REKINDLE Your LOVE of the Scriptures

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I received a question on my FB page from reader Deanna last night.  She says this:

"Hi! I came across your blog last night and I'm so glad I did.  My husband was born and raised in the Church and I am a convert.  We had fallen away for about a year, and are just now starting to bring ourselves back to the Church in hopes to be sealed together [in the temple], etc.  I have a difficult time studying/reading the Book of Mormon.  Do you have any tips that may help me?  I would greatly appreciate it, and I really enjoy reading your blog."

First of all, I want to say, "Good for you, Deanna!"  There is no nobler goal than that of being sealed in the temple to your spouse and forming an eternal family.  (I can see that your family will soon be growing too! Congratulations!)

I have to confess that I am not the fastest reader in the galaxy.  I would much rather listen to someone lecture than read the exact same things, because I enjoy hearing their inflection, and I guess I'm just a people person.  Reading, to me, is sort of a lonely sport.  For instance, I can't hold a conversation with someone and read at the same time, so I suppose that might be my issue!  :)

Anyway, just off the top of my head.  This is what I would suggest to you, and to anyone else who wants to grow spiritually, but is having a hard time developing a love for scripture study.

First:  PRAY for guidance.  Ask the Lord to tell you through the Holy Ghost what method will bring YOU the most success in your desire to gain a love for the scriptures. (I'm assuming you've already done this.)  

Also pray every time you read.  Before.  During.  After. And remember that The Book of Mormon has a built in promise that if you pray about it, you will know of its truthfulness.  You can do this more than once! :)  (And there are many more promises that you can read about in the link above.)

Second: If you are finding it hard to read your scriptures, my first suggestion is to READ THE WORDS OF MODERN DAY PROPHETS.  Look up talks from recent General Conferences which talk about scriptures...and in your case, talk about temples, families, sealing, testimony, and returning to activity.  (Click here to study by topic.) 

Read one talk a day and then scroll down to the bottom and look up EVERY scripture referenced in the talk.  Keep a journal and record your thoughts about what you read every day.  It might help to write out your favorite verses in your journal or to READ ALOUD to keep you focused.

Third: I love the Doctrines of the Gospel Student Manual.  You can access it online, but get yourself a hard copy if you can and start studying it.  I firmly believe that everyone needs to GAIN A TESTIMONY OF THE BASICS.  If I were you, I'd start by studying every concept taught in this manual.  Again, read EVERY scripture referenced in each lesson. 

3.5: Select scriptures to MEMORIZE - Click here for a manageable list of Book of Mormon verses from A-Z.  Your daily study could consist of just memorizing a scripture.  Post your favorite verses in places you can see them (and ponder them) throughout the day.  But don't just read them off the paper, look them up in your scriptures!

Fourth:  I never really became passionate about reading my scriptures until I read it because I REALLY wanted to know and understand its message...like my life depended on it.  

When I was in college, I read The Book of Mormon at the beginning of each study session, and I would often find myself studying my scriptures well into the time I should have been studying Portuguese (can you blame me?).  

What had changed?  My desire.  Make sure that you are hungering and thirsting after righteousness. Perhaps if you trained yourself to read a few verses of scripture EVERY time you wanted to watch TV, you'd start to RETRAIN YOUR DESIRES.

Fifth:  READ IT LIKE A NOVEL.  When I challenged myself to read the Book of Mormon in 30 Days, I found myself having to read 20-30 pages a day (depending on how far behind I got!)  Instead of getting bogged down in the "And it came to passes," I blew through stories rather quickly.  I might not have caught every intricate piece of doctrine, but I started to get  a better feel for the storylines and personalities in that book, which I didn't internalize as easily when I was reading only a few verses at a time.

Sixth:  TAKE ADVANTAGE OF TECHNOLOGY.  We live during a time when reading is not your only option for obtaining the word of the Lord.  

I listen to the scriptures sometimes in the car, and almost always have General Conference playing while I clean the kitchen.  We aren't like Tangled...living in a tower, with hours a day at our disposal to read, and bake, and play puzzles...but you can do yourself and your family a favor by choosing uplifting music and listening to scriptures and making those the permanent soundtrack for your home!  

Technology can help us to absorb good messages all the time if we use it correctly. (Click here for links to different scripture formats.)  And if you do read your scriptures online, it makes reading footnotes and cross-references much easier.

Seventh:  USE A SCRIPTURE-MARKING TUTORIAL like the ones at The Red Headed Hostess to bring a fresh perspective to the way that you study.  

Ultimately, what will relight the fire of your testimony is the influence of the Holy Ghost, which you will be most open to as you spend time in the scriptures every day!  Even if you only read a few scriptures each time, open your book and JUST DO IT! :)

So those are the suggestions that immediately came to mind, that have helped me to gain a love of the scriptures.  Now, I'm going to go take a dose of my own medicine.  

Do you have any suggestions to add to this list?  Please speak up and add your thoughts below.  I am sure that we will all appreciate it!

Planning FHE

I have two pieces of exciting news to share with you today:

First, I am happy to announce that I am now writing for the Friend's new blog of "Weekly Thoughts and Tips".  On my allotted week, I will be offering up a new tip to help you teach your children the Gospel of Jesus Christ...using resources from the Friend.  Click on over there right now to find out about our simple method for planning tons of great Family Home Evening lessons...quick and easy!  You know...like I like it!

Second, I have a beautiful new blog layout, thanks to my very generous and talented friend Courtney of My Ordinary, Every Day, Happily Ever After!  She dedicated many hours to updating my blog, and I love it!  The purpose of the redesign was to make it easier for everyone to navigate and find content on my site.  It is also easier to Pin and share stuff that you like!  Check it out, but pardon the dust as I make a few more renovations! Let me know what you think, and please give Courtney a big THANK YOU for her hard work!  Thank you, so much, Courtney!!

Two Weapons in this War

Last Tuesday, during General Conference Book Club, we discussed Elder Holland's talk "We Are All Enlisted".  

In his simple, yet powerful way, Elder Holland declared that we are at war--a war between good and evil.  He said that in this "war" the Lord needs people who will "take as their weapons 'every word that proceedeth forth from the mouth of God.'"

He then quotes Elder Packer when he says that Satan's "effort to stop the work will be reasonably well served if he can just bind the tongue of the faithful."

I too believe that we are living in the middle of a struggle between good and evil.  I do what I can each day to prevent my friends from becoming casualties of that war and to bring them to a safe place where they can enjoy the peace and love of the Savior.

So, let's review:

Our weapon:  "every word that proceedeth forth from the mouth of God."

Satan's weapon: "to bind the tongue of the faithful"

Sounds pretty straight-forward, right?  I wondered, "How can we unbind our tongues here in Central PA?"

Later in the week, I was given an opportunity to "unbind my tongue".  

After reading 8 different articles in mainstream media that day suggesting that many people are not sure what Mormons believe, I decided to let my friends on Facebook know that I would gladly answer any questions they might have about the Mormon faith.  

Sixty-nine comments later, we had ourselves a pretty good discussion.  Among other things, my friends learned that, yes, Mormons like tacos, celebrate birthdays, worship God in the name of Christ, perform baptisms for our loved ones, and wear garments as a sign of temple covenants.  It was a good exercise in answering questions about our faith.

And I realized how easy it can be to "voluntarily bind our own tongues," if we do not seize every opportunity to "sign on and speak up."  What will you do this week to voluntarily UN-bind your tongue and to take as your weapon "every word that proceedeth forth from the mouth of God?"

PS - If you'd like to read the entire discussion, you can access it on my personal FB page.

Little Eyes Are Watching You

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Little eyes are upon you

and they're watching night and day.

There are little ears that quickly

take in every word you say.

There are little hands all eager

to do the things you do.

And a little girl who's dreaming

of the day she'll be like you."

-Little Eyes Upon You

LDS Lacing Cards

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I pinned this super cute idea for LDS lacing cards on my General Conference Idea board.

And I was all pumped up about it, until I realized there wasn't a nice neat download associated with this pin!  (Booo...)

But that's OK!  I scavenged around to find these cute bits of clip art to make into lacing cards for my kids.  Sunday morning is a long time when church starts at 11am.

I found the images at the following sites:

http://www.freeldsart.com/book-of-mormon.htm 

http://www.sugardoodle.net/Temple/index.shtml 

http://melonheadsldsillustrating.blogspot.com/2011/05/missionaries.html 

If you use images from these sites, please use them for your personal use only, or according to their usage terms.


(And please let the rest of us know if you have found other cute free LDS clip art that could be used for lacing cards!)

The kids were pretty intrigued to find these waiting for them at the breakfast table on Sunday morning.  Sunday is a special day.  I like to make it feel special in whatever way I can!





Thanks everyone for linking up in The Book of Mormon Blog Hop this week!


The winner of the Customized Family Tree from Shabby Ladybug is:




Karmen of Karmen's Kreations!


Thanks for linking up and commenting on other's posts, Karmen!
Please email me, Karmen, and special thanks to Shabby Ladybug for supporting our efforts!

To Know, Know, Know Me...

A couple of you pointed out that I didn't say what I like about myself in my FHE post earlier this week.  And Darlene said I don't share enough about myself on here, which makes me laugh because I think, hello, I'm sharing my raw feelings with you guys every day (sometimes twice a day).  Is it not enough for you people?! :)  Kidding.   Anyway, DeAnn from The SIP Project tapped me for a little Q&A session on her blog, so here are my answers for your reading pleasure.  I mean, if you have absolutely nothing better to do...

If you have any other burning questions for me, feel free to drop me a line and I'll do my best to answer them! (jocelyn.christensen@gmail.com)

1.  If you could live anywhere, where would you live?

In Central Pennsylvania where I live now, except maybe on a property with a lot more trees.  It's THE SUN that I would move and my family to be closer to me!  I'd also like to live closer to a temple.

2.  What keeps you going back to a blog time and again?

Jealousy.  I'm kidding.  Um, a unique voice and sincerity.

3.  What are your top 3 favorite places to shop?

Any place with good make-up and well-made suits.


I also love needlework stores and Amish/Mennonite stores.


And discount outlets.


That's a very weird mix, I know.

4.  What gadget are you drooling over at the moment?

No gadget, just my new BIG print scriptures.  We are slowly getting to know each other.

I like them better than reading on any device, that's for sure!

5.  What do you hate about blogging, if anything?

That I can't do it 24 hours a day.  I wish I could clone myself so I could be living my real life while simultaneously documenting my thoughts about it on my blog.  I also wish I could blog while running on the treadmill.  I fear that I'm getting "blogger's tush."

6.  What tech skill do you wish you were better at?

Website design/HTML, so I wouldn't have to bug friends to help me!

7.  What makes your heart smile?

My children.

8.  What is your dream job?

I am doing it.  Motherhood has always been my dream job, but I also wanted to be President of the United States, CEO of a major corporation, a lawyer, a teacher, a country singer, and the next big name in TV news.  All of those occupations seemed enticing to me until I experienced the love of a child.  Nothing else compares to that.

9.  What is your biggest pet peeve?

People who have pet peeves.

10.  What is the post on your blog you're most proud of?

That's a toughy...Maybe Osama, No Longa, or A Note from My 80-Year-Old Self, or The Real Lesson of September 11th or Too Beautiful to Bake or the article that I wrote about Doing My Dream Job, but definitely ALL of my Family Proclamation Lesson posts!

(I just asked my husband.  He says, "That is an impossible question.")

Basically out of 880-some posts, I absolutely love at least 860 of them.  So take your pick.  To me  each post represents an important experience that has helped shape who I am...I love them as life lessons more than as "posts".

11.  Best piece of advice for new bloggers?

Take it slow.  Be true to your inner voice.  Do it because you love it and for no other reason.

The Abundant Life by DeAnn

Hello, I am DeAnn from The SIP project (Service Is Painless).

I started my blog a few months ago as a way to hopefully reach out and inspire anyone who comes across my blog. I wanted to find a way to use my talent (photography) to serve others and was not completely happy with anything I saw out there. While there are many worthy causes, they are all very narrow in their reach, which is fine, don't get me wrong, it just doesn't fit me. So I started the SIP project. 

Here's how it works:  I pair up with someone and take their photos and in return they do a service project of their choosing. Then I post some of their photos and service project experience is on my blog. I offer this service in hopes of inspiring others to use their time, talents, and hobbies to serve others. Being a wife and a mom are my first priorities. My life would be empty without them. A big motivating factor in starting The SIP project was my kids; I want them to know how to serve. I want it to be a very natural part of who they are. 

I am excited to be here today! I was so excited when my sister sent me a link to Jocelyn's blog. It's so refreshing to have someone like Jocelyn, (an intelligent and wonderful Mom), have her blog totally focused on sharing and encouraging us to live the Gospel. When I saw her service page I was stoked and knew I had to talk to her. Come on, leave her a comment and tell her how much you appreciate her hard work. It will make her day, I promise :) 

I love that in the First Presidency message in the Ensign this month, President Monson breaks down "The Abundant Life" in three simple steps. That's how I like it...tell me exactly HOW you get from point A to point B.


He Breaks it down into what he call's the ABC's of an Abundant Life.

President Monson, well he is just remarkable, isn't he? Have you read his biography To The Rescue? If you haven't, you should. He is intelligent and and he follows the spirit. I imagine he is much like our Savior; he doesn't yell at us or get mad at us...even if sometimes we feel like we deserve it. President Monson points us to our Savior because he KNOWS it is through the Atonement and living the gospel that we can return again to live with our Father in Heaven. 


As I think about the above message, this story from Elder Carl B. Cook in the last General Conference comes to mind. I feel this is what he is ALWAYS saying to US; it exemplifies Pres. Monson's character and his desire to have us look to our Savior.


Elder Cook shares this story in his talk, "It is Better to Look Up". During his first week as a general authority, in the elevator as he was leaving the office of the seventy he was pondering, "How can I possibly do this?" As he stared blankly at the floor, someone came in the elevator. The person asked, "What are you looking at down there?" He recognized the voice to be that of Pres. Monson. "Oh nothing," he responded. Of course Pres. Monson could see that he was having a hard time and said, "It is better to look up!"


Pres. Monson could have said many things at this point like, "oh..it will be okay," or "don't worry you'll figure things out." How many times do we hear ourselves and others saying stuff like that to others? I do. But what we need to do is do as Pres. Monson did - point people to the Savior. 


It is in Him we will find our comfort and not in food or blogging, or TV, etc. If we seek to be comforted by anyone or thing but Him it is wrong. 


Why don't we look to Him more? Because praying is work! And the natural man is LAZY. It's EASY to shove something in your mouth or go shopping, but will we find our solace there? 


President Monson is the prophet after all, don't you think he could have shared some grand advice? He simply said, "it's better to look up." We could all learn from that. People don't need those kinds of empty words no matter how good our intentions. We need to keep it simple, say what we feel inspired to say and let the spirit work on them and bring them comfort. This will turn them to our Savior.


Elder Cook continues, "As we parted, the words of a scripture came to my mind: 'Believe in God; believe that he is...; believe that he has all wisdom, and all power, both in heaven and in earth.' As I thought of Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ's power, my heart found  the comfort I had sought in vain from the floor [or cookie, or home goods] of that descending elevator." The spirit spoke to him. All because of Pres. Monson's simple words, "It's better to look up."


Thanks for letting me take over your blog for today Jocelyn :) 

Thank YOU, DeAnn!  As you guys may or may not know:

FEBRUARY is always Service Boot Camp around here.

You can participate in a number of ways, which I am talking about today over on

DeAnn's blog The S.I.P. Project.

Please come on over and say hi!

Secret Service Handshake FHE

I love this girl. She loves to wear dresses and suck her thumb...and wear the nightgown that I made for her for Christmas and snuggle.  Makes me so happy.  She also loves drawing pictures of our family and jumping off of high places while saying "I'm flying!" on the way down.

And this girl.  I love her too, lots and lots.  She is is precocious and silly and spunky and loves to be the "little mama".  She is learning to cook and loves to care for others.  Last night she baked cookies for our FHE treat in her Easy Bake oven.  We all enjoyed it while taking tiny bites.  They were the size of a quarter!  :)

And this one...what a character.  The other night he read the entire book "The Best Nest" to us.  After each page he jumped up and down with excitement.  His goal is to earn money to buy more Legos this year.  During quiet time at school he drew a poster of Angry Birds and informed me that he plans on selling them to his classmates to earn extra cash, but that I need to contact the company that makes Angry Birds and get their permission to do so.  Wise and enterprising. 

Oh and can't forget this one.  The Renaissance Man:  bikes, bakes, fishes, fixes, reads, travels. The glue that holds us all together.

Together, we are...the ThunderCats!  NO not really, I just felt like saying that.  But when I look at each member of our family and recognize them for their amazing super powers, it inspires me to find more effective ways to help each one of them "fly" in their respective areas of interest and talent.  (When was the last time that you sat down and spelled out in detail the special talents and contributions of each member of your family?)

During Family Home Evening last night, we talked about Captain Moroni and how he wrote down the things that were important on a banner so that others would remember what they were working toward/fighting for.

After reviewing our personal and family goals for the year which we keep recorded in a family goals journal, I asked the kids to come up with a phrase that would help us to remember our family's goal for the year: "Serve Others" is the oh-so clever phrase they came up with! :)

Then the kids decided to invent a secret family handshake that coincides with our goal to "serve others."  That way we can have a cool little secret service "club" that is just for our family. ;)  It's fun to have things as a family that are all our own!

FHE ended with about an hour until bedtime.  Since Steve is out of town, we decided to chill out together in the living room just doing whatever we felt like doing.  Autumn colored.  Scarlett played computer games on the Friend website.  Guy worked on his Angry Birds poster.  And I practiced playing the new Primary song on the piano.  It was real nice and down-homey feeling to just hang out together like that.  Very relaxing.

As you might be starting to realize...I don't try to get too fancy during FHE.  Having fun together, making memories, reading some scriptures, and leaving with a good feeling in our hearts for one another is one of my main goals for our time together in FHE.  And we certainly did that last night.

Please check out my pal Catania's Family's experience in FHE too today...
they discussed the sacredness of homes and temples!

Family Tree Giveaway & Link-up

Here's some GOOD NEWS for a Monday morning! :)


One of you faithful readers WILL WIN this custom family tree in digital format from

Shabby Ladybug on Etsy!

As you know, I'm hosting a link-up for The Book of Mormon Forum this week.

Everyone who links-up a post or comments on a post in the link-up this week will be entered to win.  Also, all followers of this blog will be entered to win.

To ENTER: Simply leave a comment on this post telling me if you:

a.  FOLLOW my blog on Google Friend Connect (see sidebar)

b.  LINKED-UP a post about The Book of Mormon below

c.  COMMENTED on any of the Book of Mormon posts in the link-up
(You can enter on this one multiple times...)

Please leave a comment on THIS POST for each entry.


I've copied the link-up below to  make it easier for you to link-up and comment!


(Or you can GO HERE TO LINK-UP.)


Have a great Monday!

Bad Guys of The Book of Mormon

This book is dangerous, I tell you!

When my Mom told me about this book, I ordered it immediately.  When it arrived in the mail, I opened the box and lifted the book out backward.

This is what I read:  "Your enemy is smart.  You can be smarter."


(I like it already...continue...)

"Warning!  This book contains information about a deadly enemy's top secret plans of world domination and total destruction.  Your mission--should you choose to accept it--is to learn what the enemy is planning as well as what his weaknesses are so that you will be prepared to defeat him."

Seriously, sign me UP!

Admittedly, I am a slow reader, and I get distracted EASILY in my home.


HOWEVER:  I am loving this book.


It's full of thrilling tales from The Book of Mormon and words of wisdom from our prophets.

Now last week, MMM asked us to find the moral in his story about a blind man who directed his seeing cab driver through the streets of San Francisco, safely back to his home.

In the second chapter of Bad Guys of The Book of Mormon, in discussing the "great and spacious building" in Lehi's Dream, the author quotes Elder Packer as saying:

"At your baptism and confirmation, you took hold of the iron rod.  But you are never safe.  It is after you have partaken of the fruit that your test will come...

"The mist of darkness will cover you at times so much that you will not be able to see your way even a short distance ahead.  You will not be able to see clearly.  But with the gift of the Holy Ghost, you can feel your way ahead through life. Grasp the iron rod, and do not let go."

How does this relate to a blind man finding his way home through the busy and winding streets of San Fran?  Each one of us walks this life with uncertainties.  There are things that happen in our lives that cast a mist of darkness to cloud up the way, making it difficult for us to see the way home or to see anything at all very clearly.  

Instead of groping around in the darkness, if we receive the Holy Ghost, he will help us to "see" through the mists that blind us, so that we can return home safely.

The Book of Mormon is the word of God.  It is the "iron rod" to which we must grasp and never let go.  It teaches us about the "good guys" in life and the "bad guys."  But most importantly, it teaches us about Jesus Christ and about the tactics that Satan uses to separate us from the Lord and from his love, which is manifest to us in the Atonement of his Only Begotten Son.  By reading The Book of Mormon and abiding by its teachings, we can see past the cares of this world and find the path back to our heavenly home.