I began full of vigor. Never mind that I’d never taken a painting workshop before. (Never mind that I’m not a painter!) Here was an opportunity to try something new, to feel adventurous, to seize the day! I had my canvas tote packed with soft paint brushes, untainted watercolors, a new watercolor pad full of promise – even snacks! Oh yes, I was prepared for a bold, new experience. Carpe diem!

As you may recall, I like to foster my fantasies about being an artist (see my posts here and here). So after the instructor (who I happen to know) encouraged me to take his two-day Plein Air Painting Workshop at Saguaro Lake Ranch (I also happen to know the family who manages the Ranch, one of my favorite places locally) I decided to go for it.

Did I mention I’m not an artist?

Well, you’ll want to take note of that.

Day One:

After the introductory formalities and opening instructional lecture, we were told to pick a location to paint. This was, after all, a Plein Air workshop. (Plein Air is the French term for painting outdoors. Of course, doing anything in French automatically makes it more adventurous, right? Carpe diem!)

I went right for the crown jewel of Saguaro Lake Ranch. I chose a scene with the famous ridge mountain (yeah, okay, I don’t know the actual name of said mountain), framed by a sweeping mesquite tree and rustic fence line.

Praise the gods I decided to leave out the horses.

The beginning stage went well. Frame out the underpainting with a quick sketch and wash of color. Blues, greens, and browns filled the paper with ease.

This isn’t going too badly.

I started to add detail: the black, twisted trunk of the mesquite tree; a few more shades of greens and yellows in the foliage to add interest. I kinda liked it.

Then came the hay bales.They weren’t coming out quite right. I decided to come back to it.

I painted in the fence. Looked a bit, urm, juvenile (even more so than the rest of this amateur’s painting). That’s okay. I’d fix it with some highlights later.

Then came the mountain. Such a beautiful, peace-inspiring mountain. Unless you’re trying to paint it. Then it becomes the bane of your existence, the blob of lifeless brown on your formerly pristine watercolor paper.

The instructor came over to check on me. He liked the tree too. He gave me some guidance regarding the mountain. At first he wanted to demonstrate right on my painting! Oh no. This was my painting. So he humored his inexperienced, A-type personality of a student and demonstrated on a spare piece of paper. I marveled at his technique, tried to retain what he’d said and done, and went back to work.

Fast forward 20 minutes.

Those mountains were still a mess. This time, when the instructor came to have a look, I gladly handed over my brush and painting.

Paint on instruction...

He completed one section of the mountain, explaining as he went, and I tried to duplicate it elsewhere. It wasn’t great, but I learned something and had a better concept of what I could try.

The class took a break for lunch and the scenery went from a challenge to be mastered back to a source of serenity. I especially enjoyed visiting with Charles, a retired Navy man who never lost his taste for traveling (he’s been to Indochina, southeast Asia, the Caribbean, all over) but now he sometimes adds in his penchant for painting. He’s taken workshops all over the country, looking to paint “places I’ve never been.”

He reminded me why I was there. Here was a man full of adventure. I want my own adventures too.

After lunch we hauled our stuff down to the river and selected new scenes to paint, this time sheltered by the shade of the trees lining the banks. Having learned my lesson, I switched from a broad landscape to a smaller-scale water study.

Again, the drawing and under colors went on easily. This felt familiar and I didn’t take as much confidence from it this time around.

I painted in the rocks and a few reeds and decided I needed to darken the water. Big mistake. One bold stroke and it was way too dark. When I saw what I’d done, I didn’t know how to fix it. I was desperate for the instructor to come save me.

In due order, he did. He didn’t think it was a mistake at all, and carried the color through the central section. He gave me courage to be bold and add movement and color to the water, along with how to paint the reeds on the bank.

I was resisting the urge to say “Don’t you just want to finish it for me?” After all, he was doing such a good job.

But I didn’t say it and he left me, alone with my painting. I guess I’d have to finish it myself.

I sat down on a rock to get my brain back in the game. After a few quiet moments, I studied my painting from afar. I looked at the river and reminded myself what I originally liked about the scene I chose.

Isn't it lovely?

Despite my lack of developed skills, I still really wanted to try to capture what I saw.

I thought about what the instructor taught me. I focused on a corner of the painting and decided I could try to add a group of reeds there. I can do that much. So I did. And it was fun. I moved to the other side of the painting and added more reeds. I liked the top, but didn’t know what to do with the bottom. Some grass perhaps?

That was when I discovered (shock) that I don’t know how to paint grass.

I abandoned the blob – I mean grass – for the thing I knew. I pulled my leather journal and pen from my canvas bag, returned to the rock, and began writing about my day. Ahhh. What a relief! Maybe the instructor wouldn’t notice.

I got away with my truancy for a good 15 minutes before he came back, declared his pleasure at my improvement, said “It’s starting to look like a painting now,” and made me trade in my pen for a brush.

He turned my blob into grass and I decided the painting looked good just how it was. No further tinkering required from this girl!

He saw I was done – mentally at least – laughed, and dismissed me to my rock.

I sat for awhile, listening to the instructor talking quietly with Navy Charlie. The river was flowing soft that day, gently soothing away any agitation I’d felt. My little alcove under the shade of the trees shielded me from any thought of the outside world.

The painting called to me.

Perhaps a little more grass…

And Now, the America Jane Angle You’ve Been Waiting For:

Talk about a unique value project idea! For youth interested in art, workshops like these or ongoing classes offered at school or in the community, are a great way for youth to expand their knowledge. Painting, drawing, pottery, glass (oh, Boise has an amazing art glass center I’m so hoping I can afford one day!), sculpture, photography, fiber arts, or what have you. The arts are great! Even for those of us not necessarily gifted or looking to make a career out of it.

Creating art, even mediocre art, can be strangely fulfilling. I guess it’s that desire we all have to express ourselves.

So whether you’re a Young Woman looking for a unique Divine Nature or Knowledge value project idea, a Scout planning on earning one of the many arts-oriented awards (merit badges are offered in Art, Graphic Art, Photography, Pottery, Textile, and Wood Carving), a Venturer working on the Arts and Hobbies Bronze Award, or an adult just looking to be brave, go ahead! Gather your courage, and dive into the arts.

As for me, I’ll be diving in again this summer for workshop at the Grand Canyon. Oh yeah.

Carpe diem, my friends.

As my three boys have advanced through the cub scout program, this easy activity has become a beloved tradition. If you have a Wolf Cub Scout, I highly recommend this activity. You’ll knock off several Wolf requirements and a few Faith in God requirements in one fell swoop – and have a blast doing it.

Thus, Super-Charged!

Though not structured like a traditional Family Home Evening, we’ve always done this as a family party and consider it a fantastic FHE.

Tips: Use what you have and keep it simple. This is meant to be easy and fun, and certainly doesn’t need the “polish” you tend to see when the grown-ups are in charge. If you make this a family party, it’s much easier to let go of the reigns and let your kids truly make this party their own.

Let the Party begin:

Let your Wolf scout help plan the party. The party can be indoors or outdoors, but outdoors fulfills more requirements.

He should help decorate, help prepare a treat, and help prepare your picnic lunch or dinner. Our youngest boy just threw his party, which actually fell between lunch and dinner. His menu consisted of popcorn and rice krispy treats (both of which he helped make), peanut butter crackers, mini marshmallows, and juice boxes. As you can see, he was in charge of the menu. However, if the meal is “nutritious” it will qualify for an additional requirement in the Faith in God program.

If the dinner is something that he cooks outdoors, that fulfills yet another requirement. Hot dogs or hobo dinners are easy ideas.

Have him plan and help set up the following games (see pg 128 of the Wolf book for illustrations of these games):

Pie Pan Washer Toss (Each player tosses five washers at a pie tin. Score 1 point for each washer that stays in the pan. You can also use buttons.)

Bean Bag Toss (Have him make the beanbags for each person to use and keep as a party favor and knock off another requirement. If you don’t have time for that, use tiny stuffed animals for the beanbags.)

Bean Bag Archery (This one is on page 90 of the Wolf book. My sons draw the targets on paper.)

Marble Sharpshooter (Each player rolls five marbles at glass bottle targets. Score one point for each marble that rolls between the bottles and misses them. We’ve substituted empty plastic jars used for freezer jam.)

Ring Toss (Use rolled up newspaper shaped into rings for this traditional game.)

A Game of Marbles (See this fun site for a refresher on how to play marbles.)

Obstacle Course (He can make up his own ideas; here are the ideas from page 197 of the Wolf book – jump across an imaginary river, crawl through a cardboard tunnel, jump up and ring a bell, toss a ball into a can, do one forward roll, walk like an elephant for five steps.)

The Super-Charged Super List:

That’s it! Depending on what you did, your wolf cub scout just fulfilled 2 requirements and 8 or 9 electives, along with some of his Faith in God requirements! Here’s the complete list:

Wolf requirements 8c or 8e, and 10b; and Wolf electives 4a, 4b, 4c, 4d, 4e, 9a, 9b, 18a or 18b, and 18d. Faith in God, Serving Others 4 and 7 (plus part of requirement 5 if you have younger siblings at the party).

Looking for more activity ideas for your party? Check out Wolf requirement 1, and Wolf electives 18c or 18e.

My favorite FHE’s are the ones where one of my children taught the lesson. And not just because I got out of teaching for the week.

It’s sweet to see them sharing a thought or reading a story from The Friend with that serious, reverent demeanor they tend to have when they’re the ones in charge. Rather than resisting the idea of teaching a lesson, my children seem to love the opportunity.

In general, I let them pick their own topic and source of inspiration. On occasion I’ll suggest an idea that comes from their Faith in God booklet, or something along those lines.

If you sometimes like to do the same, this post is for you.

Below are all the requirements from the various LDS programs which require a child or youth to lead a Family Home Evening.

Faith in God

Learning and Living the Gospel, requirement #1: Explain how taking the sacrament helps you renew your baptismal covenant. In a family home evening, teach others about things we can do to remain faithful.

Learning and Living the Gospel, requirement #2: Give a family home evening lesson on Joseph Smith’s First Vision (see Joseph Smith—History 1:1–20). Discuss how Heavenly Father answers our sincere prayers. (Also counts toward the Cub Scout Religious Square Knot Patch)

Personal Progress

Faith Value Requirement #3: Living gospel principles requires faith. Read about faith in the Bible Dictionary or True to the Faith. Faith in the Savior Jesus Christ leads to action. Choose a principle such as prayer, tithing, fasting, repentance, or keeping the Sabbath day holy. In your own home or another setting, plan and present a family home evening lesson about how faith helps you live that gospel principle. If possible, ask a family member to share an experience that has strengthened his or her faith. Share your own experiences as well. In your journal write down one of those experiences and describe your feelings about faith.

Knowledge Value Requirement #4: Select a gospel principle you would like to understand better (for example, faith, repentance, charity, eternal families, or baptismal covenants). Read scriptures and the words of latter-day prophets that relate to the principle. Prepare a five-minute talk on the subject, and give the talk in a sacrament meeting, in a Young Women meeting, to your family, or to your class. Record in your journal how you can apply this gospel principle in your life.

Knowledge Value Requirement #7: At Young Women camp you learn skills in first aid, safety, sanitation, and survival. Review these teachings in your Young Women Camp Manual [link downloads PDF file] and note in your journal how you could apply them in your home to keep your family safe. Develop a list of basic supplies your family will need in case of an emergency. Teach a family home evening lesson or share with a Young Women leader what you have learned and what additional skills you would like to learn to be prepared for emergencies.

Good Works Value Requirement #4: Teach a lesson about service in family home evening or in another setting. Use pictures, music, examples, or demonstrations in your lesson. You may want to use the manual Teaching, No Greater Call as a resource.

Duty to God

While there are no longer specific requirements for young men to teach a Family Home Evening in the new Duty to God program, most “Learn” and “Act” activities are followed by a “Share” activity, which can nearly always be fulfilled by teaching a Family Home Evening lesson about the topic the young man has been studying.

"Tap Tap" Journals

There are many journaling requirements sprinkled throughout the LDS youth and Scouting programs (see below), so why not pick up one of these “Tap Tap” journals and do some good while you’re at it?

I came across these adorable journals when I discovered Project HOPE Art yesterday. They’re only $14.99 and $5 benefits Project HOPE Art and their work with Haitian orphans. How can I help but spread the word?

Also available are the “Tap Tap” Journals in white and the Haiti Mural Journal composed of mural art created by Haiti children:

That’s the one I ordered and I chose the blank page option (you can also get lined, dots, or planner pages). I think I’m going to use it to try some of Kathy Barbro’s projects, which I’ve been wanting to do for a long time. She has some new projects at her website which look like fun.

LDS Youth and Scouting Program Requirements Involving Journaling:

Faith in God – Preparing for Young Women #3: “Write in your journal how you can serve the Lord as you stand for truth and righteousness.”

Bear Scout – Family Requirement #8f: “Start your own history: keep a journal for 2 weeks.”

Bear Scout – Jot It Down Requirement #18c: “Keep a daily record of your activities for 2 weeks.”

Webelos – Scholar #5: “List in writing some important things you can do now because of what you’ve learned in school.”

Cub Scouts – Communicating Pin #2: “Keep a journal of daily activities for at least seven days.”

Cub Scouts – Reading and Writing Belt Loop #3: “Keep a diary of your activities for one week. Read it to your den or family.”

Communications Merit Badge Requirements 1a or 1b: Keeping a log of communication activities for a day, or keeping a journal of “listening” experiences for three days.

Personal Management Merit Badge Requirement 8c: “Follow the one-week schedule you planned. Keep a daily diary or journal during each of the seven days of this week’s activities, writing down when you completed each of the tasks on your “to do” list compared to when you scheduled them.”

Duty to God requirements often encourage journaling, and a general requirement of the Personal Progress program is to keep a personal journal.

Venturing Religious Life Bronze Award requirement 4b: “Keep a personal journal of your experiences each time you worked as a volunteer.” (After three months of volunteer work, see requirement 4a.)

As one of the many service arms of Project HOPE Art, the Handmade Dresses Project benefits poorly-clothed orphan girls living in Haiti. This super easy sewing project is a great idea for Divine Nature, Individual Worth, Knowledge, or Good Works value projects, depending upon your focus. A young woman could work on this project on her own or organize a service night for a Mutual activity.

The first batch of dresses was delivered in January, but more trips are planned for April and July.

HOPE Art Facepainting Project

Feel like being uplifted? Take a few moments and peruse the Project HOPE Art website, blog, and photos. If you’re going to spend time on the Internet, this site is a worthy candidate. I stumbled across it just a few minutes ago and knew I had to share. Enjoy!

For all you homeschooling parents, or for parents wanting to enrich your child’s education, Homeschool Legacy offers once-a-week unit studies which (wouldn’t you know it?) knock off Boy Scout Merit Badge requirements along the way.

I’m all about efficiency, so I thought that was a great idea. Sharon Gibson of Homeschool Legacy very kindly sent me the unit of my choice to review (I choose “We the People: Getting to Know Your Constitution”). I’ve received no other compensation, coercive threats, bribes, or chocolate, and give you my honest opinion. Keep in mind, however, I am not a homeschooling parent.

I found the material well-organized and consistent. Each unit is divided by week. Each week has a list of library reading/video options which relate to that week’s subject matter along with an (often short) list of supplies needed for the week. The week’s study always includes “Daily Activities” (usually consisting of reading relevant material), and a weekly “Family Devotional” relating the week’s topic to Biblical themes.

These units were designed to be used just once a week, but sometimes the material/activities seemed an awful lot to cover in one day. That may just be my inexperience talking, though.

I liked the variety of the format from week to week. One week may have an art appreciation activity, another may have a drama activity, while another may have a “copy and cut” game like “Preamble Scramble.”

These units are designed to be user-friendly and prep free. A huge amount of planning and prep work has gone into these books. What you’ll find is a fully-designed series of lessons that even include instruction scripts and question prompts. Pretty cool.

I don’t think “no prep” means “go into it blind,” however. I would advise parents wanting to use these books to go over the instruction scripts ahead of time, before starting the unit. I would either delete or be prepared to explain items mentioned in the instruction (for example, there is passing mention made of things such as Cicero’s Principles of the Natural Law, and the Iroquois Confederacy). There may be certain things you want to cover in more depth, possibly before starting the unit.

You definitely want to pay attention to the “timeline” activities, as dates for events and/or people are not always provided. (This was the one oversight I saw, in terms of prep work being done for you.)

There are lots of cool extras sprinkled throughout the lessons, including “Stump Your Dad Trivia” and a link to see Howard Chandler Christy’s acclaimed painting, Signing of the Constitution. (Said link also provides a neat “scroll over” feature which names the signers shown in the painting, and gives more information about the signer if you click on his name.)

Being the art lover I am, I would flesh out her art appreciation activities a bit more, but I think her suggestions make for a great starting point. Flexibility in your own curriculum is one of the beauties of homeschooling. Given that, I think her units can be used however parents please, either as a framework for customizing their instruction, or as a “ready to go” unit parents can follow page by page and week by week.

I chose this particular unit to review because I wanted to see how she incorporated the requirements for the Citizenship in the Nation Merit Badge, one which I’ve seen “milled out” in a rather disappointing way. This is an Eagle-required badge for a reason. When properly done, I think young men earning this badge gain a deeper respect for their country and feel an increased measure of responsibility toward their own country. When improperly done, it is a mind-numbing experience beginning with mindlessly filling out a workbook and ending with receiving a merit badge that means nothing to the recipient.

If you want your young man to experience the former, the We the People unit study is not a bad way to go.

Here are the merit badges you can earn via her unit studies, as of this writing:

Birds of a Feather unit fulfills requirements for the Bird Study merit badge.

Forest for the Trees unit fulfills requirements for the Forestry merit badge.

Horsing Around unit fulfills requirements for the Horsemanship merit badge.

Weather on the Move unit fulfills most of the requirements for the Weather merit badge.

Knights and Nobles unit fulfills requirements for the Art merit badge. (Interesting! Makes me wish I’d checked it out!)

Native America unit fulfills requirements for the Indian Lore merit badge.

Early Settlers unit fulfills requirements for the Reading merit badge.

Revolutionary Ideas: the Story of the American Revolution unit fulfills most of the requirements for the American Heritage merit badge.

We the People: Getting to Know Your Constitution unit fulfills requirements for the Citizenship in the Nation merit badge.

Christmas Comes to America unit fulfills requirements for the Music merit badge.

What kid doesn’t love McDonald’s? Chicken McNuggets, Happy Meal toys, indoor playgrounds, fresh-baked chocolate chip cookies. What’s not to like?

Of course, your kids DO know about the Ronald McDonald House, right?

Come to think of it, I’m not sure my kids know about it. Hang on a minute…  Okay. Now they know.

Anyway, there are lots of ways kids can help out their favorite clown and get in on the philanthropic action. Whether they want to serve from the security of their own home or make a trip to an actual House, there are lots of easy ways kids can get involved.

This is also a great way to fulfill service requirements (and a few extra requirements, depending on your chosen act of service) in the Faith in God, Personal Progress, Duty to God or Scouting programs. A handy list of links to those requirements is at the end of this post.

First, what can kids do to help?

* Collect or make greeting cards to donate to your local House. Homemade cards, new cards, or the fronts of used cards are all useful. Ronald McDonald House gives these to families, who can send them to their ill child or give them out as thank you notes.

* Collect pop tabs. Not all chapters participate in this program, so check first. Your local chapter will also be able to tell you if there are drop-off locations elsewhere in your community, or provide you with pop tab collection containers to place in new areas. This is a great way to help Houses raise much-needed funds.

* Provide service at the House. Contact your local House to see what they need. You can help serve meals, plant flowers or do some cleaning.

* Sponsor a food drive to help stock their pantry with non-perishable goods.

* Collect items for a community yard sale and donate the proceeds.

* Help prepare and serve dinner at the House.

* Plan an activity for the children living at the house, like a face-painting party or story hour.

* Bake homemade cookies, decorate them, and donate them to families staying at your local House.

* Wash the cars of the families staying at the House.

* Make quilts for the beds. Check with the House first to see what’s needed. Some Houses have nicely decorated, themed rooms (often donated to the House by individuals or groups) and so may not be in need of this.  Other Houses have worn bedding and would greatly appreciate something new and fresh!

The needs of these Houses is huge and varied. You’re bound to find something of interest to your son or daughter. For more information about Ronald McDonald House Charities or to find a local House, go to the official website right HERE.

Related LDS Youth Program and Scouting Program Requirements:

Faith in God – Serving Others requirement 1: “Read and discuss the parable of the good Samaritan (see Luke 10:30–37). Plan and complete a service project that helps a family member or neighbor. After completing the project, discuss how it helped your faith grow stronger.”

Faith in God – Serving Others requirement 4: “Plan, prepare, and serve a nutritious meal. ”

Faith in God – Serving Others requirement 7: “Plan and hold a parent-child activity, such as a dinner, picnic, hike, day trip, or service project.”

Faith in God – Serving Others requirement 8: “Read the twelfth article of faith. Discuss what it means to be a good citizen and how your actions can affect others. ”

Tiger cub scout elective 11: “Help collect food, clothing or toys for needy families with your den or pack.”

Tiger cub scout elective 12: “Make at least two cards or decorations and take them to a hospital or long-term care facility.”

Wolf cub scout elective 9b/c: “Make a gift or toy like one of these (examples shown in book) and give it to someone.”

Bear cub scout requirement 9a: “With an adult, bake cookies.”

Bear cub scout elective 21b: “Help with a garage sale or rummage sale. This can be with your family or a neighbor, or it can be a church, school, or pack event.”

Citizenship cub scout belt loop requirement 3:“Participate in a family, den, or school service project.”

Reading and Writing cub scout pin requirement 2: “Read a book to a child or group of children.”

Complete a 10-hour service project for the House to complete the Personal Progress Individual Worth Value Project or Good Works Value Project.

Personal Progress Good Works requirement 6: “Spend at least three hours giving service outside your family. Ask your ward or branch Relief Society president or a community leader for suggestions for service. For example, you might take care of children while parents attend the temple; collect, make, or recondition toys or games for a nursery; accept an assignment to clean the meetinghouse; or perform errands for or read to a homebound person or others in need. Record in your journal the reactions of the person you served and possible goals for future service opportunities.”

Second class boy scout rank requirement 5: “Participate in an approved (minimum of one hour) service project. ”

Star boy scout rank requirement 4: “While a First Class Scout, take part in service projects totaling at least 6 hours of work. These projects must be approved by your Scoutmaster.”

Life boy scout rank requirement 4: “While a Star Scout, take part in service projects totaling at least 6 hours of work. These projects must be approved by your Scoutmaster. ”

This is a good idea for the Eagle Scout Leadership Service Project if you turn it into something significant, perhaps raising funds in order to redecorate and update rooms at the Ronald McDonald House.

Citizenship in the Community merit badge requirement 7, which includes learning about a community service organization and donating at least 8 hours serving that organization.

Do service at the Ronald McDonald House as part of the requirements to earn the Boy Scout Special Award in honor of the late, great Jimmy Stewart, the James M. Stewart Good Citizenship award.

Venturing Religious Life Bronze Award requirement 3: “ Plan and lead a service project such as helping to build a Habitat for Humanity house, participating in a community cleanup project, or taking on a fix-up project for a nursing home or nursery.”

Choose Ronald McDonald House Charities as your organization to serve as part of the Venturing TRUST Award requirements.

Serve the Ronald McDonald House as part of the “Serve Others” requirements in the Duty to God program.

My heart has a special place for Greg Mortenson and his work in Afghanistan and Pakistan. His amazing journey from mountaineer to international philanthropist is outlined in the famous, inspiring book Three Cups of Tea.

From the website:

In 1993 Mortenson was descending from his failed attempt to reach the peak of K2. Exhausted and disoriented, he wandered away from his group into the most desolate reaches of northern Pakistan. Alone, without food, water, or shelter he stumbled into an impoverished Pakistani village where he was nursed back to health.

While recovering he observed the village’s 84 children sitting outdoors, scratching their lessons in the dirt with sticks. The village was so poor that it could not afford the $1-a-day salary to hire a teacher. When he left the village, he promised that he would return to build them a school. From that rash, heartfelt promise grew one of the most incredible humanitarian campaigns of our time.

If you haven’t read it, you must. It’ll make you want to do something to help.

If your kids haven’t read one of the youth editions, encourage them or make it a family event and read it to them yourself. It’ll make them want to do something to help.

Too often we read about something like this, wish we could help, and then do nothing because we don’t know what to do.

As you may have guessed, I have a suggestion.

The Pennies for Peace campaign is an excellent way for our youth to truly help some of God’s neediest children. It’s a way to raise awareness of the needs of others and encourage gratitude for the blessings we have here. It’s a way to empower kids to understand that they can make a difference in the lives of others. It’s something everyone can get in on, even those who only have pennies to give.

This idea is flexible and can be made to fit the kind of service project you’re looking for. Primary kids working on their Faith in God can run a small and simple campaign. Youth working on Personal Progress, Duty to God or Scouting awards can coordinate a campaign on a much larger scale.

The Pennies to Peace website has tips and everything you need to get started, from printable stickers to decorate your donation jars to letter templates for parents and Girls Education Fact Sheets. And it’s all free.

If your son or daughter decides to do this, please drop me a line and let me know how it went.

LDS and Scouting Service Project Requirements:

PLEASE NOTE: The Pennies for Peace program may NOT be used for the Eagle Scout award because fund-raising projects are not permitted for that award.

Faith in God – Serving Others requirement #7: “Plan and hold a parent-child activity, such as a dinner, picnic, hike, day trip, or service project.”  This idea may also be used for requirement #10: “Children may also plan and complete their own activity to serve others. ”

Personal Progress – Good Works Value requirement #7, which involves giving three hours of service outside your home. Also, this could be used for the Good Works Value Project which requires at least 10 hours of service and can additionally include involving other young women.

All three levels of the new Duty to God program (Deacon, Teacher, Priest) include requirements to plan and carry out service, both individually and with the quorum.

The Star and Life ranks of the Boy Scout program each require service projects totaling at least six hours of work. Again, please note you may NOT use fund-raising service projects for the Eagle Scout Award.

Venturing – Religious Life Bronze Award requirement #3: “Plan and lead a service project such as helping to build a Habitat for Humanity house, participating in a community cleanup project, or taking on a fix-up project for a nursing home or nursery.”

A Pennies for Peace campaign could be used to fulfill the service to others requirement for the Venturing Gold Award.

There once was a horse.*

This horse loved strawberries.

These strawberry bushes look awfully good to our horse. What our horse doesn’t know is that these strawberry bushes are full of thorns. Holes lurk beneath many of the branches.

Beyond the dangerous bushes lies a beautiful garden.

The strawberry bushes in the beautiful garden are good for our horse and safe to eat.

Ask: How do we get our horse past the strawberry bushes that will hurt him and into the beautiful garden?

(My children suggested a bridle, which I drew on the horse. I suggested a fence might be helpful too.)

Read Alma 38:12: “Use boldness, but not overbearance; and also see that ye bridle all your passions, that ye may be filled with love…”

The strawberries can represent many different passions human beings have. The strawberries with thorns and hidden holes represent unbridled passions. The strawberries in the beautiful garden represent passions bridled by correct principles.

So if the passion we’re talking about is money, unbridled passions would be greed, covetousness and miserliness.

The bridled passion for money would be a righteous desire to provide for one’s family, avoiding debt, saving money, keeping our wants modest and giving to those in need.

If the passion is food, unbridled desires would be gluttony and fad diets. (But not chocolate addiction! Oh no.)

The bridled passion for food would be following the principles of the Word of Wisdom.

If the passion we’re talking about is praise, unbridled passions would be an unhealthy desire for fame or popularity, caving in to peer pressure, gossip, lying and fear of rejection.

An healthy outlook on the normal human desire for acceptance involves looking to the proper source for that acceptance.

As President Ezra Taft Benson put it: “If we love God, do His will and fear His judgment’s more than men’s, we will have self esteem.”

If the passions we’re talking about is sexual desire, a normal and God-designed passion within us all, then unbridled passions include pornography (there it is!), sexual relations outside of marriage and other sexual sins.

The bridled passion of sexual desire is a healthy, loving sexual relationship within marriage. (I conducted a separate FHE on healthy sexuality the following week.)

So, back to our strawberry bushes. Our horse likes strawberries. And that’s okay. Our horse is supposed to like strawberries. He was created to like strawberries.

But what happens if our horse goes to the strawberry bushes outside of the beautiful garden? What if he doesn’t learn to bridle his passion? What if he jumps the fence?

He’s going to get hurt.

What do those thorns and holes represent?

• Spiritual damage from sexual encounters outside of marriage
• Low self-esteem from sexual encounters outside of marriage
• Pornography addiction
• Lack of ability to control sexual urges which may begin as teenage promiscuity and repeat itself later in life in the form of marital affairs
• Teenage pregnancy
• Sexually transmitted diseases

What does the fence represent?

God’s commandments (found in the scriptures), guidance by Church leaders (such as that found in For the Strength of Youth – just as pertinent to adults I believe), and guidance by righteous parents.

What does the bridle represent?

Self control.

Here I interjected this little thought:

There’s something important to understand about Satan. First, he is our enemy. He hates us and wants nothing more than to destroy us any way he can. Do not expect him to avoid using every weapon he has against you just to be nice. He’s not nice, he shows no mercy and he will use every weapon he can.

Second, he will use something good and distort it to suit his evil purposes.

Therefore, one weapon that is an absolute plague on the earth today is pornography.

I explained this next part pretty much the way the LDS counselor explained it.*

Our minds and our bodies are designed to react to sexual stimulation, physical or visual. It’s the way God created us and that’s just the way it is. So this is what happens when a young boy (or an adult, for that matter) first views pornography.* *

The boy views a sexually arousing image.

The boy’s body has an instant physical reaction to it, as he is designed to do. In other words, he likes it. His body will NOT be disgusted by it. His body will like it. (The counselor actually explained the anatomical and neurological process, but I didn’t retain all that information, so you’ll just have to take my word for it.)

The boy will most likely know he’s not supposed to like things like pornography. Intellectually, he may not like what he’s seeing at all. In short, he’ll know that what he’s viewing is bad.

The boy will put those things together in the following way:

1. I liked that
2. That was bad
3. I liked bad.
4. I am bad.

That is a universal reaction that leads to shame, secrecy and damage to self esteem. All of which is one leg of the vicious addiction cycle. (He talked at length about the addiction cycle too, but I won’t get into that either.)

So, Satan knows your body is going to react to something like pornography, because he knows you’re supposed to like strawberries. But what does he do to get sweet boys like you to look at pornography? He knows you’re not going to go looking for it.

Satan becomes the hunter.

What might a hunter do when he’s hunting deer? (Yes, I know, I’m mixing my animal metaphors, but bear with me.)

Let’s imagine the hunter lays traps.

The hunter lays traps where he knows his prey is going to walk, like on a deer path through the woods or next to a food source.

Then, the hunter is going to hide that trap.

What’s going to happen when our deer walks along the path, sees nothing but leaves, and steps in a trap?

SNAP!

The deer didn’t do anything wrong by walking along that path. But he’s caught nonetheless.

What does an animal do when it’s caught in a trap? Can the animal get out unharmed? The animal will have to chew its own leg off to get out of that trap.

Because here’s the next part. Satan knows that if you look at pornography, you will have a physical reaction of pleasure.

He also knows you’ll feel guilty about it. Ashamed.

He wants you to feel ashamed. He wants you to feel embarrassed. He wants you to hide and be in the dark.* * *

Satan works in secrecy.

He doesn’t want you to tell a soul about what you saw or how you felt or what you might be tempted to do next. He wants you to drown in your feelings of worthlessness. He wants you, bit by bit, to cycle into pornography addiction.

He wants you to chew your own leg off.

The other way an animal can get out of the trap is if a human being opens the trap for him and sets him free. How do we get out of the pornography trap?

We tell someone who can help. And we don’t wait.* * * *

Back to the strawberry fields and the fences and the bridles. Trust the wisdom of the people who built the fence to keep you away from harm. They know where the thorns and holes are most likely to be hidden. Exercise your free agency and bridle your passions. Be committed to that. Be committed to following the commandments no matter what. Do this, and the fruits of the beautiful garden will be yours. They will be sweet to the taste and cause you no harm.

What blessings come from bridling our passions?

“Bridle all your passions, that ye may be filled with love.”

Love of self. Love of others. Love of God. Holy, virtuous principles lead to these things.

In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.

________________________________________________________________________________________

* This is an actual FHE lesson I taught when my sons were aged six through ten. It was inspired by a joint Relief Society/Priesthood lesson taught by an LDS counselor specializing in sex addictions. He’s considered an expert in his field. He didn’t teach us grown ups with a horse and strawberries, that was my idea for my children.

* * The average age children are first exposed to pornography is age 11. That means some children view it much sooner. More often than not, the first time a person sees pornography (whether child or adult) is on accident. Malicious web designers purposely design their sites to be accidentally discovered, because they know how ensnaring that first experience can be. This sex addiction counselor spent a significant portion of his lesson explaining how easily people are trapped (adults with pornography addictions almost always began by accidentally stumbling across pornography online) and how important it is to A) educate kids about this danger, healthy sexuality, etc. and B) put multiple filters on your computer.

Filters are not foolproof. That’s why you have more than one. Determined kids might be able to figure out a way around them, that’s why you educate your kids, keep the lines of communication open and stay very aware of what they’re doing online. But you put filters on your computer for the same reason you lock your front door: to keep malicious intruders from barging into your home and doing damage. The lives of sweet, innocent, trustworthy children have been blown to bits because they accidentally saw pornography. This guy sees it all the time. The statistics back him up. Don’t make the mistake of thinking your children are immune. The potential damage is not worth the risk. Filter your computers.

* * * I’ll never forget my ten-year-old listening to this with rapt attention and with wide eyes saying, “He does?” He later told me that when he and his dad had gone camping several months prior, he was looking through the newspapers his dad had brought for starting campfires. In it was an ad of a scantily clad woman, dressed (or barely dressed) in some sort of animal skin. This (not surprisingly) caught the attention of my innocent, preadolescent boy. He hid the paper, went back to it several times during the trip, and finally threw it in the fire to get rid of it. He never discussed it out of fear and shame, and it had been corrupting his perception of himself. He wondered if he was a bad boy.

This FHE lesson gave him the permission to talk to me about this. He was visibly relieved to know that it’s natural to like the way a beautiful woman looks and that doesn’t make him bad. We talked about respect for ourselves, respect for women, healthy sexuality, and blessings that come from following the commandments. This talk freed my child from Satan’s trap.

Which he found in a newspaper.

Soft-core porn is all around us and social acceptance of it doesn’t dilute its poison at all.

* * * * For those already deep into pornography addiction, Satan may tell them they’re too far gone for help. Which is another way to keep them in the dark. Or as they go through their addiction cycle – which includes periods of abstinence before falling back into the trap again – Satan may encourage them to feel that they can control it on their own or to think the problem “really isn’t that bad because…” Again, Satan works in secrecy. Pornography addiction requires more counseling and education than a trapped deer can provide for itself.

Freight Wagon used by the Clark Company, restored by Ryan Worthen as an Eagle Scout project in 2000. This wagon is the property of the Daughters of Utah Pioneers and finds its home on the grounds of the Old Mormon Fort Visitor's Center in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Ah, the pinnacle of Scout achievement: the Eagle Scout Leadership Service Project.

A word that’s sometimes overlooked in that phrase is “leadership”. The Eagle Scout Leadership Service Project isn’t just about doing service (although that’s a great thing about it). This is a chance for a boy scout to learn what goes into planning a big project. To learn leadership.

Too often in the LDS Scouting community, boys are short-changed because parents and/or leaders don’t really know what’s expected. I don’t fault individuals for this. After all, you don’t know what you don’t know.

Well, the Eagle Project Planning Guide will take you through everything you need to know. This get to the point one-page website outlines the essentials in a clear, organized manner without overwhelming you with too much information.

It’s really a great site.

Read it. Have your scout read it. Let me know what you think.