Lessons from Mary Poppins! {Positive Attitude Printables}

A couple of weeks ago, I spent four days in the mountains at Girls’ Camp with 35 beautiful young women. Since our camp skit was based on Mary Poppins, I used a quote from the movie as inspiration for my devotional about the power of a positive attitude. I’m sharing the Mary Poppins quote, printable, and idea with you today.

It’s been such an insane July! We’ve had a whirlwind of vacation, camp and wedding prep. I’m worn out! I never thought I’d say this . . . but . . .  is it time for school to start yet? I need a break!

Life gets busy and crazy for all of us. Things don’t always turn out according to our plan. Sometimes the problems are little things that we can get over in a few minutes or a few days, and sometimes the problems are huge things that are life changing and take years to overcome.

You’ve probably sung or hummed along to the Mary Poppins tune, “A Spoonful of Sugar,” at least once in your life. Have you ever thought about the words? When trials come (the medicine), and they will come, it’s our attitude (the sugar) that will make the difference.

To teach this lesson, combine the Mary Poppins quote with your own experiences with how maintaining a positive attitude has helped you overcome trials. If you don’t have an idea from your own life, use lessons from others. At Girls’ Camp, I shared the story of Noelle Pikus Pace, an Olympic silver medalist in the sport of skeleton. You can read her story in her book Focused. Here’s what Noelle says about choices:

Regardless of our circumstances, each moment presents us with decision to make. It doesn’t matter what question, trial, or success we experience. Each traces back to a choice. At any given moment, we can choose to doubt, fear, worry; to be prideful, angry, depressed, or miserable or we can choose to move forward. We can choose to be a light. We can choose to be happy. The choice is always ours, and each choice can be a step forward on the path of life we want for ourselves.

In 2005, Noelle was ranked #1 in the sport of skeleton, and was expected to win gold in the Olympics. During training, she was hit by an out-of-control 1400 lb bobsled, which broke her leg and shattered her Olympic dream. The story of what happened next perfectly demonstrates the power of a positive attitude! I highly recommend her book.

The second page of my Mary Poppins quote printable contains thoughts about keeping a positive attitude. It is missing one great quote that I found in Noelle’s book. I’ll include it here:

I am asking that we stop seeking out the storms and enjoy more fully the sunlight. I am suggesting that as we go through life, we ‘accentuate the positive.’ I am asking that we look a little deeper for the good . . . .

Look for the sunlight through the clouds.

–Gordon B. Hinkley

A week before camp, I had to put my advice into practice when our van broke down in the middle of our family cross-country road trip. I basically gave my lesson to the family, and we set out to have fun while our car was being repaired. It was interesting to be able to look at the ways I was blessed while sitting on the side of the road waiting for a tow truck.

I was stranded alone in a back alley of a small town with little battery left on my phone in sweltering heat. The car came back on just long enough to drive into a public place and roll down the windows. My hubby reminded me that our portable jumper cable pack had a phone charger on it! I was blessed. The car broke down in an area where we still planned to spend one more day, and most of the sites we wanted to visit were within walking distance.

The car could have broken down in the middle of nowhere and really ruined our trip. With a positive attitude, this was just a minor bump.

If you think this lesson would be great for your family or youth group, grab the free printables by clicking on one of the links below. You can choose the jpg version (includes two high quality jpgs for printing via a photo printer or home printer) or the pdf version (opens in a new window and can be printed from your home printer).

These prints would be fun tied to chocolate-dipped spoons, too. I chose the pixie sticks since they’d be handed out at camp and could be purchased very inexpensively at the Dollar Store (simplify!). I didn’t think chocolate would survive well!

Stay happy! Thanks for stopping by today. Check out more great ideas by clicking on the images below. (The images are linked to posts.)