Time Experience Thoughts

Yes, You Yes The idea of you The very thought of you   Each and every beautiful part Yes The reality of you The new day, a new view   Another start Yes The vision of you The whole of you   The allure of your face and soul   The pull of your heart ~ By Scott Vanatter, July 18, 2018 Poem for Becky’s 64 th birthday.

Mothers of Eve, Expansion  By Scott L. Vanatter, May 8, 2016, Mother’s DayPoem for Carrie and Sydney -- and their Mother. (Original minimalist version written November 15-17, 2015.) Like their Mother: Three Agencies INHERENT  Deep within each of them exits their very own, individual Inherent Agency.    Since time immemorial they have possessed this power.   It propels them on. Choosing. Acting. Becoming.    Because they exist, it is there. It was always there. It is always there. It will always be there.     This uncovered power reveals their very own personal eternal yearning.      Yearning for good, for improvement, for progression. (Having been Prepared from Eternity, they are now Fulfilling their Destiny, and Forging their Eternal Identity. // Chosen they are. They act with real Intent. Freely they Consent to eternal verities. In Descending to Earth, they Ascend to Heaven. Having been Sent, they prepare and send ...

In The Beginning By Scott L. Vanatter, January 1, 2015 (Poem for our 39th wedding anniversary, January 2, 2015) I Long ago now We saw enough We knew enough Then, waking up   Slumbering   No longer   Easily, actively we choose   One another II The idea Planted, buried Deep in our hearts Clear in our minds   We journey   Through life together An adventure III Encountering A sometimes lonely world A sometimes dreary world   We wend our way as beloved companions   Enjoying a lively shared   Endeavor Engaging . . . Innocence and awareness Wonders and puzzles Disappointments Accomplishments Darkness and light Dim shades gray and brilliant gradations of white Pleasure and pain Loss and gain Sickness Sorrow Sadness   And gladness Heights Depths   And breadths In the clamor and commotion Shadows cower Darknesses flee   Peace and tranquility   Calmness and serenity...

Family History and Temple Worship Scott L. Vanatter, May 18, 2014, Chantilly Ward #A1. PERSONAL EXPERIENCE As a convert, Nauvoo the city Joseph Smith founded and named in 1839, has always held a special place in my mind and heart. I have been fascinated and inspired by Nauvoo -- the name, its Hebrew meaning, even its sound, its history, and more importantly, the doctrine revealed there -- the ultimate in Mormon theology. The ennobling doctrine that we can be sealed to our loved ones in the Temple as part of God’s whole family in heaven. ##1 Sacred Experience (Nauvoo Temple) We were fortunate to be able to serve as patrons in the Nauvoo Temple the very first week it opened in 2002. I had several Vanatter family names with me so we could do all aspects of temple ordinances, from baptisms for the dead, confirmations, and ordinations, to initiatory, endowment, and sealings -- sealings of spouses, and sealing of children to parents. Actually, it was my mother and one of my sist...

This morning Becky was one of the presenters at the Oakton Virginia Stake Women's Conference 2013. She and a former colleague from Fairfax County Schools presented together. Here's a blurb about their presentation: Title:  Raising Resilient Children: It’s Never Too Late! Presenters:  Becky Vanatter and Virginia Rutledge   They will share and discuss the pitfalls that hinder resilience and share some life-strategies to teach children of all ages (K-YSA) to help them through their school life, missions, and come what may.  Rebecca Vanatter and Virginia Rutledge are members of the Fair Oaks Ward. Becky Vanatter works for Brigham Young University as the coordinator for BYU's student teaching program in the Washington D.C. Public Schools. She previously worked as a 6th grade teacher in Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS) for almost 15 years. Jenna Rutledge is a retired school psychologist from FCPS for 20 years. Both have advanced degrees in how children/people l...

Scott L. Vanatter Opening Time seemed to stand still. A woman drove her car through a red light, crashing into Becky’s side of our Volvo. We had a green light all the way. I was driving. Our car flipped over, then spun around and around crossing two lanes of opposing traffic. The sun roof popped off. Windows shattered and glass spread throughout the car, and our hair, and our clothes, and our pockets like a shower of hot water. After the car stopped spinning, it was resting upside down on its roof on the curb on the opposite side of the street, a twisted pile of metal, broken glass, and dripping engine fluids. Then, my dear sweet young unconscious wife, seven months pregnant with our second daughter, suddenly went into massive and violent seizures. Blood seemed to be coming from everywhere. After what seemed an eternity, but which probably only lasted for about a minute, her seizures violently stopped. Then it was perfect stillness and absolute silence. In that moment it appear...