My Teaching Matters

How many of us really know what is going on with our kids when they are at school?  What kind of pressures are they having to deal  with?  What are the most difficult challenges they are faced with?

In today’s episode, we get a sneak peak into the day in the life of a middle schooler.  Corrine Kendall, a middle school/junior high counselor, talks to us about what she sees as some of the trends and challenges that our young people are dealing with and what we as intentional parents can do to help combat the trends of the world.

Take a minute and think back on a happy memory you have with your family?  What were you doing?  How did you feel?  What makes this memory special?

I would venture to say that most of you were thinking of a time spent with your family doing something fun.  Maybe a vacation you took together, a special evening together, or a silly time spent laughing and playing with each other.

Creating these family bonds is an important part of creating a strong family.

In today's episode, we look at ways you can create a strong family culture by  intentionally planning wholesome recreational activities for your entire family.

Click Here for a FREE PDF of 31 Fun Family Activities!

In the most recent general conference Sis Joy Jones talked about how having simple yet  “Essential conversations”  with our children can help prepare them for the future.  Sis Jones states, "We can have fun helping our children build spiritual resilience at any age.  It doesn't have to be complicated or time intensive.  Simple, caring conversations can lead children to know not only what they believe, but more important, why they believe it."  (Apr. 2021 General Conference, Essential Conversations, Joy D. Jones)

So what does an Essential Conversation look like?  How can we include more of them in our teaching ?  and How will they help to strengthen my family's testimony?

Join us in today’s episode to as we look at the FIVE steps for creating simple, caring conversations.

Download the Perfect CFM Lesson Template here.

The closet was dark and Evelyn couldn’t see very well.  What if she couldn’t find the string she was looking for because it was too dark?  What if things were to fall out of the closet while she was lookin?  What if she created a mess? or What if her new bike was too big and she couldn’t ride it, or what if she fell off? What if ,  What if,  What if…..

Life is full of uncertainties and unknowns.  How do we move past the fearful “What if’s “  to look for the positive possibilities?

In today’s episode, We talk about how we can help our children let go of the fearful anxiety of the unknown and choose to have faith and hope in the future.

Listen to find out what happened to Evelyn as her mother helped her learn how to intentionally choose to have faith.

Join our 5 day challenge and start helping your children choose to LIVE the gospel of Jesus Christ.

http://myteachingmatters.com/challenge/

As parents, we have been commanded to teach our children to UNDERSTAND the doctrine of repentance, faith and baptism.  How do you know if our children are understanding what we are trying to teach?

What if your five year old came up to you with tears in their eyes and said “Mom, I feel uncomfortable inside, can you help me make it feel better?”  Or you overheard your two year old saying “Uh-oh, I need repent!”

If either of those scenarios were to happen in my home, I would be pretty confident that my children were coming to understand the principle of repentance.

In today’s episode we talk about how you as fearless mothers, can teach your children the doctrine of repentance in such a way that you will be able to see by their actions, that they are understanding.

By using the 3 simple  techniques outlined in this episode, you will no longer have to wonder if your teaching is sinking in, you will be able to SEE the fruits of your labors.

Join us for a 5 day challenge where we take you step by step through the process of teaching for true understanding. http://myteachingmatters.com/challenge/

Interested in hearing more about how the 2 year old learned the need for repentance?  Check out Dixie’s story here:

014 How Dixie Christensen Learned to Teach Her Wiggly 3 Year Old and Make a Difference in Her Family

Do you remember back to your school days when you took a test and felt pretty good about it.  Then you get your score back and you realize to your horror that totally misjudged how well you did.  Your expected A turned out to be a frightening D?

Hopefully you don’t recall too  many of those experiences, but I think I’m not the only one who has experienced being shocked when faced with the reality of a situation.

In today’s episode, I share a moment where I was totally taken off guard at how well my teaching was being received by my children.  I was totally off base...  but the worst part was,  I didn’t even know it!

How do you  know if your  teaching is really sinking in?  How do you know if you’re doing it right?

In today’s episode, I share with you the mistakes I made, and the journey I took to find a solution.  I will share the solution I found with you, so you don't have to wait until your kids are teenagers before realizing you were going about it all wrong. 

You don't have to make the same mistakes I did. 

You can make the changes you need to now, before it’s too late.

What Message does the Lord have for your this General Conference? 

A year ago this April, Pres. Nelson said, "The purpose of this and every general conference is to help us to hear Him."

If the purpose of our prophet and Apostle, is to help us hear Him, what is our role? What can we do to prepare to have their purpose fulfilled in our lives?

Pres. Nelson goes on to say, “We have prayed, and invite you to pray, that the Spirit of the Lord will be with us in such rich abundance that you can hear the messages that the Savior has especially for you—messages that will bring peace to your soul. Messages that will heal your broken heart. Messages that will illuminate your mind. Messages that will help you know what to do as you move ahead through times of turmoil and trial. "

President Russel M Nelson

Today’s episode, is  a replay of an episode we ran a year ago about how to prepare yourself and your family to Hear the messages the Lord has for His children.

This episode had so many great ideas, contributed from Fearless Mothers from around the country that we just had to share it again, giving you another opportunity to try some of these amazing tips on how to prepare for this Spring’s General Conference.

To download a free PDF of engaging yet meaningful General Conference activities, visit our website at www.myteachingmatters.com/conference

A few weeks ago my husband and I spent the night at his brothers home. He and his wife invited us to join them the next morning for their early morning scripture study. I was interested to share this time with another family to see how this process worked for them.

We each took a turn reading a few verses from the assigned CFM reading, but after the reading something magical happened. His wife asked a question. The question she asked was NOT, How did the spirit speak to Oliver Cowdery, nor was it even What are the different ways the spirit can speak to us? , but instead she asked, “What experiences have you had where the Holy  Ghost has spoken to you? “,.

Wow! Was that ever a power packed questions.  That one question spurred a discussion that continued far longer than it should have as some of the kids had to get ready for school, but each of us shared and listened to each other’s experiences, all of us were edified.

This experience reinforced the idea that not all questions are created equal. How can we turn an average question into a powerful question? What are the principles around questions that I need to understand to help me ask better questions?

In today’s episode, Keith Johnson, this very brother in law , in whose home we stayed, shares his journey of he has learned to harness the power of the question.

"Appoint among yourselves a teacher, and let not all be spokesmen at once; but let one speak at a time and let all listen unto his sayings, that when all have spoken that all may be edified of all, and that every man may have an equal privilege". Doctrine and Covenants 88:122.

Links to items mentioned in Podcast:

Keith’s 4 Levels of Communication:

Level 1:

Definition: Acknowledgement

Typical Question(s): Hi, How are you?

Benefit:  Awareness, kindness

Level 2:

Definition: Facts, Knowledge, Information, Lectures, many talks

Typical Question(s): What   is….?

Benefit:  Dispensing information, Education.  Get stories of others

Level 3:

Definition: Feelings, Personal insight

Typical Question(s): Why….?,   How do YOU feel about….?

Benefit: Get to really know someone, and learn how they think and feel.  Get personal stories

Level 4:

Definition: Connect personally to what you just learned, but don’t take over or “one-up”.

Typical Question(s): Thank you for sharing, I can relate because of….

Benefit: Connect more deeply with the person with empathy and love

It is common in the church to stand and testify that we KNOW the Church is True.

But what does that really mean?  Is it enough that our children know the church is true or is there something more that we are striving for?

In the October 2000 General Conference, Elder Dallin H. Oaks said this,  “ It is not enough for us to be convinced of the gospel; we must act and think so that we are converted by it. In contrast to the institutions of the world, which teach us to know something, the gospel of Jesus Christ challenges us to become something….  The gospel of Jesus Christ is a plan that shows us how to become what our Heavenly father desires us to become.”  (The Challenge to Become, Oct. 2000 Conference)

In this episode, we talk about the importance of focusing on who we are BECOMING rather than what knowledge we are obtaining.

Let’s face it, as busy mother’s we don’t have a lot of extra time just for ourselves. How do we find time to devote to our own scriptures study when the kids usually get us out of bed in the morning and we fall into bed exhausted shortly after they go to bed at night?

Well,  what if I were to tell you that you could actually have a meaningful scripture study in one minute a day?  ONE MINUTE!  Do you think you could squeeze it in?

Cali Black is co-host of the podcast 1 Minute Scripture Study; a podcast that is truly only 1 minute long! (if you skip the intro and outro parts.)  In today’s episode, Cali shares how busy moms like you and I, can find ways to have meaningful scripture study that helps us progress and change without sacrificing our family or our sanity!

For those of you who need help getting started again on your own personal study habits, or if you just need a fallback idea for those days when it’s just not going to happen otherwise, this episode is for you.

Links to find Cali:

Instagram:  Come Follow Me Study - Daily thoughts and actionable take aways

Web Site:  Comefollowmestudy.com - Access to study journals, daily thoughts and podcasts

Podcast:  1 Minute Scripture Study - found on most podcast platforms