Thanksgiving (And Turkeys!) Through Prayer

Since this is a month of thanksgiving, I wanted to do a Family Night discussing one of the greatest ways we have of showing gratitude, prayer.  I wanted to get back to the basics of prayer and stress the importance of gratitude, which is one of the most valuable personality traits we can have.  Personally, it has been the greatest tool in fighting Depression.  I also wanted to make some turkey art to put in our front window, so this is what I came up with...a paper turkey that explains the parts of prayer.

 

We started by making the face of the turkey as we remembered who we speak to when we pray (hence, the beak) and look to for answers (and the eyes.)

The body of the turkey represents the body of the prayer.  That is hopefully the majority of it!  For every thing they said they were thankful for they got a feather to put on their turkey.

  It was nice to remind them that while we are thankful for a lot of the same things every day, it's also good to come up with new things we are grateful for and mention those too.  We got pretty creative!

Next we added feet to represent the last two parts of prayer, asking for blessings and closing in the name of Jesus Christ.  The mercy of God & Atonement of Christ are our foundation, what we rely on in our lives.  One foot represented the blessings of God.  We taught how near the end of our prayer we ask Him for blessings we hope he will bestow in His wisdom if it is what we need.  I explained we don't always get exactly what we ask for, but since He is our Father we trust His wisdom.  The other foot represents ending our prayer in the name of Jesus Christ, our Savior.  

I was really touched by the following quote from the recent General Conference of the LDS church: "One of the most meaningful things we can do as parents is teach our children the power of prayer, not just the routine of prayer...As parents, we can teach our children to pray for things of eternal consequence- to pray for the strength to be morally clean in a very challenging world, to be obedient, and to have the courage to stand for the right."

This quote comes from a talk titled "Parents: The Prime Gospel Teachers of Their Children" that you can read here.  If there is anything I hope I can teach my children it's the importance of fervent prayer.  When we give thanks we improve the quality of our own lives.  We see the good we sometimes overlook.  Praying gives thanks to the ultimate Giver.  When we pray we can talk to someone who understands us and loves us unconditionally.  And when we choose to ask for those things we feel line up with His will for us, we are a greater force for hope and good than we can ever be on our own.  Hope you have a happy FHE!  Love, Eva

 

Which Way Do You Face?

 Hello!  Happy Halloween!

 It's been one of my goals recently to make sure we are doing our best to study the recent conference talks as a family.  So when I knew we were going to be decorating pumpkins I HAD to find a talk that would tie in.  "Which Way Do You Face" fit the bill!

 First, we just had fun decorating our pumpkins!

 Then I asked my kids what the question "Which way do you face?" could mean.  My bright daughter figured it out immediately- "I think it means which way do you face, like do you face Heavenly Father and try to chose the right and make good choices or not really."  So thoughtful!

 That's exactly what President Packer asked Elder Robbins and what we discussed!

 There's a great section in the talk where he gives examples of people in the scriptures who did and didn't face the Lord.  We designated the sunflower painting in the kitchen as the "God side" and the darkness outside the window as the "dark side."

 Then we asked them to listen and show us with their pumpkins which way the person in that story faced.  They got every one right!

 I love spending time like this with my family.  It's not always easy to make it happen.  It's usually followed by chaos or may include chaos in the process.  But it is SO worth it.  I know I am fulfilling my most important role as a mother, a teacher of eternal truths that can bring real happiness.

 Sophia chose the pose on this one!

 Sammy liked counting them!

 And wearing them! 

 We wrapped things up with easy, just-bake 'em cookies and ta-da!  A quick, easy, memorable family night.  I know I don't always completely "face" the right way.  But in moments like these I know I'm trying.  I could please myself and skip anything difficult and just get the kids to bed early.  I could please the kids and let them do whatever they want and not try to do any kind of spiritual lesson.  But like this talk says, "Trying to please others before pleasing God is inverting the first and second great commandments (see Matthew 22:37–39). It is forgetting which way we face. "  I want to face my Father and know when I really do face him some day that I took the best care I could of His children.  Ultimately, Jesus is the best example of facing his Father and completely emulating him.  And I DO want to be like Jesus, so I keep trying.

I want to end this post with the testimony this talk ends with:

"In every way possible, He was His Father’s perfect disciple. He was so perfect in representing His Father that to know the Savior was also to know the Father. To see the Son was to see the Father (see John 14:9). To hear the Son was to hear the Father (see John 5:36). He had, in essence, become indistinguishable from His Father. His Father and He were one (see John 17:21–22). He flawlessly knew which way He faced.

May His inspiring example strengthen us against the pitfalls of flattery from without or of conceit from within. May it give us courage to never cower or fawn at the feet of intimidation. May it inspire us to go about doing good as anonymously as possible and not “aspire to the honors of men” (D&C 121:35). And may His incomparable example help us always remember which is “the first and great commandment” (Matthew 22:38). When others demand approval in defiance of God’s commandments, may we always remember whose disciples we are, and which way we face, is my prayer in the name of Jesus Christ, amen."

Remember, the Gospel is true! Love, Eva

FHE: Latter-Day Prophets!

We have been working on memorizing the 6th & 7th Articles of Faith these past couple months.  So I thought it would be good to have an FHE focused on prophets and specifically, our latter-day prophets.  We believe in revelation today from God to His servants & that is something that sets us apart from many other Christian religions.  I was really happy with the object lesson Dad did & the craft I did, & the hand out.  Hope it can spark an idea for how to teach your family about the wonderful gift we have of latter-day prophets!  The Gospel is true!  Keep up the good work teaching your children values & hope! It's a crazy world, but we don't ever have to feel discouraged when we have faith in Christ.  Love, Eva

Prophets & Patriotism

I love having a knowledge of the restored Gospel of Jesus Christ.  It can make everything more meaningful.  This past week of course there were BBQ's and red, white and blue streamers.  There were pancakes breakfasts and parades.  But there were also some moments of spirituality.  I loved reading the inspired words of The Star-Spangled Banner with my kids and explaining that's why we have fireworks every year.  And I couldn't help but get teary eyed as I watched the incredible display of lights with them and I imagined watching that across the water over 235 years ago.  All of the verses of our anthem are incredible, and worth reading and singing!

To remember more the sacredness of our country we read in 1 Nephi Chapter 13 where it's prophesied that the Americas will be colonized, and I explained how this country had to be created so we could have freedom of religion.  That was part of God's plan.  We read the 11th Article of Faith and parts of the Declaration of Independence.  I explained how all these men, the founders of our country and the prophets of the scriptures, risked their lives for truth.  And that truth and freedom is what we celebrate on the 4th of July.

These moments together weren't the most fun necessarily, but they were special.  And they brought meaning to the "fun" moments.  I loved that my children wanted to see all the names of the men who signed the Declaration.  I'm grateful for the history of our country and those who gave all they had to shape it.  I would encourage taking some time if you haven't already to read some of these scriptures or documents.  Kids understand more than we realize.

If you want to add a craft or activity to a patriotic-themed lesson you can...

Try writing with an "ink and quill" on newsprint like the Declaration of Independence was printed in the newspaper way back in 1776.  Finger paint and craft feather work great!

Have fun with your own "rocket's red glare!"  Or sparklers...

 The never-gets-old Finger-Paint American Flag...

 

 Or just red, white and blue food!  We learned the red color stands for bravery, white for liberty, and blue for justice!  Here are some options we've done from the past patriotic holidays...

easy Firecracker popsicles,

 Jello jigglers,

 "Strawberry" Floats (any red soda works!,)

or some kind of flag dessert.  Yummy!

I hope these ideas inspire you to spend some time reflecting on the divine roots of our country and the privilege it is to live here.  The Gospel IS TRUE  and even though spending time teaching it can be taxing and hard at times (trust me, I know!) it IS worth it in this life and the eternities.  

Time spent with family is time well spent! Love, Eva

Temple Art & Family Trees

For FHE last week we had fun talking about Family History.  First we asked the kids to look at a bunch of different temples around the world to choose their favorite, and draw it.

Michael chose the "Boise State Temple." LOL He still calls it that.  

Sophia drew the San Diego Temple...  They both did great!

 Sammy spent most of the time like this...

Then we looked at our own family charts and made family trees.  It was really motivating to think about how many people still need temple work done and how we can be part of that saving work.

It was also humbling to see my name and my husband's name on that tree.  Who knows how many others will come through us?  What an awesome thought.  What will we be remembered for?  

THAT'S something to think about!

Hope this idea motivates you to do something fun and learning-filled with your family.  It can be simple and still spiritual.  All that matters is that you try.

The Gospel IS true!!!! LoVe, Eva