Photo by Wendy Santiano

Are you ready to Light the World? On December 1st, Mormon.org will be kicking off the Christmas season with a worldwide day of service. My friend Wendy and I got a jump start on serving with our families and I am so excited to share our experience with you!

Why participate? Because you have so much to give! This year I discovered that even in difficult times, I have something to offer.  Every year I prayerfully choose a few words to live by. For 2016 I was strongly impressed to “give more.” When these words first came to my mind, I laughed and then I cried. My husband had been laid off and I was working around the clock. I was tired, mentally and physically. I felt I was already giving all that I had to keep our family afloat.

So I humbled myself and accepted the challenge to give more. It forced me to be creative. Waking in the early morning hours, I began indexing more. We donated clothes and shoes to Deseret Industries and Tabitha’s Way Local Food Pantry South County. We collected toys and supplies for an orphanage in Italy. We prayed for daily opportunities to serve.

As we increased our service efforts, it was humbling to see our blessings multiply as well. Blessings appeared when we needed them most. Mentors, jobs, and opportunities came at just the right moments. It has been an amazing year and I have much to be grateful for.

For example, late one night there was a knock on our doorstep. Opening the door, I discovered grocery bags filling our small doorstep and spilling out onto the sidewalk. Bags overflowed with pasta, baking supplies, and more. Alongside them sat cases of soup and vegetables followed by large bags of flour and rice.

As we brought the groceries into our home, our 9 year old daughter danced circles around us singing, “We are so blessed. Somebody loves us. We are so blessed.”  This made me cry even more. This is what I wanted my daughter to remember during this tough time – that we were so blessed. That God loves us and will answer our prayers.

My heart bursts when I think of the many ways others have served us this year. Equally just as wonderful are the feelings that have come about as we have served others. Even tiny hands can make a big difference. My children know that they can work hard and do good things.

Photo by Wendy Santiano

One of my favorite service opportunities is working with Tabitha’s Way in Spanish Fork. Last week, we helped sort out cans for their Thanksgiving baskets. Earlier this year, we were able to go in for a family night to stock shelves. They do so much good for the community, it is fun to work alongside them! If you are in Utah County email them at info.tabithas@gmail.com to see how your family can help!

Photo by Wendy Santiano

There are so many ways to serve during this Christmas season! Check out the Light the World homepage to discover inspiration for 25 days of service with your family.

The post Light the World – Blessings from Giving and Receiving appeared first on KeepMovingForwardWithMe.

It’s spring time which means General Conference will be here before we know it. Seventeen LDS Bloggers are joining me to share a few of our favorite things.  We are so excited to be giving away over $400 in prizes. It’s been a treat to work with so many talented women to spoil our readers with products that strengthen the family and make our lives a little easier, too.

We as bloggers are so thankful for you – our readers! Thank you for your encouragement, comments, and time that you take out of your busy day to check in with us. We appreciate how you #sharethegood with us and hopefully we can share some with you as well!

Meet the bloggers who are taking part in this giveaway:

Now for the giveaway! If you are anything like me, your wish list for Deseret Book is a mile long! We are excited to send two of you some fun money to spend there. We hope you love the recipes from the Six Sisters as much as we do and that Nicole Carpenter’s 5-minute messages will make family devotional more manageable! From bulking up your food storage with Thrive to the cutest projects by Fizzy Pops – there are so many wonderful prizes. Check them out and ENTER TO WIN below! There are TWO rafflecopters so be sure to enter each one!

Prize Package #2

$85 Gift Card to Deseret Book

$75 value Food Storage Package from Thrive – We update our 72 hour kits/Food Storage every conference. I love having products like this on hand that last a long time!

             Six Sisters Stuff Cookbook

$50 Gift Card to Sego Lily Soap – I’ve replaced all my body washes with these soaps. Absolutely love them. Their Plain Jane soap is one of the only soaps that has worked with my daughter’s eczema.

Doodle Journal for General Conference by A Lively Hope. – These are darling! Be sure to check them out.

Pink Star CTR Necklace and I am a Child of God Pin from Ringmasters. – All three of my children adore their jewelry from Ringmasters. As a mom, I love that the jewelry is a sweet little reminder they can always have with them.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Prize Package #1

$85 Gift Card to Deseret Book

$50 Gift Card to Sweet Salt Clothing – I get compliments on my skirts from Sweet Salt every time I wear them and I love their under tees. Check out my two favorite skirts here and here.

Fizzy Pops Young Women Zipper Pull Kit ($50 value) with

YW Value Bottle Cap Printables from My Computer is My Canvas – I used the zipper pull kit for our Primary birthday gifts last year. They were super easy to make and darling!

Six Sisters Stuff Cookbook – I am visiting the Six Sisters site for their delicious recipes several times a week. This would make a perfect Mother’s Day gift or keep it and enjoy the yumminess for yourself.

52 Weeks to Fortify Your Family from MOMentity.com – See more about why I absolutely love this book and how it has made our morning easier in my book review here.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

The winner will be announced and e-mailed April 2. Facebook and Instagram are not liable for this giveaway.

We’ve compiled a few of our favorite General Conference Activities, Recipes, and Ideas. Comment with your favorite traditions or add a link below!

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The post LDS General Conference Spring Blogger Giveaway – $400+ in prizes! appeared first on KeepMovingForwardWithMe.