Kids Staying Home From Church Leads To World Domination

The kids have had terrible coughs lately.  We decided it would be better not to share it with our friends at church, so everyone except Ashlee and Faythe stayed home today.

I lounged around for a while while the kids ate breakfast and cleaned up.  When I got up, they immediately asked to play games.  I thought it would be a good idea to do some spiritual stuff first, so we cracked open a Book of Mormon and read a few versed from Jacob 5 - The Allegory of the Olive Tree.

An Olive Tree(photo source: http://thecommonty.blogspot.com)

My intent was to discuss and practice techniques to help a reader better understand scriptures.  We read through the first several verses and talked about what it meant.

Smarty pants Braedi wanted to jump right into the scattering of Israel, of course, but the rest of the kids understandably focused on the story at face value-a tree was dying, was nourished, and parts of it became healthy.

Then we broke down the parts of the story to discuss the symbolism.  For example: the Lord of the vineyard is Christ, the vineyard is the world, the sickness of the tree is apostasy, etc.

Then we read through it again, and the conversation that followed clearly indicated that the kids' perspective shifted to take in the deeper, allegorical significance.

We also talked about how it is fairly easy to understand the face value, or more superficial layers, of what is being said - Israel was scattered and will be regathered, the Lord calls servants (prophets and missionaries) to nourish God's children to counteract the decaying effect of apostasy, etc.

Taking verses apart word by word is helpful in this search for deeper understanding.

Dyllan said that she felt the word "the" was important, because it gives organization to ideas.  I decided to run with her example, and we spent some time discussing how using "the" in a sentence can make all the difference. Serving A lord can be antithetical to serving THE Lord.

Braedi then brought up how words like thee, thine, and thou are common to scriptures.  She identified that we also use them when we pray.  These words invite a spirit of respect and honor into our language.  This led to a beautiful, spiritual moment in which we felt the reality of the majesty and greatness of God and His Son, Jesus Christ.  Those who truly know them will collapse at their feet, kneeling in worship, overcome with awe and gratitude for all they have done and continue to do for us.

I'd like to say the day continued on such a spiritual high, but we changed gears into game mode to play Risk.  The kids were great sports, and we all had fun.

Each of the kids was excited to start his or her reign of terror, intent on subjugating and humiliating any and all opposing forces.  Well, except for Dyllan.  I guess she's more of a lover than a fighter.

Ephram showed a conquering prowess that none of us expected.  He out-rolled his way from victory to victory.  Soon, we were all addressing him as "General Bloodbath."  The kid was an unstoppable maniac!

General Bloodbath

Luckily for me, his tylenol started to wear off, which took the edge off his destructive drive.  I might have started wheeling and dealing with the other kids, too.  (The best treaty in a quest for world domination is the one you break at that deliciously devious and perfectly opportunistic moment.)

I tend to have a bit of a competitive streak in me, and this quality might have been instilled in me through many late night Risk wars with family friends.  The epicn-ness of those battles back in the day is hard to describe, but never has a war been fought with more strategem, cunning, and outright aggression than experienced in the living room of the Barraza's home back then.  Good times!  The kids aren't quite to that level yet, so for now I shall enjoy my unfair advantage.  The years ahead portend of humility delivered by crashing dice from the hands of my offspring.

When the game was done, Corbin was begging to set back up for another go.  He only had 3 armies at the end and wanted a chance for redemption.  We decided not to play again, since it was getting late, and I hadn't thought to feed the poor creatures.

Ashlee warmed some pizza, and they kids dispersed to other activities.

The near-victor's illness kicked back in, and he passed out on the couch to recoup.

All in all, it was a nice day with great kids.  They participated freely in our discussion.  They had valuable things to contribute to that discussion.  We felt the influence of the Holy Ghost in our home.  The kids all did their best at Risk.  And nobody fought or complained.

Sometimes I think I might be doing all-right in my role as Dad.