Life's Journey To Perfection: March 2014

Family Home Evening on Preparing To Get the Most Out of General Conference

For tonight's Family Home Evening the topic in which I have chosen is: Preparing to Get the Most Out of General Conference I am so excited for the upcoming General Conference of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints! It seems like each time it rolls around I get even more excited to hear the words of our church leaders. I've been trying to think about how to get my children excited and help them to get the most out of conference. I decided that Family Home Evening was the perfect time to do such a thing. So, here we go...

New Winner of the 100,000 Page View Milestone Giveaway.

I am so sad to say, that our winner never claimed her prize. So, in accordance with the rules listed on the giveaway it is time to try this again and announce a new winner. The NEW Winner of the 100,000 Page View Giveaway is.... AMY B. Amy you have until 10:00 pm (MST), on March 28, 2014 to claim your prize. Thank YOU!!

Once, again thank you so much for all of the views and comments!!!

Visit Teaching Message & Handouts April 2014: The Divine Mission of Jesus Christ: Savior and Redeemer

This month's Visit teaching message is, "The Divine Mission of Jesus Christ: Savior and Redeemer".

As I read the theme for this month's visit teaching message, there were two descriptive words given that define Jesus Christ. They are Savior and Redeemer. Jesus is our Savior, he saved each of us from spiritual and physical death. He has saved us from sin and sorrow, through his atoning sacrifice. He is our Redeemer, to redeem means to pay the price. Through the atonement he has paid the price for each one of our pains, sorrows and mistakes. Because of this, through repentance we can each take part in the cleansing power of the atonement. The amazing thing about the atonement is that it is continuous. Meaning as we sincerely repent, humble ourselves and seek forgiveness for our imperfections, we will be forgiven for each thing we repent for. As long as we repent, we will be forgiven.

The other great thing about the atonement is that our Savior, Jesus Christ has felt every pain we will go through. He knows exactly how we feel in a given moment. He has felt the anguish that comes from losing a loved one, he has felt the sorrow that comes from watching a wayward child, he has felt the emotional pain that comes from difficult or failed relationships, whatever the sorrow or pain one might be going through, he has experienced as he knelt in the Garden of Gethsemane. We are never alone!

In this month's message I loved the following quote: “… One woman who had been through years of trial and sorrow said through her tears, ‘I have come to realize that I am like an old 20-dollar bill—crumpled, torn, dirty, abused, and scarred. But … I am still worth the full 20 dollars.’ This woman knows that she … was worth enough to [God] to send His Son to atone for her, individually. Every sister in the Church should know what this woman knows.” (Linda K. Burton, “Is Faith in the Atonement of Jesus Christ Written in Our Hearts?” Ensign or Liahona, Nov. 2012, 114.) I loved this, because it is so true! Every single one of us will experience trials and sorrow. We will experience obstacles throughout our life that will make us feel blemished and scarred. We may question our value, but our worth will never change to our Heavenly Father, his love is unconditional and eternal.

We are asked two questions to ponder and study:

1. How can we show gratitude to the Savior and Redeemer, Jesus Christ? I believe that we can show our gratitude to Jesus Christ, by remaining faithful. When we strive to live our lives in his footsteps and seek the cleansing power of the atonement we show our gratitude to him for all that he has done personally for each one of us.

2. How can we partake of the blessings of our Savior’s atoning sacrifice in our lives? I hold the precious gift of the atonement very close to me. I take part of it's blessings daily in my life, especially with being a mother and wife. We are not perfect, we have faults and imperfections. When we acknowledge our fault and truly repent we will be filled with the blessings of forgiveness and we will be filled with peace. I love the analogy of the back pack that you place rocks into for each mistake made. After a while the backpack gets very heavy and is a burden to carry around. It is the same way with our sins and imperfections. If we don't humble ourselves and seek forgiveness through repentance, then those things start to way us down, we are not happy. But when we humbly kneel in prayer before our Father in Heaven, seeking his mercy and forgiveness, forsaking the sin and promising to do it no more. We immediately feel the weight lifted, our burden is lightened and we feel free.

Click here for this month's visit teaching message: "The Divine Mission of Jesus Christ: Savior and Redeemer"

Here are a couple handouts:
To print, click on image and save it to your computer. You can then print the image from your computer.

You could give these to you sisters with a package of "Life Savers" or another idea would be a picture of Christ's atonement. Since, Easter is this month you could also give something related to Easter and/or the atonement and resurrection.

Here is the idea for the gift/handout, I'm giving my sisters I visit:

Click HERE for the link to the printables and instruction!

Link to previous VT Handouts and Messages.

General Conference Printable for Primary

I have to say that I absolutely love General Conference. I love being able to listen to the apostles and Prophet teaches us about the things that we need at this time. As I prepare myself throughout the week to be able to be in-tune and hear the things that are meant for me, I am also thinking of ways to prepare my children and help them to also get something out of conference. What we usually do is gather our whole family into one room. As I intently listen and take notes, my children are surrounded by things to color and other quiet activities. I try to ask them questions or point out what is being said during a specific talk. I also try to point out to them who is speaking.

Below is a printable that we are planning on giving each of our primary children this next Sunday. I did the packet all on one sheet since we have over a hundred children in our primary. My counselor had a wonderful idea of giving them an incentive to actually take it home and use it during conference. Her idea was, after they have filled out the paper during conference, they would bring it back to primary the following Sunday, where they would receive a little prize. The prize could be anything from a sticker, treat, cookie, etc.

I think it is so important to try to show our children the importance of having latter-day prophets and being able to listen to their modern day teachings. I know some families have traditions or ways to make the day special, such as serving a special breakfast before conference. I would love to hear any General Conference traditions you and your family might have. Or how you help your children be engaged during conference.

Printing tip: Click on the image and save it to your computer. Then you can print the image from your computer.

Here is a link to the General Conference Bingo Printables.

Here is a link to more General Conference Preparation Idea & Printables to keep the kids engaged.

Link to FHE on Preparing for General Conference.

Candles for March 2014 VT Handout

I know it is almost the end of the month, but I wanted to post what I did to put with the VT handout. I purchased some candles. Then I cut strips of fabric and hot glued them around the candle. Then I tied a ribbon around the candle. Super easy, quick and cute! I am going to give them to the sisters I visit along with the handouts:

Here is my post about this month's Visit Teaching Message: March 2014 Visit Teaching Message

Sharing Time March 2014 Week 5: Jesus Christ Is Our Savior

With there being a 5th Sunday there isn't a topic or outline to follow for Sharing time.
We have decided to focus on this month's theme. We are actually having a combined Relief Society and Priesthood meeting during the first half, that our teachers will be attending. So, it will be me and the YW and deacons running the show (normally we would just let they YW handle it all, but it is spring break, so we are going to be short on YW). I've decided to combine our Junior and Senior Primary for this week, this will allow us to show the entire movie during the first hour. The second hour we are planning on filling the time with singing time. We will not be having classes this week because of the combined meeting. So we will be combining this week's lesson with the following lesson for the week following General Conference. This is what we have decided to do this week as well as some other options:

Preparation:
Prayerfully study and think about what the specific needs of your primary are and how you can teach them this doctrine.

Identify the doctrine: Jesus Christ Is Our Savior. Review with the Primary Children what the word Savior means.

Help the Children Understand the Doctrine: Show the movie, "Finding Faith in Christ"
Help them apply the doctrine in their lives: After the movie, have them share their testimonies and thoughts about how the atonement of Christ has personally blessed their lives. OR using the printable below have the children write or draw pictures about how they can use the atonement in their lives.

Free Printables: (Printing Tip: Click on image to open and then save image to your computer. You can then print the image from your computer.)

Lesson Helps and Printable for Junior Primary: Primary 2: Lesson 12- I Can Prepare for Baptism

In preparing for this upcoming Sunday, I made some lesson helps for the upcoming lesson. The reason for doing this was that we were going to have our Young Women teaching our Junior Primary classes and I wanted to give them a little extra help. Here are the printables that could be used with Primary 2: Lesson 12- I Can Prepare for Baptism.

Free Printables:

Printing Tip: Click on the image and save it to your computer. You will then be able to print the image from your computer.

These two printables were for the activity with the footsteps. The printable below has two duplicate footprints, because I was going to print them on card stock for each classroom. That way I wouldn't have to print as many of that page.

The below printable was going to be for each primary child to take home.

Family Home Evening on Preparing to Partake of the Sacrament and Renew my Covenants

We have a WINNER for the 100,000 Page View Giveaway!

I am so excited to announce that we have a winner for the 100,000 Page View Milestone Giveaway!

Drum roll please... and the winner is....

Stacey A.

Stacey, you have until, 10:00 PM (MST), Tuesday March 25, 2014, to claim you prize. To claim your prize please send me an email with your mailing address information. So, I can ship your prize to you. Here is my email address: lifesjourneytoperfection@gmail.com. Congratulations, Stacey!!

Thank you so much for everyone who participated in the Giveaway and to all of you who leave your wonderful comments and visit this site!!

Come Follow Me Lesson Helps for April 2014:The Apostasy and the Restoration

My husband has a calling in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints as a Sunday school teacher. Each week he studies the given topic and comes up with a lesson plan. With the "Come Follow Me" program for the youth, the Young Women, Young Men, Sunday School for the youth and Seminary all have the same topic for the month. Each month there are 5-6 outlines for each organization to choose from. I was intrigued by this program and wanted to learn more. So, I headed over to the church's website to do some exploring. The church has amazing instructions and videos to help you learn about this program, they can be found here: "Come Follow Me". Basically, the concept is to teach the Gospel in the Savior's way. I think this concept is beneficial in all areas of teaching.

Here are my thoughts on the ways of "Teaching in the Savior's Way" (see the link to the video here, it's the 1st video, the following highlighted topics are given at the end of that video):

"Prepare to Teach": We can prepare ourselves to teach by living the gospel in our own lives. When we study the topic given and think of the needs of those we are going to be teaching, we will also be better prepared. We also, prepare ourselves by seeking the guidance of our Heavenly Father as we prepare our lessons. That is something I do before preparing my sharing times, visit teaching messages and family home evenings. I think it is very important to be open and mindful to the needs of those that you are going to teach and allow the Spirit to guide you as you prepare.
"Help us Discover the Gospel": Isn't that what learning is all about? Discovering...how does one discover something? Discover is defined on Dictionary.com as, "to see, get knowledge of, learn of, find, or find out; gain sight or knowledge of (something previously unseen or unknown)" So, if we are going to help those we teach to discover the Gospel, we are going to help them gain knowledge of the gospel topic, gain an insight of how it applies in their own lives. We do this by sharing our experiences related to the topic and allow the class member's to share their experiences as well. The scriptures are an amazing tool. It is a tool that can be used to gain knowledge in the classroom as well as individually at home. By helping the class members understand how to search and ponder over the scriptures you are giving them something that they can rely on throughout their life. It is such a blessing to have that knowledge and understanding. Asking questions during your lesson also opens up the pathway to discussion. Allow members to testify of the gospel principles. It is an amazing thing as someone feels the spirit and is willing to testify of the truths they know. It strengthens their testimony as well as the testimonies of those who are able to witness it.
"Invite us To Act": We do this by inviting our class member's to live the gospel principles in their lives. This might include giving class member's an assignment in regards to living a gospel principle and follow-up with it the following week. Allowing them to share their experiences. If our class members know that we trust them to do the right, they will be more likely to do so. Trust goes a long ways, when we give trust to someone they will most likely try to strive to live up to that trust.
"Let us Teach": Some of the best lessons I have been involved in are where there is class participation and discussion. Each individual has their own experiences and ways of looking at things. When we allow class member's to share their insights and teach by the spirit everyone is a teacher and everyone is a learner. We are learning from each other. I remember when I was around seventeen, I attended a Sunday school class that in which this was the case. I loved to go to that class! Each week we were asked to come the following week with a scripture and be prepared to share with the rest of the class that scripture and how it applied to our life. I loved this, I loved to hear from my peers, I loved that I was able to study a scripture and share it with others. We were constantly engaged in the lessons, reading scripture passages, or parts of the lesson and sharing our thoughts. I am so grateful for those Sunday school teachers, their love for each of us, their preparation and their guidance as we taught each other.
"Love Us": This is one of the most important principles of being an effective teacher! When the people we teach feel of our love for them, they will be more open to learning and sharing. When we love the people we teach we will be more in-tune with how to teach them and have that sincere desire to help them reach their potential. We love our class or organization members, by praying for them individually. By being interested in their talents and interest, by supporting them, by knowing their names and by knowing and accepting them as they are and seeing their potential of who they can become. I remember in my youth the amazing Young Women leaders I had. I knew of their love for me, I wanted to be the type of girl that they saw I could be.

For April 2014 the topic for "Come Follow Me" is,

"The Apostasy and the Restoration".

Here are the links to each organizations page for the month: Young Women, Aaronic Priesthood, Sunday School

Since, each organization has their own outlines and each lesson will need to be specified to the individual class members and there are already amazing outlines that can be used for guidance, I am only going to share some general ideas.

Here is the Scripture for the month:

“I have sent forth the fulness of my gospel by the hand of my servant Joseph”

(D&C 35:17).

Here are links to some wonderful articles about the Apostasy and the Restoration:

Here is a link to Apostasy in Gospel Topic on lds.org.

Here is a link to Joseph Smith in Gospel Topic on lds.org.

Here is a link to Restoration of the Priesthood in Gospel Topic on lds.org

"Apostasy and Restoration", by ELDER DALLIN H. OAKS, Of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles

"The Light of the Gospel", by N. ELDON TANNER

"Restored Truth", by M. RUSSELL BALLARD, Of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles

"Joseph Smith the Prophet", by DAVID B. HAIGHT, Of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles

"Keys of the Priesthood", by RUSSELL M. NELSON, Of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles

Here is a link, to a whole bunch of General Conference talks on the subject of The Restoration of the Gospel.

Object Lesson Idea:
Have a tree or wreath with lights on it it. (or you could just use the lights in the class room or a lamp or flashlight) Turn the lights on. Explain that when Jesus and his apostles were on the earth so was the Light of the Gospel, or the fullness of the gospel. But soon after Jesus' death and the death of the apostles, as we know as the apostasy, the Light of the Gospel/fullness of the gospel was taken from the earth. Turn off the lights. Explain that it was not until these latter-days when the fullness of the Gospel was restored back to the earth, through the prophet Joseph Smith. Turn the lights back on. As member's of, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints we are so blessed to have the fullness of the Gospel, as it was in the days Jesus was on the earth. *** This object lesson could be used in conjunction with the article, "The Light of the Gospel", by N. ELDON TANNER.

Idea's for Mutual:
Book of Mormon Scavenger Hunt- using clues in the Book of Mormon leading to a fireside on the Restoration of the Gospel. (I remember doing a scavenger hunt in Young Women's when I was a youth, we got a small handout at each place, I still have all of them)

Free Printable:
Printing tip: Click on the image and save to your computer. You will then be able to print the image from your computer.

Bookmarks

Thanks for stopping by!! If you'd like more updated ideas Click HERE!!

My Favorite Crafts Giveaway for Having reached to 100,000 Page View Milestone!

This Giveaway is Closed.

A couple weeks back I had posted that I was going to do a giveaway for having reach the 100,000 page view milestone. Soon after the post I became sick with the monster of all colds! You know when you don't feel well, it is hard to get motivated to do much. So... with the giveaway constantly on my mind, I decide to do a giveaway of some of my favorite crafts! I finally got all of the projects completed and am excited to announce:

My Favorite Crafts Giveaway: for my 100,000 page view milestone!

Here is what the lucky winner will receive:

Cute Little Notepad

"Families Are Forever" temple block

Three Clothes Pin Magnets

Three Crocheted Flower Hair Clips

Two Felt Flower Hair Clips

To enter to win:

It's easy! Click on the below links and then follow the pages. Each way you follow counts as one entry. So, you have a possibility of having 5 entries. ***Since, I love and appreciate the support of those who have already followed me. If you are already a follower go ahead and count that as an entry. You will still need to leave a comment specifying how many entries you have. (Still there is only the possibility of 5 entries)***

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A winner will be chosen randomly. The winner will be announced and posted on this site, Monday, March 24, 2014 by 10:00 am (Mountain Standard Time). The winner will have until Tuesday, March 25, 2014 by 10:00 pm (Mountain Standard Time) to claim their prize. If the winner fails to claim their prize another winner will be chosen at random.

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Sharing Time March 2014 Week 4: I can show respect for the Savior by being reverent.

Preparation:
Prayerfully study and think about what the specific needs of your primary are and how you can teach them this doctrine.

Identify the doctrine: I can show respect for the Savior by being reverent. I would suggest that before preparing sharing time to read the topic "Reverence" on LDS.or here is the link: Reverence. Gather some pictures of the Savior. Here is a link: Pictures of the Savior. Make preparations to play the song, "Reverence is Love"

Help the Children Understand the Doctrine: Prepare the following word strips: RESPECT, Reverent Attitude, Reverent Actions. (See printable Below) Also, prepare the poster "I can Show Respect for the Savior by Being Reverent"

Help them apply the doctrine in their lives: Have some chalk. Plan on asking the children how they can act to show their reverence and love towards the Savior.

Free Printables: (Printing Tip: Click on image to open and then save image to your computer. You can then print the image from your computer.)

Sharing Time Instruction:

Begin the sharing time by asking the children to listen to the words as the music is played and to think about how they feel about the Savior as the pictures are shown to them. Play the song, "Reverence is Love" and show pictures of the Savior to the children as the song is being played.

When the song is over ask the children to raise their hands if they would like to share how they felt as the song was being played and they were looking at pictures of the Savior. Allow the children to share their thoughts. Put the word "RESPECT" on the board. Ask the children if they know what the word RESPECT means? Explain that respect means that we deeply admire that person. We look up to them and honor them. So, that means respect is a feeling of love. Write that on the board under the word strip "RESPECT" Display the poster "I can Show Respect for the Savior by Being Reverent" Have the children repeat the words with you. Explain that we show Jesus that we honor him or look up to him or LOVE him by being reverent.

Ask the children what the song they listened to said about reverence? What is Reverence? Discussion might include: Reverence is more that just sitting quietly. It's Thinking, It's a Feeling, It's Love, It is something we can show by the way we speak and act, etc.

Explain that, Reverence is not just an action it is an attitude. Explain that when they listened to the song and looked at the pictures they were probably filled with feelings of love and gratitude towards the Savior. Explain that, that is their attitude, an attitude that is filled with love and appreciation. Because we have this gratitude attitude then we act a certain way to show our love and appreciation for the Savior. Put the word strip "Reverent Attitude" on the Board. Write under it Feelings and thoughts of Love and Appreciation.

Display the word strip "Reverent Actions" on the board: Ask the primary children to raise their hands and give you some ways that they would show their love of the Savior by being Reverent. Write their answers on the board under the word strip. Answers could include: Walk Reverently at Church, Listen as someone is teaching and try to feel the Spirit, Sit still in our chairs, Keep our hands and legs to ourselves, Put our papers away, Fold our Arms, Raise our hands if we would like to speak, Sing during singing time, Think about what is being taught, Think about the Savior, dressing modestly, speaking quietly, using kind words etc. You could also have them demonstrate the action as it is said.

Point to the words strips on the board. Explain that Respect is that feeling we have towards the Savior that we look up to him and love him. Because we respect him, we have a reverent attitude, which means our thoughts and feelings about the Savior are love and gratitude for all that he has done for us. Because we love him and recognize all he has done for us them we should want to show him our love and appreciation. We do this by acting reverently.

Read the last phrase in the song, "Reverence is Love"; "And when I am rev'rent, I know in my heart
Heav'nly Father and Jesus are near." Explain, to the children that when we show reverence towards the Savior then we will be able to feel the Spirit and have a closer relationship with Jesus and Heavenly Father.

Bear your testimony about the showing our love for the Savior by showing reverence. And how by doing so will help each of us grow closer to our Heavenly Father and the Savior.

Click this link for past Sharing Time post: LDS Primary Sharing Time Ideas

Other Ideas on Reverence: Reverence Ideas in Primary

***Basic ideas for this sharing time came from the 2014 Sharing Time Outline, you can find a link here: 2014 Sharing Time Outline.

"Reverence Is Love", music and text by Maggie Olauson, b. 1949.

Traps, Tricks and Treasures! St. Patty's Day Fun.

This year for our leprechaun trap we decided to make a pot of gold. To do this, we used an empty cylinder container (Corn Meal Container). We wrapped black paper around it and used a white correction pen to write "Pot of Gold" on the front. For the top we cut the center out of the lid and then cut a circle the same size of the lid out of yellow felt. We put the lid on and placed the felt on the top. Then of course we added some "Lucky Charms" bait.

When we woke-up that morning and checked the trap, there was no leprechaun to be found. They are so tricky you know. Well, he must have jumped right out, but as he was making a get away he left a trail of crumbs and dropped some of his coins with riddles, leading to some of his treasure.

We solved the riddles and look at the treasure he left behind. Not quite a pot of gold, but we're not complaining!

Below is a free printable for the coin/riddle treasure hunt.

Printing Tip: Click on the image and save it to your computer. You can then print the image from your computer.

For more St. Patrick's Day Ideas Click here: St. Patrick's Day Ideas

Family Home Evening on Heavenly Father gives us Talents to Share with others (Passing off Cub Scout Art Belt Loop)

I hope and pray that you can use these ideas as a guideline and adjust them to the needs of your own specific family. Our prophet President Monson says, "We cannot afford to neglect this heaven-inspired program. It can bring spiritual growth to each member of the family, helping him or her to withstand the temptations which are everywhere. The lessons learned in the home are those that last the longest." On Lds.org there are resources available in helping to make your Family Home Evenings successful, here is a link to that site on Family Home Evenings.

For tonight's Family Home Evening the topic in which I have chosen is:  Heavenly Father gives us Talents to Share with others (Passing off Cub Scout Art Belt Loop) It is really quite amazing if you think about it, all of the gifts our Heavenly Father gives to each of us. The great thing is, is that he doesn't give the same gift or talent to every person. We each have our individual talents. Why is this so great? Well, I believe it is great becasue we are able to share our talents with each other, to help each other, to teach each other. I am grateful for the gifts I have been given and very grateful for the way other people's gifts/talents have blessed my life.

Welcome everyone to Family Night

Sing: ""Give," Said the Little Stream" Children's Songbook 236

Have a member of the family member say the prayer

Discuss any family business

Follow-up with last weeks FHE.

Introduce this weeks Topic:  Heavenly Father gives us Talents to Share with others (Passing off Cub Scout Art Belt Loop)

Scripture: Read and Mark:  D&C 60:13

Article of Faith: #3 "We believe that through the Atonement of Christ, all mankind may be saved, by obedience to the laws and ordinances of the Gospel." Repeat this Article of Faith as a Family. Help each family member to understand the meaning. Help each family member memorize the Article of Faith.

Before FHE, ask each family member to come to FHE with a talent they would like to share. If member's are having a hard time discovering their talent, help them by pointing out what you think their talents are.

Pretend you are an announcer. Say, "Ladies and Gentlemen, I welcome you to the first (insert your families last name here) family Talent Show. I would like to introduce our first talented performer, (insert family member's name here)." Let the family member introduce what their talent is and then let them share their talent with the rest of the family. Continue with each family member. Thank each family member for their participation.

Play the video "Matt and Mandy: Developing Talents".

Discuss with your family how great it is that our Heavenly Father has given us each talents or gifts. Discuss ways we can work to develope our talents. Below are some things we can do to help us develop our talents:

"First, we must discover our talents. We should evaluate ourselves to find our strengths and abilities. Our family and friends can help us do this. We should also ask our Heavenly Father to help us learn about our talents.

Second, we must be willing to spend the time and effort to develop the talent we are seeking.

Third, we must have faith that our Heavenly Father will help us, and we must have faith in ourselves.

Fourth, we must learn the skills necessary for us to develop our talents. We might do this by taking a class, asking a friend to teach us, or reading a book.

Fifth, we must practice using our talent. Every talent takes effort and work to develop. The mastery of a talent must be earned.

Sixth, we must share our talent with others. It is by our using our talents that they grow (see Matthew 25:29)." (Chapter 34: Developing Our Talents. Gospel Principles, (2011), 196–99)

Give each family member the Developing talents printable below. Have them fill it out and work on developing a talent throughout the month.

Explain how there are many different talents. There are talents that we can see easily, such as talents of playing an instruments, singing, drawing, being good at sports, etc. There are also talents that are not seen so easily, such as talents of being a good listener, making friends easily, peacemaker, being able to teach, being a good learner/student, having patience, being able to look at the good in people and things, etc. Each talent is special and can bless others lives when we share it.

Explain to your family that you are going to work on a talent tonight as a family. The talent is that of art.

Start by showing your family members some art pieces. Some of these might include some of the drawings in the Media Library on LDS.org. Discuss the elements of design: lines, circles, dots, shapes, colors, patterns, textures, space, balance and perspective.

As a family, "Make a list of common materials used to create visual art compositions." (Cub Scout Art Academics Belt Loop). The list could include: Water color paint, Colored Pencils, Acrylic Paints, Oil Paints, Chalk, Charcoal, Pencil, Clay, Wood, etc.

Next, "Identify the three primary colors and the three secondary colors that can be made by mixing them. Show how this is done using paints or markers. Use the primary and secondary colors to create a painting." (Cub Scout Art Academics Belt Loop). See printable below.

Lastly, "Demonstrate how six of the following elements of design are used in a drawing: lines, circles, dots, shapes, colors, patterns, textures, space, balance, or perspective." (Cub Scout Art Academics Belt Loop). Give each family member a piece of paper and some colored pencils. Have them draw something using the elements of design, listed above.

Bear your testimony about how Heavenly Father has given us each talents to develop and share with others.

Close with a Family Prayer.

Free Printables:

Free Download

For More Family Home Evening Ideas Click this Link: Family Home Evening Ideas

sT. pATTY'S dAY wORD sCRAMBLE pRINTABLES!

Whether it is for a class party or to just have some fun with the kids, who doesn't love a good Word Scramble?

Below, is the word scramble I put together for my son's St. Patty's Day class party. Hope you enjoy, it!!

Printing Tips: Click on the Image and Save it to your Computer. From your computer you will then be able to print the image.

Colored Printable:

Black and White Printable:

Printable with the key/answers:

RS: Preparedness- Three-Month Food Supply

I wanted to focus today's preparedness post on the three-month food supply. In previous posts I had addressed a 72-hour kit, which can be viewed here: 72 hr kit post. I also did some posts on the "Go-Bag" for that post, click here: Go-Bag Post. When I started thinking about what post I would do today, I found myself on Lds.org. I typed in preparedness and was directed to the "Emergency Preparedness" page. I decided to go along with one of the topics listed on the page, and that was "Three-Month Supply". I love what it says on that page about your three-month supply, "Build a small supply of food that is part of your normal, daily diet. One way to do this is to purchase a few extra items each week to build a one-week supply of food. Then you can gradually increase your supply until it is sufficient for three months. These items should be rotated regularly to avoid spoilage."

When I was first married and was trying to heed the counsel of putting together food storage, I was just buying all the stuff that I new had a long shelf life. They sat in my food storage and sat their some more until, they finally expired and I threw them away. They were not things that I, nor my family really ate regularly, nor was I going to open the big can to use a little bit and not have it for my food storage. I like this idea of buying what your family actually eats and rotating it, a lot better! This is actually what I do now in a sense, because it made me sick seeing all of the food wasted.

These are some of the ways I go about accomplishing this goal of food storage:

Way One:
I watch for the case lot sales. I look at this as kind of the starting point. I do not go overboard, because I do not want all of my items expiring at the same time. So, I figure kind of what I think I will use in a 6 month time frame. Since, this is how often they usually run case lot sales at the grocery stores. Then that is how much I buy of that particular item. I particularly like to purchase toilet paper and paper towels at this time.

Way Two:
I have my pantry, that I keep a few of each items in, so they are easily accessible as I am preparing meals. Then, I have my "store"-age in my cold storage, which has the remaining items. When I have used the stuff from my pantry, then I go to my "store"-age and bring what I need to my pantry. Those items go on my grocery list, for my next shopping trip. What makes this work is, rotating! I make sure that the things that are to expire first are used up first. Everything shifts forward in my cold storage and the new items are placed in the back. Newly purchased items are not placed in the pantry, the old ones need to be used up first. It also is great, because not everything is going to expire at the same time and things are always being rotated.

I have found that it is hard to have food storage for the more perishable items. This is where canning and frozen foods come in. I have noticed that I have to be careful with frozen foods too and not go overboard, because of things getting frost bite. Again I do this by only buying what I know that I will use in a certain time frame.

Everyone seems to have what works best for them. I know some of my friends are big with couponing and watching the sales. Others use the case lots sales, some use the church's cannery, some buy pre-made storage foods and others are big users of bulk stores, such as Costco and Sams. I would love to hear what you have found works for your family's food storage needs. Please leave a comment below and share your secret!

Here are some of the different printables I have in regards to food storage:

St. Patrick's Day Leprechaun Trap Ideas

How do you catch a leprechaun? Well, you have to make a trap and lay some "Lucky Charms" out to lure him in. Have we caught one? Nope, but it's fun to try!

When we lived in Washington my kids and I would make taps for St. Patty's Day. Here are some pictures of some of them and what we did to try to catch one.

This trap was by far the easiest! It was made out of an empty tissue box. It was already green and St. Patty's Day-ish. All we had to do was add a shamrock with a little note on it for the leprechaun and sprinkle some "Lucky Charms" around. We didn't catch one, he just left some of his loose change behind and some black foot prints to a rainbow trail which led to some yummy treats.

This trap was my favorite. It is made from an empty oats container, some green, black and yellow paper and some green saran wrap. Also, it wouldn't be a leprechaun trap without "Lucky Charms".

Lastly, this was the first trap we made. This trap is from an empty tissue box. This is the one the kids were able to have fun with. We wrapped it in green paper and the kids decorated the box. We propped it up with a plastic spoon and left some bait.

Here are just a few ideas to have fun with the kids and try to get ya some of that leprechaun gold.

Sharing Time March 2014 Week 3: Jesus Christ was resurrected, and I will be too.

Preparation:
Prayerfully study and think about what the specific needs of your primary are and how you can teach them this doctrine.

Identify the doctrine: Jesus Christ was resurrected, and I will be too. Prepare to have the children listen to or sing, "Did Jesus Really Live Again?". Prepare the word strips, "Jesus Christ was resurrected, and I will be too" see printable below.

Help the Children Understand the Doctrine: Gather these pictures: Crucifixion, The tomb, The Resurrected Christ

Family Home Evening on Jesus Christ Is Our Savior