Guide your children in making and committing to New Year's Resolutions that help them "from this day on" to live their lives as followers of Jesus Christ; read the story of how one little boy found happiness by keeping his New Year's Resolutions; the easy and savory treat will get your whole family excited about commiting to "turnover" a new leaf in the new year.
If you wish to print sheet music or have an online music file to accompany you click on the song link to visit: http://www.lds.org/cm
SCRIPTURE
2 Nephi 31:20
20. Wherefore, ye must press forward with a steadfastness in Christ, having a perfect
brightness of hope, and a love of God and of all men. Wherefore, if ye shall press forward, feasting upon the word of Christ, and endure to the end, behold, thus saith the Father. Ye shall have eternal life.
VIDEO
Watch chapter 6 from the animated Complete Learning System, Saul of Tarsus DVD or CLICK FOR CLIP
LESSON SUMMARY
For younger children, it may be helpful to summarize the following ideas:
From this day on I will devote my life to serving the Lord.
At the beginning of each new year it has become a tradition to make resolutions.
What is a resolution? (Discuss ideas.)
Just as Saul resolved to devote his life to serving the Lord, so can you.
As you think about doing better in the new year carefully select resolutions that will help you “from this day on” to live your life as a follower of Jesus Christ.
Jayden glanced at his New Year’s resolutions taped to the mirror. With his eyes closed, he mentally read through the list. “Yes! Memorized at last,” he congratulated himself. As he had done every morning since New Year’s, Jayden repeated, “I can keep my resolutions for at least today,” while walking to the kitchen.
“Encyclopedia?” Father asked, after handing Jayden a plate filled with pancakes and sausage.
Father ruffled Jayden’s hair. “Good job, son. I’m proud of you for studying so hard. I wouldn’t be surprised if you could spell every one of your spelling words backwards if you wanted.”
Jayden smiled. He had been tempted to not study when his father had told him to, but resolution number 10, “Obey my parents,” had helped him make the right choice.
David, slid into the bus seat next to Jayden. “Are you still studying for the big spelling test?” he asked.
Jayden shut the book. “I’ve studied for about a jillion hours. How ’bout you?”
David shook his head. “I don’t need to study. Spelling’s easy for me!”
“Number your papers from 1 to 50,” Mrs. Thompson told the class. She then began the test, “Number one, junction. There was a junction in the road. Two, temperature. The temperature was ten degrees below zero...”
Jayden smiled when the spelling of each word seemed to jump out of his head and onto the paper.
“...Fifty-nine, encyclopedia. The encyclopedia is a good resource book.”
Jayden quickly wrote down his answer. David wrote down “E-N-C,” but wasn’t sure if the next letter was a ‘Y’ or an ‘I.’ After making sure Mrs. Thompson wasn’t looking, he poked Jayden in the back and whispered, “Move your head so I can see your answer.”
Jayden looked up to see if Mrs. Thompson was watching, but she seemed to be absorbed in the spelling book. Jayden turned to his best friend’s pleading eyes. He really wanted to help David and Mrs. Thompson wouldn’t even know, but then he pictured his list of resolutions. Number 6. “I will not cheat.”
Jayden kept his paper blocked from David’s view and slowly shook his head “no.”
Just before the bell rang, Mrs. Thompson asked David and Jayden to stay after class. Jayden felt sick. She knew. “What if she doesn’t believe me?” he thought. Then a peaceful feeling came over him. “It’s going to be okay. I didn’t do anything wrong.”
After excusing the other students Mrs. Thompson approached their desks. “I know what took place
during the spelling test,” she said. “You’re very lucky Jayden is such a good friend, David!”
David looked puzzled. “A good friend would of let me copy his paper,” he thought.
“Because Jayden was a good enough friend to not let you cheat,” she explained, “I’m not going to give you an ‘F’ on the spelling test.”
David’s face turned red and the anger he felt towards Jayden melted away.
“But, it had better not happen again,” Mrs. Thompson warned.
After dinner, Jayden told his parents what had happened during the test and about the good feeling he felt inside. “Doing what’s right really does make you happy! Doesn’t it?”
“It always works for me!” Father exclaimed.
Mother gave Jayden a big hug and whispered in his ear, “I want you to always remember that when you’re doing what’s right, it not only makes you happy, it makes Daddy, me and Heavenly Father happy too.”
That night Jayden knelt beside his bed. “Thank you, Heavenly Father,” he prayed, “for helping me keep my New Year’s resolutions for one more day.”
Mix milk and food coloring together. Add to Bisquick®. Mix until a soft ball forms. Knead on a lightly floured surface for 30 seconds. Divide dough into twelve balls. For filling, mix together shredded cheese and cream cheese (chive and onion flavor can be substituted for plain cream cheese. For topping mix together melted butter and garlic salt.
Treat Time:
Give each family member a ball of dough.
Flatten dough with the palm of your hand into 1/4 inch thick ovals.Top with 1 tsp. cheese mixture. Fold in half; press edges together with tines of fork. Pinch one end together to form a small stem. Draw veins on your leaf with the edge of fork tine or with a tooth pick.
Place on a lightly greased cookie sheet. Brush tops with garlic butter. Bake in 375 degree F. oven for 20 minutes.
Before serving, brush tops with remaining garlic butter.
Note: To “turnover” a new leaf means that you are committing to change your life for the better.
Ingredients:
3 C. Bisquick®
1/2 C. milk
20 drops green food coloring
2/3 C. shredded cheese
1/3 C. cream cheese
1/4 C. melted butter
1/4 tsp. garlic powder
ACTIVITY
Activity: Younger children will need help from an older sibling or parent.
1. Talk about how, after repenting, Saul resolved to devote his life to serving the Lord. Ask: What are some of the things Saul did to change? (Discuss ideas.)
2. Ask: What can we do to follow Saul’s example? (Discuss ideas.)
3. Discuss how making New Year’s resolutions is a good place to start
“from this day on” to better serve the Lord and live happier lives.
4. Give each member a copy of the “From This Day On” calendar and a pen or pencil and have them write down ten resolutions. Guide children in making realistic goals such as saying their prayers, reading scriptures, being honest, being kind to others, obeying parents.
5. Ask: After deciding to change what else did Saul need to do in order to help him keep his promise? (Make a commitment to change.)
6. Ask: Will you make a commitment to keep your resolutions?
7. Ask: After making a commitment, what other things can we do that can help us keep our resolution? (Discuss ideas such as; prayer, taking one day at a time, using positive affirmations, keeping a journal on your progress.)
8. Talk about how none of us are perfect and there will be times that we will fail to keep our resolutions. Ask: What can we do when this happens? (Discuss ideas.)
9. Have family members hang their calendars in their rooms as a reminder of their commitment to serve the Lord from “this day on.” (If desired, draw a heart around each day on your calendar that you keep your resolutions.)
1. Watch chapter 6 from the animated Complete Learning System, Saul of Tarsus. (Video clip is also provided for viewing online.)
2. Read: 2 Nephi 31:20
“Wherefore, ye must press forward with a steadfastness in Christ, having a perfect brightness of hope, and a love of God and of all men. Wherefore, if ye shall press forward, feasting upon the word of Christ, and endure to the end, behold, thus saith the Father. Ye shall have eternal life.”
3. Sing: Children’s Songbook #148 “I Want to Live the Gospel.”
4. At the beginning of each new year it has become a tradition to make resolutions. What is a resolution? (Discuss ideas.)
Just as Saul resolved to devote his life to serving the Lord, so can you. As you think about doing better in the new year carefully select resolutions that will help you “from this day on” to live your life as a follower of Jesus Christ.
5. What are some of the resolutions we can make that will help us live happier lives? (Discuss ideas.)
(See Activity for additional help.)
7. If you break a resolution, should you give up and stop trying? (No.)
No one is perfect. You will make mistakes, but repent when mistakes are made and then begin your commitment again from “this day on.”
8. Do resolutions to do better always have to be made on New Years? (No.)
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