45 Club

One day when we were getting everything gathered together to leave for church and I was making sure I had everything I wanted in my bag--mints, tissues and lipstick.  I had the thought how fun it would be to have a box of things like this for my kids.  The problem was, I really believe that things should be earned, not just taken, so I took this thought and tucked it into the back of my mind.

At the same time we were having an issue of everyone getting ready for church early enough.  Something needed to be done to encourage everyone.  I really thought about this for a long time.  As I pondered I came to two conclusions.

1) It needed to be fun.  Sunday mornings should be full of good memories, not frustrations, since when you truly do your best to treat the Sabbath as a holy day, the blessings, both temporal, emotional and spiritual can bless generations.

2) Everyone needed to be ready at least an hour before we had to leave.

After I came to these conclusions, my thoughts about the fun things to have in a scripture bag rose to the surface and the 45 Club was born.

The goal of the 45 club is to be ready by 45 minutes past the hour of choice set by me.  The rules are as follows:

1) You need to be completely dressed in your Sunday Clothes.

2) Pj's put away and bed made.

3) Scriptures and other items needed for church are ready to go.

4) Hair looking nice.

For the prizes, if you make it before 45 past the hour, you get two points to spend.  I've listed some of the prizes and the point values below.

Tic-tacs 2 pts.

Small Pack of Gum 2 pts.

5 wrapped  mints 1 pt.

Pretty fan 4 pts.

Small Notebook 2 pts.

Scripture pencil 1 pt.

Small pill box 1 pt.

Tissues 1 pt.

Roll of Mints 2 pts.

Chapstick 2 pts.

The weather radio is not a prize, by the way!  ;o)

So, we have been doing this for several months and it has been going great.  My two goals of happiness and readiness are being met, so I couldn't be happier!  Sometimes, someone misses out on a week, and have the consequence of no treat.  Usually when that happens, they are the first ones ready the next week.  The treat that my kids grab the most are the tic-tacs.  Let's just say, even though these things are meant for the scripture bags, I don't think that any mints or gum have ever lasted long enough to get to church.

It looks like the 45 club is here to stay!

~Deborah