Feb 2015 VT Message - Attributes of Christ: Without Sin - Handout/Printable

This month's message is part two of the series on the Attributes of Christ - this one focuses on the Savior being 'Without Sin', the full message can be found {HERE}. 

Go HERE for March's Message

>>>> The handout with the flowers is available as 4x6 {HERE} and 4 to a page {HERE}. 
>>>> The handout with the photo of the Savior is available at 2 to a page {HERE}.
*** to download just right click on the image when it appears and select 'save as' to save to your computer.

 

TREAT IDEA

I found this cute treat idea to give as well... all you need is: 

• Cupcake Wrappers, Paper Straws, Scissors and Jumbo Marshmallows

Perfect for Valentine's Day and would be fun to dip in chocolate and give with a chocolate powder mix.

:: :: STRAWS CAN BE PURCHASED IN MY PARTY SHOP {HERE} at 25% OFF, using code FEBVT. Enjoy:) :: :: 

A full tutorial can be found {HERE}

Tutorial and image courtesy of: Living Locurto

You Are Not Your Mistakes

You are not the mistakes you have made.

On My Way To Being Me

"Far from what I was once was but not yet what I am going to be."

Parable of the Pencil

Parable of the Pencil

• You will be able to do great things, but only if you allow yourself to be held by someone higher than you. 
• It is ok to experience a painful sharpening from time to time. 
• The most important part of you will always be what’s on the inside. Be men and women of honor, relying on your inner core values and morals. 
• You will make mistakes. Everyone does. That is why pencils have an eraser. 

Make your mark. Make a difference wherever you go.

Divine Gift of Repentance

I'm teaching this lesson tomorrow in RS, and created this handout, it's a 4x6, and have created a free download of it incase it's useful to anyone out there. Click HERE to download (for current free 4x6 deals I know of, click HERE).

“Only repentance leads to the sunlit uplands of a better life... Repentance is a divine gift, and there should be a smile on our faces when we speak of it. It points us to freedom, confidence, and peace. Rather than interrupting the celebration, the gift of repentance is the cause for true celebration.”
 (D. Todd Christofferson, ‘Divine Gift of Repentance’, Ensign, Nov 2011)

5 Aspects of Repentance
1. The invitation to repent is an expression of love.
2. Repentance means striving to change.
3. Repentance means committing to obedience.
4. Repentence requires a willingness to persevere, even through pain.
5. Whatever the cost, repentence is swallowed up in the joy of forgiveness.

Your Past

‎"Don’t let your past dictate who you are, but let it be a part of who you will become."

View Your Horizons

"Don’t place mistakes on your head, their weight may crush you. Instead, place them under your feet and use them as a platform to view your horizons."

Serenity Prayer

"God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change; courage to change the things I can; and wisdom to know the difference."

~Reinhold Niebuhr~

***Because this prayer is so loved, by so many, I created a free printable of it. Just click the image you want yo go to the download page.***

Sting of the Scorpion

Freeing the Hostage

"We cannot repent for someone else. But we can forgive someone else, refusing to hold hostage those whom the Lord seeks to set free!"

--Neal A. Maxwell, "Repentance," Ensign, Nov. 1991, 30

From Broken to Mended

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

-Elder Jeffrey R. Holland.

Filling the Cracks with Gold

"When the Japanese mend broken objects, they aggrandize the damage by filling the cracks with gold. They believe that when something's suffered damage and has a history it becomes more beautiful." 

 ~Barbara Bloom

Depths in the Sea

President Spencer W. Kimball:

"There are depths in the sea, which the storms that lash the surface into fury, never reach. They who reach down into the depths of life where, in the stillness, the voice of God is heard, have the stabilizing power which carries them poised and serene through the hurricane of difficulties".

(“Conference Excerpts,” New Era, Jan. 1974, 6)

"And he arose, and rebuked the wind, and said unto the sea, Peace, be still. And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm."

(Mark 4:39)

There is only One who has that stabilising power upon our souls, Jesus Christ. We can have peace, when we are still, and He will rescue us, of this I am sure.

Re-Turn

"The scriptures speak of His arms being open, extended, stretched out, and encircling. They are described as mighty and holy, arms of mercy, arms of safety, arms of love, “lengthened out all the day long.”

We have each felt to some extent these spiritual arms around us. We have felt His forgiveness, His love and comfort. The Lord has said, “I am he [who] comforteth you.”

The Lord’s desire that we come unto Him and be wrapped in His arms is often an invitation to repent. “Behold, he sendeth an invitation unto all men, for the arms of mercy are extended towards them, and he saith: Repent, and I will receive you.”

When we sin, we turn away from God. When we repent, we turn back toward God.

The invitation to repent is rarely a voice of chastisement but rather a loving appeal to turn around and to “re-turn” toward God. It is the beckoning of a loving Father and His Only Begotten Son to be more than we are, to reach up to a higher way of life, to change, and to feel the happiness of keeping the commandments. Being disciples of Christ, we rejoice in the blessing of repenting and the joy of being forgiven. They become part of us, shaping the way we think and feel."
(Neil L. Andersen, “‘Repent … That I May Heal You’,” Liahona, Nov 2009, 40–43)

It Doesn't Have To Be Final

Came across this quote today, and loved it:

"Our task is to become our best selves. One of God's greatest gifts to us is the joy of trying again, for no failure ever need be final."

--Thomas S. Monson, "The Will Within," Ensign, May 1987, 67

There's also the opportunity to change, and there's always hope.

Dirty Dishes

I/we have a bad habit of not doing dishes straightaway, it'll often be the next morning before we 'get' to them. I will invariably find that food that was left on the plate the night before, now has the consistency of super glue, and that I have to soak and then scrub them before the dishwasher takes a turn at them. It makes my kitchen look messy, and provides extra jobs that could've been avoided if I had just spent the 10 seconds to rinse off the plate straightaway.

This reminded me of sin (naturally:). There have been times in my life when I know I have done something wrong and I repent and change straightaway. Other times I am too spiritually lazy to do so, knowing that it's going to take some effort on my part. When I have left things which shouldn't have been left, and when I do wake up and want to change, I find I now have more damage to repair and more spiritual dirt to deal with.

Sister Beck says: "Sometimes people get casual about repenting. I have heard some people say that repenting is too hard. Others say they are tired of feeling guilty or have been offended by a leader who was helping them repent. Sometimes people give up when they have made mistakes and come to believe that there is no hope for them. Some people imagine that they will feel better about themselves if they just leave the restored gospel and go away". (Julie B. Beck, “Remembering, Repenting, and Changing,” Ensign, May 2007, 109–12)

The Lord says: “If men come unto me I will show unto them their weakness. I give unto men weakness that they may be humble; and my grace is sufficient for all men that humble themselves before me; for if they humble themselves before me, and have faith in me, then will I make weak things become strong unto them.” (Ether 12:27)

I am grateful that the Lord teaches us little lessons that we need, even in the oddest of places. I need reminders, and His reminders show He cares.

Reconciliation

Anne C. Pingree:

"I remember a time when, without any intent to do so, I offended a sister in my ward. I needed to reconcile this issue, but I must admit that my pride kept me from going to her and asking for her forgiveness. Family, other commitments, on and on--I found ways to postpone my repentance. I was sure things would work out on their own. But they didn't.

"In the stillness of not one night but several, I awoke with a clear realization that I was not taking the course the Lord would want me to take. I was not acting on my faith that His arm of mercy was truly extended towards me--if I would act aright. I prayed for strength and courage, humbled myself, and went to the sister's home and asked for her forgiveness. For us both, it proved to be a sweet, healing experience."

"To Look, Reach, and Come unto Christ," Ensign, Nov. 2006, 114-15

The Times in Which We Live

"Now, brothers and sisters, we must do our duty, whatever that duty might be. Peace may be denied for a season. Some of our liberties may be curtailed. We may be inconvenienced. We may even be called on to suffer in one way or another. But God our Eternal Father will watch over this nation and all of the civilized world who look to Him. He has declared, “Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord” (Ps. 33:12). Our safety lies in repentance. Our strength comes of obedience to the commandments of God.

Let us be prayerful. Let us pray for righteousness. Let us pray for the forces of good. Let us reach out to help men and women of goodwill, whatever their religious persuasion and wherever they live. Let us stand firm against evil, both at home and abroad. Let us live worthy of the blessings of heaven, reforming our lives where necessary and looking to Him, the Father of us all. He has said, “Be still, and know that I am God” (Ps. 46:10).

Are these perilous times? They are. But there is no need to fear. We can have peace in our hearts and peace in our homes. We can be an influence for good in this world, every one of us.

May the God of heaven, the Almighty, bless us, help us, as we walk our various ways in the uncertain days that lie ahead. May we look to Him with unfailing faith. May we worthily place our reliance on His Beloved Son who is our great Redeemer, whether it be in life or in death, is my prayer in His holy name, even the name of Jesus Christ, amen."

(Gordon B. Hinckley, “The Times in Which We Live,” Ensign, Nov. 2001, 72)

Hope Ya Know, We Had a Hard Time!

Clip from a great talk by Elder Quentin L. Cook:

Spiritual Lightning

This is from one of my favorite gospel writers:

“And now, my brethren, I desire that ye shall plant this word [the doctrine of Christ] in your hearts, and as it beginneth to swell even so nourish it by your faith. And behold, it will become a tree, springing up in you unto everlasting life. And then may God grant unto you that your burdens may be light, through the joy of his Son. And even all this can ye do if ye will. Amen.” (Alma 33:23).

Having burdens lightened through the joy of the Lord Jesus Christ requires planting in the soul a spiritual knowledge of things as they really are (see Jacob 4:13). Much of the heaviness that we bear develops from a faith that is not sufficiently informed.

When we are weighed down by the problems of a telestial world, we need some spiritual lightening. Spiritual lightening suggests spiritual principles and powers that can light up our minds and lighten our loads. It may be possible to assume too great a burden and to take it all too seriously. This is possible even when the damages in our lives involve sex, drugs, and other heavy sorrows – because virtually all damage, innocently incurred, or self-inflicted, is ultimately reversible through the Lord Jesus Christ. It is spiritual lightening to realize that in most cases the actual details of the elements of our lives matter less than what we choose to become in the midst of them”.
(from ‘Spiritual Lightening’ by M. Catherine Thomas, p.2 & 7)

I think that is a powerful statement that “the actual details of the elements of our lives matter less than what we choose to become in the midst of them”. The “why me?” questions are often the ones which accentuate the burdens we face, and the way forward is when we start answering the questions of “what am I to learn?” and “who am I to help?” because of these things.

As we come unto the Lord with full purpose of heart we will see things as they really are, because we will have the vision of eternity.