CANNING OPPORTUNITY

Sisters we have our first opportunity this year to go and can items for our own food storage. Cathy Meyer gave everyone a sheet, with what commodities are available to can at our facility. Please plan what items you are interested in doing, and then join us MONDAY, MAY 3RD FROM 9-1. Wear comfortable clothing and shoes.

Generations Project

“It is the deepest desire of my heart to have every member of the Church worthy to enter the temple.”
(Howard W. Hunter Conference Report, Oct. 1994, 8.)



“Let us be a temple-attending people. Attend the temple as frequently as personal circumstances allow."
(Howard W Hunter “Exceeding Great and Precious Promises, ” Ensign, Nov. 1994, 8.)

stay tuned for more information regarding our Dallas 4th Relief Society Generations project!

Blog update deadline

Sisters, we've decided to try to make this a bit easier for everyone. From now on, we're asking that all upcoming activities and announcements be posted on the blog by Saturday night. That way Sisters can check the blog on Sundays and know that it's completely up to date!

Hope this helps. If you have any other suggestions for us, please let us know. :)

WHEN THE NEED ARISES - THE TIME FOR PREPARATION IS PAST!

We are starting an interest group class on preparing your 72 Hour Kits. Both our Church and FEMA advise having a 72 Hour Kit available for each member of your family in times of an area emergency. Our first class will be held at the home of Kim Adair on Tues. May 18th at 7:00 p.m. You will need a backpack or rolling case for each member of your family. Please start by acquiring one for yourself, which you can replicate for each person you are responsible for as finances allow. We will start very basic with water needs, and some rotating clothing ideas. Please bring a calculator with you as well as your Provident Living Binder, which was provided by the R.S.

The next class will be held Tues. June 15th 7:00p.m. also at Kim Adair's home - so mark it on your calendar.

Kim will be happy to work individually with anyone who contacts her regarding food storage help, or what food items, you might be interested in having her group order.

When we did the last Preparedness survey in the Dallas 4th Ward, we only had 6 families who said they had a 72 hour kit - so we are trying to provide some help for an obvious need.

"The Soul Connnection"

We are pleased to announce that the theme for our next "The Soul's Connection" meeting will be "Our Divine Nature as Daughters of God".
Please join us for a light dinner and spiritual message.

Date: Saturday, April 24, 2010

Time: 6:00 PM

Place: SanJuana and Nancy Martinez
(Their address is not shown here for security reasons. Please see your email blast for those details. Or you can contact someone in the RS presidency or Magda for more info.)

We hope to see you!

Time to Receive

I love a quote from an April 2003 conference talk given by Joseph B. Wirthlin. He gives great instruction on the gift of the Holy Ghost. He speaks of being concerned with how fast paced and busy this life (even in the church) can appear. He then states "being busy is not necessarily being spiritual."
Recovering from open heart surgery has required me to slow way down. I realize now that I was very busy and many of the things I did were constructive in nature. BUT, I do not know if I put a high enough priority on receiving personal revelation as I went about my days or weeks.
This Sunday, we have the lesson in Gospel Principles #7, "The Holy Ghost" to read and contemplate. We have our visiting teaching message in the April Ensign, "Seeking and Receiving Personal Revelation" to study and share. The Lord seems to be pleading with us to take time to ponder and consider His ways and His will for us.
I hope this weekend is not too full of activity or that we are too busy to feel that connection with the Holy Ghost and feel refreshed by personal revelation.
With all of the going and giving - I think it is time to receive!

Dover TAKS Snacks

Thank you to all those who contributed to the Dover Elementary snack drive. We were able to collect everything we needed for the students. On behalf of the administration, thank you for your generosity and love.

FOOD STORAGE OPPORTUNITIES

Sisters - Kim Adair, who is our new Food Storage Specialist, will have two opportunities to order some basic food items this Sunday. She will be offering Raw Honey from a local source, which while it is more expensive, it is excellent for those who suffer from allergies to use a local source. She will also have a Wheat order opportunity from a local woman in Allen. If interested sheets will be passed out right after Relief Society with all the information. If you have any questions - Kim says you may call her anytime for more information - the number is in the ward roster.
The honey will have only a short deadline - a week, and the wheat a little longer. Our time in Relief Society is so short, so if you have questions - please call Kim to answer them. Provident Living means start putting something away for the rainy days - when the Sun is shining!

Canning Date

Sisters, mark your calendars for Monday, May 3 from 9 am to 1 pm. We have reserved a spot at the cannery for those who would like to work on their food storage. In recent counsel at Stake Conference, we were advised that if we have not already started our food storage it will soon be too late. Let us not procrastinate this very important counsel....you and your family's lives may very well depend on it. So over the next few weeks, take inventory of your food storage or lack thereof and then come join us. A list of the items available at the cannery and cost will be available on Sunday. Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions.

Favorite part of Conference?

i thought it would be fun for everyone to write about what their favorite part of conference was. whether it be a specific talk, song, family tradition, etc.

my favorite part was saturday morning when President Monson was talking about his wife. i love when prophets talk about their wives and give personal stories. it makes them more "real" to me and helps me remember that they too are regular people who went through the same experiences we do. i thought it was funny that he joined the navy because she thought he would look better in a navy uniform than the army.

i also really enjoyed President Uchtdorfs talk on accepting others members regardless of their appearance or the way they do things. i am guilty of judging others too often and it was a good reminder that we are still children of God and we need to see them and appreciate their uniqueness the way Our Heavenly Father would.

now please post a comment to share your favorites....

Monson

OUR BANK ACCOUNTS

A 92 year old, well poised, and proud woman , who is fully dressed each morning by 8 a.m., with her hair combed and a smile on her face, even though she is legally blind, moved to a nursing home. Her husband of 70 years passed away, making the move necessary. After several hours waiting patiently in the lobby of the nursing home, she smiled sweetly when she was told her room was ready.

As she maneuvered her walker to the elevator, the nurse provided a visual description of her tiny room. I love it, she stated with the enthusiasm of an 8 yr. old getting a new puppy. The nurse said. "wait you haven't even seen the room yet." She replied,"Happiness is something you decide on ahead of time . Whether I like my room or not doesn't depend on how the furniture is arranged..it's how I arrange my mind. I already decided to love it. It's a decision I make every morning when I wake up. I have a choice; I can spend the day in bed counting the difficulty I have with the parts of my body that no longer work or get out of bed and be thankful for the ones that do. Each day is a gift, and as long as my eyes open, I'll focus on the new day, and all the happy memories I 've stored away - just for this time in my life. It's like a bank account, you withdraw from what you've put in. So, my advice is to deposit a lot of happiness in the bank account of memories." - WHAT GREAT ADVICE FOR ANY AGE!

Soul's Connection to Valiance

On March 27th, the interest group "Soul's Connection", met at Kathy Smith's home (Kathy is always so generous) and enjoyed a light meal and wonderful lesson from Karen Bateman. (As many might know, I have been "out of commission" for several weeks and I love hearing about all the good happening at and in these interest groups.) The sisters that attended this event were rewarded with an uplifting discussion on "Putting on the Whole Armor of God". Karen took her comments from Ephesians and the D&C with entertaining visual aids she had saved from past Family Home Evenings (anyone is welcome to ask her about it and borrow her template).
I appreciate the "valiance" of the women in this ward and their support of all of our interest groups. The unique quality of support, friendship, and caring is a hallmark of the Dallas 4th Ward!

Reading for April

Happy April Fool's Day sisters! Tami got us really well tonight when she answered the door in her house robe! She provided yummy treats and we had an enjoyable discussion about self-esteem, patience/loyalty, and how our faith can get us through trials. We hope more can join us next month!

Speaking of next month. Our next meeting will be Thursday, May 6th at 7:30pm at Laura Pollan's house. For April, our topic is "Before Disney." So choose a book/fairy tale that has been made into a Disney movie. But you have to read the original version, not the Disney one.

Here are some ideas:
Mary Poppins by P.L. Travers
Jungle Book by Rudyard Kippling
101 Dalmatians by Dodie Smith
The Adventures of Pinocchio by Bob Blaisdell
Alice in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass by Lewis Carroll
Peter Pan by James Matthew Barrie
Bambi by Felix Salten
The Sword in the Stone by T.H. White

We know most everyone is pretty busy reading the Book of Mormon due to the Bishop's challenge. That's why this topic is perfect for this month because these should all be pretty easy reads!