Donut Forget to Pray

How can I make prayers more meaningful?

If you don't know that I love donuts yet, I think I might be doing something wrong. ;)
I just think they are so cute-it's just a bonus they are fun to eat too!

So that I hadn't used donuts yet in a lesson or handout was pretty shocking to me.
So I decided to change that!  And this YW lesson topic was perfect for that!

I want the girls to get use to writing in their journals so I encouraged them to take them out right at the starting of class and write down impressions or promptings they get throughout the lesson.  I started with asking them some questions I just wanted them to think about:  Are my prayers sincere?  Do I say prayers that are repetitive or without meaning?  Do I treat prayers like a wish list?

I told the girls to remember that Heavenly Father is our Father, He wants to help us and loves us so much.  He knows our needs and desires.  He wants us to communicate with Him, He's always just a prayer away.  I hope we pray as if He's there and is listening because He is!

As we make a habit of approaching God in prayer, we will come to know Him and draw ever nearer to Him.  Our desires will become more like His, we will be able to secure for ourselves and for others-blessings that He is ready to give if we will but ask in faith.

We talked about how we can make our prayers more meaningful so I passed out a little sheet of paper that is the perfect size for them to put in their journals and to read!  Here's how you can add some SPRINKLES to your prayers and make them more meaningful!

We talked about what we could add to this list like:  preparing our minds, listening, faithful effort, praying out loud, pause, ask forgiveness, ask questions, keep a prayer journal, traits we'd like to work on, who can we serve or help-someone who is sad/sick or in need, gospel topics we are trying to understand, family concerns, etc.

We also talked about meaningful experiences we have had with prayer.

Sometimes when we pray, it's like we're picking up a phone, ordering groceries, and then we hang up the phone-we put in our our order, and we don't think any more about it than that.  

But if we take a few minutes just to think about our particular need in a given moment, 

then prayer becomes more meaningful.

President Gordon B. Hinckley 

I've learned that when I make a habit of praying it becomes natural and more meaningful for me.  I encouraged the class to make a habit of praying.  Prayer isn't just for times when we are in trouble or in need.  We should have constant communication with our Father in Heaven.  We always need to be in connection with him and know what He'd like us to do.

The next activity we did is A Dozen of Meaningful Prayers.  I told the girls to think of something or someone that has been on their minds lately.  I wanted them to write it or the persons name under the donut.  Once you pray and ACT/do something to help with your prayer, you can color it in. The goal being a whole dozen prayers that you've prayed about and can see how you have helped with those prayers. 

Which brought us into the next topic of acting and helping with our prayers.  We usually wait entirely on our Heavenly Father for answers to our prayers and I think we forget that we can do our part and help.  

Often, the answerr to our prayer does not come while we're on our knees but while we're on our feet serving the Lord and serving those around us.  Selfless acts of service and consecration refine our spirits , remove the scales from our spiritual eyes, and open the windows of heaven.  By becoming the answer to someone's prayer, we often find the answer to our own.  President Spencer W. Kimball taught this concept when he said:  "God does notice us, and he watches over us.  But it is usually through another person that he meets our needs."

Elder Uchtdorf

I have seen this SO many times in my life.  Especially when it's something simple but incredibly kind, usually it just makes my day brighter-so hopefully we can be in a position to make others happier and make life more enjoyable for them!

We talked about how our prayers can be answered in a different way

than we expected and shared stories.  

Heavenly Father hears your prayers.  He may not always answer as you expect, but he does answer-in His own time and according to His will.  Because He knows what is best for you, He may sometimes answer no, even when your petitions are sincere.

True to the Faith

God is eagerly waiting for the chance to answer your prayers and fulfill your dream, just as He always has.  But He can't if you don't pray, and He can't if you don't dream.  In short, He can't if you don't believe.

Elder Holland

Our Heavenly Father wants to help and bless us.  Those blessings require effort and work on our part.  The first being to pray!  So DONUT forget to pray!

As you can tell I got really into this lesson!  I gave little 'DONUT forget to Pray' tags with a donut eraser along with the Dozen of Meaningful Prayers activity, a 'Donut forget to pray!' sticker for them to put in their journals, how to make their prayers more meaningful paper, and a quote page (which makes it super easy to get anyone to read quotes out loud during the lesson and skip quotes if necessary, I also love that they get to keep all the quotes/scriptures/etc. for later pondering and study), and of course for a treat I gave Donettes!

I have LOADS of donut decorations from Olivia's birthday party so I just pulled a few out of our donut party box.  I made some donuts out of cardboard and painted them to look like donuts, then used them for the chalkboard decoration, I had mini popsicle sticks painted to look like sprinkles, a small picture of Christ with a small girl is always ideal for Young Women lessons I think,  a small donut decoration from the Target Dollar Bins and a super cute cake stand full of a variety of the Donettes.  I love to keep all my supplies or handouts all in one place so THIS tray was the perfect size for that.  I also love to do something fun and memorable on the chalkboard.  Even if it's simple I know that I look at the board a lot during class so this is a great way to give some inspiration for what they can put in their journals and to keep their mind on the topic at hand.

Even if you don't teach or are in YW, feel free to do this for a primary, FHE, a summer activity or ministering handout/love note!  There are so many options with these lesson ideas.

If you'd like any of these FREE printables feel free to find them below:  

'DONUT forget to PRAY' tag [page 1]

'A Dozen of Meaningful Prayers' activity

'DONUT forget to keep your prayers meaningful!' print [page 3]

'Donut forget to pray!' stickers (Need to print on sticker paper!) [page 2]

DONUT forget to Pray Quote Page

If you are interested in more Young Women lessons, I have several you can find HERE!

This post may contain affiliate links, but all opinions are my own.

The Adventure of Life YW Lesson

Plan of Salvation:  What is the purpose of life?

After some unexpected health problems at the end of 2018 I had a little mandatory break from lots of things.  One of them being church activities and teaching the sweet Mia Maids in my ward.  I was so grateful to get back into the swing of things as soon as I felt up to it and I ended up giving my first YW lesson of 2019 in February!  It was a great topic to kick off the year and teach, I felt/feel like I have a LOT of life experience now. haha

I started with telling them about where I had been and what happened.  Maybe one day I'll go into more detail here on the blog, but for right now lets get back to the lesson outline.  I brought a big box of tissues for myself because I was 95% sure I was going to break down during the lesson, and I gave little packets of tissues for each person because life is hard!! It's a great adventure, but sometimes it's just hard and its ok to cry!

We talked about the Plan of Salvation-Our eternal experience can be divided into three main parts:  premortal life, mortal life, and life after death.  We focused on mortal life for the lesson!  When we know we lived with our Heavenly Father before we were born and that we were sent with a divine purpose we act differently, we view trials and challenges differently-with an eternal perspective.  We are able to answer questions like-What is the purpose of life and why are we here?  We came to earth to prepare to have an eternal family, bless others and build His kingdom.  We are here to become more like our Heavenly Father.  Life makes more sense and you're able to answer those tough questions when you understand the plan of salvation.

I made these pictures years ago for a Relief Society lesson and I was so happy I could use them again.    If you've got cardstock, colored pencils and markers and some time
and you could do something like this too!



"You are now experiencing mortal life.  Your spirit is united with your body, giving you opportunities to grow and develop in ways that were not possible in you premortal life.  This part of your existence is a time of learning in which you can prove yourself, choose to come unto Christ, and prepare to be worthy of eternal life.  It is also a time when you can help others find the truth and gain a testimony of the plan of salvation."-True to the Faith

We watched and talked about Bobbie the Wonder Dog! A story about an amazing dog that followed his family home no matter what he went through he still kept going and trying!

Bobbie's journey home is like our own journey back to our heavenly home.  We all go through different adventures in this mortal life.  Life has fun, hard, sad, upsetting, and amazing times, just like any great adventure.We talked about how finding our way back to our Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ makes our life more meaningful and better!  We build more meaningful relationships, appreciate life and the people in it much more! And how knowing this affects our daily decisions.

Mortal life can be hard.  It can be really hard sometimes and we'll experience things that we don't like, but they'll help us on our journey home.  They'll help us become more like our Heavenly Father and we'll be able to help others while we are becoming like Him.  We just have to keep the end goal in sight and keep an eternal perspective.  We must use this time we have here wisely.

"No, following the Savior will not remove all of your trials.  However, it will remove the barriers between you and the help your Heavenly Father wants to give you.  God will be with you.  He will direct your steps.  He will walk beside you and even carry you when your need is greatest."

Dieter F. Achtdorf 

I am so grateful to know that we are not alone in this life.  

He will help us through this adventurous journey!  I love the scripture Proverbs 3:5-6! Look it up, love it, memorize it!

We then talked about how knowing this can help us deal with challenges and trials that come throughout our lives.  I gave time for the girls to write in their journals and put a little Come unto Christ airplane sticker so they'd remember this lesson.  Along with a little boarding pass that I wrapped in brown cardstock and some cute pink and white twine!  I also had to give some luggage because well I had to! :) I found these on Amazon HERE and then filled them with some Jolly Rancher Jelly Hearts and Dove chocolates.
I hand wrote the Come unto Christ tag for a special touch.

I hope they remember that life really is an adventure.  It's all about perspective and how we choose to look at what happens to us.  We also might not like the stop we are in now or the detour we take, but we need to remember that's not where we are staying.  It's like passing through a town that you don't love, just keep going and remember it's not the end of your adventure or your final destination!  When we follow Christ and come unto him, this mortal life is put into perspective.

Life is different for each of us.  We all have a time of trials, a time for happiness, a time for making decisions, a time for overcoming obstacles, and a time for taking advantage of opportunities.  Whatever our personal situations may be, I testify that our Heavenly Father is constantly saying, "I love you.  I sustain you.  I am with you.  Do not give up.  Repent and endure in the path that I have shown you.  And I assure you that we will see each other again in our celestial home."
Elder Claudio D. Zivic

Shared a little sneak peek on my Instagram of how I set it up for my class.  I used these cute pink decorative luggage cases for even more decor.  And my favorite IKEA frame with a little sign for the Baggage Claim!

Once class ended I told them to remember to get their luggage from the baggage claim and remember their boarding pass so they can be ready for their journey.  I told them that there are a few things we need on this adventure and I packed one necessity for them to make it a little better-something sweet!  

On your journey back to Heavenly Father you will soon realize that this journey isn't just about focusing on your own life.  No, this path inevitably leads you to become a blessing in the lives of God's other children-your brothers and sisters.  And the interesting thing about the journey is that as you serve God, and as you care for and help your fellowmen, you will see great progress in your life, in ways you could never imagine.

President Uchtdorf

I also mentioned how we can and should help and serve others along the way.

This mortal life is a journey.  At times we can feel sad, overwhelmed, mad and not like the place we are in right then but don't focus on that.  If we see life as an adventure and keep a positive outlook with an eternal perspective in mind we will enjoy life.  Change your perspective and change your life.  You'll be able to see your journey through different eyes.  I pray that we may all come unto Christ and focus on our heavenly home as our goal.  This life is a great adventure and I hope we choose to follow Christ all along the way!

Below you can find everything I gave the girls including the FREE Printables!

Eternal Boarding Pass

Come unto Christ Airplanes-will need to print on sticker paper!

Mini Vintage Suitcases

Baggage Claim signage

This post may contain affiliate links, but all opinions are my own.

Lost and Found Gospel Treasures-Restoration Lesson

The Apostasy and Restoration-Why was a Restoration necessary?

A few months ago I taught this lesson to my Mia Maids class and totally loved it!  Honestly I love every lesson.  I love to find fun and unique ways to get excited about the lesson and then share them with the girls.  

This lesson was about Lost and Found gospel treasures.  There were many gospel treasures brought to the earth by Jesus, during His mortal life.  We learned how the gospel treasures were found again when Joseph Smith restored the true gospel of Jesus Christ to the earth and why it is so important. 

On the board I had all of these little gems/treasures labeled with things that Jesus Christ established while he was on the earth along with writing on the board-Lost and Found Gospel Treasures.  When Jesus Christ died the things he established here on earth went away or were corrupted.  There was a time when the world didn't have the full gospel because of this.

Things we read:

Amos 8:11-12

Apostasy and Restoration of the Gospel in True to the Faith

We talked about how our lives would be different if the gospel had never been restored.  We are so blessed with the treasures the gospel gives us like temples, Priesthood and sacrament.  We talked for quite a while about the jewels and treasures on the board, talking about each one in depth and how it is a blessing in our lives.  We then talked about how we can personally apply what we've learned in this class.  We have journals for each girl so I also encourage them to write in their journal and give them a little sticker to go along with the lesson that they can remember what it was about.  

For a handout I gave chocolate coins and a cute little jewel container full of cadbury eggs.  I had to put it in a treasure box because hello I've got to carry on the theme! haha

Find the free printables below!

'Recognize the treasures you've found..." handout

Lost and Found gem sticker print

This post may contain affiliate links, but all opinions are my own.

Flower of Faith Young Women Lesson

This lesson could not have hit closer to what I needed to study about.  Faith is such a powerful and needed thing.  I hope you enjoy this lesson outline and handout as much as I did preparing them!

I started with introducing the topic and asking for the girls participation.  My class is full of the sweetest girls but they don't like to talk very much!! haha I bought a box of Pink and White flower cookies from Trader Joe's and told them every time they talked they got a cookie.  I'm not above bribery and it actually did help the participation!  At the end I let everyone have one small cookie if they wanted but the people that participated got more.

We talked about how our faith must be centered on Jesus Christ.  When we have faith we trust Him and obey His commandments.  Faith is powerful and its expressed by our actions and how we live.

I compared faith to a tiny flower seed.  Sometimes we don't have a lot of faith, and that's ok-as long as we have something it can always grow!! I had a big flower on the board that I made with different color card stock paper that showed the girls the topics we we'd be learning about that day.  I used extra large paper so the girls could see it easily but this could be done with regular sized paper really easily!

I'll quickly go over what we talked about.  

Plant your faith

Start small if you have to.  You have to take action and plant and nurture that seed of faith yourself.  That see will turn into a beautiful faith flower if you take care of it.  You don't want the weeds of fear and doubt to take over.

Take Action

We read James 1:5-6 then talked about how faith without works is not really doing anything.  It's like just buying a pack of seeds and expecting them to grow without doing all the hard work.  

Examples of faith

We talked about their personal experiences with faith and when they needed it most.  Then we talked about examples of faith that they have seen in their lives or in the scriptures.  We also watched this Courage video of courageous women.

Nurture your faith

We talked about Fearful Fiona vs. Faithful Felicity and I passed out this worksheet to all of them.  I wanted them to compare and see it for themselves.  I left room at the bottom so they could add and take notes.  We talked about how just like we nurture small seeds so they can turn into beautiful flowers, how can we "nurture" our faith?  Ex:  go to church, follow the Savior,  keep the commandments, pray, etc.)  We talked about how both girls are great and we all have moments of both, but Felicity knows how to handle life and the challenges that come her way.  Felicity is happy and stronger in the long run.  Since we already watched a video I told them to watch Men's Heart Shall Fail Them at home.  It's an amazing video that is one of my absolute favorites!

Harvest/Blessings that come from faith

President Monson said, "Our promised blessings are beyond measure.  Though the storm clouds may gather, though the rains may pour down upon us, our knowledge o the gospel and our love of our Heavenly Faher and of our Savior will comfort and sustain us...as we walk uprightly.  ... There will be nothing in this world that can defeat us.  

We ended by talking about the blessings that come from having faith, like deeper understanding, better things coming, patience, miracles, empathy, hope, positivity)

Just because we have faith doesn't mean our life will be easy or void of challenges.  

It will just help us GROW!  

I of course stuck with the flower theme and made flower pens for each girl.  They are SO easy.  I placed a small dot of glue at the top of the pen with a cut fake flower and started wrapping the pen.  Once I got to the bottom I cut the tape and placed another glue dot to hold.You can find flower tape, pens, and fake flowers at the dollar store or you can click each one of those and I've linked an online option.  I tied them all with some ribbon and attached this little poem that you can find below.  I also gave them each a flower of faith sticker that they could put in their journal.  

If you'd like to find the free printables you can find them all below!

Flower of Faith tag

Flower of Faith sticker

This post may contain affiliate links, but all opinions are my own.

Watch Your Words!

Young Women September-Commandments

How do the things I say affect me and those around me?

I have a new calling and I am so excited about it!  I'm a Mia Maids Advisor!  This has been one of my dream callings ever since I looked up to my own leaders when I was a teen and in Young Women's.  

The first lesson I gave was all about words!  Words we read.  Words we hear.  Words we write.  Words we speak, and words we think.  I hung papers on the board of each of these statements.  I asked the girls what each one means and what are some things we do of each.  For example words we read could include books, emails, magazines, and words we hear are music, tv, movies and so on.  I wanted to focus on words we speak and think because I think they really effect all of the others!

We read Ephesians 4:29-32 and discussed how that related to the 5 phrases on the board.  I told the girls to keep these phrases in mind throughout the lesson and think about their own words and what they could change. 

Our language can either uplift and encourage or hurt and offend.  Our words have a powerful effect on others.  The things we say can be offensive to God and others if we use profanity, gossip, crude language, or insults.  How we speak can also affect our ability to receive guidance from the Holy Ghost.

We watched the video Bullying-Stop It.  It honestly almost had me in tears.  How often are we to say or do something without thinking, that could hurt someone else.  

I then shared a story that was shared in General Conference a couple of sessions ago.  It went as follows-Recently, as three-year-old Alyssa watched a movie with her siblings, she remarked with a puzzled expression, “Mom, that chicken is weird!”  Her mother looked at the screen and responded with a  smile, “Honey, that is a peacock.”  Like that unknowing three-year-old, we sometimes look at others with an incomplete or inaccurate understanding.  We may focus on the differences and perceived flaws in those around us whereas our Heavenly Father sees His children, created in His eternal image, with magnificent and glorious potential.

I shared an example of a youth in our ward bullying another youth and another youth stepped in and told them to stop it and that they were bullying.  I was so proud of that youth that stood up for the person that was being bullied and how they put the bully in their place.  I shared this experience because I wanted to bring to their attention that this is happening, it could even be happening to their friends or by their friends.  

Elder Holland said, “It goes without saying that negative speaking so often flows from negative thinking, including negative thinking about ourselves.  We see our own faults, we speak-or at least think-critically of ourselves, and before long that is how we see everyone and everything.  No sunshine, no roses, no promise of hope or happiness.  Before long we and everybody around us are miserable… Our words like our deeds should be filled with faith, hope and charity.”

This is a topic that everyone needs to hear.  No matter their age, position in life, trials, or circumstances.  Words have so much power!  They can either build up or tear down.  We can all remember a time when someones words have brought us sadness, we can also probably remember a time when someones words have made us feel hope or happiness.  We must choose to have words full of positivity and love.  

One of my favorite quotes is from Plato, "Be kind for everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle."  It's true!  We each have our own problems and trials.  Its so easy to be nice and kind, let's do that instead!  

President Thomas S. Monson said, “In a hundred small ways, all of you wear the mantle of charity.  …Rather than being judgement or critical of one another, may we have the pure love of Christ for our fellow traveler in this journey through life. May we recognize that each one is doing her or his best to deal with the challenges which come her or his way, and may we strive to do our best to help out.”

I challenged the girls to find some ways that they can fill their words with faith, hope and charity in all the words they use in their life-whether they are words they think, hear write, read or speak! 

For the handout I adapted this adorable handout idea from Little LDS Ideas, to include the last sentence that reads 'I'll be sure every word is full of faith, hope and charity each day.' To better go along with our lesson.  It's a lovely poem to remind the girls that as they put on their chapstick they can remember to watch their words and the things they say.  I included the very best Lip Smackers to each poem and for good measure I also gave a little treat-Watermelon Sour Patch candies, you could use Sour Patch Kids but I loved how the watermelon went with my color scheme for this lesson.  Attached with another little warning 'Words can be sour or they can be sweet.  Make sure your words are soft and sweet, in case you have to eat them!'

If you'd like the printables for both handouts shown find them HERE!

If you'd like the posters I made to hang on the board you can find them HERE!

This post may contain affiliate links, but all opinions are as always my own! 

Power of the Priesthood Youth Sunday School Lesson

How can you honor the power of the priesthood?

This lesson is a mix of a few different topics from the June theme of Priesthood and Priesthood Keys.  I was trying to incorporate the topic 'How do women and priesthood holders work together to build the kingdom of God?' and questions that the youth had for us about honoring the priesthood.  

I taught this lesson last Sunday on Father's Day (Can you believe I'm actually getting up a post the same week I gave it?).  With it being Father's Day I wanted to highlight the influence of fathers and how much our parents and father figures or mother figures do for us.  We started by watching the video Earthly Father, Heavenly Father.  I love writing thank you notes so then we wrote thank you notes to our dads or moms, or anyone that has been an example like that to us.  We talked about the importance of honoring our parents and then moved into honoring the priesthood.

I loved THIS talk by Linda K. Burton.  It's such a great talk about how priesthood power blesses everyone!  Perfect talk for this lesson.

One of the things she mentioned was to think what life would be like without having the priesthood here on earth?  Can you even imagine!?  There would be no temples, eternal covenants, no prophets, no light-hope, only darkness.

We also talked about how the priesthood is always used to serve, to bless and strengthen others.  As David A. Bednar has said, "Nothing about the priesthood is self-centered."

Just like a superhero!  

These were so fun to give to the class.  I think even younger kids would have loved them too! 

All you need is paper and a bag of Tootsie Pops!

I just found a cape cut out online and glued my printable to it.  If you didn't want to cut out the cute little masks, you could totally have them just with the cape and it would be a lot easier!  You can print the masks on the same color card stock you use for the capes.  I also used mini glue dots but if I were to do this again I would use superglue to attach the masks.

I hope we are all realizing how important the priesthood is, 

it really does bless all of us no matter our circumstance.  

If you'd like the FREE 'Power of the Priesthood' printable you can find it HERE!

This post contains affiliate links, but all opinions are my own.