It's That Time Again!

This weekend is the 182nd Annual LDS General Conference.  That means that for Latter-Day Saints around the World, Church meetings are broadcast over the radio, internet, and television. 

For those of you with primary aged children, it is often difficult to keep them entertained and still hear all of the wonderful revelation.  It was because of this issue that the Conference Packets were created. If made into a family homework assignment, due by the end of the four sessions, even the most rambuncious children will pay attention. Even if they are not used for that purpose, it is still fun to print one for yourself and fill in a word search or two.

Below are links to various activity packets.  Some are filled with more coloring activities, and some are geared more older listeners. Feel free to find the one that fits your family's needs.

http://www.sugardoodle.net/joomla/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=8529
The sugar doodle sight also has other activities if you scroll down the page.

http://www.jennyphillips.com/gc/

Our family prefers the packets created by the singer and author, Jenny Phillips, but the sugar doodle packets are equally wonderful.

http://www.lds.org/general-conference/children?lang=eng
Above is a direct link to the official Conference activities page.

How exciting to hear the Good Word spoken by the mouths of the prophets!

Enjoy your weekends Ladies, and may the Lord bless you!

Cottage Pie? Don't you mean Shepherds' Pie?

A Brief History

So before we get into the food tutorial, let's have a history lesson.

What Americans refer today as "Shepherds' Pie" is actually called "Cottage Pie".  

Both dishes have meat, mashed potatoes, and vegetables. So what's the big deal?

Cottage Pie originated in Britain/ Ireland around 1791.  During this time, the people were experiencing financial hardships.  Then came the discovery of the tuber. Yes, they realized the many different uses of the potato.  A poor family could eat potatoes mashed, boiled, scalloped, baked, etc. As an added bonus, they were relatively inexpensive to grow or buy at the market.  Potatoes changed the diet of every low income family during this time.  So mothers and wives started to get creative, and they invented this wonderful thing called Cottage Pie.  They could take the meat and other vegetables they prepared during the week and have a new meal with what was leftover.

So why isn't it just called Shepherds' Pie?

Shepherds' Pie was not actually created until 1877.  Shepherds pie has mutton or lamb not beef.

Put simply:

Cottage Pie = Poor Man's Pie (poor people lived in cottages)= beef

Shepherds' Pie= Sheep Pie (shepherds herd sheep)= lamb or mutton

That's about the only difference...

Okay. So we are done with the history lesson. Let's get Cookin'!

Ingredients for Cottage Pie: 

1. 2 pints(1 quart or 32oz) of ground beef browned with onion
2. 1 quart (32oz) of cooked/ skinned tomatoes
3. 3c. instant potato pearls + enough Hot water to reconstitute potatoes
4. 4c. mix of corn and halved green beans
5. about 1/2 c. dried Carrots
6. about 1/2 c. dried Celery
7. 1/2c. dried onion
8. salt and pepper for preferred flavor
9. parsley
10. brown rice flour 

Oh...and if you are curious, yes this is all food storage...

(shhh it's a secret)

Okay so now what?

Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit or 192 degrees Celsius.

In a skillet, add tomatoes and cut to bite-sized pieces.

Add celery, carrots, parsley, salt and pepper to smell.

 

Let tomatoes cook down slightly then add meat and onion to taste.

Let cook down further. Salt and pepper to taste

If the meat and tomatoes are too runny for your taste, put about a half cup of fluid in a bowl and thicken slightly with flour. Add the impromptu gravy back into the skillet and mix with the rest of the dish. We used about two table spoons of brown rice flour to keep the recipe gluten free. Because wheat flour has gluten and brown rice flour doesn't, you will use less wheat flour than rice flour when thickening your meal.

Next, grease a casserole dish and add the meat and tomatoes from the skillet to the pan.  There should be plenty to get a good layer on the bottom.  On top of the meat, layer the corn and beans. 

Cover the entire dish with the mashed potatoes.  Spread it out evenly across the top (it's similar to frosting a cake).

Bake at 350 F for 30min. or until the crust barely browned.

If you want fluffy potatoes, guard the top with tin foil...either entirely covered, or as you would with a traditional pie.

If you notice the upper right hand corner or the picture, the juice from the meat and tomatoes boiled a slightly to the top. When the potatoes are barely golden and it is boiling, that means it's done.

It's easy, it's cheap, and it tastes good.

We hope that you enjoy your Cottage Pie!

The Prayers of Angels

May you keep a prayer in your heart at always and find the peace that the Father has reserved for you. May you know that you have angels watching over you as you sleep and guiding you throughout your day.  They may not be seen, but they are always there- waiting for you to need their help.  Do not turn them away.  Let your guardian angels protect your every action.  May you walk with the Lord and pray with the Angels.
Let the Light of the Great I AM shine in your countenance and be felt by all those you come in contact with.  Let them feel His love without you needing to say a word about Him.  Let your actions testify of His glory, and your words of His goodness.

Choose to make today a blessing for yourself and those you encounter.

"And behold, I say unto you that ye may learn wisdom; that ye may learn that when ye are in the service of your fellow beings ye are only in the service of your God."

~ Mosiah 2:17

The Blessing of Gratitude

Gratitude.  You hear about it all the time at Church, School, from your mom, the neighbor that is always at your house for dinner. People are grateful for the food, grateful for their testimonies, grateful for pretty much anything you can think of...the list goes on...
But what does it mean to be Grateful?  Is it to make sure that you always say thank you when someone does something kind? To tell everyone and their cousin about the gratitude you feel in your heart for your latest life changing blessing? Is gratitude a contest?
It seems as though it has become just that: a contest.  People are always trying to "one-up" each other to see who has the most gratitude, the most humility.  Um, NEWS FLASH! That behavior isn't grateful or humble.  It is proud and conceited. 
Gratitude is not about bragging.  Everything good that we are is of the Lord.  Our life is upheld by Him and gratitude is our way of acknowledging His glory.  We MUST share with others the joy that we feel, but not by showboating out blessings.
Being grateful does not mean that the whole world needs to know about what happened.  Showing gratitude to the Lord can be quiet, meek, and often is most effective by humbly serving others.  Gratitude can change the hearts of men.  It is a combines the realization that without Him we are nothing, and the understanding that because of Him we are everything.  Being truly grateful is an attitude displayed in our every action.  The kind words we speak, the kind deeds we perform, the quiet prayers of thankfulness, the expression of our appreciation to others. 
If you have gratitude in your heart let people know.  Although it is never appropriate to boast and brag about the ways the Lord has blessed us, sometimes we must acknowledge Him publicly.  Sometimes, we need to share with others the mountains that have been moved in our lives.  Sharing our blessings with others is exactly what the Lord would have us do.  How can others understand gratitude if we do not exhibit it ourselves?
As we let Him know of our gratitude, He will continue to bless us.  We must then use those blessings to help those around us.  How much are we given that we do not give back? How much do we complain about when our time could be better spent?  Think of the ways you show your gratitude? How much better would the world be if everyone just said thank you?

(Isn't this quote wonderful? I found this on an image search for gratitude.)

Let the Lord bless you, and thank Him by doing something to brighten someone's day.

Real life or Photo shop?

Anyone ever heard of "The Great and Spacious Make-up Box"?

How sad is it that this has become the standard for beauty?

This lady is already beautiful.  Did she need all of the photo editing

to make her even more so? No. So where is your standard?

Do you want to be YOUR best, or a computer's best?

There is so much more to a person than what they look like.

Life isn't virtual.  Go forth and be who the Lord wants you to be.

Dove came out with this video a couple of years ago, but I think its been lost in the bright lights of youtube.

"But the Lord said unto Samuel, Look not on his countenance, or on the height of his stature; because I have refused him: for the Lord seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the Lord looketh on the heart."

~ 1 Samuel 16:7 KJV

think about it...

Looking through photos on facebook, and this one came across the screen...

Make it a great day, and may the Lord bless you!

"I have set the Lord always before me: because He is my right hand, I shall not be moved. Therefore my heart is glad, and my glorty rejoiceth: my flesh also shall rest in hope...Thou wilt show me the path of life: in thy presence is fulness of joy: at thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore."

~Psalm 16:8-11 KJV

When You Feel Alone

Often times, walking with God means that you walk with God.  It does not mean that you have a big groups of cheerleaders and fans that are constantly encouraging you to keep going.  Sometimes it does, but many times, you feel alone. 
The feeling of isolation is a tool of the adversary.  He disconnects family, friends, school, church, sports, etc. to create the mirage of being alone.  Humans are social beings. We have a need to feel supported, liked, loved, and accepted.  When you ask people about their most difficult struggles, they usually tell you that they felt alone and afraid.  This feeling has been ever growing.  But why do people feel this way, and how can we prevent the feeling of being alone?

The Why:
Part of the problem is that we allow ourselves to be so absorbed with technology, school, work, what have you, that we are unable to communicate with those around us.  Rather than striking a conversation with the others in the room, people text their friends who are miles away.  A relationship with a people requires time and effort...not texts, tweets, and face book updates... 
Think about it. How much is communicated through body language, and tone? Everything.  When you read words, you interpret them for what they are...words...Reading a text does not impart sincerity, eye contact, body language, sarcasm, or any emotion besides what is written.  How many times have you or someone you knew been hurt by something they were texted? How many times has there been a miscommunication because someone is too afraid to dial the number they are texting, and speak with the person on the very device that they are using to text with? Yes, texting has its perks: quick response, multiple conversations, you can pull up past conversations, the list goes on.  However, even communicating on the phone allows for tone to be established.  What is meant as a joke can be taken as a joke, and not a remark that someone thinks is a joke, but always wonders if the other person truly meant what they wrote.

When you are at school or work all day with people who do not hold your values as their own, you often feel alone.  You are mocked, ridiculed, excluded, bullied, all because you don't believe in the same things they do.  It is difficult to be different on purpose when everyone else is doing something else or not respecting who you are.  There is often the mentality that "Everyone can be accepted except the people that aren't".


The Fix:
The key to not feeling alone is to find faith. When you have faith in the Lord, He will be your strength.  He will lead you to service.  It is through that service that you will grow to love others.  He  will guide you to others in need of your friendship.  The important thing is to keep busy with the Lord's work.  By doing so, He will send the Comforter. We can receive the strength we need to reach out to others.  Faith in Him will allow people to come into our lives that will help us to be strong.
Until those people are around us, faith must be our solace.  It is often difficult to live off of faith alone.  When you cannot bare the isolation, say a prayer, distract yourself, find something to do.  That is one of the blessings of technology.  We have the ability to use the Internet, and we have cell phones. 

Try to keep your Faith in the Lord.  Even through the darkest moments, we are never alone.  He is always with us, watching, prompting, and loving us.  It is by His mercy that we live each day.  His will must be our purpose, and even if the results are not in our time, they are in His; we will be blessed for our faith.

Also turn to those you can trust.  If you have a good family, try to build your relationships with them.  If you have good friends, kindle that friendship.  Do not give up hope, but if you are in a situation that is harmful to you or others you know, make a change. Surround yourself with people who will support you, as you support them. 

Remember:
Many people feel alone because of circumstance.  They are raised in a world that is pulls them down, and they don't know how to get above the filth.  These people need help to find their strength.  DO NOT serve people for selfish gain.  Truly love them as the Savior would.  Sometimes it is difficult to love someone you don't like.  We weren't told to "like" everyone.  We were told to LOVE them.  This task is not easy, but it will bring happiness to everyone involved.  Everyone deserves to be loved.  It does not matter who they are or what they have done.  He suffered for every soul.  It is through His Grace that we have His Light.

He has entrusted us with His light and has told us what to do with it.  May we all walk a little taller knowing that we have been trusted with this precious gift.  Each person has a purpose.  Through relying on Him, that purpose will be made known, and all feelings of fear and isolation will dissipate.  His Light will sustain you if you let it.

We must each the keeper of a lighthouse.  As a light house stands alone on the shore, often times so do the believers.  People may come to admire it, but they never stay for long.  The light house has a purpose. When it is in top condition, it is able to be a beacon in the dark, and a remarkable beauty in the light.  When it is in disrepair, it is a shell of what was or what could have been.  A light house keeper does all they can to ensure that the light house is in prime condition.  The task may seem difficult, but the rewards are insurmountable. 

"Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid.  Neither do men light a candle and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house."
~ Matthew 5: 14-15 KJV