role of public schools. As in so much that is “new and improved,” it is well to study the original model to determine what was intended at the outset. Often the passage of time and new add-ons that enter into the educational arena do little more than to complicate a doable, straight-forward approach to teaching.
Celia Johnson, Paradigm Charter High School:
“Agency education in a charter school: The Bruises and Benefits of Riding a Live Horse on Top of a Merry-Go-Round.”
Janet Summit, Community School Director
What would an agency-based school look like? This last year I have worked with a co-chair to set up an agency-based education school in our Cache Valley area. Because our membership base draws from local homeschooling families, we have no attachment to public school, so we had the freedom to make it be exactly what we envisioned. There is no testing, no homework is turned in unless the student and parent request feedback, and nothing to force learning. Yet we are thriving, and have doubled our size in two semesters, with about 26 families involved, and 85 children of all ages. We have a group of about 30 teens, which is what I am most proud of. Parents teach all our classes, and we have classes for all ages of children. We have no budget at all, and do not charge for anything other than the building rental, insurance, and actual supplies for each class. In this workshop I will highlight what we have done, the benefits of doing this type of school, how it can be replicated, things that work, things that don’t work, and our experiences.
Tammy Hulse, Homemakers of America:
Liberty’s Hope is a youth achievement program based on the biblical pattern of human development. The program is designed to teach the principles of liberty, skills of self-reliance, and character development to build the leaders of tomorrow. The four areas of achievement include the heart, mind, might and strength, the four components of the human soul. This program is designed to do more than provide an intellectual understanding of the concepts explored; it is designed to encourage youth to transfer the information from the mind to the heart where it will impact character development, motivation, and emotional well-being. A garden allegory provides the framework for this education model. Youth are encouraged to plant seeds in the heart, nourish those seeds with great care, weed out and discard harmful distractions and share the harvest with others as skills are developed.
The curriculum for Liberty’s Hope meets the criteria for county 4-H programs, allowing children and youth to register as a 4-H club and compete in the County and State Fair and other contests.
Tammy Hulse is the Vice-President of HomeMakers for America and is serving on the National Round table of the Thomas Jefferson Center for Constitutional Restoration. She is also a co-author of the book “Raising the Next Generation of Patriots – A Garden Allegory.” (available in eBook form at HomeMakersforAmerica.org)
Cherilyn Eager, Teacher/Researcher
History of Zion Institute
Raising Children in Truth and Light: A Gospel-Centered Education
In this session, you will learn how to:
Teach true principles across the curriculum in an environment of competing world views
Accelerate learning and increase literacy by applying gospel principles
Implement a home detoxification plan for the optimal academic environment
Teach by the Spirit and discern truth and error in today’s school curriculum
Cherilyn Eagar is a former teacher and educational researcher who has presented at national and local conferences on education policy. She was a co-author with attorney Matt Hilton of Utah’s Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act. In the mid-1990s she was affiliated with Zion Institute for Children, a pilot program of the BYU College of Education, whose seminars she helped develop with BYU professors and mentors Garr Cranney, Neil Flinders, Buddy Richards and project director, Pamela McCoy, summarized in this session. For more information go to www.CherilynEagar.com or email Cherilyn@CherilynEagar.com
Gayle Ruzicka, Eagle Forum President
The joys and challenges of homeschooling.
Jesse Fisher, Social Entrepreneur
Three Grand Enticements for Abandoning Compulsory Education for Freedom-Based Education: 1. Trusting the Genius of our Children’s Creator, 2. A Long-Term Permanent Solution to Unemployment, and 3. The Preservation of Political Freedom in America.
Jesse Fisher is a recovering public school teacher, founded a freedom-based private school in 1992, serves on the board of the Utah 912 States Rights Coalition, and is the founder of the Freedom Preservation Foundation. He enjoys presenting about the history of the Prussian School Model in America, its harmful effects on our free society, and a pro-liberty alternative. See
http://connorboyack.com/audio/paradigmhigh.mp3
Tree of Life Mothering 