Great Fall Visiting Teaching gift

The other day, my husband was looking for our electric heating pad as his foot was hurting.  I looked over the entire house, knowing that we have one, and couldn't find it anywhere.  I then thought... I wonder if I let one of my children borrow it.  Naturally I phoned my daughter as she would be the likely suspect as she has been ill for about 9 months.  I phoned her and she said that she didn't have it, but she did still have my scented microwave heating pad that is shaped to wrap around my neck and shoulders.  My husband bought it for me several years ago because I had such bad allergies, and he thought it might help with all the herbal scents it contained, and it did.  Anyway... I lent that to my daughter and she reminded me of how nice it is to have one.  So.... like the wonderful Mom that I am, I told her to keep it and use it as long as she needs to, and I began my search online to find out how to make another one.

 I went to http://tipnut.com/make-your-own-microwave-heating-pad/ which is a really fun, idea filled site that I subscribe to and typed in their search bar "microwave heating pad" and I found out how to make an herbal one.  It is very easy to make and the hardest part is to locate all the herbs that are required.  I am guessing that if I go to my local health food store, they should have what I need to fill the bag.  The picture to the left comes from: http://sonnetofthemoon.blogspot.com/2010/02/rice-heating-bag-and-removable-cover.html and has a tutorial along with it.  If you use google images, you can find alot of other great sites that have good examples of how to make these and some cute fabrics and such. 

So how does this relate to Visiting teaching???  Well.... with the change of weather, things get colder outside and so do we.  Unfortunately this also brings alot of colds and flu's!   What a great idea to do for a sister you teach to actually provide her something besides the "Chicken Soup" when she is sick.  Just how much Chicken soup can one person eat???

I have made up a cute little poem for you to print off to give along with the microwave hot pads to whomever you like.  Enjoy!  Katie G.

Alice in Wonderland Mad Hatter Tea Party

So why in the world would I post an Alice in Wonderland Tea Party on my Relief Society Visiting teaching blog???? My new ward calling is serving in the Young Women and we are doing an activity in a couple weeks teaching the girls about proper etiquette, graciousness, appreciation and just plain fun. We will teach the girls how to properly set the table, including what the different knives, forks and spoons are used for. We'll talk about table manners, and gracious and appropriate conversation. And NO we aren't serving tea, but we will probably serve some yummy strawberry lemonade or something like that out of a tea server, into tea cups. What does this have to do with Visiting Teaching or Relief Society??? Well, I am trying to make the projects that I do the graphics, invitations, announcements, and such be usable for not just Young Women's, but for a fun date with those you visit teach, the ladies in your wards R.S., or neighborhood.... See... this idea would be so much fun, and I am going to provide the invitation, place cards, and favor. You will of course have to edit it to suit what you are doing, but you can enjoy the benefit of what I have already put together. I have spent hours and hours on the invitation and came up with 3 different ones, that I really didn't like how they printed out. Finally I got a brainstorm after a good nights sleep, and thought since this Mad Hatter tea party actually comes out of a book, why not make the invitation look like a book. This book is also in public domain so the images are fine to use as well. It turned out very cute, and as soon as I can, I will take a photo and insert it into this blog so that you can see it. If you want the complete pages, you will have to go to my http://Visitingteachingsurprise.blogspot.com
blog to get them as they would take up too much space to insert them on this one. Let me know what you think, and if you use this idea, let me know how you used it, with whom and how much fun you had! Here is the direct link to that post on the blog, http://visitingteachingsurprise.blogspot.com/2010/09/alice-in-wonderland-mad-hatter-tea.html but if you have not done so yet.... you should go look at all the fun and cute other printables and ideas that I have in the archives. Plan on spending some time, because you will really enjoy it!

Best regards, Katie G.

Heart and Soul play....for Visiting Teaching and Home Teaching

I wanted to let you know that I scanned in the rewrite of the Heart and Soul play that my ward did for a Home Teaching and Visiting teaching Night.  It turned out darling!!!  Anyway, instead of continuing to mail it out to everyone who wants it, I jsut got a portable hand scanner and was able to scan it and add it to my blog.  Here is the link... http://visitingteachingsurprisedocuments.blogspot.com/2010/09/visiting-teaching-skit-heart-and-soul.html

I have my September Visiting teaching done.... how about you?

September 2010 Visiting Teaching Message

The September Message can be found at http://lds.org/library/display/0,4945,2044-1-5213-1,00.html
The Link to either of the handouts " The Fmaily: A Proclamation to the World"  can be found on my other blog... visiting teaching surprise at this link http://visitingteachingsurprise.blogspot.com/2010/09/visiting-teaching-message-suggests-that.html
 and the topic is "Our Responsibility to Nurture the Rising Generation"  found in the Ensign, September 2010.
I have been a little slow getting my this posted as this past week I was called into Young Women.  I can't tell you how much work it has been for me to get calendars, Meeting Agendas, and so many other things put together and looking so cute, like I like to do. There have been Sunday and Weekday meetings, Presidency meeting, and Bishops leadership training as well as a meeting with the President to orient me and fill me in on my new calling.   I have come to really admire the time that the Young Women leaders put into their callings, because it really is a sacrifice at times.  I know that things take days and weeks to plan and carry out and the focus on teaching and "nurturing the rising generation is a huge responsibility.

This months Visiting Teaching message has a quote from Sister Julie Beck that says:  "So what is it that will keep the rising generation safe? In the Church, we teach saving principles, and those principles are family principles, the principles that will help the rising generation to form a family, teach that family, and prepare that family for ordinances and covenants—and then the next generation will teach the next and so on.
As parents, leaders, and Church members, we are preparing this generation for the blessings of Abraham, for the temple. We have the responsibility to be very clear on key points of doctrine found in the proclamation on the family. Motherhood and fatherhood are eternal roles and responsibilities. Each of us carries the responsibility for either the male or the female half of the plan.

We can teach this doctrine in any setting. We must speak respectfully of marriage and family. And from our example, the rising generation can gain great hope and understanding—not just from the words we speak but from the way we feel and emanate the spirit of family."

This quote brings me back to the admiration and gratitude I have come to feel from the leaders who spend so much time with our Youth.  This past week, in the Ward Leadership training that I attended for the Young Women leaders and Youth Presidency leaders,  there was wonderful council and guidance given.  But the one thing that stuck out in my mind and really hit me hard was when our Young Women's president gave a statistic that 1 in every 1000 Youth will "Be Strong" in their moral convictions.  I don't know where she got her statistics from but that hit me like a ton of lead.  One out of every thousand kids in this world today will stay morally clean? How very sad but what a challenge and goal to be that "ONE!"  My  mind instantly began to try to comprehend one in a thousand, and I determined that it would take about 3 wards of all ages in my city and stake, to get 1000 people together.  I thought about the local High Schools and thought that they probably have 1000 plus kids attending school.  Imagine.... only person in the entire school or out of 3 wards, being the one who stayed morally clean. 

This thought disturbed me greatly to know that our children are being raised in a world that is so lacking in morality.  How difficult it must be for this rising generation to actually rise to all that the Lord has in store for them.  I know that the most choice of Gods Children are being born now and some years before because they will most likely be those Warriors who have been saved for this day and time.   These children have to be strong and will be like Helamans warriors, but fighting a different kind of battle.  Their battle isn't being fought on foreign soil, with breastplates and swords, but they will have to be armed with virtue, and character, purity and soberness, in order to win their battle. 

All I can say is Pray for the Youth.... Pray that they can be strong and that their greatest example will always be Christ.  Pray for their courage to make righteous choices.  Pray for their strength to say no to drugs, alcohol, promiscuity and anything else that the world will try to tempt them with. 

Addressing the sisters at the general Relief Society meeting on September 23, 1995, President Gordon B. Hinckley said: "The world we are in is a world of turmoil, of shifting values. Shrill voices call out for one thing or another in betrayal of time-tested standards of behavior."1 President Hinckley then went on to introduce to the sisters, the Church, and ultimately people everywhere "The Family: A Proclamation to the World."

The Family: A Proclamation to the World,” Ensign, Nov 1995, 102



We, the First Presidency and the Council of the Twelve Apostles of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, solemnly proclaim that marriage between a man and a woman is ordained of God and that the family is central to the Creator’s plan for the eternal destiny of His children.


All human beings—male and female—are created in the image of God. Each is a beloved spirit son or daughter of heavenly parents, and, as such, each has a divine nature and destiny. Gender is an essential characteristic of individual premortal, mortal, and eternal identity and purpose.


In the premortal realm, spirit sons and daughters knew and worshiped God as their Eternal Father and accepted His plan by which His children could obtain a physical body and gain earthly experience to progress toward perfection and ultimately realize his or her divine destiny as an heir of eternal life. The divine plan of happiness enables family relationships to be perpetuated beyond the grave. Sacred ordinances and covenants available in holy temples make it possible for individuals to return to the presence of God and for families to be united eternally.


The first commandment that God gave to Adam and Eve pertained to their potential for parenthood as husband and wife. We declare that God’s commandment for His children to multiply and replenish the earth remains in force. We further declare that God has commanded that the sacred powers of procreation are to be employed only between man and woman, lawfully wedded as husband and wife.


We declare the means by which mortal life is created to be divinely appointed. We affirm the sanctity of life and of its importance in God’s eternal plan.


Husband and wife have a solemn responsibility to love and care for each other and for their children. “Children are an heritage of the Lord” (Psalms 127:3). Parents have a sacred duty to rear their children in love and righteousness, to provide for their physical and spiritual needs, to teach them to love and serve one another, to observe the commandments of God and to be law-abiding citizens wherever they live. Husbands and wives—mothers and fathers—will be held accountable before God for the discharge of these obligations.


The family is ordained of God. Marriage between man and woman is essential to His eternal plan. Children are entitled to birth within the bonds of matrimony, and to be reared by a father and a mother who honor marital vows with complete fidelity. Happiness in family life is most likely to be achieved when founded upon the teachings of the Lord Jesus Christ. Successful marriages and families are established and maintained on principles of faith, prayer, repentance, forgiveness, respect, love, compassion, work, and wholesome recreational activities. By divine design, fathers are to preside over their families in love and righteousness and are responsible to provide the necessities of life and protection for their families. Mothers are primarily responsible for the nurture of their children. In these sacred responsibilities, fathers and mothers are obligated to help one another as equal partners. Disability, death, or other circumstances may necessitate individual adaptation. Extended families should lend support when needed.


We warn that individuals who violate covenants of chastity, who abuse spouse or offspring, or who fail to fulfill family responsibilities will one day stand accountable before God. Further, we warn that the disintegration of the family will bring upon individuals, communities, and nations the calamities foretold by ancient and modern prophets.


We call upon responsible citizens and officers of government everywhere to promote those measures designed to maintain and strengthen the family as the fundamental unit of society.


I encourage you sisters to do whatever you can do to strengthen your families, and help to strengthen the families and children of others, through your service in this Church, through your neighborhood friendships, through your family ties and through the associations you have with your children's friends.  Do all you can to help teach and protect this Rising Generation.

For the handout... the lesson suggests giving a copy of The Family: A Proclamation to the World, and I have the links posted on http://visitingteachingsurprise.blogspot.com/ so that you can print it off.

Katie G.