Weekly Thoughts and Tips

September 2015

 


Using the Women Leader Cards

By Breanne Richards
September 25, 2015

Our Women Leaders

President Gordon B. Hinckley once said, “How thankful I am, how thankful we all must be, for the women in our lives.” How thankful we are for mothers, sisters, daughters, grandmothers, and women leaders in the Church! As general conference approaches, many of these leaders will have the opportunity to speak. Page 11 of the October Friend features cards about these women. Here are a few ways your family can use these cards:

  • Make an extra copy of the cards. See if you can match their faces to the fun facts on the back!
  • Before conference starts, place a candy or snack on each card. Each time one of the women leaders speak, eat the piece on her square.
  • Consider copying and pasting their cards on a separate piece of paper where your children can take notes.

Editor’s note: These cards are formatted to match the Special Witness cards published in the September 2014 Friend, and you could use these same ideas with those cards! Watch for cards featuring new Apostles in the November Friend.


Family Night Ideas For You

By Marissa Widdison
September 18, 2015

Friend Facebook page

Some of you might know about the Friend's Facebook page. But did you know that there’s a family home evening idea posted there every Monday morning? This week’s idea included the “Positive Power” experiment on page 17 of the September magazine. Check us out at https://www.facebook.com/friend.magazine!


Mystery Dinner Guest

By Jeanine Crane
September 11, 2015

Centerpiece

I’ve found that when my children know about the Apostles, they are much more likely to pay attention during general conference. So the month before an upcoming conference we started having a mystery dinner guest. Every few nights I would try to have something special on the table that represented the Apostle we were featuring. For instance, when Elder Robert D. Hales was our special guest, our centerpiece showcased his love of baseball and the fact that he was a jet fighter pilot. Then during our dinnertime discussion, we played a little game of “guess who?” I would state facts and everyone else had to guess who our special dinner guest of the evening was. Some nights I helped my boys find facts, and they would teach the rest of the family.

After each meal we hung our guest’s picture on the wall where we pass by often.  Occasionally I would stop the boys and quiz them.  It’s fun to see what they remember from year to year and the new things that we learn.  

Editor’s note: You can use these cards to learn more about the Apostles. Watch for cards featuring women leaders in the October Friend, and new Apostle cards in November.


Family Memory Tiles

By Jocelyn Christensen
September 4, 2015

Family matching game

The Family: A Proclamation to the World states: “The divine plan of happiness enables family relationships to be perpetuated beyond the grave.”

We had a productive discussion recently about how family relationships are meant to be forever. I asked the children, “If one of us died, would we still be a family?” Their immediate reply was “Nooooo,” so I kept teaching. I said, "Daddy is at work right now and he is away from us. Is he still our Daddy?” This time I got an enthusiastic "Yes!” I explained that the same is true when a family member dies and goes to be with our Heavenly Father. We are still a family, even though we are apart.

Then we played this fun memory game that I made using photos of various family members, a few of which have passed on but are no less loved! To create this game, we glued scrapbook paper and family photos to 2 1/4 inch wood tiles using decoupage finish. I sprayed the finished tiles with acrylic sealant to protect them.

I absolutely love my family and my ancestors who paved the way for the happiness that I now enjoy. And I really enjoy finding ways to keep their memory alive. Every time that I do, I feel them close to me, and that feels good.

  Listen