MY GIRLS HAVE BEEN SO CUTE, WORKING ON CRAFTS FOR 2 WEEKS, 4 ME, 2 PREPARE 4 MY B-DAY. I FEEL SO LOVED, & QUESTION “IS THERE A REASON? I JUST SIT IN A CHAIR!”

BUT, I SPEND LIKE 1-2 HRS. DIRECTING THEM 2 CLEAN, THEY READ ME STORIES, SIT ON MY LAP & PLAY COMP., I COLOR W/THEM, I PLAY GAMES (IN & SOMETIMES OUTSIDE), ETC. MAYBE THAT’S WHY…OR MAYBE IT’S SIMPLY COOL THAT THEIR MOM CAN’T SPANK HARD!

THOUGHT MY B-DAY COMING UP COULD GET NO BETTER THAN FEELING SO LOVED. I WAS WRONG:

ABOUT 3 YEARS AGO, MY VISITING TEACHER, WENDY, READ AN ARTICLE 2 ME IN THE ENSIGN. I WAS MOVED 2 SHARE MY OWN STORY ABOUT WHEN I WAS AN INDY PRI. CHORISTER, B4 MY STROKE, UP 2 THE 1ST 1 ½ YEARS AFTER MY STROKE (THE PRESENT DAY, AT THE TIME I WROTE).

AT 1ST, I WAS TURNED DOWN BY THE ENSIGN. THERE WAS STUFF THAT I KNEW SHOULD BE CHANGED IN MY ARTICLE, BUT I WASN’T SURE HOW 2 DO IT,. HOWEVER, I WAS STRONGLY IMPRESSED 2 LEAVE IT THERE, SOMEHOW… IT HAD SEEMED SO CERTAIN THAT, THOUGH THE TYPE WASN’T THE BEST, THE MESSAGE WAS GOOD ENOUGH 2 SHARE. I COULDN’T SHAKE THE NAGGING FEELING THAT I STILL NEEDED 2 SHARE MY MESSAGE…

MY PARENTS NUDGED ME 2 TRY AGAIN. MY WHOLE LIFE I’VE BEEN INITIALLY REJECTED—THEN, MY PARENTS ENCOURAGE ME 2 TRY AGAIN, & GOOD STUFF HAPPENS!

ANYWAY, MY YOUNGEST BRO., MIKE, TOOK MY MESSAGE (THE “MEAT”) & ADDED ALL THE “FILLER” STUFF. MK ASSITED W/SOME MONUMENTAL EDITING CHOICES. IT WAS HARD SEARCHING 4 A TITLE. MK SUGGESTED ONE THAT SEEMED 2 SIMPLE & OBVIOUS, BUT ABSOLUTELY PERFECT! I TRIED AGAIN . I WAS ACCEPTED BY THE ENSIGN, & TOLD JAN. 2008 IT’D BE PUBLISHED. I WAS THRILLED, BUT 4DECIDED 2 KEEP IT UNDER WRAPS. FEW KNEW.

INCREDIBLY, IT WAS MOVED 2 SEPT.–I HAD NO IDEA WHY, BUT WAS TOLD 2 CHECK IN AUG…. I DID, & WAS TOLD THIS:

It’s good to hear from you. Your article titled “Primary Songs Blessed Me,” is, in fact, scheduled for September. In fact, I believe it’s at press right now. My notes show that it will be on p. 55 of the magazine.

The reason for the shift in scheduling was that the Liahona decided to run the article as well. Their publication timeline requires a little bit of extra time for translation and production, so that’s why we moved it to September.

SO, I’LL BE IN THE LIAHONA & ENSIGN–NOT ONE, BUT TWO MAGAZINES. & THE LIAHONA IS AN INTERNATIONAL CHURCH MAGAZINE! I’M THRILLED AGAIN, & 2 FIND OUT THAT I’LL BE TRANSLATED INTO OTHER LANGUAGES & PUBLISHED AGAIN! CRAZY! OVER THE LAST YEAR, THEY’VE EDITED & TOTALLY SHORTENED IT, BUT THE MESSAGE I NEEDED 2 SHARE REMAINS—EVEN WHAT DIDN’T SEEM 2 INITIALLY WORK!

SO, DO U GET THE LDS ENSIGN? IF U R NOT LDS, & DON’T GET IT, COME SEPT., U CAN LISTEN HERE: WWW.LDS.ORG >GOSPEL LIBRARY>MEDIA FORMATS>AUDIO>ENSIGN, SEPTEMBER 2008.

MANY WHO R LEARNING ASL, ARE FAMILIAR W/”SIGNING TIME.” THOSE WHO R LDS, MAY BE FAMILIAR W/A NAME OF A WELL-KNOWN LDS MUSICIAN WHOSE SISTER DOES “SIGNING TIME”—LEX De AZEVEDO. SHE OBVIOUSLY GREW UP IN A MUSICAL HOME. I DID 2, & DESPITE EVERYTHING, I REALLY WANT 2 SHARE MUSIC W/MY KIDS. HAVING A DEAF CHILD COULD HAVE BEEN REALLY, REALLY TOUGH 2 ACCEPT, BUT I’VE ALWAYS ADMIRED HOW THEY MADE GOOD OF SOMETHING BAD, BY MAKING SIGN VIDEOS, USING THE STREGNTH THAT MUSIC PROVIDES 2 TEACH. I KNOW IT HAS HELPED ME LEARN THE PRIMARY LANGUAGE I NOW SPEAK.

THANKS 2 GOD I HAD EXPERIENCES WORTH SHARING, & HAD THE ABILITY 2 SHARE THOSE EXPERIENCES. IT WAS CERTAINLY NOT INTENDED, BUT MAYBE I’VE FOLLOWED IN THE FOOTSTEPS OF THOSE WHO’VE IMPRESSED ME, & MADE GOOD OF SOMETHING THAT APPEARS BAD. THAT’S THE MOST THRILLING THOUGHT!