Scripture Reading Habit Made SUPER EASY…2014 Scripture Chart!!!!
Ok….so this is the 3nd year I have posted this Scripture Reading Chart. Some of you may remember the post we did recently where we talked about the fact that all 5 Crafting Chicks and many other creative bloggers are members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints or Mormons, the post can be found HERE. If you read this post, you can see the importance for us to read from The Book of Mormon in the lives of members of our church. So you can imagine that it’s also important for us to read this book with our families to draw nearer to Jesus Christ and God the Father. Until 3 years ago, it was merely a dream to make this a daily habit with our family. This has really really become easy and we’ve learned that “consistency is the key”. This is dedicated to our friends that showed us this trick….and we are so grateful for their great idea. It worked for us (I’m still surprised myself), and I hope it works for you too!
3 years ago at this time we embarked with a new year’s resolution that honestly I didn’t think we would be able to keep up….how’s that for a resolution! This resolution was to read scriptures every day as a family….not a whole chapter, not even a whole ten verses, just at least one verse. We just wanted to make family scripture study a habit, whether it was one verse or 20. We had tried in the past to make this a habit with no real success or consistency. BUT WE DID IT THIS YEAR AGAIN! Last year we missed 2 days and so far this year we haven’t missed ANY. That’s not to say that there wasn’t fighting and wrestling and rough housing and crying on some or all of those days; but that’s the beauty of it, that’s just how it is, for us at least…heavens…my kids are 8,7,6 and 4 and 3 of them are boys, that tells you enough right there. Let’s be honest, it’s like herding cats. If we can do this, ANYONE can do this, trust me.
SECRETS TO OUR SUCCESS: There are definitely secrets, but they are “EASY EASY” and completely no-fail as long as you can be consistent.
- BE ACCOUNTABLE: This is the BEST SECRET of them all, I tell ya…use this one page CALENDAR CHART (printable below) that represents the whole year!!!!!! Dave and I said so many times throughout the year that just the thought that we were going to have a gap on our reading chart was enough to muster up the umph to read each night, and how we didn’t anticipate that we would be motivated by that, but it worked.
- USE COLORED STICKERS & make it a game: This was also a main key for us. The child that was the most well-behaved got to choose the sticker for the chart that night. This was a major motivator for our kids.
- CHOOSE THE SAME TIME EACH DAY TO READ: For us, the time of day we chose wasn’t exactly at a specific specific time, but right before bed which was around the same time each night. If you can choose the same time each day that works best for your family, you are really setting yourselves up for success.
- KEEP YOUR EXPECTATIONS LOW: Ok this is one of those times that low expectations are GREAT. The kids are going to be rowdy, mean, ornery, and not want to do it at times…hang in there . There should be a level of respect while reading, from my point of view, but it’s not going to be perfect. Sometimes the best things are HARD, until it’s a habit. Just tonight as we were reading, the younger two got into trouble because they were being too loud, it happens still, but at least we are reading.
WHY WE’VE MADE IT A PRIORITY?
Let’s be honest, we live in a world with shifting moral values. We cannot look to Hollywood or the media to give us accurate truths and it seems to be rapidly declining. -Jeffry R. Holland
ave a talk in October of 2009 speaking about the importance of scripture and it’s soooo powerful (HERE watch the video if you can). I believe that a loving Father in Heaven communicates to his children through prayer & scripture. We not only believe in The Book of Mormon, but also the Bible and The Church of Jesus Christ of latter-day Saints has recently released some amazing Bible videos HERE that no matter what your religion, you will adore. I want my kids to have open communication with their Savior. I know without a doubt that learning to be more like God will help them more in their lives than learning to be like any other person they could model themselves after. Since my job as a parent is to equip my children with the best tools possible for success, this is top priority.
(the thing that worked best for us is to print this out on a piece of white card stock and laminate) My dear friend AMY SHUMWAY designed this one for our ward…I did our ward’s for that last 2 years and she was in charge this so she kindly lent me the file to share with all of YOU.
DOWNLOAD (8.5″x 11″): HERE
What has worked for you??? Let us know if you make this a habit too, we can’t wait to hear your feedback!
Love this, thank you!
Thank you, thank you! We had one year of great consistency, and then did horrible this year. Hoping to do great again this year.
I’ve been constantly checking in to see if you had one for 2014. Used last years and I’m happy to report we only skipped 3 days this whole year. Such a blessing in our lives. Thanks for the chart!!
Could you please shoot this to my email! I can print it from there. When you have a moment, of course! Thank you so much!
Will you explain/clarify how you use the Temple Goal part of it please?
YAY! We used your calendar last year and it started a habit for us. THANK YOU SO MUCH! I’m excited to do it again in 2014!
This chart will be a wonderful tool for many that hunger and thirst for righteousness. God bless you for sharing it. Many homes will be strengthened because of it. The scriptures contain the answers that will prepare us to return home with honor.
Thank you so much, I will pass this on. Shirley
This WILL be the year we make this work! lol Thanks for the awesome chart!
I printed your calendar last year and we loved it!!! How do I go about printing this in a poster size?
Can this be printed on an 11×14 poster? Last year you had 2 options and I only see the one.
Oh I have been hoping beyond hope that you would be posting a chart for 2014! Last year’s chart completely and utterly changed our scripture study habits. It was a huge help. And yes, we did still miss a few days. I’d say over the course of 12 months, we missed 10-15 days. but that’s nothing, out of 365 days! And I loved being able to check off temple attendance. It makes me happy.
Thank you so much for making these. They are fantastic. My little family sends its thanks to you.
Kris
I love this idea! So do you just put a sticker over each date that you read? And same with temple attendance and fhe? Different colors of stickers for each one? Thanks so much! I will be printing and laminating this.
Thank you, thank you!! We used your chart from last year and it worked!!!! We finally were able to get into a routine and I can’t thank you enough for the help.
I’m wondering what kind of stickers you used since the numbers are so small?
Thanks for the chart by the way!
Hi! Last year I printed the 20×24 size at Costco, and it worked great! Are you planning to make that size again this year? I wasn’t sure if the 8 1/2 x 11 would work if I tried to make a bigger size.
Thank you so very much for this! I’m so excited for it. I’m gonna print and laminate extras for VT.
Please send a copy to this email address if possible. I need the help. Thanks in advance.
Thank you!
I can’t get this to upload to the Costco website. I have printed the last two at costco and I love the finished look that the photo paper gives it. Am I doing something wrong this time around????
Thanks so much. We printed this out a few days late but my kids are already excited to mark off the days when we are finished reading. I’d really love it if you added your website to the bottom so next year when I needed to print off a new one I could remember where I got it from. (I’m kind of forgetful). Awesome work. 🙂
I’ve tried printing this and the only way to download this is in a pdf. Can you change it to a jpg? Thanks
With five boys reading scriptures can be difficult. I came up with a new trick that has worked really well. Instead of me yelling at the boys and having the spirit run out the door, we have started with one minute of silence. If they talk, wiggle, pull faces faces, we start over. We try not to make it a punishment but a way to invite the spirit. It has worked great!
I’m totally going to try this idea! Thank you!!
This is great. Thanks!
Thank you so much for sharing this. We have a four year old who will love tracking our progress on this chart. Not to mention how it will be a visual reminder each day through out the year. Adding the quote from Elder Bednar is the perfect finishing touch.
I just got back from Costco, and my scripture chart poster turned out perfect!! If any of you are still having problems trying to get a bigger size for your chart (I know I was getting super frustrated), this is how I got mine to work:
Save the “Scripture Chart” PDF file to your computer, and open it.
Go to “Edit” and choose “Take a Snapshot”.
You’ll see a star thingy instead of an arrow for your mouse, it looks kinda like a “+” sign.
Left click the mouse and hold down to highlight the chart (start at edge of left corner and drag down).
–Highlight as much as you can, including the white border around the black line.
There will be a box that shows up saying “The selected area has been copied”
Close the PDF file, and go to start menu on bottom of screen.
Choose “Microsoft Office Picture Manager”. (You might see a few familiar pictures that are already on your computer.)
Right click and choose “paste”. Now the PDF file is a “bitmap” (bmp).
Open it up, and “save as” to whatever file you want.
Order online. I like to order with Costco and have found the 16×20 size is perfect for our wall in the kitchen.
Hopefully this works for you! = )
Thank you Tiffany!
Thank you so much for making one for 2014! My family loved ours last year. We didn’t do a perfect job at it, but we improved! Wahoo!
Hi I am wondering could you do this in French for me (probably the 2015 version)? I live in France and we would like to hand one out to everyone at a stake meeting in October. I could give you the translations for every month, for the quote on the bottom, etc. Now that I think about it, you probably won’t have the 2015 version done by then. Well, let me know if it is possible. Love this idea!
Thank you! I know it’s late in the year, but I didn’t even think of using a chart until I stumbled upon this.
Hoping you’ll have one for 2015. We love it so much. Would make a perfect Christmas gift for family. 🙂
I so hope you do this for 2015! I love it!!!!
Kirsten,
These past two years have seen consistent daily scripture study in our home because of your charts. Thank you so much for helping me find a way to make my goals a reality. We have benefited greatly from it. Please consider making a scripture study chart for 2015. We have found your charts to be not only a tremendous help for our family, but also a beautiful addition to our walls. We like to blow it up to poster size. Thanks again!!
Is there one of these for 2015 in the works. Our family has used this and loved it for 2014.
We are so appreciative for you taking the time to make this and sharing it.
This chart is perfect and I’ve used it in the past. Do you have a current one for 2017?? I would love if you made one! They are so helpful and putting everything all right on one printable! 🙂
We do! You can find 2017 here https://thecraftingchicks.com/2017-scripture-reading-chart/