The next day, we took Shiela for a drive around Grapevine lake. We were able to enjoy a beautiful sunset, and spend some good quality time together. Another great weekend! :)
MY TOFW NOTES:
Virginia Pierce (President Hinckley's daughter) has such a cute sense of humor! She talked about how we should focus on finishing our mortal probationary period successfully. We might ask ourselves, "what is a successful life?" Lets narrow it down and ask, "What is the definition of success?" Virginia Pierce's definition: Successful life = that you trusted God and used his atonement to be more like Him.
Good women want to know how we are doing successfully. Well, how do you measure success? She made it clear that it is not by our church calling, or by comparing ourselves to others. We need to pray to be happy for what we have got. SURVIVAL=SUCCESS!!! haha I loved when she said that.
How do we know we are making progress towards being more Christlike?
*Working hard is important!
*Reach a little higher (Sounds just like her father) We need to keep reaching after we have achieved our goal. We need to grow beyond our capacity by pushing ourselves beyond. This way we can learn to trust God (b/c we can't do it ourself) We learn to lean on him
* Have more desire to do good and less desire to do evil (Mosiah 5:2)
*Do we see things/people like Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ sees them? We need to work on this.
Get out of the business of comparing!! YOU WILL ALWAYS FIND SOMEONE WHO IS FATTER THAN YOU ARE, AND SKINNIER!! You can never really WIN or LOOSE. Comparison is the fast track to misery. We can learn from others, but we all have our own mission.
3 Steps of Faith-Joseph Smith
1) Believe in God
2) Know his Attributes
3) understand that the course we are taking is approved by God
PEACE, JOY, and HOPE are available to those who measure success properly. Another insight: Don't measure your success by the results of your children....BUT in your commitment to their growth. Never give up! We are committed to their growth.
Act on person Revelation, and celebrate each others growth.
Happiness is waking up to your spouse everyday, and sharing each and every day with him from here on out. Do you think there is something better than this? --NO!
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Hilary Weeks sang a lot on Saturday. She is such a cute girl. She would share her thoughts from time to time, and I had to write some of it down. She said, " Heavenly Father cares about EVERY detail of our lives." "We need to change our perspective, so we see GOOD days." "We mostly don't see the good we do for ourself and others. We might never know how much good we accomplish. We should never beat ourselves up-thinking we wish we did more. Always do our best, and don't worry if its good enough." "When we have little patience, time, talent etc....we can be thankful for the little we have! Believe in who you are, and who you are becoming. There is no one quite like you, and Heavenly Father needs you. Hold tight to the truth that you are a daughter of God."
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Deanne Flynn: " No matter where you serve, it is how you serve." "Where there is hope-there is Christ.
I really liked when she said the "proof is in the pattern." "You can prove a pattern bad or good by following it for a while. However, having a perfect pattern does not always guarantee a perfect outcome. We need to follow good patterns, and avoid shortcuts." " You will be deeply blessed if you have a daily morning devotional and prayer. Your life will be changed for good. Shortcuts are pitfalls. Develop a good pattern for future generations."
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Emily Freeman: " Our eyes see what we want them to see. What do we focus on? And what we focus on....is it governed by hope? Lists can give us hope. They help us get through our days. List what you love-to see a good day and have a good experience." This totally makes sense. If we put stuff that we love to do on our to-do list, then we will certainly have a good day. " Learn to have an understanding heart. This helps give us patience. Determine the reason for the hope that is in you." Hebrews 1:9, Jeremiah 37: 9-13
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Marianna (A strong, faithful woman) If you have ever seen the movie blood diamond, then you have a knowledge of what her life was like growing up. Her parents were killed. Her brother taken. Her sisters legs were cut off. Because of this, She grew up with no family, and had nothing. She shared a hygiene kit that was sent to Africa by people in America with twenty or more others. She is such an optimistic lady for what she has been through. Some scriptures that helped her: D&C 121:1, 2 NE 4:26, D&C 84:87-88, D&C 31:1, 6
"We are never alone. When we call upon him, he is there." The rest of her story is incredible.
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Wendy Olrich: She talked about how we can be happier! Wendy said, "people get happier by living and building their strengths, than by focusing on their weaknesses and worrying about it. Focus on what you CAN do. Build on your strengths that strengthen others." She challenged us to use two of our strengths this week in a creative way to bless others.
She talked about how Exercise is important! "Exercise changes the brain chemistry in your brain. You feel happier when you exercise. Motivation follows action." She talked about tricking yourself into exercise. When you get home from work throw on your exercising clothes, not because you are going to go running, but because they are comfortable. Baby steps here!
"Stop trying to find friends! Instead, develop the skills of friendship. The happiest people had 6 or more hours of social contact daily (in some big study)." She mentioned that we should focus on having one meaningful conversation daily.
Don't try to feel happy! Instead, try to feel grateful. Write down 3 good things that happen each day, and why they happened.
Celebrate Failure! "If anything is worth doing, it is worth doing badly!" ha. I liked when she said this. "We can always learn to do it better. Failure often means we are taking the necessary risks to grow, stretch, and serve. It just matters that we try! We don't always have to win and do will at everything."
Don't endure to the end! "Life is to be enjoyed not just endured. Savor everyday delights: loved ones, nature, home, good food, comforts, music, art, etc. The little things can bring joy to our lives. The savor delights in tiny pleasures."
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Brad Wilcox (teacher at BYU): " Our lives build on each other. We need to love each other and see ourselves turn weaknesses into strengths. We want to give our all and serve our best...BUT He takes ANY offering. He is more concerned with the offerer, and not the offering. God is pleased with every effort we make! No matter how faltering. As long as we are trying to do better. He told an analogy about a little girl who wanted so desperately to carry the milk jug by herself. She struggled and struggled, and could not do it. Finally her mother picker her up and took her inside. The little girl yelled out to her father, "look dad i am doing it all by myself." We probably sound like this a lot to Heavenly Father. We are powerless without God. The scriptures say we are nothing, and are talking about this. It is not saying we are worthless, but powerless." ONE OF MY FAVORITE THINGS SAID THE WHOLE CONFERENCE: "No unclean thing can dwell with got, BUT no UNCHANGED thing will want to. Heaven will not be heaven to those who have chosen not to be heavenly. Be changed so you will want to stay in righteous settings, and more importantly: heaven. This life is about growth. Not meeting standards. We are not just working on going home (heaven) but that we can feel at home in heaven. Practice being heavenly!"
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