What an awesome first activity I was able to attend!! Our stake put together a wonderful morning of activities for the girls that centered around the scripture found in 1Samuel 16:7:
"The Lord seeth not as man seeth for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the Lord looketh on the heart."
We arrived at the church bright and early in our Sunday best. The girls looked so nice in their cute clothes with their hair done so stylishly, some with fancy flowers in their hair. We met in the chapel for some opening comments. We watched a portion of a talk given by President Uchtdorf about the story of The Ugly Duckling. You can re-read it or watch it here. President Uchtdorf sums it up, "My dear young friends, this knowledge allows you to see your own reflection in the water. It assures you that you are not ordinary, rejected, or ugly. You are something divine—more beautiful and glorious than you can possibly imagine. This knowledge changes everything. It changes your present. It can change your future. And it can change the world."
President Anderson showed us some optical illusions, illustrating how people see things differently. In one picture, a young, elegant lady appeared. At the same time, there was an elderly woman. In another picture, some could see a person playing a saxophone, while others saw the picture of a woman. This illustrated how people see things differently. After these speakers, we headed for our rotation stations.
"What's in your purse?"Sister Felix spoke with us, using her wonderfully huge Mary Poppins-esque purse filled with oversized reminders of things in our purse that can remind us of how we should act. In her purse we found a tube of lip gloss which can remind us to speak kind words, and never anything that can hurt another person. There was also a very blingy cell phone, which she likened to the scriptures. We should cling to the scriptures as some cling to their phones, because there are many answers that can be found in the scriptures. There were some sunglasses which remind us to look for the good in others. She also encouraged us to be the friend that you want to be remembered as.
"Developing Talents - Music"This was a surprise to me. I didn't think that as I walked into the primary room that I would be transported to a recording studio, but there I was. The girls practiced singing, "Hum Your Favorite Hymn" while being directed by Sister Ellsworth. After a couple times singing it, they were recorded. It sounded so nice. Each group that rotated through this station sang a different song, all of which were recorded. These songs will be burned onto a CD for each girl. That will be so fun to hear them all together.
"Design your Purse"What would a stake activity day be without a craft? The girls always do a great job making things, so this craft was no exception. Each girl was given a bag which they were able to embellish with felt circle flowers, ribbons, and jewels. Each bag was unique and totally cute!
"True Beauty"
Our last rotation was a class about true beauty. Sister Dewitt spoke with us about how things in your heart are more important than outer appearance. She gave us the following beauty tips:
For beautiful lips
-say only good things about others.
For sparkling eyes
-look for the good in everyone.
For a slim figure
-work hard helping and sharing with those in need.
For lovely hands
-use them often to lift others.
To develop poise and grace
-walk with the knowledge that you are a Daughter of God.
After the last speaker, we went to the cultural hall where we found lunch waiting for us, along with a beautifully decorated room. Each table had a darling centerpiece. I think the girl's favorite part of the room was a toss-up between the cupcake bar and the lemonade fountain. While we ate our lunch, Sister Martineau and Sister Harris spoke about manners. Tied to a fork, was this quote by Emily Post: "Manners are a sensitive awareness of the feelings of others. If you have awareness you have good manners no matter which fork you use."
No comments:
Post a Comment