Monday May 21, 2012

The next popular feature from my site that I will be highlighting is this list of
101 Family Home Evening Activities.
Family Home Evening (FHE) is an unique aspect of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints which greatly benefits its members and any others who put it into practice.
In conjunction with this list is the very popular and extensive list of
Family Home Evening Games that I have created over the years. Although at times it can be hectic and crazy, I love having Family Home Evening with my family. It takes effort to organize, plan, and hold regular FHE but the rewards (though often not seen for many years) is well worth it.
Learn more about
Family Home Evening by browsing through these FHE articles and resources.
Previous Popular Feature:
Meal and Menu Planning
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Thursday May 17, 2012
One of my favorite scriptures is 2 Nephi 2:25. The reason it is a favorite of mine is because it has personal significance to my life. Several years ago I went through horrible suffering, pain and grief. Not physical, but emotional, mental, and spiritual, due to a situation I never envisioned would happen yet did. I struggled with fear, guilt, and depression (not something I normally have a problem with) and my faith was thoroughly tested.
After about a year of going through this, I was particularly struggling with my feelings one night. After praying to God for comfort this scripture came into my mind:
"Adam fell that men might be; and men are, that they might have joy" (2 Nephi 2:25).
At first I was surprised and a little irritated. I sarcastically thought, "This is what you've sent to comfort me?" Fortunately, I began to think about the words of the scripture and came to realize two things: 1. Happiness was a choice: "men...
might have joy" (emphasis added) 2. Not only did the Lord want me to be happy but I was "allowed" to be happy. I didn't have to keep holding on to those negative, unhappy feelings. The Lord didn't require it of me. It was "okay" and "right" for me to move forward with my life and choose to be happy.
This was a huge turning point in my healing and recovery. Happiness truly is a choice. We can either turn to the Lord and trust Him or we could turn away from Him in bitterness, hurt, and anger. He Loves us and He wants us to be happy, that is why He created this world and
His plan of happiness for us.
Learn
How to Be Happy in this detailed article or read about having
Faith in Jesus Christ.
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Monday May 14, 2012
This is a
list of quotes about faith from some of the members of the
First Presidency and Twelve Apostles of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
The quotes on faith are from the following general church leaders:
- Thomas S. Monson, President
- Henry B. Eyring, 1st Counselor
- Dieter F. Uchtdorf, 2nd Counselor
- Boyd K. Packer
- L. Tom Perry
- Dallin H. Oaks
- Richard G. Scott
- David A. Bednar
- Quentin L. Cook
- Neil L. Andersen
See these other lists of quotes for great quotes by our general church leaders including our prophet, apostles, and Relief Society leaders.
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Wednesday May 9, 2012

Not only is this one of the most popular features on my website, but it's one of my personal favorites as well... probably because I still use this
meal and menu planning every day. Although I revised it not too long ago, the overall idea is still the same. This is how my menu planning goes:
- Plan meals for two weeks and write meals on dry erase menu chart (see back for ideas and add new ideas to back with permanent marker)
- Add ingredients to shopping list
- Go to store and purchase items on shopping list
- Prepare for each meal by thawing any frozen foods and setting out ingredients ahead of time
- Make and enjoy dinner
- Clean up and store any leftovers for lunches or the following meal
- Wipe off meal from menu
Although this may appear simple, that's the beauty of it! I like things to be as simple and easy as possible. When I start to feel stressed or overwhelmed it's usually because I've complicated things more than they need to be.
I also keep things flexible. When I don't feel like making (or eating) a particular meal I skip ahead to one later in the week and use it instead. Then a few days later I usually end up making the meal I skipped earlier. This is especially helpful if something unplanned comes up, thus throwing off the plan, but instead of being a problem I just use that day's meal idea later in the week or add it to the next two week menu plan.
What ideas for meal and menu planning have been successful for you and your family? Share them with us in the comments!
Previous Popular Feature:
LDS Dating Sites
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