SCRIPTURE GUIDES.

 

Just take a walk through Deseret Book and you'll find  are so many great guides and aids to studying the scriptures. Occasionally, I like to supplement my reading with these types of study aids and have found a few to be very helpful.

The new LDS Store even has a section of study aids to help you along in your study process. Even better, everything from the LDS store ships free.

One of my favorites I have discovered over the last year or so is the Made Easier Series by David J. Ridges. I bought The Book of Mormon Made Easier Part 1 and loved it so much that I added Book of Mormon Made Easier Part 2 when I got to that point in The Book of Mormon. I'm just about ready to add Part 3. I have really enjoyed it and appreciate the additional insight it provides when I read.

The guide comes with the text of The Book of Mormon in it, and additional notes along with the written scripture. It is not over my head, but I find that it helps me think a bit deeper or in a different way. It also reminds me of who's who in The Book of Mormon, which is nice. You can also find similar guides from Brother Ridges about The New Testament, The Old Testament, Doctrine and Covenants and a few others.

After a bit of web searching, it looks like Amazon has the best prices right now for this study guide.

What about you mamas? Have you found any helpful guides as you study the scriptures? Are there any particular aids that have enhanced your study of the scriptures?

"MORE THAN CASSEROLES AND SOUP".

I am a young mama. With small children we are far from the life of cell phones, parties and dating. Our worries these days have to do with sleeping through the night, potty training and transitioning to the big kid bed. Big stuff, I tell ya.

One of our biggest challenges is meal times, dinner in specifically. Between begging Hannah to eat more than just rice, and not allowing Kate to intentionally drop her entire meal on the floor, things can get a little chaotic when the dinner bell rings.

That's why this article, "Powerful Nurturing", really struck home to me. I am sure you've gathered by now how inspiring Julie Beck is to me, so this article choice is really no surprise. The article printed in the December 2005 Ensign shares wonderful insight into the importance of family mealtimes.

She shared that everyone's presence at dinner time was "nonnegotiable". It was their family's time to be together and learn together. And, as she explained, it is the the mother's job to make that happen. She said, "mothers, who are primarily responsible for the nurture of their children, can be a powerful force for strengthening families when they use mealtimes to gather loved ones."

She later quoted her daughter about their family mealtimes. She said, "dinner in our home was not just an eating ritual, but a special time for the family to communicate and to share our thoughts and stories of the day. … We often sat together for over an hour as we savored the conversation as much as the food.”

As I've reflected on this article over the past few weeks and our family's mealtime rituals I have come up with a few things that have been helpful to us in experiencing a successful dinner time.

Prepare ahead of time: From the crock pot to freezer meals you never can be too far ahead of yourself as a mom. If I am really on my game, a weekly meal plan is made ahead of time and dinner is started in the afternoon. I have learned from the mother-in-law that you can cook many things ahead of time that still taste yummy. Every time I prepare a batch of spaghetti sauce or taco meat, I do enough for another meal and stick it in the freezer.

Ask for help: Enlist your children in helping. For my age kids, that means setting the table. Whatever age your children are at, you don't need to go at it alone. Figure out a way to incorporate them in the getting the meal on the table.

Sit down: When my husband isn't home at the dinner hour I can usually be found running around frantically, feeding my kids all while I am standing at the counter eating here and there. When we sit down together, everything goes better, and much calmer.

Start with prayer: This is probably a no-brainer to most LDS families, but in the chaos of getting hungry kids fed, it sometimes happens well after the kids have started eating.

Sister Beck adds from her article, "Because I prepared a meal to share with my family, something special happened. It was a simple process, and our style changed with the ages of our children. When they were young we could discuss a picture from the Gospel Art Picture Kit or memorize a scripture. When they were older we asked more questions and shared experiences. Over the years our children grew and matured, and we loved each other."

I thought those were great ideas. I would love to start incorporating conversation from the gospel art kit to our dinner time. What about you mamas? Have you learned anything to help make your family's mealtime a great experience? Please share with us.

image via

S & P.

In all of my list-making, "S&P" always sits atop my list each morning. "S" for scriptures and "P" for prayers. To be honest though, while they always sit as the first thing on my list, they are not always the first things to be done each day. Usually, it doesn't happen unless I wake up well ahead of my two little buddies.

For me, S&P does me the most good when done in the morning hours, when things are calm and the day has yet to become hectic or throw me any surprises. I am most fresh in those hours and am open to learning more. Trouble is, that means I have to get myself out of bed and get going. That also means, I should be getting to bed earlier.

Oh the dilemma.

When do you find time to slip in your S&P? When is the best time for you, and your family? I'd love to know your tried and true secrets.

Quote taken from Sister Beck entitled, "My Soul Delighteth in the Scriptures".
Scripture image found here.

DINNER FOR A FRIEND.

Thank you all for your thoughts and comments about time. It's comforting to know that we're all in the same boat. Glad we can figure it out together. And, I'm glad you're enjoying Sister Beck's counsel as much as I have.

And, thank you for your help earlier in the week with my dinner-to-deliver dilemma. Lots of good ideas came my way and I am going to be sure to try your recommended recipes. Enchiladas seemed to be a hot item so I went that direction. Krista suggested honey lime chicken enchiladas. They sounded great to me, so we gave them a whirl. I loved them and they were a perfect delivery item.

Here are a few other things I learned when it comes to delivering a meal.

- Make it easy on everyone involved, and use disposable pans. Seriously, disposable pans means no dishes on their end and no waiting for your pans to come home. Dollar Stores are a great place to find different sizes of disposable pans. I am going to stock up on my next visit.

- Go with a one-pan wonder. I know now why Mormon's are famous for their casseroles, it's because they are so easy. I prepared the enchiladas earlier in the day and when 4:30 p.m. arrived, all I had to do was stick them in the oven.  A one-pan dish could even be delivered earlier in the day for the family to bake.

- Include a fun treat. We went with Drumsticks this time. No prep for me and I was hoping it would be a novelty for our friends. I'm sure my Hannah would have loved them.

- Don't forget to treat your family as well. Make sure you prepare enough so your family can enjoy the thoughtful meal you've provided for friends. 

- And an unrelated tip. Get a rice cooker. Seriously. I think I bought the cheapest one at Wal-mart and I couldn't be happier. Makes rice so much easier.

There you have it, the mostly obvious tips to meal delivering!

TEACH THEM TO WORK.

In our years of working with youth, my husband and I have noticed a common theme. Those young men and women who tend to be the most responsible, respectful and overall best youth all know how to work. Somewhere along the way, their parents, or whomever instilled this great quality in them.

Recently, Elder Christofferson spoke on the value of hard work in consecrating our lives. He said,

"By work we sustain and enrich life. It enables us to survive the disappointments and tragedies of the mortal experience. Hard-earned achievement brings a sense of self-worth. Work builds and refines character, creates beauty, and is the instrument of our service to one another and to God. A consecrated life is filled with work, sometimes repetitive, sometimes menial, sometimes unappreciated but always work that improves, orders, sustains, lifts, ministers, aspires."

For the past few months, I have been trying to slowly instill the importance of work and responsibility in my little girl. At almost-three, I feel like she is finally getting it a bit.

Here are a few of our tips and techniques for having even the littlest of family members pitch in:

Involve them. At the point that we are at, it is almost easier to just do things myself. Some of the time, by involving a child you are just creating more work for yourself. However, they will never learn if they are not involved in the process.

Keep it at their level. The littlest helpers are probably not ready to tackle a sink full of dishes. There are, however, lots of jobs that they can do, and pretty well for that matter. Setting and clearing the table, emptying the silverware basket, wiping off surfaces and picking up after themselves are just a few of the many basic things that the little ones can help with.

Make it fun. With an attention span the size of a pea, it is essential to liven things up. There are plenty of cleaning songs out there and little ones always like a race. Liven things up and you're sure to keep them around a bit longer.

Get the right tools. Best thing I ever did was purchase a dust buster. When Hannah needs something to do, I send her to every corner of the house with that thing. She is occupied and is finding all of the hidden cobwebs at the same time. We also have a Shark vacuum for our tile and wood, and whenever that comes out Hannah is all over it.

With a little supervision, clorox and windex wipes are another great tool to have on hand. I can set my toddler up to a bathroom sink and let her go to town. The countertop has never been so sanitary as when she is in charge.

Help them be accountable. Whether it is a chore chart or certain things that have to be done each day, be consistent and hold them accountable. Recently, we introduced the "toy fairy" to our daughter. She comes each night and snags toys that have been left out, or so the story goes. Our bedtime routine now includes a few minutes to make sure that all of her toys are in their proper place, as to not have to deal with the wrath of the "toy fairy".

Have reasonable expectations. At this point in the game, I don't think we should be grading our little helpers on the job they've done. Rather, we're trying to involve and teach them the value of work. Expect them to help, not to do the job completely.

There you have it! My tips and techniques for teaching even the littlest hands to participate in the work. What things have worked for your family? I'd love to hear.