Don't Forget The Priest-Laurel Conference This Weekend

See your Young Women Leaders for Details. It's going to be so much fun! Friday - 8:00-11:00 PM at the Felicita Building; Saturday 11:00 AM-7:30 PM at the Del Mar Stake Center. Attire: nice-casual (no shorts or t-shirts). Hope to see you there!

The Hard Thing Is Usually The Right Thing....

Dear Young Women,
Happy New Year! I know I'm saying this a little later than I should be, but I hope that each of you is excited about this year and all that it has to offer. New and exciting things are happening in the Young Women program! If you haven't already, you'll be receiving a new Personal Progress booklet and journal - they are beautiful. We also have a new 2010 Mutual Theme which is found in Joshua 1:9: "Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the Lord Thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest." I hope that as you read this, you feel the great hope and comfort that I do.
I have been thinking about the things that test our strength and courage; they come in many forms but one thing that I've learned is something that is hard and requires us to be strong and courageous is usually the right thing. There are so many things you do that test your strength and courage - you do them everyday and they are so much a part of your life that you probably don't even realize how strong and courageous you really are. It takes strength to get up for seminary, it takes courage to turn away when friends are telling an off-color joke, it takes strength to turn off the tv and read your scriptures before you get too tired, it takes courage to forgive a friend who has hurt your feelings and it takes strength and courage to ask for forgiveness....these are just a few examples but there are many, many others.
Last week there was one day that I had a difficult day - nothing really bad happened, but there were just a lot of things that tested my patience. I ran into the bank for what should have been an easy transaction, but the teller told me that she couldn't do what I asked her to do without some additional paper work. I wasn't exactly rude, but I certainly wasn't as kind as I should have been. After I left, I was haunted by my reaction - it bothered me for several days. Later in the week, I found myself back in the bank. The same teller was sitting behind the counter and I prayed to myself that she wouldn't help me - but that didn't happen. She called me forward and very politely assisted me. In my head, I heard the words of our theme about being "strong and courageous" and I knew I had to fix my mistake and apologize. I really didn't want to - in fact, several times during the short time she was helping me I almost talked myself out of it saying "I really wasn't that rude", but I knew I wouldn't feel good about it until I took care of it. Finally, just as I finished my business, I leaned over to her and said, "I was in here several days ago and you helped me." She nodded and smiled. I continued, "I'm afraid I wasn't very kind to you and I've felt terrible about it. I hope you'll forgive me." She looked stunned and shook her head saying, "Oh no, no - I don't even remember that." I think she was being kind; I think she did remember, but I appreciated her graciousness. As I was leaving the bank, I felt so much better. I knew that I had the strength and courage to do something hard. And you know what? You do too!! Whether it be big or small, you can find the courage and strength to do hard things.

The YW theme states, "We will stand as witnesses of God at all times, in all things, and in all places...." Most of the time, standing as a witness requires courage and strength; an important part of having courage and strength is found in the rest of the theme for this year - "...for the Lord Thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest." I know each one of you will feel the strength of the Savior as you choose to be strong and of a good courage.

I hope you have a great week. I love you all.
TTYL~

5 Minutes A Day....

Dear Young Women,

I hope each one of you had a great Thanksgiving. For the first time in many years, I was together with my mom and 4 sisters (yes, there are 5 girls in my family and I'm the oldest). We had a great time together; believe it or not, you'll love and appreciate your family even more as you get older.

This year, I have tried hard to follow the counsel of the General YW Presidency and P-R-S (pray, read, smile) everyday. I haven't been perfect in it, but I have definitely made an effort to do it most days; I especially noticed a difference when I read my scriptures 5 minutes every day. I have found that my love and appreciation of the scriptures has grown in a big way.

In fact, I want to share a little experience with you about reading my scriptures: one night I woke up in the night worried about one of my children (I have 4 and it's not uncommon for me to wake up thinking about one of them - I can almost guarantee that your mom does it too!). The longer I lay there awake, the more I worried - and the less I slept. Finally, I grabbed my Book of Mormon that was next to my bed and thought I'd just read a little. As I began to read, the story began to talk about the principle of free agency and I realized that the message was exactly what I needed to hear. The more I read, the more my worries went away and the more I felt peace. I know that by turning to the scriptures, I received the message our Heavenly Father had intended for me.

Heavenly Father has messages for each one of us. If you will read everyday for 5 minutes, I know that you'll come to understand messages that will be meaningful in your life and your love of the scriptures will grow just as mine has.

I love you all and I'm so grateful for that I get to associate with such amazing young women. Have a wonderful week - and good luck next week on your finals!

TTYL~

Stay On The Path

Dear Young Women,

A couple of weeks ago, I went camping with my family. We had a wonderful time being together. My husband - a true fisherman - took our girls and headed for the lake. I took the dog and headed for the trails which surrounded a national forest. I had been told that the path went all the way around the lake and that it was well paved...so I didn't bother to change out of my flip flops (I know how silly that sounds - I can hardly believe it myself!).

The trails were beautiful and went right along the edge of the lake. The dog and I walked for quite a while and then without warning the path turned from dirt to nothing but rocks. I had to slow down and walk very, very slowly (and the rocks were killing my feet) but I was sure that it would turn back to dirt fairly quickly so I kept walking. We walked a long way and finally I decided that the path was going to stay rock and I had better turn back and hope that my feet could survive until I got to the dirt path again.

Just as I was ready to give up, I came around a bend and there was the path again...only this time it wasn't just dirt it was actually paved! If I thought the scenery was beautiful before, it couldn't compare to what was on this side of the lake; I had the feeling not many people came this distance and missed how beautiful this part of the forest was.

If I had turned around, I would have missed out on the incredible experience of seeing part of forest that I didn't know existed. I also would have given up right before the rocky path changed and I would have had to walk all the way back through the rocks. As it turned out, the path led me right back to where I had started.

My experience is very similar to everyday life: we go along and the path has bumps and curves, but nothing that we can't handle. Then out of nowhere, we hit a rocky path and we have to make a decision: do we continue forward - even at a slower pace - or do we go back and never see what the Lord has in store for us around the bend. Regarding trials (or rocky paths) H. Burke Peterson said, "Trials come to the strong and to the weak - to the sick and to the healthy.Yes, the trials will still be there; but with the companionship of the Spirit our approach to trials will change frustrations and heartaches to blessings."

I hope that each of you will remember that we all have periods when the path is rocky, but there are many people who love you and are willing to walk with you. You are not alone. Just stay on the path. There is something beautiful in store for you around the bend.

I hope you have a great week and that I'll see you soon.

Lots of love,

"Bee A Believer" Beehive Conference

Dear Young Women,

We had such a great time with our Beehives at the Stake Beehive Conference. I hope you'll remember the many ways you can "Bee A Believer" (have you made your soup for your family yet?). Thank you for attending and we hope you had as much fun as we did. We sure love you all! TTYL~