Reads

Sister Beck gave a recent BYU devotional called "Why We are Organized into Quorums and Relief Societies".
http://speeches.byu.edu/?act=viewitem&id=2012

I have only gotten through part of it, but thought I'd share.  Sister Beck is so awesome. 

Oh, funny story.  I was doing research for my YW lesson about receiving inspiration from the Holy Ghost and one of the talks that came up on my radar was Sister Beck's talk from April 2010 Conference.  Wonderful talk, by the way.  Anyway, the ideas in it were almost exactly what she expressed to the region when she came to California in October and spoke to us.  Before she started her talk in October, she asked women to share any questions that they had for her.  Those that spoke all told sad stories about personal challenges and seemed to be asking her what they should do about their problems {edited to add that I don't want to sound unfeeling - they really were sad stories}.  Her reply was a talk on receiving personal revelation - exactly what she spoke on in that April Conference.  I was thinking - surely it must be frustrating to our leaders to feel like they are TALKING and no one is LISTENING.  Sister Beck could have said "go read my conference talk - you'll find all you need to know in there".  But she didn't.

Just a little personal reminder to myself to READ and ACT and then go back and re-read and study and, well, stop bugging the Lord to fix my problems when he's probably already provided the answer in one form or another.  Maybe a better plea would be to ask the Lord to help me find and recognize the answer from the counsel we've already received.
:-)

Hope you are all having a pleasant January.  I am up to my eyeballs in New Beginnings (happens tonight).  The President that I serve under, and I, have never been to one EVER!   We did something totally fun, though.  The Bishop gave us permission (and then went and did the work for us) to screw hooks into corners of the wall so that we could put pretty lights across the ceiling.  The girls are going to be so amazed because that is one thing that has never been done in our ward.  Should make it a little bit like a fairyland - it reminds me of every wedding reception I've ever been to in a church building.  ;-)  The lovely part of being in this particular small ward is that people have very low expectations!

Oh, just read a fascinating book that my husband had recommended to him called "Donbas: A True Story of an Escape Across Russia".  It's a very quick read and not too heavy or intense, especially considering the subject matter.  This autobiography is a tale of a 15 year old Romanian kid who was captured at the end of WWII and sent to Russia to be a slave in their coal mines...and what happens from there. 

Modesty

Kelly, loved the misfit post on modesty. I have said many of the same things--especially about the trend toward stores that claim modesty while selling flagrantly immodest items. Drives me nuts. The only thing I wasn't sure about was the heels. I love my heels. On the other hand, it might be a definition thing. I don't wear stilettos. I also don't wear super high heels. Definitely higher than pumps, however. I also think it is ridiculous when YW wear heels. Looks ridiculous--and definitely draws attention. Whether I would go so far as to say they are dressing immodestly . . . I will think about that more.

The post I would write about modesty would focus a lot less on the actual clothes and more on the attitudes and feelings going into wearing the clothes. Yes, a large part of that is competition. Why do we need to compete? Another large part of that is wanting to feel attractive--especially after reproducing when our bodies aren't quite what they used to be. So maybe some fountain of youth might be going on there. Maybe it is because we don't really have a testimony of motherhood. Maybe it is because we're worried our husbands don't have a testimony of motherhood? Maybe it is just because we're surrounded by billboards advertising liposuction?

Any thoughts?

FYI--I come at this from a position of someone who USED TO BE supremely confident in her looks/abilities/everything and then, somehow, lost a lot of that confidence. Why does that happen? Does it happen to most women? I know the article Julia linked touched on it--but her suggestions were no-brainers; dress nicely, do your hair--stuff our moms all taught us. But if you dress neatly, comb your hair, put on make-up and have a hot, tasty meal on the table when your hubby walks in the door and you STILL feel not-good-enough--what then?

books galore

Those books sound interesting.  I, however, will not be reading anything this month that I cannot get from the library or read for free online.  The Run With Me book looks good, but my library system is apparently not carrying it.  I've got Playful Parenting on hold, but it will be awhile before it comes.

I have recently read "Playful Learning: Develop your Child's Sense of Joy and Wonder" by Mariah Bruehl.  It was okay.  A couple good ideas that I hadn't hit on before.  It was very Montessori-ish.  One idea that I thought you'd love is the idea of making little blank books to keep around the house to stimulate your child's interest in writing and art.  I made a stack of books by cutting computer paper in half, folding in half, putting a plain cardstock cover on, and stapling, then doing the same thing with some whole sheets.  I have a bunch and put them on a shelf on my desk and told the kids they were theirs to do with as they pleased.  Logan, who usually never wants to draw or write, jumped up and did a whole series of pictures.  We'll see how popular they are, but they sure looked cute.  They were so easy to make and made me feel like SUCH a good, nurturing, crafty mother.    Sigh.

Also recently read a talk by Julie B. Beck called "Nourishing and Protecting Our Families" that she gave at the 2009 BYU Women's Conference.  If you google it, it's easy to find.  A GEM of a talk, as all of hers seem to be.

And I'm fighting my way through the second half of Ken Robinson's book "The Element".  The first half was quick and fascinating and managed to both thrill me and make me feel like a complete loser as an inspiring parent and creative individual.  The second half is making me feel better, but I've either lost interest in the topic, or it's just dragging on too long for one book. 

I'd love reading suggestions for the year.  I haven't given it hardly any thought, but I really like having a booklist to work from when I'm placing holds in the library site.  I need some GOOD books to be coming in every couple weeks or I get bored.

finally, I know we're basically over Misfit here, but she wrote a great post on modesty that Josh and I really liked if you're interested.  I kept her blog on my google reader and I think this is the first time she's posted since the last time we talked.

Thanks ladies!  Hope you all had a wonderful Christmas.


Oh yes, Andrea, is your sister still in Switzerland?  I have a couple questions to ask her about train travel.  I'm a bit confused about the various rail passes that I've been reading about in the travel books and what the difference is.  If she wouldn't mind hearing from me, and you wouldn't mind passing on my email address, I would appreciate it.  kelosh 2 at gmail dot com.  Thanks so much!

books to read

Increase in Learning by Elder Bednar - I have this one sitting by my bed ready to read (Christmas present).  I think it's more of a slow study though, not really a read quick and discuss type book.  ??  I'm excited to get into it though.
Raising up a family to the Lord. - - One of my most favorite parenting books!  A MUST read.  I don't think I'll read it again right now, but I will join in the discussion.  Powerful principles in that book!

Soft-Spoken Parenting - this one might be interesting...always needed.  :-)
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I, for one, would also love to re-read Notwithstanding my Weakness by Elder Maxwell (I know, I've been pushing this one for awhile, but it really is GREAT and I need to re-learn some things). 
 
Also interested in reading and discussing The Divine Center by Steven R. Covey
 
And, the greatest book I just read was Do Hard Things by ? & Alex Harris  (Two 19-yr old homeschooled Christian twins).  I'm actually having my 12 yr. old read it right now.  It's great.
 
Just my two cents.

Books

Hey guys,

I'm checking out some books at the library and was curious if any of you were interested in reading them.

Run With Me: An Accidental Runner and the Power of Poo

I'm much too lazy to fix the formatting.

Increase in Learning by Elder Bednar

Or Playful Parenting: A Bold New Way to Nurture Close Connections.

Raising up a family to the Lord.

Soft-Spoken Parenting.

New Favorite

http://ourmothersdaughters.blogspot.com/2011/11/ask-auntie-leila-five-steps-to-feeling.html

This is a post worth talking about! 

Book suggestions

I like Kelly's idea to get back to the original meaning of this blog/chat group.  I want to read and discuss great ideas again!   I suggest we start with Notwithstanding My Weakness by Elder Maxwell.  OR Spiritual Lightening by M. Catherine Thomas.  OR The Lonesome Gods (because I'm reading it right now and dying to discuss it all with someone...so good!).  OR Whatever anyone else wants to read right now.  OR we could take a chapter each month from the new RS book and discuss it.  That might be fun,too.  Okay...enough of my ideas.  LOL

Misfit and other things

I happen to have a little extra time this week, so I'm going to go ahead and write a little about this post. But then I think it would be nice (and I think it's time) to leave Misfit for awhile and talk about something else. I'd love to read a book from our list again. I know the holidays and busyness are coming up, but if we schedule a due date of mid-January??? What do you all think of that?

Before I get to this particular Misfit post, I want to tell you something. Last night I was at the stake leadership training for YW and the camp director was there to make the first announcement for girls camp next summer. And she said, I kid you not, "our theme this year is 'Who Am I' from Dr. Suess". I just about died - that was the LAST thing I was expecting. Grrrrr. And a bunch of women went, "ahhhh, cute!" Lucky for me, I have an in with a member of the stake presidency, so on the way home last night I had a serious complaint session with Josh about the inappropriateness of that theme. I knew he would agree with me, but I'm hoping that he'll really push the Stake President to make them change it. He said that his understanding is that they let the girls choose it - those girls who are going for their last year, who basically run camp. I'm going to keep making a fuss about it, because I think that's ridiculous, and I think a better example should be shown to the Young Women about what the focus of Camp is. And i think they should have gotten it approved before they announced it.

On to Misfit. I'll be brief.
First, I think Twilight is lame. I'm disappointed in Stephenie Meyers interpretation of a "chaste" relationship that goes against all counsel by our leaders. I think Mormons get over-excited about having "one of us" go mainstream and assume anything written by a fellow Mormon is quality. Blech. It's not. Much as I like Orson Scott Card's books, they disappoint me also - I can't help wondering if he really thinks the Savior would approve his use of strong language. Shannon Hale, a favorite author, also wrote a book, "The Actor and the Housewife", that goes against my feelings of what is an appropriate relationship for a married woman with a member of the opposite sex. Let's be real. She should never put herself in that position - no matter how "platonic" that relationship is. Lame.

Second - on the photography thing. It's absolutely a disgusting business. I'm making no comments on what people do in the privacy of their own home, but as a business I think it's inappropriate. I do know from one of the current matron's assistants at the Oakland temple that inappropriate dress has long been a problem at the weddings there. She said it is far too often the mother of the bride who is pushing the boundaries of what's acceptable and right. So there you have it.

Anyway, I'm off to be a productive wife and mother. I hope. ;-)

Sum Up and New Assignment

To sum up: we think, in general, that YM and YW is not where testimony is found but a place for social interaction with other youth. We also feel, in general, that a lot of service should take place in our youth programs and that we should try to maintain the highest possible standards at all youth events. We also feel, in general, that a few over-the-top youth speakers are a good thing because adolescents are primarily emotional beings and that is what reaches them.

I feel like I am laying down the parameters of a new organization or something. My recap leaves much to be desired. Thanks for all the thoughtful responses--it gave me a lot to think about.

Here's the next assignment. Read this and comment.

Oh, a few comments I forgot

Scouting: I think Mother's force their children in most things they do, Personal Progress, Faith in God, Scouting, everything--it just takes more work with teenage boys. I think the Scout program is a good program, but I had friends that exemplified the best of it--they weren't overboard wackos but they really worked and learned to get their Eagle Scouts. (Thomas N. and Matthew F. for example). I hope my boys are like that.

Time out for Women: Gag--my friend payed for me to go to one and it was lame. Maybe because I had bronchitis at the time. But still my overall impression was that it was lame.

And that's all I can remember right now that I forgot.