The 10 Commandments and... Punk'd?

Let's start with the 10 Commandments, shall we.

We have learned a lot about the commandments and have had GREAT discussions in class about why the Lord would give us specific laws to follow and how we can be blessed by Him as we keep these commandments in our lives each day, even though it isn't always easy to do that.

So, something we have done to help us remember the order of the commandments as given by the Lord is an activity called "The 10 Commandments: at your fingertips." Check it out....




Now, let's move onto our topic of Punk'd. It actually has nothing to do with learning the 10 Commandments, but it happened as we were learning about the Commandments, so I figured I'd throw it in with this post to give you a glimpse into our class.

So, what exactly is Punk'd you ask? Well, words alone don't do justice to this unique event that occurs every so often in our class, so let me add some pictures and music to help paint a clear visual of what it means to be Punk'd: Seminary Style!



I LOVE teaching these... PUNKS!!!

P.S. Check out these other updates to our class blog: Our "In the Spotlight" page featuring the one and only Jelly Belly BenT and our class "Filing Cabinet" with announcements and other updates

What a Week!

Whew! This was a whirlwind of a week filled with great things!

First of all, some quick class business. Term 1 ends October 31, and the deadline for all makeup work is October 28. Please check the updated Student Accountability Card for specific details on exactly what students do to earn their grade for the term.

Now, on to the great things from this week!


Highlight # 1 = An I RED Celebration!
(I RED = our "I Read Every Day" program)

Root beer floats are a great part of breakfast - especially to celebrate the successful progress students have made in their independent daily reading of the scriptures.

Students with 10 - 19 days of independent scripture reading in September included Poolside, Madsters, Dandelion, kTee, Beiber, and JesseJ.

Students with 20 - 29 days of independent scripture reading in September included Trouble, JDawg, Jarmo, and The Colbinator.

And our Extreme Team player that read ALL 30 DAYS in September... Mouse!!!

I know that reading our scriptures every day isn't always easy 'cuz life is so busy, but I also know that Heavenly Father blesses for making the time, even if we only read a few verses a night.




Highlight #2 = D-A-SH, Punch It, and Fakebook... what?

We participated in some fun learning activities this week as we focused on what we can learn from the Lord's prophets.

Our video highlights each of these activities:



Our Fakebook pages that we created highlight people and things we learned about in the Old Testament. Check them out here.



Finally, don't forget to read the Announcements for this coming week and enjoy your long weekend (remember, we don't have class on Monday because it is a school holiday for FWISD).



Oh, a couple of last thoughts to share from this week...

First: the Lord knows what He's doing... trust Him and:




Second: when the Prophet of the Lord speaks to us, we should listen or else we could miss something important:



Have a great weekend. See you Tuesday!

Facing Goliath

You know Goliath, right? The really tall, really strong, Philistine giant who wore some seriously heavy-duty armor and came out day after day to challenge and terrify the Israelite armies.

Well, Tuesday morning, September 13, we faced Goliath.

Not the Philistine giant Goliath... Daniel, the young shepherd boy, already took care him with a slingshot, some pebbles, and most importantly, the help of the Lord (you can read about it in 1 Samuel 17.)

No, we faced The Goliath Bug, and let me tell you, it was just as menacing as the Goliath of the Old Testament! See for yourself...

(Reminder, if the video doesn't load: refresh or visit this link)

Now, after our hearts stopped thumping from this Goliath experience (Okay, maybe it was just MY heart, but I have had one of those nasty cockroaches fly on me twice in my life, and let me tell you, IT IS CREEPY!).

Anyway, after this experience, we realized that there were some connections we could make to cockroaches, the challenges we face in life, and how much we need the Lord to help us.

That's right... we made Cockroach Connections!



Let me share some of the "Cockroach Connections" our Extreme Team Players came up with (class nicknames are in parenthesis):


"We have challenges in life and we need the guidance from the scriptures to get through them." (Dandelion)

"Like cockroaches on steroids, sometimes large creepy obstacles will be in our way, the gospel is the handbook on how to deal with these creepy obstacles." (Bandit)

"The roach can represent Satan and how he tries to distract us in our lives. It can also represent sin and how we need to get rid of it immediately through repentance." (K-T)

"The cockroach is like the unexpected trials that present themselves daily. It can also represent Satan and how he appears when you are least prepared." (Madsters)

"The tempation we feel to ignore adversity (the cockroach) instead of dealing with it is just another tactic Satan uses against us." (Poolside)

"We had to overcome it to learn from it. Things happen unexpectedly and we need to deal with them quickly by using the knowledge we have learned." (JesseJ)

"Sometimes large cockroaches of adversity show up on the ceilings of our lives and we have to ask God for His help to get rid the roach." (D.H.)

"God will never give us something we can't handle, even if it is a huge cockroach!" (Mouse)



And now, my own "Cockroach Connection," as the teacher who initially ran from the room and left these precious students to deal with the roach on their own (Hey, I would jump in front of a moving car for them, but they're on their own with giant roaches!).

As I reflected on my momentary flight from the room, I realized that these youth face "cockroaches" on their own every day, without a parent or a leader standing beside them to help them. We, the adults in their lives who care about them, have to help them prepare in advance to know what to do when "cockroaches" show up. This means we have to teach them that they can ALWAYS turn to the Lord - ALWAYS!

Elder Jeffrey R. Holland said this,

"Adversity will come, but do not fear.
The Lord will fight for you!"

And that means the Lord will help us get rid of the cockroaches, which I know from my own life is true. (KSizzle)

Have a great weekend reading something from the Old Testament and make sure to visit the Announcements for the coming week.