August in Review

Where was I when August flew by? Our Heavenly Parents love us, are our Gods, gave us our bodies, give us the spirit of prophecy, comfort us, deserve our reverence, are full of glory, and reveal themselves to us.

This month, I also shared a coloring page that I made up for my nursery class titled, "I Have a Body Like Heavenly Mother." The children enjoyed the coloring activity and I'm grateful for the opportunity to help all the children know their divine origins.

Elsewhere in the Bloggernacle...
By Common Consent hosted a quick poll titled, "Are You There, Heavenly Mother? It's Me, BCC."
Daughters of Mormonism published an episode interviewing Jena called, "Every Third Sunday- Fasting for the Goddess." Jena also posted her thoughts about the fast this month about discernment on her own blog.
And Heavenly Mother got a little mention in Apame's The Talk I Always Wanted to Give over at Zelophehad's Daughters.

Did I miss a post? Share in the comments!

Seek the Lord Early

This one is difficult because "Lord" so often means Christ, but here, praying to our Father is one of the ways to seek the "Lord" so here, I'm taking "Lord" to mean "Heavenly Father." I changed "The Lord" to "my Parents," but because of the syllables, you have to sing "my" as a pick up note.

I’ll seek my Parents early while in my youth,
And they will help me to know the truth.
I’ll search the scriptures and find them there,
Then go to our Parents in fervent prayer.
I’ll seek my Parents early, and I’ll obey
Their living prophets in all they say.
I’ll keep their commandments; their love will abound.
I will seek my Parents early, and they will be found.

Acts 7:55-56

My husband was home with a sick baby on Sunday, so I don't know where our ward is in the manual, but we can't skip the martyrdom of Stephen! I added "Goddess" to these verses.

55 But he, being full of the Holy Ghost, looked up stedfastly into heaven, and saw the glory of Goddess and God, and Jesus standing on the right hand of God and Goddess,

56 And said, Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of man standing on the right hand of God and Goddess.

Two Happy Feet

Today's nursery lesson was about taking care of our bodies, so here's a song about our feet. I changed "Father's" to "Parents'."

I have two happy little feet
To take me where I go.
They hop me and they skip me,
And make a noise, I know.
But in my Heav’nly Parents' house
So softly do they fall
That, though I walk, you cannot hear
My little feet at all.

I Have a Body like Heavenly Mother

A few months ago, in a monthly review, I linked to Mrayne's Exponent post, What My Daughter Learns, about the messages about our bodies that are taught in nursery class. I taught Sunbeams and hadn't run into handouts like that, though I would mention Heavenly Mother in conjunction with Heavenly Father. I did remember thinking, "Well, I turned down the nursery calling, so I probably won't have to deal with it, but if I did, I'd make sure I mention Heavenly Mother just like I do in Sunbeams."

My ward is persistant, though, and 6 months after working in the Sunbeams, I was asked again to go teach nursery. I relented on my "I don't teach the classes of my own children" rule and accepted the nursery leader calling. Two weeks ago I shadowed the nursery leader as she taught lesson 7, Jesus Christ Created the World for Me. Then I was on my own.

I decided to just go onto the next lesson in order because I wasn't feeling very creative and did lesson 8 last week. The handout for lesson 8 says, "Sunday is a day to remember Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ." I lamented the lack of Heavenly Mother and decided that instead of coloring that whole sheet with the words, they would color the pictures and paste them on a construction paper sun (for "Sun-day"). It was an easy way to avoid having to full-on photoshop the handout. I made sure to say that we remember our Heavenly Parents on the Sabbath.

Tomorrow is lesson 9, the one Mraynes' daughter had. And I decided that I would follow through on my vow to mention Heavenly Mother. So tomorrow, I will go to nursery with a basket full of handouts and half of them will say, "I have a body like Heavenly Mother." The little girl image was taken from the handout of lesson 11, so it's a little extra pixelated, but I don't think the 2 year olds will care.

As I teach, I may run into other lessons and find ways to mention Heavenly Mother. If I find some great ideas, I'll share them here. Feel free to use that handout in your own classes!

Have you tried adapting lessons to include Heavenly Mother? What has worked for you?

Isaiah 49:13-17

Last week was World Breastfeeding Week and this month is National Breastfeeding Month, so in the spirit of that, today's scripture is about how the Lord (or as I put in here, Lady) nurtures us figuratively at the breast. I made this gender-neutral in places by substituting "child" for "son." In verse 14, instead of wordily putting in "Lord and Lady" twice, I left Lord in for forsaken and put Lady in for forgotten. This leads nicely into verse 15, which I kept feminine-focused because breastfeeding is simply something you need breasts for. But other than that I tried to be inclusive about the genders. I wasn't entirely sure what to do about verse 16. Should we keep the Lady speaking in first person, or switch to the plural first person, "We have graven thee..."?

13 Sing, O heavens; and be joyful, O earth; and break forth into singing, O mountains: for the Lady and Lord hath comforted their people, and will have mercy upon their afflicted.

14 But Zion said, The Lord hath forsaken me, and my Lady hath forgotten me.

15 Can a woman forget her sucking child, that she should not have compassion on the child of her womb? yea, they may forget, yet will I not forget thee.

16 Behold, I have graven thee upon the palms of my hands; thy walls are continually before me.

17 Thy children shall make haste; thy destroyers and they that made thee waste shall go forth of thee.

Acts 2:14-24

Sunday School was on the Pentecost this week. Fun times! I added Goddess and made the language more gender-inclusive. I left "Lord" alone because I considered it a reference to Christ.

14 But Peter, standing up with the eleven, lifted up his voice, and said unto them, Ye people of Judæa, and all ye that dwell at Jerusalem, be this known unto you, and hearken to my words:

15 For these are not drunken, as ye suppose, seeing it is but the third hour of the day.

16 But this is that which was spoken by the prophet Joel;

17 And it shall come to pass in the last days, saith Goddess and God, We will pour out of our Spirit upon all flesh: and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men and women shall see visions, and your old men and women shall dream dreams:

18 And on my servants and on my handmaidens I will pour out in those days of my Spirit; and they shall prophesy:

19 And I will shew wonders in heaven above, and signs in the earth beneath; blood, and fire, and vapour of smoke:

20 The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before that great and notable day of the Lord come:

21 And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved.

22 Ye people of Israel, hear these words; Jesus of Nazareth, a man approved of Goddess and God among you by miracles and wonders and signs, which Goddess and God did by him in the midst of you, as ye yourselves also know:

23 Him, being delivered by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God and Goddess, ye have taken, and by wicked hands have crucified and slain:

24 Whom Goddess and God hath raised up, having loosed the pains of death: because it was not possible that he should be holden of it.

My Parents Gave me a Temple

This is the song the Primary is learning this month for the Primary program this fall. I changed "Father" to "Parents." I also changed "The Lord" to "My Parents." The syllables don't line up, but it's not too hard to fit that extra one in.

My Parents gave me a temple to live within on earth.
Once in Heaven I was spirit, but I left my home at birth.
I’ll make my temple brighter; I’ll keep my spirit free.
My body is the temple my Parents gave to me.

If I keep my body clean and pure and habit-free,
I may in my Parents' temple claim blessings promised me.
On resurrection morning, I’ll take my body bright
And in celestial glory forever live in light.

1 Nephi 11:21-23

I really should do more verses from Nephi's dream in the future. Here, I included "Goddess" and changed "Father" to "Parents" and "men" to "all."

21 And the angel said unto me: Behold the Lamb of God and Goddess, yea, even the Son of the Eternal Parents! Knowest thou the meaning of the tree which thy father saw?

22 And I answered him, saying: Yea, it is the love of Goddess and God, which sheddeth itself abroad in the hearts of the children of all; wherefore, it is the most desirable above all things.

23 And he spake unto me, saying: Yea, and the most joyous to the soul.

John 20:15-18

This was from the Sunday School lesson on Sunday (we're a little behind the rest of you). I changed "Father" to "Parents." I love this scene. I also added sisters.

15 Jesus saith unto her, Woman, why weepest thou? whom seekest thou? She, supposing him to be the gardener, saith unto him, Sir, if thou have borne him hence, tell me where thou hast laid him, and I will take him away.

16 Jesus saith unto her, Mary. She turned herself, and saith unto him, Rabboni; which is to say, Master.

17 Jesus saith unto her, Touch me not; for I am not yet ascended to my Parents: but go to my sisters and brothers, and say unto them, I ascend unto my Parents, and your Parents; and to my Gods, and your Gods.

18 Mary Magdalene came and told the disciples that she had seen the Lord, and that he had spoken these things unto her.