Monday, October 16, 2023

Come Follow Me: 1 & 2 Thessalonians

UPDATE: (10/16/2023)
I just added some additional activities for this week's Come Follow Me lesson to help you teach 1 & 2 Thessalonians. I hope you find something that works for you.





*(scoll to the bottom for a bonus file-cute idea came from a reader)

Below is my previous post from 4 years ago. I debated if I should delete it with this update but ultimatley decided to leave it. So much of it still rings true and I still need the remider of this message. I'm a work in progress and will continue to be :) For those that were here for the first time, thank you for sticking with me and my imperfect ways. And thank you new and old for taking a few minutes of your day to stop by.

Thank you all for you kind words last week.  It was an unintended break but much needed :)  I need to be honest with all of you.  These last few months I have been struggling a lot with stress and trying to keep up with everything.  I have 5 young and busy kids, teach preschool a couple times a week, and try to keep up with this blog (not to mention all of the other household and church responsibilities).  I'm telling you this because something needed to change.  I had been praying for help and my answer came during General Conference. I need to simplify, even though many things are good I need to focus more on what is better or best and finally President Nelson's talk "examine your life meticulously and regularly. As you do so, the Holy Ghost will prompt you about what is no longer needful, what is no longer worthy of your time and energy...As you shift your focus away from worldly distractions, some things that seem important to you now will recede in priority. You will need to say no to some things, even though they may seem harmless. As you embark upon and continue this lifelong process of consecrating your life to the Lord, the changes in your perspective, feelings, and spiritual strength will amaze you!"  Since then I have been making many changes and shifting my priorities.  One of the big things that I have decided to adjust is the way I will be sharing my Come Follow Me activities.  While I do believe sharing is so good (and I love it so much) it is taking a lot of time away from things that are better for me and my family.  Don't worry I am not going away :)  I will still be sharing each week but in a much different way.  Instead of trying to cover everything and provide a ton of options I will now be offering one option. It will be more of an FHE post that can certainly be adapted for primary as well.  I'll be using the primary manual to pick the topic.  I think this will help my own children be more prepared for their Sunday lessons and help out our primary teachers that stop by.  I was just released from primary and know that it can be hard to teach many of these lessons so I will make sure it is something you can use as well.  I was called to nursery (yeah!) so I may be sharing some of my lesson ideas for the tiny ones :) So if you have nursery age kids or teach watch for that. One thing I really love about Come Follow Me is that it is open for us to pick the topic that works be for our family or class.  There is not a set topic or guide.  So the topic I pick may not be one you need.  If this is the case use the search bar on my blog.  I have been sharing for over a year now and there is a good chance there is an activity on one of the topics you need.  I know that was a lot and a big change and I hope these post will still help you and your family or class.  I appreciate all of you so much for stopping by each week and I'm excited for this change.






That's all for this week.  Thank you for understanding the need for change and for stopping by.  If you have any questions for trouble with the download please let me know.
Download Free Printable Here

Edit: I had someone ask for printable items to put in the suitcase.  She is going to hide them around the room and have her kids share a way they can prepare for the second coming when they add it to the suitcase.  I thought that was so cute and that some of you may want a copy as well.  You can get those here.  It includes some clothing items and things like shampoo :)

36 comments:

  1. I appreciate you sharing what you can!

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  2. Love this and love your example of focusing on what is a good use of our time. Even if they all seem like good choices it is important to focus on the most important things. Thank you!

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  3. Thank you, Crystal, for all you have shared with us. You have truly helped so many with Come Follow Me, and I am so grateful I happened upon your blog a few months ago. Your comments reminded me of the talk "Good, Better, Best" given in conference last year. Sometimes its hard to know what is best when there are so many good things vying for our time. I'm glad with Heaven's help, you have found what is best for you and your family!

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    1. Thank you so much :) That is one of my favorite talks and one I've been thinking about a lot lately.

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  4. You are amazing with all you do and are STILL helping us with our lessons! Thank you!

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    1. Thank you :) I sure hope these new posts help.

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  5. I am so grateful for the help you have provided me with Family lessons. I feel a little lost without your great prints and graphics to use. Family comes first! Hopefully you can share more in the future!

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    1. Thanks and yes I hope to be able to keep sharing for a long time :)

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  6. Thank you so much for all the handouts you have so very generously shared.. recharge your batteries and focus / enjoy time with your family...x

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  7. I appreciate any help you give! Enjoy your time with your family!

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  8. That part of President Nelson's talk really spoke to me as well and have made me cut back on a few things and focus my attention on my kiddos again. Thank you for your example.

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  9. I just want to tell you thank you for sharing your amazing ideas and resources! And thank you for sharing your experience with conference, it was a perfect example of what President Nelson was talking about! You’ve inspired me to do the same with my life.

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    1. Thank you Melissa :) This makes me so happy.

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  10. Thanks so much for all you've done (and plan to continue doing). And thank you also for knowing your limits and stepping back when it's too much. I've been pondering similar thoughts lately, too, and I'm glad you've found your answer!

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  11. Eeeeek I’m so happy to see this post! So grateful for all you do here!!! Because if you my son loves doing come follow me!!

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    1. Oh wow thank you so much! I'm so happy to hear he loves it-this is why I share :)

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  12. I appreciate all that you do share and I love your ideas! Plus I am so grateful that you are being such a good example and taking the advice of our leaders and prioritizing! Thanks for sharing your genius with the world!

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    1. You are so sweet. Thank you so much :) You made me cry haha.

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  13. Thanks so much for sharing!

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  14. Thank you for all that you do! Your ideas have benefitted me as a mom, as a sunbeam/CTR 4 teacher and now as a primary music leader!

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    1. I am so happy to hear that. Thank you for your kind comment :)

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  15. Than you so much for all that you do. I have ctr 5 and I don't have access to the earlier primary manuals, Your effort makes it so much easier to teach these little ones. I look forward every week to seeing what you have. Your ideas are right on for my little class.

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    1. Thank you so much :) I'm so happy I can help.

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  16. I feel blessed and inspired by the way you teach the gospel for kids. Thank you so much for all you do! <3

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  17. Thanks for sharing your ideas and still encouraging us to pray and find our own. I appreciate your insight

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  18. Thank you for sharing your wonderful ideas,but at the same time encouraging us to pray and find our own inspiration. I appreciate your example especially the fact that keeping it all together is hard, yet you keep vigilant in your hard work and are striving to do the work necessary to receive revelation. I means a lot to me.

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  19. I've appreciated all the help you've given to help add to my primary lessons.
    I noticed there is no idea's for Hebrews this week. you must be very busy with life. I get it, I had five children and now have eleven grandchildren. I am very involved in their lives, I do church at home with each of my married children once a month and your idea's have been a great help. I'm amazed at all the thing you do, and if you have too much on your plate and need to cut this part out of your life I get it. I just wanted to tell you thank you. you've blessed many lives. Your family comes first!

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