Lego Temple Tradition

My niece and nephew are in the Children's Friend magazine this month.  Their dad (my youngest brother) is a complete Lego fanatic.  When we were little, my brothers and I spent much of our childhood building expansive Lego creations all over the living room.  My parents were good sports and let us keep the front room a mess.  Rather than viewing it as a disaster zone (which is was), they saw it as expressing our creativity which I am grateful for.  So glad my brother and sister-in-law have continued the Lego maniac tradition and that they created this fun tradition of making Lego temples each General Conference session.  P.S.  My children are also Lego maniacs and I love it!

Click HERE to view church magazines online.  There are also fun games to play and videos to watch.

Parable - The Wolf You Feed

The Wolf You Feed

An elder Native American was teaching his grandchildren about life. He said to them, "A fight is going on inside me… it is a terrible fight and it is between two wolves. One wolf represents fear, anger, envy, sorrow, regret, greed, arrogance, self-pity, guilt, resentment, inferiority, lies, false pride, superiority, and ego.

The other stands for joy, peace, love, hope, sharing, serenity, humility, kindness, benevolence, friendship, empathy, generosity, truth, compassion, and faith."

"This same fight is going on inside you, and inside every other person, too", he added.

The Grandchildren thought about it for a minute and then one child asked his grandfather, "Which wolf will win?"

The old Cherokee simply replied... "The one you feed."

The Chore Monster

We have a chore monster at our house.  It haunts me and taunts me.  I have decided to conquer it!

I've tried elaborate systems in the past.  I've tried allowances.  I've tried paying by the task.  I've tried bribery.  I've tried blackmail.  I've tried guilt.

None of these techniques have worked.

So I decided to simplify.

I will only conquer the tasks that drive me nuts....

dishwasher emptying, vacuuming, mopping, bathrooms, dusting, windows and shutters.

Sure, they'll get other chores thrown at them at random times depending on my mood and how busy I am (like pick up the dog poop, help with yardwork, wash the cars, etc.) but they won't be assigned and required.

So here's my two simple charts to go on the fridge.  They will be attached with magnets.

First one is for emptying the dishwasher.  This will rotate clockwise.  Whoever has their name on top gets to empty the dishwasher.  You'll notice my name isn't on there because I end up doing the job when no one else is around and I usually fill the dishwasher mainly because I am seriously awesome at cramming a ton of dishes in there and maximizing space.

 

 My second chart has two pieces.  The green part is attached with a brad to the blue part.  It rotates clockwise.

I'll let you know how it goes.... wish me luck!

By the way, I've given up on making them keep their rooms tidy.  As long as they don't mix the dirty and clean clothes on their floor or have disgusting things in there, they can own their messes.  The only time I go psycho on the room cleaning is when people are coming to stay at our house and the guests have to sleep in the kids' rooms.  Then they have to do an awesome and thorough job.  In the meantime, I just shut their doors.  My youngest keep his room clean because he doesn't want to be embarrassed when his friends come over to play Legos in his room.  There are just some battles I don't want to fight.

Teaching kids how to set the table

I've used this little memorization technique with my own kids (and on myself).  It works great!

Teacher Appreciation - Mounds of Thanks for All You Dew

I attached this fun sign to a large piece of scrapbook paper and put it on an easel.

The teachers were thrilled to have snack size Mounds candy bars displayed in a fun green bucket and a bunch of 2 liters of Mountain Dew (regular and diet).  I also put out plastic cups and then bought an ice chest from Target to use exclusively to store ice.  I kept the ice chest out on the table with the soda and candy and the teachers could scoop their own ice into cups throughout the day.  They LOVED it!

Primary Talk - Having Good Friends Will Help Me Choose the Right

Here is a talk that my son is giving in Primary tomorrow.  There is a small object lesson in this talk.  Check with your Primary Presidency to make sure it is okay to do.  The object lesson is writing the word "FRIENDS" on the chalkboard and then having a child wipe their hand on it to show that the chalk rubs off on the hand like friends rub off on you.  In order to prevent chaos, choose the object lesson participant in advance.

Talk:

In the Gospel Standards, it says, I WILL SEEK GOOD FRIENDS AND TREAT OTHERS KINDLY.

Everyone needs good and true friends. The friends you choose in life can have a big impact on the way you act. Friends can influence what type of clothes you wear, the type of music you listen to, what you believe, the words you use, the way you treat others, and the list goes on and on. In other words, friends can rub off on you.

Could someone please come up to the chalkboard.  You’ll notice the word FRIENDS on the chalkboard.  Please rub your hand on the word.  What is on your hand?  Chalk.  Just like the word FRIEND rubbed off on your hand, friends can rub off on us.  Since friends “rub off” on us or influence us, it is important to choose friends wisely.

To have good friends, be a good friend. Show interest in others; smile and let them know you care about them. Treat everyone with kindness and respect. Do not bully. Make a special effort to be a friend to those who are shy or lonely, or have special needs.

If your friends try to get you to do things that are wrong, be the one to stand for the right, even if you stand alone. You may need to find other friends who will support you in keeping the commandments.

I challenge all of us to try to be a good friend and pick good friends.

Click HERE for a good article about friendship.  Some of this talk was taken from that article.

Thought of the Day - Stirring up Anger

Satan damages and often destroys families within the walls of their own homes. His strategy is to stir up anger between family members. Satan is the “father of contention, and he stirreth up the hearts of men to contend with anger, one with another” (3 Ne. 11:29; emphasis added.

A cunning part of his strategy is to dissociate anger from agency, making us believe that we are victims of an emotion that we cannot control. We hear, “I lost my temper.” Losing one’s temper is an interesting choice of words that has become a widely used idiom. To “lose something” implies “not meaning to,” “accidental,” “involuntary,” “not responsible”—careless perhaps but “not responsible.”

“He made me mad.” This is another phrase we hear, also implying lack of control or agency. This is a myth that must be debunked. No one makes us mad. Others don’t make us angry. There is no force involved. Becoming angry is a conscious choice, a decision; therefore, we can make the choice not to become angry. We choose!

To those who say, “But I can’t help myself,” author William Wilbanks responds: “Nonsense.”   “Aggression, … suppressing the anger, talking about it, screaming and yelling,” are all learned strategies in dealing with anger. “We choose the one that has proved effective for us in the past. Ever notice how seldom we lose control when frustrated by our boss, but how often we do when annoyed by friends or family?” (“The New Obscenity,” Reader’s Digest, Dec. 1988, 24; emphasis added).

 

Lynn G. Robbins, “Agency and Anger,” Ensign, May 1998, 80