FHE - This Life. Do We Treasure Every Moment? Good, Better, Best.

YOUNG WOMEN'S BROADCAST
 March 2013, SLC Temple Square.

Haha!  My blog, my post...  You'll have to scroll through a few pictures to get to the lesson.  This was a great day with 4 of my girls!  We had so much fun and made some great memories.  512 pictures and I only posted a few.  This is an example of taking a day and making it count!  This life... treasure every moment.  :)

There was only one more YW Broadcast ever!! 2014 was the end.  After that it was changed to the Women's Meeting and now includes all girls 8 and older.  A great change, but I am so glad I took my girl's up in 2013 and spent the entire day with them on Temple Square for one of the very last Young Women General Meetings.  Love my girls!  They are so much fun. :)

FHE -- This Life.  Do we treasure every moment?  Good, Better, Best

OPENING SONG: "Home Can Be a Heaven on Earth" Hymnbook #298

OPENING PRAYER: (to be assigned)

SCRIPTURE:  Luke 10:40-42

 40 But Martha was cumbered about much serving, and came to him, and said, Lord, dost thou not care that my sister hath left me to serve alone? bid her therefore that she help me.

 41 And Jesus answered and said unto her, Martha, Martha, thou art careful and troubled about many things:

 42 But one thing is needful: and Mary hath chosen that good part, which shall not be taken away from her.

VIDEO: "This Life": here  (This is a music video. 3:33 minutes.)

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:

1. What are we doing with this life?

2.  Are we spending it on things that make us better, brighter, and more able to help our friends and family do the same?

3.  Do we treasure every moment?

LESSON: "Good, Better, Best" by Dallin H. Oaks  

     We should begin by recognizing the reality that just because something is good is not a sufficient reason for doing it. The number of good things we can do far exceeds the time available to accomplish them. Some things are better than good, and these are the things that should command priority attention in our lives.

     In choosing how we spend time as a family, we should be careful not to exhaust our available time on things that are merely good and leave little time for that which is better or best. A friend took his young family on a series of summer vacation trips, including visits to memorable historic sites. At the end of the summer he asked his teenage son which of these good summer activities he enjoyed most. The father learned from the reply, and so did those he told of it. “The thing I liked best this summer,” the boy replied, “was the night you and I laid on the lawn and looked at the stars and talked.” Super family activities may be good for children, but they are not always better than one-on-one time with a loving parent.

     The amount of children-and-parent time absorbed in the good activities of private lessons, team sports, and other school and club activities also needs to be carefully regulated. Otherwise, children will be overscheduled, and parents will be frazzled and frustrated. Parents should act to preserve time for family prayer, family scripture study, family home evening, and the other precious togetherness and individual one-on-one time that binds a family together and fixes children’s values on things of eternal worth. Parents should teach gospel priorities through what they do with their children.

Family experts have warned against what they call “the overscheduling of children.” In the last generation children are far busier and families spend far less time together. Among many measures of this disturbing trend are the reports that structured sports time has doubled, but children’s free time has declined by 12 hours per week, and unstructured outdoor activities have fallen by 50 percent. ²

The number of those who report that their “whole family usually eats dinner together” has declined 33 percent. This is most concerning because the time a family spends together “eating meals at home [is] the strongest predictor of children’s academic achievement and psychological adjustment.” ³ Family mealtimes have also been shown to be a strong bulwark against children’s smoking, drinking, or using drugs. ⁴ There is inspired wisdom in this advice to parents: what your children really want for dinner is you.

     President Gordon B. Hinckley has pleaded that we “work at our responsibility as parents as if everything in life counted on it, because in fact everything in life does count on it.”

He continued: “I ask you men, particularly, to pause and take stock of yourselves as husbands and fathers and heads of households. Pray for guidance, for help, for direction, and then follow the whisperings of the Spirit to guide you in the most serious of all responsibilities, for the consequences of your leadership in your home will be eternal and everlasting.” ⁵

      The First Presidency has called on parents “to devote their best efforts to the teaching and rearing of their children in gospel principles. … The home is the basis of a righteous life, and no other instrumentality can take its place … in … this God-given responsibility.” The First Presidency has declared that “however worthy and appropriate other demands or activities may be, they must not be permitted to displace the divinely-appointed duties that only parents and families can adequately perform.” ⁶ 

^{Questions for discussion:}

^{Are we choosing the good, the better, or the best as a family?}

^{Are there any changes we need to make as a family to make sure we are not over scheduled?}  

^{What can we improve on?} 

^{How are you willing to help?}

^{ACTIVITY:  Play a game together!  (We are going to play badminton.)}

^{CLOSING SONG:  "Families Can Be Together Forever"  Hymnbook #300}

^{CLOSING PRAYER: (to be assigned)}

^{REFRESHMENTS:  Homemade Ice Cream in a Bag.  (Sorry, I don't have it blogged yet)! :(}

Spinach Salad with Warm Bacon Dressing and Sourdough Croutons

Warm Bacon Dressing

1/2 lb. bacon, uncooked, sliced into small pieces
1/4 cup EVOO
1/2 cup onion, finely minced
1 1/2 tsp. minced garlic
2/3 cup apple cider vinegar
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 tsp. Dijon mustard
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. black pepper
1/8 tsp. cayenne pepper
1 tsp. cornstarch dissolved in 2 tsp. cold water
1/3 cup bacon drippings oil

      In a skillet pour the EVOO and add the bacon.  Cook until the bacon is crispy.  Remove from pan and separate the bacon from the oil. Chop the bacon into very fine pieces. Set aside. In the skillet add 1 Tbsp. of the bacon oil and the onions.  Cook for about 5 minutes until golden brown.  Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute, do not burn.  Next add the apple cider vinegar, water, brown sugar, and Dijon mustard.  Turn the heat to medium and bring to a simmer.  Add the cornstarch dissolved in water and whisk until it thickens, about 1-2 minutes.  Add the salt, pepper, and cayenne pepper.  Turn the heat off.  Slowly pour in the 1/3 cup bacon drippings oil and whisk it into the dressing.  Add the chopped bacon back into the pan. Taste for seasoning, adjust if desired.


For the Salad:
spinach
grape tomato halves
sliced red onion
Swiss cheese cubes
sliced mushrooms
sliced, boiled eggs
sourdough croutons

Sourdough croutons:
    Cut some slices of sourdough bread into cubes and saute in butter until crispy.

FHE -- The Sacrament

Before I get to the FHE lesson I am going to share a few tips that I have used over the years to help with Sacrament meeting reverence, especially for younger kids, but we older kids can benefit from these too!  The first is pictured above.  This is a small photo book filled with pictures of the Savior.  I made this 20 years ago when my oldest daughter was about 6 months old.  I took it to church each week and during the Sacrament I would hold her on my lap and show her the pictures and tell her that they were of Jesus and what he was doing.  By about 12-18 months old she learned to recognize his picture and eventually to think of the Savior during this sacred ordinance.  I continued to use the book with each young baby and child and actually kept it in my church bag for years after they were toddlers. Every once in a while after the Sacrament prayer has been said one of the kids, now teenagers, will still ask if I have the book in my bag.  I have saved it for my future grandkids, but maybe I should put it back in my bag. :)               

The next tip... COOKIES! 
 
Recipes for the above cookies from my blog.
Chocolate Chip Cookies with secret ingredients: here
Dutch Butter Cookies (with cherries): here

   What do cookies have to do with reverence?  Here's how: Each child started Sacrament meeting with a promise of 4 cookies after church.  (We really like to bake them on Sunday afternoons, but sometimes we used prepackaged, like Oreos.)
   If at anytime during the meeting a child, or children, were goofing off or being irreverent I would look over at them and show them a finger count.  They started with 4 cookies, so the first offense they would be shown 3 fingers.  That meant they now had the potential for only 3 cookies after church, they had lost 1.  Only a few times did anyone lose all 4 cookies.  Usually most of them lost one each week, but after a while I had many weeks where everyone kept all 4 cookies.  I had to explain several times what I was doing when curious ward members would ask why I was showing my kids finger counts! Haha!  They were always impressed with how quickly a slouching child sat up and folded their arms when I showed them 3 fingers, or 2.  I used this method for about 12 years.  I only stopped it about 2 years ago because the kids were all old enough to sit through the whole meeting without any redirection.  We still occasionally show each other finger counts as an inside joke!  I have thought about bringing this tradition back just because it is such a fun memory for the kids. 


Okay!  Now the FHE lesson for tonight.


FHE -- The Sacrament

OPENING SONG: The Wiseman and the Foolish Man Children's Hymnbook #181

OPENING PRAYER: (to be assigned)

SCRIPTURE: 3 Nephi 18: 1-13
And it came to pass that Jesus commanded his disciples that they should bring forth some bread and wine unto him. 
2And while they were gone for bread and wine, he commanded the multitude that they should sit themselves down upon the earth. 
3And when the disciples had come with bread and wine, he took of the bread and brake and blessed it; and he gave unto the disciples and commanded that they should eat. 
4And when they had eaten and were filled, he commanded that they should give unto the multitude. 
5And when the multitude had eaten and were filled, he said unto the disciples: Behold there shall one be ordained among you, and to him will I give power that he shall break bread and bless it and give it unto the people of my church , unto all those who shall believe and be baptized in my name. 
6And this shall ye always observe to do , even as I have done, even as I have broken bread and blessed it and given it unto you. 
7And this shall ye do in remembrance of my body , which I have shown unto you. And it shall be a testimony unto the Father that ye do always remember me. And if ye do always remember me ye shall have my Spirit to be with you. 
8And it came to pass that when he said these words, he commanded his disciples that they should take of the wine of the cup and drink of it, and that they should also give unto the multitude that they might drink of it. 
9And it came to pass that they did so, and did drink of it and were filled; and they gave unto the multitude, and they did drink, and they were filled. 
10And when the disciples had done this, Jesus said unto them: Blessed are ye for this thing which ye have done, for this is fulfilling my commandments, and this doth witness unto the Father that ye are willing to do that which I have commanded you. 
11And this shall ye always do to those who repent and are baptized in my name; and ye shall do it in remembrance of my blood , which I have shed for you, that ye may witness unto the Father that ye do always remember me. And if ye do always remember me ye shall have my Spirit to be with you. 
12And I give unto you a commandment that ye shall do these things. And if ye shall always do these things blessed are ye, for ye are built upon my rock . 
13But whoso among you shall do more or less than these are not built upon my rock, but are built upon a sandy foundation; and when the rain descends, and the floods come, and the winds blow, and beat upon them, they shall fall , and the gates of hell are ready open to receive them. 
14Therefore blessed are ye if ye shall keep my commandments, which the Father hath commanded me that I should give unto you.

LESSON:
The Last Supper, LDS Bible video.  This is a powerful 6 minute video!  Have tissues ready. :)

How did you feel while watching this video?
Who did the Savior pass a cracker to and why did he tell him to "do what he was to do" quickly?
How do you think the apostles felt as they left the upper room?
How do you feel when you partake of the Sacrament each Sunday?
Does watching this video give you a greater appreciation for the Sacrament and what it represents?
The Savior died for all of us.  The Atonement has to be applied individually though.  Would the Savior have died for just you? or just me?

STORY:
The Last Sacrament Cup
(here is the original blog for this story.)
 Our five children ping-ponged between our laps, shuffled around for seats, as my husband and I pulled out books and crayons to settle our noisy crew for sacrament meeting.
It was just before the New Year and we were visiting a ward in St. George, Utah. A ward that had no primary or youth program because it was composed mostly of retired couples. No twelve-year-old Deacons bumped elbows on the front row; it was the High Priests who were preparing to bless and pass the sacrament.
Normally, the ward would have gently filled the padded seats of the chapel, but on this holiday weekend, the overflow divider was pushed wide and we, with a number of other families, were nestled onto metal folding chairs that stretched to the back of the gym.
The meeting progressed as usual and I watched as a dozen older gentlemen carried trays of bread, then water, through the bursting rows. They were making great effort to manage the unusually large crowd. Their faces were kind. Some had rounded shoulders and bent spines. They whispered directions to each other. One wore cowboy boots. One winked at the little girl in front of us.
My daughters and I took the last cups of water on our tray and handed it to my husband, Doug, who passed the empty tray to the brother standing at the end of our row.
The Bishop stood at the pulpit to assess the situation. When he asked who had not received the water, a few pockets of people, including Doug, raised their hands. So the brethren returned to the sacrament table, offered a second prayer on new water and delivered it to the waiting members.
Our row was last to receive the water this time and I noticed that Doug offered the couple next to him the two remaining cups. The tray was empty and it appeared to me that Doug was the only one who hadn’t had the water. I wondered what he would do. Would he let it go? Not worry about it this week?
But when the Bishop asked if anyone had not received the water, Doug raised his hand. He was, as I suspected, the only one. He looked at me and we smiled, conscious of the craned necks and curious eyes.
The brethren returned to the table for a third prayer on the water. And suddenly, as I heard that phrase, “to sanctify this water to the souls of all those who drink of it…” (Doctrine & Covenants 20:79), a realization crept into my heart. An understanding so keen it pried me clear open and God’s spirit swept in. It was a reverence I hadn’t felt in too long.
They were praying over one cup. For one person. One soul.
The sacrament mattered. Even for one. Just as the Atonement mattered. For one.
For every one.
Hundreds of members waited for the Amen. Dozens watched as the last cup was delivered to my husband, and he put it to his lips, and drank.
I had to look away my eyes were so wet.
I looked up in time to see these sweet men in suits cover the trays with white linen. Just as Christ’s body, broken for us, was covered. Just as His Atonement covers us. All of us.

After this story would be a great time for each family member to share their testimony.

CLOSING SONG:  There Is a Green Hill Far Away  Hymnook #194

CLOSING PRAYER:  (to be assigned.)

REFRESHMENTS:  Oreo Marshmallow White Chocolate Popcorn
(or as Sarah likes to call it...Diabetes in a cup!)  :)
From the blog, located: here

Blueberry Banana Bread

This recipe is from:here.

Blueberry Banana Bread

• 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/8 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 1 cup sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 1/4 cup buttermilk
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 3 ripe bananas, mashed
• 1 cup blueberries

   Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and spray your loaf pan (or 4 mini loaf pans) with non-stick spray. 
   In a medium mixing bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.  Set aside.  In  your mixer bowl add the sugar and butter.  Beat on medium speed until fluffy.  Add the eggs, buttermilk, and vanilla and mix until combined.  Next add the mashed bananas and mix.  Add the dry ingredients and mix just until combined.  Do not over mix!  Stir in the blueberries gently, by hand. Pour into loaf pan(s) and bake for 30-35 minutes for mini or 55-70 minutes for regular sized loaf.

Triple Chocolate Mousse

I love making shot glass desserts! They are so much fun to make and to eat.  Small servings, perfect!  The idea for the recipe is from:here  (I completely altered the recipe to use my preferred chocolates.)
 
Triple Chocolate Mousse (makes approx. 24)

Ganache Layer (bottom of glass)
1/2 cup dark chocolate melting drops
1/2 cup heavy cream
   In a double boiler melt the dipping chocolate.  You can also microwave the drops in a glass bowl in the microwave, 1 minute at time, stirring in between, until melted.  Add the heavy cream and stir together.  Let sit for 5 minutes to cool slightly, then spoon 1 Tbsp. into the bottom of each shot glass. 

 Mousse (middle and top layer)
1/2 cup milk chocolate melting drops
1/2 cup white chocolate melting drops
3 eggs, separated
1 Tbsp. vanilla
1 cup plus 3 Tbsp. heavy whipping cream, divided and chilled
2 Tbsp. powdered sugar
1 Tbsp. sugar

Milk Chocolate Base (middle layer)
    In a double boiler melt the milk chocolate drops, stirring until smooth. When the chocolate is melted, remove from the heat and add 2 egg yolks, one at a time, to the melted milk chocolate drops and stir until combined.  Then add 1 Tbsp. of heavy cream and stir it in.  Next add the vanilla and stir.  Set aside.

White Chocolate Base (top layer)
    In double boiler melt the white chocolate drops, stirring until smooth.  Add 2 Tbsp. of heavy cream and stir.  Remove from heat and add the remaining egg yolk.  Stir well. Set aside.

Whipped Cream
    In a medium sized bowl whip the remaining 1 cup of heavy whipping cream until it reaches medium peaks.  Add the powdered sugar and continue to whip until it doubles in volume. Separate half into another bowl.

Egg Whites
    Whip the egg whites until they triple in volume, adding the 1 Tbsp, of sugar halfway. Continue whipping until triple volume.  Separate half of the whipped egg whites into another bowl.

Assembly of Mousses
     Fold half of the whipped cream into the milk chocolate base.  Then gently fold in half of the egg whites.  Pipe into the shot glasses on top of the ganache layer.
     Repeat for the white chocolate layer.
     Refrigerate for 6-8 hour before serving.
    

Baby Dutch

Baby Dutch
(Individual servings. It can also be made in a glass 8x9 baking dish and cut into squares.)
4 eggs
1 cup flour
1 cup milk
butter
      Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.  In a 12 count muffin pan, place 1 tsp. butter into each muffin well.  Put the pan in the oven for a few minutes to get hot and melt the butter.  When it is hot and the butter melted, remove the muffin pan from the oven and spray the sides of each well with non-stick spray.
     In a blender jar combine the eggs, flour, and milk.  Blend together until well mixed. Pour evenly into each muffin well, approximately half full.  Bake for 15 minutes.
     Top with butter, powdered sugar, lemon juice, and fresh fruit.  Or, if you prefer, maple syrup.

FHE "Be the Chocolate Chip" (Be in the world, not of the world.)

This FHE is great for teens and pre-teens.  I am going to share the opening story from the above book, "Be the Chocolate Chip."  There are 6 short chapters in this great little book.  If you would like to read them all you can order the book here: http://www.amazon.com/Be-Chocolate-Chip

FHE --  BE THE CHOCOLATE CHIP

OPENING SONG:  "We'll Bring the World His Truth" Children's Songbook pg. 172

OPENING PRAYER: (to be assigned)

SCRIPTURE:  Helaman 5:12   "And now, my sons, remember, remember that it is upon the rock of our Redeemer, who is Christ, the Son of God, that ye must build your foundation; that when the devil shall send forth his mighty winds, yea, his shafts in the whirlwind, yea, when all his hail and his mighty storm shall beat upon you, it shall have no power over you to drag you down to the gulf of misery and endless wo, because of the rock upon which ye are built, which is a sure foundation, a foundation whereon if men build they cannot fall."

LESSON:  The Birth of the Chocolate Chip (excerpt from Be the Chocolate Chip by Jen Brewer)
     In 1930, Ruth Wakefield and her husband owned an inn outside of Wakefield, Massachusetts.  Built in 1709, the old house was used as a rest stop for travelers to change their horses, pay their tolls, and get something to eat, earning it the name, "The Toll House Inn."  The Wakefields kept the tradition of providing travelers with rest and good food through the Great Depression.
     Ruth Wakefield was well known for her baking, and often made Butter Drop Do Cookies. Her recipe required baker's chocolate, which melted completely, producing a chocolate cookie.  One day in 1937, as she began making the cookies, she realized that she was out of baker's chocolate, but happened to have a Nestle semi-sweet chocolate bar on hand.  She chopped it into chunks and put it into the batter, expecting it to melt and disappear into the cookie, producing the familiar chocolate cookie for which she had grown famous.
     To her surprise, the chocolate chunks did not disappear, but held their individual shape, producing a creamy texture and a fabulous new taste for the entire cookie.
     These new cookies became incredibly popular.  Nestle bought the rights to the recipe and in 1939 introduced the Nestle Toll House Real Semi Sweet Chocolate Morsels.  The traditional "Chocolate Chip Cookie" was born!
     The most popular cookie of all time came about all because a bit of chocolate held its ground and didn't melt when the heat was on.
     You, too, can be the chocolate chip.  Satan knows your potential.  He is constantly trying to mix you into the world and get you to lose your individual worth.  Satan knows how to turn up the heat.  He thinks that if he does his job well you will melt under the pressure, get lost in the crowd, and lose your understanding of who you really are: a child of God.
     He will try to make you think that you can only feel good about yourself if you become part of the world and do what "everyone else" is doing.  But you can be like the wonderful chocolate chip.  Christ talks about you in the Doctrine and Covenants 132:16 "They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world."
     You can be the chocolate chip.  You can choose to be "in the cookie, but not of the cookie."  Just as the chocolate chip made the cookie better by retaining its true nature, you can make the world better by retaining your true nature as a follower of Christ.  You don't have to be something or someone else.  You don't have to melt into the crowd; you can be the chocolate chip!  You will get noticed for being different.  You will stand out.  That is what makes all the difference, and is what makes a chocolate chip cookie so great.  What good would it be without the chocolate chips?
Be you.  Be different.  Be better.   Be the chocolate chip!

VIDEO: (4 minutes, 20 seconds)
Dare to Stand Alone, President Thomas S. Monson

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:
When have you chosen to stand for what is right?
How does the world attempt to influence the way you view the Lord's standards?
How can you help your friends prepare to resist temptations?
How can they gain strength and courage to stand alone?

CLOSING SONG: "Choose the Right" LDS  Hymnbook  #239

CLOSING PRAYER: (to be assigned)

REFRESHMENTS:  Ultimate Chocolate Chip Cookies this is the recipe from my blog for the cookies pictured above.  :)