Young Women Lesson 38: Good Health Habits

My lesson today was about having good healthy habits. It was fun. I started the lesson by having the girls pick from a variety of snacks - both healthy and unhealthy. I disguised them because most of hem were hidden with 'low-fat' or 'reduced calorie' or '100% multi-grain.' We talked about why they're good and why they're bad; how important it was to portion control; and how it's not about what you eat so much as what portions you eat. I also talked about negative body image because that seems to be a common concern here in vain-Utah. Too many people are concerned about how they look outwardly that they don't think about how they're sacrificing their health for it.

How cool is it, by the way, that the Word of Wisdom was revealed in the 19th century and we're only just barely now finding out that it was right?! The more we refine something, the less we get out of it - D&C 89. I love when man discovers that God's revelations were correct!! We talked about this for a while because there is a Japanese man that just celebrated his 113th birthday, making him the oldest man in the world. He credited it all to not drinking alchohol! We also talked about the blessings of living the WoW - like longevity.

At the end of the lesson I gave the girls a pamphlet to keep track of their food/drink intake for a week. I encouraged them to think about what was going into their bodies and also to keep better tabs on their sleep and physical activity.

I made yogurt parfaits for the girls to enjoy. Non-fat yogurt, homemade granola and fresh apples from my apple tree. Really, it was a great lesson and the girls did a great job helping out with it. :)

Young Women Lesson 28 (Manual 3)

Lesson 28 "Sacrifice and Consecration"

I started the lesson with an analogy of a 'sacrifce bunt or hit' in the game of baseball. Many of the girls (and a couple leaders) knew of the term and play. I didn't know, so I asked one of the Beehives to elaborate. She explained that a player will suffer an out to advance other players and bunt the ball. For example (we drew it on the board), if there are players on first and second, the batter will bunt the ball up the third base line. The players on first and second advance and the batter is out. The sacrifice of one player, advances two players one base closer to home base.

I pretty much followed the lesson as in the manual, but kept referring to the sports analogy to help with the ideas of sacrifice and consecration (the team consecrates time and energy to win games).

I ended the lesson with the analogy of how coal and diamonds are alike, but, with a little heat and pressure, one turns out magnificantly different. I passed out my diamond ring that has a flaw in it and said that even the best of us will make mistakes - we're still human. I wouldn't give up my diamond for anything because it is special to me. My husband gave it to me when we were married and that means a TON. I love my kids even with their mistakes; Heavenly Father knows us and loves us as we are. As long as we're trying our best to live the laws which he gives us, we're on the right track.

The handouts feature a quote by Joseph Smith from the lesson.

Prison Break!

I just got back from our youth activity and - wow - was it cool! We visited the prison and got to meet five of the inmates... er.. uh.. residents. They were way cool... not as in, I want to be them, but you get it. They gave us short stories as to how and why they came to reside in the prison and then let us ask questions. Any questions we wanted. They were very articulate and, surprising to me, very willing to give out the details to their crimes. One guy was intoxicated with meth when he blacked out at the wheel and killed a local teacher. He was extremely resentful of his decisions starting back when he was a teenager and it was great to see that the system hadn't hardened him, but made him a better person. He's religious, educated and quite the leader among his peers. The program that the prison does is centered around taking responsibility, staying sober and contributing to society in a positive way. So, they all have classes that they take; from sober living, to community college classes. It was great to see how they were benefiting from it. All five guys we met were great motivational speakers and it was good for our youth to see how making one or two 'small' mistakes can easily (and without notice) turn into horrible lifestyles.

If you're in Utah, you should check it out. The prison here is a great resource that we should be using regularly. If you're not, look into it in your state and find out if they have similar programs.

Missionary Month (Lesson 20)

May marked Missionary Month for our youth. They all got companions and responsibilities for each week. Our Young Women's presidency really went all out and organized it's perfectly! They had districts and district leaders, and mission presidents. They also had the full time missionaries from our area kick off the (mock) MTC experience. It was really thought out.

So, to go along with that, our Sunday lessons were lessons 20 (Understanding a Missionaries Responsibilities) and 21 (Preparing to Share the Gospel) in the Young Women's manual 3. Our Beehive advisor and I planned an activity for Lesson 20. We did orgami dress shirts (http://www.sugardoodle.net/mambo/downloads/missionary_shirt.pdf) and on the reverse side, wrote little notes of appreciation/encouragement to the full time missionaries from our ward. It was so fun and I think they turned out super cute! We used white card-stock and I printed a little black tag for each of the missionaries so they were personalized. For the ties, we used scrapbook pages that had manly patterns. And I found some cute brads that we used for tie-tacks to keep them closed. Hope you like it.

Attempt Numero Dos!

Here's number two... it's about how to share the gospel with others. Too many Mormons think that it's a debate to be had between religious giants, when, in reality, the best way to convert others (the way the Savior spread the word) is to go into it with the intent to befriend and fellowship. What ever happens after that will be on the spirit present and the person who is listening. I have a new neighbor that I totally can relate to. Her husband is an Army recruiter who is a leader over many other recruiters. As a result, he is constantly out of the house and she rarely sees him except on Sunday (his only day off). Dustin has a similar schedule, so we jokingly call each other single moms. :) She is not a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, but has been very accepting of how I believe and asked a great deal of questions. I NEVER seek out missionary opportunities because I am terrified of putting people off or making them think that I judge them one way or another, and I think I've been blessed to have been given this experience. Whether she joins or not, I don't care. She's been a great friend and I wouldn't push her conversion for anything.

P.S. Le Mot is French for 'the word'... how clever am I???

My First Attempt at a Handout!

Based on Pres Monson's New Era message from last year, I made a handout to go with my talk on Missionary Responsibilities. I thought it turned out really well... tell me what you think!

Young Women's Project

For our Wednesday activity, the Miamaids made cafe-style aprons. We are having a pretzel making activity soon and thought it would be a good idea to have aprons. They took WAAAAYY longer than I anticipated, but they were so worth it. Check them out! Cute! Cute! Cute!!