This is the post we put up last year on Good Friday.  As I read through it, it is still the way I feel about my Savior and Easter, so I am going to re-post it today as a FAVORITE Friday Fave! Have a wonderful Easter everyone! #BecauseOfHim

     Last Friday for Friday Faves #56, we talked about the top 10 things that we love about Easter.  Today is Good Friday, the day that is almost the culmination to Holy Week. Good Friday is the day Christ died on the cross.  He atoned for our sins because He loves us. He made repentance possible.
     But, we know that as difficult and sad as that part of the story is to read, that dark day is not where the story ends.  Because, on the third day, Jesus Christ, the Savior of the World, overcame death and rose again.  And, on Easter Sunday, that is what we celebrate! So, for today's Friday Faves # 57, we asked ourselves, and we ask you:

      This is a special post to us and we felt that the best Easter message that we can share is the true one, so this is our Easter wish and Easter gift to you.
​     Between the 4 of us, we came up with a few excellent ways to remember the Savior and his glorious Resurrection. 

• Read the scriptures! In them is the true account of Jesus' life, crucifixion and resurrection. I love the account of Mary going to the tomb and finding it empty, the apostles running to see the empty tomb and being told by an angel, "He is not here: For He is risen!" (Matt. 28:6) Search the index or topical guide and search for scriptures that talk about the resurrection.  Read the words of Paul to the Corinthians in 1 Corinthians 15.  And here is a beautiful story that shows the peace and hope that comes from a knowledge of the Resurrection: 

     This year I did follow along with #BecauseOfHim as we went through this Holy Week in the Savior's life.  I hope that it  added to the Spirit of your Easter this year! 
     Here at 3 Winks, we are all looking forward to some wonderful Easter traditions.  We hope that you all have a wonderful time with your family and friends this holiday and are able to ponder the impact the Savior has made in your lives! We know that because of Him we have hope and peace. 

     Happy Easter! 

     I have written before about my job at church to lead the young children in singing.  Each year we put on a program for the entire congregation and singing is a big part of that program.  Now that our church has implemented a home centered/church supported program entitled "Come Follow Me," based on the teaching of Jesus Christ in the New Testament,  singing in Primary plays a big role in the support of those gospel studies.  I love teaching and singing the songs of the gospel with these young children, and they love to sing with me. 
     I follow a few different bloggers who also do this job in various other congregations throughout the church. One of the popular ones is Camille of Camille's Primary Ideas. I was looking at her site the other day and she has a great idea for a song review game based of the actual game of "Would You Rather." It is a fun game that has questions that requires the kids to make a choice and then change sides of the room according to their choice and sing the next song from there.  Camille even made some awesome printables to go with her ideas.  She cites Sue McDonald Daniels as giving the original idea. 
     I loved this idea and decided to try it out last Sunday.  The only difference is that I wanted all of the questions to go along with the topics and songs that we have been studying.  For example, I asked, "Would You Rather eat bread or fish?"  and of course that went with the miracle of feeding the 5,000.  I also asked questions that would go with specific songs like, "Would you rather go into the Sea of Galilee or the River Jordan?" to go with Baptism on page 100 of our children's songbook.  It is about John the Baptist baptizing Jesus. 

     This game took very little preparation, except to come up with the questions.  The children love it because they were able to get up and move around and the questions made them think.  You can engage them by asking them what scripture story they think the question is referencing or why they made the choice that they did.  We got through about 5 songs before I had them all sit back in their regular seats and we sang a quiet song to settle everyone down.  This will be an activity we will use again! So, to get ready to use it with topics throughout the year, I brainstormed some questions to use with topics coming later in the year.  I am sharing them with you today.  If you click the button, you will get the PDF file to print off.  Hopefully, these questions will help you to come up with more ideas, like Camille's did for me!  Let me know if they do because I will can always use more ideas.  The beauty of this idea as well is that you can use the questions from the beginning as the year progresses to review again! So, the questions are evergreen! I hope you have as much fun with this idea as I did with my kids! 

     Now that Easter is coming, Don't Forget this "Don't Eat Pete" Free Download to play with your kids! 

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     Today is the annual Worldwide Day of Prayer.  In our house, and in our family, everyday is a day of prayer.  We have seen the affects of prayer in our lives in many ways. And while we may not need a special day to remind us to pray to our Father in Heaven, this is a good day to reflect on the power of prayer in our lives. So, today for Friday Faves, I asked some of the people in our family to tell me what their favorite scripture about prayer is.  I took those results and made them into printables that can be used around the house to remind us to stay in contact with our Maker and to be partakers of the blessings that come into our lives through prayer.  

Click on the buttons under each image to get the pdf file for these prints. They print on a regular 8.5 x 11 page.  You may have to trim them for a frame. I have and love this small Cricut Portable Trimmer.  It is highly rated and a very reasonable price.  

• My husband chimed in this week with this scripture that reminds us that we are in a battle against evil in the world.  Prayer is one of our #1 resources in that battle.  

• Alicia chose a wonderful New Testament scripture in Matthew 7:7 that reminds us that our Heavenly Father is waiting for us to ASK, SEEK, & KNOCK and he is there to answer. 

• Have you ever sung a hymn and the words spoke to you and you felt that as you sang the words they were expressing the thoughts of your heart?  I know that I have many times and so has Lindsey and that is why she shared this scripture today.  This is the 2nd scripture from the Doctrine and Covenants that we have shared.  If you haven't heard of that book, you can find out about it and The Book of Mormon here. 

• This simple scripture from 1 Thessalonians 5:17 is my choice. I chose it because I pretty much follow this advice in my life on a daily basis.  I mean, I have a husband,  6 children (one on a mission in Africa!), 10 grandchildren and many siblings, and a 95 year old mom.  Just those people alone keep me "praying without ceasing!"  Then, there are all of my friends and the state of the world.  Honestly, I could not make it without the power of prayer in my life and the knowledge and experience with it to know our prayers are heard and answered.  

      If you haven't experienced the blessing that prayer can be in your life, it is never too late to find out, and today, the Worldwide Day of Prayer is as good of a day as any to find out. There is great power to be had in simply and humbly calling on God when we need him. 
      I recently read a story about Jimmy Stewart and he was telling his story in his own words to Richard H. Schneider in 1987 and it was later published in Guideposts in 2014. (Click those links for my sources.) It is the story of his experience in the film, "It's a Wonderful Life."  This story illustrates what I mean about the power that can be felt when we call upon our Father in Heaven. 
​     

    "​Good as the script was, there was still something else about the movie that made it different. It's hard to explain. I, for one, had things happen to me during the filming that never happened in any other picture I've made.
In one scene, for example, George Bailey is faced with unjust criminal charges and, not knowing where to turn, ends up in a little roadside restaurant. He is unaware that most of the people in town are arduously praying for him.
In this scene, at the lowest point in George Bailey's life, Frank Capra was shooting a long shot of me slumped in despair. 
In agony I raise my eyes and, following the script, plead, "God... God...dear Father in heaven, I'm not a praying man, but if you're up there and you can hear me, show me the way. I'm at the end of my rope. Show me the way, God..."
As I said those words, I felt the loneliness, the hopelessness of people who had nowhere to turn, and my eyes filled with tears. I broke down sobbing. This was not planned at all, but the power of that prayer, the realization that our Father in heaven is there to help the hopeless, had reduced me to tears."  

     I do remember that scene.  It has always felt very powerful, and now I know why. 
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   I just want to leave you with one more scripture that is a favorite of mine from the Book of Mormon. My Thessalonians scripture is a shorter version of this, but this one is detailed and so beautiful.  It is found in Alma 34:17-27: 

    These are our feelings about prayer.  Thanks for reading them! 
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Richard Schneider, who wrote about his experience with Jimmy Stewart, wrote some books.  You can find them here.