Another tool I have found that worked really well during the summer (when we had more time to do jobs) was a web site called "My Job Chart". I really should be implementing this during the school year too.
Tuesday, January 29, 2013
Getting kids to do jobs
Last night was a great "mother moment". My 13 year old daughter asked me if she could be in charge of the family night lesson. I said sure. Apparently she was not happy about how the the family was dealing with the clean and dirty dishes in our house because she made a power point about doing jobs. Then she made a chart assigning everyone a time to unload and load the dishes and help with setting the table. I was really impressed with her inititive. What a great girl!
Another tool I have found that worked really well during the summer (when we had more time to do jobs) was a web site called "My Job Chart". I really should be implementing this during the school year too.
Parents can go in and assign jobs and a point value to go with the job and what days the kids need to do the job. It took a bit of time to set up, but once it's done, it keeps track for you. So if the kids do their jobs they can get a reward. It will also allow you to pay part of the reward to a charity. (I'm thinking tithing.) If you want you can even set up a reward system that allows the kids to buy things from Amazon.com with the points they have earned. The best part? It's FREE! You can check it out here.
Another tool I have found that worked really well during the summer (when we had more time to do jobs) was a web site called "My Job Chart". I really should be implementing this during the school year too.
Monday, January 28, 2013
LDS Girls Camp Ideas
Here are a few Ideas for Girls Camp.
This is a mural an amazing artist in our ward airbrush painted. He painted on a white sheet. We then hung the mural between two trees. This was such a great addition to our camp.
This picture represents two ideas. One is that we covered the tables with white butcher paper and then the girls wrote what they were grateful for during the week. We would change the paper each day. This was a great way to have the girls focus on the positive aspects of camp.
The second idea is the photos of the girls. I took a picture of each girl before camp. On the picture it says "Let His light shine through you." I printed the photos on vellum paper and attached them to pieces of glass (from Ikea) with spray glue. I then used a white masking tape to tape the four corners of the glass together to make a box. Then I placed a battery operated tea light in each box. They looked amazing and the girls loved them...for about 5 minutes. Unfortunately this story has a very sad ending. Right after we placed them all out on the tables a huge rain storm came up and they were all destroyed by the water. So if it looks like it might rain, get the decorations under cover!
Two years ago Our theme was We seek after these things. This is the logo I came up with. All week the girls were seeking. There were tons of treasure hunts. The logo itself had clues. The crown represents that she is a daughter of God. The earing is a "C" and represents Christ. The necklace is actually a glyph from the original gold plates. I found them here. (Scroll over until you see the correct document.) And finally (this is a bit of a stretch) the pony tail makes an "F" representing faith. Each day we focused on Each of these topics, Daughters of God, coming closer to Christ, and The Book of Mormon and Faith.
LDS Girls Camp Ideas - Hot Air Balloon
Hot Air Balloons!
Before we went to camp we had the parents of each girl write a letter telling their daughter how much they love them, how they are proud of them and how they had seen their daughter Arise and Shine Forth. We then put the letters (rolled up) in the baskets of the hot air balloons that had decorated our camp. The girls then had time to go by themselves to read their letters.
We made the Hot Air Balloons by using a mandarin orange can punched with 4 holes. I used a tool called a crocodile. But you could fill the cans with water, freeze the water then using a hammer and nail, hammer 4 holes around the top of the can. Let the ice melt and then continue on with the project.
We covered the cans with scrapbook paper. Then using two long pieces of ribbon we attached the balloon to the can. They were super cute!
LDS Girls Camp Ideas - Light and Eyes
Download the .psd (photoshop) file for this project.
LDS Girls Camp Ideas - Angry Birds
Last year I was the girls camp director in our ward. I have a few fun ideas I thought I'd post.
Angry Birds!
We had a blast with this activity! Our Activity days girls made the basic forms of the birds. They made paper mache forms over balloons. Then during a pre-camp activities the Young Women painted the birds. This is how a few of them turned out. If I had it to do over again I would take small four square balls and decorate them, but the paper mache was practically free.
Then we had a bunch of boxes. (Free at the grocery store) We had a lesson about how there are things in our lives that drag us down. Things that keep us from our full potential. We were angry at these things and we were going to knock them out of our lives! The girls then wrote on the boxes those things they wanted to overcome.
Angry Birds!
Then we had a bunch of boxes. (Free at the grocery store) We had a lesson about how there are things in our lives that drag us down. Things that keep us from our full potential. We were angry at these things and we were going to knock them out of our lives! The girls then wrote on the boxes those things they wanted to overcome.
We then made a wall to knock down that had pigs, some paper mache and some #10 cans with paper around them.
We had a sling shot made from Medical tubing and a piece of fabric. Two girls held either end and then one girl launched the bird. It was great fun!
Mormon women and our access to God's power, the priesthood.
In the book Sister Pearce says "The priesthood" isn't the congregation of men who meet together each Sunday, although we sometimes refer to them that way. The priesthood is, in essence, God's power. It is the power by which the worlds were created. It is the power by which our bodies were created and which allows those bodies to create offspring. It is the power by which we are washed clean of our sins and are given the gift of the Holy Ghost. It is the power by which we experience forgiveness from God and partake of Christ's atoning sacrifice. It is the power with which we are actually endowed in sacred temples. It is the power by which we are sealed as eternal companions with the possibility of eternal increase, the power to eventually inherit all that the Father hath."
So am I accessing the blessing available to me through the priesthood? For my entire life I have relied on my father or husband to access this power. If my children needed a blessing then it was up to him. I would think, that's a big responsibility to always be ready to give a blessing and be in tune to understand our Father in Heaven's will. Then I would sometimes think, I'm glad it's not up to me. I understood that the blessing was limited in power to my faith and I would add my faith to the blessing, but I am coming to understand that I have much more access to this power than I previously understood. I am a partner with my husband and if my children need to be healed by the power of the priesthood, then my faith is also required. I love what Sister Pearce said about women accessing God's power. "[Women can access] God's power through faith, virtue, and worthiness. I am a witness that the prayer of faith coupled with worthiness in covenant-keeping women produces miracles..." I believe I did this to a degree, I would also pray and ask to add my faith to that of the blessing, but I am excited by this new understanding that I am not the bystander I once thought I was.
Another area in which I believe I am not accessing God's Power like I could is in my worship and understanding of the temple. I am excited to go to the temple with my new perspective. Sister Pearce said "...I believe that only as we come to understand the temple and its ordinances are we able to shed light on our divine identity and purpose." And the temple is how we get back to this question I have always had about women giving blessings. Sister Pearce states in the book, "On my first reading of the Minutes, one of the paragraphs I marked was in the April 28 meeting. It concerned an issue raised by members of the Relief Society in those early meetings: the question of whether it was proper for women to anoint and bless others." At this point my heart started to race. Was someone going to tackle this question? Was I finally going to find my answer? Sister Pearce continued "This clearly seems like a question about the priesthood. That is obviously the way Joseph saw it too. His journal of April 28, 1842 states: "at Two o'clock after-noon met the members of the 'Female relief Society' and...Gave a lecture on the pries[t]hood shewing how the Sisters would come in possession of the priviliges and blesings and gifts of the priesthood-and that the signs should follow them. such as healing the sick casting out devils &c. & that they might attain unto. these blessings. by virtuous life & conversation & diligence in keeping all the commandments." Sister Pearce continues "So what did I do with this question? I read and reread the entire April 28 lecture-prayerfully." (This lecture can be found here.) She says that she has an absolute conviction that we are led by prophets today and we do not hear them talk about women anointing and blessing the sick today, so it must no longer be sanctioned. She then did more research. She finally came to the conclusion that "...the practice of women giving healing blessings gradually gave way to the modern era of codification, when many practices were made uniform and authorized to be performed only within dedicated temples." Although I do not fully understand this early practice, I believe that these women were being prepared for the temple. I love what Sister Pearce says, "No matter the differences in application, however, I believe that the doctrine and principles behind the practice in 1842 operate just as forcefully today. They include accessing God's power through faith, virtue, and worthiness. I am a witness that the prayer of faith coupled with worthiness in covenant-keeping women produces miracles as surely today as it did in 1842." Does this mean that we don't need men? Absolutely not. Is my access to God's power limited because I am a woman? No! Is my worth less because I don't hold the priesthood? No! How exciting! I realized it's not a matter of who is more important. My Heavenly Father loves me equally. He does not value men more than women. Heavenly Father created men and women to be partners. We each have different roles. What makes it difficult sometimes is that the men's role is more visible and therefore sometimes more recognized. But my work as a mother is just as important as the work my husband did as a bishop. We are each working towards the same goal. We can not make it to the Celestial Kingdom without each other. I also have a better understanding that my role is much more significant in accessing God's power than I had previously thought. There is so much more I want to learn on this subject. I am excited to read the Minutes and to study them prayerfully. I am excited to read the rest of this book The Beginning of better days.
Wednesday, January 23, 2013
Podcasts and my views on Mormon Women
Today I'm going to tell you how I make the mundane tasks of Housekeeping a bit more enjoyable. It's called the Mormon Channel. I have found that if I listen to a podcast as I fold laundry, my mind becomes occupied with the inspiring words I'm listening to, rather than being annoyed at the mountain of dirty clothes my family can produce in a week. If I'm cleaning the blinds (really one of the worst housekeeping tasks) I can be inspired by the words I hear, rather than being upset with myself for letting the blinds get beyond dirty. So how can you transport yourself into the wonderful world of Podcasts? I do it two ways. One way is to download the app here and just stream the podcast right from your ipad or iphone. Another way is to go to the itunes store, search church of jesus christ of latter-day saints click on the pocast you are interested in, then subscribe to the different podcasts. Once you have subscribed it will show up in your itunes library on the left hand side of the screen under music, movies, tv shoes, podcasts, etc. You can then click on podcasts and download the different podcast episodes. Some of my personal favorite podcasts are:
(Kristin Murphy, Deseret News)
Conversations
Conversations features interviews with General Authorities, auxiliary leaders, and faithful Latter-day Saints conducted in a style that allows the listener to become acquainted with those being interviewed in an informal way.
Enduring It Well
Enduring It Well takes a deeper look at some of life's real challenges and features real people who have endured or are enduring trials well.
Past Impressions
Past Impressions is a chronological exploration of Church history. Host Brent Top, chairman of the Department of Church History and Doctrine at Brigham Young University, leads lively discussions about the places, people, and events that are the history of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Legacy
Legacy, created in cooperation with the Family History and Church History Departments, highlights some of the remarkable history of the Church and shares incredible stories of members' faith, perseverance, hope, and inspiration.
Why I Believe
Why I Believe is a program that explores conversion and why we as members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints believe in certain principles of the gospel. Conversion stories are shared by individuals who have had their lives touched and have become converted to the gospel of Jesus Christ, and doctrines and principles of the gospel are explored.
Everything Creative explores creativity through interviews with artists and creative people of all types. Many episodes are unique in that the interviewee from a previous episode becomes the interviewer of another creative artist.
(Kristin Murphy, Deseret News)
Today I listened to an interview with Sherry Dew. On Conversations. You can find it here. What most impressed me was her view on Mormon Women. Unfortunately the world has this crazy idea that we as women are oppressed and yearn to hold the Priesthood so we can be equal to men. Personally as a Mormon woman I understand my divine role. I believe the gift my Heavenly Father gave me to create life is the gift He intended for me. I have a voice in my congregation and my contribution is just as important as the one given by brethren who hold the Priesthood. In the interview Sister Dew said that "Women are God's Secret Weapon. No one has more influence on a man than his wife. No one has more influence on children than their mother." I also loved her council on how we can counter the world's voices that are dragging us down. It's so simple. Find out what God has in store for you. Where does Heavenly Father want you to be? What does He want you to do? If we as women concentrated our efforts into finding out these two questions and truly striving to do it, our self worth would increase and we would no longer wonder if we are valued members of His church. There is so much good we can do. Patricia Holland said "If I were Satan and wanted to destroy a society. I would stage a full blown blitz on women." We as women need to fight the attack and value our divine gifts. We need to encourage each other and value the contribution we are making to our families. Stop saying I am just a house wife! Unfortunately I feel Satan working on me and at times I find myself yearning for some sort of recognition for the contribution I have made during the day. My husband gets a paycheck and awards for a job well done. Mainly I get a dirty house with work for another day. My goal for the new year is to quit focusing on the need for earthly recognition. I want to focus my energy into finding out what my Heavenly Father wants me to be and do what He want me to do. If I truly do this, I believe I will not have any desire left for self pity. I will feel the love my Heavenly Father has for me and I will feel His support and appreciation. So this is my goal. I'm posting it in hopes that others who feel the same way can join me and tell me how its going. I would like to create a community where we can lift each other and value our divine role. I am also going to post things that help me to do my calling and be a better mother, or ways that I'm expressing my creativity. Here's to my best year yet!
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