January Sunday School: The Godhead - How can I learn to see Heavenly Father's hand in all things?

I am going to start this class in the church kitchen, where I will have a pot of boiled water on the stove.  I am going to teach the kids how to make 3 Musketeers Cocoa.  I will give them each a disposable hot liquid cup with a lid and 3 Musketeers candy bars.  1 big candy bar, cut into pieces, OR 3 funsize, OR 8 mini sized plus 1 1/4 cup boiling water equals one serving of 3 Musketeers Cocoa. After they unwrap the candy bars and put them in the cup, we will pour the boiling hot water over them and let them sit for about 10 minutes while we move on to the first part of the lesson.

(From the lds.org outline):
Invite the youth to sing, listen to, or read the hymn “How Great Thou Art.” Ask them to make a list or draw pictures on the board of things in this hymn that indicate the greatness of God (they could also read the scriptures cited at the end of the hymn). What are some other things the youth could add to this list that testify to them of God’s power and love? Invite the youth to think of creative ways they can express their testimonies of Heavenly Father. For example, they could use their lists to write a short hymn of their own, or they could take photographs and prepare a slide show.

We will listen to the song and then we are going to go for a walk around the building.  Most of these kids, if not all, have phones with cameras.  I am going to ask them to choose a buddy and together take a picture or two of something that they can see the hand of God in creating.  I am going to ask them to stretch their minds a little and think beyond the obvious.  For example: A tree.  This falls into the "kind of obvious" category. However, how do we see the hand of God in them?
 
Trees give off oxygen and absorb carbon dioxide, both of which are essential to humans.  They provide shade form the hot sun.  Some varieties grow fruits and nuts that we can eat to sustain life.  Some drop their leaves which then return to the soil and provide nutrients back into the earth to enrich the soil for more growth of plants. We know that He created the earth and all of the vegetation in it.

An example of the "not so obvious" might be:  A car. How can we see the hand of God in this?

God created of the base materials that are used to build cars.  Somewhere along the way in history he inspired people to use those materials to build and create.  Many experiments and trials were done to create the materials we have to use for making car parts.  The knowledge and curiosity had to be given to individuals to do this.  God gave certain people ideas and inspiration to get those ideas to the modern day cars we now have.  Why?  With cars we are able to travel farther than walking or with horses and buggies and we can get places more quickly and safely.  We can more easily get to churches and temples to do His work.  We can also use them to help with out day to day temporal needs as well.

I will share these ideas and examples with the class and then give them the assignment to take a picture of something that they can see the hand of God in. Afterward, we will return to the kitchen to get our now melted 3 Musketeers, ready to be stirred into cocoa.  We'll add a scoop of ice cream to cool it off (I know right? This is the funnest cocoa ever!!) We'll put the lids on the cocoa and head up to our classroom. When we get up to the classroom I will have the take turns sharing their pictures and observations.
  
Next:
From the talk by Henry B. Eyring, "O Remember, Remember" (see the lds.org lesson outline)

"When our children were very small, I started to write down a few things about what happened every day. Let me tell you how that got started. I came home late from a Church assignment. It was after dark. My father-in-law, who lived near us, surprised me as I walked toward the front door of my house. He was carrying a load of pipes over his shoulder, walking very fast and dressed in his work clothes. I knew that he had been building a system to pump water from a stream below us up to our property.

He smiled, spoke softly, and then rushed past me into the darkness to go on with his work. I took a few steps toward the house, thinking of what he was doing for us, and just as I got to the door, I heard in my mind—not in my own voice—these words: “I’m not giving you these experiences for yourself. Write them down.”

 I went inside. I didn’t go to bed. Although I was tired, I took out some paper and began to write. And as I did, I understood the message I had heard in my mind. I was supposed to record for my children to read, someday in the future, how I had seen the hand of God blessing our family Grandpa didn’t have to do what he was doing for us. He could have had someone else do it or not have done it at all. But he was serving us, his family, in the way covenant disciples of Jesus Christ always do. I knew that was true. And so I wrote it down, so that my children could have the memory someday when they would need it.

 I wrote down a few lines every day for years. I never missed a day no matter how tired I was or how early I would have to start the next day. Before I would write, I would ponder this question: “Have I seen the hand of God reaching out to touch us or our children or our family today?” As I kept at it, something began to happen. As I would cast my mind over the day, I would see evidence of what God had done for one of us that I had not recognized in the busy moments of the day. As that happened, and it happened often, I realized that trying to remember had allowed God to show me what He had done.

More than gratitude began to grow in my heart. Testimony grew. I became ever more certain that our Heavenly Father hears and answers prayers. I felt more gratitude for the softening and refining that come because of the Atonement of the Savior Jesus Christ. And I grew more confident that the Holy Ghost can bring all things to our remembrance—even things we did not notice or pay attention to when they happened.

The years have gone by. My boys are grown men. And now and then one of them will surprise me by saying, “Dad, I was reading in my copy of the journal about when …” and then he will tell me about how reading of what happened long ago helped him notice something God had done in his day.

My point is to urge you to find ways to recognize and remember God’s kindness. It will build our testimonies"

Has there been a time that you have seen the hand of God in your life?
Has he helped you to recognize a trial as a potential blessing?
Do you recognize it when he does this?
 (Let the class think about these questions and share examples if they wish.  Always give them enough time to think!  Be prepared with some examples from your own life.  I find that once I share some of mine with them, it helps break the "ice" and then the youth have lots to share!  We always fill the time.)

Hand out and explain the "Count Your Many Blessings" page for the week.  (I typed up this page for the youth to take home and write down the blessings they recognize coming from Heavenly Father each day for a week.)

Count Your Many Blessings