Thursday, December 6, 2012

I Am A Child of God- Primary Theme 2013

I LOVE the new Primary Theme for 2013, 'I Am A Child of God'. It's actually perfect and brilliant. I know we have been singing this song since we were kids but the doctrine is true, we ARE God's children. And never before in the history of this world has it been more imperative that we all know this, understand it, internalize it, and live like it has meaning in our lives. Listen & FEEL:

Yes- You really ARE His child, and He loves you.

This is sound doctrine; Deut 14:1, Psalms 82:6, Malachi 2:10, Acts 17:29, Romans 8:16, Hebrews 12:9, Alma 40:11, Doctrine & Covenants 76:24, Moses 3:5...etc.

So in light of my calling (2nd Counselor in the Primary Presidency) we have been contemplating, and planning for the upcoming year. One of the things I love about the gospel of Jesus Christ is that we can learn, grow, and change with the help of the atonement. Even in small details. Example:

This year our theme has been Choose The Right. It's been a marvelous year teaching the children how they have been given agency (by God), and with that agency always comes consequences for good, or for bad. We have heard as the children are given speaking assigments in Primary how their choices have blessed their lives and the lives of their families. So, as a reminder on their Birthday Sunday we have those children come up and we sing a fun Birthday song to them and give them a book-mark for their scriptures that bares the CTR emblem & a ribbon. OK...in hind-sight it was kinda lame. (the book marks). Because by the time Primary was over...most of the bookmarks were torn, or mangled scraps of paper that found their way into the garbage. Time to learn from those experiences, lick our wounds, and try to find something new to give the children on their 2013 Birthday Sunday, something that would remind them of who they are. So my assignment....let's try to find something new, meaningful and yes...fun. I went searching, and found these:

This is the exact image I found on the internet.
I was soooooo excited. This would last longer
than 2 hours, and I knew the children would love them.


Of course we would change the logo to next years 'I Am A Child of God' theme. After the okay in Presidency Mtg. from our wonderful, and ahhhmazing President S. Watson...(which I got not just an ok...but an excited "GREAT!") I started pricing, and collecting information, and shopping for parts. Also, I have been busy learning about jewelry making.

Here are the images I found on etsy @
Danandwinnie.etsy.com. I
paid for the right to print these.
Aren't they awesome?

There was a learning curve. Hahaha.
See the jump rings sitting on the left side
of the white paper? They are kinda hard to see.

I put those single jump rings in the bottle caps by pinching them open/closed with my fingers. Ummm...not a good idea for children. So I went back to Hobby Lobby to try to find something more sturdy. Score! I found these tiny TRIPLE-jump rings (shown in the baggie and next to the zipper pull) they are like miniature key-rings that you have to make your key travel around and around to get it onto. Yes pain. Yes STURDY. So last night I stayed up till 2am switching the single jump rings to the triples. It was a task. Good thing I have great finger nails.

I bought the flattened bottle caps. (Less dangerous)
Not so menacing looking, or ninja. Haha.

The zipper-pulls are for the boys. They can put
them on their coats, or scripture bags, or back-packs.
There is an epoxy dome over the print. Nice, eh?

The girls get a bracelet. I went to the famous
Cartier website to learn the size of childrens
bracelets. They are 12-18cm. I made them all 18cm.
They can easily be shortened.


I'm so thankful! Thankful that we found something a little more sturdy, and a tangible reminder of who they are. More importantly, WHO's they are. Now I am contemplating how to package them. :) God IS in the details of our lives. I had an uncomfortable feeling about the single jump rings. Some would find that silly, and say that Heavenly Father has better things to do than care about our jump-rings. Ahhh, not so Grasshopper. Heavenly Father is not limitable. He can, and does care...even about the smallest details of our lives. If He has His eye on the sparrow...Then how much more does He care about the cares and concerns, and lives of us...His children? I know this is true. I had such a great feeling after I'd replaced the single-rings. Even after a late-night-closing-time run to Hobby Lobby. It was fun to show the 35+ I have finished at Presidency Mtg. today. Yes, I have 65+ more to make. I do feel sorry for the kids who have to wait until next November or December to get theirs. :(

I love being engaged in the Lord's work here. Caring for, teaching, and helping minister to the children of our Ward family. Teaching them, or re-affirming (principles taught at home by loving parents) important precious truths about their divine natures. So happy.

No my tree's not up. Hahahaha

Sandi



6 comments:

  1. these are great!! I want one for my birthday!

    ReplyDelete
  2. where did you order the bracelets from??

    ReplyDelete
  3. Alisa- I actually bought a roll of chain. It looks like a roll of ribbon only it's chain. It was $7.99 a roll at Hobby Lobby but I used my 40% off coupon to get it cheaper. There is 10 yards on a roll. It also comes with 30 clasps. I just took my wire cutters, measured out 18cm, and cut. Then attached the clasp which covers any edges. I hope that helps. Thanks for visiting my blog. Come back often. :)

    ReplyDelete
  4. I would love to do these for our primary children! What was the cost per child?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Kim- I am so sorry I just now saw your post. I have no idea how much per child. I didn't break it down that far. I'm sorry. I'm sure less than $50.

      Delete
  5. where did you get the flat bottle caps?

    ReplyDelete