The Birth of Jesus Christ

Alright, I've been slacking on this since our Relief Society has been split in to RS 1 and RS 2. It felt weird to summarize one lesson and not the other. Gonna have to figure that one out!

We were combined today though, because a lot of people are out of town. So that makes it easy.

Esther gave a great lesson that was centered on the birth of Jesus Christ. We spent a good amount of discussion time talking about the significance of the angels announcing Christ's birth first to the shepherds who were in the field. I'm gonna make a list of some of the points that were made because lists are great.

1. One of the titles by which Jesus Christ is known is "The Great Shepherd," so it is interesting that the angels appeared first to the shepherds.
2. The shepherds were humble people who found joy in the work they did, and weren't necessarily looking for any kind of personal gain or reward. They were grateful when they received this great blessing and they recognized the importance of the babe lying in the manger. They dropped what they were doing and rushed to meet him.
3. They left their flock to go find the one. This is symbolic of what Christ did and taught throughout his life.

I love the Lord and I love this Christmas season, along with the reminder it brings to be grateful and to share Christ's love with others. Feel free to add your own comments about the lesson below and I hope you all have a merry Christmas!

-Lisa

Behold the Handmaid of the Lord

Lacee gave a wonderful lesson today on Mary, the mother of Jesus. A lot of the lesson was centered around the scripture found in Luke 1:38 "And Mary said, Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it unto me according to thy word. And the angel departed from her."

Mary had just had an angel appear to her and tell her that she was going to have a baby, and that her baby would be the savior, Jesus. Instead of being troubled and wondering what her community would think of her (because she was only engaged but not yet married to Joseph), she simply asked "How?" and after the angel explained it, she relied on her faith in God and accepted what was going to happen.

This story is a good example to me of how I should be trusting what God has in store for me. I should do what I can to figure things out, and then have the faith that everything is going to be okay in the end. The "twenty-somethings" are difficult years of life. They're hard because we are figuring out what we want to study, where we want to work, when to start a family, and where to go after we graduate. I know that if we do everything in our power to figure things out, that the Lord will help us know what to do through promptings that come from the Holy Ghost. I have seen this happen many times in my own life, and I'm sure it will keep on happening as long as I remain worthy of the Spirit.  :)

At the end of the lesson we all wrote down a gift that we want to give to the Savior this Christmas season. It could be something like serving others, spending more time reading the scriptures, going to the temple more often, etc. Make sure you remember to give your own gift to the Savior if you weren't there to think about it in Relief Society today. It's a great way to focus more on the Savior during this holiday season.

Hope you all have a great Sunday!

-Lisa

Which Way Do You Face

This weeks lesson was given by the lovely Shelly Myers and was based on the talk "Which Way Do You Face," by Elder Lynn G. Robbins. Give it a read if you want a little extra spiritual boost sometime this week.

We talked about the questions asked for a temple recommend interview, and how one of those questions in particular (the one asking if you support any organizations that oppose the Church) has a more relevant meaning for most of us today.

When we were younger, that question was a breeze to answer but more and more we are seeing organizations, sometimes even from within the Church that oppose what we believe, yet make themselves look good in the eyes of lots of people. The peer pressure can be difficult, and we need to be constantly asking ourselves which way we face. Do we face towards the enticements and pressures of the world or are we facing towards our loving Heavenly Father?

I love this quote from the talk:

Trying to please others before pleasing God is inverting the first and second great commandments (see Matthew 22:37–39). It is forgetting which way we face. And yet, we have all made that mistake because of the fear of men.

It is possible to love others who oppose our views and value system, while still living what we know to be true in an unpretentious way. Jesus Christ did it all the time. He chastened the Pharisees and others, but he loved all men so much that he was willing to sacrifice his own life to save us all. He did not yield to the pressures and enticements of men, He didn't even yield to the temptations of the devil. He always did the will of the Father and consistently faced in the same direction.

I love our savior Jesus Christ and our Father in Heaven. I know that as we follow the commandments and love and serve each other, our lives will be guided and we will know what we should be doing and where we should be going. And we will feel more grounded as we consistently face in the right direction.

And here are some fun 5x7 printables if you would like to post a reminder somewhere in your house!

The Sealing Power

Today's lesson was on the sealing power and temple blessings. I loved the various discussions we had  during the lesson because hearing other's comments and experiences, and thinking about temple sealings made me extra grateful for the opportunity we have to be sealed to our families forever. It was just nice to take some time to think about it today.

My husband was actually the first person I was ever sealed to. I got sealed to my Dad and Step-mom about a year later, but the sealing power has made a special impact on me because I spent the first 20-something years of my life wondering if I would actually see my family in heaven or not. I always knew things would work out in the end, but the song "Families Can Be Together Forever" was actually kind of a sad song for me to sing back then.

It was a huuuge comfort to know, after my husband and I were sealed in the temple, that we would be together forever and I'm still so happy to know that no matter what changes happen in our lives, we can count on each other to always be there.

Here are some points I picked up from the discussion we had on how the sealing power affects us:

1. It is comforting
2. It allows/encourages us to see the big picture
3. It makes us want to work harder at our marriages
4. It makes us realize that God is an eternal part of our marriage relationships (we both are sealed through his power)

Another aspect of the lesson was how important it is to do family history work and to go to the temple, to do ordinances for our deceased relatives. You never know who might be waiting for you to find their name, and to perform temple work for them. I have seen tiny miracles happen as I have done my family history work, and it was great to hear all the other experiences people have had with family history work during the lesson today.

Anyways, thanks for the lesson Kim, and I hope you all have a great Sunday!

And don't forget, now that we have had this lesson, ask yourself "now what?" and change something in your life starting now.  :)

Found this over at McKenna Woolley

Eternal Marriage

"According to the law of the Lord, every marriage should endure forever. If all mankind would live in strict obedience to the gospel and in that love which is begotten by the spirit of the Lord, all marriages would be eternal."

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe that quote is from the manual, and is something that Joseph F. Smith said. Esther had it written up on the board during her lesson today and it really does sum things up well.

We talked a lot about how staying married is a choice that we each make with our spouses every day. The triangle below was referenced during the lesson, it illustrates how the husband and wife need to strengthen their relationship with God (individually and as a family), in order to draw closer to him and to each other, so they can better become one.

We have a fantastic bishop and his comment during the lesson really struck me. I am going to butcher this, but basically he said we should not let ourselves get wrapped up in our spouse's shortcomings, or things that may be wrong with our marriage. Instead we should always be working at strengthening our relationship with the Lord, and then husband and wife will naturally draw closer to each other. Healthy marriages don't just happen, they are carefully worked at by both the husband and the wife.

I am so grateful for my husband and the things he does for me. I have noticed that when we each draw closer to the Lord, we do naturally draw closer to each other. Maybe it is because we both have a heightened level of the spirit, which helps us better meet each other's needs.

Anyways, marriage is great - feel free to leave your comments below!

Modesty

I have seen a lot of blog posts, news articles, and YouTube videos about this topic lately. It is interesting to see people's varying view points on modesty. For me, seeing different people's varying opinions on modesty brings home the fact that dressing modestly is a choice that we each make individually. For many of us dressing modestly is a journey; one where we each learn by experience what brings the spirit in to our lives, and what doesn't.

Dressing modestly (or not so modestly) shouldn't be a result of peer pressure, it should be a choice that you deliberately make every day when you put clothes on. I like to dress modestly because it makes me feel comfortable. Dressing modestly allows me to feel peace and to not worry about covering certain body parts up when I move a certain way. I don't like to think too much about myself and dressing modestly allows me to stop thinking so much about how I look, and to think more about the needs of those around me.

We shouldn't judge others because they don't quite fit in with our standard of modesty. We are all walking our own path when it comes to following any commandment. Dressing modestly just happens to be a commandment that is easily seen by others when broken, and there are varying levels of following that commandment. I'm sure the Lord would rather have an immodest women coming to church to show her love for him, than not coming to church at all. We should all help each other feel welcome at church, no matter which commandments we may individually be struggling with.  :)

Anyways, that's my little spiel on modesty. I tried to cover what the Stake Relief Society Presidency covered in the lesson, but I'm sure I missed some things. Also I hope I didn't offend anyone... feel free to add your thoughts below!

Here is a video that kind of relates to the topic:

Love you girls!
-Lisa Stoddard

What Are You Thinking?

This week's Relief Society lesson was given by Shelly, and she did a fantastic job. It was based on the talk by Elder W. Craig Zwick called "What Are You Thinking?" 

We mostly focused on the scripture that Elder Zwick cited in his talk from Paul: “Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but [only] that which is good [and] edifying, that it may minister grace unto the hearers” (Ephesians 4:29).

I think most often corrupt communication comes out of our mouths around those who we love the most (our husbands, parents, siblings, children...), because they are around us most often and we aren't necessarily trying to make a good impression on them all the time. However our lives would be so much better, and our homes more peaceful if we tried to speak (especially to those we love the most) with integrity, empathy, and without being too quick to anger.

Shelly came up with an awesome list of 10 things to help us communicate better with each other:

1. Pray to have God's love
2. Learn to control your tongue
3. Reason together
4. Break the cycle (of arguing the same things over and over)
5. Speak softly and calmly
6. Develop compassion
7. Seek first to understand
8. Be kind over being right
9. Search for truth in other opinions
10. Breathe before speaking

I especially like number three because that is the main way my husband and I solve most of our problems. Neither of us ever really have much of a temper but we do occasionally get frustrated with each other. Rather than avoiding the problem, it helps us to come together and objectively talk about the situation until we figure out a solution that works for both of us. Open, honest communication is so important and it has really helped us to draw closer together as a couple.

Looking at the list again, all of those points are important in their own way. Which ones have you tried that have worked in your marriage or communication with others?

Ministering in Love

Last Sunday's Relief Society lesson was taught by Ashley Bell and she did a fantastic job. We discussed ways that we can serve others, and ways that we can nurture each other when we visit (like during visiting teaching).

It was a timely lesson because pretty much our whole ward is new and we talked about how the best way to make friends is by being a friend. It is easy to focus on ourselves and our own needs when we are feeling lonely or left out. One of the best ways to cure that lonely feeling is to just go sit by someone else who looks lonely and then you are both not lonely any more! Ta-daa!

One of the biggest things I got out of the lesson is that we are the answer to one another's prayers. I love this thought so much. There have been so many times when I have been feeling down and someone drops by my house with cookies, or when doing my visiting teaching seemed to lift my spirits just as much as it lifted the sister I was visiting. I am so grateful for the prayers of friends meant to benefit me, and it is amazing when I can see that the prayers I have offered on behalf of someone else are answered. I am grateful for this restored gospel and I love our savior Jesus Christ so much. Tiny miracles truly do happen every day.

Also, I'm excited to get to know everyone in the ward more! This is looking like it is going to be a fun year.

:)

-Lisa

Bear Up Their Burdens with Ease

Shelly taught this Sunday's lesson and it was based on the talk by David A. Bednar called "Bear Up Their Burdens with Ease". Thanks for the lesson Shelly!

We talked about how spiritual loads can give you spiritual traction. A lot of the time, tasks that we need to do to help us be more sensitive to the spirit are hard to do and can feel like a load. My husband and I have actually been having a hard time going to the temple because we want to do endowments, but it takes so looong. We tell ourselves that we will go after work, then we get home and are tired, eat dinner and don't want to do anything else for the rest of the night. Then we tell ourselves that we are going to go on Saturday, but Saturday is the day that we run all the errands we didn't want to do during the week. We also save Saturdays for fun things that take a little longer that we don't have time to do after work.

Maybe this sounds familiar to some of you. Other spiritual burdens might be reading scriptures daily, saying our own personal prayers, visiting teaching, fasting, etc. I know that doing these things will help us to draw closer to Christ, and the time spent doing spiritual things is time well spent. We've just need to take the time to do them.

Anyways, feel free to comment below if you learned something special from the lesson! I know I'm going to try harder to get my husband and myself to the temple this month.

:)  Lisa

Listening to the Holy Ghost

Today's lesson was given by Esther, she did an awesome object lesson at the beginning relating a flashlight to the Holy Ghost. If you have a flashlight in your hand but don't take any kind of action, you are not going to get any light from it. The light only turns on when you push the button, and that doesn't happen unless you push the button yourself.

We discussed how it is easy to get comfortable with living our lives. We get used to having the Holy Ghost with us all the time and sometimes don't realize we have even been prompted to do something. We go from grace to grace in the gospel, sometimes it takes a little more work on our part (reading the scriptures longer, writing in journal more) to get to that next level, and only then do we noticeably recognize the Holy Ghost in our lives.

Preach my Gospel chapter 4 lists out a bunch of different ways that we can feel the spirit:

1. Spirit gives feelings of love, joy, peace, patience, meekness, gentleness, faith, and hope.
2. Gives ideas in the mind, feelings in the heart.
3. Occupies the mind and presses on the feelings.
4. Helps scriptures have strong effect.
5. Gives good feelings to teach if something is true.
6. Enlightens the mind.
7. Replaces darkness with light.
8. Strengthens the desire to avoid evil and obey the commandments.
9. Teaches truth and brings it to rememberance.
10. Gives feelings of peace and comfort.
11. guides to truth and shows things to come.
12. Reveals truth.
13. Guides and protects from deception.
14. Glorifies and bears record of God the Father and Jesus Christ.
15. Guides the words of humble teachers.
16. Recognizes and corrects sin.
17. Gives gifts of the Spirit.
18. Helps to perceive or discern the thoughts of others.
19. Tells what to pray for.
20. Tells what to do.
21. Helps the righteous speak with power and authority.
22. Testifies of the truth.
23. Sanctifies and brings remission of sins.
24. Carries truth to the heart of the listener.
25. Enhances skills and abilities.
26. Constrains (impels forward) or restrains (holds back).
27. Edifies both teacher and students.
28. Gives comfort.

I bet each of us have had some kind of spiritual experience in one of these ways. If you look in Preach my Gospel it lists out scriptures that you can look up, to see each of these in action.

I am glad the Holy Ghost is here to help us all out, I have definitely been filled with peace when I am worried and reassured when I am not sure which step in life to take next. 

Anyways, hope you all have a great Sunday!

-Lisa

The Cost and Blessings of Discipleship

Shelly gave the lesson again today and it was perfect as usual! It was on the talk by Elder Holland called The Cost and Blessings of Discipleship. I love Elder Holland's talks because he is bold and always says what needs to be said.

We talked about the story of the missionary who was spit on, had food thrown at her, and finally was hit in the back of the head with mashed potatoes as she was peacefully walking away. This is just one example of many, where members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints have been persecuted for trying to talk about our cherished beliefs.

Sometimes it is best just to walk away when we realize that a certain person does not want to hear what we have to say. We bear Christ's burden by standing for truth and not bending when difficult things happen, such as criticism and lost friendships, although both are hard.

This is an awesome quote from the talk about how Christ was loving but firm:
"There is a crucial difference between the commandment to forgive sin (which He had an infinite capacity to do) and the warning against condoning it (which He never ever did even once)."

When we see people sinning, we should still show our love for them, but should not give the impression that we approve of what they are doing. This has always been a hard thing for me to do, because I feel like showing my support for someone is inseprably tied to showing my love for them. There were some great examples of people who have done this in their lives in Relief Society today though.

I am so grateful to be a part of this gospel, I know Jesus Christ loves every one of us and I am so grateful that he atoned for our sins. I have learned to trust in the Lord's timing, in every aspect of life. I know he wants us all to be happy and sometimes he knows what we want better than we do. I know he loves all of his children, especially those who are lost, and I hope we can all help by showing love to others and doing what he would want us to do.

Your Four Minutes

This Sunday's lesson was taught by Shelly and she did a fantastic job! The lesson was based on a talk by Gary E. Stevenson called "Your Four Minutes" from the last general conference. Give it a read if you are looking for some uplifting material to brighten your day.

We reviewed the plan of salvation up on the white board, then focused on how our time here on Earth is the turning point for the rest of eternity. Olympic athletes exert their time and energy training, so when it comes time for them to compete they will be confident in themselves, knowing they have done their best and they will be able to perform at their best. Sometimes the time they have to compete and win is as little as four minutes. Compared to the hundreds (maybe thousands) of hours athletes have spent training, the time they actually spend competing is a tiny little blip on the radar.

This sports analogy can be applied to our eternal existence. We all prepared to come down to Earth before we got here, and now we are living in the "four minute" span where we are proving ourselves and running the race of life. The nice thing about being a member of the Church is we have a natural support group of other members to help us through the hard things that might happen, and we have checkpoints in the form of ordinances to help us realize we are on the right track. I feel like the sacrament is one of the less appreciated ordinances, maybe because we partake of it every Sunday and it is just a normal part of life for us, but it is an ordinance all the same. I like to pray during sacrament meeting, mentally review my week and then ask the Lord for help with improving myself next week. I'm glad we are able to have a weekly reminder of our Savior and of the Atonement. It helps me to keep moving in the right direction.  :)

We talked about this in the lesson, but what are some things you like to do to stay focused during the sacrament?

I like to set a scripture as a desktop background on my computer, with a plain white background. Feel free download this one if you want to!

Hope you all have a great week!
-Lisa

Love, the Essence of the Gospel II

The lesson today was taught by Deanna Jeffrey and it was based on the talk by President Tomas S. Monson "Love, the Essence of the Gospel." We just had this lesson a few weeks ago, but it is always good to have a refresher! Deanna got a good discussion going ways that we can forgive others. We talked about how emotional wounds leave scarring just like physical wounds do.

When a bone heals itself, the bone grows back to form a scar that is stronger than the rest of the bone. Likewise when an emotional scar heals, the person has a stronger character as a result of going through whatever emotional trial it was that left the scar.

We should always forgive those who wrong us, and need to remember to strike a balance between aknowledging that we have forgiven them and allowing ourselves to get in to the same emotionally scarring situation again.

When it comes to forgiving people, I always remind myself that everyone on Earth is a child of God, and that people are not perfect. Sometimes hurtful words were not meant to be hurtful, sometimes "wrong" actions taken were meant in a spirit of loving kindness and we simply perceived them the wrong way.

It is very rare that a person will purposely go out of their way to make your life harder. Most of the time it seems like we get mad at someone simply because we misunderstood what they were really trying to do or say. When someone does do something mean to you on purpose, remember they are walking the hard walk of life too, and we all deserve a break every now and then, and a fresh start.

Plus, when you forgive someone, you are no longer harboring those harsh festering angry feelings inside of you. You might still feel sad, but you will no longer feel angry and vengeful, and there will
always be some kind of peace that comes from forgiving someone else.

"But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you;" Matthew 5:44

We also talked about how sometimes we are unusually nice to strangers and we have a tendency to show our ugly sides to those who we love the most. I'm sure I can speak for all of us when I say I can definitely work on being a better person around my husband, and vice versa.

Anyways, hope you girls all have a good week! Make sure you re-read that conference talk by President Monson if you haven't read it in a while.

xoxox
Lisa

In the World, Not of the World

During the lesson today, I kept thinking of this song I heard while visiting a church of a different faith with my Mom. I forget what kind of Christians they were, but it seemed like the only reason they got together on Sunday was to console each other and talk about what they do not know. They sang a song that went like this:

"Where do we come from? What are we? Where are we going?"

And that was the whole song! I wanted to stand up and shout "I have the answers to all these questions! Everybody read the Book of Mormon!" Haha, but of course I didn't shout those things. The whole experience made me glad that I have known the answers to those questions since I was in Primary and sang "I am a Child of God." I am so grateful to be a member of this Church, and to have guidance from living prophets and apostles.

Bethany McBeth was nice enough to write up some of her thoughts on the lesson too. Thank you Bethany! Now on to her post:

Be in the world not of the world. Everyone has times where they stray and need to have their testimonies strengthened.  Always take the opportunities you are given to work and serve in the Church.  The world never has offered anything that will bring happiness, only temporary satisfaction.  God wants us to have true happiness in this life and in the life to come. Thats why we are here. We can always be forgiven, any voice that says we cannot, is Satan. Motherhood is so we can learn to be like God. We need to always have the spirit with us so that we are always in alignment with the lord.

I know that the Lord's plan for us is the best plan for our lives and for our eternal progress. We are here to make mistakes and learn from them and I have a testimony that we can always be forgiven for the sins that we commit because the atonement is eternal and all encompassing.  I say this in Jesus name. Amen.

Mothers

This week's post is written by Bethany Madsen. I would add some of my own thoughts, but I have been doing that a lot lately so here is Bethany's post:

Mothers' Day is such a special day to celebrate women. Whether we are technically mothers or not, no matter where we are we are endowed with a divine nurturing trait. We don't speak a whole lot about Heavenly Mother, but I can only imagine how perfect her motherly love is. We were created in the image of God and similar to our Heavenly Mother we have the innate trait (or should I say talent) to nurture. We can use this to bless our children but also to bless those around us who need our love.

I'm so grateful for this day, to take time to contemplate and appreciate the women in my life who have impacted me for the better. One of those important role models is an elderly woman who isn't a mother herself. Yet I have learned so much about godly love from her example.
May we take this day to contemplate the kind of women we want to be. Let us use our divine gift of nurturing to make a difference in others lives.

I know this church is true and that our Heavenly Parents continually look over us, and that they love each one of us so much. They have blessed us with individual talents special to us so that we may be better disciples and serve others. In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.

April Birthdays

Happy Birthday to all you girls who were born in April!!!

Ali Chezik
Angie Facer
Elizabeth Lowe

Love, the Essence of the Gospel

I have wept in the night

For the shortness of sight

That to somebody’s need made me blind;

But I never have yet

Felt a tinge of regret

For being a little too kind.

Lacee Jimenez gave a wonderful lesson today, based on the talk by President Thomas S. Monson called "Love, the Essence of the Gospel." We talked about realizing that everyone in this world is a child of God and that if we always remember that, we will be able to live more harmoniously with others, especially when our patience is wearing thin *ahem* bad drivers. We can probably all work on being a little more kind to others.

Jesus Christ is the perfect example in anything. He was bold in spreading the gospel yet kind to those who needed comfort, patience, healing, and encouragement. We should better follow his example not only in our interactions with the everyday passerby, but especially with our family members.

Love should be the very heart of family life. I'm hoping I can create a home environment that welcomes the spirit, bolsters confidence in family members, and fosters healthy relationships. For me, open communication and empathy has been the key to keeping a happy and healthy relationship with my husband.

I'm so grateful for this restored gospel and for our savior Jesus Christ, who loved each of us enough to suffer all kinds of pain so that we would have someone who can empathize with us, and who can be our advocate with the Father when we finish our imperfect mortal journey. 

What are you trying to do to better show your love for your family members? I would love to see your thoughts in the comments below.

Love you girls!
Lisa

Repentance, Faith, and Testimonies

Good evening everyone! I need to get better at posting on Sunday when the Relief Society lesson is fresh in our minds. But this way we can all have a mid-week refresher right? This week's blog post was written by Angie (thank you Angie). I appreciated the RS lesson last Sunday because it made me examine my own life, and I found areas where I can improve when it comes to repentance, faith, and working on my testimony. I hope you all got something out of the lesson too!

Now on to Angie's post-

Yvonne gave a great lesson on faith and repentance from our Joseph Fielding Smith book. Faith and repentance go hand in hand for me. You can't believe Heavenly Father will forgive your sins without faith that he can.

Yvonne asked a lot of great questions that make us think. Like "how can we show our love for someone who needs to be lead towards repentance?"

I immediately thought of an example: Christ was the ultimate example to us about compassion. Did he turn away from someone who had sinned? No. Did he welcome you with open arms and said tell me all your worries? Yes. We should do the same. Most of my friends including my best friends are not members. What kind of friend would I be if I juggled them because they sinned different than I do?



Sencond, how are we working on our testimonies? Sometimes we forget we have them but we can never deny our testimonies. We are just lying to ourselves. We all have our own ways of building our testimonies. For me it's a constant reminder. When look at my wedding ring I think about the temple covenants I made nearly 3 years ago, and I am reminded that families are forever and I must do everything in my power to keep those happy thoughts there.

Third. Why do we need to repent? Why seems like and obvious question. It's not always the case for someone else. When we repent we are excepting the atonement. We are brought closer to Heavenly Father, and our burdens are lifted. I know when I repent it feels like I lost 100 lbs off my shoulders. Why wouldn't you want to feel close to our savior and have your burdens lifted?

We don't have to punish ourselves. That's Satan talking saying you can do that tomorrow. Procrastination is one of Satan's tricks. You will feel much better if you take action and you repent sooner rather than later.

I know that when I repent I feel like a new woman. I say these things in the name of Jesus Christ amen.

-Angie Facer

Provident Living

Here are some quick notes from the combined 3rd hour lesson on Sunday. We learned some great things and it was a good reminder to get your 72 hour kits together if you haven't already (Jeff and I still need to do ours!). Thanks to Ali Chezik for taking these notes for us!

-Lisa

Emergency Preparedness- 72 Hour Kits

• What is a 72 hour kit?
• A collection of basic household items your household may need in case of an emergency
• Reasons for a 72 hour kit (examples):
• E. Coli outbreak in water supply in Lindon
• Apartment caught on fire
• Ice storms & tornadoes in Midwest
• Recent Ice Storm in Texas, causing everyone to be stuck in their homes
• Seattle: Earthquakes, Mudslide, Tsunamis
• Factors to consider when building a 72 hour kit:
• Make sure the food you include you will actually eat
• Medical issues requiring medicine or special supplies (such as diabetes)
• Your environment and likely environmental disasters
• Family composition (special needs for babies, children, elderly)
• 72 hour kits need to be made individually for each member of your family
• Store in backpacks for easy removal and transporting
• Update kits regularly
• Update every 6 months
• Tip: Always update around General Conference
• Rotate food before expiration dates
• Rotate clothes for appropriate season
• Replace clothing for children to reflect current size
• Spiritual preparedness
• Scriptures
• Patriarchal blessing
• Consecrated oil
• Water
• Water filter
• Water storage drums
• water bottles with filters
• Store 2 liter soda bottles filled with water in each room
• Food Storage
• Idea: Sacrifice 1-2 tax returns to build food storage

Provident Living Components

• Enjoying the present while providing for the future
• 2 Nephi Chapter 5 vs 9-17
• Physical Health- Why is it important?
• What we do now will affect us later on
• We never know what will be required of us in future
• Lower medical costs
• Affects our ability to act both in emergencies and day-to-day
• Our bodies are temples
• Physical Health- What does that include?
• Exercise
• Eat well
• Quality sleep (minimum of 6 hours)
• Keep surroundings clean
• Adequate medical care & health insurance
• cultivate good relationships with family and friends
• Resource Management- What is it?
• Resource Management = Money Management
• Resource Management- what does it include?
• Budgets/ Financial planning
• Emergency fund
• Time management
• Education

Creating a Christ Centered Home

This Sunday our lesson came from the Relief Society manual on Joseph Fielding Smith, chapter 4. 

We had a great discussion about families. Ironically enough, I had been contemplating this subject the week before. I was somewhat worn down, thinking of all the trials my children will have to face in the continually degrading world. I was weighed down with the realization that the constant pressure to accept immoral practices as if they were moral has overcome much of the population.  "How am I going to help my children remember true happiness comes through God's way?" These words repeatedly ran through my head. 

I'd gone to visit my family in my safe and comfortable home where I'd grown up. My mom and sister wanted to go to the store, so I tagged along. We were driving and having a simple conversation, when the topic that had been weighing on my mind was brought up. I asked my mom if the change I was noticing in our little mostly-LDS hometown was because I was older and more aware or because I was no longer in the safe high school bubble living at home? She simply responded, "Yes." I sat quiet for a moment. Then, my mom said something that re-shaped my perspective, "You didn't notice as much before because you were living at home. ***You create the environment your children will know.***" Wow! Truth? Yes! Something I'd always known, but for some reason, it hit me in that moment. I realized to a deeper extent than ever before, that I have the ability, along side my Heavenly Father, the Savior, and my willing husband, to create an environment that welcomes the Spirit. My influence, as a woman, is strong here. Stronger than any negative outside force. With God on my side, the house becomes a home. A home for my children. A home where The Spirit can teach and be heard. I have the ability to form this environment as a woman. I have been given this sacred stewardship to raise children in righteousness, in a righteous home (when the time will come). How can women not find this empowering? I am so incredibly grateful for the chance I have to build the most important unit of any perspective- the family. After my mom made this life changing comment, my wise little sister, a first-time mother of just 2 months, reminded me, "The future is as bright as your faith! Remember that quote by Pres. Monson?" Yes. Have faith, sisters! The future of your family and your own children is as bright as the faith and experiences you try your best to provide in the walls of your own home. A wonderful thing to remember, as well, is these precious children are God's children, too. He is watching out for them in all the ways we feel we can't. I find that comforting, maybe you will, too. But, in our weakness we can find strength (Ether 12:27). Trust in Him, follow the Spirit. You're a daughter of God. You were meant to do this!

In our efforts to create a Christ centered home it is of utmost importance to remember the balance that is had in supporting and sustaining your husband. And vice versa. We have different roles to fulfill. Marriage is a partnership. Not one above the other, and not one below the other. The best way to progress is to build, rather than tear down. This is true of any situation. It is important, then, to support and sustain our husbands. I loved the definition our teacher gave of "sustaining", I'm going to paraphrase: "Sustaining: To do your best part to help a person fulfill their role." We would benfit to not be afraid to sustain our husbands. We sustain the prophet. He is God's mouthpiece. And our husbands are our family's patriarch's, just as someone needs to be the matriarch. I like to think of a business. In a well run business everyone has a role to fulfill. People are put into positions that best suit their abilties and natural skills. When everyone fills their role to their best ability, the business runs smoothly and the workers are satisfied. There are times where some people have to fill bits and pieces of the roles of others for a period to keep the business afloat, because a worker may be sick, or not present. If the fill-in worker were to do this for a long time, while also attempting to fulfil their main role, they would become tired, weak, and even depressed. Then, both the roles in the company would suffer. Unfortunately, this can happen to a worker no matter how noble their efforts may be. But, when the ill or missing worker returns, and they fulfill their role, the business is back at its peak. The business can then move forward and upward.  

So, like last week for me, days of doubt may come. But "Doubt your doubts before you doubt your faith!" -Pres. Uchtdorf. With faith in God's eternal and unchanging truths, the future of your family will be as bright as your faith! 

I know Heavenly Father hears our prayers. Don't hesitate to go to Him! He loves you. Yes, I know this. Jesus Christ is our Savior. His love is infinite, as is His atonement. He lives. His atonement is a real power. We need it daily to strengthen us. I know families can be together forever. I'm so thankful for this. I bear a humble witness by the Holy Ghost that these things are true. If you aren't sure, pray, and keep praying. You will know someday. That's a promise of experience. Love you sisters! 

Elise Gardner 

P.S.

Remember to pray for the missionaries. 

Teaching with the Spirit

Deanna gave a great lesson today, it was based on the talk by David M. McConkie called "Teaching with the Power and Authority of God." We discussed how a teacher needs to be prepared to teach a lesson, and the students need to be willing to learn. When a teacher is fully prepared to teach, then they need to be willing to let go of the prepared lesson in order to follow the promptings of the spirit. I always found that part of teaching to be one of the hardest things to do, and you need to be spiritually prepared (keeping the commandments, reading daily scriptures, etc) in order to even have that experience. But when it happens, and you are able to use your lesson plan more as a guideline and less as a rigorous schedule, then you are able to speak to the hearts of individuals through the promptings of the Spirit, and those going to church seeking comfort or answers to questions are reassured that God is aware of them and everything they are going through.

This can also be applied to any other kind of teaching, especially (I would imagine) teaching in parenthood. Teaching children is one of the most important things we can do in this life, and it is so awesome to know that we don't have to do it alone because we can have the power of God on our side. If we are prepared, we will know what to say in any situation! I bet that would come in handy when we all have teenagers someday.

I am so glad I am a member of this church, and I hope I can get better at reading my scriptures daily, so that I can be prepared at all hours of the day, to teach on demand, and to have a good understanding of the gospel to draw on when times are hard.

Feel free to comment below if you have anything else to add. Hope you all have a great week, and see you next Sunday!

-Lisa

Free printable! From LDS Printables

Families are Forever

This weekend was Stake Conference! It seemed like the main theme of the whole thing was missionary work, but I just couldn't stop thinking about how wonderful it is that our families will be together forever. The speakers kept mentioning that when all is said and done, and we are no longer on the Earth, the thing that will matter most is the relationships we have developed and the covenants we have kept. It was a good reminder that the things that seem most important now (work, education, accumulating shiny things) are definitely not what matters most, and pale in comparison to the true importance of maintaining good relationships with our spouse, children, parents, siblings, other family members, and friends.

We were counseled to have open and honest communication with our spouses, to go over the little things that might bug us (like where to put the bananas), and to come to an agreement on those little things that don't really matter.

Another tiny theme I noticed is recognizing the Lord's signature in our lives. I love this so much. He really is a part of everything, and it is nice to go to the temple to feel especially close to him.  :)

Love you girls!

Missionary Work

Deanna Jeffrey gave an amazing lesson on missionary work yesterday. 

She shared the quote from Elder Neilsen's talk:Hastening the Lord's Game Plan:

Several years ago I needed to speak to the wife of one of the bishops in our stake, so I called their home. A young son answered the phone. I said, “Hello. Is your mother there?”

His reply: “Yes, she is. I’ll get her. Who is this?”

My response: “Tell her it’s President Nielsen.”

There was a short pause, and then, in a very animated voice, I heard, “Hey, Mom, President Hinckley’s on the phone!”

I can’t imagine what she must have been thinking. It had to be the longest walk to the phone she ever had. The thought did cross my mind: “Should I?” I didn’t, but we had quite a laugh. Now that I think about it, she must have been so disappointed just talking to me.

What would you do if the prophet of the Lord really called you? Well, he has! President Thomas S. Monson, as he did once again this morning, has called each one of us to a very important work. He said, “Now is the time for members and missionaries to come together, to work together, to labor in the Lord’s vineyard to bring souls unto Him”

To read or watch the entire talk click here

Missionary work is often seen as an overwhelming calling we receive as members of the church. But it can be easily simplified.

Missionary Work has two parts.

1. The first part is the missionary. I want you to think of your favorite treat. Mine is chocolate cake. As a missionary it is our job to see the gospel as our favorite treat. If you do not feel this way then now is the time to work on your personal testimony. 

2. Once we see the gospel as the gift (treat) it is then we focus on the second part, work. The work is inviting other to share in the special treat that we have. If you truly love and appreciate something you want others to know about it and enjoy it too.

It is our stewardship to share what we have and know to be true. Only by being bold will we see the lord helping us to share our most personal thoughts and testimonies. 

We urge you to look for opportunities to share God's love this week and post comments about your stories so we can share them here on the blog!

xo your relief society sister

Endure to the End

Abbey Thornock gave a great lesson today - technically it was about the plan of salvation, but that is such a broad topic so we spent a large portion of the time talking about the atonement and enduing to the end. This might sound weird but I love talking about enduring to the end because it reminds me that I've still got a long way to go, and I need to actively keep working at being a good person. Can't give up yet! And talking about the atonement makes me feel so grateful to God for everything in life. I always feel so blessed, humbled, and grateful that Jesus Christ would do someting like that for us.  :)

Anyways, just thought I'd jot down some quick notes here of thoughts I had, topics from the discussion, and points from the lesson. Hope you can find this useful or inspiring in some way! Please do make a comment if you had any special thoughts during the lesson that I didn't include here.

1.  The faithful will inherit eternal life with their families in the presence of Heavenly Father. This is such a great doctrine, and it's so comforting to know that we will still be with our family members after this life is over.
2. When enduring to the end, try to keep an eternal perspective and ask yourself what you are learning from your trials. It will make the big trials in this life seem more like stepping stones, rather than insurmountable hurdles.
3. Don't worry about being perfect! Women especially seem to have a preoccupation with being perfect at everything, but we need to realize that Christ's atonement makes up for our shortcomings. We still need to try our best, but we don't need to be overwhelmed at how hard it is, because He will help us.
4. "No one is perfect, that's why there was an atonement." - Some inspired words from Abbey. Let's all remember this!



The atonement is a gift - you need to choose to use it.  :)

5. I love this quote from Joseph F. Smith "I am sure that we all love the Lord. I know that he lives, and I look forward to that day when I shall see his face, and I hope to hear his voice say unto me: 'Come ye plessed of my Father inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world."
6. While we're talking about enduring to the end, let's not forget about this:

Also, this might seem obvious but it's just another thought I had today. God created us and the world we live in. He made the air we breathe and it is because of him that we can move around and do our daily tasks of going to work, going to school, taking care of children, playing, eating, reading. For everything we are and everything we do, we can never repay the Lord for what he has given us. But he doesn't mind and on top of all this he sent his only son to atone for all of our sins. Not because we deserve it or anything, but because he loves us and he wants us to be happy and to be able to live with him again someday. I am so amazed at the love he has for us, it always makes me want to be a better person.

Love you girls! I hope you each have an amazing week.

-Lisa

You are so loved

We had a fantastic lesson by Yvonne Styles today. I'm not going to summarize the whole thing, but I'll give some basic things that I took away from the lesson.

1. You are not alone in your trials, God knows you and loves you and He is always there for you. If you ever feel yourself getting lost in despair and hopelessness, turn to Him in prayer and remember that He has total control over everything. If you are following the commandments He will not let you go through any trial alone, and everything that happens to you will happen for a reason.
2. Always try to align your will with God's.
3. True happiness comes not when your life is perfect, but when you trust in God and choose to be happy even though things are not going as you planned them.
4. "Trust in the Lord with all thine heart and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways aknowledge him and he shall direct thy path." Proverbs 3:5
5. We also listened to an excerpt from a talk by Jeffrey R. Holland called "An Ensign to the Nations." Youguys should definitely read it if you are looking for a little extra spiritual nourishment throughout the week. 

The lamb on Christ's shoulders represents each of us.

Did you have any thoughts or special insights about this week's lesson? I'd love to see what youguys thought in the comments below.

Love you all!

-Lisa

Staying Close to Our Heavenly Father

This week the fabulous Angie Facer wrote a post for us. Thanks, Angie!

"This was the first lesson from the new Joesph Fielding Smith book. It talked about Staying close to Heavenly Father. One of the ways was missionary work and how technology helps missionary work with blogs, lds.org, mormon.org and social media.

Some ways we came up with to also stay close are:

Turn off technology

Go outside in nature

Read our patriarchal blessings which are from God 

Ask for fathers blessings or husbands blessings to be reminded more personally what Heavenly Father wants us to hear

Our teacher also shared this video with us, reminding us also of our true identity: 

I have a strong testimony that Heavenly Father knows all of us individually. He can speak us is through blessings and prayers. I made a goal for myself that I would read my scriptures every night before bed. I cant describe the love I feel through out the day when I read the night before. I sleep better, I feel like I do better at work, I  more attentive to Hansen's needs while he is at school. I also asked for a fathers blessing this past Christmas from my father in law and it said that if I was diligent in my prayers and scripture study that I would have the desires of my heart. And he really reminded me that I know he listens when I pray and knows what those true desires are."

Another Thought on Goals for the New Year

A Wonderful Reminder as We Make and Keep Goals This Year!

While reflecting upon Sister Eliza Blank's messages about goal keeping last week, I kept thinking back to Pres. Uchtdorf's first presidency message in June titled "Walking in Circles." He begins with a story showing the importance of having clear landmarks along our journey (whatever that journey or goal may be). He begins the story by asking the question- "Have you ever heard the old saying that people who get lost tend to walk in circles?" He continues:

Jan L. Souman, a German psychologist, wanted to determine scientifically if this was true. He took participants of an experiment to a large forest area and to the Sahara desert and used a global positioning system to track where they went. They had no compass or any other device. Instructions to them were simple: walk in a straight line in the direction indicated.

  Dr. Souman later described what happened. “[Some] of them walked on acloudy day, with the sun hidden behind the clouds [and with no reference points in view]. … [They] all walked in circles, with [several] of them repeatedly crossing their own path without noticing it.” Other participants walked while the sun was shining, with faraway reference points in view. “These … followed an almost perfectly straight course.”

  This study has been repeated by others with different methodologies. All returned similar results.

Without visible landmarks, human beings tend to walk in circles.

In Relief Society, we discussed the importance of having a plan when making goals. Without a clear plan in mind, or visible landmarks, we will only wander mindlessly towards our goals. Although Pres. Uchtdorf focuses on the goal of eternal life, this life principle can be applied to any goal we are trying to achieve. A couple landmarks he mentions, and could be helpful to you in your goal-keeping, are the scriptures and General Conference.

Scriptures: The scriptures are the word of God. They are God’s landmarks that show the way we should travel in order to draw closer to our Savior and reach worthy goals.

General Conference: The instructions given at general conference are another landmark that can help us know if we are on course.Are we noting and applying this worthwhile counsel? Are we recognizing and walking toward these real and valuable landmarks?

True landmarks, like the scriptures and general conference, can give us clear direction along our path through the voice of the Holy Ghost. They give purpose and meaning to our lives.

"It’s not enough to go solely by our instincts.

It’s not enough to have the best of intentions.

It won’t do to rely only on our natural senses."


I pray that we may all walk in certainty toward our goals this year as we set our course by landmarks, spiritual landmarks, that have been given to us by a loving Heavenly Father and that we may make necessary "course corrections" as we "orient ourselves" towards them. I love this gospel and am so grateful for the knowledge we have of the Plan of Salvation! I'm so glad we have Jesus Christ to heal us and make us better when we need help. I pray we may always remember what matters most! LOVE YOU ALL!

-Elli Jensen