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

A Spooky Attitude!

Well, it's been a while. ;)

This has probably been the year I've been the most hands on and diligent about teaching my kids the Gospel of Christ, but it seems that prep work and hands on time has cut into my time for documenting and sharing it! It was a conscious choice to move this blog to the back burner so I didn't get completely burned out! 3 moves and a year and half later we are close to settled down back in our own home again and I'm eager to (little by little) get back to sharing tips on teaching our kids.

 One great step we took this year towards improving the spirituality in our home was to choose a theme to focus our Family Home Evenings and scripture time on each month. We even made a place in our home to post the theme, that month's scripture and an Article of Faith. Chad and I would try to choose something we felt we all could use some work on and we'd go from there, finding activities and scriptures that related to it.

 For example, this month our topic has been Attitude. Each night we work on memorizing Article of Faith #10 and then spend time reciting Luke 22:42, "Father, if thou be willing, remove this cup from me: nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done." It's been wonderful teaching our kids and reminding ourselves that even Jesus Christ had some things in life he didn't want to go through. But he still did what his Father asked of him. He had an Attitude of love and submissiveness and obedience. And that's exactly the kind of attitude we should have and exemplify.

It's really easy to find opportunities to sneak in teaching moments and tie in the theme for the month, if that's something you would like to implement, even within holiday traditions. For instance, one family night we talked about Attitude while carving pumpkins.

 First, this was a great activity because it was festive, messy and hands-on.  Kids LOVE all of that!  It also gave us time to bond and work on something as a family. 

But then besides having fun we also talked about the different kinds of faces we could put on a pumpkin, and how those faces made us feel. It gave us the chance to talk about a range of emotions and learn some new "feeling" words.

Then we took the next step and discussed how the expressions on our faces often show what kind of attitude we have.

 Of course, if we have a spooky or scary attitude it can be hard to make friends or have a good day.  So we want to try to feel happy!  Dad's pumpkin carving was a little too spooky for Sammy.

And if we are having a difficult attitude, explain why and then try to get help and change it!  Maybe it's because we're scared...

 and just need some comfort or someone to turn the light's on!

We had a great time learning about the importance of a good attitude.  More ideas to come!  The time you spend strengthening your testimony and sharing it with your children is priceless!  And remember, the Gospel IS true!  

Love, Eva