Sunday, Sept 30th's Lesson...

Hey Sisters...

I just wanted to put up some of the main quotes/ideas from today's lesson so you have them available to you...

From the 13th Article of Faith we learn that...

"We Believe in being Honest & True"

I hope that in our ward we will be able to be honest and true with each other.  I want you to feel like you can be honest about how things are going in your lives!!!  We want to share in your joys and in your sorrows.  =)

One BIG truth I hope you will remember is....

“Being single does not mean you have to put off being happy!"

During the lesson we also talked about the fact that

"Your Once Upon A Time Is Now!!!" 

and that....

"You are unrepeatable... There is magic about you that is all your own."

President Uchtdorf taught us....

"On the first page of your Young Women Personal Progress book, you will find these words: “You are a beloved daughter of Heavenly Father, prepared to come to the earth at this particular time for a sacred and glorious purpose.”
 

Sisters, those words are true! They are not made up in a fairy tale! Isn’t it remarkable to know that our eternal Heavenly Father knows you, hears you, watches over you, and loves you with an infinite  love? In fact, His love for you is so great that He has granted you this earthly life as a precious gift of “once upon a time,” complete with your own true story of adventure, trial, and opportunities for greatness, nobility, courage, and love. And, most glorious of all, He offers you a gift beyond price and comprehension. Heavenly Father offers to you the greatest gift of all—eternal life—and the opportunity and infinite blessing of your own “happily ever after.”

We then focused on one of President Uchtdorf's Forget-Me-Nots...  

Forget Not To Be Happy Now...

I hope that we can remember  

Life isn’t about waiting for the storm to pass... It’s about learning to dance in the rain.  =)

Another quote from President Ucthdorf...  (he's pretty amazing!)

"The lesson here is that if we spend our days waiting for fabulous roses, we could miss the beauty and wonder of the tiny forget-me-nots that are all around us.  This is not to say that we should abandon hope or temper our goals. Never stop striving for the best that is within you. Never stop hoping for all of the righteous desires of your heart. But don’t close your eyes and hearts to the simple and elegant beauties of each day’s ordinary moments that make up a rich, well-lived life.
    

The happiest people I know are not those who find their golden ticket; they are those who, while in pursuit of worthy goals, discover and treasure the beauty and sweetness of the everyday moments. They are the ones who, thread by daily thread, weave a tapestry of gratitude and wonder throughout their lives. These are they who are truly happy.


And last but not least we spoke about how President Monson has counseled us to 

Find Joy in the Journey...

My thought to go along with finding joy in the journey was...

If life were easy, where would all the adventures be?

I want to include a couple of quotes here that we were not able to get to in the lesson...  I think they can really apply to many of our lives and help us keep perspective!

Elder Oaks... Speaking of his own life said...
"How fundamentally different my life is than I had sought to plan. My professional life has changed.  My personal life has changed.  But the commitment I made to the Lord -- to put Him first in my life and to be ready for whatever He would have me do -- has carried me through these changes of eternal importance...  It never ceases to amaze me that even when we plan out our lives to match up what we think would please our Heavenly Father we very rarely get the plan quite right!   It's a good thing he is willing to make changes to our plans even when we don't understand the changes!   It allows us to grow and become so much more than we ever would have made of ourselves had we stuck to our original plan!"

Elder Maxwell?
"The issue for us is trusting God enough to trust also in His timing. If we can truly believe that He has our welfare at heart, may we not let His plans unfold as He thinks best?  Since faith in the timing of the Lord may be tried, let us learn to say not only"Thy will be done," but patiently also, "Thy timing be done."  Indeed we cannot have true faith in the Lord without also having complete trust in His will and in His timing."

I hope that we will all be able to learn to TRUST God completely with our lives and know that as we allow him to work in our lives, all will work out for our own good.   I have such a strong testimony of the Savior Jesus Christ.  He is our brother and our friend who suffered so much so that he might be able to say to us... I've been where you have been and I get the pain you feel and the hurt you are dealing with.  =)  

In the lesson I shared this little thought and I love it because it is so true!!!

When you feel like you are drowning in life, don't worry, your lifeguard walks on water.

Christ does walk on water and he will always be there for you.  He is so willing to get down in the trenches with us and help us through this life.  If he wasn't willing, he would not have come to this earth to suffer in the first place!  I love this gospel SOOO much!  I'm honored that the Lord trusts me to serve the sisters in the 9th Ward and I can't wait to get to know all of you better.  Please, please, please come introduce yourself to me!!!

Blog to you soon!

Wendy =)

Meet the New Presidency!!! =)

President  --  Wendy Larsen

Meet Wendy...

She graduated from Utah Valley University with a bachelor's in Hospitality Management!  Why hospitality management?!?!   Because she loves to travel.  =)   For now, she does not use her degree, but is a licensed health insurance agent and works for her dad @ LSS Insurance Agency.  One of her greatest loves in this life is CHILDREN...  (especially black babies!!!)  She's been very blessed to have 2 adorable nieces and a nephew.   She recently found out there is another niece on the way and can't wait to meet her!  She served a full time mission in the Greece Athens Mission and tries her best to keep up on her Greek skills.  =)  When life isn't too crazy, she enjoys being outdoors especially when there is a campfire involved, scrapbooking, playing cards with her grandma, and whatever else fits in the mix! 

1st Counselor  --  Keni Stuart

Meet Keni... She's a senior going into Residential Landscape Design and Construction at Utah State. After graduation she hopes to start the masters program in Landscape Architecture. She is an Ag Ambassador and loves recruiting for the College of Ag. It's the best college on campus! She's an active member of Alpha Chi Omega Sorority and she cherishes the many relationships she's made through the organization. She loves mountain biking, camping, riding her motorcycle and spending time with friends and family!!!

2nd Counselor -- Sarah Bragg

Meet Sarah...

She was born in San Jose, CA, but I spent most of her life growing up in West Richland, WA. She is the middle child with one older sister and one younger sister. Some of you will remember her younger sister Jenny who used to be in our ward and is now serving in the Salt Lake City Spanish speaking Mission. The rest of her family still lives in Washington. Right after high school she trained to get her private pilot's license, and after completing that she decided she should probably go to school. She came out to Logan to come to Utah State, because her grandpa taught here as an economics professor.  She has been going to college on and off because she couldn't decide what she wanted to do. While being frustrated with life,  she went away to live in Juneau, Alaska for awhile. In Juneau she worked as a Sea Kayak tour guide on an island east of the mainland. She very nearly decided to stay up there and be a Guide the rest of her life, but she knew that wouldn't be practical. She came back to finish school, and will head back up to Alaska as soon as she is done. 

She is now studying Anthroplogy/Archaeology at Utah State. If all goes well she will be done in May! She has been asked what Archaeology is many times so if your wondering it is not digging up dinosaur bones, thats paleontology. Archaelogy is the study of past humans and civilizations and invovles excavation of human remains, occupation sites, settlements, structures, and anything they threw out (old trash) that will tell us about how they lived and who they were. After she graduates she hopes to move back to Alaska, and find work for a private Archaeological firm and to continue her flight training for her instrument and commercial licenses. While she is attending school she works full time in the produce department at Lees Marketplace. If she has spare time she enjoys flying (airplanes), kayaking, rock climbing, archery, hiking, shooting things with her gun, and relaxing with a good book! She loves being alone and doing these things on her own which has made her a bit socially awkward. She knows this calling will be a huge stuggle for her to overcome being antisocial and timid. She will definitely need your girl's help!  She thanks you for the love and acceptance she has already felt from many of you. It helps strengthen her so much! She is anxious to meet and to learn about all you ladies!

Secretary -- Stefanie Rieben

Meet Stefanie...

She was born and raised here in Logan, UT.  She attended USU and graduated with a Master's degree in speech-language pathology.  She now teaches speech therapy at Wilson  Elementary here in Logan, where she works with 50-60 students.  It keeps her very busy, but she loves it!  Some of her hobbies include reading, baking, watching movies, and traveling.  This summer she flew out to San Francisco and toured Chinatown and the Golden Gate Bridge and ate the most scrumptious chocolate-dipped ice cream cone at Ghirardelli Square and clam chowder in a bread bowl at Pier 39!  Some of her other favorite places to visit have been Hawaii, Nauvoo, and Disneyland!  But her favorite past time of all is spending time with her family.  She has two amazing younger brothers (twins) and the world's most awesome parents!  She loves the Gospel and has a testimony of her Savior and His Atonement and love for each and every one of us.  She is excited to get to know all the girls in the 9th ward!