Cup of Inspiration

I'm really excited to share one of my favorite lesson ideas I've used in awhile. Our Young Women lesson was on personal revelation. When I am planning my lessons I read through the outline and then start searching the Internet for inspiration on unique and interesting ways to present the topic. As I was looking up ideas for personal revelation, I found several "recipes" for personal revelation. I liked the idea, but all the recipes made full batches of different treats. As I was thinking about this, I thought it would fit more with the lesson if I could find a recipe for an individual treat, after all it is personal revelation. From there, ideas just flowed. I decided that I would make one of the popular "dessert in a mug" recipes because they make an individual serving and I thought it would be super cute to decorate the mugs with the words "cup of inspiration" to go along with the lesson theme. Everything came together perfectly!

I first picked up a bunch of plain white mugs at the dollar store, then I set out to decorate them. I searched all over the Internet and found a bunch of tutorials for DIY Sharpie mugs. After taking all the best tips, this is what I did:

I washed the mugs.

Next, I wiped the area to be drawn on with some rubbing alcohol.

Then I decorated the mug with regular Sharpies.

Next, I baked the mugs at 450 degrees for 30 minutes. I put the mugs in a cool oven, then turned it on to 450 and once it was heated set the timer. After 30 minutes, I turned off the oven and let the mugs cool over night. Some of the colors faded during the baking process, but there wasn't really any rhyme or reason to it. Sometimes it was light colors, sometimes it was dark colors, some colors faded on some mugs and not on others. They still all turned out pretty cute in the end.

*note* I did a trial run with one mug at 450 degrees and didn't have any problems other than a little fading. When I baked the rest of the mugs they ended up with a little brownish tint to them, kind of like a toasted marshmallow. I am not sure why this happened. Maybe overcrowding in the oven, or maybe the oven was too hot. Next time I would probably do two batches and bake at 425 degrees instead of 450.

After the mugs were cooled, I baked a special individual-sized cookie in each one. The recipe is super easy and meant to be made in a mug and cooked in the microwave. You can find the original recipe here. This picture was taken right after the cookie was baked. It was still warm and a little gooey. It tasted great!

After I had made all the cookies and they had cooled, I put the mugs in some little treat bags I found at Dollar Tree and attached a recipe to each one.

I assigned each ingredient in the recipe to a piece of counsel that is important for receiving personal inspiration. I found this counsel in the book True to the Faith found here.

Here is what I put on the recipe card:

For: Personal Promptings

The following recipe will prepare

an Individual cup of Inspiration.

           Ingredients: 1 Tablespoon Prayer (Butter)

                                     1 Tablespoon Reverence (Granulated White Sugar)

                                     1 Tablespoon Firmly Packed Humility (Dark Brown Sugar)

                                     3 Drops of Keeping the Commandments (Vanilla Extract)

                                     Small Pinch of Partaking of the Sacrament (Kosher Salt)

                                     1 Regular Scripture Study (Egg Yolk)

                                     Scant 1/4 Cup Time to Ponder (All Purpose Flour)

                                     2 Tablespoons Studying it Out in Your Mind (Chocolate Chips)                                         

Directions: Combine ingredients necessary for personal promptings. Start by melting your butter in the microwave. Add sugars, vanilla and salt. Stir to combine. Add the yolk. Stir to combine. Add flour, then stir again. Add the chocolate chips, and give a final stir. Now your mixture will look like cookie dough. Cook in microwave 40-60 seconds, start checking for doneness at 40 seconds. Do not cook past one minute. Remember to be patient as you seek God's will.

Recipe adapted from www.number-2-pencil.com

I handed the cookies and recipes out to the girls and we discussed the importance of each "ingredient" in the recipe.

There you have it! A recipe for personal revelation that makes a single-serving treat in a special "Cup of Inspiration". What do you think? I think the girls enjoyed it!