Poll Time!! Please participate!!

Please play along with us!! We want to hear from you!

What has been your favorite Mother's Day gift either to receive or to give? 

Please either comment below, send us an email, or respond via Facebook.

Poll will be closed May 2nd. Thank you!!!

YM Spaghetti Dinner and Cake Auction

 Oh. My. Deliciousness! Everything looked so incredibly yummy... I was completely unprepared! 

We have some very talented Bakers in the Valdosta area!! 

Congrats to all the big winners of the night, and especially to the Scouts. Have fun at Camp, boys! 

Thanks to everyone that helped with set up and take down, those that donated their goods, and for those that came and helped support the Young Men.

Celebrating 170 Years of Relief Society

A HUGE "Thank You" to everyone that helped prepare, helped set up/take down, was in attendance and participated! (And to those helping in Nursery as well!)

Resurrection Rolls activity and treat

A great way to share the story of Jesus’ resurrection with children of all ages. Enjoy making these and may the miracle of our risen Christ bring you hope.

Preheat Oven to 350 degrees

Ingredients:
1 can Crescent rolls
1/4C Melted butter
8 Large marshmallows
2TBS Cinnamon
2TBS Sugar

Give each child a triangle of crescent rolls. The crescent roll represents the cloth that Jesus was wrapped in.

Read Matthew 27:57-61

1. Give each child a marshmallow. This represents Jesus.
2. Have him/her dip the marshmallow in melted butter. This represents the oils of embalming.
3. Now dip the buttered marshmallow in the cinnamon and sugar which represents the spices used to anoint the body.
4. Then wrap up the coated marshmallow tightly in the crescent roll (not like a typical crescent roll up, but bring the sides up and seal the marshmallow inside.) This represents the wrapping of Jesus' body after death.
5. Place in a 350 degree oven for 10-12 minutes. (The oven represents the tomb)
6. Let the rolls cool slightly. The children can open their rolls (cloth) and discover that Jesus is no longer there, HE IS RISEN!!!! (The marshmallow melts and the crescent roll is puffed up, but empty.)

Read Matthew 28:5-8

***NOTE***

Try cutting each marshmallow in half first, and instead of putting rolls straight on a baking sheet, put them into muffin liners. Marshmallows may not ooze out as much this way. Enjoy! 

April Visiting Teaching Message

Love, Watch  Over and Strengthen

Like the Savior, visiting teachers minister one by one (see 3 Nephi 11:15). We know we are    successful in our ministering as visiting teachers when our sisters can say: (1) my visiting teacher helps me grow spiritually; (2) I know my visiting teacher cares deeply about me and my family; and (3) if I have problems, I know my visiting teacher will take action without waiting to be asked.

How can we as visiting teachers love, watch over, and strengthen a sister? Following are nine suggestions found in chapter 7 of Daughters in My Kingdom: The History and Work of Relief Society to help visiting teachers minister to their sisters:

-Pray daily for her and her family.

-Seek inspiration to know her and her family.

-Visit her regularly to learn how she is doing and to comfort and strengthen her.

-Stay in frequent contact through visits, phone calls, letters, e-mail, text messages, and simple acts of kindness.

-Greet her at Church meetings.

-Help her when she has an emergency, illness, or other urgent need.

-Teach her the gospel from the scriptures and the Visiting Teaching Messages.

-Inspire her by setting a good example.

-Report to a Relief Society leader about their service and the sister’s spiritual and temporal well-being.

From Our History

“Visiting teaching has become a vehicle for Latter-day Saint women worldwide to love, nurture, and serve—to ‘act according to those sympathies which God has planted in [our] bosoms,’ as Joseph Smith taught.”

A sister who had recently been widowed said of her visiting teachers: “They listened. They comforted me. They wept with me. And they hugged me. … [They] helped me out of the deep despair and depression of those first few months of loneliness.”

Help with temporal tasks is also a form of ministering. At the October 1856 general conference, President Brigham Young announced that handcart pioneers were stranded in deep snow 270–370 miles (435–595 km) away. He called for the Latter-day Saints in Salt Lake City to rescue them and to “attend strictly to those things which we call temporal.”

Lucy Meserve Smith recorded that the women took off their warm underskirts and stockings right there in the tabernacle and piled them into wagons to send to the freezing pioneers. Then they gathered bedding and clothing for those who would eventually come with few belongings. When the handcart companies arrived, a building in the town was “loaded with provisions for them.”

What Can I Do?

How can I know what my sisters need?

How will my sisters know that I care deeply about them?

General Conference Packets

This weekend is General Conference! 

I love this time of year! Just to sit and listen to the Prophet and Apostles speak to us, knowing that what they're saying is for us, now, at this time in our lives.

I don't know about the rest of you, but for us the past few Conferences it's been hard to really sit and enjoy every word because of little ones needing attention. 

Then I was sent this website. Lots of different age-appropriate packets for Conference from Nursery/Sunbeams to Adults. 

Enjoy!

Celebrating 170 years of Relief Society!

Please join us Thursday (29th) for a Birthday Party!! 

6:30pm Dinner will be served. 

Nursery provided.

Please bring something you've made that you're proud of, or be prepared to write down your talents so we might be able to get to know each other better! 

Hope to see you there!

Easter Activities

Here are two more fun Easter Activities, from The Friend magazine.

Bird Nest Snacks

6oz chocolate chips

3C fiber cereal

jelly beans or other small candies

1. Line a cookie sheet with waxed paper.

2. Place the cereal in a large bowl. 

3. Put the chocolate chips in a medium bowl and microwave for 30 seconds. Remove bowl, stir, and microwave for another 30 seconds. Repeat until chocolate is melted and smooth.

4. Pour the chocolate over the cereal and stir until all the cereal is coated. 

5. Use a spoon to scoop the mixture onto the waxed paper.

6. While the scoops are still warm, shape them into nests. 

7. Decorate with a few candies. 

 ***********

Easter Lilies

White Easter lilies remind us of the Resurrection. They are buried in the ground as bulbs. In springtime they bloom as beautiful, sweet-smelling flowers. This reminds us of how Jesus was laid in the tomb and then came forth on Easter morning. 
White construction paper
Pencil or crayon
Scissors
Tape
One yellow and one green pipe cleaner per lily

1. Use your pencil or crayon to trace your hand on the paper. Cut out the shape.
2. Roll the handprint into a cone shape, and tape it along the side.
3. Roll each finger down the side to form the curls of the bloom.
4. Cut a three-inch piece of the yellow pipe cleaner and form it into a U Shape. Curl the ends to form the center of the lily.
5. Wrap one end of the green pipe cleaner around the middle of the yellow pipe cleaner.
6. Place the other end of the green pipe cleaner into the curly end of the lily and pull it thru.

12 Days of Easter

 Last Sunday, Bishop Paige asked us to try to incorporate the Scriptures into our Easter celebrations this year to help us truly remember why we celebrate. I found this neat little activity that I thought would be a great help to do just that. My inspiration comes from a super-cute website : Delia Creates. 

Our family will be starting this next Tuesday (the 27th) to be finished by Saturday night before Easter. 

Here it is, super simple and cute! 

 Just gather together these supplies:
12 plastic eggs
a sharpie
scissors
lists of scriptures printed out, or just write them out yourself. 
list of trinkets below - all of which are easily found around your house

1. Matthew 26:26-27,39 (sacrament cup or piece of bread)
2. Matthew 26: 14-15 (3 dimes - represents 30 pieces of silver) [This fulfilled the prophecy in Zechariah 11:12-14.]
3. Matthew 27:1-2 (knotted twine)
4. Matthew 27:15, 17, 21, 24-26 (chunk of hand soap)
5. Matthew 27:28-30  or Mark 15:16-17 (square of red or purple fabric)
6. Matthew 27:31-32 (small nail or toothpick cross)
7. Matthew 27:35 (dice to represent soldiers casting lots)
8. Matthew 27:50-51, 54 (crushed rocks) [I used marbles because I didn't have a way to get crushed rocks!]
9. Matthew 27:57-60 (strip of white cloth)
10. Matthew 27:60, 62-66 (a small, flat stone)
11. Mark 16:1, 2-6 (bay leaf or other herb)
12. Matthew 28:5-6 (empty - He is Risen )

Number your eggs, 1-12. (Doing this first was easier for me to know which trinket went into each egg)

Either type up the scriptures (copy and paste), cut them up or wtrite them on a piece paper then cut into 12 strips.

Roll up the strips and tuck into coordinating egg, along with trinket.

Toss into cute basket. (We used an old basket from a previous Easter). 

Take one egg out each night in succession, look up the scripture in your Bible, and let your children hold the trinket and learn hands-on more about the Savior. This is such a great way to help children learn the true meaning of why we celebrate Easter, and a really good reminder for us adults too. :)

All the supplies, easily found around the house.

So fun! I can't wait for this Easter to come, and to be able to teach my young son about the Resurrection. 

Here's a little printable I made up last night. It prints best as 5x7. Enjoy it!

March Visiting Teaching Message

Daughters in my Kingdom

We are daughters of our Father in Heaven. He knows us, loves us, and has a plan for us. Part of that plan includes coming to earth to learn to choose good over evil. When we choose to keep God’s commandments, we honor Him and acknowledge our identity as daughters of God. Relief Society helps us remember this divine heritage.

Relief Society and its history strengthen and support us. Julie B. Beck, Relief Society general president, said: “As daughters of God, you are preparing for eternal designations, and each of you has a female identity, nature, and responsibility. The success of families, communities, this Church, and the precious plan of salvation is dependent on your faithfulness. … [Our Heavenly Father] intended Relief Society to help build His people and prepare them for the blessings of the temple. He established [Relief Society] to align His daughters with His work and to enlist their help in building His kingdom and strengthening the homes of Zion.”

Our Father in Heaven has given us specific work to help build His Kingdom. He has also blessed us with the spiritual gifts we need to accomplish this specific work. Through Relief Society, we have opportunities to use our gifts to strengthen families, help those in need, and learn how to live as disciples of Jesus Christ.

President Dieter F. Uchtdorf, Second Counselor in the First Presidency, said of discipleship: “By patiently walking in the path of discipleship, we demonstrate to ourselves the measure of our faith and our willingness to accept God’s will rather than ours.”   

Let us remember we are daughters of God and strive to live as His disciples. As we do so, we will help build God’s kingdom here on earth and become worthy to return to His presence.

From Our History

On April 28, 1842, the Prophet Joseph Smith said to the sisters in Relief Society: “You are now placed in a situation in which you can act according to those sympathies which God has planted in [you]. … If you live up to your privileges, the angels cannot be restrained from being your associates.”

Recognizing the power of Relief Society to serve others and to help individuals increase in faith, Zina D. H. Young, third Relief Society general president, promised the sisters in 1893, “If you will dig in the depths of your own hearts you will find, with the aid of the Spirit of the Lord, the pearl of great price, the testimony of this work.”

What Can I Do?

How can I help my sisters reach their potential as daughters of God?

How can I apply in my life the counsel and warnings given to women in Doctrine and Covenants 25?