What can we learn from offering marshmallows as a treat to toddlers?
Perhaps we can learn a lot.
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A Lesson About Patience, Marshmallows, and Happiness What can we learn from offering marshmallows as a treat to toddlers? Perhaps we can learn a lot. Children and Marshmallows In the 1960s, a professor at Stanford University began a modest experiment testing the willpower of four-year-old children. He placed before them a large marshmallow and then told them they could eat it right away or, if they waited for 15 minutes, they could have two marshmallows.
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As many of you know, I am a Mormon.
No, I have not been a Mormon all my life, but pretty close. Mormon missionaries rang the doorbell at my parent's home (in the Netherlands), when I was a baby. My father let them in and started a heated religious discussion with these two young boys. In the end, the new friends made a deal: my father promised to read the Book of Mormon, if they would study his church. They agreed that the person who discovered the other person's church was true, would join their new friend's church. My father immediately started reading the Book of Mormon, marking everything that was questionable. There were a lot of markings and notes on those first pages. “The beauty of a woman is not in a facial mole, but true beauty in a woman is reflected in her soul. It is the caring that she lovingly gives, the passion that she knows.” ― Audrey Hepburn Stunning eyes, a perfect figure, and gorgeous hair are only surface appearances. True beauty is more than skin-deep. All of us are guilty of it: worrying about the way we look.
But why? The question is: if true beauty is so much more than appearances, why do we give it so much attention? Two reasons:
The world prizes body-baring “beauty.” Hollywood markets it, advertisers exploit it, and the media promote it. Think of a person you know well, whom you completely adore, someone you consider to be completely beautiful. Now think of what she is, what makes you love her so much? I would venture to guess that the attributes you use to describe her are mostly characteristics, not physical attributes. You find her beautiful because of who she really IS, NOT what she looks like. "The Lord seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the Lord looketh on the heart" (1 Samuel 16:7). If we could see ourselves as the Lord sees us, even for one minute or less, all our insecurities of our appearances would forever vanish. True inner beauty cannot be purchased in the cosmetic isle or the plastic surgeons' office. It comes from years of developing oneself: serving others, becoming well-educated, learning interpersonal communication skills. Developing a meaningful relationships with others and God. It comes from years of hard work, of faithfully enduring trials with optimism, trust, strength, and courage. True beauty, doesn’t wash off. It is spiritual attractiveness. Deep beauty springs from virtue. It is the beauty of being chaste and morally clean. It is the deep spiritual beauty is found in the person you thought of earlier: a person you look up to. Was it you mother, your grandmother. Was it someone you sincerely look up to? We are led to believe that physical attractiveness is of true value: we women must all look like the elusive model on the cover of a magazine, or the skinny and talented actress. The Lord would tell us that we are each uniquely beautiful. When we are virtuous, chaste, and morally clean, our inner beauty glows in our eyes and in our face. Elaine Dalton's grandfather used to say, “If you live close to God and His infinite grace-- you won’t have to tell, it will show in your face.” Choose to be a person people look up to because of who you are, not because of what you look like. Be confident in choosing good, and your inner beauty will shine brightly. In beauty pageants, there is only one who gets to wear the crown. But with the Lord there is no competition. We are all winners because we are His. I hope your week will be marked with true beauty. xox, Crystelle Tall Tales is a fashion series about clothing for tall girls of all ages For more Tall Tales posts, please click here Juliette's ensemble shirt: DownEast, Cardigan: Ross, shorts: T.J. Maxx, Bag: T.J. Maxx, Necklace: Premier Designs, Ring T.J. Maxx Photos: Pink Pearl Photography We welcome guest-posts from fellow tall girls: If you are a woman of 5'10 or taller, and would like to contribute to our Tall Tales Series, please contact us here.
We look forward to working with you! Personalized wedding gift idea for a couple who gets married in one of the temples of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints {aka LDS or Mormon Temples} Every home should have sweater pillow, right? My opinion is that one of the throw pillows in a display should have nice thick texture: like that of an up-cycled sweater for example!! That's why I started making these fun sweater pillows with a simple temple icon applique added in the corner. I am not sure why I added the little temple picture in the left bottom corner, I suppose the right would work just as well..... But alas, I am a creature of habit and always add mine in that same left corner.... As wedding season is upon us once again it is time to come up with some wedding gifts you can give these young couples that are just starting their lives together. When I make these pillows as wedding gifts, I just go online to the store/website where the happy couple registered to find out what color they are using to decorate their living areas with. Then I go about finding a nice quality used sweater at one of the local thrift stores. {I've even been known to find the right color sweater in my own donation pile, hahaha!!} If I can find a nice wool or cashmere it really makes my day, but if not, 100% cotton will certainly fit the bill. After washing the sweater {nice and hot to shrink it} it is time to make the pillow. Simple Step-By-Step Tutorial on Icon Sweater Pillows These pillows make fabulous personalized wedding gifts! {Especially if you use the colors the couple is decorating their home with.} Just add a simple bow and off you go to the reception.... :) Our house has a few pillows like these laying around: they are so soft and homey. ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ Included are two documents: one is about how to sew a sweater pillow, the next has silhouette templates of the Idaho Falls, Idaho; Albuquerque, New Mexico; and Twin Falls, Idaho temples The best things in life aren't things ~ Mixed Media ~ Yellow and Turquoise / Blue Sometimes we get so busy. So very very busy.... Doing busy things. That's when it is time to step back and re-evaluate: What am I doing with my time? Is what I am doing important? Will it be important next week? Will it be of importance next year? Ten years from now? Mixed media has become such a favorite for me, because the rules are little bit more relaxed. You can draw, glue, stamp, use found objects, etc, etc. I love it. Basically it is like being back in kindergarten and having permission to just "play" with your canvas.... Everything you do to it is considered to be great. And the adults in you life give you all the kudos you need when you show them your finished product. No judgements made. No-one has to be perfect. Does life get any better than that? ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ I am not quite sure if this picture of the girl with the quote: "the best things in life aren't "things" is perfect, but I had a perfectly great time putting it together...!! I used some cheerful happy spring colors {my favorites any time of year!!}, and added vintage papers, vintage measuring tape, paint, etc. SO fun to do. Funny thing is that the print of the paper I used as her skin-color makes it look like she has tatoos on her arms.... At least that's what struck me.... Now just in case you have a hard time making decisions: here is my go-ahead for you to go-ahead and be as awesome as you can be!!! Watch this short little clip about what things we should prioritize in our lives: Great little reminder of the things that matter most. Never let a problem to be solved be more important than a person to be loved ~ Thomas S. Monson ~ Go ahead and be awesome today!! xox Crystelle Mixed Media: She believed she could, so she did Everybody has trials in their lives, or things that don't go as planned. We all need to dig deep at moments such as these and rely on faith and courage to go forward. A great example of such faith and courage is Esther in the Bible: She did not stay silent when the lives of her people were at risk. She did what was right despite fear. We too can do this! We too can dig deep and find faith and courage. Being brave doesn't mean not to be afraid: Brave is just acting in faith. The enclosed video shows the courage of Esther and how it applies to women today. You don't ever realize how strong you are until being strong is all that you have left. I just wanted to make a little piece of mixed media that showed confidence. We CAN do hard things! Just dig deep: find your faith and courage and rely on that. ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ I was not compensated for this post and the opinions are 100% mine Book review Heaven is Here: An Incredible Story of Hope, Triumph, and Everyday Joy by Stephanie Nielsen published by Hyperion CAUTION Reading this book may cause sniffling noses and teary eyes! Because I had a VERY long flying day ahead of me, I came armed with a 'good read' that would keep my attention inside the pages, and away from the discomfort of sitting in one position for soooo long. From experience I had learned that a book selected for a flight had to be exceptional in order to capture my attention. Heaven is Here I thought would be a perfect choice. And.....: it was! EXCEPT for this: I was so emotionally involved with the author that I would start crying, then sobbing, and had to put the book away regularly so the pages would not get soaked with tears! The people around me must have thought I was a bit loony to be sobbing like that in public.... A lot of people know about Stephanie Nielson through her blog: NieNieDialogues. In 2008 she was in a plane accident which caused her to burn severely. The book talks about the accident, as well as her life before and after. Stephanie discussed freely her fears, hopes, and love for her family members. A few of my favorite quotes from the book: "Everything has changed."... "Some things haven't. I love you. That hasn't changed." Christian was firm. "That's not going to change. And we're in this together. We're going to get better." ************** My mom smiled at me and nodded, as if she'd known that would happen. "Don't worry," she said. "We'll get that figured out." And just like that there was hope. I couldn't do it now, but we'd get it figured out. ************** I had always believed that Jesus Christ not only suffered for m sins but could heal my heartaches, too. When I poured out my heart to God, I knew He understood exactly how I felt without the justifications and explanations I would have to make to others. ************** I had grown so used to a constant parade of strangers coming in and out of my room, monitoring every last detail of my health. These people were involved in matters of my survival, but I didn't know anything about most of them. They had lives, too, I realized. When nurses and therapists came in, I tried to stop thinking about myself and get to know them. ************** ...It was never simple. "The airplane crashed," I would say, and it was like the epicenter of an emotional earthquake. It was too hard to articulate my feelings and too painful to relive the moment. ************** "When I woke up in the airplane, and there was fire all around me, I screamed for help, but no one could hear me and I realized that that was it. I was going to die. It was inevitable." My mom wiped a tear from her cheek. "I was terrified, but I gave up trying to get help. I just accepted I was going to die. As soon as I did, someone came to help me. Mom, it was Nana." She drew in quiet breath. "Oh Stefanie," she whispered. "There were other people there, too, but I didn't know them like I knew Nana. When I got out of the plane she told me to roll. And then it got so noisy and people were running everywhere and shouting and she was gone. But she's come to me while I've been lying here. At first, I just felt her - I just knew she was there, and I know we spoke. She taught me how things work in the space between life and death. She was very busy in heaven, and happy, and full of purpose." ************** Included is a short clip about Stefanie Nielson Heaven is Here is a gripping book. But you have been warned! Unless you don't mind crying in public, I suggest you read this book in the privacy of your own home.... :) ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ No Day But To-Day Mixed Media Piece ~focus on the things that matter most~ My 12 year old kicked me out of the kitchen and told me to go to my sewing room. I immediately obeyed, of course! So I started playing with paint and vintage papers.... Good times!! She called me after a couple of hours and had made and decorated cupcakes, plus the kitchen was alive with fun personalized valentines day hearts.... In the mean time I had made this little mixed media piece. I am a lucky mom!! I got time to create, plus I have a daughter who wanted to surprise me.... :) There is no better day than today to do the things that matter most. Sometimes it is so hard to focus on those things that are truly important in our lives. Mothers like me often get so busy doing the busy things that we forget that which is most important. Twenty, thirty years from now, it probably won't matter so much that my dishes were out and laundry was on the floor when unexpected visitors arrived.... Yet I worry about those. What will matter? I would venture relationships. with our children, with our spouse with others.... That we were true to our moral convictions.... What do you think will matter most twenty or thirty years from now? We would do well to slow down a little, focus on the significant, lift up our eyes, and truly see the things that matter most. ~Dieter F. Uchtdorf~ |
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