Monday, January 25, 2016

Meeting Your Goliaths with Stones of Faith

Meeting Your Goliaths With Stones of Faith
When studying the account of David and Goliath, 1 Samuel 17,  it is important to focus on the tools used to defeat Goliath rather than be awed or intimidated by his size.

This is true in our lives. If we spend our energies being intimidated and discouraged by the size of our personal Goliaths (adversities, trials, and temptations),  we risk overlooking the simple tools (stones of faith) Father in Heaven has given us to defeat our adversities, trials, and temptations.

As my mother taught me, focus on the solutions, not the problems.

In preparation to teach this principle and to reinforce the importance of using our stones of faith, I am making each student a bag filled with "stones of faith". (see photos below)
Each stone will be labelled with one of attributes President Thomas S Monson taught us to use in his adddress, "Meeting Your Goliath"   

COURAGE
EFFORT
HUMILITY
PRAYER
LOVE OF DUTY

I also purchased these wooden sling shots  from Amazon (I know...not the type that David used) and we will label some softer stones (perhaps crumbled up paper or large marshmallows) and shoot them at a drawing of Goliath (drawing in process at press time) Will post an update. I want the students to see the size of Goliath but spend more time on the stones of faith available to slay him.

A little history on the "Stones of Faith" idea:
I am basing this idea on one I used several years ago when I made "Value Rocks" for a Young Women activity. Before the "Value Rocks", my friend and I made "Gratitude Rocks" as part of table decorations for Thanksgiving. They were great conversation starters at our Ward Thanksgiving Dinner.

I will post photos when my  "Stones of Faith" are complete.
These photos are from several year ago when I used the Value Rocks