January 2012 – Nurture Mama

What lessons are you teaching?

January 30, 2012January 29, 2012 Nurture Mama Leave a comment

Yesterday I attended a stake conference meeting. It was one of the satellite broadcast meetings from Salt Lake City. I spent most of the meeting dealing with my almost-two-year-old son, so I unfortunately didn’t hear too much of the meeting. But what I did hear was this:

“The lessons learned in the home are those that last the longest.”

The quote was given in a talk by Sister Esplin of the Primary General Presidency. The words stuck with me, and I know that is the lesson I needed to hear right now. I came home from church and did a little digging to find the original source of the quote. The words are from President Monson, and you can view a short video of his address discussing the importance of Family Home Evening here. The text is below. So the question I am pondering, and what I invite you to consider, is “What lessons are you teaching your children?“

“I begin with family home evening. We cannot afford to neglect this heaven-inspired program. It can bring spiritual growth to each member of the family, helping him or her to withstand the temptations which are everywhere. The lessons learned in the home are those that last the longest. As President Gordon B. Hinckley and his predecessors have stated, “The home is the basis of a righteous life, and no other instrumentality can take its place nor fulfill its essential functions.”²

“Dr. Glenn J. Doman, noted author and medical authority, wrote: “The newborn child is almost an exact duplicate of an empty … computer, although superior to such a computer in almost every way. … What is placed in the child’s [mind] during the first eight years of life is probably there to stay. … If you put misinformation into his [mind] during [this period], it is extremely difficult to erase it.” Dr. Doman added that the most receptive age in human life is that of two or three years.³

“I like this thought: “Your mind is a cupboard, and you stock the shelves.” Let us make certain that our cupboard shelves, and those of our family members, are stocked with the things which will provide safety to our souls and enable us to return to our Father in Heaven. Such shelves could well be stocked with gospel scholarship, faith, prayer, love, service, obedience, example, and kindness.”

Thomas S. Monson, “Constant Truths for Changing Times”, Ensign, May 2005.

Scripture Reading: Seeking the Good and Living the Abundant Life

January 23, 2012January 22, 2012 Nurture Mama 1 Comment

Just a few scriptures that I have been thinking about recently…they help me to remember to find joy in the daily moments of being a mother.

Happy Living and Seeking the Good

“And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily…” Colossians 3:23

“And we lived after the manner of happiness” 2 Nephi 5:27

“…men are that they might have joy” 2 Nephi 2:25

Winter arts and crafts (and books to read in January)

January 18, 2012January 18, 2012 Nurture Mama 1 Comment

The theme of January at our house is always winter and snow. We have yet to have any snow flurries land on our doorstep in Florida, so we have to make our own fun with snow. Now presenting: our collections of snowy projects undertaken in January!Our winter art wall!

These three snowman scenes were inspired by the paper tube stamped snowman shared at Make and Takes. We started with toilet paper rolls and white paint and made circles, then we each added our own embellishments.

These little cuties were made by painting one of Little Boy Z’s fingers. It’s hard to tell from the picture, but they are pretty miniature. I added the details with colored marker after the paint was dry. (Inspiration found here).

Salty snowflakes: Draw a simple snowflake shape, outline with glue, then shake some salt on top. (Sorry! I can’t remember where I saw this idea to give them credit)

The ever popular cottonball snowman.

And the equally popular marshmallow snowman–because marshmallows are perfect imitations of snowballs, and are as much fun for children to craft with as they are to eat!

Since the marshmallows were already in the house, we of course had to do some building and designing with toothpicks.

The Ant Bug pulled out her Model Magic one afternoon and shaped this snowman. If you haven’t tried Model Magic material before it is a nice variation along the theme of playdough.

As is my habit, we are also reading winter books!

Animals in Winter by Henrietta Bancroft & Richard G. Van Gelder

It’s Snowing! It’s Snowing! Winter Poems by Jack Prelutsky

Katy and the Big Snow by Virginia Lee Burton

The Snowy Day by Ezra Jack Keats

Thomas’ Snowsuit by Robert Munsch

Stella: Queen of the Snow by Marie-Louise Gay

Snowmen at Night by Caralyn Buehner

For more wintery and snowy ideas, be sure to check out my winter board on Pinterest.

A few quotes about priorities

January 16, 2012January 8, 2012 Nurture Mama Leave a comment

“Some uses of individual and family time are better, and others are best. We have to forego some good things in order to choose others that are better or best because they develop faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and strengthen our families.”

Dallin H. Oaks, “Good, Better, Best, ” October 2007 General Conference.

“When we put God first, all other things fall into their proper place or drop out of our lives. Our love of the Lord will govern the claims for our affection, the demands on our time, the interests we pursue, and the order of our priorities.”

Ezra Taft Benson, “The Great Commandment–Love the Lord,” Ensign, May 1988.

“Time is one of our most valuable possessions. Use it wisely. Remind yourselves often that things that matter most should not be left to the mercy of things that matter the least.”

O. Leslie Stone, “Making Your Marriage Successful,” Ensign, May 1978.

Keeping resolutions is a daily task

January 9, 2012January 8, 2012 Nurture Mama Leave a comment

“Asking for and receiving daily bread at God’s hand plays a vital part in learning to trust Him and in enduring life’s challenges. We also need a daily portion of divine bread to become what we must become. To repent, improve, and eventually reach “the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ” (Ephesians 4:13) is a step-by-step process. Incorporating new and wholesome habits into our character or overcoming bad habits or addictions often means an effort today followed by another tomorrow and then another, perhaps for many days, even months and years, until we achieve victory. But we can do it because we can appeal to God for our daily bread, for the help we need each day.

President N. Eldon Tanner (1898–1982), First Counselor in the First Presidency, said: “As we reflect on the value of resolving to do better, let us determine to discipline ourselves to carefully select the resolutions we make, to consider the purpose for making them, and finally to make commitments for keeping them and not letting any obstacle stop us. Let us remind ourselves at the beginning of each day that we can keep a resolution just for that day.”

Elder David A. Bednar of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles recently taught that consistency in simple daily practices such as family prayer, scripture study, and home evening is crucial in building successful families. “Our consistency in doing seemingly small things,” he said, “can lead to significant spiritual results.”

D. Todd Christofferson, “Recognizing God’s Hand in our Daily Blessings”, Ensign, January 2012.

Setting goals

January 2, 2012January 1, 2012 Nurture Mama Leave a comment

“I believe you can train yourself to become a positive thinker, but you must cultivate a desire to develop the skill of setting personal worthy and realistic goals. I am so thoroughly convinced that if we don’t set goals in our life and learn how to master the technique of living to reach our goals, we can reach a ripe old age and look back on our life only to see that we reached but a small part of our full potential. When you learn to master the principle of setting a goal, you will then be able to make a great difference in the results you attain in this life.”

“I would suggest that if you want to have success in the goal-setting process, you learn to write your goals down. I would even put them in a prominent place—on your mirror or on the refrigerator door.”

“Set clear and specific goals. When you set a goal and commit yourself to the necessary self-discipline to reach that goal, you will eliminate most of the problems in your life. Spend your energies doing those things that will make a difference. Then you can become what you think about. If you just have the simple faith that God is in His heaven and He is your Heavenly Father and He does know that you are here and He does love you—and that Jesus is the Christ, that He is your Savior, that He is your Redeemer, and that you love Him with all your heart and are going to do all you can to keep His commandments—then peace comes.”

M. Russell Ballard, “Go for it!” New Era, March 2004.