Big Hunks

Last Sunday we as a Relief Society Presidency taught the lesson on supporting the priesthood. We broke the lesson up into three sections:

1. What is the priesthood?  
2. Why is the priesthood important?
3. How can we as women support the priesthood holders in our lives?

My first counselor focused on the first section and drew a fabulous history of the priesthood on a chalkboard. Then she had her friend Marcus come speak to the sisters about what it's like to obtain and remain worthy of the priesthood. My second counselor focused on the second section, and she led a discussion about responsibilities of the priesthood that we may take for granted. I focused on the last section, and I mainly wanted to discuss with the sisters ways we as a relief society can support the priesthood holders in our ward. I put together this outline and distributed it as a handout to all the sisters in attendance so they could follow along in our discussion:

Supporting the Priesthood

·        Question #1: What does it mean to support the priesthood?

 Quote #1: To “support” the priesthood means to promote the interests or cause of; … to uphold or defend as valid or right.

 

 

·        Question #2: Why do we as women need to support the priesthood?

Quote #2: Men have no greater claim than women upon the blessings that issue from the Priesthood . . . Just as everyone in the Church benefits from the priesthood, so everyone is responsible for honoring and sustaining the priesthood.

Quote #3: While the father is the leader in the home, his wife is his most important companion, partner, and counselor. A husband and wife must work together to strengthen their family and teach their children the principles of the gospel. By fulfilling her role as counselor to her husband, a woman can reinforce her husband’s position as head of the home and encourage greater family unity.

 

 

·        Question #3: How are you currently supporting the priesthood holders in your life? This could be your Bishop, your dad, your brother, your significant other, your friends, etc.

 ·        Question #4: How can we as a relief society support the priesthood holders in our own ward?

 

Quote #4: We honor the priesthood when we treat our husbands with the same gentleness, kindness, and love they should maintain as bearers of the priesthood. The Prophet Joseph Smith counseled the Relief Society to “teach women how to behave towards their husbands, to treat them with mildness and affection. When a man is borne down with trouble, if he can meet a smile instead of an argument or a murmur—it will calm down his soul and soothe his feelings; when the mind is going to despair, it needs a solace of affection and kindness.”

 

Quote #5: When a wife has a positive attitude about her husband’s duties in the Church, it makes it easier for him to carry out those duties. Her attitude also communicates to their children that having the priesthood in the home is a great blessing.

 

Quote #6: As women in the Church, we can have great influence on the priesthood holders in our home. We can support and encourage our husbands, fathers, brothers, and sons in fulfilling their priesthood responsibilities. If we request a blessing and then honor that blessing, we communicate our support of the priesthood. We can also strengthen the priesthood bearers in our lives by including them in our prayers.

 

Quote #7: We must work continually to perfect our own characters and fulfill our responsibilities. We may also need to encourage and gently remind priesthood holders to honor and magnify their priesthood callings. Young women as well as mothers can do much to encourage young men to attend their meetings and prepare to serve missions. Elder David B. Haight said: “You young ladies have a profound influence on young, masculine behavior. Your influence with young men is important. You encourage Church standards and dress and conduct.”

 

Quote #8: We support our leaders when we accept Church callings willingly and fulfill them faithfully, realizing that a call from the priesthood is a call from the Lord. We can honor the counsel of priesthood leaders—our husbands, home teachers, bishops or branch presidents, stake or district leaders, and General Authorities.

 

Quote #9: We should refrain from criticizing priesthood leaders and teach our children to do the same. Sustaining and supporting the priesthood is more than just raising our hands or saying that we support the priesthood. It is learning, praying, obeying, and serving in a good cause.

 

Ways I will support the priesthood in my life:

 

 

 

I feel like having the handout with all the discussion topics and quotes was helpful in involving all the sisters in the discussion. It also gave them an outlet to write down thoughts and a way to refer back to our discussion later in life.

 

After my portion of the lesson, we all participated in a service project for the Elder's Quorum. I passed around a box of Big Hunk candy bars and note cards. Each sister wrote a "love note" on a card explaining why she is grateful for the priesthood in her life and thanking the men for all their hard work. Then we attached the cards to the candy bars and I distributed them to the Elder's Quorum after class. The mixed expressions of surprise and joy  as we handed them our gifts was priceless, and I am so grateful for the opportunity we had to serve the men in our lives who do so much for us!

 

And a Month Later . . . Happy Halloween!

Do you ever have one of those days when you're walking around a store somewhere and then *ZING!* an idea hits you? Well, that happened to me at Tai Pan trading last month when I saw these adorable ceramic Halloween plates selling for $5 a piece. Good gravy, do they think I'm made of money or what? The plates were orange and had cute vinyl lettering that said phrases like, "Happy Halloween" and "Trick or Treat." As I was standing in the aisle drooling over all the fabulous decorations, a stand caught my eye that was selling blank ceramic plates for 99 cents each! There were purple plates, green plates, orange plates . . . and then I suddenly remembered this pin on Pinterest I had that explained how to do Sharpie art. BAZINGA! I knew just what to do so I could have these adorable plates at a fraction of the cost! My sister and I got creative with some freehand we made these:

 

I have seen people use Sharpie art on bowls and mugs as well. If you’re able to get Acrylic Sealing Spray, use that with oil-based paint Sharpies. Otherwise, go with regular Sharpies but don't get too emotionally attached because I heard the art fades over time.

 

 

Other than this, Halloween was mainly full of class, work, and hours of studying! My sister and I did bake some zucchini muffins and brownies to bring over to our friends' apartment for a scary movie marathon. We watched "Poltergeist" and "The Ring." Yikes. I think I will stick with the "cutesy" side of Halloween from now on! 

The Errand of Angels is Given to Women

Last month was our visiting teaching workshop for the Young-Single-Adult 14th Ward. It was the first relief society activity that we as a presidency put on, and it was a huge success thanks to all of the wonderful sisters in our ward!


We began the workshop with a soup, salad, and baked potato bar. Marie Hucke, my 2nd counselor, and her committee members had decorated the tables with red tablecloths, gorgeous fall flowers in vases, crepe-paper pumpkins with candy corns in the middle, plate centers with a visiting teaching quote on it, and magnets that we designed that had different visiting teaching ideas on it. We also made copies of "Getting to Know You" papers for each sister to fill out so they could get to know the sisters they visit teach. Marie made a seating arrangement so the sisters could sit next to their companions and sisters they visit. There were conversation circles on the table that prompted discussions to help them get to know each other.

After dinner, we had our fabulous stake relief society presidency talk about the importance of visiting teaching and share some experiences they had. Then I closed with my testimony and gave the stake leaders a little thank-you gift of chocolates and a card. We had each sister put away her own chair and help clear the tables, and then the bishopric and their wives stuck around to help do the dishes so clean up went quick. Overall, it was a great activity and I hope it will help inspire our sisters to do their visiting teaching. Visiting teaching is central to relief society and the best way we can minister and look out for the needs of the sisters in our ward. I am proud to be a relief society sister!

 

 

 

 

 

"You will never have a more affirming experience in your life of the Lord's understanding of you and how He loves you then when you're seeking to watch over another of His children."

~Julie B. Beck

 

 

Our cute magnets we gave each sister with visiting teaching ideas.

Relief Society Birthday Bucket!

Crepe-paper pumpkins filled with candy

 



Hiking Zion's Subway

Call me crazy, but I woke up at 6 AM this Saturday morning to drive down to Zion's National Park with possibly the cutest boy on planet Earth. We decided to spend the day together hiking The Subway. I had never hiked it before and was not disappointed! With fall just around the corner, the weather was perfect and the trail weaving through the ravine was stunning. We climbed over boulders, splashed through water, and slid down waterfalls all the way to the tunnel carved in the cliff called "The Subway." We held random conversations, laughed a ton, and met people from all over the world. How fortunate are we to live in Utah and to have this beauty within reach! We ended the day cleaning ourselves up and making chicken fettuccine at my house for dinner. Today was the perfect Saturday :)



See? He's pretty dang cute!

Just starting out!




I <3 Fall!

 

The Subway



Inside the Subway



We did it!

My Daily To-Do List

I don't know about you, but I love lists. I write lists for everything. Grocery lists, to-do lists, wish-lists, project lists, you name it! I write lists because they keep me organized and productive. I feel like I am in control of my day and can better manage my time when I have structure. But despite all of these lists, at the end of the day I feel that there is never enough time to accomplish everything I'd like to. There is always one project left unfinished, one more item awaiting completion, the last checkmark calling my name. A woman's work truly is never done.

But maybe it's ok that I am only human. Maybe it's even a good thing that I will never have a finished to-do list in my life. President Uchtdorf says it best:

Isn't it true that we often get so busy? And, sad to say, we even wear our busyness as a badge of honor, as though being busy, by itself, was an accomplishment or sign of a superior life. 

           Is it?

I think of our Lord and Exemplar, Jesus Christ, and His short life among the people of Galilee and Jerusalem. I have tried to imagine Him bustling between meetings or multitasking to get a list of urgent things accomplished.

I can’t see it.

Instead I see the compassionate and caring Son of God purposefully living each day. When He interacted with those around Him, they felt important and loved. He knew the infinite value of the people He met. He blessed them, ministered to them. He lifted them up, healed them. He gave them the precious gift of His time.

These inspiring words by an apostle really put life into perspective for me. I realized that I don't want to live my life at such a fast pace that I lose the time I am so frantically trying to save. I want to live each day purposely, and as a result I decided to make a different kind of list today.

Although this new to-do list seems daunting at first, I know that it will be worth every effort! Below is one of my favorite video clips of all time. The simple message has done a lot for me over the course of my life. It especially lent me inspiration for this blog post, and I think it will help get me started and properly motivated for this new to-do list of mine. I can't wait to see how my week goes! Enjoy lovelies :)

Slow Cooker Chicken Caesar Sandwiches

Are you ready for the easiest dinner ever made? Prepare to be amazed. My sister and I tried this recipe last week and you bet your bottom dollar we are making it again this week! Say hello to slow cooker chicken Caesar sandwiches.

 

 

 

Slow Cooker Chicken Caesar Sandwiches

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

1 cup Caesar dressing

1/2 cup Parmesan, shredded

1 tablespoon dried parsley

2 teaspoons pepper

2 cups romaine lettuce, shredded

Hamburger buns

 

 

Arrange chicken breasts in a single layer in base of slow cooker. Pour ½ cup water into basin and cook on low for 3-4 hours. Remove chicken from slow cooker and shred with two forks. Drain water from crock pot. Return chicken to basin and stir in caesar dressing, parmesan, parsley, and pepper. Cook on low for 30 minutes. Remove and serve on buns with romaine.

Gone Camping

This weekend I escaped the monotony of everyday life to go on a young single adult campout at Navajo Lake. My sister and I headed up the canyon right after work, and the drive alone was enough to make me sing of happiness! The green forest landscape against the vivid red cliffs was absolutely breathtaking. As I took in the sight, I felt the weight from my stressful week begin to lift off my shoulders.


We were half-way to the lake when it began to rain. Hard. Assuming that our ward members had ditched the lake and headed for cover, we passed Navajo Lake in search of the cabin we would be lodging in that night. We had a map and instructions to follow the signs with orange tape. Well, the map was nothing but a line scribbled on a half-sheet of paper and there were NO signs with orange tape to be found. The dirt road quickly became a mud slide streaming with water. After about a half-hour of searching in frustration, we decided to give up and get a pizza in town instead. But just as we were passing Navajo Lake, we saw a figure standing on the side of the road. As we got closer, I peered through my window and realized it was the YSA bishop from the 12th ward! He flagged us down and said that everyone was down by the lake having dinner. Hallelujah!



Navajo Lake

The sun started to break through the clouds as we ate our hamburgers grilled on the camp stove, and the rain let up just enough so we could go walk around the edge of the lake. The water reflecting the sky was stunning, and I couldn't get enough of that fresh mountain air in my lungs! After exploring for a bit, we had our stake president Brother Esplin speak to us for a fireside. He spoke about Satan's biggest tool - discouragement. He said discouragement is dangerous because it allows for us to look back at things that happened in the past and lose hope for our future. We discussed different ways we can continue to live life with hope and remember our worth, such as relying on the Savior's atonement, looking to positive role models in our lives for guidance, staying true to our values, etc. I felt truly inspired by the topic, and the discussion combined with the beautiful mountain backdrop made me feel revitalized.









Members of YSA 2nd Stake
 

After the fireside, we played volleyball on the lake's edge until it was too dark to see. Then we loaded into our vehicles to head to the cabin. By sheer miracle, by Dodge Stratus made it down the winding, muddy path to the cabin hidden in the forest. The place was quaint, complete with a vintage cook stove and a massive stone fireplace in the center of the living room. We played the card game Scum for awhile and then the girls went to bed upstairs while the men set up a tent outside. Although the mattress was lumpy and I had seen way too many large insects crawling around for comfort, I fell asleep immediately and woke up bright and early the next morning for breakfast. The bishop from the 12th ward cooked us pancakes, eggs, and sausage on the camp stove, and it was delicious! It had rained all night so the world seemed shiny and new. We took a group picture and headed for home. I am so grateful for the opportunity I had to breathe in some fresh air this weekend and clear my head. Sometimes life gets so crazy busy, and it takes going somewhere new to disconnect from all that & find yourself again. I feel more alive among the trees.