Snowed in Sunday

The snow continues to fall.  It measures 16 inches deep in our yard.  In a lot of places that much snow is no big deal, but around here that is a record.  The roads are terrible, school kids have had more than a week of snow days, and roofs all over the valley are collapsing under the weight of the snow.  Aside from that, the snow is great blessing.

The view from my office on Jan 4th

With many roads impassible and quite a few people unable to get out of their driveways, Sunday January 8th, 2017 was one of those rare days when church was cancelled.  Every ward in Southwest Idaho and Eastern Oregon was cancelled and people were advised to stay home.  Naturally, when I heard this I was a little excited.  Getting to stay home from church and not feeling guilty about it is something that almost never happens.  My kids had other ideas, though.  They love going to church and were disappointed we did not get to go.  As soon as we finished telling them that there would be no church meetings, G threw his hands up in the air and proclaimed:
"Let's have our own church meeting here!"

I should have expected that.

Sunday morning bright and early both boys prepared lessons and activities to do at our church meeting.  The meeting was even staged with a lectern and a pretend microphone.  Church started promptly at 9:00 am.  I was assigned to be the 'bishop' and conduct the meeting.  They had an opening song and prayer, then each of them taught their lessons.  After they were done, A had a few closing remarks for the meeting.  From start to finish the meeting took about 35 minutes.  Once it was over, we moved to the kitchen and did the activities that had been prepared.  It actually turned out to be pretty fun.

G leading the opening hymn, accompanied by R

R using visuals during his lesson

G teaching his lesson

A giving her 'closing remarks'

This turned out to be a lesson for the parents, taught by the kids.  Church may get cancelled, but the spiritual experiences that occur on Sundays don't have to be.  In this meeting organized by children, the spirit was strong, their lessons were great, and the joy and excitement that radiated from them was contagious.  It is easy to see why religious texts call for followers of Christ to have the faith of a child.  Their faith is simple, honest, and pure.