Spontaneity needs a PLAN!

I went with my family to Nauvoo for Thanksgiving. I was impressed with the level of planning the simplest tasks required for the people of 1840 Nauvoo. I am reminded that to have fun, joy, whatever - one needs to be very organized.
I know that the strains and expectations of the Christmas season often are at odds with the desire to relax, enjoy, and experience the holidays with people we love (or are trying to love:).
Here are some PLANS that can be considered so that we can have some spontaneous moments!
1. Get tithing settlement handled now! This is a way to account to the Lord and clear the board on a temporal level. Whether we have paid a full tithe or not - go meet with the Bishop and give an accounting. It will make us feel better for sure and it is a requirement of our membership in the church.
2. Get Visiting Teaching handled now! Bring the women you visit teach or call and remind them of our "MAKE IT A GREAT CHRISTMAS" Relief Society Party at the home of Annie Reid - 7PM - Tuesday, December 6th. Everyone who comes and has handled their visiting teaching in this manner can count the visit for the month of December!
3. Find one new recipe and go buy the ingredients NOW - to make for the holidays. (Mine will be "Corn Pudding" - as my family loves anything with corn!) Diversity is the birth of "spontaneity"!
4. Find one HOLIDAY activity around Dallas that you and your family can enjoy. The Arboretum is wonderful this time of year and it is always fun to watch Santa Claus skate on ice around the "ginormous" Christmas Tree at the Galleria (Saturdays at 5PM). Invite someone to go with you and your family.
5. Go find a fun "ELF" gift at the dollar or 99cent stores. The "Secret Santa" idea has no age limit and it always makes us feel "seen" by the Lord when we are remembered by others.
I have found that no matter who you are or what your details might be - any kind of JOY requires a little planning.

Revelation

Dear Sisters,
On Sunday the 27th we will learn more about personal revelation. Please read Elder Bednar's talk "The Spirit of Revelation" (4-11 Conference talk). We will find that we receive much more revelation than we know.

Click HERE to go to the talk.

Love,
Shirlee

Pumpkin French Toast Bake

This is a great recipe I found and wanted to share with you during this pumpkin season!
Pumpkin French Toast Bake
8 eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground cloves
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
1 Tbsp white sugar
1 can (15 oz) pumpkin puree
1 loaf Texas toast thick-sliced bread, cut into 1-inch cubes (make sure the bread is not fresh, you can also substitute day-old cake donuts)
1/3 cup brown sugar
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
2 Tbsp all-purpose flour
1 Tbsp butter, softened

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9x13-inch baking dish.
2. Whisk the eggs, vanilla extract, 2 tsp cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, and white sugar together in a bowl; beat in the pumpkin until fully incorporated.
3. Put bread cubes in a large bowl; pour pumpkin mixture over the bread cubes and toss gently to coat. Then transfer everything to the baking dish.
4. Stir 1/3 cup of brown sugar, 1/4 tsp of cinnamon, flour, and butter together with a fork in a small bowl until the mixture is crumbly; sprinkle over the bread cubes.
5. Bake in preheated oven until golden brown on top, 30-40 minutes.

Source: allrecipes.com

Millennium

Sisters,
In the past few weeks we have covered the Signs of the Second Coming and the Second Coming of Jesus Christ in our RS lessons. Tomorrow we will be learning about the Millennium. "A thousand years of peace, love, and joy will begin on the earth at the Second Coming of Jesus Christ. This thousand-year period is called the Millennium. The scriptures and the prophets help us understand what it will be like to live on the earth during the Millennium."

We are so fortunate to have modern day scriptures and prophets to help us understand the Millennium. I invite you to read the scriptures that so clearly paint a picture of what the Millennium will be like. Here are a few to look over before tomorrow's lesson:
D&C 88:87-110 (the conditions during the Millennium)

I'll need your prayers for tomorrow! Thanks sisters!

--Stephanie Manwearing

Single Adult Regional Conference

Thursday, November 17- Sunday, November 20
Register at www.dfwsa.net

Thursday: 6:30-10pm, Temple Night and Ice Cream Social
Friday: 6:45pm-Midnight, Activities, Appetizers, and Dance
Saturday: 9:00am-11:45pm, Speakers, Workshops, Service Projects, Dinner, and Dance
Sunday: 7:00pm, Fireside with Elder and Sister Fluckinger and Refreshments

"Make It" a Wonderful Christmas

We had 18 Sisters come to see, taste and learn how to "make it" a wonderful Christmas. Joanne Poulsen and Esther Davis, again wowed us with their fun, inexpensive gift ideas from the kitchen. We all have visiting and home teachers, friends, neighbors, school teachers, or co-workers, that we would like to remember with a little gift or treat at Christmas time.

We got to taste the wonderful Soup in a Bottle recipe, Joanne put together. The pumpkin, chocolate chip muffins, the cookies in a jar recipe that Esther made, and even dip and decorate our own Cake Pops. Cake Pop pans are now available to purchase in stores, which would be a fun new tradition to start with your family this Christmas. If you look online for Cake Pops, you will find out how to make them look like reindeer, santas, christmas trees and all sorts of holiday treats.

One really quick and delicious treat was to take several small square pretzels then put a chocolate kiss, or a rolo on top and place on a cookie sheet in a 350 degree oven, and leave for 1-2 minutes to melt - watch closely - then take out and add one or two M&M's on top. Let cool, and you can put them in jars or tins for gifts. More recipes will follow from Esther. What a great idea these new interest groups are - I love the Relief Society, we are always evolving in wonderful ways.

A "HOME" for Thanksgiving

I still get disconcerted when Hobby Lobby is putting out Christmas decorations at the end of Summer. However, it can no loner be denied, the holiday season is upon us. For me personally, it is easy to get caught up in my own family details.
As I sat down to study my scriptures this morning, the thought came to me that our Dallas 4th Ward roster should be part of my "family" details!
Does every sister in this ward have a "HOME" for Thanksgiving?
Please look at the women you visit teach. Please ask a member of the Ward Council (Relief Society for sure) or the Bishopbric if there is a woman/person/family in this ward that could use a place to be and feel loved during this holiday season.
I am uncomfortable making this a D4 Relief Society "assigned" effort. I hope this will be an individual or family effort to see who needs our love and comfort and friendship at the very time that we gather to celebrate all the good in our lives.
Let us SHARE our HOMES this Thanksgiving!

"MAKE IT" A GREAT CHRISTMAS!

The Holidays are coming quickly, and we (the Relief Society) have some fun plans going forward in November and December. We will start off with a fun interest group activity for COOKING 101. It will be this Tuesday, November 15th starting at 7:00 p.m. at the home of Joanne Poulsen. Joanne and Esther Davis have a fun evening planned demonstrating quick, DELICIOUS, GIFTS FROM THE KITCHEN for your Holiday giving.

Then circle Tuesday, December 6th for our annual Christmas R.S. Dinner and party. It will be at the home of Annie Reid. It is entitled "MAKE IT" A GREAT CHRISTMAS ! Start looking around for a special gift you have received, that was "made" just for you. We will be doing a "show and tell" again with gifts that have been made for us. Bonnie Muir is working on the fabulous menu for this evening -mark down the date - don't miss this party!

Gospel Principles Chapter 44

This Sunday our Relief Society lesson will be on Chapter 44 from the Gospel Principles manual.
--What are your thoughts and feelings as you contemplate the events of the Second Coming?
--Why should we be concerned about our preparedness rather than the exact timing of the Second Coming?

"Signs of the Second Coming are all around us and seem to be increasing in frequency and intensity. . . . While we are powerless to alter the fact of the Second Coming and unable to know its exact time, we can accelerate our own preparation and try to influence the preparation of those around us. We need to make both temporal and spiritual preparation for the events prophesied at the time of the Second Coming."

Dallin H. Oaks, "Preparation for the Second Coming," Ensign, May 2004, 7-9

Provident Living--Group Orders

Here is some more information on the products we are ordering as a group:

1. Freeze -Dried Seasoned White Chicken. This comes from the Emergency Essentials catalog. Described as real cubed, cooked white chicken for your home storage. Regular price is $42.95. Our group price is $28 each. Here is a great opportunity to try even one can, to see if you like it. Shelf life is many years, but once opened, the product must be used up pretty quickly. There is no shipping cost on this one so if you need anything else from Emergency Essentials, now would be a prime time to get it. Also, if you are ordering water barrels, (info below) now would be a good time to order barrel supplies i.e. barrel opener, siphon hose (to empty barrels), siphon hose adapter (attaches from siphon to your garden hose), drinking water safe hose (for filling water barrels), etc. Look it over online, or if you have this month's catalog, water supplies are on pg. 42, and the chicken is on pg. 50.

2. 55-gallon water drums. The price will be affected by how many our group orders. We're looking at around $50 plus tax. We'll purchase them from a local company called Pennco Containers. We will likely need help from people with large vehicles on pick-up day. Details to follow.

3. The Aqua Rain gravity water filter. This is a wonderful product which can be for daily use and/or emergency use. It needs no water pressure, can produce up to 24 gallons a day, and can turn water from any source into safe drinking water. You fill the container from the top, and the water filters into the bottom section where you can then use the spigot to access the water. Ceramic filters contain carbon and silver, and can be cleaned multiple times for longer use. (Radioactive material is not filtered--sorry.) This product can be used to filter water from chlorine pools, ponds, hot water heaters, you name it. This is a more expensive item on the outset, but pays you back over time. I keep a container in my fridge that I fill with this filtered water, and I always have cold water. The filter does need counter space with no cupboard above (it's too tall to fit under an upper cabinet), or you can simply store it for emergency use. You can let me know if you have any other questions about this item. Price will be somewhere around $300, and I don't know yet if that will include shipping or not. You also have the option to buy replacement filters now, so you will always have them available in case of need. More information can be found on http://www.aquarain.com/. Ask for one for Christmas!

Some sisters have been telling their friends/family (members and non-members) about our items available for ordering. Feel free to let others know if you think they may be interested, and I will be happy to help them too. Just have them contact me via phone/email, or combine their order with yours.

PLEASE CONTACT ME WITH YOUR ORDERS BY SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 20th. THANKS!

A Memorial for Kay Hollingsworth

We now have the information concerning Kay Hollingsworth's funeral. The memorial services will be held at RESTLAND (Greenville & Restland Rd - Dallas TX) on Saturday, November 12th at 12:30PM. It will be at the Memorial Chapel in the main building.
There will be a viewing and chance to pay tribute and attention to Chester and Kay's family on November 11th - from 6-8PM - also at RESTLAND.
It is in these moments that I am most aware of the counsel given to the Saints in Mosiah 18:9 "yea, and we are willing to mourn with those who mourn; yea, and comfort those who stand in need of comfort." And then comes the most important part to me - "and to stand as witnesses of God at all times and in all things, even until death, that ye may be redeemed of God and be numbered with those of the first resurrection that ye may have eternal life."
Just like Kay Hollingsworth!

Live in Thanksgiving

Sisters, I wanted to share the link to the talk that my RS lesson came from today. It is by Elder Worthlin, titled "Live in Thanksgiving Daily." Click HERE to read it.

Also, I wanted to share some of the quotes from my handout:

Sister Bonnie D. Parkin

“When we communicate gratitude, we can be filled with the Spirit and connected to those around us and the Lord. Gratitude inspires happiness and carries divine influence.” (Gratitude: A Path to Happiness, Ensign, May 2007)

President Thomas S. Monson

“My brothers and sisters, to express gratitude is gracious and honorable, to enact gratitude is generous and noble, but to live with gratitude ever in our hearts is to touch heaven.” (The Divine Gift of Gratitude, Ensign, November 2010)

Gratitude = Service

1. Can you access running water at the turn of a nob?
2. Have you ever felt loved by someone?
3. Do you have knowledge of the Plan of Salvation?
4. Do you have a blanket or a heater to stay warm in the winter?

Come to Relief Society this Sunday to strengthen your testimony of how gratitude leads to service!

Kay Hollingsworth and Gertrude Glaspie

Kay Hollingsworth has been with the Dallas 4th Ward family since its beginning in the 1960's. She has served many of us in so many ways over the years. A Stalwart!
Gertrude Glaspie has been with us for just over a year. She has suffered from poor health and we have not seen much of her.
They are both sisters in our Relief Society. And, they will both be leaving us soon.
It is time to say good-bye to both of them.
Kay is at 6908 QuarterWay - but - time is very short for her.
Gertrude is leaving to stay with her sister in Illinois - she leaves on Friday. She might like to hear from us to wish her well. #214-429-5856