Challenge—Click, Click (Plus a giveaway & a freebie!)

This is a challenge from the original TIMC, I just wanted to post it on here as well because I think it’s an awesome one that everyone should do…plus there’s a giveaway involved!

I’m so excited about today’s challenge!  I follow team member Laura on Instagram, and a few months ago, she participated in a 30 day photo challenge that I thought would make a fun challenge here!

I know there are some of you who will just totally stop reading right here because you don’t want to take pictures of yourselves, but first let me tell you why you should do this challenge! 
#1: It can showcase a little bit about you and your life right now. 
#2: A picture is worth a thousand words!
#3: It’s easier and less-painful than you think!  (Even if you’re like me and HATE getting your picture taken.) 
#4: There will be 3 $10 Amazon gift cards given out to three lucky people who participate with us on Instagram!
Here’s the official challenge:
Take one self-portrait of yourself everyday for 30 days.
You can take these yourself or have others take them for you.  You don’t have to take pictures of just your face either—here’s a list of ideas of things you can do for your 30 pictures:
A mirror shot
Hands
Feet
Hair
Favorite body feature
With a loved one
A hobby
A silhouette
Holding a favorite something
Doing an everyday experience (mundane or fun)
Full body shot
In a favorite place
In a common place
Doing something unpleasant
Side view
With a recently acquired or purchased object
Writing your name
A birth mark
Something that shows a lesson you learned
At work
At play
A quirk or something unique about you
With an addiction
With a food you like
Doing something with someone (friends or family)
Trying something new
A tradition
A habitual stance or pose
Something funny you like to do
And of course the traditional headshot with a myriad of faces
There are so many ways that you can record this as well! 
Do a blog post with all your pictures
Do an Instagram post everyday (use the hashtag #timc30days to be entered into the giveaway!)  Please keep it clean
Make a paper or digital scrapbook page
Print them and put them in a small album
Use an app on your phone (Try the Collect or Day One apps at the App Store or the Smart Album or My365 apps at the Google Play store.)
Here are a couple of examples for you:
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What Laura did:

Laura posted her self-portraits on Instagram for her 30 days, then got her favorites printed out to make a scrapbook page.

Supplies: Cardstock - Bazzill; Real Life button, arrow, smile phrase - Studio Calico Kit; love this photo phrase - Elle's Studio; word stickers - Sn@p by Simple Stories; number stickers - Basic Grey; title - Heidi Swapp
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What I did:
I did take my self-portraits for 30 day, but I didn’t post them anywhere (because I want to do some during the challenge time as well and didn’t want to overwhelm my family & friends with pictures of me twice …).  I ended up making a digital scrapbook page with all 30 pictures, and even wrote a little bit about each picture.  I did mini titles with hashtags to kind of summarize what the picture was about.  I used the Rhonna Designs and Letter Glow apps on each picture to spruce them up a bit as well.  It just took a few minutes everyday to get it all done.  Even though I don’t like selfies, I really had fun with this and I’m glad I did it!

And just a side note, I recently listened to a podcast where a couple of moms were talking about pictures, and one of the gals said that her mother went through all the pictures and cut herself out of any that she didn’t look good in. And now that daughter (the podcaster) is sad that she doesn’t have many pictures with her mom in them.  So, if you’re worried that you don’t look good enough for a picture, remember, especially if you are a parent, that it doesn’t matter to your children if you look like a model or not. They will be happy that you are in a picture.  *You may notice there are a few pictures of me with no makeup or hair done because it was a special moment that I decided to get on camera because I wanted to capture the essence of it, not my “beauty”.  Don’t be afraid to share your true self! 

Supplies: Digital template, me.  Designs & fonts on pictures: Rhonna Designs and Letterglow apps.  Fonts: Century Gothic, Landeliebe
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Today’s Freebie: If you’d like to use this template I made up, you can grab the first page here and the second one here—in a layered PSD file for quick recording!    You’re welcome. 
***Giveaway details (Closed): Upload your pictures to Instagram and use the hashtag #timc30days to be entered into the drawing starting now until 12:00 noon MST November 20th.  3 winners will be randomly drawn out of all entries and emailed a code for a $10 credit to Amazon.*** (I’m sorry to any of you who don’t use Instagram or don’t have a tablet or smart phone.  I couldn’t think of any other way to do a giveaway on FB or Twitter or anything else that was this easy to get others involved. )
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Now I challenge you to do the 30 self-portrait challenge with us! (And don’t be afraid to think outside the box!)

Fast Fact Friday--Personal History in Depth #5

Originally posted on the This Is Me Challenge, but brought to you here on the LDS Version of TIMC in case you don’t read the other blog. 

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So yes, today is Monday, not Friday.  I know that, but somehow I totally spaced FFF on Friday, and we will never get it all done if we don’t keep on track…so here’s today’s special edition of FFF—Personal History in Depth!

Today’s theme is: School 
(A branch off of question #4 on FFF—PHID#2 found here.)

1.  Name all of the schools you attended, and where they were located.  (From preschool to your highest level of education.)

2.  Who was a teacher who made an impact on your learning and/or future? (Can list more than one!)

3.  What were your favorite subjects to study though the years?

4. What was a memorable/embarrassing school experience/lesson learned?  (You can choose just one, or one from each school, grade or year.  However much you want to record!)

5.  How did you decided what you wanted to be “when you grew up”, and what schooling did you do for that?

 

Okay, that’s all for today.  More questions coming THIS Friday…if I remember. 

Fast Fact Friday—Personal History in Depth

If you are a follower of the regular This is Me Challenge, you know that every Friday for the rest of the year we are working on getting our personal history recorded in depth! 

If you’ve ever done any family history, you know why it is so important for us to record our personal histories.  Just imagine how easy it would be to find info if all your ancestors had recorded this much about themselves! (Plus it would be fun to just know what they were like and not just when they were born, who they married, and when they died.)

I haven’t had much extra time to devote to the LDS version of the This Is Me Challenge, but I thought I’d bring some of it to you here.  Here are the links to the first four posts.

#1 (The Basics)

#2 (The Early Years)

#3 (The Teenage Years)

#4 (Home)

Each Friday from now on, I will just publish it here as well as on the regular TIMC.  And I’m crossing my fingers that I will find some time to get back on track with regular new challenges on here.  Thanks for all your help, support and understanding!

Challenge #36—The Priesthood Is Restored!

One of the most prominent aspects that sets the LDS Church apart from any other church, is the fact that we have the Priesthood.  So, today’s challenge is based upon the Priesthood.

How do you feel about the Priesthood?

Source

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What I did:

I just quickly wrote down my feelings about the Priesthood to record my testimony of this sacred power for my posterity.

I’ve always liked the definition of the priesthood as “the power and the authority from God to act in His name”.  The Priesthood is special.  As I reflect upon the importance of this sacred power, I can’t help but think of the men and boys in my life who are and will someday be bearers of this sacred responsibility. 

From my earliest memories, my dad has offered Priesthood blessings to me when I needed them.  When I was sick, when I needed comfort, and every year as the school year started.  I didn’t always understand how blessed I was to have the Priesthood in my home, but I’m glad that it was. 

I’m grateful  to be married to a faithful man who is always so willing to give me, our children and anyone else who needs it, a blessing. 

I am preparing my four sons right now to someday receive this special blessing.  I’m teaching them to be faithful, prayerful, and close to the Lord, so that in a few years, they will be worthy to hold the Priesthood and use it to bless others.

I know the Priesthood is special, because it’s not given to just anyone who wants to have it.  There are many people, including women, who feel left out—feel that they are missing something because they can’t hold this special power.  I have never felt that I was missing something because I couldn’t hold the Priesthood.  Just because I can’t hold the Priesthood, does not mean that I can’t be blessed by it.  Maybe those people are missing the fact that it can only be used to bless others—a Priesthood holder uses this special gift to serve others, and cannot be used by the holder for himself.  The Priesthood power is not a power of dominion, intelligence, or something that elevates one person over another. 

If you’ve ever seen, or read about a certain super hero who slings webs, you’ll know that his uncle once told him, “With great power comes great responsibility”. I believe that’s how the Priesthood is.  It is a power from God, and is not to be taken lightly.  It takes dedication to be faithful and worthy to hold that special power.  Only those living the highest of God’s standards are eligible.

I am grateful for the power of the Priesthood.  I have seen miracles happen from blessings and acts of those who hold this sacred power.  I know it the authority of God here on the earth, and I feel so blessed to have the power of the Priesthood in my home.

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Now I challenge you to record your thoughts and feelings on the Priesthood!

Challenge #35—While of These Emblems

First of all, I apologize to anyone who has needed a new challenge for a few weeks…I really try to get new ones up every couple of weeks but sometimes life just gets in the way and time slips away.  I’m trying!  Today we do have a new challenge, and it’s a good one!

What are your thoughts, feelings and testimony about the Sacrament?

(Source)

This is something I never thought about recording before a few weeks ago.  Not coincidentally, I was listening to some older conference talks and one came up talking all about the Sacrament.  It’s by Elder Dallin H. Oaks, and it is an amazing talk—I recommend you read it or listen to it right now!  You can find it right here.  This talk is going to be the basis of our next FHE. 

So, you know the drill by now, right?  Think about how you feel about the Sacrament, then record your thoughts, feelings and testimony about it in the way you choose!  If you’re new here, see the tab up above for ideas of different ways of how you can record it your way.   

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What I did:

I haven’t had time to do my normal scrapbook page, so I just typed up a quick few paragraphs about how I feel about the Sacrament. 

When I think about the Sacrament, many things run through my head.  As a child, I never really understood what it was except a little snack.  As a teenager, I knew it was a way to renew my baptismal covenants and remember Christ.  All of that changed when I went away to college.

I remember my first Sunday at Church.  We actually met in the auditorium of an elementary school, which I thought was strange and wondered if I’d be able to feel the Spirit while not in an actual Church house.  We sang the Sacrament song, and during the prayer and the passing of the sacrament, it was deathly quiet.  I’d never experienced that before, and the Spirit was so strong that I vividly remember the warm feeling in my  heart.  It was the first time I realized how important the Sacrament really is.

As I grew accustomed to the quiet Sacrament meetings in that singles ward and others, I felt like I was sitting next to my Savior each Sunday.  It was really quite a renewal to my Spirit, and I looked forward to it each week. 

After I got married, it was quite a stark contrast to suddenly be in a family ward with all the kids talking, crying and sometimes screaming.  I still tried really hard to focus on the Sacrament, often reading scriptures or Hymns to help me.  But when I had children of my own, who were often crying or struggling during the Sacrament, I realized that I wanted to find a way to again capture that feeling I’d felt in my singles wards. 

I figured the best plan, would be to help my children think about Christ during that time, so that I could to.  We’ve done pictures of Christ, the illustrated scripture stories, The Friend magazine, and sometimes I’ve let them color pictures.  It’s my goal as a mother to really instill understanding of the sacredness of the Sacrament into my children’s minds and hearts. 

As they’ve gotten older, they have learned to be reverent and quiet during that time.  I find I can once again ready the words in the sacrament hymns or the scriptures and remember my Savior, and every precious drop of blood that He shed for me. 

I am so grateful for the Sacrament and for the opportunity I have to each week renew my covenants with Him, and to feel of His love for me. He has given us this great gift to be closer to Him, and I look forward to this sacred ordinance each week. 

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Now I challenge you to record your thoughts, feelings and testimony about the Sacrament!