38 Days

        38 Days until Christmas.  Did you start your Dedicated Savings Account?  I cashed mine out this last week--Christmas cash is in an envelope, ready to spend.  I also started a new account for next year.  If you haven't started yours yet, you still have time!  BE PREPARED for next Christmas!   (See blog post "Christmas Cash").
           I started a personal Christmas tradition.  I consider it a small gift to the Savior.  I like to read all the talks from the October General Conference by Christmas Day.  I enjoy highlighting quotes that are especially meaningful and writing personal notes in the margins--just like my scriptures because it is modern day scripture.  I also create a personal index on the back for repeated words or topics.  Lately, I have noticed in the last few General Conferences the words "duty" and "responsibility."   I have added these to my personal index so I can review my "duties" and "responsibilities" after I finish reading the talks in the November Ensign. 
           Every morning that I read a talk, I really feel more energized for the day.  I don't claim to know HOW it works, just that it DOES work.  I am a happier, nicer, more patient, and more hopeful person when I read the words of the living prophets.   The same thing happens when I read the Bible or the Book of Mormon.  The word of God is more powerful than a sword (see Alma 31:5).
         There are 38 talks from the last General Conference (I didn't include the sustainings) and 38 days until Christmas.  I invite you to join with me and read all the talks from the last General Conference by Christmas.  I can promise you that you will feel the love of the Lord more fully in your life.  You will feel closer to Christ and have the POWER to become more like Him.  Like I said, I don't know HOW it works, I just know that it DOES work. I know that I owe much of happiness to reading and applying the word of God (see Alma 44:5).

             I have a similar tradition for the April General Conference, the Conference Ensign comes out in May, so I like to make sure I read all the Conference talks by June 27th--the anniversary of the Martyrdom of the Prophet Joseph Smith.


        "As always, the proceedings of this conference will be available in the coming issues of the Ensign and the Liahona magazines. I encourage you to read the talks once again and to ponder the messages contained therein. I have found in my own life that I gain even more from these inspired sermons when I study them in greater depth."  

President Thomas S. Monson (October 2012 General Conference)

                     http://www.lds.org/general-conference/sessions/2012/10?lang=eng

Mary Poppins Bag

One Sunday I observed my friend, Wendy, had brought a “big church bag” with her to Sacrament Meeting. I wondered what new important calling she had received.  Noticing that she was not sustained at the beginning of the meeting, I watched with curiosity, as she nonchalantly reached into her Mary Poppins Bag and produced a new activity for the children of the family she was sitting next to every time they started to get restless.  Her bag had magic in it!  

     We often see moms with their big church bags, why can’t we have one?  Just watch a mom and you’ll see what to bring (well, the diapers and wipes may not be mandatory…yet).  The Friend magazine, small toys, books (that can be chewed on), crayons, snacks, etc. are good starters.   I like to lure the children to my side by giving them a pass-along cards; pass-along cards--not playing cards. 

 I have profited many times from my own big church bag that I started to bring after seeing Wendy's success.   One day I was sitting in Relief Society next to a mother of twin boys.  She asked if I would watch one boy while she changed the other.  Of course--my pleasure!  Luckily, I was prepared with my big church bag.  The chewable book  and a small toy came in handy until the mother came back a few minutes later and lifting up the back end of the twin I was left with, taking a whiff, said that she had taken the wrong twin to change.  I don’t remember the Relief Society lesson that day, but I remember struggling to suppress my laughter as she toted away the soiled twin.

     Another Sunday morning, I noticed the chorister in Sacrament Meeting had a curious smirk on her face during the opening hymn.  Thinking that someone had made a face at her or she must have seen something humorous, I felt left out.  I wanted to know what was so funny…and then I saw her two-year old dart in front of the Bishop onto the stand, barely out of his mother’s reach.  The father was not at church this particular Sunday, so no one was left to wrangle her two young boys.  The temptation was too great to surpass--the cunning two-year old could not let the ideal opportunity pass that had presented itself:
             1) embarrass his mom and
             2) get the attention of congregation.  
      Bless the heart of the mother.  She lead the music with one hand and with the other hand pointed the “Get back to your seat right now-you are in big trouble, buster” finger at her son.  The situation was getting worse.  Let’s be honest, no one was paying attention to uplifting and inspiring words of the hymn of praise.  This was first rate Sunday entertainment!  As only a mother could do, when the little boy ran passed his mother, she swept him up with the hand that included the “Get back to your seat right now-you are in big trouble, buster” finger, set him on her hip and continued to lead the music without missing a beat!  

       I vacillated, “Should I go get him?  Does she want help?  He doesn’t know me very well.  Will I look stupid?”  Finally, I abandoned thoughts of hesitation, marched up to the stand and carefully lifted the little boy off his mother’s hip as I smiled at the mother—still not missing a beat, and headed for the pew on which his brother sat.  Lucky for me, I had my big church bag.  The little boy was really taken off guard and a hint of fear was peering out from his dark little eyes until I brought out a little picture book about Jesus.  I proceeded to take my place at the end of the pew, as to prevent any further disastrous escapes.  His older brother was now trapped as well.     

    Often, unknown surprises in your bag may come in handy.  Today, in fact, I had some powdered packets of recently purchased Airborne.  Shaking them created a soothing, reverent sound--very enticing to a restless little guy.  Who knew that an Airborne box and powered packets could prove to occupy a toddler for twenty minutes during Relief Society?  Just a packet full of Airborne helps the Relief Society lesson go down, I guess.  In the most delightful way, of course. 

Instead of sitting alone and feeling sorry for ourselves, let's bring our big church bags full of fun, find families in need, and let the Mary Poppins magic begin! 

   For more ideas of what to put in your BIG CHURCH BAG or how to use it, please contact your local Relief Society sisters.

Mary Poppins: Never judge things by their appearance... even carpetbags. I'm sure I never do. (re-read in an English accent...it's even better!)

Christmas Cash

Halloween is over?   BOO hoo!  I am infatuated by the holiday.  I love the decorations, fall colors, and costumes!  This year I made an Oompa Loompa costume.  I don’t really sew, but I can make alterations and enhancements to D.I. finds.  Below are my other costumes I wore this year: Triangela Tilliewinkle (for our ward Releif Society Dinner with a Witch) and Mildew Rose (I am a witch at Gardner Village).

 

 

 

 

With Halloween in the past, that means we are into November and that means Christmas is next month!!!  How did it get here so fast?  Have you started your Christmas shopping?  Christmas comes every year—on the same day.  December 25^th.  You can count on it.  People often say that “Christmas just snuck up on me!  How am I going to pay for it?”  Let’s be honest, it can be a very expensive time of year—unless you plan for it and are prepared.  Without a Christmas bonus, how do people accommodate for the extra expenses? 

A few years ago a single friend of mine shared with me a very helpful idea that I have put into practice.  Now, you may be one of the savvy ones who are already putting this principle into practice, but it was a new concept to me.  It’s called a “Dedicated Savings Account” for Christmas.  She set up an account at her bank (or credit union—do I really have to make sure I mention the credit union or can I just call them all banks?) specifically for Christmas presents.  Every month for a year, the bank takes out a specified amount from her checking account.  She doesn’t have to do anything except set it up, which takes about 10 minutes or less.  Then, when the maturity date arrives, she would go to the bank and cash out her Dedicated Savings Account (DSA).  The entire amount is put into an envelope (thanks, Dave Ramsey, for bringing back the envelope system) and she uses that cash—and that cash ONLY for Christmas.  This is how she gives herself an affordable Christmas budget.  When the money is gone, she allows herself to be Scrooge the rest of the season.  Actually, she is showing self-discipline.  Because it comes out monthly, it is not a financial burden.  $15 bucks a month is a lot easier to set aside than come up with $225 in December.  I don’t know what your Christmas budget is, that amount is just an example.  With a DSA there is a minimally higher interest rate than a checking account, but its purpose is really to help you save money.

As single women, we need to demonstrate prudent stewardship over our resources.  If the time comes and we are blessed with a husband and children, the time for practicing wise money management will be over.  We should take this single time given to us to practice and prepare. 

Whether single or married, this challenge is for everyone who reads this blog:

THIS WEEK, GO TO YOUR BANK OR CREDIT UNION AND SET UP A DEDICATED SAVINGS FOR CHRISTMAS NEXT YEAR.   

You can decide the amount you want taken out and what day you want it taken out.  Setting it up this week will allow you to take it out next year before the Thanksgiving holiday. 

Last year I did something special with my “Dedicated Savings Christmas Account.”  This idea was from my friend, Hayley, so I don’t take credit for the idea. Instead of a gift exchange one year, her extended family decided to use the money intended for gifts and donate it to the Temple Patron Fund (a special fund set up to help families who cannot afford the travel expenses get to the temple to be sealed).  Each child was encouraged to do acts of service and for each act, a dollar was donated.

On Thanksgiving, I challenged each of my nieces and nephews to do daily acts of service.  For each act of service, I would pay them a quarter—sort of.  I would donate a quarter to the Temple Parton Fund instead of buying them Christmas gifts--with 22 nieces and nephews, I had be a little more modest with the links, hence the quarter instead of the dollar.  Each act of service was recorded on a link (red and green, of course), with the child’s name and the date of the service performed. 

 

At our family Christmas party, each family displayed their chain and we read the acts of service performed.  With my nieces and nephews, together, we helped send a family to the temple last year!  My cute dad offered to match what we raised, so our donation was doubled!  I was grateful for the DSA I set up that year that made it possible for me and my family to be a part of a special Christmas gift for a family we didn’t even know. 

“All of us are responsible to provide for ourselves and our families in both temporal and spiritual ways. To provide providently, we must practice the principles of provident living: joyfully living within our means, being content with what we have, avoiding excessive debt, and diligently saving and preparing for rainy-day emergencies. When we live providently, we can provide for ourselves and our families and also follow the Savior’s example to serve and bless others.”

                                              -Elder Robert D. Hales, General Conference April 2009