Tuesday, October 2, 2007

Life Lessons

So yesterday I was planning a Family Home Evening lesson on Priorities and Time Management. My sister gave me the fantastic idea to use an object lesson. Using a quart jar, blocks, and black beans I demonstrated how sometimes it is a challenge to fit all the necessary things into our lives.



HOWEVER, if we plan and put the most important things FIRST, then everything else will fall into place.
(Yes, that is the same amount of beans in both pictures.)


I felt it was effective. This morning I was reminded of another important thing I need to fit into my life: To put objects away after I use them.

Want to guess where the beans are now?
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24 comments:

Tylershark said...

Are those magic beans?

Super Happy Girl said...

HAHAHAHA!! :D

Oooh, I want all my wildest dreams to come true...
*magic*

Kimberly Vanderhorst said...

I went from smiling and thinking what a cool object lesson to laughing out loud!

Carina said...

Ha! That's more like it.

riley s. said...

You need to prioritize.

Jennifer B. said...

Tyler, Yes.

NCS, I'm sure they will.

Kimberly, =)

Azucar, Yeah, that third picture is a better representation of how things usually are around here. (Take THAT time management!)

So true, Riley, so true.

Kelly said...

i love this object lesson. i'd forgotten it. thanks for the reminder!

Anonymous said...

hey jen:
i know this one! so true! i know it with the "big rocks first." you use big rocks, little rocks, and pebbles. same concept. so clear! good pictures to show it clearly.

thanks for the prayers this week friend :) kathleen

Jennifer B. said...

Hi Kelly, Welcome!

Glad it went well,Kathleen =)

elasticwaistbandlady said...

Spilling The Beans......Ah yes, this is what the Infidel children do best. I tell them the standard rigamarole when they leave the house to go with their friends or to church, etc "Remember to say please and thank you, and don't tell all the family secrets."

Rebecca said...

perfect.

I think I need to do a bit of bean rearranging myself. ( and sweep a few up off the floor too)

Anonymous said...

That is seriously priceless. A picture can indeed be worth a thousand words.

Or a thousand spilt beans...

Brooke said...

seriously. the only problem with "going barefoot" is stepping on all the crap on my floor!

Anonymous said...

Wow! Your sister sounds really insightful.

wynne said...

Where else would they be? I keep all my beans on the floor.

Scribbit said...

Love the new look--and it's a great object lesson I'll admit!

Jennifer B. said...

EWL. You can't be too careful. (So what kind of secrets, hmmmm?

Rebecca, don't we all?

Thanks CW

Ha! Brooke, you made me laugh =)

Hey "Stranger." You are so right. She's brilliant!

Thanks Wynne, I feel so much better now.

Thanks Scribbit!

TheOneTrueSue said...

tee hee I'm amazed that there are people who actually PREPARE for family home evening.

TheOneTrueSue said...

Uh, I meant that in a good way.

Johnna said...

Beans on the floor. Classic.

Covey put that different-sized-things-in-jar lesson in one of his books. The colored blocks look really great--like the symbols we used to use for components in a computer program. This has got to be the best-looking version of that object lesson I ever saw.

Jennifer B. said...

Welcome Sue! I'm trying to improve FHE at our house. Wish me luck!

Thanks Johnna!=)

Amanda said...

Great object lesson....both times. :)

Julie Q. said...

I need to show this one to my kids (not the beans on the floor, they're already experts on that object lesson). I still remember seeing this acted out in a lesson 10 years ago and it has stuck with me all this time. The blocks are a nice kid-friendly twist.

Geo said...

You were smart not to use rice like all the rest of us who've done that lesson. Black beans are much easier to find on light carpeting and won't become a permanent part of your flooring.