Talent – Use it or Lose it

One parable discussed in today’s lesson was “The Parable of the Talents.” The master gives his servants talents, or money. The first he gives five talents, the second two, and the third one talent. Upon his return he asks the servants what they have done with the talents while he was gone. The first two say they have multiplied them and increased their worth. The third, being afraid to do anything, hid it away and this was the exchange he had with the master:

Matthew 25:25-29
And I was afraid, and went and hid thy talent in the earth: lo, there thou hast that is thine. His lord answered and said unto him, Thou wicked and slothful servant, thou knewest that I reap where I sowed not, and gather where I have not strawed: Thou oughtest therefore to have put my money to the exchangers, and then at my coming I should have received mine own with usury. Take therefore the talent from him, and give it unto him which hath ten talents. For unto every one that hath shall be given, and he shall have abundance: but from him that hath not shall be taken away even that which he hath.

I would like to encourage everyone to discover, or acknowledge, the talents they have and then use them to increase your own blessings and benefit others. Because we are often not able to see our own talents, I’d like to hear about the talents you have noticed and admired in others. I’ll mention one person I haven’t met, but admire, and one person that I know well:

The first person is the well-known Fred Rogers from the PBS series Mr. Roger’s Neighborhood. I admire that he used his talent in an imaginative way. He was a pioneer in children’s television and used his ability to care about people and learn about things to open up the world for children. I could probably do a post all about why he is a hero of mine, and maybe I will later.

The next person is my sister, Erica. She is always so thoughtful which may seem simple, but to me it’s a huge talent because it is one I am lacking. She always remembers people’s birthdays, and things that she knows are important to you and then asks about them. I often get off of the phone with her and realize I was so busy talking about myself that I forgot to ask about her!

Matt, Rescue Ranger

Hunter got this CD, Another Long Semester by Aaron Durr for his birthday from Nana & Papa. Aaron is a talented friend of my brother Matt from high school. His song Matt, Matt Rescue Ranger is our favorite. Hannah even asked to listen to it the other day. Matt says this song is not about him, but to us it is! The CD is very clever in both the music and lyrics; and I think he does all of the instruments and vocals himself. We always have fun listening to it. It’s very catchy, go to his homepage and click on “listen” at the top. I think he has great promise and wouldn’t be surprised to hear him on the radio soon!

Emma the Quilter

Emma has been so ready to make a quilt, and she decided she wanted to make one for Erica’s new baby. It was a great idea because this is her first girl after having two boys already. I told Emma that the nursery room colors were pink and green so she picked a brightly colored flower pattern from my stash and we matched some other fabrics to it. I have seen striped quilts gaining popularity and love the simplicity of the design, especially for a beginner. We cut the strips together, and she worked the foot pedal while I helped her keep the fabric lined up. It was such a fun mother daughter project, and about the right size, because by the time we got to backing it she was happy to let me finish it off on my own. We sent it to Erica for her birthday, and have heard that it adds a nice punch of color to the crib. We can’t wait to hear that baby “Amelia” (that’s what I like to call her) arrives safe and sound. Erica is pretty ready to meet her too by now I’m sure!

What are your thoughts?

Matthew 24:12 And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold.

In reading over the assignment for this week, this passage in the Bible caught my eye. Instead of pontificating on it’s meaning to me, this time I’d like to hear what your thoughts are…

Super Cool Science Party

Hunter has such a great time planning his ninth birthday party with me. We talked about the budget we had, and then found things that would fit within it together. He also helped make the cake which was decorated with a beaker of red liquid and M&M bubbles coming out of it. When the boys arrived yesterday we had a bowl of beads and a string of yarn in a bowl waiting for them. These were not just ordinary beads though. They were UV beads! They’re white until they hit the sunlight, then they instantly turn colors. When the kids finished making their necklaces, we put some extra beads on a paper plate and sprayed them good with sunscreen. We observed that they did change color, but it was a much lighter color, and that led to a short discussion on the importance of sunscreen.

Then there was the lemon experiment. There’s a double meaning in that because it involved lemons and because it didn’t turn out so well. We cut small slits into a lemon for each child. One slit held a penny and the other a paper clip. If you touch your tongue to the metal it is supposed to give a mini zap of electricity. It didn’t work for all of us, but some figured it out.

Following that we had the muscle memory experiment. Each of the boys stood in the narrowest doorway we have and put there arms straight and pushed with the backs of their hands against the doorway as hard as they could for 30 seconds. Then they stepped forward and tried to put their arms at their side and couldn’t! They described it as feeling like they had wings.

Next was the bottle rockets. I found a kit online for making water rockets and vinegar/baking soda rockets. We walked to the park behind our house and set them off on the large lawn there. The kids had a blast, and Rob was such a good sport being totally soaked with both water and vinegar paste by the time we finished. I even heard one of the kids say, “this is the best party I’ve ever been to!”

After this, we walked back home and watched Flubber while the kids ate candy, cake, and ice cream. What fun they had, and to top it off they all left for home with their Biohazard goody bags filled with: a growing body part, latex gloves, a face mask, Fizzy Color Tablets, Rainbow glasses, and Safetyglasses! Thanks again Nana for donating the biohazard bags, face masks, safety glasses and gloves! I don’t know how we will top this party next year. It was perfect!

A 100 Day Challenge

For a few weeks I have been thinking a lot about a goal that I never really thought I’d make because I was too scared. It is to learn Italian. It’s scary to me because: 1. Rob is fluent so he knows everything already, 2. I hate to make mistakes, and 3. let’s face it, I’ve never been good at taking criticism from those close to me… Right Mom and Dad? But it has really been on my mind, and I even started listening to a podcast called My Daily Phrase Italian. Ok, I listened only twice but had a great lesson from Rob on pronunciation and spelling Italian words. He has gotten excited to teach me and even got me a dictionary and grammar guide. But, as I am likely to flake out on this, the universe has given me another push.

A couple of days ago, I read a post by another Amy, that she calls The 100 Day Challenge. She gave herself this challenge after discovering all that her son, a kindergartener, had accomplished in his first 100 days of school. She then challenged herself to work on a goal for 100 days, and has made her next challenge to recruit 100 people to take the challenge on. Read a better explanation on her blog.

So here I am publicly committing to work on learning Italian every day for the next 100 days. That will put me ending on September 22. Maybe by then I can have a real conversation with Rob and Holly! Or even better yet, I’ll add to my goal getting a passport so I can try speaking with people in Italy! If you’d like to take part in the 100 Day Challenge let us know what your goal is, and go to Amy’s blog and tell her too 🙂

Before and After

Emma Before Braces

Emma With Braces

Emma Before Haircut

Emma After Haircut

Hunter Before Haircut

Hunter After Haircut