Season for Family – Page 16 – A community of women finding time for family connections.

Happy Memorial Day

05.27.2019 by season // Leave a Comment

Memorial Day started as a day to decorate the graves of those who died in the Civil War. It’s continued to this day as a holiday to honor and remember those who died while serving in the United States Armed Forces. While I have had lots of ancestors and family members serve in the Armed Forces, I haven’t had any of them pass away while still serving. I’m so grateful for all who have fought and died while serving our country!

Some great ways to celebrate this US holiday is to teach your children what this holiday is really about. May 24th is Poppy day, so find your local American Legion and buy a poppy from them. Teach your children how to respect the flag. Attend a community event for Memorial Day, our town has a Field of Honor where they have set up 1,000 flags! At 3 pm (local time) on Monday, join the President of the United States as he prays for peace.

Since, I don’t know anyone personal that I can honor during this US holiday, this weekend has turned into a holiday where I’ve taken the time to remember my family members who have passed away. In the past we have done one or more of the things listed above and we take time to visit the grave sites of family members laid to rest nearby where we live.

However you choose to spend this holiday remember it’s a time of reflection and a time we can share stories of those we love. Happy Memorial Day!

CAMILLE MECHAM

themommygenealogist.wordpress.com/
IG: @themommygenealogist

Family Search on the Sabbath

05.26.2019 by season // Leave a Comment

Gruppe Kinder sitzt vor einem Laptop Computer im Unterricht der Grundschule

This week’s idea for #familyhistoryonthesabbath was inspired by @roots2blossoms and @themommygenealogist ‘s Instagram posts from this last week! We have linked to their posts in the stories.

Sunday is a day where a lot of us like to limit and/or ban screen time (makes sense, right?!?). Something that I like to tell my kids is that they can have as much tech time as they want, ONLY if they do family history… Guess what?!? They ALWAYS take me up on it. @familysearch can be such a fun place for kids and I am always surprised by how much they learn.

Did you know that any child 8 years and older can have an account of their own?

Check out familysearch.org/discovery for some super fun games and activities that are fun for the whole family.

If they’ve been there, done that with the discovery activities, don’t stop there! Send them exploring! See if they can find a pioneer, an early settler, see if they can track how many countries their ancestors came from, have them find a story to share at family home evening, see if they can find any royalty in your family line. I am sure you can think of more ideas!

Are you going to let your kids have tech today? If you do, tell us how it goes in the comments below!

Remember, every week we will share a simple idea for bringing family history into your home on the Sabbath day. If you have ideas that you would like us to share, tag @seasonforfamily in your Instagram post and use the hashtag #familyhistoryonthesabbath

To help us not be on social media all Sunday, we will share your ideas on the following Saturday night or Sunday morning in our stories. They will then be available for viewing on Sunday.

CAROLYNN REYNOLDS

branchesart.com
IG: @branches.art

Family History Research

05.25.2019 by season // Leave a Comment

“A spiritual dimension is truly added to our lives when we work on our family histories.

Sisters in Zion, could there be a more rewarding calling than to labor in the Lord’s vineyard for the salvation of souls? We have the choice privilege of strengthening families and influencing those who have been placed in our care, as well as those who have preceded us beyond the veil. Lest we think the task is too hard, be reminded that angels will be round about us to bear us up if we are willing to do our part. The promised blessings are almost more than we can imagine.

” Joanne B. Doxey
“Strengthening the Family”
General Conference October 1987

In the last 2 weeks, we have spent a lot of time focusing on the non-“grave hunting” way to participate in family history, but today, I want to take a minute to share my testimony of doing family history research. The hands on, census searching, newspaper reading, up till 3am kind of research.

old documents at a rack – nice background

Researching your family lines is rarely easy, but as Sister Doxey mentioned in the quote above, “The promised blessings are almost more than we can imagine.” I can personally testify that that is absolutely TRUE. Attending the temple with a name in hand of an ancestor that you have personally researched and sought out can be an extremely powerful experience. But even as I speak these words, I am hesitant to describe my personal blessings that have come from the time that I have spent researching my ancestors, because in my humble opinion, one of the most beautiful aspects of family history is what seems to be the PERSONALIZED blessings that come from it. I may have had the opportunity to experience a unique bond to an ancestor of mine in the temple, but your efforts could lead to very different blessings. I speak to people every day about family history work and I cannot begin to express the COUNTLESS stories of miracles and healing that come specifically from family history research.

I am not here to tell you that it is your “season” for family history research, but I cannot continue to share my love for this work without sharing the undeniable blessings that come from the task of seeking out our deceased ancestors and performing their temple work.

Are you feeling the tug to start researching your ancestors, but don’t know where to start? I have some exciting news for you! We have started a FREE Facebook Group that is specifically there for you to ASK questions, help others, and celebrate our victories. We know all too well that this aspect of family history can be challenging, but the rewards are more than worth the work.

Facebook Group –> facebook.com/groups/seasonforfamily

Now tell us, if you are new to family history, what is your biggest fear/challenge/obstacle with researching your ancestors? If you have been around the block, share your testimony with others!

CAROLYNN REYNOLDS

branchesart.com
IG: @branches.art