A Place of Learning

"The temple was a place of learning for the Savior when He was on the earth; it was very much a part of His life. Temple blessings are available once again in our day."

—James E. Faust

The Treasure of Motherhood

"You have nothing in this world more precious than your children. When you grow old, when your hair turns white and your body grows weary, when you are prone to sit in a rocker and meditate on the things of your life, nothing will be so important as the question of how your children have turned out ... Do not trade your birthright as a mother for some bauble of passing value ... The baby you hold in your arms will grow quickly as the sunrise and the sunset of the rushing days."

- President Gordon B. Hinckley

God Made The Sunrise For A Reason

‎"Be gentle and patient with yourself. God made the sunrise for a reason; it is a new day, a new beginning."

Easter

‎"Easter is the demonstration of God that life is essentially spiritual and timeless."

~Charles M. Crowe~

FHE Spot - Easter Story Cookies

I'm posting this a little early this week as you may want to do it over Easter Weekend, if not it would make a great FHE review for Easter. It came from Alisha over at Homemaking Honeys.

"I love this and it has become a tradition each Easter in our home. I feel it is a great way to teach little children the true meaning of Easter. Plus in the end they have a yummy cookie on Easter morning!

Easter Story Cookies

To be made the evening before Easter

• 1cup whole pecans
• 1tsp vinegar
• 3 egg whites
• pinch salt
• 1 cup sugar
• zipper baggie
• wooden spoon
• tape
• Bible

Preheat oven to 300 degrees (this is important, don't wait till you're half done with the recipe!)

1. Place pecans in zipper baggie and let children beat them with the wooden spoon to break into small pieces. Explain that after Jesus was arrested, He was Beaten by the Roman soldiers. Read John 19:1-3.
2. Let each child smell the vinegar. Put 1tsp vinegar into mixing bowl. Explain that when Jesus was thirsty on the cross, He was given vinegar to drink. Read John 19:28-30.
3. Add egg whites to vinegar. Eggs represent life. Explain that Jesus gave His life to give us life. Read John 10:10-11.
4. Sprinkle a little salt into each child's hand. Let them taste it and brush the rest into the bowl. Explain that this represents the salty tears shed by Jesus' followers, and the bitterness of our own sin. Read Luke 23:27.
5. So far, the ingredients are not very appetizing. Add 1 cup sugar.
6. Explain that the sweetest part of the story is that Jesus died because He loves us. He wants us to know and belong to Him. Read Psalm 34:8 and John 3:16.
7. Beat with a mixer on high speed for 12 to 15 minutes until stiff peaks are formed. Explain that the color white represents the purity in God's eyes of those whose sins have been cleansed by Jesus. Read Isaiah 1:18 and John 3:1-3.
8. Fold in broken nuts. Drop by teaspoons onto wax paper covered cookie sheet. Explain that each mound represents the rocky tomb where Jesus' body was laid. Read Matthew 27:57-60.
9. Put the cookie sheet in the oven, close the door and turn the oven OFF. Give each child a piece of tape and seal the oven door. Explain that Jesus' tomb was sealed. Read Matthew 27:65-66.
10. GO TO BED! Explain that they may feel sad to leave the cookies in the oven overnight. Jesus' followers were in despair when the tomb was sealed. Read John 16:20 and 22.

On Easter morning, open the oven and give everyone a cookie. Notice the cracked surface and take a bite. The cookies are hollow! On the first Easter, Jesus' followers were amazed to find the tomb open and empty. Read Matthew 28:1-9.

For other Easter FHE ideas, see:
Easter Story Resurrection Eggs, and
Easter Lesson (Little Kid Style)

You're Not Alone

"Though it may seem that you are alone, angels attend you. Though you may feel that no one can understand the depth of your despair, our Savior, Jesus Christ, understands. He suffered more than we can possibly imagine, and He did it for us; He did it for you. You are not alone."
Dieter F. Uchtdorf

Books

"I can no longer remember the books I have read than the meals I have eaten, but they have made me".
Gordon B Hinckley

Life Can Be Beautiful

"As the teachings of the Savior are consistently obeyed, life will be beautiful, the future secure, and there will be capacity to overcome the challenges that cross our path."

Richard G. Scott - Ensign, Nov. 2001, 87

FHE Spot - Easter Lesson (Little Kid Style)

I got this idea from here.
Lesson

1.) We're going to play this little file folder game. It keeps the focus on things that kids can relate to - "Jesus is our big brother, He died for our sins, He was buried in a tomb, Jesus rose on the third day" The kids can match the pictures with the file folder and you can talk about each one briefly. It requires a little cutting and coloring, but it's something you can use again!

2.) Movable Easter Story - This is from The Friend and has Jesus next to the tomb. You use brads to fasten his arm and the stone of the tomb and then the kids can "act out" Jesus being laid in the tomb and then rising again. I like the little finger play idea also.
Refreshments
I've seen that recipe for those little hollow tombs, but they don't look very tasty OR very easy, so I thought we'd do cream puffs, since I have some whipped cream in the fridge. Remember these from gourmet foods in High School? They bake hollow and you can fill them with cream or pudding! You could try to draw that whole analogy or just eat them and enjoy.

Cream Puffs
1 c. water
¼ tsp salt
1 c. flour, sifted
½ c. shortening
4 eggs

Bring water and shortening to a boil; add flour and salt. Cook until mixture forms a ball and leaves sides of pan. Remove from heat and add eggs, one at a time. Beat w/ mixer after each addition until mixture is smooth. Continue to beat until dough is shiny and breaks into strands. Drop by teaspoonfuls 2 “ apart on ungreased cookie sheet. Bake at 400 for 10 minutes and then at 375 for 25 minutes. Cool completely to serve. Cut off tops an fill.

Want more ideas for an Easter themed FHE - see Easter Story Ressurection Eggs or Easter Story Cookies.

FYI - You Can Pay Your Tithing Online!

I just found out that you can pay your tithing online through your bill pay - this will be life changing for us as my husband is self-employed and his pay check varies from month to month. If this interests you, you can click this here to get info on how to do it.

The Purpose of Life

“The purpose of life is not to be happy. It is to be useful, to be honorable, to be compassionate, to have it make some difference that you have lived and lived well.”

~ Ralph Waldo Emerson ~

In His Sacred Name

Real Generosity

Real generosity is doing something nice for someone who will never find out.

~Frank A. Clark~

He Will Honor Our Efforts

"Certainly there are times when getting the family together to read the scriptures does not stack up as a spiritual experience worthy of a journal entry. But we must not be deterred. There are special times when the spirit of a son or daughter is just right and the power of these great scriptures goes down into their heart like fire. As we honor our Heavenly Father in our homes, He will honor our efforts."
Neil L. Andersen, "Prophets and Spiritual Mole Crickets," Ensign, Nov. 1999, 17

Gold Flecks

“Great things are wrought through simple and small things. Like the small flecks of gold that accumulate over time into a large treasure, our small and simple acts of kindness and service will accumulate into a life filled with love..."

~M. Russell Ballard~

When Things Go Wrong

“To do well does not mean everything will always turn out well. The key is to remember that faith and obedience are still the answers, even when things go wrong, perhaps especially when things go wrong.”

–David E. Sorensen, “Faith Is the Answer,” Ensign, May 2005, 72

FHE Spot - Easter Story and Resurrection Eggs

This is based on an idea I heard here, and I thought it was really cute, and could easily be adapted for children of different ages.
Opening Hymn: He Sent His Son (Children's Songbook, p.34)
Opening Prayer:
Lesson By:

Preparation:

• 12 Plastic Eggs, numbered 1 through 12
• Put the following items in the respective eggs:

1. a leaf–real or plastic (if it vaguely resembles a palm branch, all the better)
2. a piece of cloth with a little perfume on it
3. a piece of a tortilla, pita, or bread or white clay shaped to look like flat bread
4. a picture of Jesus with children or of a temple or a picture of your family
5. three dimes
6. a piece of purple cloth or paper
7. a cross made out of wood, toothpicks, popsicle sticks, paper, or brown clay
8. a nail
9. a piece of paper that says THE KING OF THE JEWS
10. a little bundle (wrapped in fabric, a baggie, plastic wrap, etc.) of spices–cloves would be nice
11. a stone–rounded would be best
12. leave empty

Lesson:
You can have your children take turns opening the eggs (be sure to go in order by the numbers). Here are the explanations for the items in each egg; I’ve made them appropriate for a four-year-old; scale up or down as necessary.

1. When Jesus entered Jerusalem, the people waved branches because that’s what people used to do when a king walked by.
2. Later, Jesus had a special dinner with his friends. A woman came and poured perfume on his head. This showed that she knew that he was the Christ and she knew that he would die soon.
3. The next day, Jesus had another special meal with his friends. We call this The Last Supper. This is when the sacrament began, because Jesus said that people who followed Him should have bread and wine or water to help them remember Him.
4. Jesus went to a garden to pray. Here, he suffered for our sins. Because He did this for us, we can repent and live in heaven again.
5. Judas was supposed to be one of Jesus' special helpers, but instead he helped other men arrest Jesus. He did this because those men paid him money.
6. After Jesus was arrested, the soldiers were really mean to Him and made fun of Him. One thing that they did was to put a purple robe on Him. Only kings wore purple robes. They didn't realize that He really was a King, they were just teasing Him because people thought He was a king!
7. Jesus was crucified.
8. When the soldiers put Jesus on the cross, they pounded nails into His hands and feet.
9. Another thing the soldiers did to make fun of Jesus was to put a sign on the cross that said 'THE KING OF THE JEWS'. Again, they thought they were making fun of Him they didn't realize that He really was the King of the Jews!
10. After Jesus died, His friends put his body in a tomb. Later, some of the women who followed Him came to the tomb to put spices on His body. That was something they did back then when someone died.
11. The tomb had a rock that could roll over the opening to seal it. While the women were walking to the tomb, they wondered how they would get the stone out of the way.
12. When they got to the tomb, they were amazed to find that the stone had been rolled out of the way and Jesus' body was gone! Then an angel came and told them, 'He is risen; he is not here' (Mark 16:66). This egg is empty because Jesus' tomb was empty. Jesus' tomb was empty because He was resurrected!

Share your testimony about the Savior.

(For other FHE Easter themed lessons, see Easter Story Cookies, or Easter Lesson (Little Kid Style))

Activity:

Coloring Pages

Refreshments:
Hidden Surprise Easter Egg Treats

Music

"Music is given of God to further his purposes. Sweet melodies mellow the souls of men and help prepare them for the gospel. After men receive the truth, songs of praise to Deity help to sanctify and cleanse their souls."

-- Elder Bruce R. McConkie, Mormon Doctrine (1966), 521

We Will Hear Him

"The value of consistent prayer is not that He will hear us, but that we will hear Him."

- William McGill -

Looking Up

May I never miss a sunset or a rainbow because I am looking down.

Sara June Parker

Twas a Sheep Not a Lamb

Twas a sheep not a lamb that strayed away

In the parable Jesus told,

A grown-up sheep that strayed away

From the ninety and nine in the fold.

And why for the sheep should we seek

And earnestly hope and pray?

Because there is danger when sheep go wrong;

They lead the lambs astray.

Lambs will follow the sheep, you know,

Wherever the sheep may stray.

When sheep go wrong, it won’t take long

Til the lambs are as wrong as they.

And so with the sheep we earnestly plead

For the sake of the lambs today,

For when sheep are lost, what a terrible cost

The lambs will have to pay!

-C. C. Miller

From Broken to Mended

"If you feel you are broken, please know you can be mended."

-Elder Jeffrey R. Holland.