A Game of Chance...

Hello! I promised that I would post a fun activity tonight that would work for any group! This activity would be perfect for Activity Days, Mutual (especially a YM/YW combined activity) and even a daddy/daughter or mother/daughter activity night. 

I was at work when the idea hit me but I had come across some Youtube videos of it (google it and you will find some funny videos) and then I remembered the time that this happened to me. I was at my now ex sister laws house and this was just when Harry Potter was coming out and getting big and they came out with the Bertie Bott jelly beans. UGH! She had taken a bag of those and mixed them in with two bags of regular Jelly Bellys. Talk about mean! 

Anyway, if you haven't guess by now, I am talking about the Bean Boozled game/challenge (seriously, if you don't know what I am talking about google it). Now, I have found some stores in my area carry this game but I have also seen online where you can just buy the bags or boxes of beans for relatively cheap (again, another quick search on google will give you several options). 

Grab two beans of the same color (example: sour milk and coconut, vomit and peach, etc.) and put them in a container. Condiment cups are perfect for this and number them. You'll want to keep track of what flavors are in which cup. Then have some willing victims participants and have one of them pick a number. Then they each grab one bean. Who ever gets the normal or good flavor gets a point. Now if they both get the good flavor they both get a point if its the bad flavor-no points. You will probably want to have a garbage can readily available and some bottles of water to help those who loose their round. 

This makes for a fun night of laughter and entertainment so make sure you get videos or pictures!

Daughter of a King...I am a Princess!

Hi...it's me again (in case you forgot). I know it has been ages since I have posted anything of real value but being a first time mother, a wife and working has taken up a lot of my time and to be honest I am exhausted. You get it, right? I can't possibly be the only one who is feeling like that.

I have had this idea in my head for a while, especially the closer that school had become. Many of you know that I am no longer in the YW program but am currently serving as an Activity leader of our girls ages 8-11 and we have struggled with the idea of unity and inclusion. Most of the time, the girls are pretty good. However, there are times when they are not so good. This also has come to my mind after I, myself, personally have felt like a lone little gold fish swimming amongst sharks. I have felt lonely and finding it difficult to want to go to my meetings because I feel that I just don't fit in....anywhere in my ward. Which is a great ward...I...uh...just...don't...fit....well.

So this idea of mine (and I apologize that this doesn't have any pics yet because this is still an idea in my head and haven't put it into reality...just yet...hoping to in November) involves our favorite Disney Princesses and a little known kids book that I have blogged about before (you can read about it HERE), the Paper Bag Princess. 

Every girl has a favorite Disney Princess...and if they don't they are lying *wink wink*. There is Aurora, Snow White, Merida, Belle, Cinderella, Tiana, Jasmine, the list goes on and on. I would have the girls name as many as they can think of. I would write the names on the chalkboard or have them printed up in cute fonts so everyone can see them. I would then ask them, what qualities or traits do each of the named princesses have? This could be a tough question to answer to try and get as many different answers as you possibly can.  

Next, read the book the Paper Bag Princess and talk about the qualities that this princess had and how she didn't need to have the stuffy old prince's attitude or shallowness.  Now that you have done this. The next section will take some pre-planning. 

Make a poster for each girl. Have a crown on the top of the poster and their name below. Then hang them up and have each girl stand in front of their poster. Hand them each a marker or pen. Then, picking left or right, have the girls go to the next girls poster and write something nice, some sort of quality they admire that the girls who poster they are at, has. Keep going until all the girls are back at their own and let them take a moment to read over the things that their peers wrote to them. You can have the girls sign who wrote what or keep it completely anonymous.

 Close with the talk if time allows from President Uchtdorf and remind them that all of them are a princess because they are a daughter of God and that no one, NO ONE can make them feel any less inferior. 

The Importance of Good Healthy Habits

My first activity as a newly called leader of Activity Days was one that I think is very important. It was based on eating healthy and being active. Here is my tie in for the YW program and Personal Progress-this falls under the value Knowledge as an idea for the value project or even under the requirement #2 of that same value. For the Faith in God program, this falls in under the Developing Talents section. Win win!

We started out with the girls each picking a food item. Now some of these items were healthy and some were of the sinful variety like chocolate chip cookies (YUM!). We had the girls look at the labels and we talked about serving sizes and calories and carbs and sodium and the like. We then talked about eating a balanced meal and how we can have the not so good stuff in moderation but our diets shouldn't be made up of junk food. We talked about how our bodies are temples and just like going into the temple and having to be worthy to enter, we need to make sure we are putting "worthy"   food into our "temples" and that along with eating right we need to exercise and keep our bodies active. 

So now we moved on to the active part of the night, we took the girls into the gym/cultural hall and ran some relays and some quick minute to win it type games that are more based on movement. The girls loved this and it was quite fun to watch them as they started to cheer everyone on. For refreshments we had some fresh fruit and veggies along with some water.

Here are some links to Nutrition Info:

eatright.org/resource/food/nutrition/nutrition-facts-and-food-labels/the-basics-of-the-nutrition-facts-panel

http://www.fda.gov/Food/IngredientsPackagingLabeling/LabelingNutrition/ucm274593.htm

I Just Had to Share this with You

As some of you may know I have moved from being an Idaho girl to becoming a Utah wife and yesterday when I checked Facebook, I saw a few posts from a few of the lady's that were in my ward from back in Idaho. I guess in Relief Society they had their President's Message/Lesson on the power of thoughts and the teacher, a good friend to my family shared this video with the sisters. Even though it was used for a Relief Society lesson, I think it would and could be easily used for Young Women's. I hope you find this as inspiring as I did! 

Wouldn't this make for a great challenge or mutual activity or even Personal Progress. I just love it!

In Case You Didn't See This

This was a video taken from the Bountiful Day Parade in Bountiful Utah...for those that haven't seen the video you need to.

Lesson 6: Finding Joy Now

Here is the handout for lesson 6. Simple yet yellow for happy. You could attach this as a tag on anything yellow or happy.

Click HERE for download pdf 4 to a page

Lesson 4: Seeking the Companionship of the Holy Ghost

Yes, I have finally gotten back to creating handouts. A little late perhaps...OK a lot late but I know that some of you don't always go in the order that the manual goes in. So hoping that this is going to be helpful to someone.

Click HERE to download a pdf set of 2

This is a great video from our church leaders on the Holy Ghost. Click HERE to be taken to the Mormon Messages page at lds.org to get more information or to share this video with others.

Manual 1 Lesson 2

Here is the handout for lesson #2 from the YW Man. 1 titled Jesus Christ, the Savior. Click HERE for download pdf file of 4 or right click and save image.

Preparing for Change- Lesson 42

Photo taken from HERE

So I finally got lesson 42 planned out and posted... unfortunately I didn't get this done before I had to teach the lesson two weeks ago. But as you might have already guessed it is all about change and preparing for it and loving it. 

So HERE is the link to download from 4shared-four to a sheet or right click on the image and and save as if you want it as a jpeg.

Learning to be Dependable

Lesson #41 from Man. 3 is all about learning to be dependable. I believe that EVERYONE should learn this. Here is the handout (pdf 4 to a sheet). Paper credit goes to JBaechtold's Heart kit.

Click HERE for download

Can I Just Say

I LOVE THIS LADY!! I know, I know I am posting another video yet again. I just can't help it...I LOVE her stuff!!

This video is on virtue and modesty...a must see and possibly a great help for future lessons and/or activities.

Click HERE to share the video or to watch other Jenny Philips videos.

Jenny Philips video for 2012 theme

I going through youtube and browsing some of the pages I subscribe to and I saw this video by Jenny Philips. She is so creative and I love the story and analogy that she gives. Take a few mins and watch...I think you will enjoy it!

Click HERE to watch more of her videos or to share this one

Guys View on Modesty

I was surfing around on the web for some awesome YW ideas and one blog that I came across talked about this video SO I just had to go in search of it. It is an awesome reminder for our young women from the mouths of YM their own age!

HERE is the link if you would like to share or download this video

PPW...a day late!!!

Sorry that I missed yesterday...it was crazy!! If you have been following this blog then you would know we had our YWIE last night and I spent most or rather a good chunk of the last two days (maybe 3) preparing for it. Which I will blog about in a different post. 
Anyway, I just wanted to let you know that I finished my Book of Mormon reading yesterday (Wednesday 11/2) at 2:30 pm. It was a bit of a challenge at times but it really was a worth while experience. I did learn a lot, not only about the people in the BOM but also about myself. 
I learned that the Lord does really look out for those that are faithful to his commandments and that follows his example. I have learned that greed and power are easy ways for Satan to take hold of our hearts. I learned that through true repentance that we can be saved and that if we have enough faith and are righteous that the Lord will bless us with what we need. 

I mentioned a while back about parable of the olive tree that was taken from the bible but can be found in Jacob chapter 5. As a leader of our ward's YW, I found this particular story to hit home. I learned that as a leader I am the person who tends the garden. It is my job to help see that the trees grow to the best of their ability. That they bring forth much fruit that they are capable of. I learned that each of my girls that I am asked to lead are a tree and there are those who are active (the good productive trees) and those who might be less active (the trees that produce but not as much as they could) and then there are girls who have been planted in bad soil and not tended and they are in a way "dead." As a leader it is my job to help those girls who are struggling to be the best of who they were meant to be, to reach out and graft together their branches with those of the gospel. To help their testimony grow and to let them know that they are of worth and they are Princesses and future Queens, that they have a father in heaven who loves them. 
It sounded better in my head 2 weeks ago but this is part of the things that I learned. It truly is a true book and another testament of the savior. He really does love us and knows us and wants us to be eternally happy not only here on this earth but in the life to come. I know that the teachings the book holds are true and that they are just as relevant today (if not more) as they were in the day that they were written. I know that Joseph Smith was a true prophet of God who was called to bring back the restoration of the Lord's church on the earth today. I know that President Monson is a true prophet that he has been called to lead the church today. I know that we are  also capable of receiving personal revelation if we have the faith and are righteous enough to receive it. We have the power to be examples of Christ and to bring others back to the fold. We might not all be called as missionaries to go to various places in the world but we can be missionaries here in our own ways. Whether it is by being called as a teacher or even if it is just leading by example. If we live the way we should we will allow others to want to know Christ as well. 
As for the rest of my personal progress goals, I did achieve my goal and earn my gold ribbon for virtue and my green ribbon for knowledge. My other two value projects are completed, I just need to finish the experiences to go with them. I still haven't finished my faith requirements that I have been working on...I got lazy and busy...oh ok...I got LAZY and put them off. I am going to set another goal to have earned my YW medallion before our New Beginnings (which I think is in Feb/March) so I will be looking at my goals and start completing them. 
How is your personal progress coming along? I would love to hear about your achievements (or lack of...if your like me sometimes) or any ideas that you might have or are doing currently to get your YW to work on Personal Progress. 

Marriage Standards

Here is the handout for lesson 36 from the Young Women Manual 3 for Marriage Standards. One of my clever leaders came up with this idea (as a book mark) and I just adapted to what you see down below. 

As most of us are aware, the church has created a resource manual for each of the lessons so that there is current words from our leaders that benefit the girls we teach today. One of the talks that was listed that our leader used was a talk given by Elder Hales (which you can find HERE). I thought that this was a clever way to relate the path that our young women are on to head towards the temple. If they don't know where they want to go now and start making the choices that are needed to help them get there, then like the Cheshire Cat says, it doesn't matter which way you go. Enjoy!!

Click HERE for PDF download set of 4

Let's talk about dating....

Hello everyone...sorry for the delay...everything seems to be working just fine now...what a crazy weekend it has been. So I am finally posting some of lesson 35 from the YW Manual 3 handouts that I used for my lesson (still working on one...road signs are giving me a lil trouble but hopefully that will be up soon). 

To being my lesson I brought in some cookies for an object lesson. Now these were not just any cookies. They were my favorite recipe for chocolate chip cookies. This recipe makes a huge amount of cookies (like 12 dozen depending on size) so I took a about a 1/4 of the dough and I added half a bottle of curry...followed by half a bottle of cumin, then, not to be out done, I added 1/4 to a 1/2 cup of salt. Yes, I intentionally meant to do this!  Of course I then added some chocolate/white chips to it. 

 Don't these cookies look YUMMY?!? Guess again...it was a good thing I had some glasses and water near by. The looks that my fellow leaders and the girls had were priceless!!! I have been dubbed mean and am no longer trusted with food in my lessons (see the peanut lesson on consecration and sacrifice.. 28 i think).

These cookies were made into an analogy of dating...some guys look good on the outside but on the inside..they are not so great or there are a lot of "cookies" in the world...some good and some bad....which one do you hope to find?

So for some things that I used for my lesson, I used a picture that was circulating a lot on the net lately and came from sugardoodle with the saying "if this ain't your castle...you ain't my prince" and of course the castle being the temple.

Another resource I used was the mormon messages for youth "Chastity: what are the limits?"  For handouts I used a road map (which is the one I hope to have up soon), a talk given by a former bishop in our area (Click HERE for word doc.) and then I gave them a bag with a good cookie that had a treat topper with the saying what kind of cookie do you want?

Click HERE for pdf-4 to a sheet

"13th Night"

As promised from the short little blurb that I wrote last night from my phone, I am posting the details of last nights mutual activity.

The theme for the night was Being in the World but Not of the World or simply known as the "13th Night." 

We started out with the girls all repeating this years mutual theme, the 13th Article of Faith. Our idea for the nights activity was on the last words of "if there is anything virtuous, lovely, of good report, or praiseworthy, we seek after these things" and Elder Oaks talk on Pornography (which can be found HERE).

We had our stake president come in and talk to the girls, he is also a professional counselor and has had experience in the effects that pornography causes, plus our girls really responded well to him when he talked at girls camp. 

We had the girls and leaders sit in a circle so it was a little more intimate and so the girls would feel comfortable asking questions or making comments. Our stake president started off with some points that he liked in Elder Oaks talk and then proceeded with some current statistics which are and were quite alarming....for example if we took all the money that is spent on pornography we we could fix the national debt with in weeks. Considering there is about $180,000,000.00 spent in 60 minutes on the filth. Scary isn't it? He also mentioned that one in seven females get solicited. Even scarier!! 

He also brought up some great stories from the scriptures to drive his point. He used the story of David and Bathsheba (how thoughts turn into actions and so forth) and then he talked about Joseph and Potifer's wife (sorry if I spelled those name wrongs) and how Joseph knew what was wrong and how he made a commitment to avoid the temptations. 

We talked a little from our discussions how thoughts and being modest affect the young men that our young women associate with.  How being strong and committed to doing what is right can help them if they found themselves in a situation that would compromise their virtue when on dates or what not. The girls made a lot of great points and it made it for a great night to address some concerns and issues that our youth are being forced to deal with in the world that they live in. 

Dr. Seuss Night

So I must apologize again for the absence...I have been busy helping my mom and her committee plan a state convention that was held this past weekend and I have only now begun to get my motivation back to do some things I have been meaning to do. Whew....its been a long week but I am back and have tons of ideas to share!

So let me start the next few posts with ideas that we have done for our YW and mutual. The first activity I wanna talk about about happened just this past week. We had our Dr. Seuss night and the girls (and leaders) had a blast!

The idea for this activity came from Sheri Dew's talk that she gave May 1, 2008 at the BYU Women's Conference. You can find a copy of her talk HERE and a talk that was given by the guy who is Famous for his cookies (Famous Amos) in a article he wrote for the Costco Connection a few months ago. This man compared the all time classic (and one of my favorite books) Dr. Seuss book:

to that of sales, Sam being the customer and the sales person being the other man in the story. How many times have you been bugged by one of those pesky sales people who just won't take no for an answer? Did you know that every time they get you to say no, you are one step closer to saying yes?? 

So the leader who came up with that idea compared that idea to that of the power that Satan has on the world. Are ya starting to see the connection??? If not let me explain our night a little more. We started off with a leader (and most of the girls) reading the story of Green Eggs and Ham. Then the question was asked, why we liked or didn't like the book. Then the leader brought up the idea that Satan is just the guy in the story who tries to get Sam to eat the green eggs and ham. He keeps pushing and pushing until he finally asks Sam to try them once. As we all know Sam gave in and found that he actually likes green eggs and ham. (Get where I am going now???)

So to get more into the whole understanding different ways how Satan influences us we divided the girls and leaders into two mixed teams. One team (which was the side I was on) played the "devil" and had to come up with different "ads" to get the others to do what ever the paper strip they were given said. The other team were the "angels" and had to promote a counter ad to persuade others to make the right choice (they had the same strips of paper).

So your are probably thinking what were some of these topics that our groups had to advertise? Well here were some of them (or at least the ones I can remember)...

*Modest clothes/swimwear

*Rebellious friends

*Pharming Parties

*Drinking Alcohol

*Making out

*Violent/sexual movies and music

The girls had fun presenting their ads for their different sides and here were some of the pictures that were drawn to emphasize their ideas....(SORRY THE PICTURES ARE NOT UP CLOSE)