The Art of Homemaking!

Lesson #7 Homemaking

After reading the homemaker qualifications, and the story, do the following activity: Select 3 volunteers. Each will draw a task from a bag. You can have as many tasks as you can think of or have time for, I could only think of 3! The tasks included a small puzzle, read from a children's book, and correctly set a table (one setting). After the girls have completed the task, explain that homemaking isn't always about cleaning, cooking and sewing. The art of homemaking will often include many puzzles, books and yes, of course dinner and perhaps entertaining guests. While cooking and sewing are important, creating a home, an environment for learning and loving is truly the art of homemaking. Our Heavenly Father has given women a divine role that only they can fulfill.

Sister Julie B. Beck, General Relief Society has said,"I have a testimony gained from pondering and studying the scriptures of a plan of happiness given to us by our Father in Heaven. That plan has a part for His daughters. We have the female half to take care of, and if we don't do our part, no one is going to do it for us. The half of our Father's plan that creates life, that nurtures souls, that promotes growth, that influences everything else was given to us. We can't delegate it. We can't pass it off to anyone. It's ours. We can refuse it, we can deny it, but it's still our part, and we are accountable for it."

A Wolf in Sheep's Clothing

Across a small valley
On a bright sunny day,
A family of sheep
We’re grazing away.
Said the mom to the lambs,
“Stay close to me Dears,
Danger can find us-
Even right here!”
High on a hill,
A wolf lay in wait.
‘Til he thought of a plan,
“I’ll get them with bait!”
“I’ll cover myself with
A cloak of sheep’s wool.
I’ll sneak in among them,
They won’t even know.”
So covered in wool,
His work had begun.
He grazed and he played
With them in the warm sun.
And once he determined
His web had been weaved,
He led them away
With his plan to deceive.
From out of the safety
Of mothers close eye
Away from the herd
Was the sheep led to die.
For the wolf had deceived him.
Slowly but sure.
He led him a stray,
Came in the back door.


The moral of the story
Is simple but true,
Satan wriggles right in-
He’ll deceive even you.
Know who you are,
Know what path you’ll take.
Strengthen yourself
And good choices you’ll make.
It’s not always easy
To not be deceived,
Heavenly Father pleads with us,
ALWAYS BELIEVE!
Believe that he loves you
No matter the cost.
Believe that he weeps
For every sheep lost.
Be certain each day
Wherever you are
His spirit can be there,
Its never too far.
-Julie Brakey

HUGS!

This week for my YW lesson (Manuel 3, lesson 23) we are talking about Overcoming Opposition. The scriptures tell us "there must needs be opposition in all things"(2Nephi 2:11). With that in mind, we are going to do some fun flash cards. The cards will have words like up, out, in for which I will ask the girls to tell me their opposites. The words will start to get a little harder as we progress to words like discouraged, faith, etc. We will talk about the fall of Adam which made it possible for us to know sorrow and happiness. Although we don't ask for trials and opposition, they can help us become stronger.

Sometimes hugs just aren't enough to carry us through opposition, but there are some things we can do to get through it. For my handout, I have a little baggy of Hersheys Hugs. Attached to each Hug is one of the 12 ways listed in the lesson to help us overcome opposition.

Puzzled?

Last week In YW's the lesson was on keeping an Eternal Perspective. I brought 2 children's puzzles with me. (24 pieces each) To one group of girls I gave the boxed puzzle with the picture and to the other group I gave just the puzzle, no picture of what it was to be. After they put them together, we talked about how much easier it is to complete a puzzle when we have the picture of the finished product. We talked about how our perspective changes as we grow and learn. Our Heavenly Father knows where we are in our life and our challenges and knows we can make it through them. Having an eternal perspective is having the faith that there is a purpose greater than we can comprehend. It's relying on our faith that our Heavenly Father will guide us if we ask for his help. I gave each girl this handout, advising them when we get confused or "puzzled", try to see things as our Heavenly Father does!

BTW-the puzzle idea came from my friend Raeshel Hortin! Thanks Raeshel!

p.s.

I used Max's puzzle for the hand-out. Evidently it was his favorite because when he saw them he cried! This puzzle was missing pieces so I didn't think he would care, my bad! I did try to explain eternal perspective to him, he wasn't buyin' it!

Click on it for larger view!

Knowledge is Power!

One of the many blessings we have as Latter Day Saints is the knowledge that we have a purpose. We know that when this earth life is through, we continue on in the Spirit World. We also know that things of this world-monetary things, will have no value. The only thing we can take with us is our knowledge. Money seems to be the grease that moves the wheel in this life and I wanted to have an analogy that my youth could relate to. I came up with this poem. I reminded the young women that a single penny alone really isn't worth much, but if it's treasured and saved among others, it's value grows. The same is true of the things we learn in this life. All of life's lessons should be treasured as gold and collectively they help us grow stronger.

*Click the picture to see a larger view!

The Optimistic Monkey!

A few months ago, my YW lesson was on optimism. I had one of the girls wear a stuffed monkey on her back. She clearly could function, although putting on a sweater was problematic. We talked about how negativity is sometimes like the monkey. We can function, however often times carrying the extra baggage makes things difficult. As a handout, I wrote this poem and attached a little monkey key chain I bought online at http://www.orientaltrading.com/ If you click on it you

can see a larger image!