Plates vs. Wives

What if Lehi's boys approached Ishmael like they approached Laban?

"I'm not going in there."
"Me either!"
"Why did we have to come all this way back?"
"Come on guys, Dad said need wives.  Let's just cast lots and whoever loses goes in."
"Fine. Let's just get this over with."
"Aw man, it's me! I'm nasty from the journey, but I'm not showering for that old man. Wish me luck!"

*Angry father tosses out Laman.*

"Geez Laman, what happened?"
"I could tell he didn't like me the moment I stepped in there. Maybe he remembered the night I had a date with his daughter and yelled for her from my camel outside their gate.  What does he think this is? The -700th century?"
"No kidding. What do we do now? Go back and tell dad we failed?"
"I've got an idea - let's go get all the gold and silver out of our house..."

Thank goodness they were thinking a little better retrieving the ladies than when they were getting the plates.

Commitments

"God's role is a constant, not a variable.  He always keeps His promises.  The only variable is whether we have the faith that we will be blessed with miracles if we make commitments to God and then obediently do what we said we would do."  --Clayton M. Christensen

Christensen made that statement regarding member missionary efforts in his inspiring book "The Power of Everyday Missionaries," but this is an eternal truth.  If we choose to be obedient and act, we will received the help we need.

Case in point - last year I took a good chunk of the year to read the Book of Mormon.  My initial goal was to finish before Adam left on his mission, but I really wanted to make it a deep study, summarizing what I read and adding my thoughts.  That took a lot of extra time and effort, but I did it, and it's a treasure to me.

The first Sunday of the year I was sitting in Primary, and the Primary secretary handed me the Relief Society newsletter and a 90 day Book of Mormon reading chart that had apparently been passed out in Relief Society.  My initial thoughts came fast and strong, "I can't do that!  It just took me most of a year to just read it.  There's no way."  And I shoved the chart in my bag.  A couple days later I had the gentle thought, "Just listen to it when you drive kids to and from seminary."  "Okay, I can do that," I thought back.  In less than 80 days I finished the Book of Mormon doing not much more than that, just adding in other times I was alone in the car, which really wasn't a lot.  It was a wonderful reminder to me that with Heavenly Father's help, I can do things I didn't think I could.

From just the page before, "When we engage in a covenant with God that we will do something that one of our leaders has asked us to do, [and I would add, things we received personal revelation to do], and we are desperate to do what we have committed to do, God truly comes to trust us."

I love the word desperate in there.  In the chapter he is teaching about setting a date to have someone take the missionary discussions.  Not just invite, but to actually have it happen.  He shares that though his dates are set a year or several months out, it's a casual commitment until the date gets closer and he starts to panic, and that's when he gets serious, desperate even, about making it happen.

Makes me think about my own commitments, and if I am casual or serious/desperate about them.  Daily scripture study?  Personal prayer?  Temple attendance?  Visiting teaching?

Booklet Sequence Ordering for Double-Sided Printing

This is completely for my sake and sanity, one of the random things I find myself doing and stressed over that could have been easier, and I don't want to forget when it comes up again.

In the last few weeks I've made two programs for two different plays in our area put on by homeschoolers and directed by amazing mothers of some of these kids purely volunteering their time.  The first one I had kids in the play and it was my way to help make it happen.  The second one was a favor for a friend (and we get free tickets because of it - bonus!).

I know there is a way to print it and have it come out right, but the place the first one was done just printed it double-sided so things were out of order.  It wasn't horrible, but I knew it was wrong.

I couldn't send off the second to be done the same way in good conscience, so I sat with the single-sided pages in the right spots on my lap, flipping back and forth.  Of course when I had fiddled and messed enough, I finally figured out there is an easy pattern to it all, as seen in this graphic.  Follow the black arrows down and the blue arrows back up, and voila, in the right order.

Like I said, for me next time.  I have a feeling I will get to do this again.

Sorry this is so random...

Wolf Scout Leader Files

Now that I'm a Wolf leader, I had to get myself all file organized for that too.

Wolf Adventure Tracking - The basics for this file were passed on to me by the former Wolf leaders, but I did some tightening so it fit on two pages, or one front and back.  They used colors to differentiate boys, but I've got a color and a black and white version to share.

You'll notice the numbers next to the Adventure name.  The number on the left is the number of Adventure (1-6 required, then 1-13 electives), and the number on the right is the page number in the Wolf book.


Wolf Adventure Tracking Color PDF

Wolf Adventure Tracking Color Excel


Wolf Adventure Tracking Black/White PDF

Wolf Adventure Tracking Black/White Excel

Wolf Adventures At-a-Glance - I didn't want to flip through the book every time I needed to see the requirements for an adventure (for marking it off on records or planning).  I know the font is small, but it fits on one page front and back.  Maybe someday I'll made one with a bigger font...

My one tip for this so far (since I'm still pretty new) is about the Paws on the Path adventure.  After working with the Boy Scouts and encouraging them in gathering their 10 Essentials, I thought it was cool for the Wolves to need to gather the 6 Essentials.  On the first week I had our Den Chief (you're missing out if you don't have one!) bring those and teach the boys about them, then when we went on our hike I made sure the parents knew with plenty of time that the boys needed to bring them along.

One of these items is a whistle...

I currently have 10 Wolf scouts.  Ten 8 year old boys, with WHISTLES.  As much as I encouraged them to not blow them so we could see the wildlife we were supposed to see, a noise making device is just too much for boys that age.  I didn't want to confiscate, because they were seriously feeling super cool packing around their 6 Essentials (eating their snacks, drinking their water, hoping someone had an accident so they could use their first aid kit).  A friend suggested maybe before beginning, or maybe another week pre-hike playing a hide-and-seek game at a park where a boy would hide then blow their whistle to be found.  Then maybe they would be plenty whistled out and realize the purpose of the whistle (to be found if lost, not to give their awesome den leader a headache).

Maybe one more tip.  Have a blast and love the boys!  It's what all the best den leaders do.

If you know an 11-year-old Scouts leader that needs some good tracking documents, I've got those as well, right here.

11 Year Old Scouts Leader Files and a Knots Tip

I have this special OCD with scouting, that I need to have the right tracking documents at my finger tips or I just can't function. With all the work I've put into them, I've decided I need to share them further than word of mouth.

For your scouting pleasure, here are my EYO scout files:

**The pictures aren't updated, but the files are updated to the new requirements that went into effect January 1, 2016.  If you see any mistakes in the files, let me know.

Rank Requirements Tracking Sheet - I had something very similar to this with the old requirements passed on to me from another leader, so I HAD to have it with the new requirements.  You're welcome!

Activity Tracker PDF - When I first became an EYO scout leader I did a lot of research on schedules.  I found quite a variety, but none that were what I figured I could work with and still be flexible enough to work with boys coming in and going out throughout the year (the way we roll with scouting in the LDS Church).  I finally found one I mostly liked, then I took it, messed with it a lot (and changed it more as I used it), and made it my own.  This is the latest version with the new 2016 requirements.  The requirements are all grouped by subject, so you can plan to do a month of First Aid, then some hiking, some orienteering, and so on, passing off requirements at each rank at the same time.  When I was making my calendar for the next few months, I would make sure this was updated, and plan in the things that were blank.  If just one or two boys are missing something, if their birthday was getting close work it in quick with something else we were doing, or plan it in later when we could hit it again.  Using this, we could do most of the requirements twice during the year, having the boys who already passed it off help teach, or give them a great review.

Here's an Excel version in case you'd like to add in the boys' names, dates, etc.

Examples of my schedule/scout newsletter --->  Oct-Dec and Jan-Mar  This was as much for me as it was for the boys.  I needed to plan ahead so I wasn't wondering every week what we were going to do.  The boys and parents liked knowing what was ahead, and I could put things on there (like bring a personal first aid kit), and they would magically show up with them.  I like the half-sheet size - not too big for the fridge.

Now just a fun tip on teaching knots.  I learned this from one of my great scouting heroes, Kathee from the Snake River Council (if you're from up there, you know who I'm talking about).  She was a Scoutmaster for a community unit and would take her boys to scout camp, where those that didn't know her wondered why a girl was there.  By the end of the week they would be asking her how she got her boys to know and do the things they did.  For knots, she had a different color of paracord for each knot, and once they could pass off the knot (not just tying it once, but maybe learning it one meeting and passing it off the next), they would earn the rope for that knot.  If every they couldn't show her or the patrol leader the knot, they would lose the rope.  YIKES!  I guarantee no boy wants to lose a rope he's earned.  Plus, with a rope in hand, they can go home and practice, and they do.  They get their first rope when they cross the bridge from cub scouting to boy scouting - I have them tie a square knot when they get to me, and when they do it, they get a carabiner (to hang their ropes on and clip to a belt buckle) and a red rope.  Colors really don't matter.  For the basic knots I cut them about 4 feet long.  They have to do all 3 lashings to get the rope for that, but that rope is 7-8 feet long.  Paracord is cheap - we have a store locally that sells it by the foot for 7 or 8 cents per foot, depending on the quality.  Works out to be less than $3/boy for a set of ropes.

Here is a list of fun game ideas to reinforce the knots they learn.

I hope the files are helpful!  Feel free to share this page with other 11 year old scout leaders.

If you know Wolf scout leader that needs some good tracking documents, I've got those as well, right here.

Eyes to See

The last two general conferences the question I've had in my mind is how our family could be more loving and united. It just seemed there was always so much contention here over one silly thing or another.

Two Sundays ago I was being set apart as the Wolf leader in our ward, and during the blessing the words "the love that permeates your home" jumped out at me. Has he been in our home?!? Then I thought of where that blessing was really coming from, and what He knows and sees. What was I missing?

During the next week I was sometimes shocked, amazed, and humbled at the things I saw happening in our home. The little kindnesses, the laughter (one night crazy wild what-did-I-feed-them-for-dinner-this-is-so-weird-they-are-being-so-fun-together laughter), singing while they sort laundry together, smiles, and happiness.

I don't know if the miracle came from the blessing, or from my eyes being opened, but it's been two weeks now and I'm still seeing it. I love my wonderful family! (Even when they are contentious, because that still happens too.)

Someone is missing . . . 

Liahona Chocolate

Prayers can be answered in funny ways. My primary lesson today was on 1 Nephi 16 - the liahona. I had been thinking about an object lesson (didn't love the one in the manual), but no ideas were coming. Grabbed some Dove birthday chocolate to read over the lesson again this morning, glanced at the message inside, and inspiration struck. The world's messages are everywhere, and may sound lovely and enticing, but not God's way to get things done and bring us the most happiness.

In class I passed out chocolate to everyone and we enjoyed the advice inside, some good, some bad, and talked about all the places we can see for counsel and advice the world's way.  Then we talked about 1 Nephi 16 and likened that to us using Alma 37, then talked about the kinds of liahonas we can have faith in and really trust - scriptures, prophets, the Holy Ghost, patriarchal blessings, etc.

Thank you Dove!

Gifts

In a letter from Adam this week he asked, "Also, what do you want for your birthday? I already have one thing set (you'll love it). And maybe I'll send something for you to share with the whole family (spicy hot chocolate). But any wishes?"

The morning was busy enough (working for him actually - in the first letter he sent he asked me to e-mail him some talks he could add to a USB) that I hadn't even seen that to respond, so when I had to run pick up one of the kids I sent a quick message telling him I would send more talks if I got back soon enough.  When he replied to that I finally saw the question when he said again, "I need birthday wish on Monday. So I can get it sent. So think hard about it this week."

My response (thought I don't think he saw it yet) -  "Oh my son. Just you being you is gift enough."
Logistics-wise, he's on a mission.  He doesn't have a lot of money, and he doesn't have time to be wandering looking for anything, and really, what am I supposed to tell him?  "There's this book I really would like..."

But really, every letter is a gift.  Every picture he sends.  Every experience he shares.  Every testimony he bears.  Every bit of him I get to see growing and becoming stronger and stronger in the gospel.

It's been a perfect reminder of what really can we give our Heavenly Father, but I've still been trying to think of what I could tell him.

Maybe...
Say a prayer with me in mind and say "Thank you" a lot.  ;)
Write a letter telling me what you learned from me.
Watch for an act of service you can do that day and tell me about it.

???

** Update - he sent me a couple sweet birthday videos, and an Elder Hall missionary tag!!!