A few years ago, I posted a really cute and free Thanksgiving Dinner invitation and found that it was a huge hit. So many people used it, so I thought I would share another one with you. I made this one up for this years Thanksgiving Dinner with my family. I left the detail part blank so you can fill it in however you wish. The adorable Turkey came from a blog that I just found called catnipstudicollage. I made this 5 x 7" so easy invitation to print. Hope it helps you to have a wonderful Thanksgiving.
By the way, when you begin counting your blessings, try to keep your eyes open and be aware of those around you who might not be quite so fortunate. Maybe they could use an invitation to a nice dinner. Sometimes we get so wrapped up in our own lives, challenges, triumphs, and everything in-between, we forget that we are all God's children and He loves each and everyone of us the very same. Pperhaps we could really make our Heavenly Father smile if he knew more of his children's needs were taken care of. Open your heart, and think about sharing your Thanksgiving dinner, and if you don't feel comfortable in bringing someone new into your house to share, you can always set aside a plate of food and deliver it to someone who could use it.
Something that helps me in being more generous, is to remember that when I see the homeless on the street, or the addict in the shadows, or the beggar with her hand out, I remember that those who are destitute, dispised, and downtrodden, are somebodys son or daughter, and on a grander scheme, they are our very own brothers and sisters, who are needing a helping hand.
THINK ABOUT IT. Enjoy my gift! Best regards, Kathleen Gauger
A young mother gave a wonderful talk in my Sacrament meeting a month or so ago, and contained in her talk was a poem that really struck a note with me. The poem was called "Living what we pray for," and she said that it was shared by President Monson in a General Conference talk. I have not taken the time to search for his talk, so I hope she is correct, but I did find this great poem and wanted to share it with all of you. As I was searching, I noticed that Stirling W. Sill had also written a poem, that is very similar, so I really don't know who the author is for sure, but none the less, it is really a thought provoking one that all of us need. I made a little hand out for you as well that you can find at this link: https://www.dropbox.com/s/nw9jclz04z3wlbx/Inspirational%20Door%20Hanger%20cropped.jpg?dl=0
LIVING WHAT WE PRAY FOR
I knelt to pray when day was done
And prayed, "O Lord, bless everyone;
Lift from each saddened heart the pain,
And let the sick be well again."
And then I woke another day
And carelessly went on my way;
The whole day long, I did not try
To wipe a tear from any eye.
I did not try to share the load
Of any brother on the road;
I did not even go to see
The sick man, just next door to me.
Yet, once again, when day was done,
I prayed, "O Lord, bless everyone."
But as I prayed, into my ear,
There came a voice that whispered clear:
"Pause now, my son, before you pray;
Whom have you tried to bless today?
God's sweetest blessings always go,
By hands that serve Him here below.
And then I had my face and cried,
"Forgive me, God, I have not tried.
Let me but live another day,
And I will live the way I pray?
This morning, I just revived a talk that President Monson gave, that has been made into a video. I know we as women of this great church, sometimes feel a little stagnant in our service, and ask ourselves "What can I do to serve?" We have tended others children, taken in meals, made our Visiting Teaching visits, but what more can I give? I would like to suggest that sometimes we should look to our children, and see what they do, and what they come up with . President Monson shares many ways that children serve, that you probably all remember about in this video, and the message came from a talk that was given back in 2009 that he shared about "Warm Fuzzies." Pay close attention to the kinds of service that children give and remember the scripture in Matthew 18: 2,3 "And said, Verily I say unto you, Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven.Whosoever therefore shall humble himself as this little child, the same is greatest in the kingdom of heaven."
If you wonder what you can do to serve others... watch your little children, and here is a perfect example of why we should. Click on this link and you will see the cutest little children with one of them serving the other. http://youtu.be/cHkr0ysHSeI?t=8s
What are Warm fuzzies?
The warm, pleasant sensations one feels in the stomach and heart area when emotionally moved by an act of goodwill or love.
When someone you love or close to you says or does something that gives you a tingling sensation, and melted or warmed heart, sends your heart racing to the heavens, even the "good" kinda of goose bumps!
Warming messages of friendliness or love to someone expressing a kind message to show gratitude toward one person or a whole group of people.
The opposite of a cold prickly.
Warm fuzzies = Hugs, kiss, prayer, words of gratitude and love, service, kindness, friendship, and more.
A young, married woman shared a story with me yesterday about Visiting Teaching. She told me that it was her very first time ever being a Visiting Teacher, as she and her husband were in the process of being reactivated in the church. She had been given some faithful visiting teachers over the past couple of years, and their example made it very easy for her to accept becoming a visiting teacher. She worried how she would be received into homes of women who didn't know her, for you see, her whole life, she had been judged by others, because she was born with a handicapping condition. She had been stared at her whole life time, made the brunt of jokes, and pointed at, and commented about because of her physical differences. She wondered whether or not, she would be welcomed and received into homes of sisters in her ward, to give them a lesson, form friendships and be able to be the kind of Visiting Teacher, that she knew she wanted to be. Would they even want her, or let her in? She also wondered if her new partner, a newly married woman without children, would want to go with her. Her whole life, she had never had friends who wanted to do things with her, or invited her to go places with them. They were embarrassed to be seen with her, though in private times, they would talk to her, and have phone conversations, they would never be seen in public with her. She knew it was because she was different physically, and somehow she had been able to reconcile not having friends, and clung to her family relationships as her friendships. Her best friend was and still is her Mother, who loved her and she knew it. Her brothers were the ones who stood up for her, when she was being teased or made fun of, and their friends joined in and were kind to her.
How would this experience be, going visiting teaching the first time?
She told her Visiting Teaching partner that she would give the lesson, which would be for this month, one of the Conference talks. She prepared, prayed and readied herself for her very first appointment, and when the day came, she woke with nervousness, and apprehension. Sill, she knew that since she has had great experiences with her own Visiting Teachers, she drew courage deal within, and remembered what she had been taught from her parents to look up, that she was a beloved daughter of God, who loved her very much too. With this said, she and her partner met at the home of the woman in their ward, whom they had an appointment with. Things went well, in fact, so well, that that they were there for an hour and 15 minutes. She felt the lesson went well, because things in her life related to the Conference talk, almost as if the talk were written for her alone, which let her share her feelings about certain parts of the talk. The sister they taught joined in and shared her thoughts and feelings. Together they began an emerging friendship.
This young woman related to me this experience, because she knew I loved and understood the value of Visiting Teaching. I explained to her that through Visiting Teaching, her own needs will be met right along with meeting the needs of the sisters she teaches, and who knows, maybe those she teaches yearn for friendships as much as she does. She will form friendships, and a sisterhood with ward members, and sometimes those friendships last for a lifetime. Her yearning for a friend, or friendships, have been met through her own Visiting Teachers, and what a blessing she has been given to make more friendships because she chose to accept this very important assignment. I was so proud of her, that she let her very difficult memories and challenges stay behind her, that she did not dwell on her past, but choose to move on, and let the Lord guide her paths. I know that blessings and friendships await her, as she serves the Lord, by loving one another.
Visiting teaching is important. People need other people, and when we serve them, we are serving the Lord. One of the most important things we can do in this life is to love one another. When this commandment was given to us, there were no qualifiers like to only love those who are church members, those who don't sin, those who never make mistakes. We are to love everyone, no matter their differences or circumstances, and that is one of the very most important things that we have been asked to do in this life. I wonder when we meet our Heavenly Father and our Savior one day, and when they remind us of the things we did in this life, which things they will value most about our earthly deeds and life. Will it be the trophy's we have won in our growing years from dancing, sports, and gymnastics. Will it be the fact that we were successful in life and had made lots of money to buy huge homes on the hill, and provide your family with name brand attire, cars, and anything that they could imagine. OR... would They simply ask, How much have you loved? Did you love your neighbor? I have a feeling that the only things that will matter at that moment will be the things that we did that showed love.
I recently heard of a woman who did not accept a Visiting Teaching assignment, because a particular sister they were assigned to, was too needy. Another time, an assignment to Visit teach an inactive sister was turned down because she lived too close to her, and had never taken the opportunity to meet her all those years, and she was embarrassed. Another was when she was assigned to a woman who could only be Visit taught on a certain day and was deemed inflexible, so that assignment was turned down. Still another... "They live too far away." I could go on and on I am sure that there are many excuses we could come up with, to not accept a Visiting Teaching assignment, but I would like to venture a bet, that if all those assignments that were turned down for whatever reason, were accepted, that a great experience awaited all the sisters, and because they were turned down, they missed a great opportunity to love one another.
As I have loved you,
Love one another,
This new commandment,
Love one another.
By this shall men know,
Ye are my disciples,
If ye have love one to another
Happy Visiting Teaching as you go about "Loving One Another!"
General conference will be broadcast live on YouTube for the first time
in Spanish and Portuguese. If people are interested, they can go to the
links below and click Subscribe and they will receive updates and other
videos directly through YouTube.
I just wanted to send a Valentine to each of you, who read and follow my blogs, to thank you for letting me "OPEN MY HEART," to share my tips, handouts and ideas with you. I hope that they continue to help you better serve in your calling as Visiting Teachers, in the Relief Society and as a friend and neighbor. I hope you have a wonderful Valentines Day today! Here is my card, I designed for you.
I created his Valentine for the "Girls" in my life. I got the graphic from Graphics Fairy, which is my very favorite Vintage graphics and elements site on the internet! I sent it to my daughters and daughters in law, my Mother, the widows in my ward and of course for those I Visit teach. I thought that since Valentines Day is upon us, maybe you would like a card to print off that is specifically for a woman in your life. Yes, even a husband could print this off for his wife. By the way, I created it to be a 4x6 print, and had it printed at the one hour Photo at Wal-Mart. Turned out darling, and the backside can be personalized. I have to say that though this was the Valentine, I did get some fun things to go with it. For the widows in the ward, I bought a large bunch of Roses from Costco, divided them up, wrapped them up in cellophane, and tied them with a beautiful bow. For my daughters and daughters in law, I made a pink microwaveable heat/cold bag. Directions here. The one they make at this link is a little more than what I did, because I just sewed a square bag, and didn't sew all those added pockets but hey, whatever you have time for. I thought that a cute little silver tray or something like that would be cute to put on one really nice chocolate, or heart shaped iced cookie and wrap it up in cellophane with a pretty bow, would also be very nice to go with this. Actually you could use any heart shaped anything... pillow, conversation hearts, jelly hearts, or fill a jelly jar or plastic heart found at the $ store, up with pink and red M & M's. Just about anything would go with this cute card. Hope you enjoy this, and make sure those you Visit Teach have a Valentine. ENJOY! Katie
HAPPY VALENTINE DAY!!! Oh, can't forget the men in our lives, so I thought I would share the valentines I made for them this year. I also created this Valentine from a couple of vintage clock and heart images that I got from Graphics Fairy and other clip art sources, and designed this very nice Valentine for the men in my life. This one I made for my sons and sons in law, and with it I gave a clock (vintage alarm clock) with it, wrapped in a clear cellophane bag, with a Red and black bow tying the bag at the top.
Sometimes I think of the most random things, and all of the sudden, a song that I haven't heard or even thought about in years, popped into my mind. Suddenly my rhyming hat flew to my head, and words to a Visiting Teaching song, just burst forth out of my mouth. I know when these times happen, I had better be at my computer or have a pencil to write things down, so I don't forget them.
So what prompted this song and thoughts? I have had my mind on Visiting Teaching. As most of you already know, I administrate the Facebook group called Extraordinary Visiting Teachers. A sister posted a question, that sent my mind in a flurry with ideas racing around and then, this song. So, here is the words to the song..."Sisters" I came up with them all in about 10 minutes. I think you could use them for a fun monthly evening with the sisters in your ward, and if the women who sang it were drama queens, it could be really funny too!
SISTERS (my version, by Katie Gauger)
Sisters, Sisters
There were never such devoted
sisters.
Never failed to miss a monthly
call, no sir
We’ll not forget to visit her.
Caring, sharing
Every little message we’re preparing
We take turns to teach or call
her on the phone,
And she picks the date, that she’ll
be home.
CHORUS:
All kinds of weather, we stick
together,
The same in the rain or sun.
Two different faces, but in the
right places
We think and we act as one.Uh-huh!
Those who’ve seen us,
Know that not a thing would come
between us.
Some times they have tried to
split us up, but no one shall.
Please help our sisters, to know
that we really would miss her, ( or an alternate line: " We'll give some blisters, if you come between us and our sisters,)
If we missed out on, an appointment
to visit our Gals!
CHORUS:
All kinds of weather, we stick
together,
Like the postman in snow or rain.
With smiling faces, staying in good graces,
We hope we don't become a pain.Oh, No!
Those who know us,
Know that they can always count upon us,
If they need a meal or a helping
hand we’ll be right there.
Please help our sisters, to know
that we truly are sisters,
And please bless our sisters, to
know that we really do care!
Thought I would start off this post with Sister Thompson's video titled, "And Some Have Compassion, making a difference." This good woman is so lovely in all ways, and her messaView blogge is a great reminder for everyone who serves others.
Here is a great link to save to your computer on Visiting Teaching. It gets you to the monthly Visiting Teaching message, provides additional Visiting teaching training, shares Church News articles and shares a lot of other helpful resources. One of the best resources is also on that page, and that is the Visiting Teaching Message Archive, which could be a great resource to Relief Societies who want to come up with R.S.Meeting ideas, Visiting Teaching conference ideas, and just all around great ways of sharing the gospel with our sisters. I encourage you to go to this link and see what I'm writing about. https://www.lds.org/callings/relief-society/visiting-teaching-messages?lang=eng
Are you wondering where the Visiting Teaching message can be found? It is a bit confusing on LDS.org right now, but that should be corrected soon. Here is the link to the Visiting Teaching message for Januaryhttps://www.lds.org/ensign/2014/01/the-divine-mission-of-jesus-christ-exemplar?lang=engThe topic is "The Divine Mission of Jesus Christ: Exemplar."
I love the direction this lesson is going, because I love all the stories from the life of our Savior. He is our example, (EXEMPLAR) and who better to direction our Visiting Teaching messages around, but the one individual who was perfect. I designed these handouts for you to print off and take with you Visiting Teaching, as a little reminder of what President Uchtdorf said in this message about women. To print, click on the image to enlarge it, then right click "save as" and then save it to your computer. Then print from your computer. We do follow or try to emulate Christ's example when He was always about helping others with their infirmities, afflictions, and challenges. Enjoy! Katie G
