Barbara Jean Jones, "Free-for-All," Ensign, Apr. 2004, 72
What if someone told you that you could spend time with friends, go shopping without spending any money, and generate donations for charity-all at the same time? It may sound too good to be true, but it's actually quite easy. Here's how to do it:
Call a few of your friends or neighbors who have similar clothing tastes and sizes, and invite them to a "shop-for-free" party. Before the party, have them go through their closets and select clothing that is still in good shape but just doesn't fit anymore or hasn't been worn in over a year. Come party time, have your guests lay out the clothing they've gathered in your living room. After everyone has had a chance to see what's available, take turns selecting desired clothing items until everyone has all that they want. When you're finished, there will still be some good quality clothing; bag it up and donate it to your local Deseret Industries or another charity. You could also do the same thing with outgrown children's clothing, shoes, books, kitchen items, electronics in good working order, and so forth. It's a great way to "de-clutter" your home, get free things you need for yourself and your family, generate goods for charity, and have a fun time with friends.
Sometimes I run into a friend who's wearing something that used to be mine, or vice versa. Whenever that happens, we smile at each other and say, "Great outfit! Where did you get it?"
Barbara Jean Jones, Wasatch Ward, Salt Lake Hillside Stake
Gospel topics: charity, self-reliance
[illustration] Illustrated by Joe Flores
Constance L. Brown, "Our Family History Timeline," Ensign, Apr. 2004, 72
I have a historical book that shows yearly timelines, linking people with events, literature, arts, science, and more. Since this format was helpful to my understanding of history, I thought, "Why not adapt this for our family?" Using a table format, I created our family history timeline.
To begin, I chose 9-by-14-inch paper, though other sizes would work, and divided the page into columns and rows. In the first column, I listed years. Across the top in the first row, I wrote categories such as "General," "Parents," "Child." To personalize a timeline, you could list names. For me, these categories best organized the information, making it easy for me to tell what had occurred in a specific year for each person in our family.
In the "General" column, I recorded family events like "Grandmother's 70th birthday party" or worldwide news such as "Neil Armstrong walked on the moon."
Under "Parents" I listed events that affected the entire family as well as things that were specific to us as parents.
In our children's columns, I listed their births, the years they began school, various achievements, their graduations and marriages, careers, moves, and their children's births. Since I wanted to include events they felt were significant, I asked for their input.
When I finished gathering the information, I created a table of our timeline on a computer and saved it on a disk. Now I can update the chart easily and print copies for my children. Our family timeline provides a useful record for us now as well as an accurate history for future generations.
Constance L. Brown, Red Deer First Ward, Red Deer Alberta Stake
Gospel topic: family history
Kristen J. Gough, "Family Home Evening Times Two," Ensign, Apr. 2004, 73
With preschool-age children, our family home evening lessons tend to be basic-and brief. As a couple, we found ourselves yearning to spend more time discussing gospel principles. As a result, we decided to hold another, less formal, parents' family home evening after our children are in bed. Sometimes our discussion continues from what we have just taught our children. Other times we use the following ideas:
* Select an article from a Church magazine or a passage from individual scripture study to read and discuss.
* Read the Sunday School study assignments together.
* If one of us is teaching Sunday lessons, we often discuss an upcoming lesson together or share something from a lesson already taught.
* Read selections from Teachings of the Living Prophets, especially the chapters assigned for upcoming Relief Society and priesthood lessons.
* Discuss general conference talks.
Elder Dallin H. Oaks of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles has said, "It is a striking fact that the family home evening is the ideal time to accomplish almost every type of family togetherness" ("Parental Leadership in the Family," Ensign, June 1985, 11). We find that by extending our family home evening, we keep that special feeling of togetherness in our home. We enjoy the extra time, and the right spirit, to discuss any concerns we might have about our children or any goals we want to achieve.
Kristen J. Gough, Westchester Second Ward, Westchester New York Stake
Gospel topics: family home evening, marriage
[illustration] Illustrated by Beth Whittaker