Announcements:
There is the baptism of Emma Dias on Saturday at 4pm. All are invited to come and make this a very special day for Emma. The Primary children have been asked to sing as part of the service so if you have children in primary, please try and bring them along.
If you have not handed in your VT figures / report for February can you please pass these to Sara ASAP.
March is the RS Birthday and we will be celebrating this at a special RS enrichment meeting on March 19th at 7.30pm. It will be a fun and informal evening - sisters are asked to please bring floor cushions / beanbags if they wish so they can be more comfortable. More details will be given next Sunday.
As you may know the Church has announced that there will no longer be an annual General RS Meeting in October. Instead at each General Conference there will be a General Women's Meeting which will be open to all members of RS, YW and Primary girls aged 8+. It was a wonderful exciting change and the first meeting will be shown in the Ipswich chapel at 3pm on 5th April. Light refreshments will be served.
Lesson:
The presidency message this month was given by Sara McCullum.
She told of an experiment that was made on 3 groups of people - the first was asked at the end of each week to write down 5 things that they were grateful for. The second to write 5 things which had been stressful, the third to write 5 things which had happened and were neither positive or stressful. At the end of 10 weeks the results were dramatic!
The first group who had recorded their gratitude were found to be 25% happier than they were previously, more optimistic, had more energy and enthusiasm, slept better and felt more refreshed in the morning, had closer relationships, were healthier and sick less often, were less lonely, dealt better with stress, made better progress on goals, had more focus and were more likely to serve other people.
We don't need studies to tell us the need to be grateful as the Lord has continually commanded us in scripture to be grateful for all that we have (Psalms 92:1, D&C 46:32, D&C 98:1). Not because He needs our gratitude but for the amazing blessings it opens up into our own lives...including having a better attitude, realizing the wonderful things we have been blessed with but also as Pres Monson said: 'Sincerely giving thanks not only helps is recognize our blessings but it also unlocks the doors of heaven and helps us feel God's love.'
We looked at 5 ways in which we can begin to become more grateful:
1. Keep a Gratitude Journal - this is a favourite of President Henry B Eyring who followed this practise as each night he would reflect on the question 'Have I seen the hand of God reaching out to touch me or my family today? Several sisters shared how they have used this practice and what a blessing it has as they have sit back and read past entries of the blessings they have enjoyed.
2. Take time to write thank you notes and letters of appreciation - Sara shared a true story of a man called John Kralik who in December 2007 hit rock bottom. He owned a law practice which failed and he could not afford to pay his employees. The lease for his business ran out and he could not afford a new one. His divorce was finalised and a further relationship broke up. He, a man who was used to good things, found himself alone in a tiny rented flat.
On New Years Day 2008 he went for a walk, knowing something had to change in his life. Whilst walking he tells of hearing a small voice whispering that he needed to show more gratitude - so there and then he committed to writing 365 thank you notes. The results were dramatic and he later wrote a book of his experiences. He shared:
"By showing others how their lives had meaning in mine, I found them reflecting back that my life also had meaning in theirs. I gained an overall sense of peace, a belief that my life was and had been a good one. The change did not happen overnight, but it happened...
"Almost without intending to do so I started to change my life in ways that would make me more worthy of receiving thank you notes myself.
"So many of my readers have inspired me. A woman living in a nursing home because a stroke had paralyzed her 'on my right side' told me that she praises the 'Lord I was born left handed and I've taken it upon myself to write birthday and thank you cards to all the staff'. A woman whose husband had been paralyzed for 20 years in a car accident wrote of how she had been 'thankful that he was not killed.' Her children had 'grown into very empathetic people'.
"My readers told me stories of how important people were thanked before it was too late. A woman in Omaha thanked a priest who changed her life 22 years ago and her letter arrived to comfort him a few days before he died. When she went back to thank a teacher, 'she saw us and the flowers, put her head on the desk and cried she was so happy. She said she had been a teacher for 23 years and no one had ever thanked her.'
3. Add more thank you's into your vocabulary
4. Live in the present moment and recognise the tender mercies of the Lord - We discussed the talk given by Elder Bednar on these tender mercies (Click here to read the talk). We discussed how these are much less visible in our lives but are those special moments when we can see the Lord's hand in our lives and know He is giving us the strength, or help, or blessing we need at that moment and that they happen on a daily basis.
5. Prayer - the most important one of all. Whilst it is vital we recognise our blessings and record these, while it is lovely to write notes and thank others - the most essential thing of all is to thank the Lord, the giver of all good gifts for all He does in our lives and for all those tender mercies that help us through mortal life.
Sara's challenge to all sisters was to do something to become more grateful. To choose at least one of these ways and enable the heavens to open and for each of us to feel the Lord's love.
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