religion

Ugly Crying, Lazarus, and Baptismal Covenants

/ srabbott2 / Leave a comment

In the two weeks leading up to Easter I had the opportunity to attend three funerals. 3 funerals in 2 weeks.

They say people die in 3s, but seriously there were

3 of them

In 13 days

I only have one funeral outfit.

Admittedly it was an emotionally draining time. However it was also beautiful and I have come through with some beautiful insights and observations and overall am grateful for the experience. (Except I would really rather not wear that funeral outfit again for a long time so if everyone could be real careful for the next little bit that would be real nice, k.)

They were all very different funerals and I had very different connections to each.

The first was the nearly 100 year old grandmother of one of my dearest and oldest friends. I did have the privilege of knowing her grandmother and seeing the beautiful relationship my friend had with her.

The second was a man who had recently converted to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and joined my ward. I never actually had the opportunity to meet him due to his significant medical concerns but had met his wife on a number of occasions.

While I was not personally grieving these losses, a part of the covenant or promises I made at baptism kept coming to mind.

Mourn with those that mourn.

I feel like we typically emphasize the next two parts:

-Comfort those that stand in need of comfort

-Bear one another’s burdens

And while I feel like there is significant overlap between the three, I think it’s also poignant that they are distinguished from each other.

I’ve been through enough losses to know that I couldn’t take the pain away from my friends, and that I shouldn’t try because that pain is sacred. There wasn’t a lot that I could personally do for them in those moments. But it kept coming back to me that I could mourn WITH them. Not mourn FOR them, not mourn BECAUSE of them, but I could mourn WITH them.

It was between these two funerals that I experienced a personal loss.

My career was in Special Education, and while I am not actively teaching at this time, it’s something that I continue to stay involved in and hope to get back to as an advocate in the future. This was not something that was on my radar growing up or even when I began college. My first summer home from school I needed a job, I bumped into the mom of a friend from high school who said she was looking for a care provider for her youngest who had severe Autism. Within about a week I found myself working with Megan. My sweet little Megan. A little angel who was also a primarily non-verbal little spit-fire who gave me more than a few bruises. Midway through that summer I got really fed up with her one day. She had this huge tantrum and I was completely exasperated and counting the days until the summer was going to be over and I would be done, and then she sat down and started humming her favorite song- I Am A Child of God. And you know that just made me even more mad because honestly how on earth could you go from this violent rage to humming that song. And in that moment I was completely humbled and changed as the spirit whispered to me, “She REALLY knows what it means to be a child of God.” And then I knew that this was my calling in life.

Despite never having had an actual conversation with her, Megan changed my life pretty drastically. Not just in my career but in so many aspects of my life. And while I hadn’t been working with her for a number of years, it might be kinda cheesy and cliche but Elphaba and Galinda say it best, “So much of me is made of what I learned from you…Who can say if I’ve been changed for the better, but because I knew you, I have been changed for good.”

Megan suffered a massive seizure at the beginning of March that landed her in the hospital and it didn’t look good. I spent the next few weeks waiting and watching for updates on her progress and prognosis.

At the end of March, the day after I was there to help my friend lay her grandmother to rest, I was in line for gas at Costco. The line was long and I figured I would jump on Facebook for a minute to pass the time. As I opened the app, the first post that I saw was the post announcing Megan’s passing. While I was not shocked by the news, and while I felt that it was for the best, and that she was in a better place, etc etc etc, in that moment it just hurt. It hurt in all the deep places I never really knew existed. So I promptly started ugly crying….in line for gas at Costco.

My first inclination was to get out of line and just get home where I could ugly cry not while trying to operate a vehicle, but…..I have this really bad habit of pushing my gas tank to the last drops. I’ve had to be saved on more than one occasion from literally just running out of gas and I was there, pushing it again. So I had to stick it through and fill up with gas.

As I’m pulling up to the pump I start desperately trying to regain composure because who wants to be the person ugly crying while they fill up with gas at Costco right?

But as I got out sniffling and wiping tears I found myself torn between not wanting to be noticed and simultaneously desperately wanting one of these random strangers at Costco to notice and give me a big awkward stranger hug and ask me what was wrong.

I didn’t want to be told that everything would be ok. And I didn’t want anyone to tell me about how she was in a better place. Or how I’d see her again. Or how this was all part of a bigger plan. Or any other of the things we say. I wasn’t ready to be comforted. I simply and desperately wanted someone to mourn with me for a moment. I wanted someone to feel that this was sad.

I didn’t want them to feel sad FOR me, I wanted someone to feel sad WITH me.

When Jesus came into Bethany and was greeted by Mary and Martha who had just lost their brother, Lazarus, we get the shortest, and yet arguably one of the most profound verses in all of scripture.

Jesus wept.

Standing near a tomb (not a Costco gas pump), having learned that his dear friend had been dead for 4 days, seeing the pain and I’m sure fear in the eyes of these surviving sisters whose lives could be drastically changed at the death of a male relative, and hearing the weeping of a community, Jesus stands there and ugly cries with them.

He doesn’t jump to offering platitudes. He doesn’t tell them not to be sad. He doesn’t immediately jump into preaching. He doesn’t even fix it right away. For this sacred moment he just simply mourned WITH them.

And the response from the community-

“Behold how he loved him!”

I feel like one of the purest and simplest acts of Christlike love and charity we can give is to simply mourn with those that mourn.

The story goes on and continues to show the other two aspects of the baptismal covenant I mentioned earlier.

After he’s had this moment of mourning he goes on to offer comfort and begins showing a bigger plan.

When he asks them to take away the stone from the tomb, Martha objects, reminding him that Lazarus had been dead four days and will definitely stink by now. To which Jesus responds by saying- remember I told you “if thou wouldest believe, thou shouldest see the glory of God.”

Then, after he’s mourned and comforted, that’s when he very miraculously bears their burden.

“Lazarus, come forth. And he that was dead came forth.”

Now I can’t bring back Grandma, and I can’t replace a ward member’s husband. And you can’t bring back Megan or fix the years of trials that she went through. But I think we can use this story as a pattern for truly living our baptismal covenants.

When we hear about a tragedy in our own life, in the life of someone close to us, in our community, or somewhere in the world we’ve never even heard of, I think the first thing we need to do is just take a moment to mourn. Before jumping in with explanations or fixes, or blame, or anything else, just take a moment to feel sad that it happened.

Then, when the parties are ready, offer comfort. Offer prayers and best wishes. Offer hugs. Share insights. Share your peace. Share how you got through something similar.

But don’t stop there. Bear the burden. Make a meal. Do some service. Donate money. Donate blood. Do some research. Write your representatives. Find a way to make the situation better and hopefully avoid similar tragedies in the future.

I think that then we will see the glory of God, and He will pour out His spirit more abundantly upon us.

Easter Activities For Kids 2023

/ srabbott2 / Leave a comment

Easter is approaching quickly! I like to try to give as much attention to Easter as we do to Christmas. You might have seen my #LightTheWorld for kids bucket list based on the list provided by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I liked that style, it worked well for us to just have a list to choose from in the weeks leading up to the holiday. So I made a similar bucket list with activities to help lead up to Easter. A lot of these we’ve been doing for several years and the kids love them.

Here’s my list:

– Visit a zoo w/ donkeys & discuss the Triumphal Entry
– Plant a Resurrection Garden
– Resurrection Rolls (we tell the story of the crucifixion, tomb, and resurrection as we prepare and eat the rolls, the butter is the anointing oil, the cinnamon and sugar are the spices put on a dead body, the dough is the linens, the oven is the tomb, the cooking time is the time spent in the tomb, etc.)
– Easter Movie Night (we like the Easter Carol from the Veggie Tales)
– Simon carried Jesus’ cross, help someone going through a hard time
– Sing Easter Songs
– Jesus healed the sick– make a get well soon basket
– Jesus helped the poor– make homeless care bags
– Wash each other’s feet
– Jesus prayed for all of us– pray for someone you love
– Jesus’ light won’t go out– trick candles and cupcakes (talk about how they tried to put out Jesus light, blow out the candles, but then it came back, and it will always come back!)
– Jesus helped create the earth – do something creative
– Jesus is our friend– have a playdate with friends
– Palm Frond crosses
– Jesus grew in wisdom– learn something new
– Jesus grew in stature– get some exercise
– Consider the lilies of the field– go on a nature walk

More ideas here from the Friend Magazine. Some of the ideas are pretty similar, and there’s only 7 if that’s all you have time for!

Here’s my Easter printable. The document includes a blank list for you to fill in with your own ideas if you want. My kids are known to write in extra activities at the bottom of my list 🙂 I highly recommend using a print shop like Staples and doing a blueprint or engineer print to make it nice and big to hang on your wall.

easter-for-kids-2023Download

Light the World for Kids 2022

/ srabbott2 / Leave a comment

Oh man, it has been a long time. But I’m back at it for a quick Christmas post.

This year’s Light the World campaign is a bit simpler than years past with just a list of 50 simple suggestions to spread light and cheer.

50 is more than I can handle right now, and I wanted something geared more towards my kiddos needs and abilities to participate. So I put together my own simplified list with 17 ways to Light the World. I also made a blank one if you wanna fill in your own with some of my ideas and other things that work for you.

I have recently discovered the awesome ability to print things on GIANT paper using a printing service. Through Staples it’s called a blueprint under their document printing, I believe other services may refer to it as engineering prints. It’s regular paper, not a poster (read lots cheaper than a poster), but you can print it real big and put it up on your wall so the kids can see and enjoy it better than a little 8.5×11. I’ve been doing this with a quarterly calendar and bucket list since the beginning of the summer and they love it. I printed my Light the World as an 18x 24 but you can go as big as 36×48.

– Tell Christmas jokes

– Learn to say Merry Christmas in a different language

– Make a card for someone far away

– Gingerbread stables

– Temple lights

– Donate food

– Donate a toy/book

– Sing Christmas songs

– Spend time with friends

– Nativity movie night

– Read a Christmas book

– Live Nativity

– Celebrate miracles (Hannukah)

– Giving Machine

– Christmas Devotional

– Christmas Sequencing (3 part sequencing for little littles) (6 part for pre-school- first grade) Older kids could cut and glue pictures from magazines

– Bethlehem Dinner (we eat Middle Eastern food for Christmas Eve reminiscent of the types of food Jesus would have eaten)

light-the-world-for-kids-listDownload
light-the-world-for-kids-blankDownload

Come Follow Me Family Home Evening for Little Ones- May 2020

/ srabbott2 / Leave a comment

I am SOOOOOO pregnant right now.  For the record, I do not recommend homeschooling while pregnant during a pandemic and then selling your house on top of that.  But here we are!!!!  Baby is coming super soon, really tired, and to be frank, very grumpy.  So, this month’s ideas are going to be much simpler than others, but I figured I needed a plan or else it won’t happen so I’m getting something together and sharing it.

All the good birthing thoughts, prayers, and vibes would be much appreciated!

 

May 4-10 A Light that Can Never Be Darkened

 

Use the 10 Commandments printable to go over and teach these concepts.  You could cut out big heart shaped tablets to glue them on so we can keep the commandments in our hearts.

I used a picture of fighting for “thou shalt not kill” because on a kid level they need to understand more that we don’t use our bodies to hurt other people.

To explain “thou shalt not commit adultery” go back and review the concepts from the law of chastity lesson– we don’t keep secrets; if someone touches you in a private place tell them to stop, get away, and tell an adult right away; grown ups who are married may share their private places only with each other.

 

May 11-17 We Have Entered into a Covenant with Him

 

Sing a few of the baptism songs from the Children’s Songbook.  Use the Baptismal Covenants printable to discuss the covenants we make when we are baptized and how they can start preparing now.

 

May 18-24 They Were Called the People of God

 

Probably just going to watch the video on Living Scriptures.  Could be fun to pull out some makeshift costumes and act it out after watching the video or reading the story.

 

May 25-31 They Were Steadfast and Immovable

Use the activity page at the end of the Come Follow Me for Primary lesson for this week- but cut out and discard the distractors.  For young kids, well, they’ll just be distracting, especially for toddlers and preschoolers it’s better to just focus on the right things to do.  Have them pick a few that they want to include and color and paste them on a paper.  Have them practice talking about them in their own words and make plans for them to share at a family testimony meeting for the upcoming Fast Sunday.

 

This activity is a good example of something that works really well for multiple age groups.  For your emerging talkers, they could just identify the pictures.  For your toddlers they can give one liners.  Preschool and early elementary could explain a little in their own words.  Upper elementary could differentiate what does and does not belong in a testimony and then write theirs out a little more.  Teenagers could write out their own.

 

Come Follow Me Family Home Evening for Little Ones- April 2020

/ srabbott2 / 1 Comment

Soooo…..how’s quarantine going???  Anyone else going crazy yet?  Anyone else have cute Easter outfits hanging in closets that will only be seen on Social Media?

I’m gonna come right out and say it- I’m not digging this whole quarantine thing.  I’m respecting it, I understand the need, but I am a pretty social person.  Also I’m pregnant and I specifically planned this pregnancy around the school year so I could have a break from my older kids.  So…..Covid-19, you are kinda the worst.

I’m going to try and give a few ideas for activities each week now that we have a lot more time to fill.

 

March 30- April 12 Easter: He Shall Rise with Healing in His Wings

Children’s Scriptures: New Testament Stories Chap 44 (begins the last week of Christ’s mortal life)- 54; Book of Mormon Stories Chap 42-47; New Testament Stories for Young Readers Jesus Taught about the Sacrament, Jesus Gave Us the Sacrament, The Easter Story; Book of Mormon Stories for Young Readers: Jesus Visits the Nephites; My First Scripture Stories: The Last Supper, The Atonement, The Crucifixion, The Resurrection, Jesus is Crucifies, Jesus Visits the Promised Land, The Three Nephites; My Book of Mormon Friends: A Young Girl in Bountiful; Girls Who Choose God: Girls and Boys Blessed by Jesus

Song: Easter Hosanna pg 68

Materials: Ingredients for Resurrection Rolls (start putting in a grocery order early in case things are out of stock so you can try again-One can of crescent roll dough, 8 large marshmallows, Melted butter, Cinnamon sugar), selected movies, glove, Gospel Art Book

-Make Resurrection Rolls, and tell the Easter story as you do it

-Easter Movie Night, we will probably watch To This End Was I Born, and one of the VeggieTales Easter shows

-Use a glove and your hand to explain the Resurrection.  Explain that your hand is like your spirit, wiggle it and talk about the pre-earth life.  Show a picture of Christ’s birth and explain that when you are born you receive a body, put the glove on your hand- the glove is like your body.  Show that they can now wiggle and move together.  Show a picture of Christ when he was grown and explain that our bodies grow with us.  Show Christ in the garden, explain that sometimes our bodies feel pain and that we can use our bodies to pray.  Show Christ on the cross and explain that he died for us.  Take the glove off and put it in a tomb (under a bowl or something), explain that when we die our body stays here on earth and can’t move anymore but our spirit goes to Heaven and waits.  Show Christ resurrected, explain that after 3 days Christ was resurrected and because of that, someday (a long time from now) everyone will also be resurrected, put the glove back on.

-Book of Mormon connection- watch videos depicting Christ’s visit to the people in America:

  • Testaments Of One Fold and One Shepherd (this is over an hour long so kids might have a hard time sitting through it, you might just want to show some highlights)
  • Living Scriptures Savior in America- if you have the subscription watch the whole thing there, but there are also some clips available on Youtube
  • Mark Mabry Photography slideshows:
    8 minutes all still images from his Another Testament Shoot- very thorough representation of 3rd Nephi
    7 minutes images and video from his Reflections (New Testament) and Another Testament shoots set to my FAVORITE song pretty much ever

 

April 13-19 Filled with Love Towards God and All Men

Children’s Scriptures: Book of Mormon for Young Readers: King Benjamin Teaches his People; Book of Mormon Stories Chap 12 (first half); My First Scripture Stories: King Benjamin; Heroic Stories from the Book of Mormon: King Benjamin,

Song: When We’re Helping We’re Happy pg. 198

Materials: tent or fort making supplies, service project supplies, Natural Man-Saint Printable

-Set up a tent in your living room and watch videos about King Benjamin- Book of Mormon Stories for Young Readers, Book of Mormon Stories, Book of Mormon Videos

– Discuss some ways you can serve people while still social distancing.  There’s a lot of projects that can be done from home based on age and skill level

  • older kids (and if you know how to sew- which is not me) could help with making masks or hospital gowns
  • draw pictures or make cards to mail to people
  • draw pictures and/or write inspirational sayings on the sidewalk in your neighborhood

-Use this printable to discuss the natural man vs. a saint

 

April 20-26 A Mighty Change

Children’s Scriptures: Book of Mormon Stories Chap 12 (second half)

Song: I’m Trying to Be Like Jesus pg 78

Materials: Steps of Repentance, Grinch book or video, candy or other treats

  • Use the Grinch to help children understand repentance and a change of heart.  Read the book or watch the movie (the old classic one is available on YouTube).  Then use the Grinch steps of repentance printable to talk about the steps of repentance and having a change of heart.
  • Give a parent a bag of candy or plate of treats, don’t share them around yet.  Have the kids take turns asking for treats.  Explain that in life some people have more than others, and people with less sometimes need to ask for help.  What should we do when they ask? Find a way to help.  Discuss different ways your family can help- donate fast offerings, donate old toys or clothes that you aren’t using, etc.  If possible make a donation or pick something out to donate. (Some places are not accepting donations in kind right now, but you can still do some spring cleaning and hide it until things open back up, or select a group to make a monetary donation to.)

 

April 27- May 3 In the Strength of the Lord

Children’s Scriptures: Book of Mormon Stories chap 13

Song: Latter-day Prophets pg 134

Materials: looking devices, toilet paper rolls, tape, picture of Jesus, People of Zeniff Preparations printable

  • Gather whatever devices you can- glasses, binoculars, telescope, microscope, magnifying glass, anything that helps you see things you couldn’t otherwise see.  Make binoculars out of empty toilet paper rolls.  Use the devices you can find to look at different items.  Explain that these help us see things on Earth and in Space that we couldn’t see without them.  A seer is able to see spiritual things that Heavenly Father needs us to know.  Use the binoculars you made.  When the kids put them on put a picture of Jesus in front of them.  A seer uses his gifts to help us come closer to Jesus Christ and do what He wants us to do.
  • Use the People of Zeniff Preparations printable to discuss what they had and did in their battle with the Lamanites and what tools we have today to be safe in our battles.

 

Consolidated Materials List:

Ingredients for Resurrection Rolls (One can of crescent roll dough, 8 large marshmallows, Melted butter, Cinnamon sugar)

selected movies

glove

Gospel Art Book

tent or fort making supplies

service project supplies

Natural Man-Saint Printable

Steps of Repentance

Grinch book or video

candy or other treats

looking devices

toilet paper rolls

tape

picture of Jesus

People of Zeniff Preparations printable

Come Follow Me Family Home Evening for Little Ones- March 2020

/ srabbott2 / 2 Comments

Can we take a minute to talk about after church on Sunday.  I’m gonna be straight up, sometimes I feel like church is too short.  Like couldn’t you keep my kids an extra hour AND I teach them at home!!!  Maybe I’ll feel differently when baby #3 comes in May.  But especially now that we are back to 9:00 church, sometimes the rest of the day goes VERY slowly.

Sabbath activities are certainly a very personal decision, we’ve got some general guidelines but for the most part it is up to individual families to decide.  So I want to hear what’s working (or not working) for your family.

Here’s some stuff we do:

-VeggieTales, Owlegories (several episodes are free on Prime), and the Living Scriptures resources on YouTube (anyone have the Living Scriptures subscription, I keep thinking about it- worth it or no??)

-Crafts

-Board games, including this one I made to go with a past FHE Lesson

-When I wasn’t pregnant- walks or kites at the park

-Baking

-Visiting family (but then we sometimes end up with similar down time at their houses)

 

Stuff I always think we should do but rarely happens:

-Coloring pages

-Activities in the Friend

 

Help me come up with more ideas!  For our family we’ve decided to avoid non church related movies and shows and video games on Sundays.  Sometimes if I’m desperate for quiet I give in and let them use the PBS kids app.

 

On to FHE ideas for March!  And we’re back with Children’s scripture resources now that we are getting out of 2 Nephi (which I love and I’m sad there aren’t better children’s resources- one day I might just write one, but that day is not today!)

March 2-8 This is the Way

Children’s Scriptures- Friend Jr Feasting on the Scriptures

Materials: Straight and Narrow Path Game Straight and Narrow Path Printables, path like a balance beam or made out of tape or chalk

Song: Choose the Right Way pg. 160

Explain to the kids that Nephi tells us that to get back to Heavenly Father there is a straight and narrow path.  Use your hands to show straight and demonstrate narrow.  Being baptized is the beginning of the path and then we have to follow it the rest of our lives.  Sometimes we might wobble and fall off but then we can jump right back on!  Use the game or the printables or both to talk through ways we stay on the path and things that might get us off track.

For the game use a die or number spinner and character pieces from another game in your house.  When they land on a space with a picture discuss the picture and let them go ahead an extra space.  At certain points they have the option to go off the path into a red square with a picture of something that takes them off the path- if they choose that (and maybe mom and dad could demonstrate) they go back two spaces.  Bonus- you can add this to your collection of activities to pull out for a future Sunday afternoon, just laminate it or keep it in a page protector!

With the full page printables, create a straight and narrow path either using a balance beam or making a path kind of hop scotch style out of tape or chalk.  Put the distractor pictures to the sides of the path.  Have the kids use the pictures as stepping stones.  Again you would probably want to either laminate or use page protectors.

Pro tip- depending on the program you are using to open the PDF and your individual printer, you should be able to find a way to print 2 or 4 per page if you don’t want to have them so big- especially if you are using a balance beam.  But, each program and printer is different with the settings so I can’t really give a tutorial.

 

March 9-15 Be Reconciled Unto God through the Atonement of Christ

Children’s Scripture Resources: Book of Mormon Stories Chap 10, My First Scripture Stories Jacob and Sherem

Materials: picture of a kid in a swim suit

Song: Two Little Eyes pg. 268

 

Soap box moment:

In Jacob chapter 2, Jacob speaks very boldly about the law of chastity.  He starts by saying that it grieves him to have to speak about this in front of their wives and children but that it needs to be said.  I feel the same way, but based on a recent situation I became aware of as well all of the research and articles and statistics about child molestation, sexual abuse of children, child trafficking, and pornography exposure happening younger and younger this is something we HAVE to talk about again and again and again and it’s never too early to start.

I’m adapting this from a lesson I published back in August when we discussed Corinthians and the analogy of our bodies being temples.  Jacob doesn’t use the same analogy, but it’s a good analogy if you just want to repeat that.

Start by telling your kids that the prophet Jacob in the Book of Mormon taught us about how to use our own bodies appropriately and respecting other people’s bodies.

Explain the difference between secrets, surprises, and sacred or private things.

Secrets can hurt people, we don’t keep secrets. If someone tells you something or does something to you and tells you not to tell mom or dad tell that person that we don’t keep secrets and make sure to tell mom or dad or another grown up what happened.

Surprises are when we don’t tell someone something right away because it will be more fun if we wait. This is like when we buy someone a present, we don’t tell them what it is until they open it.

Sacred, Special, and Private are things that we only share with a few special people. Our bodies are temples and someone has to have permission to touch your body and you need permission to touch someone else’s body.  If someone wants to give you a hug or a high five and you don’t want to you can say no thank you, if they don’t listen then you can move away from them.  If someone doesn’t want you to hug them or give them a high five then you need to listen to them.  If someone uses their body to hurt you, tell them no, get away, and tell a grown up.  We never use our bodies to hurt other people.  Sing the song “Two Little Eyes” now, or again, and emphasize the line “Many more things make me.”  We have parts of our body that are private. Use correct names (so much research on this being super important- NO NICKNAMES!!!) and explain that private places are where a swim suit covers and show them a picture of a kid in a swimsuit. We keep our private places covered, we don’t joke about them, we don’t show them to people, we don’t look at them on other people, and no one has permission to touch them unless mom or dad is helping you in the bathroom or a bath, or if a doctor needs to check and make sure everything is healthy. If anyone tries to touch you in a private place you yell at them, “No, don’t touch my_____,” you run away, and you tell a grown up right away. If anyone tries to show you their private places or a picture of someone with their privates showing, do the same thing- Yell no, run away, tell a grown up right away.  If you are watching a show or using a tablet or phone and a picture of someone without clothes comes on the screen you close your eyes (your two little eyes that blink blink blink- the song tied in again!); turn off, put down, or get away from the screen; and tell a grown up right away.

(Depending on the age and maturity level of your kids you may explain that when you are an adult and married then you may also share your private places with your spouse, it is important that kids hear about sexuality in a positive and healthy way.)

 

March 16-22 The Lord Labors with Us

Children’s scriptures: Book of Mormon Stories Chap 10

Materials: mission tags and pictures, missionary coloring pages

Song: I Hope They Call Me On a Mission pg. 169

Tell the children that the Prophet Jacob shared a story about the history of the whole earth, from before he was born, to when Christ was on the earth, to our time, and even after that.  In our time he said that people would be called to work with the Lord to share the gospel.  Those people are missionaries.

If you or your husband or both of you served a mission pull out your old mission tags, some pictures and any other fun mission paraphernalia (if you served somewhere foreign make sure to have some foods from your mission available!) Talk about what it was like to be a missionary and share some stories.

If neither of you served, talk about someone you know who is serving, invite someone over who served, or even see if the missionaries in your area are available to come over.

Talk about what you can do now to prepare to be a missionary- even if you don’t serve far away we can all share the gospel all the time.  Things kids can do now- read the scriptures, go to church, listen to their parents, invite friends to come to church or activities, etc.

Color some missionary themed coloring pages and send them to a missionary you know or even just the missionaries in your ward.

 

March 23-29 He Works in Me to Do His Will

Children’s Scripture Resources: Book of Mormon Stories Chap 11, Book Of Mormon Stories for Young Readers Enos Prayed, My First Scriptures Stories- Enos

Song: I Pray In Faith pg 14

Materials: Picture of Enos praying, Prayer Printable, extra pictures or drawing supplies

Show the kids a picture of Enos praying and summarize the story or use the Young Readers version linked above.  Use the Printable and/or find pictures or draw pictures* specific to your kids and family to put together a little “cheat sheet” to help them remember what to include in their prayer.  Talk about the steps of prayer (you could sing the second verse of the song a few times).

  1. Dear Heavenly Father
  2. I’m thankful for
  3. Please bless, or I ask thee
  4. In the name…..

Then have the kids practice saying prayers using the little “cheat sheets” they created.

 

*This is a good example of how to differentiate a lesson if you have kids in different age groups.  The older kids could be drawing their own or helping a slightly younger sibling find pictures in a magazine to cut out.  Older kids could also get into more abstract concepts that aren’t easy to find a picture for, and specific questions.

 

Consolidated Materials List:

Straight and Narrow Path Game

Straight and Narrow Path Printables

path like a balance beam or made out of tape or chalk

picture of a kid in a swim suit

mission tags and pictures

missionary coloring pages

Picture of Enos praying

Prayer Printable

extra pictures or drawing supplies

 

 

Image by liggrafie from Pixabay

Come Follow Me Family Home Evening for Little Ones- Feb 2020

/ srabbott2 / Leave a comment

Sorry this is coming out a little late again.  The plague came through our house, ok, that’s a little dramatic, but that’s what it felt like.  We all took turns being sick and being sick while being pregnant meant I basically stayed in bed for a whole week.  Add on top of that the kids have not been sleeping well…and you get the picture.  I might also just be hitting that point in pregnancy where naps become a necessity rather than a luxury.  But I swear, January was longer than November and December COMBINED!!!!!!

Luckily this month is pretty simple on the Family Home Evening front.  If you have followed my blog for a while most of these activities are going to be repeats of old ones, but kids thrive on repetition, it’s a big part of how they learn.

I’m continuing to include coordinating children’s scriptures, however, unfortunately the resources for 2 Nephi are limited.  It’s less story and we don’t meet a lot of new characters.  For a list of the books I’m using this year see last month’s post.  Also, the Friend for January has a reading chart with selected verses that is really helpful.  There’s also this page in the February Friend for even more simplified reading selections.

 

February 3-9 We Lived After the Manner of Happiness

Children’s Scriptures: Book of Mormon Stories Chap 9

Song: Happy Song pg 264

Materials: Construction paper or poster, Manner of Happiness Printable and/or pictures of things that make your family members happy

Explain that when they got to the Promised Land, Nephi said that his family lived “after the manner of happiness.”  Add the things that Nephi said made them happy to a poster then add some extras that make your family happy.  I have created a printable with Nephi’s suggestions as well as a few of my own, but you may want to find your own pictures (especially your own family photo) or have the kids help cut them out of advertisements, newspapers, or magazines or draw their own*.

Nephi’s list:

Family

Commandments

Scriptures

Education

Temples

Work

Church Callings

 

Extra Ideas:

Eating healthy foods

Exercise

Friends

Good media

Listening to mom and dad and teachers

Talents

Creating

Helping others

 

*Here’s an idea on how to differentiate for different age groups and ability levels.  Really little ones will need to just have the pictures available, slightly older ones may be able to help cut things out, and then if you have a few that are school age and/or very interested in coloring they can draw their own.  That way you can do the same activity but the different age groups can benefit, if you’ve got some that are extra older, have them help the younger ones.  So like mom and dad are helping the 3 and unders, 8 or 9 year old is helping the 4 year old select and cut and draws a few of their own, and the 6 year old is cutting and/or coloring more independently.

 

February 10-16 O How Great the Plan of Our God

Song: I Feel My Savior’s Love pg. 74

Materials: construction paper hearts, Blessing from Jesus from The Friend, Valentines for Jesus Printable

So perfect that this falls the same week as Valentines!!!!  This section is all about the Plan of Happiness and Christ’s sacrifice for us.

Use the Printable from the Friend to talk about the ways Jesus shows his love for us.  Glue the pictures on paper hearts and explain that these are like his Valentines to us.

Then using the Valentines for Jesus printable (or printing/coloring their own ideas) have the kids select ways they can show love to Jesus and make a Valentine for Him.

Take it a step further and have the kids make Valentines for people in your ward and or neighborhood who are struggling and could use some extra love.  Deliver them with treats or flowers.

*Last year I bought one small daisy bouquet from the grocery store and then some plastic cocktail glasses (they were like extra tall shot glasses) from the dollar store and just cut off 3 flowers to put in each little glass and delivered them to the sisters I minister to and some homebound/widowed sisters.  They LOVED them- it was super cheap, went a long way, and nobody had to feel guilty throwing them out after a few days, but it was just enough to help them feel loved in the mean time.

 

February 17-23 We Rejoice in Christ

Song: I Love to See the Temple pg. 95

Materials: Pictures of Temples

Explain that in Second Nephi we learn that before Christ returns there will be many temples.  Show pictures of temples around the world, maybe highlight some that are special to your family.  Explain that in the temple Heavenly Father teaches us His ways so we can walk in His path.  If you live close enough, go to the temple grounds, if not just keep looking at pictures of the temples.  There’s a fun temple matching game on the church website.

 

February 24- March 1 A Marvelous Work and a Wonder

Song: We Are Different pg. 263

Materials: Eggs in a variety of colors, clear cups, optional supplies to make a treat

I’ve done this activity every year with my kids for the last several years.  They really enjoy it and I feel like it works well to teach the concept.

Get eggs in various colors.  At the grocery store you can typically at least get brown and white, but if you happen to know someone with backyard chickens (I am quite lucky to have a few suppliers!) then they typically will have several different colors including light green, various shades of brown, speckled, etc.  Also you could color eggs with Easter Egg dye if you want to have even more colors.

Read/ summarize 2 Nephi 26:33 with the kids.  He invites everyone to come unto Him, no matter what they look like or their back ground.

Show the kids the eggs and ask them if they all look the same or different.  Then crack each egg individually into its own clear cup.  Point out that even though they looked very different on the outside, on the inside they were the same.  Heavenly Father said that all are alike unto Him.

Then if you want to take it a step further, explain that when we listen to each other and all work together we can do great things then use the eggs to make a yummy treat!

 

*Funny story-  A couple years ago after doing this activity with my son we were playing at a park and there was an African American girl playing there as well.  My son got my attention and said, “mom- she has dark skin!”  I responded, “You’re right, she’s very beautiful, isn’t that cool that we all have different colors of skin.”  He thought for a second then continued, “Yeah, like how the eggs were different on the outside but the same on the inside.”  Me, feeling proud that I had taught and he had listened, patting myself on the back, and then he asked, “Can we make cookies with her?”

 

Consolidated materials list:

Construction paper or poster

Manner of Happiness Printable and/or pictures of things that make your family members happy

construction paper hearts

Blessing from Jesus from The Friend

Valentines for Jesus Printable

Pictures of Temples

Eggs in a variety of colors

clear cups

optional supplies to make a treat

Come Follow Me Family Home Evening for Little Ones- October 2019

/ srabbott2 / Leave a comment

Happy General Conference month!!!  I wonder what great and wonderful things are in store for us this round!

Because of General Conference, two weeks worth of Come Follow Me material is arranged in one lesson, but because we do FHE every week I’m giving two lessons for that block.

Sept. 30- Oct 13 For the Perfecting of the Saints

Song: The Priesthood is Restored pg 89

Materials: Jenga tower

Part 1:

Use a Jenga tower to teach about Christ’s church, the Apostasy, and the Restoration.

I used a different color marker for each set, mine has 48 pieces which I think is standard.

Label 12 pieces as Apostles- if you want to be an overachiever, cut out little pictures of the original Apostles and the current Apostles to glue on.

Label the next 9- Priesthood Authority/Offices, Deacons, Teachers, Priests, Elders, High Priests, Seventies, Pastors/ Bishops, Evangelists/ Patriarchs

Label the next 3- Perfect the saints, work of ministry, and edify

Next 6- Faith, Repentance, Baptism, Holy Ghost, Keep Covenants, Endure to the End

Next 3- Grace, Works, Faith

Last set (if yours has less than 48 this would be the best place to cut from)-

Doctrines, Atonement, Fall, Nature of God, Purpose of Life, 3 Kingdoms, Revelation, Sacrament, Commandments, Body is a Temple, Baptism by Immersion, Service, Scriptures, Miracles, Answers to Prayers.

Start building the tower with the Apostles on the bottom, talk about how Jesus built his church and called 12 Apostles.

He gave them Priesthood Authority and others helped in different roles- go through each of the offices/ callings.

Then explain that he did this for the perfecting of the Saints, the Work of the Ministry, and to edify (lift us up) (Ephesians 4:12)

The apostles taught that we would need to have faith (believe), works (do what Heavenly Father asks), and grace (help from Jesus) in order to return to Heavenly Father.

And they taught really important doctrines- go through each one until the tower is complete.

But, after Jesus died, his Apostles did their best to keep the church together, unfortunately they got spread out and also began to die.  Have the kids start taking out the apostles until the tower falls.

Remove all of the Apostle pieces and the Priesthood authority piece.

The church fell apart, but people still believed in Heavenly Father and Jesus and wanted to do the best they could.  So they started trying to build churches out of the pieces they still had.  Have everyone grab some pieces and build their own churches.  Point out that everyone has parts of the truth, and some good things, but they don’t look like Jesus’ church and they are missing pieces.

Then explain that Joseph Smith was called to restore the church so he called 12 Apostles, and was given the Priesthood Authority again, and now we have deacons, teachers….. you get the idea, go through and rebuild the church.

 

Part 2:

Song: I Will Be Valiant pg. 162

Materials: Armor

Put on the armor of God.

I bet you can guess where I’m going with this…

If you can find a suit of armor great, or make one out of cardboard.  Or if you want to keep it more simple then there is a paper doll suit of armor in the Primary Manual.

Here’s the different parts of the armor outlined in Ephesians 6.

Loins- truth

Breatplate- righteousness

Shoes- preparation of the Gospel of peace

Shield- faith

Helmet- salvation

Sword- spirit

 

Oct 14-20 I Can Do All Things Through Christ Which Strengthens Me

Song: I Feel My Savior’s Love pg. 74

Materials: items for difficult tasks

Come up with a few tasks that would be impossible for the kids to do on their own.  Lifting something really heavy, reaching something too high, reading a difficult book, or doing math that is beyond their level.  Ask them to try to do it on their own.  Then explain that they can ask Jesus to help them.  Ask them to try again but this time hold a picture of Jesus while they try.  As they hold the picture assist them so they can complete the task.  Talk about Phillipians 4:13 and explain that Jesus will strengthen us so that we can do anything he needs us to do.

 

Oct 21-27 Be Not Soon Shaken in Mind, or Be Troubled

Song: I Wonder When He Comes Again pg. 85

Materials: Suit cases, clothes, shoes, etc for trip, scriptures, pictures, etc. for Second Coming

Pull out two suit cases.  On one place a picture of their favorite place to visit (or place they really want to go) and on the other place a picture of Jesus.  For the first one talk about what we would need to do to prepare to go on a trip to.  Let the kids grab some things they think they would need.  For the second talk about the things we need to do to prepare for Jesus’ second coming.  Place things like scriptures, a picture of a family praying, something that reminds them of church, a picture of the temple, etc. in the bag.

 

Oct 28- Nov 3 Be Thou an Example of the Believers

Song: Our Bishop pg. 135

Materials: Art supplies

Talk to your kids about the Bishop in your ward.  Make sure they know his name.  Explain some of the things that Bishops do.  Have the kids draw pictures to say thank you to the Bishop for all his hard work.

 

Image by Gerhard Janson from Pixabay

Stinky Armpits- An Awkward Look at the Church as a Body

/ srabbott2 / Leave a comment

Recently in our Come Follow Me studies we read 1 Corinthians 12 in which the church and its members are likened to the body of Christ.  It goes through the hands and the feet, the eyes and the ears, etc.  About a year ago in Relief Society we discussed this same passage, as we discussed it I had a humorous (albeit sarcastic and perhaps slightly irreverent) thought- “I wonder who is the stinky armpit?!?”

I chuckled to myself for a moment, and leaned over and shared it with a good friend who also tends to have a slightly irreverent since of humor.  But then the spirit taught me some things about the church and stinky armpits.

All of us come to the table with different talents, blessings, and opportunities to contribute.  Some members are great at the administering side of things, they thrive on accountability and reports.  Others are quick to observe and minister to needs but may be lacking on the paperwork side of things.  Some have amazing gospel knowledge, while others may not be on top of scripture references but have a heart full of pure charity.

I’ve been blessed with the opportunity to be the fingers of the church through sharing my talents on the piano and the feet of the church when I was a missionary.  I’ve been the hands of the church when I have made meals for new moms and newly arriving refugees.  I’ve seen others be the arms of the church when someone needed a blessing or simply a hug.  Recently the same friend I mentioned earlier was the ears of the church as she listened to me express some pain and frustrations.  I’ve watched Relief Society Presidents and Bishops be the shoulders of the church as they bear the burdens of stewardship over their flock.

But have you ever been around someone who it seemed their main contribution was to be bothersome, overly needy, or perhaps just rude; like their whole purpose was to annoy you.  I’ve known a few, and I’m sure I’ve probably been that person at times.  Like that mom who just can’t seem to get her kids under control (guilty!!!), or the person making rude comments about political parties or other groups during Sunday School.  Perhaps they’re spreading gossip, or just constantly taking more resources than they contribute.

These are the stinky armpits.  And yes, they are a part of the body of Christ as well.  While stinky and perhaps awkward, armpits do fulfill an important function in the body.  They connect the arms that reach out to the shoulders bearing burdens.  Our job is to be diligent in our care, attention, and respect for them so at the very least they can be less stinky.  And if someone’s only contribution is to help us learn patience, love, and sacrifice then good for them for helping us draw closer to the Head of the Church- Jesus Christ.

 

 

Photo cred: https://flic.kr/p/Df9TCM

Come Follow Me Family Home Evening for Little Ones- September 2019

/ srabbott2 / Leave a comment

Welcome back!  I hope August went well for everyone and if your kids started school that everything is going well.  I now have a kindergartner and a preschooler which means 3 days a week I have almost 2 hours to myself.  It’s AMAZING!!!!

Funny story from last month.  I guess it was the end of July when we did the story about the snake biting Paul, but Paul wasn’t hurt.  The kids have LOVED playing this over and over and over again.  They were playing it together and my son said to his little sister, “I’ll be Paul, and you can be…John.”  She responded, “No, I’m Mary!”  And then they proceeded to bite each other with a snake toy and shout, “Ahh….go away snake!”  As they shake it off their arm unharmed.  We’ve had a few discussion about how we need to make sure we are still safe and careful around snakes in the wild, but it’s so great to see that this is actually sinking in- even though they frequently grump about getting started!

I stopped adding the section with corresponding children’s scriptures.  Sorry about that.  There’s just nothing available 😦  We’ve started just reading either a Book of Mormon scripture story at night, or reading from the friend, or just whatever the kids request.  There is a Friend Jr. story on Paul’s letters in the September Friend so definitely check that one out.

September 2-8 God Is Not the Author of Confusion, but of Peace

Song: I Lived in Heaven pg. 4

Materials:  Plan of Salvation Printable

Explain the plan of Salvation using drawings.  There are a lot of examples online, you can draw as you go, or I’ve created a very simple printable for you.  Emphasize the degrees of glory described in 1 Cor 15:40-41.

Before you get started, have them draw clothes on the blank (physical body) person, and consider putting their picture on the face.

Pre-earth life- Put the little spirit character on the Pre-Earth cloud, explain that we were spirits living with our Heavenly Father, but in order to become like him we would need to gain a body and make good choices.

Earth- Heavenly Father and Jesus created the earth for us so that we could gain a body, put the physical body on top of the spirit character, then explain that while we are here we need to make good choices.  Talk about a few good choices you need to make (baptism, going to church, hands to self, listening to parents, etc.)

Death- Some day we will die and our body will stay in the ground (put the grave next to the earth and the body there) but our spirit will go to the Spirit world (move the spirit to the spirit world) where we will wait to be resurrected.

Resurrection- move the body and spirit back together and explain that when we are resurrected our bodies will be PERFECT!  No more sickness or pain.

Judgement- explain that Heavenly Father and Jesus will ask us how we did listening to them, following them, and fixing things when we make mistakes.  That will determine where we go.

Celestial- if we do the best we can do with Jesus helping us then we can go to the Celestial Kingdom to be with Heavenly Father and our families FOREVER!  It’s so beautiful Paul said it was like the sun.

Terrestrial- this is for people that were very nice but didn’t follow Jesus all the way.  It’s still really lovely there, but not the best.  Paul related it to the moon.

Telestial- this is for people who made bad choices and didn’t try to fix them.  They will still be happy, but not as much as the other two.  Paul said it was like the stars.  Talk about how the Sun, Moon, and Stars give off different amounts of light.

Side note- you can help kids remember the order with Sea Turtle- C Ter Tel

 

September 9-15 Be Ye Reconciled to God

Song: Faith pg. 96

Materials: Blindfold, objects such as toys, treats, scriptures, picture of Christ

Hide a few items around a room- some things just for fun and some things like scriptures, picture of Christ, etc.  Take turns being blindfolded and having the other family members tell the person blindfolded where to go to find the objects.  Explain that while we are on earth we can’t see Heavenly Father or Jesus, but if we listen to the Spirit, and the words of the Prophets then we can find our way back.

 

September 16-22 God Loveth a Cheerful Giver

Song: Army of Helaman pg. 172

Materials: Fort building materials (couch cushions, chairs, blankets, sheets, etc.), Nerf guns and/or other soft ammo (pillows, paper airplanes, crumbled paper rocks, etc.) Righteous ammo printable

Explain that we are in a war against wickedness.  Wickedness is making choices that go against what Heavenly Father wants for us like taking bad things into our bodies, using our bodies to hurt people, hurting our own bodies, not listening to our parents, making things more important than Heavenly Father, etc.  Talk about what we can do to combat the bad things.  Reading scriptures, going to church, serving people, listening, watching good shows, etc.  You can either just show the Righteous ammo printable or cut out the pictures and tape them to your ammo. Build a fort together and talk about how we want to make our home like a fort against bad things in the world.  Gather in the fort together but leave one parent out to be the opposing side.  Use your righteous ammo to defend your fort and take down the “bad guy.”

Additional Activity: To go along with the ammo of helping people, think of someone you can serve CHEERFULLY!  This could be as simple as coloring a picture for someone in the ward who is sick, lonely, new, etc.  Or taking some donations somewhere.  Always good to find a simple service project for the kids!

September 23-29 Walk in the Spirit

Song: The Holy Ghost pg. 105

Materials: 9 pieces of Fruit (try to get a good variety, but you might want to go ahead and double up on some favorites), other ingredients for your fruit salad/pizza/smoothie, Fruits of the Spirit

Use the Fruits of the Spirit printable to label fruit with the different fruits of the spirit discussed in Galatians 5:22-23

Talk through the different fruits and what they mean:

Love- we feel and show love for others when we are kind to them and serve them.  What makes you feel loved?

Joy- joy is happiness and a good attitude when things don’t go your way

Peace- we use kind words without yelling, we listen to others when it is their turn to talk

Longsuffering- we are patient, we wait our turn

Gentleness- we use our hands for helping not for hurting, if you or someone else makes a mistake we let them fix it

Goodness- we keep the commandments from Heavenly Father and follow the rules at home and school

Faith- we believe in Jesus and keep learning about him

Meekness- we are willing to listen and fix things when Mom or Dad or a teacher tells us how things need to be done, even if it’s different than how you want to do it

Temperance- we take good care of our bodies

Now use the fruit to make something yummy like a fruit salad, a fruit pizza, or a smoothie.

 

September 30- October 13 For the Perfecting of the Saints

I’m going to actually post the specifics of this with October, especially since this covers 2 weeks because of General conference.  But you’re going to need some supplies so you might want to start thinking about that now.

This chunk will cover the Apostasy and Restoration- you’re going to need a Jenga tower that you don’t mind writing on.  I found an adorable miniature one at the dollar store a couple weeks ago in the toy section.  So be on the look out, it’s probably something you can find at a thrift store as well.

It will also cover the Armor of God.  I’m really hoping to find a suit of armor to use, which might be easy with Halloween coming up!

 

Consolidated Materials List:

Plan of Salvation Printable

Blindfold

objects such as toys, treats, scriptures, picture of Christ

Fort building materials (couch cushions, chairs, blankets, sheets, etc.)

Nerf guns and/or other soft ammo (pillows, paper airplanes, crumbled paper rocks, etc.)

Righteous ammo printable

9 pieces of Fruit

other ingredients for your fruit salad/pizza/smoothie

Fruits of the Spirit printable

 

Be on the look out for a Jenga tower and suit of armor!

 

 

Image by HeVoLi from Pixabay