Amidst the hustle and bustle of work, school, family and church obligations, it can be easy to let things slide. Adelle has some simple ways we can add the Scriptures into each day. I’ve found that when the lazy days of Summer fade and school bells ring I try to recommit myself and my family to our goals….
I have come to realize and accept that I was never intended to be the champion of this match. There is someone else who has already played this game perfectly, and with exact obedience. He is the champion of my game. He has already set the example for me to reach for, but one He knows I will never attain. It is my belief that as he watches my efforts unfold, He isn’t sitting there with a clipboard jotting down every single error I commit. Not that He doesn’t see my each fault, He does, but it is my belief that he gently and continually encourages me, entreats me to improve, to re-engage, to pick up my pace, to keep shooting… He is the ultimate teammate, coach and fan.
t’s just about time for the kids to head back to school—if they haven’t already started! From meeting the teachers, to checking out textbooks for the year, to shopping for school supplies, I’m spending a lot of time thinking about learning and study. I recently ran into a great article with seven learning strategies used by kids and how they can help everyone learn better. I love the idea of incorporating childlike learning strategies into lifelong learning, but as I was pondering how to adopt some of these skills into my life, I realized that each of the seven strategies could revitalize scripture study as well!
I calculate that it has been 7 years since I have been truly “off the grid” for longer than 24 hours. Even when I went to Italy with my wife 4 years ago, I would check my inbox at least twice a day to make certain I wasn’t getting too behind with work. Sadly, there are just truly too few places left in the world where we are no longer easily connected to our electronic lives.
My status of being constantly “plugged in” changed this last week. My father in law, after many years of trying, was finally able to convince our family to find a break in our schedule – not an easy task – to accompany him on a backpack trip into the Uintah Mountains. So we took a 3 day, 2 night venture out into the wilderness. To a place where electronic service of any kind was unavailable. There was a sense of satisfaction when I put my vacation response on my email settings as not having any access to my phone or email during my time away.
Summer means travel! Even if you’re not going on a big vacation, you’re probably road-tripping for a family reunion or taking off for an afternoon at the mountains or the beach. Getting out of the routine can be invigorating, but sometimes these trips can disconnect us from the small habits that keep us close to the Spirit! Traveling can mean we miss church services, daily scripture study, or regular prayers. With this in mind, I created printables of eight travel related scriptures verses to help keep you and your family a little more connected to Him during the summer travel season.
love Disney movies. I especially love them when they have a good message. One of the lasting messages from the animated film, Finding Nemo, and more recently with Finding Dory is when you are in a situation, and you don’t know what to do…”just keep swimming!” When you keep on swimming, then eventually you will figure things out.
Today’s Family Night lesson is a fun one because it allows you to do more than just talk to your family about being good, it gives you the opportunity to DO something good in your own neighborhood. I love putting the lesson into action. I hope you do too.
This year on ‘Or so she says…’ we’re excited to have Jeri from the Etsy shop Picadilly Lime sharing a monthly Visiting Teaching printable that’s free for your use! Today we’re sharing the July 2016 Visiting Teaching message.
I love summer time with my kids, but I’ll be honest: the days can get a little long! Without the school routine, it’s easy for me to feel drained by the late mornings, with melting popsicles, and wet beach towels. This summer, though, instead of focusing on activities for the kids I decided to make a list of the things I want to do to be a better mom, starting with the things my kids need to hear me say. Hopefully this will help reinforce good behavior in my kids so we can all get along during the school break.
I love the Biblical metaphor equating faith to a seed. It is scattered a few different places, but Matthew 13 expands on the concept well (check out Alma 32 if you use the Book of Mormon). Explaining faith as a seed is such a magnificent way to help children understand an abstract spiritual concept. Cultivating faith, indeed choosing faith, is an important value that I hope to pass on to my children.
The way we view the world, situations, and our relationships ultimately determines our happiness. It is called perception. Have you ever heard the expression, “She looks at the world through rose colored glasses?” What does that mean? It means that a person looks at the world in a positive or “rosy” way. What if we looked at the world through Jesus, the Son of God’s, eyes? How would we view ourselves? How would we see others? Would it change the way we act and think? I believe it would.
What is Visiting Teaching? As a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, we are in a congregation where we are asked to go and visit assigned ladies each month to really get to know them, share a quick message and find out if they have any needs to be met. It’s one of the ways we build friendships and help our leaders know any needs that families have (there would be too many for leaders to visit them all individually!).
For those of you who aren’t members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, I hope you can use these quotes and scriptures as well. Most of the subjects are universal Christian subjects and the quotes and scriptures are inspiring and helpful for everyone!
“When you plow a field, make certain your first row is straight. If the first row is straight, then all the following rows are most likely to be as well. The same can be said for plowing the rows of your life, keep the first row straight, and the other rows will follow suit”. I suggest that Sherman was referring to our first row being our discipleship of Jesus Christ.