Thanksgiving is here and the Christmas season is starting. So the hustle and bustle begins! Not only do we have decorations to arrange, food to prepare and parties to plan but we also have gifts to give. Gifts that we want to be meaningful and heartfelt.
My husband works on the family dairy farm. It is a huge part of our lives and means a lot to us. Once we started a family of our own and Christmas or a birthday rolled around, we would give gifts to our children like toy tractors, cows, horses and farm sets. Things that our children were familiar with. Toys that we felt had a meaning and were part of who we are. As the kids got older, we were able to see what different interests they each had and branched out on our type of gifts. My two boys actually loved Legos. They would spend a lot of time building and playing. My son, Will, would carry his mini-figures everywhere, continually acting out that character’s personality and actions from shows he’d seen. My sister had some Lego lovers in her family as well and the two of us started talking about how we wished we could buy building sets and mini-figures that would teach our children about the values and character traits that we learn about in the scriptures.
Then one day the idea came! It took a couple years of work and a lot of learning experiences but we now have Scripture Stackers - block sets based on stories from the scriptures. A meaningful toy that helps children learn and act out the scripture stories. Our products include a 140 piece Nativity Scene, 150 piece Book of Mormon set featuring the story of Nephi and the Broken Bow, and six Old Testament Character Mini-figures. New this holiday season are a framed diamond art nativity kit and a set of nativity diamond art stickers. We have been excited about adding these new crafts that help remind us of the purpose of Christmas.
The Nephi block set holds a special place in our hearts. It comes with a collector’s card that contains a summary of the story as well as the scripture reference so that you can look it up and think of the story as you build. I pulled it out the other day and re-read it. It talks of how God provided the Liahona for Lehi’s family. It would work and guide them as they were faithful and obedient. When Nephi’s bow broke, he put forth effort, sought his father's advice and was guided through prayer. Even though they had plenty of setbacks, such as the bow breaking, being out of food, murmuring and contention. With the Lord, he was Successful!
The last few years have brought my family many blessings but also some trials. Reading this reminded me that, like Nephi, we too will have setbacks and hard times but if we involve the Lord in our different adventures through life we can be guided just as Lehi's family was.
What a wonderful gift of knowledge for us to have!
When Nephi brought food home, the family gave thanks to Heavenly Father. I love this part! It is so important to remember to give thanks to God for always being with us and for His guidance not only when things go smoothly but during the rough patches of life as well!
This business adventure that my sister and I have embarked on has definitely had both smooth and rough times. I am grateful though that this small idea that was planted years ago has come to fruition and that we have gotten to be part of it. We have loved receiving emails that share stories or thank us for producing these toys. They've mentioned how they have enhanced lessons for FHE, Come Follow Me, scripture study and the joy of simply having a meaningful toy for their child or grandchild.
We hope with Christmas just around the corner you will find a heartfelt gift for those you love!! If you feel Scripture Stackers are something you would like to include on your gift giving list, they are available at ourpicnictree.com. If you go to our website, please use code GIFT15 for 15% off your total purchase. We hope you enjoy your Holiday season and spending time with those you love!