I have been profoundly moved by the idea that in our life’s journey there is a constant plan unfolding for good. Just by living one day at a time with excitement and enthusiasm, always looking for the good, and trusting in the Lord, we will find joy. That joy brings us peace and knowledge that there is order in the plan of our lives, even through difficulties and tragedies.

Wishing you and yours a wonderful holiday season!

Mormon Message: Expressions of Love

What a sweet reminder from Elder Scott about love. Click on the link above and take a few minutes to enjoy this video.

This is just a sample of the amazing letters we receive from girl’s and mother’s of girls who attend Be the Best You Girl’s Camp.

Dear Barbara -

Thank you so much for the wonderful experience my daughter enjoyed during her week with you.  It truly was a transforming time, from which she emerged with an even deeper, more fulfilling sense of her great worth and value, ready to love and serve those around her at an even higher level than before.  This worthwhile week is truly a magical experience that fills hearts, transforms lives and blesses the future of every girl who participates.  My daughter’s future has been immeasurably changed by the priceless principles instilled and the unique opportunities experienced while there.  I will be forever grateful for the irreplacable contribution that this marvelous program was in her life.

With deepest appreciation,

SL

Published with permission -

Dear Barbara,

Back in 2005 was one of the lowest points of my entire life. I had been inactive from the church for a few years at that point. I was deep in debt and completely lost. My parents were worried about me and they prayed often to find a solution and way to help pull me from the sad place that I had gotten myself into.

That’s when they stumbled upon the site for “A New You”. They offered to pay for me to attend the program and though I was a little nervous about it, I accepted their gift. I attended “A New You” the summer of 2005 and it completely changed my life.

The day after returning home from “A New You” I decided that I needed to move back home in order to get my life back in order. I moved home the following day. I returned back to church and realized that I wanted to help people feel the way that I felt being closer to my Heavenly Father. That December I decided to serve a mission. I was called to serve my brothers and sisters in Italy.

I am home now, I got married to the man of my dreams in the Salt Lake Temple, we have a beautiful one year old son who is the light of our lives.

I just wanted to say Thank You. I am confident that if I hadn’t attended “A New You” that summer, I’d be in a very different place in my life now…Thank you so very much for being inspired. For sharing your story and for being an instrument in Heavenly Fathers hands. In doing so, you were an aide in changing my life. I’m so truly grateful.

My mother and I are attending the Retreat for Women again this year. I am so looking forward to the Spiritual feast that it will be.

Thank you, thank you, thank you,

J.C.

My thoughts are turned to this year’s high school graduates.  In a few weeks we will have a whole new group of  young women who are leaving the protection of their childhood and facing the world with enthusiasm and, I am sure, some trepidation.  Although graduating from high school is one of the most exciting times in a teenager’s life, I am sure that many are nervous about their future, especially with all of the “good” news we have surrounding us in the media.

As mothers, of a graduating senior, I am sure that many of you are wondering if you have taught your daughter all that she needs to know as she moves out on her own.  The thoughts are sometimes overwhelming. “Does she know how to do her laundry or clean a toilet?” “Does she know how to bake a pie or even grocery shop for that matter?”  ”Will she know how to take care of herself when I am not there?”  Or more importantly, “Will she continue to strengthen her testimony and stay close to her Heavenly Father?”

This is when it is important to trust our parenting for the past 18 years and trust our Heavenly Father to wrap his arms around our daughters and take over where we have left off.  It’s a time for rejoicing and celebrating the amazing, independent women they have become.

This week, make a list of all of the life lessons you hope that you have taught your daughter and go through it with her.  It isn’t necessarily for her.  It’s really an exercise that will help you with your daughter’s transition from your beautiful child and daughter to your beautiful daughter and friend.

Then breath deep and enjoy the events surrounding such an exciting time of life … for both of you!

President Gordon B. Hinckley said, “Woman is God’s supreme creation…. Of all the creations of the Almighty, there is none more beautiful, none more inspiring than a lovely daughter of God who walks in virtue with an understanding of why she should do so” (“Our Responsibility to Our Young Women,” Ensign, September 1988, 11).  On another occasion, he declared:  Rise above the dust of the world.  Know that you are daughters of God. . . Walk in the sun with your heads held high, knowing that you are loved and honored, and that you are part of a kingdom, and that there is for you a great work to be done which cannot be left to others” (“Live Up to Your Inheritance,” Ensign, November 1983, 83-84).

I’ve heard it said that if you could envision the person God intended you to be, you would rise up and never be the same again.

Something to think about.  Our self-esteem is based on outside influences, our environment, those things outside of us that can fluctuate weekly, daily, even hourly and cause our self-esteem to rise and fall like the tides of an ocean.  On the other hand, our self-worth is the knowledge that we are children of God, that we have divine potential.  If we have a knowledge of this, our self-worth should be constant, unchanging and ever strong.  Analyze the two, self-esteem and self-worth, and make sure that you have high self-worth, then allow your self-esteem to vary only to the point that you are in control of it because you do recognize the worth of your self.

Have a great week!

You never know how a simple action can affect someone’s life.  The day I was informed of my mother’s death I was speaking to a group of teenage girls and told this story, which illustrated my mother’s ability to build others:

Whenever we went out to eat in our hometown, she often complimented the waitresses.  One day she told our server, “You’re the best waitress in all of El Paso, Texas.”  Then she went home, opened her file, and took out a blank award certificate that you can purchase in a stationary store.  She filled it out, writing, “To Maria Gonzales, the best waitress in all of El Paso, Texas.”  She then signed it with her name, Hilda Harrell.

I said, “Mother, who are you?  You’re nobody, and you’re giving this lady an award?”

She didn’t care what I thought of her idea.  She then proceeded to cut out paper roses and decorate the certificate.  Everything she did had paper roses on it.  It was just her trademark, I guess.  She then mailed the certificate to the restaurant.

Then it was my turn to be surprised.  The next time I went to that restaurant, there hanging on the wall behind the cash register, in a frame, was Mother’s award certificate.

I said to the cashier, “Oh, it looks like one of your waitresses was named the best waitress.”

The cashier said, “Yes, she received this award.  She was named out of all the waitresses in El Paso.”

I had to smile.  That was my mother.

What can you do today to make someone feel that they are the best anything.  What awards can you give out?  Have fun with it but the important thing is to just do it!

I’m thinking about young women today and their sources of self esteem.  On the other hand, I’m thinking of all women and where we obtain our self esteem.  One the of the eight sources of self esteem is peer pressure.  How much are your feelings about yourself based on what others say about you — or what you perceive they think about you?

When you receive a compliment, how do you react?  Suppose someone says, “Your hair looks great today.”  Do you respond, “Oh, my hair has never looked so bad — I can’t do a thing with it”?  If someone says, “Your such a wonderful pianist,” do you answer, “Oh, today it was okay, but I don’t really play that well”?

When you respond to compliments in a negative or self-deprecating way, your self-esteem apparently depends not on what is said to you, but on how you perceive it.  If you think that people have ulterior motives or if in your response to them you belittle yourself, then your self-esteem is low.  On the other hand, if someone says, “Your hair looks great” and you respond with a simple “Thank you,” your self-esteem is high.

Think about that for a week and pay attention to how you take compliments.  Even if you are tempted to contradict the “compliment giver”, even if you don’t believe what they are saying, just accept the compliment.  Eventually you will be so good at accepting compliments, you’ll actually start to believe them.  In other words, fake it till you make it.

If we let the Lord into our lives, we can, in our grief and struggles, find some reasons for what happens.  I’ve heard it said, “No pain, no gain.”  I truly believe that real pain in our lives can bring us genuine love and humility – certainly a true gain.   Of course we would not choose pain, but when it comes, know that it will not be in vain.  If we are willing, we can be taught lessons during those times.

However, there is no reason to wallow in misery during those trials.  Even in the midst of some of the most difficult trials, there is a way to take control of the rest of your life.  Start by writing down one-word descriptions of those areas of your life that you feel are out of control.  Then write the simple solution to dismiss this problem from your life.  Next, act on that solution.  It may take self-discipline to actually follow through on the action portion, however, the trial that you are experiencing will be a little lighter if you take control of the rest of your life that you do have power over.  Finally, thank your Heavenly Father for giving you the strength to take control.

Once upon a time there was a duck.  He was the kindest duck on the pond but one day he decided that being a duck was not good enough.  He thought his life was a little dull and that there would be more excitement in his life if he were to act more like some of the other animals he saw around him.  Hard as he tried, he just couldn’t get himself to bark like the dog who seemed to be having so much fun.  The more he tried, the more frustrated he became with himself and the more ornery and mean he became to those who once thought he was so kind.  After living two separate lives, the life of the duck that he was, and trying to live the life of a dog that he thought he wanted to be, he eventually was so dissatisfied with his once satisfying and fulfilling life, that he saw negativity in everything.  Nothing and no one brought him happiness anymore.  All of his duck friends were no longer enjoyable to him.  The beautiful pond that he often swam in was suddenly less enjoyable and no longer a place of beauty for him.  Everything around him was dreary and depressing and he wondered what was wrong with his life.  When had everyone turned on him and why were they trying to make his life so miserable?

The moral of the story is two fold, be true to who you are … and take responsibility for your own actions.

First, if you don’t like the person that you are, improve on those things that you don’t care for but don’t try and be someone else.   Each of us have unique characteristics that, when woven together, whether within a family unit, a work place or within a group of friends, can make a beautiful tapestry of love, friendship and cohesiveness.

Second, just like the duck, there are those who have never learned to take responsibility for their own actions and place blame on everyone and everything around them for their own disappointments, discouragement, sadness and negative experiences.  Rather than looking for someplace to put blame, move forward and create solutions in a positive atmosphere.

In other words, if you look like a duck and talk like a duck, then you probably are a duck.  So embrace it!