We get caught up in the wrong things. What church do we go to or what denomination do we belong to. How good is the worship team or choir. What school did we graduate from. What neighborhood do we …

Stopping in for a post that others can reference easily- I have had a few people ask for details about our girl's camp this year- and it turned out great. We had a "Girl On Fire" theme, with the our girl's being on fire with the spirit of their Heavenly Father. The theme turned out to take on a life of it's own (as often happens with these ventures) but here are a few of the details. We had all the girls bring a dark t-shirt, and we we had stencils and cardstock for them to cut out and use as negatives on their shirts. A little bit of bleach....and you are done.... Make sure to put cardboard in the shirt, and lay it flat- this will keep the bleach from soaking through to the other side. Girls cut out their names, used swirls and butterflies, and really made their shirts amazing. This is the front of my t-shirt and the back of my hoodie. I made these without the cute swirly stencils, so the girls could see them before we started, but once the girls saw each other's shirts they really got into this project. It was a huge success. If you know someone with a Cricket cutting machine you could do amazing things with this- just go light on the bleach, lay them in the sun as you spray, and if you carefully lift your stencils they can be used again and again (let them dry a bit in between uses). For more detailed step by step instructions on bleaching, I refer you to fellow blogger and crafty inspo site Burlap and Denim. (Her shirts are so cute- I am impressed!) We also used vinyl stickers with the mockingjay logo and young women's logo and decorated our 'lanterns'. With the stickers on (you can also wrap twine, cut tape, or cover any other way you desire), we sprayed a light coat of spray paint on the jar. When you remove the stickers and vinyl, the paint reveals the 'etched' looking designs. We added a battery powered tea light candle, and with some bent wire they were good to go. The girls carried these out every night, brought them to night devotionals and testimony meeting, and used them in their tents. We didn't have to worry about fire anywhere, and they looked amazing in the dark. One of our crafts was soda tab bracelets. Again, the girls went crazy once they figured out what to do with the craft (I recommend having at least 3 or 4 leaders trained before you go- it isn't hard, but needs to be done right for the bracelet to lay correctly.) I am not going to give you a tutorial here, but you can watch several great ones on You Tube or go to ehow.com for step by steps. Just make a few before hand and be prepared to help them start and finish them off. Even our Beehives just adored these and made several while at the craft table. Start saving tabs now!!! (hint: Progresso soup tabs are large, and they make a great end tab so the other end can toggle through it- so easy to put on and off!) We also had a Hunger Games style activity, with a Tracker Jacker station (teams with colored stickers that were the stings when stuck on eachother) a battle station (pool noodles or other funny swords can be used) and races for bread, etc. In the secret sister mailboxes (a shoe organizer hung at our pavillon) I gave the following goodies: this little parachute themed note containing glow sticks for them to wear at night And a little extra treat One night we had a 10 Virgin faith walk, based on the script and painting by Gayla Prince. This was especially effective in the dark night, through the trees and brush. (The girls made their lanterns that day and were actually given their tea lights by the first virgin). It was awesome to have them come to the 'feast' in the middle of the hills and place their lights at the portrait of Christ. After we were done they enjoyed the fruit and french bread loaves at the table. It was a great night. We had a picture night and devotional on local temple grounds, and our campground was by a lake, so on our final night we closed by singing late into the night with our lanterns on the dock. It was an amazing camp..... and I hope these ideas can help someone else out there! -UPDATE- I am no computer wiz, so officially adding files completely boggles my brain. I am adding photos here, all in just a jpeg format. My hope is that you can click on the picture and at least save it, then insert into your document (I use Microsoft Publisher) and go from there. The sponsor envelope I used on legal size envelopes, then added the glow sticks. Good luck- hope it helps! click here for our next year's camp theme- Brave Girls Only

Our camp kickoff was held on March 7th at the Stake Center and was AMAZING!! THere were great cheers, beautiful banners, a spiritual program and prizes given out to several wards. Lori Fano, Makay Tautu, Joann AhYou, Luisa Kuaea and Julie Kaio We were excited to introduce the theme to the YW and help them feel of the power that comes from a strong testimony. We shared examples of women who has that fire from the scriptures and encouraged the girls to keep their fires burning strong! The decorations were so colorful and beautiful! Each DISTRICT (Ward) brought a banner that represented the value that they were assigned. There were many creative and beautiful banners! Each YW and leader had the chance to writer their testimony on a small colored flag which will be hung at girls camp. If girls in your ward were not able to attend we would still love for them to participate in this. We ended the evening with comments from President Paongo. He is FIRED UP and encouraged every young woman to make the commitment to be girls camp. After the program we had these yummy cupcakes. SPECIAL THANKS TO THE FOLLOWING: *Penny Vaea who wrote and oversaw the program *Manu Harris for her work with the Girl on Fire Music *Heather Ried for the costumes *Lori Fano, Makay Tautu, Joann AhYou, Luisa Kuaea and Julie Kaio for their parts in the program *Brother Vaea and his helpers for the music and sound effects *Everyone who helped decorate and clean up *All the YCLs and Leaders who participated. We couldn't have done it with out you!

Although the idea of "Girl on Fire" for a New Beginning theme isn't original I think the young women pulled it off brilliantly. One of our Laurels found the idea and did all the research for refreshment and decorating ideas. The rest of the work was delegated between the girls and leaders. I put the invitations together using the official movie poster fonts. The girls created fireball poofs to hang from the ceiling. And a welcome poster…. Our Beehive advisor created the dessert table and created labels for all the food using the font from the books. I was so excited to see she'd done that! Keeping with the color over black theme, each girl painted a value onto black poster board and explained how the value keeps her spiritual flame burning. We used all the appropriate labels for things such as: Values = Districts Girls Explaining the Values = Tributes One of our girls received her Young Woman in Excellence that night = Victor And the songs: The Spirit of God...like a fire is burning... and The Lord is My Light. Of course there were speakers, a skit, and some teaching involved so everyone got to do something. The skit was made up by the girls and was hilarious. The prompt was "Show us what Personal Progress is and how it works." So their skit included introducing PP to a classmate, carrying out a service project with her—raking leaves—and then going to a leader (played by a girl of course) to get it checked off in their books. We let the girls practice the skit a week beforehand—I'm glad because we got a lot of blank faces at first LOL. It was a great evening…the Stake YW Leaders were there and couldn't stop their praising. I LOVE that it was all headed up and started with one of the young women. I enjoy seeing what they want to do and the pleasure (and pride) on their faces when it all turns out. I'm sorry, I do not have a template of the invitation to share at this time. (I think I deleted it by accident ugh.) But here's a .png torch file. Click on it to open it full size, then right click to download it. Note, this is the official logo for the Young Women organization of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. It has been modified to fit this theme.

The entertaining experts at HGTV.com share a recipe for Valentine's Day-inspired crispie treats.

Teach Kids the Beatitudes with the Beati-DUDES! In the first sermon he ever preached, Jesus gave us the Beatitudes, eight blessings promised to those who seek Jesus and live for him. The Beatitudes can change the way we look at life and help us to live in a way that honors Jesus. _______ Surf's Up Lessons Overview: Memory Verse:  “Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.” Ephesians 4:32 (NIV) Lessons: Hang 8, Dude Scripture: Matthew 5:1-12, Beatitudes Synopsis: In his first sermon, called the Beatitudes, Jesus promised eight things to those who live in the following ways. Objective: Kids will learn what the Beatitudes are. On your knees, Dude Scripture: 1 Samuel 24:1-7 Synopsis: Jesus said the poor in spirit, the humble, will receive the kingdom of heaven. David was humble and submitted to King Saul as Israel’s leader. Objective: Kids will identify an area in their lives where they are prone to bragging, and will commit to being humble in that area this week. Tough break, Dude Scripture: Luke 23:26-27, Matthew 28:1-10 Mary and others mourn for Jesus Synopsis: Mourning is part of life, and no one likes to be sad, but Jesus promised that God will always comfort us. Objective: Kids will give something they are sad about to God in prayer. Take it easy, Dude Scripture: Ephesians 4:29-32 Synopsis: Jesus said the meek will inherit the Earth. Jesus wants us to be gentle of heart, slow to speak, and slow to get angry. Objective: Kids will identify a word or phrase they use that is “unwholesome” and commit to not saying it this week. That’s righteous, Dude Scripture: John 4:1-26, Woman at well Synopsis: Jesus said those who hunger and thirst for righteousness will be filled. Jesus will bless those who try to live a good and holy life. Objective: Kids will identify an area of sin that has been difficult for them to overcome, and will be able to verbalize that Jesus is able to help them overcome any sin. Give ‘em a break, Dude Scripture: Matthew 18:21-35, Parable of unmerciful servant Synopsis: Jesus promised mercy to those who are merciful. He wants us to forgive as we’ve been forgiven. Objective: Kids will choose to forgive someone who has wronged them. Nice heart, Dude Scripture: Proverbs 4:10-19 Synopsis: Jesus said the pure in heart will see God. God wants us to flee from sin and keep our hearts and minds as free of evil as possible. Objective: Kids will identify something that is not a positive influence and say what they can replace it with that is good. Chill out, Dude Scripture: Matthew 5:23-26 Synopsis: Jesus said we are his children if we are peacemakers. God wants us to live at peace with others and to help others make peace with one another. Objective: Kids will share specific ideas on how to be peacemakers. Shake it off, Dude Scripture: Acts 5:17-42, Disciples rejoice in persecution Synopsis: Jesus said that we will be persecuted if we live for him, but Jesus also says that our faithfulness will be rewarded in Heaven. Objective: Kids will learn that it is a blessing to be made fun of for being Christian. Hang 8, Duuuuuude! Scripture: Matthew 5:1-12, Beatitudes Synopsis: We can have a radical life with Jesus when we choose to live in the following ways. Objective: Kids will review and state all of the Beatitudes.   _______ Each Lesson Includes: Make It Stick! Parent Sheet - so you can let mom and dad know what kids are learning each week and look like a rockstar teacher who's thought of everything. Memory Verse - so that you can make sure kids are getting Scripture in their minds and hearts every single week and you can feel like each lesson was a success even when it seems like 90% of your lesson time is spent saying things like "calm down", "let's be quiet", "hands to yourself!"  Skit or Puppet Show - so you have a way to easily connect the lesson with your hands-on and visual learners. No drama team? No problem! Just hand the script to the kids. They'll have a blast and think you're the coolest. Craft Activity - so you can give kids a physical reminder of the Bible lesson (and give yourself an activity to keep them busy until mom and dad come back!) Game - so kids don't leave and say church was BORING! Games are so important to help keep kids engaged. Our large group games always include a "What's The Point" section to help you connect the game to the lesson. Large Group Lesson - so you can present the Bible story in a clear and fun way, which means now you can enjoy Saturday nights instead of stressing over putting a lesson together! Small-Group Discussion - so you can find out who was paying attention and who was talking to their neighbor.  Just kidding, this is a great way for you to build deeper relationships with your kiddos after each lesson, which means you're going to care about them so much you'll cry like a baby when they graduate and go to middle school :( About This Curriculum: Perfect for kids ages 6-12 10-weeks Includes large group and small group resources This curriculum is an instant download Download a free sample here _______    Guaranteed to Be Awesome! 30-Day Money Back Guarantee (Digital Downloads). If you aren't doing cartwheels of joy because you love this Children's Ministry curriculum, we will give you a big hug and give you a 100% refund, no matter the reason. If you're not happy, we're not happy. Refund Policy (Printed Books). We custom print each book that is ordered, so unfortunately we cannot issue refunds for printed books.  However, if there is any problem with your order, please let us know and we will work to make it right :-) Check out our collection of Children's Church Lessons for more great curriculum series for your Kids Church or Sunday School.