Where's the line to see Jesus?

Before I get into what the title of this post is about I'd like to spend a few minutes recounting Barbara's lesson. Sis. Kemp gave the Presidency Message this month and did a wonderful job reminding us this season to remember the Savior among our list making. This time of year seems to be the busiest time because we put a lot of pressure on ourselves making lists and checking them twice! Our lists comprise of gift giving, buying and making. We need to buy so many things for so many people and spend hours making candy and treats for the neighbors and go to this party and that party. All the while, the Savior gets a few minutes of thought here and there...mostly on Sunday...but that's the hustle and bustle of the season. Barbara reminded us that we need to center our lists around the Savior and think of Him more often while we still enjoy the fun and festivities. I asked her to incorporate this scripture which is pretty much what the "theme" for our few months of being the new Presidency has been centered on this year. It's Helaman 5:12 "And now my (daughters), remember, remember that it is upon the rock of our Redeemer, who is Christ, the Son of God, that ye must build your foundation; that when the devil shall send forth his mighty winds, yea, his shafts in the whirlwind, yea, when all his hail and his mighty storm shall beat upon you, it shall have no power over you to drag you down to the gulf of misery and endless wo, because of the rock upon which ye are built, which is a sure foundation, a foundation whereon if men build they cannot fall." I don't know about you but not only is life in general a "mighty wind" and a "whirlwind and mighty storm" but it is more so during this time of year. I always say to myself that I'm going to get things done earlier and simplify and do less...and every year I feel like I have no power and that I am being dragged down. This year, I am focusing more on the Savior and His life. I received this next part in an e-mail and I just copy and pasted it here in this post. But I thought it fit so nicely with how I've been feeling these last couple of months and it went so well with the lesson. It's a song written from the inspiration and observation of a little boy. Read the story of the song and then click on the blue link and it will take you to the song. Enjoy!

I think you'll love this...read the story then listen/watch video..
http://www.youtube.com/watch_popup?v=pPViKJRHyZo&vq=mediumAbout the Song While at the mall a couple of years ago, my then four year old nephew, Spencer, saw kids lined up to see Santa Claus. Having been taught as a toddler that Christmas is the holiday that Christians celebrate the birth of Jesus, he asked his mom, "where's the line to see Jesus"? My sister mentioned this to my dad, who immediately became inspired and jotted words down to a song in just a few minutes. After putting music to the words, and doing a quick recording at home, he received a great response from friends. He sent the song off to Nashville without much response, except for a Christian song writer who suggested adding a bridge at the end of the first chorus. My dad then asked if I wanted to record the song to see what we could do with it. I listened to the song, made a few changes to the words to make it flow better, and we headed to Shock City Studios. It was at the studio where Chris, owner and producer, rewrote the 2nd verse and part of the chorus... with goosebumps and emotions high, we were all hopeful and felt like we had something special. The demo was recorded in just under 2 hours and sent off again to Nashville... still no response. Then 2 weeks before Christmas last year, my cousins Greg and Robbie decided to do a video to see what we could accomplish on YouTube. The first day we had 3000 hits and it soared from there. We received e-mails, phone calls, Facebook messages from people all over asking for the music, CD's, iTunes, anything... we had nothin'. After a couple of meetings with Chris following the amazing response, we got serious. We headed back into the studio this past spring... this time with guitars, drums, bass, pianos, choirs... the real deal.... and here we are today. Getting iTunes set up, a website put together, and loving that thousands upon thousands of Christians have come together... remembering the true meaning of Christmas. Out of the mouths of babes come profound truths that many adults can not understand. Hopefully Spencer's observation will cause people all over to reflect on the love of Jesus, and that one day we will all stand in line to see Him. We are most thankful to our Heavenly Father to have this chance to share our music with you. Merry Christmas everyone.

OPERATION COMPASSION

On Saturday morning you should have received a list of items that can be donated to a group of soldiers in Iraq. This is what the letter said:

Dear Friends,
There is a small group of soldiers in Iraq that could use a little ehlp. Their living conditions are repulsive (think plywood, decay, and rodent/snakes everywhere) and their supply of food leaves MUCH to be desired. Yet through it all, this group of 50 of our country's sons and daughters has been an example to those around them. After a recent visit to their camp, one of their fellow soldiers, Dru Lemke, had this to say, "Despite all the bad amenities the Soldiers were in good spirits. They work hard, have success in their missions, and were upbeat. This is a profound example to me about the power of choosing a good attitude despite your situation."

While we can't do anything about their living conditions, we CAN help them have a taste of home. Here are a few things their fellow soldiers have suggested:

Dried soup mixes
canned vegetable and fruits
dried fruits
cans of chicken
gravy mixes
pancake mix add water
instant potatoes
canned chips
jerky
No bake cheesecakes
########, Ho Ho's and Ding Dongs

These are just suggestions, feel free to add any appropriate, nonperishable items you think would provide a taste of home. Please no homemade baked goods that will perish in the three weeks it may take the packages to arrive.

In addition to food items, we could also use monetary donations to get the packages to the soldiers...

Donation instructions:

If you could leave your donation outside your door on Tuesday November 30th, the Boyscouts and Youth of the American fork Fifth Ward of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints will be picking up the donations between the times of 5:00 and 7:00 pm.

If you cannot donate this time, prayers are always appreciated also.

Thank you in advance for your kindness,

Sincerely,
The Lemke Family and
The McQuivey Family

If you have any questions regarding the donations, please call Craig or Deann Lemke or Travis and Sherry McQuivey

HUMANITARIAN FOR ZIMBABWE

Our Stake has been given a unique opportunity to provide some special humanitarian aide to the people of Zimbabwe. In a letter that was given to me it states, "Once one of the wealthiest nations in sub-Saharan Africa, Zimbabwe has experienced a profound political, social, and economic crisis since the late 1990's, which has led to rising levels of peverty, the fastest shrinking economy in the world, and a critical humanitarian situation. In 2008, problems in Zimbabwe reached crisis proportions in the areas of living standards, public health and various public considerations. They experienced a major cholera outbreak in December of 2008. The amount of time a Zimbabwean citizen is expected to live healthily at birth is 34 years old for males and 33 years old for females. The infant mortality rate is 81 deaths per 1000 live births. Yet there is hope for this country. We can do so much to improve their lives by sharing what we have."
Each auxillary in the ward has been given a few "suggested" items. You can contact the leaders of the auxilliaries if you need to know what your children or youth are supposed to donate.
Each sister in the ward has been asked to donate 2 specific things if you can:

Sisters under the age of 50- laundry soap (I'm thinking this is like felsnaptha or a bar of laundry soap and not liquid or powder.) and a can of tuna in OIL.

Sisters age 50 and over-hand soap/bar soap and a pair of reading glasses-any strength.

Here is a list of other items that you can donate:

Books, bibles especially as the African people have a great reverence and respect for the Lords word.
Water Purification tablets and purification bottles
Baby formula, for mom's with HIV to feed their babies and bottles
New Born kits
School kits
Hygiene kits
Notebooks to write in
Pens
Clothing, babies, children/teen etc.
Primary children's church clothing
Missionary clothing for elders: white shirts, ties, suits, shoes, backpacks, belts, sweaters.
Missionary clothing for Sister Missionaries: dresses, skirts, tops, sweaters, shoes.
Antiseptic soap/bar soap
First aid kits (however, NO MEDICINES) bandages/band-aids, splints, gauze, tape, etc.
Seeds, non-hybrid
Towels
Blankets, flat sheets
Underwear
Sweaters
Socks
Shoes
Hats, any type
Toys/balls

**They prefer Cotton clothing as they do live in a warmer climate**
Please take your donations to Barbara Kemp's house 365 Orchard Ave (across from the back of the church) before Monday Nov. 22. She will have a box or bag at her front entrance if she is not home. Make sure you sign your name in the notebook or put a picture of yourself or family. This notebook will be sent to Zimbabwe.

If you have any questions please call a member of the Relief Society Presidency. Thank you for your service Sisters!!

VETERANS DAY

Many thanks to those who have served our country and continue to serve our country in the many various ways that it needs to be protected. Not only fighting in wars but also standing for what's right. Especially during these perilous times when not only are we fighting the temporal terrorists but also the spiritual ones. Satan is in full force with his minions and we are all at war! As you think about all of the freedoms you enjoy today and how some of those freedoms are being threatened, think also of the men and women who died to give us a better life and make this country the promised land that it is. Not only soldiers but Joseph Smith, Hyrum Smith and countless other Saints. And of course our Savior who died that we all may have our free agency and be able to repent when we did not use that agency wisely.
Stay "true to the faith that our parents have cherished, true to the truth for which martyrs have perished, to God's command, soul, heart, and hand, Faithful and true we will ever stand!"
(Hymn #254 True to the Faith)

Being a Disciple of Christ

Sis. Jan Chamberlin gave the Presidency Message this month. She started out by asking what we thought it meant to be a disciple of Christ. Some of the answers included being an example, sharing the gospel, standing as a witness for Him. The Bible Dictionary defines it as being a pupil or learner. So in that context we can say that we are pupils of Jesus Christ.
Jan recalled the lesson that Sis. Kemp gave last month about judging others and she asked why it's so hard to not judge others. The consensus among the sisters was that it's human nature to judge others and sometimes we do it without realizing it. We also discussed the difference being judgmental and making a judgment. We must assess every situation with some judgements for our own safety and well being, but being rude to others or dismissing them or classifying them as a particular thing is being judgmental. We need to see others as the Savior sees them.
Jan had us look up a fantastic scripture about the Spirit and how we should live our lives. Galatian 5:22-26 "But the fruit of the Spirit is lovem joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law. And they that are Christ's have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts. If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit. Let us not be desirous of vain glory, provoking one another, envying one another." I loved this scripture and need to put it on my wall to remind me how I need to treat others and the feelings I want to have in my home.
Jan concluded her lesson by sharing another great scripture and bearing her testimony through a wonderful song. I'll try to get the words from her so I can post them because it had a great message and really brought the lesson together. The scripture is found in John 14:6 "Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me."
This was a great lesson to remind us that we are pupils of the Savior constantly learning and following his example. Think of the many ways that you can be a disciple of Christ this week and act upon those thoughts!

Healing the Sick

This week's lesson was taught by Sis. Juli Schiess from the talk given by Elder Oaks during the April 2010 Priesthood Session of General Conference. It was a wonderful lesson with great participation. She started off by asking us to think about how many honest to goodness, science cannot explain it miracles that have happened in the Book of Mormon up to where we have read. She then asked us to think of miracles like that in our own lives. She told us that we were going to talk about one specific type of miracle like that, the miracle of healing.
As sisters, we do not hold the Priesthood but we can call on those who do. Still, it is important for us to understand how the Priesthood works and what it's divine purposes are. Sis. Schiess did an excellent job of teaching us some of those principles today. Elder Oaks said, "We have this priesthood power, and we should all be prepared to use it properly. Current increases in natural disasters and financial challenges show that we will need this power even more in the future than in the past. Many scriptures teach that the servants of the Lord 'shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover' (Mark 16:18). Miracles happen when the authority of the priesthood is used to bless the sick....There are five parts to the use of priesthood authority to bless the sick: 1) the anointing. 2) the sealing of the naointing, 3) faith, 4) the words of the blessing, and 5) the will of the Lord."
Sis. Schiess continued the lesson by discussing each one of these parts in detail.
ANOINTING- Elder Oaks explains, "The Old Testament frequently mentions anointing with oil as part of a blessing conferred by priesthood authority. Anointings were declared to be for sanctification and perhaps can also be seen as symbolic of the blessings to be poured out from heaven as a result of this sacred act." To be sanctified means to become Holy. So the anointing prepares us to be Holy to recieve the blessings of heaven that our Father has for us.

SEALING THE ANOINTING-Elder Oaks goes on to say, "When someone has been anointed by the authority of the Melchisedek Priesthood, the anointing is sealed by that same authority. To seal something means to affirm it, to make it binding for its inteded purpose. When elders anoint a sick person and seal the anointing, they open the windows of heaven for the Lord to pour forth the blessing He wills for the person afflicted." President Brigham Young taught: "When I lay hands on the sick, I expect the healing power and influence of God to pass through me to the patient, and the diesease to give way....When we are prepared, when we are holy vessels before the Lords, a stream of power from the Almighty can pass through the tabernacle of the administrator to the system of the patient, and the sick are made whole."

FAITH- Faith is essential for healing by the powers of heaven. The Book of Mormon even teaches that "if there be no faith among the children of men God can do no miracle among them" (Ether 12:12). President Spencer W. Kimball said: "The need of faith is often underestimated. The ill one and the family often seem to depend wholly on the power of the priesthood and the gift of healing that they hope the administering brethren may have, whereas the greater responsibility is with him who is blessed....The major element is the faith of the individual when that person is conscious and accountable. 'Thy faith hath made thee whole' was repeated so often by the Master that it almost became a chorus." When we are the recipients of a priesthood blessing it is not enough to have faith in the one giving us the blessing but to also have our own faith that the Lord will bless us according to His will.

WORDS OF BLESSING- Elders Oaks teaches us that "another part of a priesthood blessing is the words of blessing spoken by the elder after he seals the anointing. These words can be very important, but their content is not essential and they are not recorded on the records of the Church. In some priesthood blessings-like a patriarchal blessing- the words spoken are the essence of the blessing. But in a healing blessing it is the other parts of the blessing-the anointing, the sealing, faith, and the will of the Lord-that are the essential elements." When we are recieving a blessing we hope that the one giving it to us is spiritually in tune with the Father's will and that he will bless us accordingly. However, as is mentioned above, whether or not certain words are said or are not said it is our faith that brings to pass that will.

WILL OF THE LORD-Elder Oaks continues, "As we we exercise the undoubted power of the priesthood of God and as we treasure His promise that He will hear and answer the prayer of faith, we must alywas remember that faith and the leaing power of the priesthood cannot produce a result contrary to the will of Him whose priesthood it is....we learn that even the servants of the Lord, exercising His divine power in a circumstance where there is sufficient faith to be healed, cannot give a preisthood blessing that will cause a person to be healed if that healing is not the will of the Lord....We do all that we can for the healing of a loved one, and then we trust in the Lord for the outcome."
We need to remember that we do not know all that the Lord has in store for us or for our loved ones. We should also remember that the Lord will not take us until we have finished our work on the earth that He has given us. This is especially hard to learn as we watch loved ones die or even babies die when we ourselves are not prepared for them to leave us. When we know that we have done all that could be done medically and spiritually and still the outcome leaves us with the grief and pain of death, we should take comfort in the fact that the Lord needed them home and they are fulfilling His will.

We had such great participation from the Bishop and the other sisters of the Relief Society as they shared examples and stories from their own lives. I too have my own miracle of healing story that happened to me and I am here, writing to you today, because of that healing priesthood blessing. I encourage you all to be more conscientious this week of the many miracles that happen in your life on a daily basis.

WARD FALL FESTIVAL

Don't forget about our Fall festival this Friday, Oct. 29 6-9pm. We will be having soup (bring your own bowls and utensils), games and fun. Invite your neighbors that may not know about it. You can come in costume if you like but please remember no violence or masks. You are also invited to bring your pre-carved and pre-decorated pumpkins for display. I heard that there might be a few prizes for the pumpkins as well!
Also, this year we are asking that families support the "Pennies by the Inch" fundraiser that our Stake is participating in. Rather than go door to door asking for donations, we will have a jar that you can put your donations in. We are asking for just loose change, or whatever you want to donate. This is a great opportunity to have the kids help clean out those couch cushions and go on a "treasure hunt" throughout the house to find pennies, nickels, dimes, whatever they can and bring it to the party. We will be presenting the donation as being from the entire ward.
Thanks to all who have signed up to bring a soup and we look forward to seeing you all there!

Repentance

Sis. Joyce Bond gave our lesson this week and did a great job. This lesson was on Repentance, something we all need. She reminded us that we should be repenting daily for all those little things that bog us down. So many times we think repentance is only needed for those "big" things but none of us are perfect and throughout the day we do daily things that are not perfect in the eyes of the Lord, such as pride, judging others, yelling at our children, etc. Previously in our Sunday School lesson the teacher asked us how many of us were ready for the second coming...very few-if any- raised their hands. But then he asked us how many of us had temple recommends and most-if not all- raised their hands. He then said, if we are worthy and ready to enter the temple then why are we not ready to welcome the Savior? What's the difference. There really isn't a difference. To which somebody responded that they were nervous about all of the little things that they could be doing or not doing. So, that's where repentance comes in. We can always be doing a little bit better than we are. There will always be something to improve upon. Then there was another great comment that brought me great peace. He said that it doesn't matter how perfect we are, but that we are on the right path and going in the right direction. So even if I'm not as perfect as Pres. Monson, I'm on the same path and I'm following his example...I just may not be as far along on the path as he is.

So, with that brief explanation, let's move on to the rest of our lesson. We talked about the principles of repentance. Let's review:

1) We must recognize our sins: "To repent, we must admit to ourselves that we have sinned. If we do not admit this, we cannot repent. In Alma we read 'Let your sins trouble you, with that trouble which shall bring you down unto repentance....Do not endeavor to excuse yourself in the least point.' (Alma 42:29-30) We should not justify our sins and make excuses."

2)We must feel sorrow for our sins: " In addition to recognizing our sins, we must feel sincere sorrow for what we have done. We must feel that our sins are terrible. We must want to unload and abandon them." And I would add that feeling "Godly sorrow" is very different from feeling "sorry." When you feel Godly sorrow you feel so unworthy, horrible, you want to crawl in a hole and die. You wish that the earth would just swallow you up and hide you and put you out of your misery. And yes I am speaking from personal experience. That experience alone has made me feel that I will NEVER do what I did again. Just saying sorry and promising not to do it again doesn't work if you truly do not feel sorrow.

3)We must forsake our sins: "Our sincere sorrow should lead us to forsake (stop) our sins....THe Lord revealed to the Prophet Joseph Smith, "By this ye may know if a man repenteth of his sins-behold, he will confess them and forsake them" (D&C 58:43).

4)We must confess our sins: "...The Lord has commanded us to confess our sins. Confession relieves a heavy burden from the sinner. The Lord has promised, "I, the Lord, forgive sins, and am merciful unto those who confess their sins with humble hearts" (D&C 61:2). We must confess all our sins to the Lord. In addition, we must confess serious sins...which might affect our standing in the Church, to the proper priesthood authority. If we have sinned against another person, we should confess to the person we have injured. Some less serious sins involve no one but ourselves and the Lord. These may be confessed privately to the Lord.

5)We must make restitution: Part of repentance is to make restitution. This means that as much as possible we must make right any wrong that we have done....As we do these things, God will not mention our sins to us when we are judged.

6)We must forgive others: A vital part of repentance is to forgive those who have sinned against us. The Lord will not forgive us unless our hearts are fully cleansed of all hate, bitterness, and bad feelings against other people. "Wherefor, I say unto you, that ye ought to forgive one another; for he that forgiveth not his brother his trespasses standeth condemnd bfore the Lord; for there remaineth in him the greater sin" (D&C 64:9).

7) We must keep the commandments of God: "To make our repentance complete we must keep the commandments of the Lord. We are not fully repentant if we do not pay tithes or keep the Sabbath day holy or obey the Word of Wisdom. We are not prepentant if we do not sustain the authorities of the Church and do not love the Lord and our fellow men. If we do not pray and are unkind to others, we are surely not repentant."

"As we repent, the Atonement of Jesus Christ becomes fully effective in our lives, and the Lord forgives our sins. We become free from the ####### of our sins, and we find joy."
Alma's experience of repentance is so beautiful. I encourage you all to read it in the scriptures (Alma 36:12-14, 17-21)

"The prophets have declared that 'this life is the time for men to prepare to meet God' (Alma 34:34). We should repent now, every day. When we get up in the morning, we should examine ourselves to see whether the Spirit of God is with us. At night before we go to sleep, we should review our acts and words of the day and ask the Lord to help us recognize the things for which we need to repent. By repenting every day and having the Lord forgive our sins, we will experience the daily process of becoming perfect. As with Alma, our happiness and joy can sweet and exquisite."

Faith in Jesus Christ

Ok, I know it has been a while since I've posted the lessons and don't worry, I'll spare you of recounting all of the ones I've missed. I'll just briefly go over last week's lesson and then proceed on to this week.

Last week: Sis. Kemp gave her very first Relief Society lesson. It was her turn as the first counselor to give her Presidency Message and she did a fantastic job! She spoke about judging others and how we should treat those who are trying to find their place in the Gospel. I loved her thought about using discernment and not judgement when we around others. We do need to be cautious and aware of our surroundings and our neighbors so as not to endanger ourselves and our families but we also need to treat others with kindness because we really do not know what their situations may be. The only one who truly knows what is in their heart and what they are dealing with is our Father in Heaven. So pray to Him and ask Him how you can help someone around you. We have many sisters who are trying to get their lives in order and come back to church. Some just go for Sacrament Meeting and others may come to Relief Society. Some you'll see come once a month and others may come a little more often. When ever you see a sister you don't know go over and say HI! I'm Sister so and so and it is so nice to have you here with us today. Would you like to sit by me? They will either politely decline or say YES! I would like that. Either way, no harm has been done and just that simple Hello has made a world of difference to them whether they join you or not. Nobody likes to feel alone and nobody likes to be judged. As Sis. Kemp said, "we judge ourselves the hardest"...we don't need others judging us as well.

Ok, now for this week's lesson. It was about Faith in our Savior. I sat in the back with my little baby and I loved that because I could see everyone's faces and what I saw today just astounded me! Every one was affected by this lesson one way or another. With Faith comes sacrifice and with obedience comes sacrifice. Some one made the comment on the scripture that says that after the trial of our faith come the blessings and made specific mention of that small word "trial." Faith is a trial but it's definitely worth it. We have to prove to the Lord that we believe in Him, His Son, His plan and what He has in store for us before we can receive the blessings. Tithing for me is one that is a "trial of my faith." It's a huge sacrifice for me to pay that every month but it's one that I can't live without because of the blessings and miracles that come to me and my family every month!
I would like to leave this week's post with a thought for you to ponder. Sis. Jana Starr (who, by the way, taught our lesson today) threw out a cosmic question and then gave us her answer. She wanted us to fill in the blank: Because of my faith... I fill this blank in with some of my answers...Because of my faith I am still going strong in the gospel even though my first Temple Marriage did not work out. Because of my faith I have four children. Because of my faith I have a testimony of tithing. Because of my faith I can be a wife, a mother and a Relief Society President all at the same time. Because of my faith I know that no matter what happens my Father in Heaven loves me and is always there to help me through my trials.
Now, I leave you to ponder this question in your own life this week.

BECAUSE OF MY FAITH...

Bishop's Lesson

Last Sunday was the 5th Sunday and that means combined Relief Society and men with the Bishop at the helm! I had to step out and help my little one fall asleep so you are only getting what I heard (because my husband couldn't tell me what I missed...hmm).
The Bishop encourage us to be accepting of others and help those around us. We may not know what some people are dealing with but it's important to let them know that you are there for them if they ever need you. We have a lot of needs in this ward and we should all try to help out where we can and support each other. He also challenged us to bear our testimony in sacrament meeting at least once this year. Sisters, he said that sharing our testimony in Relief Society doesn't count (and he looked straight at me when he said that) so get up and share! It's important that we share our love for the gospel to help those around us but also to build up and strengthen your own testimony. Bro. Stauffer made the comment that he never heard his father bear his testimony. He heard it from his mother (all to often) but it kind of made him sad that he didn't hear it from his dad. He didn't realize until he was a little older that his father did indeed have a testimony. That made me stop and think of the last time my children heard me share my testimony in church and it was a long time ago. So, I was the first one up on Sunday to make my repentance and start anew! Take this challenge seriously and share your testimony every chance you get. Because if the people around us aren't hearing about the Savior and our Father in Heaven and the gospel from us, then they are hearing about "other" things from "other people." Open your arms and your hearts to those around you and see just how quickly they fill up!

My Apologies and My Thanks

I want to extend my heartfelt apologies to everyone who reads this blog and to the teachers who teach the lessons. I have not been very faithful in writing this blog. As many of you know my life just got a little more interesting, but still that is no excuse. So for those who don't know the Relief Society Presidency was released and a new one has been called. Sis. Cara Childs (yes, that's me) was called as the President, Sis. Barbara Kemp as 1st counselor, Sis. Jan Chamberlin as 2nd counselor and Sis. Linda Fillmore as the Secretary. Please keep us in your prayers as we will need them these next few weeks as we come to know and understand what our new roles will be in this ward! I think I speak for everyone when I say THANK YOU to Sis. Kathryn Proctor, Sis. Aileen Makin and Sis. Margie Lindsay for all that you do and have done for the sisters of our ward!

Mothers and Daughters

This week's lesson was from brother Ballard's talk about Mother's and Daughters. One point that Sis. Schiess made significant to us was that underneath the main title of the talk it said that we need to listen and learn from each other. So on the board she made a list of what the daughters should do and what the mothers should do. The daughters are to follow the examples of their mothers. He encourages young women to look to their mothers and model their patterns, rather than look to women of the world as who they should follow and become. He tells them to "learn from her strengths, her courage, and her faithfulness. Listen to her....when it comes to matters of the heart and the things of the Lord, she has a wealth of knowledge." The second thing he encourages is for daughters to love their mothers. He says, "Respect her. Listen to her. Trust her. She has your best interests at heart. She cares about your eternal safety and happiness. So be kind to her. Be patient with her imperfections, for she has them. We all do."
Next came the counsel for the mothers. First he tells us to be the kind if example we want our daughters to follow. He tells us that not only do we need to tell them what to wear, how to act, what to do, but we need to SHOW them what to wear, how to act and what to do. I love what he says, "As mothers in Israel, you are your daughters' first line of defense against the wiles of the world." Man, that struck a chord with me and I felt the Spirit consume me testifying that this is true! My "protective Mother hen" inside just fluffed up her feathers and puffed up her chest ready to defend my children from whatever may come their way...
Ok, back to the lesson. He encourages to keep teaching even when we may think that they are not listening by quoting Ralph Waldo Emerson who said " What you do speaks so loud that I cannot hear what you say." Powerful words to live by!
Next is to "find joy in nurturing children." Unfortunately so many women today do not find joy in nurturing. This is something I cannot comprehend, but have it in my own family. My sister works, not because she has to, but because (and by her own admission might I add) she tells me that she does not enjoy being home all day. I think now that her boys are a little older she is starting to realize all that she misses out on but that still does not change the fact that she believes she is "not cut out to be a stay-at-home mom." It breaks my heart. I love those moments that I refer to as "proud mommy moments." For instance when my children learn to read, or ride a bike, or when I'm at their dance recitals or soccer games. Those moments when truly only a mother could be proud. I love those moments and I thrive on them. I'm reminded just how much I really do enjoy being a mother when Maddie tells me that "this is the best day of my life," and I realize that it is a day that I have totally spent with my children and given ALL of my attention to them. I shared the moment when Maddie told me that when she becomes a mom like me she is going to let her children do whatever they want! I just smiled and told her that she will make a great mother.
We didn't have enough time to go through the entire talk ( as usual ) but Sis. Schiess reminded us that we need to watch what our young girls wear and teach them to be modest and WHY they should be modest. This is a great talk and it reawakened my passion for Motherhood and reminded me of it's importance. President Harold B. Lee said, "the most important...work you will ever do will be within the walls of your own homes."

ADULT DUTCH OVEN DINNER

Don't forget that Friday August 27 is the Adult Dutch Oven Dinner. It will be at the Harbor Pavillion and for those that are cooking in their dutch ovens the coals will be ready at 6. Those that are just coming for the food or are bringing something not cooked in a dutch oven the dinner will start at 7. However, you can come at 6 for chit-chatting and friends. Please come and invite your neighbors to come too!

Turn to the Lord

This week's lesson was taught by Sis. Julie Schiess from the Ensign. The talk given by Elder Donald Hallstrom entitled "Turn to the Lord." It proved to be a rather emotional talk for all of us! First off, let me just say how nicely it tied in with the Sunday School lesson today about Elijah. Having already been in the frame of mind and spirit of thinking about trials and turning to the Lord, it increased that sensitivity in me and helped me feel the Spirit even more.
So basically the lesson is about how we handle hardships that we feel are because of other people...that we blame on other people or when we feel we have been wronged by someone. How we get angry with the Lord when things don't work out and we blame Him for all the bad things and turn away from Him. When in reality he has invited us to "Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest" (Matthew 11:28). We can always seek and find peace from the "Prince of Peace."
Many personal experiences were shared by Sis. Schiess that I will not share here. But most, if not all, of us have experienced those trying times when we are saying to ourselves and to our Father "Why me? Why us? Why this horrible terrible thing?" It is very difficult to "Turn TO the Lord" when anger and frustration instinctively tells us to "turn AWAY from the Lord." Usually it is when we just can't take one more minute of this life and are at our very lowest that we finally turn to Him and say, "Take it away from me." When we truly are submissive and willing to let Him take on our burdens is when we pray and turn the other way. The last paragraph or so states, "His most exemplary act, the Atonement, required Jesus to descend "below all things" (D&C 88:6) and suffer "the pains of all men" (2 Nephi 9:21). Thus we understand the Atonement has broader purpose than providing a means to overcome sin. This greatest of all earthly accomplishments gives the Savior the power to fulfill this promise: "If ye will TURN TO THE LORD with full purpose of heart, and put your trust in him, and serve him with all diligence..., if ye do this, he will...deliver you out of #######" (Mosiah 7:33 emphasis added)."
The Lord is always willing and waiting for us to cast our burdens upon Him and help guide us through this life. But just as a stubborn toddler wants to get dressed himself or tie his own shoe, we are not always willing to do this because we want to "do it myself." When we are really frustrated and angry that it's not going the way we want, then we ask for help. One statement that was made from the article was this "...deal with the matter directly and with all the strength you have." If you feel you have been wronged, pray about the strategy you need to use to deal with the matter directly and then move forward with faith. The Lord will help you when you are ready to let Him help you.

The Priesthood #2

So, last week we talked about the priesthood and the blessings we receive. This week was a little more about what it is and the organization of it. Sis. Joyce Bond gave the lesson this week. We discussed why the priesthood is in two different forms "the lesser and higher" named after certain prophets...Aaron and Melchesidek(sp?). We talked about the different quorums and she shared some new information I didn't know such as how many there can be in each quorum. Also, another thing I didn't know was that the Stake President and his counselors are the head of the High Priest Quorum. Jason (my husband) told me that this is the reason why it's called the "High Priest Group Leader" and not the President like it is for the Elders. Interesting....
We talked about some of the different uses of the priesthood (healing, baptism, marriage, father's blessing, sacrament, etc) and some of the sisters shared some of their own experiences. We also talked about the keys of the Priesthood and why they are necessary in the church. There are so many duties and responsibilities that priesthood holders have and we went through some of them. But think about it in your own mind (and read the lesson :) )and then think about what your responsibilities are at home and as a mother (or just as a woman.) There are some women who argue the fact that we should be entitled to have the priesthood as well and get offended by the thought that they can't have it. To these women I say ARE YOU CRAZY? I don't want the added pressure and responsibilities thank you very much. I can barely handle the responsibilities that the Lord has already entrusted me with. Think about that the next time you think "hey, why can't I have the priesthood?"

Book Club

This Wednesday, July 14th, is book club. It will be at Norma Mecham's house at 8pm. We will be discussing the book Cheaper By the Dozen and I tell you it is hilarious!! If you've seen the movie come and join us. If you haven't read the book come and join us. We always have a good time. The book for August will be "The Secret Garden." So get an early start!

The Priesthood

This week's lesson was given by Sis. Jana Starr from our manual. The Priesthood is such an important of our Father's plan but can get some of the women stirred up so she was very nervous about giving this lesson. I think she did a wonderful job and nobody voice their "women's rights" opinion.
The Priesthood is essential to have here on the earth because without it we wouldn't be able to perform vital ordinances such as baptism, temple marriage and sealings, healing of the sick, blessing the sacrament and so on. When I got married I was comforted knowing that not only was I marrying a worthy priesthood holder but also in the fact that I was being married by a worthy priesthood holder. Can you imagine being married by someone who received and printed his license off the internet?!?
Sis. Starr asked us to share our experiences with the priesthood. While many shared their stories I will share mine because I am the one writing the blog and I don't have time to call the others who shared and ask their permission to share personal stories. So, I share about the time that I was blessed. It was around 13 years ago when I was in what should have been a fatal car accident. My head was split open and I needed over 500 stitches...oh and one in my ear. When I got home from the hospital that night my father and hometeacher gave me a blessing. I don't remember anything that was said. I do remember feeling at peace however. After my parents went to bed I said a little prayer myself and told the Lord that I know I just received a priesthood blessing to be healed but I was only worried about that night. I was sleeping in a room near my parents and I didn't want them to worry about me. I prayed that for just this one night I would be free from the pain and be able to sleep well so that my parent could also. I didn't feel any pain and I literally felt the hands of my Savior on my head and everything was calm. I only had to get up to go the loo...three times...if you had three bags of I.V. you would need to as well! Most people can hardly see the scar that is left. I see it every time I look in the mirror and every time I see it it reminds me of the experience and how important the priesthood is in my life. Other stories were shared about similar healing experiences and how the priesthood brought them comfort and peace. One sister shared how she witnessed a father giving his brand new little baby permission to return to his Father in Heaven and that of course brought tears to everyone's eyes.
Sis. Starr shared the differences between her two grandfathers. Both very worthy priesthood holders, but one felt that he wasn't worthy enough to wield such an awesome power and so shyed away from using it. The other using it every chance that came along. At the end she asked us how we can support our Priesthood holders. Giving them opportunities to use the priesthood, encouraging them to do their hometeaching, teaching your children about the priesthood and the respect the priesthood and its holders deserve. A few sisters shared the experiences they remember from their father's giving them blessings. I remember my grandfather. He got dressed up in a suit and tie everytime he was asked to give a blessing. Even for the ones he gave to his children for the upcoming school year. He had tremendous respect for the priesthood. I didn't share this in the meeting because of time restraints, but it's such a cute story that I'll share it here...and again, I'm the one that writes the blog :)
When Maddie was just two year old she started having gran mal seizures. She became violent from the medications...one of those side effects they neglect to tell you about and say it happens rarerly...One night we were driving home from grandma's house and Maddie kept telling us she wanted to watch a "woovie." We kept telling her it was late and time for bed and she could watch a movie in the morning. She wasn't having a tantrum at this time but hadn't had a very good week. Jason had already planned to give her a blessing before she went to bed to help her have a better day in the morning. He said that while he was sitting in church he felt impressed to give her one. In our house we call them "special blessings" from Heavenly Father. We told her that daddy was going to give her a special blessing and that Heavenly Father had a special message to tell her and so she needed to listen very carefully. When he was finished he asked her what the special message was and she said in this very tiny, deep voice "Maddie wants to watch a woovie." It was so cute and we just busted up laughing. We still didn't give in though.
I have a strong testimony of the Priesthood and I'm grateful for this lesson as it helps remind me and you sisters about the importance of the Priesthood. Sis. Starr also asked how we can access the Priesthood if you don't have it in your home. Hometeachers, Bishops, and I would add to that Prayer. Ask the One who gave it to help you if you don't have any other way. We know that as women we do have access to it even if we don't hold it. I've had to ask it from the Lord when I was a single mom and I will never forget that experience nor forget my Heavenly Father's love for me. Honor the Priesthood and support those who have it.

Fancy Nancy Tea Party!

On July 9th while the boys are out doing their Father's and Sons activity, we are going to do a Mother-Daughter Tea party. Even if you do not have a daughter you should still come!!!! Bring your mother, daughter, sister, niece, grandmother, sons or even just yourself, but COME!
The theme is PINK and FANCY- wear your fanciest tea clothes and come enjoy pink "tea" and pink sandwiches and pink dessert. We are asking that you prepare to share something that you like to do with your daughter or something that your mother taught you. For instance, I teach piano and love to play. I am also teaching that to my daughters and so they will play a number for you on the piano. If you love to read (like me and my girls) you could bring a few of your favorite books to share with us or recite a poem. Show us some of the things you've crocheted or your favorite recipe that you like to make together. Stand up and tell us that you like to go on walks together or sit on the porch and watch the sunset. Whatever it is we want to know about it! From 6:30pm-9:00pm on Friday the 9th! Come and don't let the tea get cold!

Fire Escape Plan

Well, unfortunately for those of you in attendance this week...I had the lesson. For the first time in my life I couldn't think of what to say! I couldn't think of what to center my lesson on and I was literally grasping at straws and organizing my thoughts during sacrament meeting and even during my lesson. I thought, why not a patriotic lesson since it's the 4th of July, but I just couldn't get it to meld properly. So then I thought, why not do a "treasures of the scriptures" lesson? Couldn't work that out either. Then I read my patriarchal blessing and it talked a lot about kindness and charity so I thought maybe that was my answer...but nope it wasn't. Friday night I had my FHE lesson that I gave awhile ago about a "Spiritual Fire Escape Plan" to give to my children about the dangers of Satan's temptations. The flood gates were opened when I prayed about it and I thought, ok this is my lesson. Then I started thinking about the Conference talks and how most of them were centered around teaching our children in the home and I thought that it went nicely with my fire escape plan. So I combined them.
I'd like to go through the different aspects of a fire escape plan. Keep in mind that I am comparing this to a physical and spiritual plan. About a month ago I was teaching piano and when my student finished playing her song she said, "I smell smoke." I didn't smell it and so I turned my head to look at my children in the front room and happened to pan my large window. Outside were large flames! My neighbor's tree was on fire!! I didn't even smell it and even then when I knew that there was a fire I still couldn't smell it. It wasn't until I went outside and got closer that I could smell the smoke. I panicked a little in mind. What do I do? I have a house full of kids. I see my neighbor from across the street running over with a little fire extinguisher trying to put it out. It doesn't work. I see her run back home for something else. I ask myself, "should I call the fire dept.? Is this serious enough for that?" I decided that YES it was. If the wind blew it could come over to my house, or it could move to the next tree or spit out and catch something else on fire. So I made the call. I noticed my neighbour across the street on her phone as well. Soon the fire dept. came and the crisis was handled and all was well. After my piano lessons were over my children started asking me all kinds of questions and I decided to use this as a teaching moment for them. "Mom, how did this happen?" "Well someone made a wrong choice and we didn't smell the smoke fast enough to take care of it. So we called the firefighters and they helped us." Shortly after the fire was out my neighbour who had lost his tree was outside with a shovel. "Mom, what's he doing?" "He's cleaning up the hot ashes and taking care of them so that they don't start another fire." Finally, all that was left was a very black, very charred tree trunk with little stubs of charred branches sticking out. A reminder of what that one wrong choice had done and the damage that happened as a result of not noticing it in time. A few days later my children noticed that the dead tree was gone. "Mom, where did the tree go?" "Well, it's dead and so he probably threw it away." "What's going to happen now? What's he going to do there?" "Oh, he might put in another new tree or plant something else there. It will take a while for it to grow but now he can start over with something fresh and new." This was the basis of my FHE lesson to my children that following Monday night.
First, let's talk about the smoke. In our spiritual plan this is Satan's temptations. It is the first warning sign of danger. Sometimes we may not even smell the smoke and we may not notice it, but if we don't attend to it soon it becomes an even larger problem. It starts to consume us and suffocate us before it suddenly bursts into flames and becomes to much for us to handle and put out. Things like, skipping your scripture study for a day or two, or procrastination, or poor time management. What about not attending your church meetings two weeks in a row or putting off paying your tithing until next pay check? All of these are those subtle little things that can fester and grow if we don't take care of them right away. Now of course there are the obvious things like smoking, drinking, drugs, ########### and the like that are obvious to some...but not all...and they can still start small and grow bigger. These, however, tend to grow faster than others.
Ok, so what do we do if we let it get out of hand and there's a fire? Well, first we try to put it out ourselves, right the wrong, do better, make better choices. Repent. But as I said before it can get to big for us to handle. When we know that we can't put it out ourselves we try to get out of the house. Take the best escape route and run! Pray and pray. In a physical fire we go to a central meeting place and call for help. Others may have noticed the danger and trouble you are in and will try to help you. Whether or not you accept that help is up to you and can be a hard thing to do. But even then, you need to call the professionals-the firefighters. In the Spiritual sense, you need to call on your Father in Heaven. He knows what to do to help you put out those big flames and will always come through. The damage is still done and there are still things we need to do. Clean up those ashes before the ignite again! Take the necessary steps to get back on the right path. Read your scriptures, pray, go to church, partake of the sacrament...all of the Sunday School answers but the most important ones! And when you've got it all cleaned up-get rid of the dead and start anew. Start over again nice and fresh and keep working at it. Isn't it interesting that it takes a looonnnggg time to make something good and keep it growing, but only a split second for it to be lost and ruined?
As I searched through the most recent issue of the Conference Ensign I thought, "I'll just select the talks that talk about teaching our children." Well, that turned out to be about half of them! I won't share them all here with you but I will just give you a brief run down. One of the things almost all of them talked about was "going back and rescuing" those who have been lost. Now, in a physical fire escape plan we are taught that we go to the meeting place and we wait. If someone is not there we do not go back in for them. The nice thing about a spiritual plan is that we CAN go back for those who didn't make it out. "We never give up!" the articles say. We must teach our children that it is never to late for them. The Atonement will always help us to get out and heal us when we get burned. But we have to ask for His help.
Now, in our homes we have fire alarms. Do they always work? No! Why not? The batteries have not been replaced is the most common reason. What good is a fire alarm to warn us if the batteries don't work? In our spiritual escape plan we have the Holy Ghost as our alarm. But he can't help us if we don't keep our batteries charged by reading our scriptures, praying, going to the temple, etc. He can warn us all he wants, but if we don't listen to him or "hear" him he eventually stops warning us and then it's too late.
The central meeting place is the Temple or the Celestial Kingdom. How sad would you be if a family member didn't make it out of a burning house? Now, how sad would you be if a family member didn't make it to the Celestial Kingdom? Go to the temple and be sealed to your family and keep those sacred covenants that you make. Make sure that you are worthy to be there with your family and help them understand just how important it is to you that they can be with you as well!
One of the things I have a hard time with is "Save yourself." I have a hard time thinking that in the event of an emergency on a plane I would really put my mask on first and THEN help my children. What if they died because I wasn't fast enough? But on the other hand who will help them if I die? Fortunately it's not such a difficult decision in the gospel. Study and pray and get to know your Savior so that you can teach your children about Him. The ensign says "What do your children see when they look at you?...Do they see the Savior's image in your countenance?" This statement made me reflect upon myself and I found myself disappointed in what I saw. All of the talks in the Ensign tell us to be examples to our children. "Do what is right, let the consequence follow," hopefully that consequence will be your children following in your footsteps on the straight and narrow. One of the articles said that most of us are born into the church already on the straight and narrow. It is our jobs as parents to teach our children the gospel and love them and let them know that they always have a place to come home to, just in case they stray off that path. We don't start out in a burning home and some of us will never experience that terrible tragedy. But hopefully we'll know what to do if it ever comes to that. When I teach my children about fire safety I first tell them what to do and then we physically practice it from beginning to end. I even have them in their beds with lights out. We go through different scenarios and run through each thing. Now when a real fire happens I just hope and pray that they will remember and know what to do. The physical plan we practice every 6 months or so just to keep it fresh in their minds and remind them of what we learned and practiced. The same goes for our spiritual plan. We tell our kids to read their scriptures and then we have family scripture study. Then, when they are old enough to go out into the world and make their own decisions we just hope and pray they remember what they were taught and that they'll know what to do. This plan, however, needs to be practiced every day and not just every few months!
The last article that I referred to in my lesson stated that everything happens in the home. Missionary work, activation, family history, etc. it all happens in the home. So, bear with me and just use your imagination on this, I tried to think of how to best tie this all in and this is what I came up with...FHE=Family Home Evening/FHE= Fire Home Escape plan. There are many different ways to do FHE and you don't have to do it only when you have children. You should do it even if you are single, widowed or empty nesters. There are so many resources out there for lessons and activities. There really is no excuse for not doing it. My husband gave a FHE lesson on the small and simple things. We set a goal for our family that month to have family prayer each night for the entire month. We made our goal! And we made it with the help of my not-quite-two-year-old little boy who reminded us every night that we needed to say prayers. "Girls time for prayers" he would say every night to his sisters. Then he would go into their room and kneel by their bed and fold his arms. He reminds me at breakfast that we need to read the scriptures. Set small goals for your family and when you have accomplished that goal move on to the next. D&C 88:119 talks about having a house of order, a house of prayer, of house of fasting, a house of learning, a house of glory and a house of God (paraphrased I'm sure I missed something). I take one of those things at a time and we work on them together as a family.
I'm sorry this was so long. I remember a lot more of the lesson when I'm the one that has to give it :) and as always this lesson was more as a reminder to me of what I need to learn and work on! I hope that it made sense to you and that you will practice your FHE plan daily!

Let Virtue Garnish Thy Thoughts

This is from last week's lesson. I sat down and typed up the blog and had it all ready to go...and then my computer froze and I had to shut 'er down without being able to post all of my hard work!! So I apologize that this is two weeks behind. I'll try to do my best in recounting the lesson that long ago...
Sis. Schiess opened up the lesson by talking about the "ity" virtues like charITY, purITY, humilITY. Sis. Peterson shared that she typed up a list of these virtues and stuck them on her bathroom mirror where the whole family could see it with a daily challenge that said "Choose your 'ity' for the day." I thought that this was such a good idea that I have started doing the same thing in my family. My children are a little too young to understand what it means but it sure has helped me have a more meaningful day when I am focusing on a virtue to improve myself, rather than every little thing I have to do that day. Try it, you might like it!
Sis. Debbie Evenson later shared a wonderful quote that had us all oooing and aaahhing about it. She said "the only people you need to get "even" with are the ones who have helped you." What a great motto to live by! I think I'll put that in vinyl and stick it on my wall to remind me to really focus on the positive.
Improving ourselves and focusing on the good things in life make us a lot happier and more pleasant to be around. I left that lesson wanting to become a better person not only for myself but for my family as well. I hope that you all read this talk and feel the Spirit touch her heart the way he did mine!

(sorry for the short synopsis...the one I wrote earlier was much better...but too much time has passed and I am like a goldfish-I only remember what happened 30 seconds ago!)

Know your Savior

The title just gave me an idea for a Relief Society Meeting...what do you think? Anyway, the lesson this week was given by Sis. Jana Starr from our manual about the Savior. She mentioned that He has around 168 different titles and then asked why we thought that was. Sis. Kemp gave a wonderful answer. She said that she thought it was because of all of the different languages there are and what different cultures called Him or referred to Him as. For instance, the word "flower" can be said differently in other languages, but they all mean the same thing. I had never thought about that and it really made sense to me. We all call Him something different but it's still out of respect and what we feel in our hearts. Most of the discussion was centered around this one cosmic question that she asked, "Can we become perfect in any aspect of our lives." The comments and stories erupted from that one question and they all pointed in the same direction YES!! One sister mentioned that we are not perfect in all things but in somethings or one thing. Like scripture reading, music, writing, teaching, cooking, cleaning, etc. Another sister pointed out that if you ask a child what his/her talent is they'll say something like jumping or skipping or climbing. They recognize that what they are good at is something simple but it makes them feel good that they are good at something. They don't consider the fact that writing a novel or playing a particularly difficult concerto is a talent because they can't do those things quite yet. But they sure can jump rope and count to 100 without messing up! These thoughts gave me hope in realizing that I don't have to be perfect at everything all the time but I can perect myself in the areas that I feel are important to me and my family. For instance, I'm okay at music and I love to cook, but cleaning my house is my nemesis! I want to have a clean house I just have too many other important things that take up my time. So this gave me food for thought to think about those things that I want to become perfect in and then moving on to the next area that needs help. And, those areas that I am good at I can share with others who may be working on that in their life. This is why I am still working on that pamphlet, "The Pursuit of Excellence." Remember when I gave all of you that challenge?!?!?! Anyway, it was a really good lesson and made me want to become a better person and work on my relationship with my Savior, to become more like Him. This lesson went hand in hand with the talks given by Bro. and Sis. Jones in Sacrament Meeting. They spoke on developing a relationship with our Heavenly Father. We should have a personal relationship with our Heavenly Father and Savior. After all, we do owe them our very lives and souls and they are our greatest advocates and guides on this journey we call life.

Thank you to all who participated or helped with the "Free Yard Sale" this past saturday. It was a huge success and many people received the things that they needed.
Temple Night needs a few more participants! I had planned to go but Jason got caught in the wonderful world of traffic and my little baby had her shots that day and was not doing well. She cried for an hour and a half straight before finally falling asleep! When she woke up later she was not any happier and I felt that I couldn't leave her in this condition with anybody else. So, we plan to go this weekend instead. Things like this happen and we all understand that. The point of the Elders and the RS sisters working together on this is to HAVE IT ON THE CALENDAR and MAKE TIME for it! It's important to go to the temple so make sure that you do it! (myself included!!)

Sis. Anita Stansfield had to cancel her speaking engagement with us because she has been ill and will be needing surgery this month. So we will be having her come in September. We will be doing our Dutch Oven night this month instead. We hope to have Bro. McKell come and teach us about how to use, clean, season and cook with dutch ovens as another resource incase of an emergency or natural disaster. We will have some food cooked in a dutch oven for refreshments. This class is also in preparation for our Ward Dutch Oven Cook Off that the Activities Committee is planning in August so come and have fun!!

I had to step out during the good news minute so I apologize that this is not updated. Please check out the prayer circle for those in our ward who are in a particular need and please let us know if you have any needs that we can help you with.

Temple Date Night

Don't forget that this month our Temple Date Night is this Friday at 6pm. We will be doing the 6pm session at the Timpanogos Temple for those who would like to come. We will be doing this every month.

Book Club

Wednesday the 9th is Book Club over at Sis. Childs house at 8 pm. We will be discussing the book "Moonraker's Bride" by Madeline Brent. Even if you have not read the book but would like to join the book club, please come and socialize and get the info for the next book which will be "Cheaper by the Dozen."

Trials and Enduring Them

Sister Makin gave a wonderful lesson about how we can endure our trials. She shared many stories and examples that she has collected along the way and they were to numerous to remember them all...but there was one in particular that has stuck with me this week.
I don't remember all of the details, but picture this...a man in on trial and Father in Heaven is the Judge. Satan steps up and says that he is going to prove that this man should be sent to Hell because of the crimes he's committed and the choices he's made. Satan wants Justice and the consequences must be served! Then the Savior stands up to plead his case. He says that he has already paid the price for this man and that justice should not be served, but Mercy. He tells the Judge that this man's sentence has been "Paid in full." We can liken this story to us by thinking of the many ways that Satan is against us and tries to tell us that we are not worthy of such help and that we must SUFFER for the choices we make. The Savior reminds us that HE SUFFERED so that we did not have to...but we have to seek His help and guidance and we are all worthy of that help and love.
These past few months my family has gone through some trials (like everybody else) that has me saying to myself..."why us? When will this be over?" I just finished a book by Anita Stansfield called "Reflections" in which she writes about her life and experiences. She talked about a particular time in her life where one thing after another kept going wrong...but it was leading her to the part that give her the blessing. She said that she witnessed first hand that the miracle really does happen AFTER the trial of our faith. This and Sister Makin's lesson have brought strength, comfort and peace to my heart this week and I grateful to these two sisters for that. It doesn't stop the trials from happening but it gives me hope that there are great things to come for my family.

RS MEETING TONIGHT!!!

Ok, I know I'm a little late in getting this posted but there is a Gardening Class tonight in the RS room at 7pm. Sister Jamila Williams will show us how to box garden and square foot garden and Bro. John Schiess will go over the what's, where's, when's and how's of planting. If you want to beef up your gardening skills or do one for the very first time you do not want to miss this meeting! See you there!

EXTRA! EXTRA! READ ALL ABOUT IT!

Our very own Russ McKell has written a book!

You can purchase this book on lulu.com click on this linkhttp://www.lulu.com/browse/search.php?fListingClass=7&fSearch=Crossroads+my+journey+of+words&fSubmitSearch=Go&showingSubPanels=&fSort=relevance_desc
and it will take you right to his page. Here's a little blurb about the book:

I guess I’ve always believed that while life is a journey; the destination is secondary. How we travel is everything. The moment is important; the now is all we have. Living for tomorrow is a waste of time. If we wait till tomorrow to appreciate, love, change or apologize, then we’ll be waiting a very long time. Because tomorrow never comes. There is only today – there is only this moment. So I’m a big believer in stopping to smell the roses or listening to the music on the journey. The journey is what’s important. I’m not saying that the destination is completely unimportant. It’s not. It gives us direction. But if the destination is the goal, it seems like we’re missing out on a whole heck of a lot of important stuff. So I guess I have some things to say about my journey so far.

He will be having an Open House and book signing at the Thanksgiving Point Cafe on Saturday May 15 from 1-4pm. You can bring your copy of the book and have him sign it or he will have a few copies there, but numbers are limited.
How exciting!!! Those of us who know Russ know how eloquent he is and what a deep thinker he is. I for one am excited to get my copy and read it. Come and see him at his Open House and support him on his journey. Walk the gardens while you're there and take time to smell the roses.
See you there!

Mothers

Sis. Proctor gave the Presidency message this month and she chose to speak on Mothers. What an appropriate lesson for this month! She didn't speak about how we can be better mothers, but rather how we can treat our mother's better. Broke up into four different categories as follows: Mother forgotten, mother remembered, mother blessed and mother loved. I was in the back taking care of my baby so my notes are not very good but I will do my best to remember what she said.

Mother Forgotten: How many times do we forget about our Mothers? Sure we remember them on the "important" and "special" days, but what about everyother day? How many mothers are sitting in a nursing home, or in a hospital bed feeling lonely because nobody comes to visit or call them on the phone? And for that matter, how many mothers are sitting at home and feeling the same way? Why is that the woman we spent almost every hour of every day watching, learning, growing and being nurished by is the last woman we think of today? Remember your mother everyday and let her know that you think of her and that you are grateful for her.

Mother Remembered: Sis. Proctor told a story about a large group of burly men getting together and having several rounds of drinks, but there was one man who would not drink. To tease him and give him a bad time the men asked him to do the toast. He said he toast with water and the toast he made was to his mother. Each man thought of his mother as the man spoke and in the end they all drank in silence as they toasted their mothers and remembered her.

Mother Blessed: I can't remember what this one was so I will make up something of my own :) Of course as a mother we always feel blessed but I remember thinking a lot to myself as Sis. Proctor was teaching this part and that's why I can't remember what she said. The past few weeks I've been feeling really stressed lately. That comes with just having a new baby and fulfilling all of my other responsibilities as well...something we all do and face every day. But these past weeks with sun...snow...sun...rain...made me contemplate how my life is like that lately. Happy one second and bitterly cold the next. My little 20 month old son has been giving me a run for my money and I question why I ever brought this cute but destructive little boy into this world on a daily basis. I've nick-named him "The TermiNATEr." Moving from one thing to the next and destroying everything in his path I found myself trying to find the local Gypsies because I was sure they had left one of their children behind. Or maybe I could put him up on E-bay and see if I had any takers! Of course I love my little guy more than life itself but he was wearing me out and I was just about to fall apart. But then, the other night it was just him and me alone for a few hours while Jason and the girls went and helped his sister move into her new house. We read books together, played together, laughed together and sang songs together. My heart grew and I couldn't believe I had even thought about giving him back to the gypsies! My undivided attention that used to be his, was now being shared with his baby sister and he missed me. How truly blessed I am to be reminded of that and taught by my little TermiNATEr.

Mother Loved: Reviewing the story of the 2000 stripling warriors, we are reminded how the young soldiers were brave and true to the Lord because of their mothers. They didn't fear because they had been taught by their mothers that if they served the Lord they would be protected. What love they showed toward these magnificent women by honoring what they were taught.

This Mother's Day think of your mother and give her a call, visit or card to show your appreciation towards her. Focus on the kind of mother she was and the kind you want to be.

Prayer and Moral Discipline

I'm a week behind on the blog, so I will start with last week's lesson first and then do this week's lesson.
Last week Sis. Joyce Bond taught us about prayer. I was really excited for this lesson as I've had a few spiritual struggles in the past few weeks and I have to say that I was not disappointed in the Spirit that Sis. Bond brought with her and had in her lesson. The manual breaks it up into 5 sections. What is prayer? Why do we pray? When should we pray? How should we pray? and finally, How are our prayers answered?
She took us through each section and had a few select people share experiences they've had with prayer. Many sisters also shared their testimonies about prayer. Sis. Margie Lindsay shared this passage from the Bible Dictionary under Prayer: "The object of prayer is not to change the will of God, but to secure for ourselves and for others blessings that God is already willing to grant, but that are made conditional on our asking for them." I loved that!! I also love what it continues to say after that, "Blessings require some work or effort on our part before we can obtain them. Prayer is a form of work, and is an appointed means for obtaining the highest of all blessings." We talked a little bit about how the Lord has many things he wants for us, we just have to ask Him for them and ask in righteousness and not selfishness. We also discussed how prayers are answered and not always in the way or means we had in mind. I have many stories about that and I'm sure you all do as well. I know that this is a short summary of the lesson, but it encouraged me to make my prayers more meaningful and reminded me that this is how we "keep in touch" with the Lord and also how we can come to know him. I was reading a book called the "Infinite Atonement" by Tad R. Callister. He speaks of prayer and how powerful it can be when we "ask" to know things. He gives the example of Joseph Smith. Not only did he "ask" about what church to join, which led to the restoration of the church, but he also asked about baptism, the Word of Wisdom, celestial marriage, the three degrees of glory, and in truth, almost every other notable revelation in this dispensation. Tad referred to Joseph Smith as the "master asker" and said that he was empirical proof of the divine invitation , "if thous shalt ask, thou shalt receive revelation upon revelation, knowledge upon knowledge, that thou mayest know the mysteries and peaceable things." He goes on to explain that through prayer Nephi was able to see his father Lehi's vision. Joseph F. Smith received inspiration about the spirits beyond the veil and Spencer W. Kimball went to the Lord in prayer about the priesthood being extended to all worthy males. I read this after Sis. Bond's lesson and it opened my eyes to how powerful prayer really and truly is! Sometimes I think that these types of answers will only be given to the prophets, but just think of the answers we can receive when we go to the Lord and just "ask!"
Thank you Sis. Bond for your wonderful lesson!
Sis. Julie Schiess gave our lesson today on Moral Discipline. This was a deep topic and she did a fantastic job of helping us to understand it. I had to leave in the middle of it so this summary will be a little choppy. She started out by defining what "Morals" means. Examples given were honesty, chaste, benevolent, virtuous, and doing good to all men...basically what the 13th article of faith describes. She broke it down even further by discussing what each of those meant. Shortly after this I had to leave. When I came back she was talking about how we as parents teach our children morals. Several of the sisters gave their wonderful ideas on how they have taught their children what these morals are and how to stand up for what is right, even if you have to blame your mom for it! I loved all of the ideas because I am a young mother who is just starting to have those issues of my children coming home from school and telling me about "so and so does this" and " so and so's mom let's them do this." I just tell my children that those kids get to do that because they have a nice mom and you have a mean mom. I know one day they'll realize just how nice I really am! One idea was to take your girls to a hotel room one night, when they are getting to that "delicate" age and teach them about certain things. Discuss the temple with them and maybe show them how to properly wear their make-up. It's also a great time to let them ask questions and get their feelings out there as well. Another sister shared how she laid down the rules for her children and then realized that they might be scared to tell their friends they aren't going to do something because it's not right. So she told them that they could blame it on her and they could say, "I can't because of my mom. She won't let me," or however they wanted to blame her. That was a great idea I thought because it's hard for children to stand up against their friends and this gave them a great way to still be "cool" but not get ridiculed for being "good."
Thanks Sis. Schiess for your wonderful lesson. I always learn so much more about simple gospel principles from your lessons.
I hope you all have a wonderful week and we'll see you next week!
** Don't forget that tonight is the Temple Fireside that the Stake Relief Society Presidency is doing at the Stake Center-5pm. I sadly have to miss it because of a family thing that I am the "guest of honor" at. Trust me, I would rather be going to this!

The Holy Ghost

Today's lesson was taught by Sis. Jana Starr about the Holy Ghost. Rather than talk about the different ways we feel the Holy Ghost, she talked about who he is and what he does. I really appreciated this lesson. It helps us to know the details about the different aspects of the gospel so that we can better understand them.
She talked about what we know about him. He is a personage but does not have a body, therefore he is a Spirit. He is a member of the God Head. He is a comforter, a teacher, a cleanser, and helps us to receive revelation and discern truth. He testifies of the reality of God the Father and His Son Jesus Christ. He purifies our hearts and helps us to feel the love of our Savior and Father in Heaven. Without the Holy Ghost we would not know "the truth of all things" or have that witness that our Savior lives and loves us. When we feel alone he comforts our soul and helps lift us up and give us strength. He is the messenger of our Father and speaks to us all the time...we just need to listen.
Many testimonies and stories were shared about individual experiences we've had with the Holy Ghost. This lesson (and next week's actually) goes really well with this month's Visiting Teaching message about Personal Revelation. I encourage you all to read both lessons and the message and take this opportunity to strengthen your relationship with the Holy Ghost and bear your testimony of it to the sisters that you visit.
Last week in our FHE, Jason gave the First Presidency's message in the Friend. It talked a little bit about the Holy Ghost and we asked the girls what they knew about him. "Does he have a body?" "No. But he lives in our hearts and helps us to choose the right," was the response from my 4 year old. What a great testimony she has of him already and we should help our children recognize those moments when they are feeling the Spirit, and more importantly, we should provide some of those opportunities for them.
Just yesterday (saturday), two children from our ward were baptized. Connor Peterson and Marianna Anderson, daughter of Jessy Taylor. I talked to my soon-to-be-7 year old and told her to pay special attention to what goes on as she will experience this next year when she turns 8. She felt the Spirit and told me that she was feeling "good and quiet inside" and I told her that was the Holy Ghost telling her that getting baptized is the right decision. What a great opportunity I had yesterday to teach my children about these gospel principles and give them the chance to experience what they have been taught. What great examples these two young children were to my children and to me as well. Every time I attend a baptism I always reflect back to my baptism and the Spirit and experiences I had that day. Thank you Sis. Starr for a wonderful lesson. I look forward to Sis. Bond's lesson next week on prayer. It's one that I need to hear!

**This week's announcements and good news minutes are on the side bar. There is one event that needs special attention and that is the YW Silent Auction on April 24th at 9am. It's a pancake breakfast for the family and then they will be auctioning some goods and services so bring your wallets! This is a fundraiser for them to help them go to Girls Camp. If you have any questions please contact Sis. Sara Moon or a member of the YW presidency. Also, please keep a special prayer in your heart for Sis. Nicole Afa who is undergoing various tests for her Cancer and is currently in the hospital. More information will be given when we get it, but keep her in your hearts and prayers.**

Birthday Bash!

For those of you who missed our Relief Society Birthday Bash, you sure missed out on a lot!!! First of all, let me apologize to those who attended Friday night's festivities. Our guest speaker, Alicia Richmond, was an hour late! She called and said she wouldn't be there until 6:30. So we ate first. Then she texted me and said she would be there in 15 minutes. So we played a few games. Then she didn't come prepared with the necessary cords and we had to track some down for her. So we did a raffle. Had I known that she was going to be so late I would have started with the crafts because I know a lot of you came prepared to do that and we didn't get to some of them. I apologize especially to the young women who rescheduled their event so they could come to ours. I know that some of them wanted to do the crafts and we didn't get to those until later. But, those who did stay and do them had a great time and made some beautiful hair bows and watches. Thanks to Alysia Peterson for teaching our skin care class...that had so much participation it went about 30-45 minutes! Huge thanks to my sister in-law Amy who came at the very last minute to do our hair class because the lady that was going to do it had something come up at the last minute. As you can tell, Friday night did not go according to my careful and precise planning! But the food was delicious (at least that's what everyone said. I didn't eat because I was too stressed out trying to put order back to the chaos!) Thank you to all those who participated in the pot luck. The chocolate fountain was such a big hit that we decided to bring it out again Saturday.
Saturday was great. I attended the temple with Alysia Peterson and we did initiatory because I can't leave my baby for a session. I haven't been to the temple since Jason and I did sealings in December I think it was. So it was nice to be there and enjoy the peace and quiet. The luncheon was fabulous! Sally always does such good work with the food and this was no exception. Thanks Sally! She even hand crafted swans out of the cream puffs! A true culinary artist.
The guest speakers were my favorite part! Jessy Taylor is good friends with Bob and Diane Evans and they spoke to us about the quiet acts of service that we do. They have 16 children!!!! 11 that are biological and 5 that they adopted. I had no idea they had that many. They were such great speakers and after they were finished I predicted that they would be future general authorities and general presidents. They didn't like that too much. They brought such a great spirit and I just can't get over what a great job they did!
After them we had Sis. Roseanne Gunther who started the humanitarian projects in our state (and it sounded to me like the church). She was very inspirational and made me want to get of my duff and do more to help! She brought in this amazing quilt that was made specifically for a lady in Africa. It was made and pieced together from random scraps of material and it was absolutely gorgeous! I wish I would have taken a picture of it. She told us some very awe inspiring stories about the work she has been doing. I encourage all of you do what you can on Monday mornings with the humanitarian projects we have. Some of them you can even do from home.
I started off the speakers with a little poem called "Oh the Places You'll Serve" and had a fantastic slide show prepared...but we had technical difficulties and so I had to sing the song "His Hands" at the last minute...literally! So, I apologize for how horrible it sounded but it was a spur of the moment performance. It was very important to have that song heard though. It was the basis of our theme "Hands of Service."
The Savior did his service with his hands and not only performed miracles but did those quiet acts of service as well. He fed 5,000 with a few loaves and fishes that he blessed with his hands. Raised the dead, healed the sick, gave sight ot the blind, all with the touch of his hands. But he also forgave the sinners, lifted the poor in spirit and lowly of heart, and gave comfort to those in sorrow. We can do that also. Our gift this year is a bottle of lotion with a label that says, "I will make my hands like those of Galilee." Which is a line from the song. As you put on that lotion it reminds us to use our hands for service and do good unto others.
We ended our celebration with a GORGEOUS cake made by my friend in the 17th ward. I wish I had a picture of that too! Thanks Julianne for making that for me! ( Is still have leftover if you feel so inclined to have a piece. Come on over and we will eat cake together!)
I hope you were spiritually fed and enjoyed the company of the sisters in our ward as much as I did. Thank you to my committee for putting on such a fabulous party!
** A little FYI- I attended the auxillary training meeting this last week and was given great training on what to do for our future Relief Society Meetings. So, be prepared to be bugged about ideas, suggestions and needs and look for a change in what we do, as I know have a better understanding and some actual training on what to do!**

Materials List for Crafts

Here is the list of materials for the crafts we will be making Friday night at our Birthday Bash. If you have trouble finding the things you need or have questions please contact Cara Childs or Alysia Peterson. Even if you don't have all the things you need, come any way to participate. We will have some supplies there for you.
Materials List for classes if you want to make them that night.
We are having you get your own materials so that you can save money with coupons, discounts and sales at the store and also so you can get what you like.

Supplies needed for watch class
0.7 mm stretchy wire (can use a 0.5, but the 0.7 is more durable.)
1 watch face (you can call Alysia Peterson or Cara Childs if you want to order one and not buy them at the craft store…sometimes it can be cheaper this way.)
4 lobster clasps
2-3 spacer bars
Beads (you may want some small spacer
beads as well)
Faces and beads can be bought at a variety of places. Walmart, Michaels, Johanns, Hobby Lobby, The Bead Fairy (in Sandy).

Supplies needed for Earrings
2 Ear wire
2 Head pins
Round nose pliers
Stones, beads, etc.
All of these can be purchased at craft stores or Walmart. If you would like to make necklaces and bracelets, the wires for those can also be found at the same places but make sure you also buy the clasps to go with them.

Supplies needed for I Spy Bags
2 pieces of felt (you can get these at Walmart for .20 and you can probably make one bag out of one piece of felt depending on the size you want.)
Little things to put in it. Here is a list you might have around the house:
Penny, marble, button, safety pin, paper clip, smooth stone, decorative button, craft confetti, eraser, plastic bugs or rings, any small toys etc. You can also buy small things for cheap at craft stores etc.

Supplies needed for Hair Bows
This is not a complete list, but something to get you started. I will have the complete list as soon as it is given to me.
Ribbons of all sizes and colors-whatever you like (craft stores, Walmart or Little Things Mean A lot has some pretty good prices on ribbon)
Barretts and clips-found at craft stores, beauty stores and Walmart
Any embellishments you might want: flowers, jewels, buttons etc.

The Creation and Adam and Eve

Sorry Ladies! Trying to get back into the swing of things is a lot harder than I remember! So, we've got two lessons to discuss today, as well as, several announcements. First the announcements that are worth announcing both here and on the side:

**Barbara Kemp will be going through the temple this Wednesday, March 24th at the 10:00 a.m. session. It would be wonderful to have you join her and support her if you can. Congratulations Barbara!!

**CAUCUS MEETINGS- March 23 @ 7pm AF01 and AF 01S Voting Precincts. Democrats will be meeting at the Pleasant Grove Senior Center 242 W 200 S. Republicans will be meeting at the Pleasant Grove Jr. High 810 N. 100 E. A letter was read during sacrament meeting encouraging us to go and participate.

**Don't forget that our RS BIRTHDAY BASH is THIS WEEKEND starting Friday night at 6pm. We will be doing a fun game with your baby pictures so REMEMBER TO BRING YOUR BABY PICTURES!!

Ok, now for the lesson notes. Last week Sis. Jana Starr gave a wonderful lesson on the Creation. She took us through the scriptures that talk about the Creation and we studied the different things they taught us about it. I particularly liked the part that explained that we all probably had a hand in helping with the Creation. Sis. Starr wants to know who created the Platypus and is looking forward to finding the answer in the life to come.
She showed us some amazingly beautiful pictures taken by our very own Sis. Debbie Evenson depicting the Lord's marvelous creations. It was a very reverent and humbling experience to see the earth in that way and what beautiful things surround us. It makes you want to "go green" all the way and take better care of what has been entrusted to us. To go along with the spirit of this lesson and the last lesson on music, I have changed the opening music to the song "My Heavenly Father Loves Me." It's one of my favorites!
This week, Sis. Joyce Bond talked about Adam and Eve. This one is still fresh in my mind and because I'm the one writing the blog, I get to interject my own thoughts into this :)
She started by talking about how interested she was to find out how many times Adam and Eve are mentioned in the scriptures and church publications and came to discover online that the answer to that is 1, 332 times. We really don't talk much about our first parents and so it's interesting to note that they are mentioned so often.
Of course, being sisters, we talked mostly about Eve, which I loved. I'm a teensy bit Femi-Nazi and so I like that we didn't dwell so much on Adam who takes all the credit! She brought a book called "Women of the Old Testament" by Caroline (I think) Cronk Olson. It looks like a fabulous book and has a wonderful picture of one artist's perception of Eve. Sis. Bond read several passages from this book, but one sentence really stuck with me. "Being the Mother of all Creation, Eve is connected to each of us." That got me thinking about that statement. We all have a little bit of Eve in us. But, could Eve also depict our Heavenly Mother? While I love talking with our Father about things, sometimes I wish that I could talk to our Mother. I know that she would really understand some of the things I go through. As we talked more and more about Eve, I started to develop a different kind of understanding and love for her that I've never had before. Almost as if our Heavenly Mother really was speaking to me and saying, "Yes! I do exist and you and Eve have more in common than you think. Learn about her and you will learn about me." I find myself thirsting for more about Eve and who she was.
Again, since I'm the one writing this blog you get to hear my stories. So, the first time I went through the Temple I tried really hard to pay attention to what I was learning. The thing that struck me funny was that Adam seemed kind of like a little boy pointing fingers. When the Lord asks, "who did this?" Adam points to Eve and says "She made me do it." Eve owns up and says "the devil made me do it." Eve has to apologize first!!!! But, as we were talking today (and I've always thought this) Eve knew EXACTLY what she was doing! She knew the plan better than Adam did because she had that intuition right from the start. She knew that if they were to fulfill all of Father's commandments, it was going to require some sacrifice. Not just getting kicked out of the garden, but leaving Father's presence, working the land themselves instead of having things just grow spontaneously, pain and sorrow, rearing children, and death. She got the whole picture-but Adam gets the blame. Which leads into the next part that got me thinking. The scriptures talk about the Fall of Adam. "Adam fell that men might be; and men are that they might have joy." That word JOY made do a double take. If the fall was so "bad" then how are we supposed to have joy? If it is so hard to work the land yourself and be amongst the thorns, then where does the joy come in? Didn't they have joy in the garden? Sure they did, they just didn't know that was what it was because they didn't know any different. Eve figured it out though. One time, Jason commented to me that he didn't know how I could go from being happy one second, to biting people's heads off the next, and back to being happy, and then sad and depressed, and then happy and so and so forth. I thought this (but didn't say it) "Adam was cursed with working the land and Eve was cursed with the emotions!" She knew that to be happy you had to be sad. To feel pleasure you had to feel pain. So, what is interesting about that scripture is that it doesn't say "men are that they might learn." it says that we are to feel joy. President Hinckley says something to the effect of "Life is to be enjoyed, not just endured." That has a whole new meaning for me now because of this lesson.
I don't have the complete quote because I can't write as fast as you speak, but Sis. Bond ended the lesson with another great thing that got me thinking. The Creation needed the Fall so that the earth would be cared for and people would be created. The Fall needed the Atonement so that we all suffer for our own sins and not Adam's transgressions. And the Atonement needed....this was the part that I got lost. So Joyce, if you're reading this let me know what the rest of it is!!! But, just reading those three parts, you get the idea of how wonderful a plan this really is and how well it works together. Without all the components it wouldn't work and we'd either never leave Father's presence or never make it back.
Phew! Great lesson Joyce. I'm going to go and get that book and learn more about these great women who never get talked about!
And I leave you with this one last thought: I never went on a mission because I'm a Bible Basher-I argue rather than teach. I've had many opportunities to teach the gospel throughout my life and when discussing Adam and Eve with young men, they would really bash Eve. So, I'd remind them of this hotline and tell them to call it 1-800-ADAM-812!

Barbara Ferguson Funeral

Thank you to all who helped with the food and kitchen help at Sis. Barbara Ferguson's funeral. It was a beautiful service and I know that the family was extremely grateful for the luncheon. We had so much good food, there's never any shortage of that in this ward!
Our thoughts and prayers are with the Ferguson Family.

Music is the language of Angels

Sorry I haven't updated the blog lately. I've been busy with my new little baby! We've had some good lessons the last few weeks and I'm sorry that I don't have notes on all of them. First, I'd like to talk a little bit about last week's lesson. Sister Scheiss did a wonderful job presenting Pres. Monson's talk about service. To go along with that lesson, the Relief Society Presidency asked everyone to do RAK or RAS: Random Acts of Kindness (Service) for the people around you. Then on sunday we will have a jar and little slips of paper. You can write down the act you did or if someone did something for you, you can write that down and put it in the jar. You don't have to mention your name if you don't want to. Also, in this week's Church News, they asked for people to send in the RAS they do and it will be published in the paper...so it seems that the inspiration your RS Presidency received was right on track with the inspiration the church received. We will also be incorporating this theme in our RS Birthday Bash and I promise you YOU DO NOT WANT TO MISS THIS PARTY!

Ok, now onto this week's lesson. Sis. Margie Lindsay was kind enough to take my assignment of giving the Presidency Message this month and she did a FANTASTIC job! Her lesson was on the importance of music and how it can influence, inspire, and enrich our lives. She emphasized what the First Presidency wrote in the front of the Hymn Book. I've selected a few of my favorite passages from this letter:

MUSIC IN CHURCH MEETINGS:

"Inspirational music is an essential part of our church meetings. The hymns invite the Spirit of the Lord, create a feeling of reverence, unify us as memebers, and provide a way fro us to offer praises to the Lord. Some of the greatest sermons are preached by the singing of hymns. Hymns move us to repentance and good works, build testimony and faith, comfort the weary, console the mourning, and inspire us to endure to the end."

MUSIC IN OUR HOMES:

"Music has boundless powers for moving families toward greater spirituality and devotion to the gospel. Latter-day Saints should fill their homes with the sound of worthy music....The hymns can bring families a spirit of beauty and peace and can inspire love and unity among family members. Teach your children to love the hymns. Sing them on the Sabbath, in home evening, during scripture study, at prayer time. Sing as you work, as you play, and as you travel together. Sing hymns as lullabies to build faith and testimony in your young ones.

MUSIC IN OUR PERSONAL LIVES:

"...Hymns can lift our spirits, give us courage, and move us to righteous action. They can fill our souls with heavenly thoughts and bring us a spirit of peace. Hymns can also help us withstand the temptations of the adversary. We encourage you to memorize your favorite hymns and study the scriptures that relate to them. Then, if unworthy thoughts enter your mind, sing a hymn to yourself, crowding out the evil with the good."

Sis. Lindsay then asked if anyone would like to share their favorite hymn, why it was their favorite and then we sang a verse or two of that song. This is what was shared: Press Forward Saints, Called to Serve (many people had comments and stories for this song so we sang both verses), Because I Have Been Given Much, I Am a Child of God (which Sis. Lindsay had us a sing slower and think about the words...not a dry eye in the room!) and we ended the lesson with I Believe in Christ, which then set the mood for testimony sharing.

I am grateful to Sis. Lindsay for this lesson. Like her, music is very dear to my heart and a part of my being. Whenever I direct a choir, I ALWAYS have them study the words and tones of the song we are singing. I want them to send that message to every heart who hears them sing. I am not very good with words and getting my point across verbally, but musically I feel like I could preach all the discussions and convert every soul who listens! That's why my lessons are never very good. Because I have to speak...now if I could sing or play my entire lesson on the piano that would be much better!

This week, think about your favorite hymn or primary song and why it's so special to you. Sing it this week when you are frustrated or down or angry or just need a pick me up and see how the Spirit changes you in that small moment!

**Check the sidebar for this week's good news and announcements. We showed you a few samples of some of the crafts we will be making. I have the list of materials for the watch and earrings, but still waiting for the hair bows. I will be posting all of these complete with pictures in a day or two, so check back!**