Young Women Personal Progress

In our church the girls ages 12 – 18 participate in the Young Women’s Program. It is an excellent program designed to help girls prepare to become mothers, wives, and good righteous women. Within the young women’s program is goal oriented program called personal progress, which is based upon 8 values. Faith, Divine Nature, Individual Worth, Knowledge, Choice and Accountability, Good Works, Integrity, and Virtue.

Right now my calling (or church service) in our ward is with the Young Women as secretary. Even though I finished the personal progress as a youth the program has changed a lot since then. It’s my goal to go through the whole program again right now and earn it again along with my young women.

For one of my projects I wanted to create a mini album to share with anyone, based on the young women values. I wanted something that was basic and could be used for multiple things. I hope some of you can find a use for it. The two graphics show the whole collection.

It can be used for many things:

- note cards / postcards

- church handouts

- invitations to New Beginnings, Young Women in Excellence, Standard Night

- create a finished album recording all of your 8 value experiences you completed.
- scripture memorization cards

- photo book for camp or YW activities.
- use it for a YW activity to teach your girls how to digital scrapbook.
- have your girls use it in a persona progress goal.
- be creative!

For each value there is one page that is a journaling page, and then one that is a photo page, with an open hole to place a photograph. If you want to manipulate it a bunch some photo editing software would work the best. (Although my sister can do amazing things with Microsoft Word, which I can not do.) So that program might work as well. If not, it can easily be printed out and just written on.

It’s free for you to use. I’d love to hear how you use it, or see any finished projects if you have the time. I really hope that some of you might find it of value because I sure had a lot of fun making it.

Please feel free to let people know about it, and direct them here where they can download it. Thanks!

Going Mad

Well it’s mischief week at ScrapGirls.  A week of fun, lots of chats, games and prizes.  The theme is Alice and Wonderland and even though I’m a little slow at getting this done I had to dress the part.

If you’d like to join us you can find a list of the chats and events in the last ScrapGirls Newsletter. Plus a really good sale (29.1 % off) happening until April 30th!  This is one of the biggest sales we have all year.

I joined in last night at the mad scrap challenge. Where they tell you what you have to use and you’ve got roughly an hour to put a layout together. Here’s my result. For a while I thought it was going to end up looking funny, but in the end I rather liked it! I’m sure it has to do with my cute subject matter. Isaac was just one of the cutest babies to photograph.

Beautiful

The other day I was out running errands with kids.  We were stopped at a stoplight and a young woman crossed in front of us. From in the back Mirian just blurted out “She’s Beautiful!” I looked at her again, and was trying to figure out what had made her say it, she was wearing a skimpy tank top, and had long hair, but wasn’t someone that I would have termed was beautiful.  I thought maybe it was her hair.

I asked her “She’s beautiful huh?”  Her reply? “Yeah she’s beautiful. Do you know why? Because she has a baby in her tummy!”  The woman had been about 8 months pregnant.  I commented back. “Your right.  Pregnant women are beautiful.”

Then she said. "Do you know when you are the most beautiful mom? When you are pregnant and in your church clothes. Then you are REALLY beautiful.” Wow. Out of the mouth of babes.  Even though she didn’t realize it, she was speaking eternal truths. Truths about the beauty of women when they have life inside of them, participating in the most amazing thing they can ever do. Truths about beauty of modesty and virtue.  All truths that the world mocks.  They believe beauty to be something else.

I love this little girl. She is always amazing me with her insights. And someday I can’t wait to see her at her most beautiful moment when she carries her first baby. 

Intentional Mothering

It seems as of late that I’ve been trying to slow down, and put less things on my plate, but not exactly sure why. I’ve been busy, but it hasn’t been too bad. Some part of me though has felt that I was missing out on something important by doing these other things but I hadn’t been able to pin point it yet.

The only thing I did know is that I wanted to spend more time at home. With my family and kids. To really be there. To really be a mom. It’s so easy to get caught up in other extracurricular activities, church service, personal hobbies, play groups, etc. You can fill your entire day with things to do.

In the process I found that I didn’t have time to really spend cleaning my house, or dejunking. I never got caught up on laundry. I haven’t been able to work on decorating and painting our home. I haven’t had chances to work outside in the yard, or get started on the garden. I didn’t have time to plan meals, FHE’s, family activities, cleaning, etc. I was trying to just squeeze in exercise and scripture study in here or there as I had a few moments. I was winging everything at the moment. Only doing what was immediate.

Which seemed fine at the time. We seemed to be happy and we were getting by. I kept having the attitude of when my kids are in school, then I’ll have time to deep clean the house more, and do more decorating and painting. I’ll have more time but right now it’s just not that time especially with little kids.

Then something started to happen. I’m not sure what it was, but slowly I have started seeing things differently, seeing the importance of doing things differently and starting to do things intentionally. Starting to realize how these small mundane homemaking tasks are so incredibly important. How they teach greater and more important lessons than we realize. For example.

A Clean Home. This is NOT my strong point. I’ll do what I have to do to get by, but don’t necessarily think of what I can do to prevent things from creating bigger messes which create bigger work. I’m getting lots better and in the process I’m slowly learning why it’s so important. It’s been easy to give my kids the excuse that they are only 1, or 3 and are so young they can’t do much and I realized I am doing a HUGE disservice to them by having this attitude. They can do something and it’s at these ages of 1-5 while they are home that I can instill in them a desire and love for cleanliness. I can teach them these principles of why it is ESSENTIAL that we have a clean home.

- Cleanliness is next to Godliness.

- The spirit likes clean, beautiful places and likes to dwell there. He will not dwell in filth.

- Order. God is a God of order and we are to become like him.

- Disorder and uncleanliness will make the spirit leave which results in more
contention, frustration, lack of patience, and idleness.
- Health issues. We will be healthier when we have a clean home over a dirty home.

- A sense of pride, respect and gratitude for what we have been blessed with and a desire to take care of it and make it last.

- A work ethic – the ability to work consistently, and hard at something that is not something we love, because it has to be done. There are a lot of things in life that we will not like and not want to do. It will be easier for us to handle them, and work through them if we’ve already learned how to work at doing hard things we don’t like.
- We are striving to live in the celestial kingdom, we should be developing the celestial traits, right now so we can live there. Does our home reflect that?

- It feels good. There is a sense of peace, calm and happiness when you walk into a clean beautiful room. You want to be there. You want to stay.

That is just one example. As I’ve been thinking of some of these mundane things that we do I’ve started to realize how we just blow them off. We don’t think of the eternal and lasting consequences of some of them. I just tell my kids to clean their room. I beg, bribe, do it for them, argue with them, etc. Do I actually intentionally teach them over and over and over again WHY we have to do it. Or do I just tell them to do it. Do I talk to them about all the reasons above of why we want a clean home? I find that when I do, I get much better results from them and changed behaviors. They still have their moments, and still argue with me over it sometimes, but they understand it better.

So what about the other mundane things we do. Why are they so important to do? Why are we doing a disservice to our children if we treat them lightly? What eternal consequences could they have? How might it make their life harder and more difficult down the road later in life? Why do we just blow them off and should we?

- Going to bed at a early decent time and arising early?

- The food we eat, the meals we cook, and how we take care of our bodies.

- Disciplining – do we just send them straight to time out with out explanations.

- Money, how we save, spend or earn it?

- Entertainment – what we watch, view or listen to
- Time – how we spend it or waste it.
- Work – do we value it and install a work ethic.
- Treatment of others

I’m slowly realizing these are the reasons I want to cut back on other things. I want time to actually be an intentional mother. Instead of running to the next activity while rushing my kids and threatening them to hurry and clean their room. I want to have the time to work at it together, teach them why we are doing it, and develop long lasting habits and eternal truths. Which will matter more in the end. The dance class or the lasting character of cleanliness, and all that is associated with it. I would much rather have a child that has a love for beauty, cleanliness and a desire to feel the spirit and abide in a place of peace rather than a dancer.

There are so many other things that I want to give my children rather than another hobby, another skill, more money, etc. I’m just barely starting to understand it, and understand what I hope to do. But it’s something I feel strongly about. I no longer want to just do the daily motherly things (because that’s our job.) I want to make sure it’s done with intention instead.

I work for Him.

The other day I watched a video on my friend Amy’s blog. Little did I realize what an impact it would have on me.  Maybe it was because of a long week of kids with stomach flu, or because it was something that I needed to be reminded of. Why do I do what I do? Why I give so much for my kids and family and what my whole attitude should be towards them and doing it.  I love how she puts it. I’m not working for them. I’m working for Him.  I need to remember that often. God sees everything I do as a mother, even when kids may not even have a clue. He knows the sacrifices I’m making, and he knows what other kinds of things I could be doing out there in the world instead. But he knows I’ve chosen something better, something greater. In fact the greatest thing I could ever do and that is to be a mother.  

The Weather Outside

Is confusing. One minute it was beautiful spring weather, the next day snow, by that afternoon it was beautiful again.  Where is my warm spring days?  About a month ago I had a little fun with the weather and created a new kit.

Come Listen

to a Prophet's Voice....

Throughout the history of the world God has called Prophets to lead, teach and warn his people. You find them all through the Old Testament. Through the New Testament the Lord taught us himself. and then called 12 apostles to preach of him and run his church. He called prophets and apostles in the New World on the American continent as well and their record is found in the Book of Mormon.

"Surely the Lord God will do nothing, but he revealeth his secret unto his servants the Prophets". Amos 3:7

God is the same yesterday and today and will be the same tomorrow. He does not change. He can not change or he would cease to be God. He will always call a prophet to give direction to and to teach his people. To bless them. He has done it through all ages of time. So why would he love us any less and not call a prophet again today when the world is filled with so much moral decay and wickedness. Why would he not call prophets and apostles to declare repentance and to teach us of his ways.

He has.

I know without any doubt in my mind he has called a prophet today. His name is Thomas S. Monson. He has also called 12 apostles to lead and guide his church and to be special witnesses of him, delcaring that Jesus is the Living Christ. I have heard these men. I have been in the presence of some of them including the Prophet Thomas S. Monson. numerous times The spirit has born testimony to me that they are his servants. I have been blessed greatly by following their counsel and guidance. I love them with all my heart.

Today they will be speaking to the world. Preaching repentance, faith on the Lord Jesus Christ and giving us specific guidance and direction that the Lord would have us know as we live in this very confusing, morally corrupt world. I invite you to come and listen. It will be broadcast this morning at 10:00 am MST, for two hours and another session at 2:00 pm MST for two hours. They also spoke to us yesterday, which you can hear online as well. The prophet will give his main address this morning as the last address. He will also conclude the conference, in the afternoon session. The rest of the 12 apostles and other church leaders will also address us.

I love this time of year. I am never filled so much spiritually than when I listen to these messages. The ones that were given yesterday were amazing. So what does the Lord want you to know today? Come and find out. Listen with me.