Masquerading As A Crafty Blog - Kinda

So Lizzy has been asking a lot of questions lately about why there are so many churches on the earth. She is beginning to recognize that most of the other children and teachers at school do not go to our same church. The other day we were driving down the street and my daughter started asking the names of the different churches we were passing along the way. After naming a few, she said, "Why do my friends go to those bad churches?"

I gasped!

"Honey, your friends don't go to bad churches. There are good people all over the world who go to good churches where they are taught to be good people and live good lives."

"But they don't believe the same as we do. Why are there so many churches that are all different?"

I thought of a 14-year-old boy who had the same question almost 200 years ago.

I decided it was time to do a Family Home Evening about the Apostasy. If this is a confusing topic for you, you can read more by clicking here. Even when teaching 4 and 6-year-olds, it is wise to arm yourself with as much knowledge as possible. You never know what questions may come your way. Also, with knowledge comes power and confidence in teaching.

In order to teach about the Apostasy, I really wanted to find an old missionary tool (above example) I used about 15 years ago! (Holy cow! Have I been home from the mission that long?!!!) It is very effective in teaching the Apostasy on a very simple level. I searched the house for this little teaching tool but to no avail. I searched the internet for a template, but to no avail. Really? No one else had made this? My trainer helped me make one on a p-day. Could I remember how it was done? I reluctantly sat down to try to figure it out from memory...

I'm going to include step-by-step photos as some of you may want to make this as well. Here is my disclaimer (and some of you have heard me say this before) I am not a crafty gal. I'm just not. I can copy. I can follow simple directions - most of the time. I can do kid's crafts okay. But those of you with those awesome crafty blogs - you just blow my mind!! I guess my writing is my craft but it's not cutesy and fun.

So here is the deal - my little thingy here is very simple, very simple. I know, without a single doubt, that there is someone out there with the crafty gene who can make this the cutest thing on the planet! Please do it and then send me a link to your blog post. But if you sell it to Deseret Book, I get half the profits! :) (I'm serious about the Deseret Book thing. Have you seen those testimony gloves? Someone gave one to me about 5 years ago and now someone is making some good money off of that little idea that is so easy to make on your own.)

Okay here goes...

cut 3 8x10 card stock papers in half.

fold each half into four sections.

With a ruler (or a good eye)  Draw a diagonal line on the 1st and 3rd sections of the paper going in opposite directions and then a strait line on the 4th section... like the picture below.

Cut along the lines.

Your paper should look like this when you are done cutting. Connect the 1st and 4th section together with tape. Your finished products should look like the picture below.

On the front panel of each card stock thingy, write an aspect of the true church - i.e. No paid ministry, Priesthood authority, Baptism by Immersion, Tithing, Temples, Baptism for the Dead. (those are just what came to mind immediately. There are so many more you could do.)

Next take another 8x10 piece of card stock. Measure and cut about 2 inches off the top then fold the paper in half.

Voila! The roof of your church.

Next for the foundation - take another 8x10 piece of paper and make a 1 inch fold on all sides of the paper.

Write "Jesus Christ" on two opposite sides and "Apostles" on the other two opposite sides.

Cut a diagonal slit in each of the four corners.

Fold in the little tabs and secure with tape. This should make the foundation even on all sides.

Next, take a 1/4 sheet of the card stock and fold it into 5  1 inch sections.

Create a triangle point with your ruler on the middle section. Draw a straight line leading form each side of the triangle in either direction (that was confusing, just look at the picture below.)

Your steeple should look like this

I ended up cutting two inches off the bottom to make it work right.

Your finished steeple should look like this in the front and back.

The finished product.

You can fold it all up for easy storage.

Here is how it works...we talked about how Jesus established His church while He was here on the earth. I used some pictures from the Gospel Art Kit of Jesus calling His apostles, teaching the people and instituting the Sacrament etc. If my kids were older I would have gone into more detail but we kept it pretty simple as Ben was jumping off the couch the entire time!!

I pointed to the six columns and talked about how they are parts of Christ's true church. I then showed the pictures of Christ's crucifixion and resurrection and then the picture of the Savior telling His apostles to go into all the world with His Gospel. 

 We talked about how eventually all of the apostles were killed by those who did not understand.  After Jesus was killed and then His apostles, the authority to run Christ's church was gone, thus the foundation was taken away. Then I had Ben come over and pull the foundation out from under the church.

When the foundation is pulled away, the rest of the church is broken up in pieces.

We talked about how some people remembered parts of the true doctrine but they were confused about other parts: Some people set up churches teaching baptism by immersion and tithing. Some churches taught about apostles but not baptism by immersion. Some churches taught about temples and the Priesthood but not about titihing. etc.

All of the churches had parts of the truth but not the whole truth. Jesus Christ wants His church to have the whole truth but because of disobedience, the true church was no longer on the earth.

Then we went in the bathroom (no windows - completely dark). I had already lit a candle in that room. I said that when Jesus Christ was killed, it was like the light was turned off. But there was still some light because of the apostles (the candle). But once the apostles were killed it was completely dark (blew the candle out). Those who were left had to figure out their way in the dark. Until...

We turned the light back on and I showed this picture. Wow! I felt so excited sharing this part! Through Joseph Smith, Jesus Christ established His true church once again on the earth. We went back and rebuilt the church. Even Ben and Lizzy caught my excitement and seemed to really grasp the whole thing and why it is so wonderful to belong to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.

That was about all they could handle though - we wrapped things up after that.

When I was a missionary, this was my favorite discussion to teach. It just clears things up so well and a light seems to turn on when you understand this doctrine. Our God is not a God of confusion. He is a God of order and so, naturally, His church would be a church of order as well. He would not say that every church is His because they all teach such different doctrines about who He is and how we can live with Him again. He loves us all and guides us all but He has ONE church. It is just so clear!

I hope this helps someone grasp this concept better as well. I really want to put this post on my "other blog" but I'm not sure how to do that without making the post a gazillion miles long as I go into scripture after scripture talking about the apostasy. Much of the world does not believe this happened and I was finding it very difficult to address this in a post of readable length. I do not know the population of my readers. Are they mostly LDS? Are they not? I have to figure this one out. Any suggestions?

P.S. I used this in a Relief Society lesson about 10 years ago. I had many requests for a template once the lesson was over. I hope this will suffice.

We Pause This Mortal Life For A Station Identification

More often than I would like to admit, I find myself blinded by mortalness (my spell check doesn't like that word). It can be very easy in my hectic days to forget the big picture -
the big eternal picture.

Sometimes, if I've already prayed and read the scriptures but I'm still needing a good dose of eternal perspective (and I just can't do the 6 hour round trip to a temple), I have found two activities that can help me through. I'll admit to being a tad sheepish to share these because they work for me, but what if they don't work for others. But this post keeps tapping on my shoulder so maybe someone, even just one someone, needs to be introduced to these ideas. I hope that one someone finds this and I hope it helps you with whatever it is you are struggling with at this time...

Okay, here goes...

 

I mentally press pause on mortality. 

The world can keep spinning on its axis all around me and life continues to go on but I mentally take myself out of it all and focus my mind on the great and masterful expanse of the universe, not just this planet. So, in my mind's eye, I am no longer on the earth, I am no longer surrounded by what is causing me pain or stress or discomfort. I am surrounded by other planets and stars and galaxies and I look around me at
God's amazing universe. I am awed by its majesty and brilliance!

I tell myself that the Man who created this, also created me.

It is beautiful! It is peaceful. It is powerful. It is eternal. 

I begin to remember that in the Lord's eyes, 
these adjectives can describe me as well.

I turn to look back at this earth.

The problems that were plaguing me seem so small and insignificant. The darkness is gone and I see what is most important - my family, learning and growing closer to God. Knowing this can help me make any decision. Knowing this can pull me out of a slump. Knowing this can dry any tears and give me courage to do what I know will keep those three things at the top of my list.

You and I are eternal beings. In our world it can be almost impossible to remember this if we do not actively work at remembering. This life is not all there is to us.
We are so much more.

There is one more way I can press pause on mortality, if need be...

I just sit and look at this picture.
Sometimes I look for a while. Somehow, I always end up feeling better,
stronger, more peaceful and more loved. How could I not?

A good dose of eternal perspective can go a long way but as with vitamins that should be taken daily, eternal perspective should be sought after on a daily basis.

Let us not forget who we really are and why we are really here.

Onion Tears? I don't think so...

This is a post I put on my other blog. I wanted to share it here as well...

Once a week our church encourages each person/family to have Family Home Evening. It is a special night set aside for families to spend some time together talking about the Gospel of Jesus Christ, singing songs, playing games, eating snacks and growing closer together. The temptation to let this weekly event slide can be strong with the busy schedules of today's world. It is like anything that is of eternal significance - continually attacked by satan's firey darts. I've noticed that if he can't talk me out of actually having FHE, then he tries to get me to succumb to my crazy life and just play games and eat snacks thinking that our family just needs some fun time together. I will admit to a few of these arrows making it past my defenses a time or two or five. :)

Gratefully, as I work at keeping other commandments like reading scriptures, praying with more intent etc., the Holy Ghost is able to help me keep my shield up so that I won't be hit by satan's "Destroy Family Home Evening" arrows. Again, as with anything of eternal significance - when we take the time to make them happen, our lives are blessed immeasurably. Our Father and our Brother "delight" (Doctrine and Covenants 76:5) to bless us, remember?

Case in point:
I spent some time yesterday searching out great Family Home Evening ideas about fathers, in honor of Father's day on Sunday. It occurred to me that our lesson  should be about our Father in Heaven. I found a good lesson plan on some brilliant woman's blog - so grateful there are women out there willing to share their talents through blogging! (check out my profile - I have listed many of them there)

As I was preparing dinner a little thought from the Holy Ghost entered my mind "You should personally invite Heavenly Father to join you for Family Home Evening tonight. The lesson is about Him." I knew that thought was from the Holy Ghost because why would I think of that on my own? The God of the universe with so many creations they can't even be counted? Why would He want to join our little FHE?

I was cutting an onion.

Tears came to my eyes at the thought of our Eternal Father coming to our humble little FHE and touching the hearts of my children with love and an understanding that He is REAL.

I kept cutting the onion and said a silent prayer that went something like this:

"Father, in honor of Father's Day this week, I've decided to teach our Family Home Evening lesson about You tonight. I thought You might like to be there. You know it won't be the most amazing lesson ever and [my 4-year-old son] will probably do something that will make us have to cut it short, but...if You can be there, I just want You to know that You are invited.Oh and if You do come, could You help us know You are there?"

I kept cutting the onion. Tears kept running down my cheeks. I was grateful to have had a moment quiet enough in which the Holy Ghost could get that message to me.

We had our simple lesson that lasted for about 10 minutes.

Heavenly Father accepted the invitation and He also let me know He was there.

That wouldn't have happened if I had just decided to play games. We must talk about the Gospel of Jesus Christ with our children. I don't believe there is much need to dilute it either. My 6-year-old is capable of great depth and I'm discovering the same thing about my 4-year-old. Satan doesn't dilute much these days, neither should we.

My Family Home Evenings are not spectacular. I almost always have to look for ideas in other places. I really struggle in the visual aid, handout type of areas. It is just not my forte. But I'm convinced that if my children needed that kind of mom, they would have gone to one. :) Of the utmost importance, my children (all children) need a mom who will share her testimony with them. That is the most important "handout" they need and it will stay with them eternally.

Happy Father's Day to the Father who has been by my side forever. When I was 5-years-old my earthly father passed away, but somehow I knew, deep in my little girl heart, that I still had a Father watching over me. The best Father any girl could hope for.

Relay Princess

I knew a lot of changes would come in our lives when Lizzy started Kindergarten. I was right. Some experiences were expected and some have been a complete surprise. For example...Lizzy developed a friendship with a boy in her class who has Leukemia. She is deep thinking enough to know that Leukemia is not just the flu and that her friend had already been through some hard stuff by the time she met him. (You can read a post here that first mentions Lizzy's curiosity about helping those who suffer from cancer.)

The wheels in her brain were starting to turn and her heart was beginning to be touched...

Later, back in November, Ben, Lizzy and I had a touching experience when we went to get pizza one Friday night. That evening Lizzy and I learned more about cancer, how it forms, how it hurts people, that scientists are trying to discover a cure. (you can read that post here and here.)

Her brain and her heart got together after that and decided to not just sit and watch and feel sad but to do something to help...

When Lizzy's school announced that they would be forming their annual Relay For Life team, Lizzy knew what she wanted to do. We joined the team. Afterward, Lizzy sat down with me to compose a letter asking others to support her cause.(you can read that letter here) She and I sent that letter off to many people. Next year we plan to do more activities in which she is more involved with actually raising money. I never really felt comfortable just sending off that letter via email but at this point in her young life and with my schedule the way it is, it was the best we could do this year.

By the time the Yuma Relay for Life event came along on April 30th, Lizzy had raised $505.00!!! She was among the top 100 fund raisers for the event. Quite an accomplishment considering the amount of people who participated and her age - 6-years-old. She was sincerely touched and grateful to all those who donated to her fund. (I will be sending out personal thank you notes soon) Thank you everyone!!!

Relay for Life events are different in every city. Here in Yuma, maybe because it is already starting to warm up in April, the event begins at night with opening ceremonies at 6:30pm and then the walking around the track beginning at 8pm. The walking continues all night until around 7am with someone from each team walking at all times.  I signed Lizzy up for the 8-9pm time as I did not think she would be able to stay awake any longer than that.

I had mentioned to my cousin/friend Becky Crookston that I wanted to make a shirt for Lizzy to wear during the event but didn't know when I would get to that project with my crazy schedule. Becky is an ultra talented lady with an even more talented heart. I learned to be careful what I say around Becky. She surprised me a couple days before R for L with this cute shirt embellished with the words "Relay Princess". Lizzy loved it!! We bought a bright pink fabric marker and wrote the names of each of her sponsors in the hearts on the shirt.

Here is Lizzy helping to set out the luminary bags before the sun went down. Each bag is purchased as a donation to honor those whom someone knows who is either living with cancer, in remission or has passed on. The bags line the track. After the opening ceremonies, and the night had grown dark, the stadium lights were turned off and the candles in each bag were lit. It was a touching, beautiful sight.

This is Lizzy with her friend Richie who is the friend from school who first opened her eyes to the sadness and pain of cancer. He wore a purple shirt and a special "survivor" sash and joined about 400 people as they walked around the track together in the "survivor" lap. It was a touching experience to cheer for these survivors. I had to keep from crying too much and the thought came to me that each of us could walk around that track wearing "survivor" sashes for so many different heartaches. Maybe we'll get to do that in the next life.

Richie had some great pictures on display at our camp sight. He and Lizzy had fun looking at the pictures and then hanging out together for a good portion of the evening. It made me happy. I like Richie. If you know him, you know he is wise beyond his years. His pain has not been in vain. He has learned some important lessons in his short 6 years here on this earth.

Ben got to know Richie too and they all had fun together. I wish I could have heard what they were talking about in this obviously important conversation. I am sure it was some really great kid stuff. :)

Time for Lizzy to walk the track. Here she is amongst other walkers and participants.

Troy interviewed Lizzy with his video camera while she walked the track.

After about the 4th or 5th lap she started to complain about her ankles hurting (I should have made her wear better shoes!) I said, "How did Richie feel while he was in the hospital?" That was all I had to say. She replied, "Okay, this isn't as painful as that. I can keep going." She did continue to whine but she didn't give up. She kept her promise to all those who donated but most importantly to herself. I was so proud of her.

I think it is time to clean the lens on the camera.

In all the rush of activities leading up to the relay, I never found the time to purchase a luminary for my mom who died of pancreatic cancer in Feb. 2000. So that evening I rushed to get one put together before the candle lighting. I wrote a quick message and then Lizzy added her own sentiments...for a grandmother she has never met in this life but she UNDOUBTEDLY knew before coming here to earth. I have no doubt my mom was with us that night, so proud of Lizzy and cheering her on.

We are planning on doing this again next year. I actually think I might form my own team with my sister and anyone else who might want to join us. It will be so much fun!! What a great family experience.

Thank you Lizzy. When you read this in the future, I just want you to know that you may be the daughter here in this life but you teach me just as much, if not more, than I teach you. We would not have had this experience if it had not been for you. The world is a much, much better place because you are here. I hope to be just like you someday!
Love,
Mom

God Bless the Outcasts

I had forgotten about this song until today. I remember going to the theater to see this movie with Troy. We hadn't even been married a year yet so that was back in 1996 or 1997. When this song began to play, I remember tears running down my cheeks. It is very touching to me and kind of goes with my last two posts.




(I promise some happy, uplifting, cheerful posts after this!) :)

The Eternal Perspecive Lens

I have felt very frustrated lately that we live in a society which has created rich and poor and that we are fearful to help one another. I am frustrated that I have participated in the perpetuation of this mentality. For example...I saw a man on the side of the freeway the other day who needed a ride. Honestly, I wanted to pull over and give him a ride. But, but, but...I was afraid. What if he tried to harm me or steal from me or...you understand. I didn't stop but I pondered...that man is a child of God. God has a plan for him. God loves him. He is my brother. Somehow he has found himself in a situation in which he needs a ride somewhere. It may not be his fault at all that he is where is he. And then, again, it may be entirely his fault. Should that matter?

When I was growing up, we were so poor and our car was often out of gas or broken down, or even more, sometimes we didn't even have a car. Sometimes we needed a ride. We weren't bad people. My mom wasn't a great sinner who had a knife hidden in her purse or would have begged for more and more and more. We just needed a ride sometimes.

I hate that I feel afraid to help some of our Father's children who are in need. I know, I know, I don't want a single comment about how we need to be careful because there are bad people out there. But I honestly think those people are few and far between. Somehow we have convinced ourselves that some people should not be helped because of how they look or the type of help they are requesting or whatever the case may be.

Some of our brothers and sisters have found themselves in messy situations that may cause us to have to roll up our prideful shirt sleeves and dig into their deep sadness more than we have done for others. It might make us feel uncomfortable sometimes and this might very well be a prompting to stay away but I'm thinking most often it isn't. Fear is not from our Father in Heaven. If we are feeling afraid of someone, could it be that those feelings are coming from someone else?

It is going to take courage to root this mentality out of my heart. It is going to take prayer and sacrifice and determination and a willingness to do what is hard and it is going to take time. It is going to require that I grow even closer to our Savior so that I can see others through His loving eyes. Then I can see them through the lens of an eternal perspective - we are all eternal beings, no matter our earthly situation. This life is not all there is and who we are here is not the only part of our being. There is so much more to each of us.

We are not body's with a spirit. We are spirits with a body - EVERY SINGLE ONE OF US!

Easter ideas

I maintain that in the pre-existance, I did not stand in the creativity lines that most Mormon moms stood in. I stood in a couple. I'm not trying to berate myself. But I must have spent more time in the "How To Copy The Creativity Of Others" line. That's okay, especially because copying the creativity of others is so easy now that we have the amazing blogging world at our fingertips.

Here are some examples of the creativity of others. I wish I had seen these about a month ago but I can do what I can for now and then file the rest away for next year.

(You can click on the title to go directly to the site)

Chocolate on my Cranium: Easter Lesson

 Oopsey Daisy: Easter Family Home Evening Ideas

Sugar Doodle: Our Week Long Easter Experience

Easter is my favorite and the most sacred holiday. President Hinckley said:
"There would be no Christmas if there had not been Easter. The babe Jesus of Bethlehem would be but another baby without the redeeming Christ of Gethsemane and Calvary, and the triumphant fact of the Resurrection." (Gordon B. Hinckley, Ensign, Ensign, Dec. 2000, 2).

I believe that with all of my heart and the more I study, the comprehension of this truth sinks deeper and deeper into my heart.

I teach preschool two days a week. We are, of course, going to be doing some fun Easter activities and crafts this upcoming week. It will BREAK MY HEART to not be able to share the true meaning of Easter with these sweet children. But, remember who my two most important students are? My two miracle babies from Heaven. I WILL teach them and I know we will have a wonderful experience together.