Ministering (Again)

A shock rippled around the world on April 1, 2018. During the Sunday afternoon session of General Conference, President Nelson announced:

“We have made the decision to retire home teaching and visiting teaching as we have known them...'”

It's amazing how many thoughts went through my head during the short pause. My first thought was, “Oh my goodness. I finally have a shot at making it to the Celestial Kingdom!”

My next thought was, “Those programs are how the Church works. I can't see them being abandoned. What's coming?”

President Nelson continued:

 “...Instead, we will implement a newer, holier approach to caring for and ministering to others. We will refer to these efforts simply as “ministering.””

Following President Nelson, two talks given by Elder Jeffrey R. Holland and Sister Jean B. Bingham expanded upon the meaning of ministering and shared some of its new administration details. One sentence in Elder Holland's talk jumped out at me:

“In an effort to move us closer to that gospel ideal, this newly announced priesthood and Relief Society ministering concept will include, among other things, the following elements, some of which the Relief Society has already put in place with wonderful success.”

 A memory of a tag I created 6 years ago for this blog popped into my mind (above). We've  been preparing for some time to make this change. Posting these tags again, I remembered the early excitement I felt. The following are still good resources about the definition of Ministering and how to minister to others until the Ministering website is fully expanded. (Of course, the administration parts about reporting, etc., in these old sources are now obsolete.)
 

April 2, 2012 Blog Post

 
This isn't a new concept, but a continued focus on the word, "ministry", was new for me. One early focus on ministering comes from the book, Daughters in My Kingdom, chaper 7, ‘Pure Religion’: Watchcare and Ministering through Visiting Teaching.

This topic was followed up in the March 2012 Ensign:

Visiting Teaching: Understanding the Power of Ministering. 

The April 2012 Visiting Teaching Message continued to address ministering and Sister Beck mentioned it in her April General Conference address.

I believe the Visiting Teaching messages for the remainder of 2012 also covered aspects of ministering. December 2012 does...

For me, the irony is that while we are ministering to others, we are actually ministering to ourselves. In the process of ministering, we are also strengthening, growing, and hopefully becoming more like the Savior. Ministering is truly our best shot at becoming worthy to enter the Celestial Kingdom. But best of all, by ministering to others, we are also ministering to our Savior, who has done everything for us, and without whom we would have nothing and be nothing.  

Inasmuch as ye have done it unto the least of these, my brethren, ye have done it unto me.

I am still retired from this blog, but wanted to share these resources with those who are teaching the 4th Sunday Relief Society classes on Ministering in about a week!

Thanks for visiting,

Susan  

That Ye Would Remember...

 

VT printables for the new VT message emphasis

There's an almost invisible phrase in Moroni 10:3. (At least it sometimes feels like it from my experience.)

3 Behold, I would exhort you that when ye shall read these things, if it be wisdom in God that ye should read them, that ye would remember how merciful the Lord hath been unto the children of men, from the creation of Adam even down until the time that ye shall receive these things, and ponder it in your hearts.)

I think everyone has this scripture memorized, but here is the missing piece just in case it's a little fuzzy:

3 Behold, I would exhort you that when ye shall read these things, if it be wisdom in God that ye should read them, that ye would remember how merciful the Lord hath been unto the children of men, from the creation of Adam even down until the time that ye shall receive these things, and ponder it in your hearts.)

Have you noticed how many times the Book of Mormon follows this pattern? Nephi, attempting to build faith in his brothers reminds them of the times that God helped Moses (1 Nephi 4: 2), and Abraham, Isaac and Jacob (1 Nephi 17:40). Ammon, teaching King Lamoni in Alma 18: 36 "began at the creation of the world, and also the creation of Adam..." Aaron, teaching King Lamoni's father, "began from the creation of Adam..." (Alma 22: 12). There are many more examples. 

This principle brings to mind a promise we make when we partake of the Sacrament: 

3 O God, the Eternal Father, we ask thee in the name of thy Son, Jesus Christ, to bless and sanctify this bread to the souls of all those who partake of it; that they may eat in remembrance of the body of thy Son, and witness unto thee, O God, the Eternal Father, that they are willing to take upon them the name of thy Son, and always remember him, and keep his commandments which he hath given them, that they may always have his Spirit to be with them. Amen.

If our hearts are open, spiritual strength can come from learning about and remembering how God and His son, Jesus Christ have blessed those who have gone before us. It builds our faith that they will do the same for us. They keep their promises. I guess that's why I am so excited about this VT emphasis. These messages will have the spiritual power to build our testimonies, change hearts, and also to strengthen and sustain us in our trials and difficulties.

I wanted our sisters to be able to save these VT messages together in one place, to help them to grow, to renew and build strength as they review the messages. I bought an inexpensive album for 4 by 6-inch photos and created a cover for it.

Cover for 4 by 6-inch photo album

 I also created an inner cover to explain the "why" behind this VT topic:

Inner cover--the "why" as explained in September 2013 Ensign

And while caught up in designing frenzy delirium, I found myself creating a second October printable. Either one of my October printables will fit inside a 4 by 6-inch photo album:

 

Click on any of the above images to enlarge it, then right click on the resulting image to save it to your computer. Print the image yourself or send it out to a photo center. 

Carpal tunnel has begun exacting revenge on me again (wonder why?), so this might be my last entry for a while. If I don't have a 4 by 6-inch printable ready for you in the future, there are many other sites that will. Check out Sugardoodle's VT listings here. Have a great October!

Thanks for visiting,


Susan

New VT Topic Reveal

New Visiting Teaching Topics Begin in October 

"Beginning in October 2013 the Relief Society Visiting Teaching Messages will focus on the divine mission of Jesus Christ and His many roles and attributes.

By studying and focusing on the roles and attributes of the Savior, the sisters in the Church will learn to be like Him and will be able to discuss with the sisters they serve how the teachings and example of the Savior can influence their lives." [Emphasis mine.] From the September 2013 Ensign.

When I found out about the new VT emphasis, I didn't want be left behind. I had to create a printable for it!

The Divine Mission of Jesus Christ: Creator

For this month's theme, I felt that the image of the world should look like a gift to your sister because the earth is the most beautiful, personally-crafted gift ever created, made with us in mind. We take photography like this for granted now, but I remember how awed I was by the beauty of the first photo ever taken of the earth's entire surface. It was jaw-dropping gorgeous!

The Blue Marble Photo, first photo of entire earth

One of my favorite scriptures fits so well with October's message, I included it as a tag on the printable. My heart soared the first time I read D&C 59: 18, 19 because I recognized that God's love is even in the smallest details around us.

18. Yea, all things which come of the earth, in the season thereof, are made for the benefit and the  use of man, both to please the eye and to  gladden the heart;

19. Yea, for  food and for raiment, for taste and for smell, to  strengthen the body and to enliven the soul 

Creating the printable is almost intuitive. Download, print and cut everything out. The tan tag is folded in half where indicated. "X" marks the spot you'll punch the tan tag (when folded) with a 1/4" hole punch. You'll hopefully see four tiny notches on the edge of the world to snip. These hold the string in place when you wrap it around the earth. I used about 28 inches of natural/black baker's twine on the sample. Card stock is the best weight for this printout, or you can glue stick the earth to a scrap of poster board and cut it out. If you'd like, you can also bring your sister some of the harvest bounty that's available this month--the best visual aids out there for D&C 59:18, 19!

Download printable here

 

Another October printable here

Thanks for visiting! 
 
Susan 

General Conference--Drink It All In!

  
Yes, technically, this is still not an active blog. (If it were, I would have to fix all the broken links that were created by Google's changes. Carpal tunnel is actually wonderful thing on unwanted occasions like these.) But I can't stay away any longer--this Saturday and Sunday is my favorite weekend. General Conference. I can't think of anything better than to listen to inspired messages while sitting alongside the ones I love most. It feels like a beautiful dream is ending when the final session winds down to the closing hymn and prayer, and we have to return to reality again.

It wasn't always that way. One day, back in high school, my lukewarm Conference attitude changed when I went out to get the mail. As I pulled the Conference issue of the Ensign out of the mailbox, something on the cover caught my eye: "Whether by mine own voice or by the voice of my servants, it is the same." My heart soared and I thought, "Of course!" I have loved Conference ever since. When Steve and I were dating, he earned major points because 1. He knew who Neal A. Maxwell was (My favorite apostle at the time. I was surprised how many guys had no clue.) and 2. He appreciated the wordsmithing of Elder Neal A. Maxwell enough to own most of his books. From that point on, it wouldn't have mattered if Steve had had 3 arms (he doesn't) or if he didn't like pizza (he doesn't). The rest was history.

So, to celebrate my favorite weekend, I planned to create a General Conference Kit from A Bushel and a Peck for my VT sisters:

Or maybe a spinoff based on it, VT General Conference Gifts at Babblings and More:

But I kept thinking about living waters. And I finally decided it might be easier to create my own handout than to create a new password at Scribd for the Conference Kit download. The design is strongly influenced by something you might have seen somewhere recently before:

Download the free printable here.

Print the photo. Cut the tags out, layer them with the scripture tag on the bottom, the turquoise tag in the middle, and the circle tag on top. Punch a hole and tie the tags to a bottle of water.

(Hmm. Looks like I might have to pull out my carpal tunnel excuse again for the bad photo!) Have a wonderful Conference this weekend--drink it all in.

Thanks for visiting,

Susan

An Accidental Post

It's the last day of the month, and I hadn't planned to post anything, but it's a hazardous world out there today and posting gives me a good excuse to stay home for now. By 10:00 this morning, my car was almost hit twice. Even though I feel lucky to come through it unscathed, that's all the close calls I'd like my heart to handle for the next hour or so!

I know...everyone has already completed their VT this month, but maybe this idea will come in handy at another time.  Practically everyone who posted a handout for January quoted the Elder Uchtdorf selection. And most of us were particularly taken with this part of it:


"Sometimes a single phrase of testimony can set events in motion that affect someone's life for eternity."

This got me thinking about people who feel hesitant to share testimony because they don't have an earth-shattering-faith-promoting experience to share. That's not the point of bearing testimony. The point is to give the Spirit an opportunity to bear witness of truth. He can do that through any declaration of truth, even short and simple.

And so, here's a short and simple handout that you can tie to a little bag of Hershey's Kisses, along with a full copy of the message.:

 Click on the image, then right-click to save to your computer.

Thanks for visiting today!


Susan






 

Visiting Teaching, A Work of Salvation, the Christmas Version

Click on image, then save full-sized file (4 by 6, 300 dpi) to your computer.

 
I love tying the Visiting Teaching message to a holiday or to an event in the month. This month's message, Visiting Teaching, A Work of Salvation contains a wonderful quote for Christmas, the season the world celebrates the birth of Jesus Christ.

 "We are 'to warn, expound, exhort, and teach, and invite [others] to come unto Christ." [D&C 20:59]. --Spencer W. Kimball

In the 2011 First Presidency Christmas Devotional, President Henry B. Eyring gave a talk titled, The Gifts of Christmas. I feel that it complements this month's message extremely well. He said,

"The lesson is that God knows our every need, that He loves us, and that He watches over us.

He gave us the gift of a Savior, His perfect Son, the Lamb without blemish. By personal appearance of the Father Himself and of the Son, and through angels, He has restored the Church of Jesus Christ in the latter days. He has called prophets and apostles to guide us to safety in this life and eternal life in the world to come. Jesus Christ was crucified and resurrected that we may live again, that we may be purified and cleansed from sin, prepared for the glory of eternal life.

Those are gifts to us that we can offer to others for Him. We do that by remembering Him and trying with all our hearts to do what He would do and love as He loves.

There was a song in a film years ago with the line 'Have yourself a merry little Christmas.”  Well, you can give a great and wonderful Christmas if you remember the gifts God has given you and, as best you can, offer them to others as He would. That is the spirit of Christmas and of true happiness every day.'

A conclusion I drew from his talk is that Visiting Teaching, as a Work of Salvation, is the spirit of Christmas and of true happiness every day! What a gift to us as Visiting Teachers and those we visit teach!

Wishing you and your sisters a very Merry Christmas!

Thanks for visiting!

Susan

All's Well That Ends Well!

"All's well that ends well". Who am I to argue with the wisdom of Shakespeare? (Especially when there are colder, less forgiving platitudes out there like "Time and tide wait for no man" or "It is what it is".) So, in the spirit of ending the year well, I'm posting a 4 by 6 image that can be used as a tag, a card, a print; fulfilling every possible VT printable need you have--except actually printing it out!
 

Click to access full-sized 300 dpi version, then save that version to your computer. Upload to a photo processor for best results.

For those who have read Daughters in My Kingdom, this quote by Eliza R. Snow will be familiar. It's a perfect thought for the chilly month of December: "Win back those who have gone astray [and] warm up the hearts of those who have grown cold in the gospel." Optional little tie-in gift possibilities are numerous: dollar store mittens, hand-knitted scarf, (and now we're getting to the really good stuff) hot chocolate mixes, hot chocolate stirring sticks, and these...

'

Melting Snowman Smores 

Chocolaty Melting Snowmen Cookies from BHG

Christmas Hot Chocolate Cupcake

Abbreviated Hot Chocolate Cupcake instructions from Catch My Party here.

Easy Snowman Marshmallows from Sweet Sugar Belle

You catch my drift!

Wishing you and your Sisters a wonderful Christmas! Warm them up! Until next time--(Who knows when that will be--maybe next December?)

Thanks for visiting,

Susan

P.S. Please see this post for another December 2012 Visiting Teaching printable!

Summer Vacation?

Yes, apparently I am incorrigible!

I'm misbehaving at this very moment--I'm inside blogging instead of being outdoors, painting landscapes. Our RS lesson yesterday was about Visiting Teaching, and I got so excited, I just had to update my old links for June's message. I also pinned some new free June VT printables at pinterest. Find them in the 2012 Free VT Handouts link to the left under the Pinterest heading.

Changing links was bad enough behavior already, adding to my VT pinterest board even worse, but now I'm afraid I can't keep myself from sharing a few summer theme ideas for your sisters, too--

If a sister is heading out on a road trip, you might adapt a suggestion or two for her and her family from the Road Trip ideas posted at the Dating Divas:

If a sister is setting out for the beach, or on a camping trip, S'mores might be a fun way to send her off. It's even a tasteful way of celebrating the fact that Summer is almost he

I love the tag at Pinterest that simply says, "Sending you S'more love!" Perfect for VT!

 And finally, a refreshing way to welcome Summer from Caramel Potatoes, complete with recipe and tag printables. (You'll have to sign up at 4shared to access the printables):

 Unfortunately, I'm having a hard time letting things go! Just one more fun summer gift idea from Caramel Potatoes...Hot Fudge Sauce.

And maybe combine it with a great quote by Eliza R. Snow from Thankful Me ("Warm her up/hot fudge sauce here

I would show you my last painting but it's so bad, it wouldn't be very nice of me. You'd definitely tell me to get back out there and get painting. I really hope no more lessons this month are about VT! ;) So, until later...(if not sooner!) 

Have a great visit this month!


Susan

Signing Off

This is hard to do because I've enjoyed it so much, but I'm suspending my blog. I told myself when I started it that if it got in the way of plein air painting, I'd have to stop. And it did. Completely. (I'm writing from time-out.)


Hopefully, I'll add things from time to time, but I can't do it on a regular basis anymore. There are a lot of great VT resources out there already (like inkablinka, mishmashmom, visitingteachingsurprise, etc.), so I know I'm leaving you in very capable hands. 

Wishing you the best in your VT calling--
Thanks,

Susan

Indirect Answers

I mentioned earlier this month that if a certain theme keeps intruding itself into my life, it feels like I didn't pay enough attention to it the first time around. And I'd better get with the program. Right away. That happened again this past weekend. I have a degree in art, but for some unknown reason, the David O. McKay School of Education seems to have adopted me--I receive their quarterly magazine. The spring edition recently arrived and I was intrigued with a manufactured conversation by Russell T. Osguthorpe found in Agency and the Pursuit of Learning (which, by the way, reminded me quite a bit of Elder Bednar's book, Increase in Learning, --yet another topic hitting me on the head recently!)

Where you see quotation marks, Osguthorpe has incorporated direct excerpts from The Abundance of the Heart by Arthur Henry King. The last sentence is the crowning jewel of the exchange:

Arthur: “One of the mistakes we make over and over again in life is to go directly for the things we think are important.”
Russ: Are you saying that we should not pursue knowledge we think is important?
Arthur: I said not to go directly for things we think are important.
Russ: You mean like setting our hearts on riches?
Arthur: Yes, but more. “If we aim at self-fulfillment, we shall never be fulfilled.”
Russ: Are you saying happiness is a by-product of something else?
Arthur: Yes, but I don’t like the word by-product. People talk about getting an education, but “if we aim at education, we shall never become educated.”
Russ: Education seems like a fairly important goal to aim for, but you’re saying that we should not go for it directly.
Arthur: Yes. Even “if we aim at salvation, we shall never be saved. These things are indirect, supreme results of doing something else; and the something else is service, it is righteousness, it is trying to do the right thing, the thing that needs to be done at each moment.”

This was strongly on my mind when yesterday, my wonderful VT said something to the effect that feeling the love of Christ helps our testimonies to grow stronger. If we want stronger testimonies, serving others, which develops charity, the pure love of Christ, can do it. (Again, an indirect approach through service...)

Then, today, I came across this quote shared in the March 1995 Ensign article, "Learning to Cherish Visiting Teaching."

"I no longer tried to be the “perfect” visiting teacher—I was too busy being Ann’s friend."

 If you read the whole article, you'll find the same message. It appears that whatever it is that you want to improve in, including visiting teaching, concentrate on serving, on doing the right thing at the moment. The results might not be obvious at first, but almost like the photo at the top that eventually comes into focus as a rose window, miracles can happen.

Thanks for visiting today!

Susan

Grad Congrats!

My niece and her husband graduated from college this week! I thought today would be a perfect time to throw them a little graduation party. Unfortunately, online or by mail. They live over a thousand miles away. But if you have a visiting teaching sister who is also graduating this year, (or you suddenly end up with one fresh from college) these ideas might be a perfect way for you to help her celebrate, too.

First off, here's the ever-popular subway art download that you can turn into a graduation card or maybe a framed gift:

 And there are so many cute little gift ideas out there. This tag download is from caramel potatoes--

Check out their site for a couple of cute presentation ideas for this tag--and maybe pick up a couple of cookie recipes while you're at it!

And of course, it couldn't be a real party without cupcakes. I think these are my favorites--from Anna & Blue Paperie:

That hit the spot! I found a few other ideas I couldn't post today, so I created a small pinterest board of graduation/grad party ideas here for you to check out.

Hope you have a great weekend!
Thanks for visiting today,


Susan

Blessings

Created and posted by Jodie at countrygirlchronicles here. 

In GA Smith, #8--Temple Blessings for Ourselves and Our Ancestors, I was struck by beauty of our symbiotic relationship with our ancestors.We can't leave them behind and expect to receive exaltation. There are also immediate blessings for us when we reach out and care for those around us here and now, as described in the following studies:

•A study from the Proceedings of the National Academy of Science reveals that volunteering activates the part of your brain that produces oxytocin, a bonding hormone, strengthening the emotional connection between people.
•Another study showed that a small gesture like sharing a hug or giving a pat on the back is also proven to raise oxytonin.
•A UCLA brain scan study showed that these same acts of kindness also trigger the release of dopamine, relieving our stress and giving us pleasure.

“...ye should do as he hath commanded you; for which if ye do, he doth immediately bless you..."  Mosiah 2:24

President Uchtdorf's quote shown at the top adds "answers to prayer" to the list of benefits received when serving the Lord and others. It's such a miraculous paradox how in helping others, we are actually helping ourselves...probably far more than we realize.
Thanks for visiting today! Have a great week.


Susan

Well Wishes!

In keeping with the illness theme I unintentionally started earlier this week, I thought I'd share a post by Mandy Douglass who blogs at "It Will Change Your Life". Mandy had several ideas for creating little gifts for someone who is going through a hard time or illness--of course, visiting teaching sisters come immediately to mind. A photo of these projects is below. Her suggestions can be found here.

And I thought I'd give one more shout out to katherinemaries.com , where they created a Sunshine Box for a family going through a very hard time--overall, it's just a slight bit more grandiose in scale, but the contents might even be broken down and given separately instead. Find more Sunshine Box photos here.

It might be a good idea to keep a few of these things on hand to have available as a little pick-me-up when the unthinkable strikes your sister or her family. (Hope you'll never need to use them!) Have a great weekend and happy Mother's Day!

Thanks for visiting today--


Susan

More Than Words

When Michelle of Noisy Pancakes was called to be the Visiting Teaching Coordinator of her ward, she created some great printable designs from visiting teaching quotes and posted them here. That's one of my favorites. I really like this next one, too...

 One sister commented that she printed Michelle's quotes out, framed them, and used them for game prizes at their ward's VT conference. I love it when people share their great ideas! (Hint, hint...)

I have a bug today that makes my "normal" health problems seem rather appealing by comparison, so please enjoy exploring Michelle's Noisy Pancakes blog for more visiting teaching inspiration. Hopefully, everything here will be good again by Friday!

Thanks for visiting--have a great week!


Susan

Thanks a Bunch!

It's May? That means Memorial Day is just around the corner--the kick-off of the summer season where I live. Before you know it, you'll have bags of bananas turning brown before you even pull into your driveway after a quick trip to the grocery store. Noooo!

There's no cause be alarmed anymore when you find yourself with an overabundance of ripe bananas. Just remember that AshLee at Two Penny Blue Mom blog has a great visiting teaching (or even Home Teaching) gift solution--banana bread--and a cute little tag printable to accompany it.

A year or so ago, I was inundated with so many ripe bananas that I couldn't stomach the thought of making my "Old Faithful" recipe ever again in this lifetime. Even though it was our 4-H club's secret weapon. The one that always won a gold ribbon at the fair. I found Marbled Chocolate Banana Bread here. And the Peanut Butter Banana Bread here looked promising, too. But with the exception of the slimmed down version here (which I re-fatted by subbing a whole egg for the egg whites), I've never quite had the heart (or courage) to fully turn my back on Old Faithful. Yet. I think I'm almost there, though.

If you have a link to a great Banana Bread to suggest, you're welcome to leave it below. I haven't checked Pinterest yet, but I wouldn't be surprised if there's a gooey chocolate chip pudding layer with cookie dough banana bread recipe pinned somewhere...Think I'll go take a look.

Thanks for visiting today. Have a great weekend!

Susan.

Crafting the May VT Message

This month, Visiting teachers will choose their message from the April 2012 General Conference. We are asked to prayerfully select something that will best meet the needs of our sisters. My Ensign hasn't arrived yet. Now what? One way to search for a relevant talk is by scanning through the index of conference talks. A link to an index of conference talks is located at the top of the left sidebar.

Another way to search for a message idea is to watch the video of Conference Highlights here.

About a week or so before conference, I read something that made me squirm. The "Reader's Digest" version of it follows:

During a conversation, a nonmember said to his neighbor, “You say you have prophets and apostles? And twice a year they reveal the word of God?”

“Absolutely.”

“What did they say the last time?”

The member couldn’t think of the details of a single talk.

His friend responded, “You mean to tell me that God speaks to man in our day and you can’t remember what He said?” (from General Conference—No Ordinary Blessing by Dieter F. Uchtdorf,  Ensign, September 2011)

It was March, and even though I had taken copious notes during the October conference, I was also drawing a blank on what was said. Never again! Someone suggested taking less notes in order to listen better. I gave it a try, but it turned out that I am more fully engaged when I take notes. And now I don't have helpful notes, either! If you are in a similar situation, you might know someone who posted their notes online like those here or you might try the highlights from LDS Living here since written summaries or notes might help lead you to the best talk for your sisters' circumstances.

Another search option--you might see a great quote printable that could point you toward the right talk. These are from Sarah at And Spiritually Thinking, a blog that is sharing free printables created from general conference quotes.

Find these printables here

There are also some great free quote printables at the mormonmommyblogs (seen below). 

Find these and other conference printables here.

I've noticed many conference quote printables are available across the web. I'll keep posting them on my pinterest board as I come across them. The link to this board is always in the left sidebar under the "Pinterest" heading. The board is called "2012 Free Visiting Teaching Handouts."

Have a great May! Thanks for visiting today.

Susan

May VT Message Handout

How many times have you read something from the 2006 general Relief Society broadcast--this year? Not exactly a priority on my daily planner list, either. But somehow, I don't remember why or how, this past March I found myself reading a story that President Gordon B. Hinckley shared in September of 2006 about a single mother who felt alone and overwhelmed. I could easily envision her looking across the darkened street toward her home, wishing for a heavenly night's escape from her cares and responsibilities. My heart went out to her. And then came the beautiful conclusion. Unfortunately,  it wasn't long before daily routines and other obligations intruded and hijacked my brain. I forgot all about the story.

A week or so later, during the Saturday afternoon conference session, David S. Baxter began retelling the very same account. My inner alarm went off. It felt like no accident--this story was definitely for me and so I needed to remember it. But once again, I forgot it. That is, I forgot until I started browsing yesterday through conference talks for something to share with you this month. From the moment that I discovered this story (again!), everything came together effortlessly for May's handout. Here is the story as related by David S. Baxter in his conference address, Faith, Fortitude, Fulfillment: A Message to Single Parents:

"In the general Relief Society meeting of September 2006, President Gordon B. Hinckley related an experience shared by a divorced single mother of seven children then ranging in ages from 7 to 16. She had gone across the street to deliver something to a neighbor. She said:

“As I turned around to walk back home, I could see my house lighted up. I could hear echoes of my children as I had walked out of the door a few minutes earlier. They were saying: ‘Mom, what are we going to have for dinner?’ ‘Can you take me to the library?’ ‘I have to get some poster paper tonight.’ Tired and weary, I looked at that house and saw the light on in each of the rooms. I thought of all of those children who were home waiting for me to come and meet their needs. My burdens felt heavier than I could bear.

“I remember looking through tears toward the sky, and I said, ‘Dear Father, I just can’t do it tonight. I’m too tired. I can’t face it. I can’t go home and take care of all those children alone. Could I just come to You and stay with You for just one night? …’

“I didn’t really hear the words of reply, but I heard them in my mind. The answer was: ‘No, little one, you can’t come to me now. … But I can come to you.’”

This story vividly illustrates that Heavenly Father is mindful of our single sisters, most especially in their struggles of  feeling alone and overwhelmed. I do not know the heartaches of being a single parent--I can't pretend to know exactly how this sister felt that night. But one of the reasons my heart went out to her so strongly was because I've known my own dark days. I've had a chronic illness since I was 14 and have had some seemingly eternal days of weakness, inability, and pain that caused me to yearn for the very same heavenly relief. This beautiful story reminds us Heavenly Father's love and support--His perfect love and support--are always with us here, in every difficulty we face.

You can print the pdf of the main part of the handout here (overall, it's 5.5 by 8.5", so it comes 2 to a page). You can also choose to print out, cut out, and attach the optional star layer that's pictured in the version at the very top of the page. The star layer shows the prayer of this sister. It can be lifted to reveal the response. I put some barely perceptible hearts around the star to symbolize that Heavenly Father's love is constant, even when we don't notice it there. And if you'd like to include something extra with your handout, a Milky Way bar would be a great tie-in.

Print out the star pdf here.

"For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come,

Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord."    Romans 8: 38, 39

Thanks for visiting today!


Susan

May Day Help!

For Motivational Monday, I have pulled out a very short quote specifically about visiting teaching from a talk given by Julie B. Beck in the October 2009 General Conference. (Actually, the entire paragraph was incredible, and you can find it in the full talk transcribed here.)

"This is one responsibility that is certain to increase our faith and personal righteousness and strengthen our own homes and families as we become partners with the Lord."

I love how we are promised that by doing our visiting teaching we will be strengthened in several different aspects of our lives. It's that important.


Tomorrow is an opportunity to bring a little mood elevation into your sisters' lives with a May Day basket. I will entrust you to Tip Junkie's capable care here if you are in need of some May Day basket ideas (including some crafty substitute ideas if your sister is sensitive to flowers). If you need some tags for the occasion, I can help you out with some that were created with May Day in mind:

Print the pdf here.

Or you can use the tags posted here.


Have a great week! I'll be back with a VT handout idea for May by Friday.




Susan

It's Only Natural...

Tag shown folded on dotted line and attached to a package of almonds

Happy Arbor Day!

Today is Arbor Day! SOMEONE (I'll be big and won't mention their name) forgot to put "Arbor Day" on the list of April dates so conveniently located in the right sidebar near the top of this page. Sorry! And in an attempt to set things right with you, I have a little Arbor Day gift below.

 

 I've always loved trees--their shade, the rustling of their leaves, the pure magic of a small, almost insignificant seed taking root and growing into something magnificent. There's also the Tree of Life (Adam's and Lehi's), the Allegory of the Olive Tree, and The Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil to meditate upon. I wanted to design something for Arbor Day that conveyed some of the inspiration and importance of trees to help encourage our visiting teaching sisters in their lives.  I didn't think it should be just be an ordinary to/from tag, but something that could be re-purposed. A bookmark, perhaps, when cut along the dashed line.

Give it as-is, or attach it to a tree product, like a piece of fruit or even something recycled. Go nuts. (Sorry...again!)

Print the pdf from here. For personal use only.

Thanks for visiting today! I want to close out this post with a beautiful little snippet from Genesis 2:9--"And out of the ground made the Lord God to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight, and good for food..." Trees were not created just for our sustenance, but also for us to enjoy their beauty. Happy Arbor Day!

Have a great weekend!

Susan

Your Secret Weapon

Even though the following video clip is about a half hour long, bookmark it. Remember it. It's your secret weapon. And on a bad day, when it seems every fiery dart against visiting teaching out there is being aimed straight at you, pull this clip out of your arsenal and watch it. You'll feel renewed, uplifted, inspired, and ready to go out one more time!

I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but this is the very last week you'll be able to use the following tag (or any other handout) designed specifically for the April message. For thumbnails of free April VT handouts from various designers across the web, click on the Pinterest link in the left sidebar titled, "2012 Free Visiting Teaching Handouts" or here.

Find this tag here.

What versatility! Don't miss out! ;)

Thanks for visiting today!


Susan