Gift Idea: Me Pack

This is not related to visiting teaching, nor to Young Women. But I thought it was a good place to share some of my favorite gift ideas, too. This is a ME PACK--a box of things to help someone have some personal relaxation, joy, etc. This is a sample that I assembled recently, a bunch of items with little notes attached. My co-workers helped me come up with ideas and one even donated the books.
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Cards - Service is good for the soul.
Pot and flower seeds - Plant some more love.

Bath scrubber - Scrub away your stress.

Slippers - Slip into relaxation.

Journal and pen - Record some of your happiest moments each day.

Notepad - Your greatness has been noted.

Books - In my book, you're a great mom!

Bath stuff - Bathe in luxury and relaxation.

Word search book and pen - Search for some joy.

Coloring book and crayons - Color your life by spending some time with your favorite boy.

Photo album - Rejoice in memories.

Lotion - Smooth out your day.

Box of chocolates - Treat yourself to something nice.

Other ideas: microwave popcorn, homemade treats or mixes to make her own, a chick-flick, scented candles, relaxing music. Put it all in a box.

ME PACK - Keep this box filled with some of your favorite things and some simple pleasures. Every now and then, take some ME time!

June 2010

Renewing Covenants through the Sacrament
Bread and water. Simple enough.

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As we take the bread and water each week, we "promise to remember the atoning sacrifice of our Savior as we renew our baptismal covenant. We promise to do as the Savior did—to be obedient to the Father and always keep His commandments. The blessing we receive in return is to always have His Spirit to be with us." --Elder Robert D. Hales

Personal Progress: Knowledge #3

This one requires going to some cultural event. I really struggled to find a performance or exhibit that was 6:30ish, local, free, and Tuesday. Most art exhibits close by 6:00. Most concerts or plays are weekends, far away, and/or expensive. I finally found one that I wasn't too thrilled about--a photography exhibit at the university library. I was going to go up in advance and see it and find a way to get the girls more involved in it, like a scavenger hunt or something.

And then my sister mentioned that my nephew's school is putting on a performance of The Music Man! It's 7:00, local, free, and Tuesday. Now I have to hope we have enough drivers and hope the girls are well-behaved and don't text during the performance.
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Hindsight advice:
Don't take the girls to something in which you have a vested interest. It's like when I was teaching, I would make sure not to teach a book I loved because the complaining adolescents would ruin it for me. The girls were polite, though, and didn't complain (too much) in front of me. And they posed for a scrapbookable picture with my nephew afterward.

May 2010

Our Relief Society presidency picks a Conference talk for us. This time it was Sister Beck's talk.
The talk had a lot about revelation--didn't we do that last month?--so I went for a magnifying glass.

"The ability to qualify for, receive, and act on personal revelation is the single most important skill that can be acquired in this life."

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"As they seek and qualify for personal revelation, the Lord will pour out His Spirit upon His handmaids in these latter days."

Personal Progress: Individual Worth #7

I've been trying to use the "required experiences" for these activities, but it was too difficult for Individual Worth, so I went with an "additional" experience. And I'm doing something that was done when I was a YW leader years ago. (I remember that no one wanted to write on mine because they might make a grammatical or spelling error.)

We are all going to sit around a big table. I will provide a sheet of stationery for each person and we'll each write our name on the top. Throughout the activity, we will alternate between reading and discussing the required scriptures for the experience and writing nice things about the person whose paper we have. (The papers will be rotated around the circle.)

Pretty simple . . . I hope.
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Hindsight advice: Actually, I was pretty sick that night, so I was kinda out of it. So I guess the only thing I would've changed was having a table. We had other things going on that night, so I couldn't put tables up and we were all in a "circle" on the floor.

Personal Progress: Divine Nature #2

For this activity, I have asked 3 mothers to come talk to the Young Women about their divine roles as mothers. I have a grandmother, a mother of young children, and a mom expecting her first child. I had asked the girls to think of questions to ask the panel of moms, but none of the girls provided any, so I came up with a list myself:

• Did you always want to be a mom?
• What is your typical day like as a mom right now?
• Looking back, is there anything you wish you had done to prepare yourself to be a mother?
• What is the greatest blessing of motherhood?
• What is the worst part of motherhood?
• What do you think are some important attributes needed for motherhood?
• What role does religion play in your life as a mother?
• How much do you sacrifice for you children when you become a mother? And do you think it is worth it?
• How much does it cost to have a child?
• What talents did you have that ended up being helpful as you became a mother?
• Have you ever doubted yourself as a mother? If you did, how did you find faith in yourself?
• How has becoming a mother changed your relationship with the Lord?
• (For the grandma:) You have watched your children and some grandchildren as teenagers. What advice would you give us teenage girls?
• (For the mom with young kids:) What do you do to make sure you have time for yourself and still take care of your kids and your husband and your church callings?
• (For the expectant mom:) What is one thing you are the most nervous about in becoming a mom?

The panel of moms will be seated at a table at the front of the room and the girls will be asking these questions. I put together a gift bag for each of the moms (journal, back massager, bath stuff, etc.) and a card.

For a treat for the girls, I had hoped to find Sugar Mamas, but none of the dollar stores had any.
So I am giving them each a Sugar Daddy and a small box of Sugar Babies. The only thing missing? The mother.

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Hindsight advice:

• Bring a tablecloth.
• Remember to set the camera to museum mode so you can get pictures to scrapbook.

Yep, that's about it. It went perfectly!! The panel moms were great--very spiritual. The girls were quiet and respectful. The activity lasted just the right amount of time. If only all of my activities would go this smoothly!

April 2010

Seeking and Receiving Personal Revelation

Seek the light of personal revelation.

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I went to the dollar store and planned on getting a bunch of different kinds of flashlights and light sources: flashlights, glowing toys, candles. There were no glowing toys and the one person I visit teach shouldn't have candles in the house with her son's oxygen. $20 later I realized I should've just bought 1 decent flashlight. But the dollar store doesn't give refunds.