DIY Toddler Backpack Made from Baby Clothes

I made a little backpack for my grandsons second birthday from some of his baby clothes. I was putting off this project for sometime as I was not sure how to approach it. The size of the backpack depended on the size of shirt I was making with it. 

I was originally going to use this flannel shirt as the outside. I cut off all the buttons and sewed the shirt shut. I cut off the sleeves. I discovered that the backpack would be too flimsy so I got some

cargo pants to use for the outside of the backpack, and used the flannel shirt as the liner. 

I decorated the outside with pockets from other cargo pants and a tag from one of my grandson's shirts. The "cool little dude" was from a onesie. 

I thought it would be cute to personalize it a little so I made our grandson's first initial out of leftover flannel from the shirt and sewed in onto a denim star tag.

I tried to utilize all the pockets I could from the cargo pants and any extra snaps or buttons I randomly sewed on. I did purchase a backpack to use the straps from it. I did cut them down a little to make it smaller for a toddler back pack.

This made for a very sweet and sentimental gift as it is hard for moms to get rid of those sweet little baby clothes. Of course I filled it up with other things for a birthday surprise. 

Thanks for stopping by! 

Elevate Your Thoughts

Hello and welcome to my blog! I am a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. This past weekend I watched the 185th Semi-annual General Conference. I loved all the General Conference messages. Now that the conference is over it is time to apply those teachings to my life. I am going to start with the easiest one to do in my eyes

 - PONDERIZE  a scripture every week. 

This new word was presented by Devin G. Durrant during his Sunday afternoon talk.

 VIEW IT HERE.

 I love this idea to pick a scripture every week and ponder on it every day that week. Doing this is an effort to fight back against the filth of what the world tries to jam into our minds by replacing it by elevated thoughts. The next week I will pick a new one to PONDERIZE and so on and so forth. 

 Will you take the PONDERIZE 

challenge with me?

Old Man Survival Tool Kit

Hello! Welcome to my blog! There are a lot of milestone birthdays in my family this year. My step dad was turning 70, and that was an opportunity calling out for an Old Man Survival Kit.

I had to go to the store to get some inspiration. I went down the handy man aisle at the local dollar store and came up with these ideas....

1. Magnifying glasses - for when you are blind.
I found the perfect nerdy magnifying glasses at the dollar store.

2. Duct tape - for when you fall apart

3. Mini screwdrivers - for when a screw's loose.

Other items I had to go to a hardware store or grocery store for...

4. Fake Jar of Viagra Pills - Stud Finder -  No explanation here. I printed off a background picture of viagra pills. I placed them inside a jar. This looked so good. I will have to do a post on how to do it. I put peanuts in a bag inside the jar. I made a drug label and adhered it to the jar.

5. Calking - for when you spring a leak.

6. WD - 40 - for when your joints seize up.

You can download the printable tags HERE.

I hope this helps you get some ideas for that gag gift you've been searching for. 

Thanks for stopping by!

Father's Day Gift - Mason Jars Snack Pack

Father's Day is just around the corner. I love "punny" sayings. I liked the 'uh-mason' one so I needed to come up with some creative way of giving the jars.  I made the jar carriers out of a cardboard box.

Click here for the tutorial.

You can make a two pack or four pack carrier. Then print out the tag below, adhere it to the carrier and you are good to go! I printed the tag out on cream card stock and grunged it up with Tim Holtz walnut ink. 

 Thanks for stopping by and happy creating!

Pint Jar Carrier Tutorial

Hello! Welcome to my blog! This project has been on my wish list for a while now. I love jars! I love

the gifts you can give in jars so I wanted to make a carrier for them. 

Here is the tutorial:

I just used a large box and cut it up. I was able to make three carriers. I tore the paper off the front to get the corrugated look. I used hot glue and a lot of it. You don't want the handle popping out when it is carrying precious cargo.  Here is the 2 pack carrier tutorial: 

 This is going to come in handy for gift giving. I will work on some tutorials for smaller jars and post them when I am done. Thanks for stopping by!

We Missed You - Relief Society Email

A while back we were asked by our Stake Presidency to make sure those who are not at church know that they are missed. Our Relief Society Presidency decided as part of that directive, we would send out an email every Sunday to those who were not in Relief Society. This includes those who are absent and those serving in Primary, Nursery and Young Women. Sometimes when I do something I have no idea if it makes a difference. I have received a lot of positive feedback about this email program, especially from those sisters who are serving in other organizations and those who cannot make it to church for health or other reasons. There was even a less active that had been receiving them. I had no idea whose email this was but sent it because it was on the email list. They came to church. I introduced myself, and the individual said, "Oh, I get your emails". 

We just take a few quotes and scriptures that are shared during Relief Society, compile them on a postcard type file and email them as a jpeg. Searching images on the internet offers a wealth of pictures that relate to the different lessons that give this email a nice touch with little effort other than to copy, paste and resize. 

This does take a little bit of time to put together, but utilizing technology in this manner has unified us more, and really by small and simple means. 

I would love to hear some ways you have reached out to the Sisters in your ward...

Thanks for stopping by!

Father's Day Subway Art Card

Hello! I have happy to be kind of organized this year and be able to post the Father's Day cards I made before it is even June. That is an achievement for me!

I do not have any special program on my computer. I made this on the slideshow for Mac program called Keynote. It easily converts into a pdf or jpeg file and it is easy to manipulate the words and pictures around.  My computer is new so I am having fun downloading a whole bunch of new fonts as well.  I printed the image on cream card stock, inked the page to give a grunge look with Tim Holtz walnut distress ink, and adhered it to a kraft card that I had inked the edges on. I printed out an extra "u" and globe and adhered those over top the others for more dimension to the card. I also glued buttons on two of the stars. 

Here is a pdf that can be used free for personal use. 

CLICK HERE.

Thanks for stopping by!

Happy "Pop's" Day - Father's Day Gift Idea

Hello! Welcome to my blog! 

I never got around to posting last years Father's Day gifts I made. I basically made a few goodies with the same tag with the theme of "Pop". I am always looking for something creative to make and once I make it I hope to help someone else out. The tag is free to use for personal use. Click on image and save or copy to your favourite program. Paste and resize as desired. I printed mine out on kraft card stock as that is a versatile paper and always looks great!

The first gift I put in a lunch bag that I cut down. I stuffed the bag with a few goodies, tied raffia around the bag and glued the tag on. 

The second gift I made like a candy bouquet. I wrapped a super large tuna can with wrapping paper. I added all sorts of things with a pop theme - soda pop, popcorn, and cake pops. Actually they were brownie bites that I put on a stick. I printed out moustaches and glued them to the wrapper. I added candies to the can too so it was filled. 

The next gift was a goodie bag that I gave to my brother. I cut a hole in a lunch bag and put popcorn in a plastic bag, then in the lunch bag. An easy goodie bag.

Hopefully this will give you some Father's Day gift ideas!

Thanks for stopping by!

Happy Camper Marriage Survival Kit

Hello! Welcome to my blog! I am so excited that summer is pretty much upon us!! I am a big time survival kit nut, especially for marriage survival. The sky is the limit for themes and I am excited to post the latest one - Happy Camper Survival Kit. This can be used as an anniversary gift / wedding shower gift. With some more pricey items you can even turn it into a wedding gift. Here is what is in it.

1. Avoid the "must quit o's. 

mosquito repellant

2. Love Bites. Remove the sting.

after bite

3. Look on the bright side

glow sticks/flashlight

4. Make sure you are heard

camping whistle

5. Tend to each others wounds

first aid kit

6. The mooshier the better

s'more kit

7. Fan the flames

matches

8. Avoid stormy outbursts

rain ponchos

CLICK HERE for the link to the pdf file that is complete with the above tags and marriage advice to match if you want to add them. All my survival kits are free for personal use. 

CLICK HERE to see my other available survival kits.

Happy Creating!

Infuse Joy Into Your Soul

Hello! Welcome to my blog! This quote art is inspired by a verse in the Book of Mormon, Alma 19:6. This scripture is one that touches my heart as I desire to infuse joy into my soul. 

There are many differing opinions out there on how to find joy. I believe as Ezra Taft Benson had noted, "Men may deceive each other, but God does not deceive man." I think this scripture has the real definition of joy in it.

Doesn't it make sense that living a lie, living under a deception, or darkness as described here would bring a darkness into one's life? When that deception or darkness is dispelled, truth is found, or in other words light, one's soul would be lit up with that new found understanding. In Doctrine and Covenants 84 it says whatsoever is truth is light, whatsoever is light is Spirit. In John chapter 8 Jesus talks about those who believe on Him and in His word, then are we His disciples. "And ye shall know the truth and the truth make you free." The Jews were confused and said they "were never in bondage to any man: how sayest thou, Ye shall be made free?" Jesus answered them...Whosoever committeth sin is the servant of sin." (John 8:31-34) Truth sets us free because it exposes those things that bring misery to our lives. Those things that bring misery to our lives our glamorized these days. Isaiah speaks of those that "call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!" Isaiah 5:20 

Misery will abound until light or truth abides in our lives, so why not seek for truth from the One who  is the Source of truth and infuse your soul with joy?

I was invited quite a few years ago to read The Book of Mormon. I did not want to read it as I had heard a lot against it.  Some people told me that it was a replacement for the Bible and I did not like that. Then I realized I had heard a lot of positive things about the book as well. I was told that it was another testament of Jesus Christ. I was told it was a record of a people who lived on this continent who were brought here by the hand of God and that it is a record that was prepared for the wise purpose of preparing the world for the second coming of Jesus Christ. I decided that I would read the book, not because I believed it, but because if there was any truth to what these people were saying, I had better find out. I did read it and I did pray to God to know if it was true as I didn't want my decision to be persuaded by any man. I am sharing this because I did receive an answer to my prayers and I invite you to find out for yourself too. 

You can download the Book of Mormon app by clicking HERE.

Thanks for stopping by!

Happy "Moo"ther's Day Gift

Hello! Welcome to my blog! I had an early Mother's Day with my mom. I came up with this saying last year when I saw a cute cow garden ornament. I should have bought the ornament last year as I could not find a cow garden ornament anywhere. That is when plan B came into play. I bought some pots at the dollar store, painted them cow print, and printed out a sign with a cow on it. If I did this again I would paint cream/buttermilk color instead of the white to match the tag more. Other than that I was happy with this unique gift and my mom loved it too!

I found the adorable cow clip art here.

Last year I made a gift with play on words using a gnome...

Mom, There is gnome body like you

Get the free tag here....

Thanks for stopping by!

Mother's Day Poems for Mother, Grandmother and Aunt with Matching Gift

Hello! Welcome to my blog! I have always loved to give homemade gifts for Mother's Day, or if I had to buy something, to put some sort of creative spin on it. When my daughter was younger, we made all sorts of things together to give to her two grandmothers, an aunt and a great grandmother. The above picture is a simple project we did together by sewing the word "HOME" with jute on some cotton, drawing flowers hearts and butterflies on the cotton, and then framing it. The year we made these I made some poems to go with it. There is a poem for Mother, Aunt and Grandmother.  The beginning of the poems are all the same, but they are changed up at the end to personalize them. The poems are about the difference of a house, built with materials, and a home, built with a mother's love.

MOTHER

A house is built with materials:

lumber, brick and stone.

Love, patience and sacrifice;

That’s what makes a home.

A good foundation is a sturdy

houses start. The foundation is 

essential so the house doesn’t

fall apart.

The foundation of a home is s 

most important task. Its material

comes from a mother’s heart, 

a love that’s made to last.

I know things were not always

easy. Perhaps at times you felt

alone. But I want to thank you 

now for all your hard work,

for making our house a home.

GRANDMOTHER

A house is built with materials:

lumber, brick and stone.

Love, patience and sacrifice;

That’s what makes a home.

A good foundation is a sturdy

houses start. The foundation is 

essential so the house doesn’t

fall apart.

The foundation of a home is s 

most important task. Its material

comes from a mother’s heart, 

a love that’s made to last.

You are my mother’s mother,

the foundation of love is deep.

I thank you for your handiwork;

a blueprint of love so sweet.

AUNT

A house is built with materials:

lumber, brick and stone.

Love, patience and sacrifice;

That’s what makes a home.

A good foundation is a sturdy

houses start. The foundation is 

essential so the house doesn’t

fall apart.

The foundation of a home is s 

most important task. Its material

comes from a mother’s heart, 

a love that’s made to last.

You are my mother’s sister, 

But you are so much more you see;

you have always had a mother 

heart extended out to me.

Your door is always open. Your

 love you have always shown, so I 

thank you from the bottom of my

heart for making your house

my home.

If I was making this gift this year with my adult daughter I would make this craft to go with the poems: Click below to go to the tutorial.

love at home chalkboard

Thanks for stopping by!

The Influence of a Righteous Woman

Hi! Welcome to my blog! Today I am posting a talk I gave on Mother's Day a few years ago. It was based on a talk given by M. Russell Ballard titled, Mother's and Daughter's.  The quote art is inspired by a quote in this talk.

My talk today is based on M. Russell Ballard’s talk from the April Conference – Mother’s and Daughters.  It has been said that when a child is born so is a mother. I grew up on a cattle ranch and had the privilege of witnessing “birth” often – the birth of babies, and birth of mother’s. It was an awesome experience to witness cows nurture their young. Once in a while a calf would be orphaned due to the mother dying, or other circumstances. One orphan that comes to mind is Twinkie. I was so excited to be her surrogate mother. I think I was eight, and completely in mothering mode. I got to bottle feed her. I gave her baths and I did her hair. Needless to say, this poor calf did not grow up to be normal. It is not normal to go out in a field full of cattle and have a cow run up to greet you when you don’t have food. When it came time for Twinkie to be a mother – she did not know what to do. She did not have good mothering instincts. Could it be that the influence of a mother is critical for the daughters future role as a mother? Elder Ballard has said his “dear wife Barbara, has had an eternally significant influence on (their) daughters and granddaughters- and they in turn, on her. Mothers and daughters play a critical role in helping each other explore their infinite possibilities, despite the undermining influences of a world in which womanhood and motherhood are being corrupted and manipulated.” Elder Ballard goes on to say “Sisters, we, your brethren, cannot do what you were divinely designated to do from before the foundation of the world. We may try, but we cannot ever hope to replicate your unique gifts. There is nothing in this world as personal, as nurturing, or as life changing as the influence of a righteous woman.” Of course Elder Ballard points out that not all girls have mothers with whom they can discuss these issues, and many women may not presently have daughters, but, Elder Ballard continues, “all women have within their divine nature both the inherent talent and the stewardship to mother”…and so he addressed his talk to all women who have opportunities to influence the younger generation, be it grandmothers, leaders, aunts, friends and other mentors.  In his talk Elder Ballard reminded us, quote “... I’ve been speaking to parents and their children for three general conferences in a row. Last April I encouraged the youth to “learn the lessons of the past. Quoting from that talk he said, “When you are willing to listen and learn, some of life’s most meaningful teachings come from those who have gone before you…how much better your life will be if you will follow the noble example of the faithful followers of Christ.” Last October, Elder Ballard spoke to fathers and sons, and then his most recent talk, Mothers and daughters. “In each case” Elder Ballard said, “my message has been different but similar. I hope you are listening and see a pattern and hear a steady message that in these last days it is essential – even critical – that parents and children listen to and learn from one another. REPEAT . When I looked up “listening” in the topical guide, it said “see communication, learning and understanding” Listening is a form of communication. Listening is more than just hearing. It is a life skill that we are commanded to learn. The Lord admonished “Those who have ears to hear, let him hear”. Listening is a prerequisite to learning – and essential in gaining a testimony of Jesus Christ and His gospel. Harold B. Lee has said that Heavenly Father wants each of us to cultivate ears to listen…Since it is critical that parents and children listen to and learn from each other, we need to teach how to do that. We are unlikely to teach what we have not learned ourselves. Research has indicated the average individual listens for only seventeen seconds before interrupting and interjecting his own ideas. Listening plays an important part in all relationships – Parent –child relationship, sibling relationship, husband and wife relationship, friendship, and so on.

In a book called “The Five Love Languages of Teenagers” it discusses how to have a quality conversation:

1. maintain eye contact. Refrain from rolling eyes in disgust, closing them etc., even if the conversation is intense.
2. do not listen and do something else at the same time. If you cannot give your undivided attention, say so in a polite manner, but express that you are interested in what they have to say, but that you want to give them your full attention. Then agree on a time to talk. 
3. Listen for feelings. What emotions is the other person experiencing? When you think you have the answer confirm it by saying something like – it sounds like your are feeling disappointed because I ……….
4. Observe body language: tears, clenched fists, etc. Again ask for verification to make sure you know what the other person is feeling.
5. Refuse to interrupt – your objective is not to defend yourself or set the other person straight; it is to understand thoughts, feelings, desires.
6. Ask reflective questions. When you think you know what the other person is feeling, check it out by reflecting a statement back as you understand it. Eg. What I hear you saying is …….. Then ask: Is that correct?
7. Express understanding. Others should know that they have been heard and understood. 
8. Ask permission to share your perspective. 

In his talk, Elder Ballard urges daughters to “look to your faithful mothers for a pattern to follow. Model yourselves after them not after celebrities whose standards are not the Lords and whose values may not reflect an eternal perspective. Look to your mother. Learn from her strengths, her courage. Her faithfulness. Listen to her.”

To mother’s, Elder Ballard admonished mother’s to 

1. teach by example
2. teach your daughters to find joy in nurturing children. A mother-daughter relationship is where a daughter learns how to nurture by being nurtured.
3. Teach your daughters to avoid the temptation to gossip or judge one another. 
4. Teach your daughters the importance of making covenants, and then show them how to keep those covenants is such a way they will desire to live worthy to go to the temple.
5. Teach your daughters about things of the Spirit. Point them to the scriptures. Give them experiences that will help them cherish the blessing of priesthood power in their lives. 

In order to teach these principles, the skill of listening is extremely important to recognize teaching moments and even in creating them. In the book :Preach my Gospel: under the heading  - improving my teaching skills, a quote from Jeffrey R. Holland to missionaries and member missionaries alike can be applied to when parents teach their children : “More important than speaking is listening. These people are not lifeless objects disguised as a baptismal statistic. They are children of God, our brothers and sisters, and they need what we have. Be genuine. Reach out sincerely. Ask these friends what matters most to them. What do they cherish? And what do they hold dear? And then listen. If the setting is right you might ask them what their fears are, what they yearn for, or what they feel is missing in their lives. I promise you that something in what they say will always highlight a truth of the gospel about which you can bear testimony and about which you can then offer more…if we listen with love, we won’t need to wonder what to say. It will be given to us – by the Spirit and by our friends.”

This talk was close to my heart. I am a mother. My daughter is very dear to me. When I gave this talk she was a teenager and our communication seemed to be lacking and so it seemed was our relationship. She is twenty now and things are all good. I still strive to be a good influence in her life. We often discuss the importance of being a caring and nurturing person and an influence for good in the lives of others. I thank all women who strive to make the world a better place by nurturing and loving others. The world needs that tender loving care that we can abundantly offer.

Can We Be Alive and Yet, Not Really Live?

Hello! Welcome to my blog!

 Todays quote art is inspired by Dieter F. Uchtdorf's talk, "On Being Genuine". I love a quote that says something like "Don't fill your life with days, fill your days with life." 

Can we be alive and yet not really live? 

We can certainly waste days with useless activities. There is so little time. I consider time a precious resource. What are we doing with this precious resource? A lot of time is squandered in useless pursuits. I guess it depends on individual preference, but for me a lot of what we call "entertainment" is what drains us of life. Gaming, social media, television, internet and movies are things I have seen (and somewhat experienced personally) of life depriving. If it does not lift or breathe life into you, then what good is it?

In John 17:3 the Savior said, "And this is life eternal, that they might know thee, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom thou hast sent." This day, this moment, right now is part of eternity. Do you know God and His Son, Jesus Christ? If we don't know Them, does that mean we really are not living life? Back to the quote from Dieter F. Uchtdorf, "The God of creation who breathed life into the universe, surely has the power to breathe life into you." God did create us, this earth and the universe.   Everything created is intricate and amazing. Our bodies are just one example of many of the miracles of physical life. From our eyes with "autofocusing lenses, nerves and muscles of two eyes to make a single three-dimensional images, all connected to the brain which records the sights seen" to our bodies defence system that "perceives pain to protect it from harm, and generates antibodies in response to infection, and renews its own outdated cells and regulates the levels of its own vital ingredients". (See Russell M. Nelson, Thanks Be to God) Our physical life is intricate, but so is our spiritual life. Life is meant to be so much more than just to be entertained.

So why did the Savior say that life eternal is to know God and Himself? Maybe this is the answer: "If men do not comprehend the character of God, they do not comprehend themselves." Joseph Smith

If we do not know who we are, how can we truly live? Lorenzo Snow said, "There is the nature of deity in the composition of our spiritual organization; in our spiritual birth our Father transmitted to us the capabilities, powers and faculties which He Himself possessed, as much so as the child on its mother's bosom possesses, although in an undeveloped state, the faculties, powers and susceptibilities of its parent.

Are we filling our life with days, or filling our days with life? 

I know my life changed when I went to the One Source of truth. I prayed to God. I prayed to know Him and to know what He wanted of me. I had always believed in God, but I didn't really know Him until I started praying, studying scriptures and thinking of the important things in life. Knowing who we are, we can truly live. God, who is our Creator and our Father can breathe life into us by opening our eyes to who we are, opening our understanding as to why we exist, and by doing so our days will be filled with life as we live by that knowledge.

Thanks for stopping by!

Don't Be Blue, 49 Looks Good on You - Birthday Gift Basket

 Hello! Welcome to my blog! Today I am doing a quick post on a birthday gift I made for my sister-in-law. What do you get for someone that has everything and they are approaching a milestone birthday?? The pressure was on to come up with some kind of unique gift. I decided to go with a blue theme. I bought personal care products that had blue on the packaging, and a blue planter, made up a cute saying and put it in a cellophane bag.

I printed out the saying on card stock, cut it out and glued it to a wooden skewer. You can print this out by right clicking/copy then paste into your favorite program to resize and print. Thanks for stopping by!

Linking up to
Tator Tots and Jello

One Cool Peep - Candy Bouquet with Gift Card Slot

Hello and welcome to my blog! I love birthdays and being a creative gift giver. It seems like a lot of family members in my family right now like to ask for gift cards. I don't like just giving a plastic card - I like a little element of surprise so that takes some creativity. Candy bouquets are a great way to add a special feeling to one's special day... With this particular birthday being around Easter I wanted to take advantage of the Easter treats available, and so a peep bouquet was in order.

I made and printed out this saying on card stock with the birthday saying on the back. I taped two wooden skewers to the inside of the saying for the back, then I glued around the saying on the sides and the bottom - leaving the top open to insert a gift card.

This is a great teenage birthday gift and can certainly be made into a masculine version if you of course change the color scheme.

Thanks for stopping by!

Jesus Christ Came to Enliven Us

Hello! Welcome to my blog and happy Easter!! Today I am sharing a quote from David A. Bednar from a talk he gave at the April 2014 General Conference called, "Bear up Their Burdens with Ease". I had to shorten the quote to fit it in the picture. Here is the whole quote:

 "It is one thing to know that Jesus Christ came to die for us. But we also need to appreciate that the Lord desires THROUGH HIS ATONEMENT AND BY THE POWER OF THE HOLY GHOST, to enliven us - NOT ONLY TO GUIDE BUT TO STRENGTHEN AND HEAL US."

I thought I would add a talk that I gave at church on April 2009. I gave a talk at Easter three years in a row. Here is the one that best goes with this quote...

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Good afternoon. I would like to echo some words Henry B. Eyring said at our recent General Conference. He said the opportunity to give a talk is a great and sacred privilege - and it is my great and sacred privilege to speak to you today. I have been given the assignment to base my remarks on an article in this months Ensign titled, "What does the Atonement Mean to You?" by Cecil O. Samuelson of the Presidency of the Seventy.

What does the atonement mean to you? I encourage you to ponder this question today and every day. Elder Samuelson says that we not only need to appreciate this incomparable gift but we also need to understand it clearly. The Bible dictionary says 'the word 'atonement' describes the setting 'at one' of those who have been estranged and denotes reconciliation of man to God. Sin is the cause of the estrangement, and therefor the purpose of atonement is to correct or overcome the consequences of sin...Jesus Christ, as the Only Begotten Son of God and the only sinless person to live on this earth, was the only one capable of making an atonement for mankind.' So what I understand is that through sin we are estranged from God. Sin, as I understand it, is not living our lives according to the laws of God. When someone does not abide by the law of the land - then justice should be served. We are all under God's law - even though some don't believe in Him - that doesn't make them exempt. Sin estranges us from God and justice needs to follow. Through the atonement - the Savior paid the price for our sins. The atonement however is conditional -
The third article of faith declares, 'We believe that through the atonement of Christ, all mankind may be saved' - now here is the condition - 'by obedience to the laws and ordinances of the gospel.' This is important because we believe that man shall be punished for their own sins and not for Adam's transgression. So in other words - the atonement of Jesus Christ redeems all mankind from the fall of Adam, but individually we are responsible for how we conduct our lives. And so it is extremely important that we personally get to know the Savior and the gift that is available to us through the atonement.

We learn from the scriptures that the atonement was carried out in the Garden of Gethsemane and on the cross. In the gospel of Luke we read how difficult this was for the Savior, for He prayed, Heavenly Father willing, for the cup to be removed, but He let Heavenly Father know that
He was still willing to carry out His great mission if there was no other way. 'And there appeared an angel unto him from heaven strengthening him. And being in an agony he prayed more earnestly and he sweat as it were great drops of blood falling to the ground' (Luke 22:41-44) . In D&C Section 19, the Lord reminds us how to partake of this great gift of the atonement: 'I command you to repent, and keep the commandments which ye have received. For behold, I God, have suffered these things for all, that they might not suffer if they would repent'. And then the Lord gives this warning - 'But if they would not repent they must suffer even as I; which suffering caused myself, even God, the greatest of all, to tremble because of pain and to bleed at every pore, and to suffer both body and spirit - and would that I might not drink the bitter cup and shrink. Nevertheless, glory be to the Father, and I partook and finished my preparations unto the children of men.' Elder Samuelson remarks, 'That Jesus experienced what He experienced, not because He couldn't avoid it but because He loves us is sobering indeed...If we feel to honor and love the Savior in return, we must never forget that He did what He did for us that we might not suffer to the same degree what justice alone would require of us.'

What does the atonement mean to me personally? First, I want to share my feelings about the conditions of benefiting from the atonement - which are repentance and keeping the commandments. Before I became a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, which was basically before I studied the gospel of Jesus Christ, I had the wrong ideas about repentance and the commandments. Repentance was this scary word that meant that I would have to admit that I was doing something wrong. Through studying the gospel and learning about the love of the Savior I have learned that repentance is a chance to get things right. We are not perfect. The Savior does not execute final judgement after we make mistakes - like so many others do. He gives us chance after chance to do better. Before I studied the gospel I fell into the trap like so many do with the false belief that the commandments are like crutches that curtail our freedom. Now that I have the light of the gospel, I clearly see the love of God through the commandments and the freedom and safety that living them gives us. Just like the Primary says, there is a right way to live and be happy. When I look at past experiences - when I didn't live according to the commandments - I invited misery into my life and with that I also invited misery into the lives of others. If we honestly look at all the misery in the world - most of it is because someone has broken a commandment. The Lord knows what He is doing - and He knows that when we live the commandments and repent when needed - we will be happy. Nephi called it living after the manner of happiness. (2Nephi 5:27) This doesn't mean that our lives will be free of challenges. Elder Samuelson said that 'Nephi understood that there is a pattern for living that results in happiness, independent of the difficulties, challenges and disappointments that come into all of our lives. He was able to focus on the big picture of God's plan for him and his people and was thus able to avoid being brought down by his frustrations or by the accurate observation that life is not fair. It isn't fair, but he and his people were happy nevertheless. They understood that an Atonement would take place, and they had confidence that it would include them.'

Through the Atonement of Christ, I understand that the Savior knows my challenges. I understand that He understands exactly what I am going through. When others are facing challenging times I try to have compassion by visualizing myself in their shoes. Unfortunately I really do not have a clue what they are going through unless I suffered something similar myself. The Savior willingly put Himself in our shoes to experience the pain that we would experience. In Alma 7:12 it says that the Savior 'took upon him their infirmities, that His bowels would be filled with mercy, according to the flesh, that he may know according to the flesh how to succour his people according to their affirmatives.' What a gift that is - the pains that we suffer and would give up willingly, the Savior willingly suffered that same pain so He could understand exactly what we go through. This helps me so much when I struggle or when I see others struggle because I know that the Savior knows exactly what we are going through and that as we turn to Him - He knows how to help us through those challenges.

To better understand the atonement, I liken the Savior's sacrifice of His life to save ours to certain scenarios. I visualize my physical life being in danger - and someone saving me losing their life in the process. If that happened, I would be obligated to live my life so that is was worthy of that sacrifice. On the flip side of that scenario would be if I rescued someone and I lost my life in the process. I would hope that the person would live their life to the full measure of their creation. There are real life examples of people giving their lives for others. One story is of a plane that crashed into an icy river after it failed to take off successfully from Washington National airport in January of 1982. There were many victims of the crash in the ice cold water - desperately waiting to be rescued. Help came in the form of helicopters and life preservers. The helicopter crew would throw out a life line with a life preserver attached. In the water - the victims would frantically reach for that life line. One of the passengers of the plane kept catching that life line and then passed it off to fellow passengers. Time and time again when the life line came to him - he would find someone he could save. Now, that man never made it out. He was those passengers life saver that day. And so I would ask - how did they live their lives? Are they living worthy of that gift? That man gave others his chance to live. He had goals to strive for, he had dreams to dream, he had family to spend time with - but he gave all that up for others so the could strive to achieve their goals, dream their dreams and spend precious time with their families. He knew the value of mortal life - and he gave it to others. The Savior knows perfectly the value of mortal life. He taught us the right way to live it, and He died so that this precious mortal life could help us achieve eternal life. The mocking scribes and the chief priests made an important observation while Jesus was on the cross. Speaking to belittle him - they noted - 'He saved others; himself he cannot save...' Yes the Savior did save others, He proved that power through His miracles - and He had the power to save Himself too - but He would rather save others. He died for us. So I need to ask - how are we living our lives? Is it worthy of His sacrifice? The Savior is stretching forth His hand to save us all. The lifeline is the atonement. Yes, it will take some struggling on our part to be saved - but the way is prepared and the the Savior's hand is stretched out to save us. "While his arm of mercy is extended toward you in the light of day, harden not your hearts. Yea, today, if ye will hear his voice harden not your hearts; for why will ye die?" Jacob 6:5-6
The Savior, through the Atonement suffered all we have suffered. He died so we may live. We are obligated through this precious gift to find out individually, what does the Atonement mean to you?
I pray that we will live to the full measure of our creation and honour the precious gift of the Atonement, and come unto Christ and be saved. I say these things in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.

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The Savior did die for us, but He came to enliven us. May we live the best lives we can and make a difference in the world by sharing His love with others.

DIY Fabric Rooster Plaque

Hello! Welcome to my blog! Todays post is DIY kitchen decor. I printed this lovely little rooster out on drop cloth and put it in a round plate hanger that I purchased from Walmart. I sanded the edges of the plate hanger to give it some dimension. I printed the rooster on drop cloth. I actually ran the drop cloth through the printer twice. Once with the rooster image found here... and then again with a french print image found here... I did tweak the rooster image a little bit in iphoto to give it a little redish/brown  color to match the hanger.

Here is a tutorial on how to print on fabric.

I trimmed the fabric about the size of the plate. I cut out a round piece of cardboard, adhered batting to it, then I layered my print out on top of that and put those layers where the plate would go in the plate hanger and clipped it in place with the clips that were on the hanger. So easy!!

     This looks lovely on my door corner shelf that my husband made for me.

Thanks for stopping by!