One of my favorite books

The Old Testament.  Whether you view it as sacred scripture, myth, a loose collection of morality tales, or a combination of all three, it is one of my favorite books because of this: it is contains examples of every mistake and stupidity known to mankind.  I have instituted in my house, with the kids, what we refer to as 30 second family home evenings.  Being LDS, this is a long tradition that also comes, for those who believe in it, promises of certain protections.  Being the sort of people we are, and in the sort of situation we are at the moment, none of us has the inclination for long-winded "lessons".  Suffice it to say, nothing in our home or the way we do things looks anything like this:

So my 30 second sermon last week:  The bible: a how-to manual on how not to be a complete doofus.

I enjoy knowing I am not the only person on this planet who has made really bad mistakes.  I learn from the mistakes of others.  I read the stories to my kids translated into plain everyday english, so the stories sound familiar and present.  I don't skip over the ugly parts. William's favorite story (and mine, too) is the story of Balaam and the Talking Donkey.  Look it up, it is hilarious if you are not familiar with it.  What the boys and I like to laugh about is that instead of being flabbergasted that his donkey is talking to him, Balaam starts arguing with it.    How true is that in terms of human nature?
We just finished reading about Samson and his "ladies" last night.  William was quite astounded that this man could be so clueless.  But that also allows for discussion about how everyone (even prophets and other leaders) can make really bad mistakes, and that it is okay to keep trying to do better.