Got Weeds?

Get Preen!  It is an excellent product to help cut down on the amount of weeds in your garden.

Do YOUR windows need cleaning?

A story told by President Monson:

A young couple, Lisa and John, moved into a new neighborhood. One morning while they were eating breakfast, Lisa looked out the window and watched her next-door neighbor hanging out her wash.

“That laundry’s not clean!” Lisa exclaimed. “Our neighbor doesn’t know how to get clothes clean!”

John looked on but remained silent.

Every time her neighbor would hang her wash to dry, Lisa would make the same comments.

A few weeks later Lisa was surprised to glance out her window and see a nice, clean wash hanging in her neighbor’s yard. She said to her husband, “Look, John—she’s finally learned how to wash correctly! I wonder how she did it.”

John replied, “Well, dear, I have the answer for you. You’ll be interested to know that I got up early this morning and washed our windows!”
Charity Never Faileth

Check out this post just in case your windows need cleaning after a long winter.
Streak Free Window Cleaner

Give 50 Challenge

In January the Sandy Utah East Stake celebrated its 50 year anniversary. To mark the event, our Stake Presidency, introduced the Give 50 Challenge. Throughout the course of the year we have been asked to do 50 of something.  Below is a list of ideas compiled by Gayle Shuler of the Willow Canyon 5th Ward.  How have you decided to Give 50?  Take the time to post it on the Stake website which can be accessed through lds.org.

1. Be a missionary/ save a soul: think of and try 50 ways to spread the gospel.
2. Obey the Word of Wisdom: find and share 50 new healthy recipes that fit the Word of Wisdom.
3. Make Christ the center of your life: write down 50 good deeds, stories, or other examples from the life of Jesus Christ.
4. Our body is a temple: Exercise at least 50 minutes and 50 times.
5. Explore: Go on 50 neighborhood or nature walks.
6. Say what you’ll do, then do what you say: reflect in your journal on 50 ways keeping your sacred covenants with the Lord has helped you in your life.
7. Promise: keep 50 big or small promises to friends or family members.  Write a reflection about what that has done to improve your relationships.
8. Live a life of service: Serve a mission and write about 50 weeks of your service.
9. Be an example: donate 50 hours to your child or grandchild’s school.
10. Teach your children: do a different family service project each week for 50 weeks.
11. Be a peacemaker: Make a difference by getting involved in politics.  Listen to other points of view 50 times and reflect on the pros and cons of their ideas.
12. Include everyone: become actively engaged in your community. Think of 50 ways to improve the quality of life for all who live in your neighborhood or community.
13. Remember those who came before: do 50 ordinances for your ancestors.
14. Research: submit 50 names to the temple.
15. Be Faithful: attend the temple 50 times.
16. Learn what you can: study the scriptures by yourself 50 times.
17. Feel the Spirit: read the scriptures aloud as a family 50 days in a row.
18. Come together: Hold 50 family home evenings.
19. Listen to the Spirit: list and implement 50 ways to bring the Holy Spirit into your home.
20. Love: lift one specific person’s day 50 times in 50 weeks. Reflect on the difference it made in your relationship.
21. Time Together: do 50 new things together with a good friend or as a family.
22. Write your history: remember the last 50 years of your life.  Write about one memory per year.
23. Acknowledge the Lord: remember and record 50 miracles that have occurred in your lifetime.
24. Remember: write down 50 memories.
25. Be teachable: make a list of 50 good things you have been taught and who taught you.
26. Make something to share: compile and share 50 family stories
27. Make something new: make 50 unique treats or gifts and give them to 50 different children or elderly people.
28. Be a cheerleader: write 50 notes of encouragement (add a candy bar) and give them to 50 different people.
29. Write it down: write 50 “Thank-you” notes (add a candy bar) and give them to 50 different people.
30. Charity: make 50 items of your choice and give them to charity.
31. Be supportive: write 50 letters or e-mails to missionaries.
32. Be creative: write 50 original poems or songs.  Optional: send them to the missionaries!
33. Don’t forget: write in your journal for 50 days in a row.
34. Listen to the Prophet’s voice: copy 50 of your favorite quotes from modern day prophets.
35. Increase your personal faith: write your testimony 50 times on 50 separate days.
36. Show a little kindness: serve 50 strangers in some little way and write about how you feel afterwards.
37. Give credit: make a list of 50 people who have influenced your life for good and how.
38. Write it down: think of 50 women you look up to and why.
39. Have faith: write about 50 times you or someone you love has had to exercise faith and place things in the Lord’s hands.
40. Do something good: do 50 secret good deeds and write about what you learned by doing them.
41. Pray: say 50 personal prayers in 50 days.
42. Learn: read 50 books.
43. Work: work in the yard or clean the neighborhood 50 times for 50 minutes.
44. Try your luck: try to do 50 new things that seem hard for you.
45. Study: learn 50 new facts about the history of Sandy, Utah and write them down.
46. Exercise your brain: memorize 50 new scriptures.
47. Be yourself: think of 50 things to beautify the earth and implement them.
48. Be an example: think of 50 ways you can be an example of faith, hope and patience for family members who have strayed.  Show them.
49. Cut and paste: Write about and document with photographs 50 weeks of your life.
50. Express Yourself: Sing with ward choir 50 times!

Happy Mothers Day!

Sheri Dew said:

"Motherhood is more than bearing children, though it is certainly that.  It is the essence of who we are as women.  It defines our very identity, our divine stature and nature, and the unique traits our Father gave us... As mothers in Israel, we are the Lord’s secret weapon.  Our influence comes from a divine endowment that has been in place from the beginning.  In the premortal world, when our Father described our role, I wonder if we didn’t stand in wide-eyed wonder that He would bless us with a sacred trust so central to His plan and that He would endow us with gifts so vital to the loving and leading of His children.  I wonder if we shouted for joy at least in part because of the ennobling stature He gave us in His kingdom. The world won’t tell you that, but the Spirit will."
Are We Not All Mothers"

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has posted this this non-denominational video message for Mother’s Day, produced in association with several faith groups to remind people everywhere of the importance of families.

Parenting

Elder Holland said, “Imperfect people are all God has ever had to work with.  That must be terribly frustrating to Him, but He deals with it."

There is probably no aspect of our lives where we are harder on ourselves than with our parenting skills.  It’s okay if we’re not perfect parents or our children aren’t perfect.  If our Heavenly Father was held to that standard of thinking, He would be a failure!  Read this great article to help you recognize your efforts to be a successful parent!
Five Truths to Help Hurting Hearts

Gauging Disaster Risk

"Utah residents will soon be able to gauge their risk for flood, earthquake, wildfires and landslides by inputting their address in a website created by the Division of Emergency Management and Pier Systems, due to launch within the next few weeks.  For preparation, the best thing you can do is plan for yourself, no matter where you live. Utahns need to take responsibility for themselves and their families by having at least a 72-hour kit of emergency supplies." 

Dwayne Baird, public information officer for the Department of Public Safety

Deseret News, May 4, 2013