Monday, September 25, 2023
Sunday, November 27, 2016
LIGHTtheWORLD — New Christmas Countdown!
Okay so I know it's been FOREVER since I've written on this blog. Life has been a bit insane this last year. I have aspirations to improve and do more in 2017...but no promises!
However, I HAD to take a few minutes to share with you all an awesome new website with more ideas to make your Christmas more CHRIST-mas yet again!
First, check out this video:
And then head over HERE for 25 days of countdown videos, scriptures, and activities to help you "Light the World" in your neck of the woods just as Christ would do if He were here! Share and enjoy! Merry CHRIST-mas!!!
For more ideas, check out my other posts on Christ-centered Christmas under the Holidays & Traditions tab above!
Or click HERE
First, check out this video:
And then head over HERE for 25 days of countdown videos, scriptures, and activities to help you "Light the World" in your neck of the woods just as Christ would do if He were here! Share and enjoy! Merry CHRIST-mas!!!
For more ideas, check out my other posts on Christ-centered Christmas under the Holidays & Traditions tab above!
Or click HERE
Monday, January 18, 2016
Solution for a tiny mudroom
If you want more tips on Organizing Small Spaces go to my post:
15 Tricks to Making the Most of Small Spaces
15 Tricks to Making the Most of Small Spaces
So, here is what I came up with last winter (yep I'm running about a year behind on posting these days! :) for our laundry room/mud room. Which really interprets to laundry room with a wall of hooks and a tiny little space on the side for my latest addition!I found some wire baskets in the dollar section at Target for $3 each (Wire so that when the kids put wet stuff in them it will be able to breathe and dry quickly instead of get smelly).
Then I measured a board to fit my corner (17 1/2 X 32in.) as well as my baskets (approx. 8 1/2 X 7 X 8in. each), painted it with a couple of coats of brick red, and printed off and laminated some labels to slide in with our names.
Then my amazing husband went to work drilling the hooks in to hang them on. I could do it if I really wanted, but he is so willing and does such a better job with it than I would, so I gladly let him help! :) We used little C-hooks (not sure the technical name, sorry) but you could use big screws or nails if you wanted. I love it! It has made winter at my house so much more bearable and we don't have their gloves and hats strewn everywhere! The whole thing cost me less than $25 too! Score! Simple, yet satisfying!
In case your curious, here is the other wall with the coat racks between the garage door and the washer/dryer:
The bottom rack we just bought from Home Depot for like $10 on sale! These hooks have given us so much more space in our closets though and having them by the door is so much more convenient than in bedroom closets!
Monday, November 30, 2015
Countdown to CHRIST-MAS Nativity
Forgive my short post, but I wanted to share this project with you all, with little time to make it fancy! So bare with me, but here it goes!
I have spent the last couple of years putting together a Nativity-centered Christmas countdown with scripture, song, and video links for each character in the Nativity. The idea is that you look at your December schedule and traditions that you are already doing with your family. Then use this document to put a Christ-centered focus on your tradition. Or if you are looking for some new ways to celebrate, there are some of those as well!
Choose whatever order you want to study the characters in, and you can study one each day, or study each one for a few days to have something to study every day until Christmas. Tailor it to fit your family's schedule and traditions!
The document has hyperlinks to all scriptures, songs, and videos so you can used your phone, tablet, or computer to access everything you need. That way you can even use it when you are on vacation!
Click the picture below to download the document!
This was inspired by Emily Freeman's A Christ-Centered Christmas
See my post from last year for more details and a link to buy her awesome book:
CHRIST-mas Countdown Begins! Five ways to put Christ back in Christmas!
Have a very merry CHRIST-mas!!!
Thursday, March 26, 2015
Because of Him
If there is only one blog video you ever watch, that I post, this should be the one! There are not words to describe the feeling it will give to you!
Friday, March 20, 2015
Easter Week Countdown
A few years ago I was talking with a group of people about what they were doing for Easter weekend. Then one of them said, "Why do we have Easter anyways? I know it's not about bunnies, but I can't remember. Isn't it something about Jesus?" I was SHOCKED! So, I explained that Easter is really about the Atonement and Resurrection of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. It just made me so sad that so many are clueless as to the true meaning of such an important holiday!
So two years ago I made a goal to make Easter more meaningful at our house. We began doing a countdown to Easter, much like we do for Christmas, by watching a short video clip every day of the events that happened in the last week of the Savior's life. We culminate the week with a visit to the Mesa, Arizona Easter Pagent where they perform a free pagent about the life and final week's events of Jesus Christ. It's awesome! If you live in Arizona, I HIGHLY recommend it! You can find the information on it here.
Additionally, this year there is a website you can go to for a series of special messages/videos emailed directly to you to help you celebrate the season and the Living Christ! Check it out HERE!
Anyways, I wanted to share the video that I made with all of you! I did have it divided into chapters by day, but for some reason Youtube didn't upload it that way, so you'll have to skip forward to each day as you go. Hope you enjoy and are better able to remember the reason for this season!
Additionally, this year there is a website you can go to for a series of special messages/videos emailed directly to you to help you celebrate the season and the Living Christ! Check it out HERE!
Anyways, I wanted to share the video that I made with all of you! I did have it divided into chapters by day, but for some reason Youtube didn't upload it that way, so you'll have to skip forward to each day as you go. Hope you enjoy and are better able to remember the reason for this season!
Palm Sunday 0:00
Monday-Cleansing the Temple 5:45
Tuesday&Wednesday-Jesus Teaches in Parables 7:13
Thursday-The Last Supper/Intercessory Prayer 8:14
Good Friday-Christ is Condemned 27:27
Saturday-The Burial:Christ Visits the Spirit World 39:44
Easter Sunday-He is Risen! 43:16
© 2014 Leaflet Radiance All
Rights Reserved
Tuesday, February 3, 2015
4 Small and Simple Ways to Make a Big Difference With Your Children
Morning Messages
Are your mornings as chaotic as mine? Everyone running around trying to get ready in time to go here or there? Seems like that is much of today's society in general. However, there is one time that can be an eye of the storm to your mornings...breakfast! It's more than just the most important meal of the day. It can be one of the most important moments as well! Add a little Morning Message and it's become a chance to set a positive tone for everyone's day before they enter the chaos of the world!
I used to read while I ate my breakfast. As a kid it was the comics from the newspaper or of course the riveting text on the back of the cereal boxes. When I grew older I used the time to study the scriptures since it was one of the few solitary, peaceful times of my day where I could really concentrate and contemplate. Then, I had children...At first it was easy to keep that routine since I only had one baby and she was usually nursing or sleeping while I ate breakfast. Then, she grew older and I felt kind of guilty for ignoring her while I read and ate. She wasn't old enough to converse with either, so I was no longer sure what to fill the breakfast conversation/study void with.
Then, one day I realized that just because she wasn't old enough to converse, didn't mean she wasn't old enough to listen. So, I ordered my first copy of the inspirational children's magazine, The Friend, and began reading an article a day with her. Little did I realize that she was ACTUALLY listening and learning from these articles at a very young age! It was amazing to me, and continues to be as we've added more children to my home.
Thus the birth of our Morning Messages. Each morning we read a message from The Friend Magazine, sing a song to align with it (which I usually choose on the spot--no prep here! and the songs can be listened to and downloaded for free HERE!), and have a mini-discussion about the topic of the day (which is based on whatever the next article is--again no prep!). It's become our morning ritual and daily devotional. Something I plan to continue as my children get older, just with messages then from The New Era youth magazine. Even my little toddler who can't fully utter the words, begs for Morning Messages, pointing to the magazine when I forget!
Scripture Stories
Anyone with toddlers and pre-schoolers at home understands the struggle to get a few moments of peace while you take a shower and get ready for the day. At the same time, I'm always looking for ways to instill values while my children are still young and largely influenced by home life and teachings. At our house we kill two birds with one stone because of the awesome radio program I found called Scripture Stories! It is basically an audio-recording of a book-club done by children where they read and discuss scripture stories from the New Testament, Book of Mormon, Doctrine & Covenants, and Old Testament (yet to come).
You can find them on the Mormon Channel links HERE!
The pictures on this page that do not say Mormon Channel are the links for the picture stories that they are studying in their "book club."
As a mother, I love this program for the spiritual development it helps to produce in my children. As a former elementary school & college teacher I love it because of the comprehension skills it develops as well! It's exactly the kind of discussion I used to do with my students and has innumerable lessons in communication skills and reading comprehension development!
Most of the programs are anywhere from 20-30 minutes long, and afterwards my children watch the video of the scripture story that goes along with the discussion they just listened to. If your children struggle with the auditory, you can have them follow along in their own copy of the scripture stories books (for visual learners), or play something like blocks while they listen (for your kinesthetic learners).
Family History Friday
Since there are only so many articles in the Friend Magazine, and we didn't have enough for every weekday of the month, I decided to supplement with
stories from our ancestors on Fridays, or show my kids some things from
familysearch.org. It has already
become a favorite as they love looking at pictures and hearing stories from
their ancestors! When it is the
week of a grandparent or great-grandparent’s birthday then I make sure we study
them that week and incorporate their favorite foods and activities throughout
that Friday! It’s a work in
progress but I love it already!
This last week we studied my grandma since it was her birthday and
we played dolls, board games, and sewed just like she loved to do. I forgot to get her favorite foods, but
it was a fun day for all of us and brought back some great memories for me!
Family Home Evenings
If you don't already, set aside one night a week (we do Mondays) to have a little spiritual thought or lesson followed by a family activity and of course a tasty treat (my children's favorite part...okay maybe mine too! :))
This Website has some incredible resources for teaching your children just about any topic you can imagine. You can search by topic to find lessons, activities (both on and off the computer), videos, images, you name it!
These four things are so simple and basic, but they can make a world of difference in the spirit and feeling that permeates your home! Try them out and let me know how it goes for you!
© 2015 Leaflet Radiance All Rights Reserved
Are your mornings as chaotic as mine? Everyone running around trying to get ready in time to go here or there? Seems like that is much of today's society in general. However, there is one time that can be an eye of the storm to your mornings...breakfast! It's more than just the most important meal of the day. It can be one of the most important moments as well! Add a little Morning Message and it's become a chance to set a positive tone for everyone's day before they enter the chaos of the world! I used to read while I ate my breakfast. As a kid it was the comics from the newspaper or of course the riveting text on the back of the cereal boxes. When I grew older I used the time to study the scriptures since it was one of the few solitary, peaceful times of my day where I could really concentrate and contemplate. Then, I had children...At first it was easy to keep that routine since I only had one baby and she was usually nursing or sleeping while I ate breakfast. Then, she grew older and I felt kind of guilty for ignoring her while I read and ate. She wasn't old enough to converse with either, so I was no longer sure what to fill the breakfast conversation/study void with.
Then, one day I realized that just because she wasn't old enough to converse, didn't mean she wasn't old enough to listen. So, I ordered my first copy of the inspirational children's magazine, The Friend, and began reading an article a day with her. Little did I realize that she was ACTUALLY listening and learning from these articles at a very young age! It was amazing to me, and continues to be as we've added more children to my home.
Thus the birth of our Morning Messages. Each morning we read a message from The Friend Magazine, sing a song to align with it (which I usually choose on the spot--no prep here! and the songs can be listened to and downloaded for free HERE!), and have a mini-discussion about the topic of the day (which is based on whatever the next article is--again no prep!). It's become our morning ritual and daily devotional. Something I plan to continue as my children get older, just with messages then from The New Era youth magazine. Even my little toddler who can't fully utter the words, begs for Morning Messages, pointing to the magazine when I forget!
Scripture Stories
Anyone with toddlers and pre-schoolers at home understands the struggle to get a few moments of peace while you take a shower and get ready for the day. At the same time, I'm always looking for ways to instill values while my children are still young and largely influenced by home life and teachings. At our house we kill two birds with one stone because of the awesome radio program I found called Scripture Stories! It is basically an audio-recording of a book-club done by children where they read and discuss scripture stories from the New Testament, Book of Mormon, Doctrine & Covenants, and Old Testament (yet to come).
You can find them on the Mormon Channel links HERE!
The pictures on this page that do not say Mormon Channel are the links for the picture stories that they are studying in their "book club."
As a mother, I love this program for the spiritual development it helps to produce in my children. As a former elementary school & college teacher I love it because of the comprehension skills it develops as well! It's exactly the kind of discussion I used to do with my students and has innumerable lessons in communication skills and reading comprehension development!
Most of the programs are anywhere from 20-30 minutes long, and afterwards my children watch the video of the scripture story that goes along with the discussion they just listened to. If your children struggle with the auditory, you can have them follow along in their own copy of the scripture stories books (for visual learners), or play something like blocks while they listen (for your kinesthetic learners).
Family History Friday
Family Home Evenings
These four things are so simple and basic, but they can make a world of difference in the spirit and feeling that permeates your home! Try them out and let me know how it goes for you!
© 2015 Leaflet Radiance All Rights Reserved
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