September's Relief Society Activity

For a Hootin' Hollerin' Good Time

Moooove Yourself on Over to the RS Service Auction and Dinner

Tuesday, September 7th at 6:30p

In the Cultural Hall of the John Moore Building

Please be prepared with a service or item you will be willing to auction off to another sister.

Also, there will be a clothes swap! Bring any well cared for clothing that you are no longer interested in wearing and pick-up something new!

P.S. Some ideas of service you could auction off:

Babysitting (1 hr. - to overnight, whatever you're willing to offer)

Yard work (how ever long you're willing to offer)

Cookies

Homemade Bread

Sewing lessons

House cleaning

Ironing

Piano Tuning

Piano Lessons

Dinner Drop-off (1 night or more)

Family Photo Shoot

Make-Up Session

Voice Lessons

Homemade Jewelry

Homemade Candles

Floral Arrangements

a Ride to the Airport

a Birthday Cake

FHE helps

Christmas Present Wrapping

Car Wash/Detailing

Art Lessons

Scrapbooking Pages
Blog Design

Homeschooling Workshop

anything you are willing to offer!

A Little Tutorial

Some of you may have noticed that the Ensign has had a little remodel. The messages meant to be used by Home and Visiting Teachers have been made more "user friendly". So, I am here to help you understand how to fully take advantage of the opportunity you have each month!

First of all, one of the three purposes of the Relief Society is to serve the Lord and His children. The Visiting Teaching program is our opportunity to serve and build-up the sisters in our ward. "Because we follow the example and teachings of Jesus Christ, we value this sacred assignment to love, know, serve, understand, teach, and minister in His behalf” (Julie B. Beck, “Relief Society: A Sacred Work,” Ensign, Nov. 2009, 113). Visiting teaching is such an awesome opportunity to reach out to those among us as He would. It gives us the chance to grow close to Him as we follow His example, while we teach others of Him. Visiting Teaching is truly a program inspired by the Lord.

Now, back to helping you utilize the new format of our monthly Visiting Teaching messages. Feel free to grab your own Ensign and follow along.

Gone are the days of flipping through the back of the Ensign in a desperate search for the Visiting Teaching message! It has been moved to the front of the Ensign, just behind the initial article (which is also used as the Home Teaching message)! Woo Hoo!

Click on image to enlarge, you'll get a better view of the layout!

Starting at the left, is the core message from the General Relief Society Presidency. From now on, they will be providing the message to us, for us,  each month. Underneath the message, are some scripture references that will help the preparation and personalization of your lesson.

To the right of the central message is a second column. This column is titled, "What Can We Do?" Each month, there will be 2 questions asked in this column. The first, is to help us act on inspiration when relating the message to each of our individual Sisters. The second question is for our own personal application and benefit. It will help us integrate the lesson into our own lives. Underneath these questions, is a link to other resources found on the Church's Relief Society website.

And last, but not least, the third column is titled, "From Our History". It will contain experiences and stories from our Pioneering Sisters of the early Relief Society. While reading this section, we will be able to be inspired by their sacrifices; which will hopefully translate to us taking our part in building the Lord's Kingdom in the latter days.

Please take thoughtful and prayerful consideration of your Sisters when preparing your messages for them. Keep them in your prayers daily so that when they need help, you will know it. After all, God answers our prayers through the service of others. The more in-tune we are with the Spirit and our Sisters, the better fit we will be able to help them as Jesus would.

Physically and Spiritually Prepared

Alright, I'll admit it. I was late. Twenty minutes late to be exact, to Tuesday night's activity. Therefore, I wasn't eligible for this month's giveaway. Only those who arrive on time are considered for the prize. Stinko for me, good for Sister Brock, who won! 

However, I did get there just in time to document the effects of the frenzy that had taken place while everyone made their 72-hour kits.

Sister Sue Cummins, First Counselor in the Relief Society Presidency,taking stock of what was left after the assembly line had ended. 

The charm of these kits is that they are made up of items that my child will actually eat. And since I have the palette of a 14 year-old, I too will happily eat what was put in my kit. My favorite feature is that they don't have wheat to crush or potato flakes to deal with. Most of the items are ready to eat and easily transported.

Mmmmm... Peanut butter crakers, Kudos, and Pringles.

Now, these kits are meant to be a jumping off point for your Emergency Preparedness. Don't forget about other essential elements such as important documents, medications, and water. Do not forget about water!

After the kits were made and stowed away, the ladies helped themselves to some delicious desserts. Since we were physically prepared for the storms of this world, we then prepared to defend ourselves spiritually. 

The awesome turn out at our Relief Society Activity!

Sister Jennie Rhoades performed a beautiful violin solo of "More Holiness Give Me" to invite the Spirit to our meeting.

Sister Rhoades is planning a violin recital for the 21st of this month with Catherine Michelson.

We then heard from our Stake Patriarch, Patriarch Earl D'Avignon. He spoke to us about receiving our own patriarchal blessing. Not only do we need to be spiritually prepared to receive it, but once we have it, our blessing helps us to focus and fulfill our own righteous desires while we help to build the Lord's Kingdom. It was a beautiful message. It only solidified the testimony I have about my own blessing. I recommend that anyone who has not yet received theirs, wait until they feel they are ready to and then prepare themselves spiritually for it. A patriarchal blessing is one of the most amazing gifts we can receive from our Heavenly Father in this life, and should not be treated lightly or taken for granted.

Patriarch D'Avignon

Overall, it was a wonderful evening. We were able to work on both physically and spiritually preparing ourselves for the trials of this temporal earth. A lesson that I know I will always be learning and improving upon in my own life.

It was awesome to see so many Sisters Tuesday night! If you were unable to make it to this month's activity, I look forward to seeing you at the next one!

Violin Recital

Starring 

Jennie Rhoades 
and Catherine Michelson

 Saturday, August 21,
at 7pm in the cultural hall.

There will be a 30-40 minute program.
All are invited (children are welcome)!
Refreshments will be served afterwards.

Emergency Preparedness

For the month of August, our Relief Society Activity will be to prepare our households for this hurricane season with some 72-hour kits! You will also be able to put together some mini-medical kits. Make sure to be there!

Tuesday, August 3rd, 2010

at seven o'clock in the evening

at the John Moore Building
$5 for each 72-hour kit
$2 for each mini-medical kit