Missionary Work

Hey Ladies!

As some of you know, I am going to be missing out on the great activity this Wednesday because Russell's family will be in town.  Why are they in town on a Wednesday?!  Well, because Wednesdays are the days that missionaries come home!  :)  Russell's brother, Bryan, will be flying into Pensacola from serving a two-year mission in Bolivia.  We could not be more excited to see him!  It will be a great reunion.  With seven boys in that family, we will have lots of missionaries to greet in the future { in fact, we will have another one in just two months! }.

Missionary work is so essential to God's plan, to share His gospel and to change lives.  Keep in mind that serving a mission is a priesthood duty.  I know that many of you young women desire to serve missions, and that is a worthy and righteous goal.  If pursued, it will lead you to the temple and will change your life forever.  As a young lady, it is not only important that you remain clean and worthy to serve one day (if you choose to do so), but that you help the young men around you stay clean and pure and worthy to serve the Lord when it is time for them to do so.  Do not tempt them by dressing immodestly and speaking vulgarities.  Do not distract them with unworthy media and entertainment.  Instead, honor them.  Honor yourself.

Of all the things I love about Russell, his choice to serve a mission - mostly to be worthy to do so when the bar was set higher - is one of the most important.  To know he was clean and pure and worthy to serve prior to his mission, and to know that he was still clean and pure and worthy to kneel before me at the temple three years later, and most importantly to know that he is still clean and pure and worthy to kneel with me each night in prayer is something that will bless my life and my family for eternity.

And it starts now.

It starts with you.

Now is the time to prepare to serve and to prepare to enter the Lord's House.

We love you.
Sister Salmon

Choose to Be Pure

Eternal Family

The Gospel is the Way

The Gospel Is the Way to Happily Ever After

"I understand that, at times, some may wonder why they attend Church meetings or why it is so important to read the scriptures regularly or pray to our Heavenly Father daily. Here is my answer: You do these things because they are part of God’s path for you. And that path will take you to your 'happily ever after' destination.

'Happily ever after' is not something found only in fairy tales. You can have it! It is available for you! But you must follow your Heavenly Father’s map.

Sisters, please embrace the gospel of Jesus Christ! Learn to love your Heavenly Father with all your heart, might, and mind. Fill your souls with virtue, and love goodness. Always strive to bring out the best in yourself and others.

Learn to accept and act upon the Young Women values. Live the standards in For the Strength of Youth. These standards guide and direct you to your 'happily ever after.' Living these standards will prepare you to make sacred covenants in the temple and establish your own legacy of goodness in your individual circumstances. 'Stand … in holy places, and be not moved,'  regardless of temptations or difficulties. I promise you that future generations will be grateful for you and praise your name for your courage and faithfulness during this crucial time of your life.

My dear young sisters—you who stand for truth and righteousness, you who seek goodness, you who have entered the waters of baptism and walk in the ways of the Lord—our Father in Heaven has promised that you will 'mount up with wings as eagles; [you] shall run, and not be weary; and [you] shall walk, and not faint.' You 'shall not be deceived.' God will bless and prosper you.  ^'The gates of hell shall not prevail against you; … and the Lord God will disperse the powers of darkness from before you, and cause the heavens to shake for your good, and his name’s glory.'

Sisters, we love you. We pray for you. Be strong and of good courage. You are truly royal spirit daughters of Almighty God. You are princesses, destined to become queens. Your own wondrous story has already begun. Your “once upon a time” is now.

[ Dieter F. Uchtdorf, “Your Happily Ever After,” Ensign orLiahona, May 2010, 124–27 ]

Strawberry Shortcake

So, if any of you were to spend a day in our home - okay, okay, maybe even just like thirty minutes in our home - you'd probably discover that this little sidekick of mine loooooves Strawberry Shortcake.  She is in love. In fact, she just walked up behind me pointing to the picture asking, "What's that?!  Straw-ba-bwa?"  L  O  V  E, I tell you.  She loves all versions - free episodes on netflix, iPad apps, soundtracks.  

It's kind of a 20 month old obsession, and by "kind of," I mean definitely.  

Well, I can't blame her too much, because I, too, love Strawberry Shortcake.  

Just a different version--the FOOD version, of course! 

And with strawberries coming back in season, there is no better dessert!

 I hope you find this equally as delicious and just so sweet - just like its name!  :)

Strawberry Shortcake

For the Dough

1 3/4 cups Unbleached All-Purpose Flour

1/4 cup Sugar

1 Tbsp Baking Powder

1/2 tsp Salt

1/2 cup Unsalted Butter, cold and sliced into tiny cubes

1 large  Egg

1/3 cup Heavy Cream

2 Tbsp Turbinado Sugar (aka Sugar in the Raw)

For the Filling

4 cups Strawberries, sliced in half or quarters

3 Tbsp Sugar

For the Whipped Cream

1 cup Heavy Cream

2 Tbsp Sugar

1 tsp Vanilla

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.  Line a half-sheet pan or rimless baking sheet with parchment paper.

Dough Preparation
Using a food processor, combine flour, sugar, baking powder and salt.  Pulse 2-3 times to mix.  Add the butter and pulse 3 to 4 times, or just until the mixture forms large, coarse crumbs the size of small peas.
In a bowl, whisk together the egg and 1/3 cup cream until blended.
Pour over dry ingredients and pulse 2 or 3 times just until moistened. (The dough should be soft!  If needed, add additional cream until the dough is soft.)
Spoon out dough onto the prepared pan in mounds of about 3 inches (a big scoop full), spacing each one about 1 inch apart.  They should look like mounds, not formed balls.
Sprinkle tops of mounds of dough with Turbinado Sugar.
Bake until lightly browned, 12-15 minutes.

Filling Preparation
While the shortcakes are baking, prepare the filling.  In a bowl, using a fork, crush one cup of berries.  Add the remaining berries and the sugar, mix well, and refrigerate until shortcakes are done!

Whipped Cream Preparation
After you have prepped the berries, make the whipped cream.  In a large bowl, combine the cream, sugar and vanilla.  Using a stand mixer fitted with the whip attachment or a hand mixer, beat on medium-high speed until a medium peak forms.  Makes about 2 cups.

To serve, cut shortcakes in half, placing the bottom half onto a place or bowl.  Add strawberries and whipped cream.  Place other half of shortcake on top!

Enjoy!

{ P.S. We like our shortcakes warm, but you can let them cool before you eat them.  Also, you'll probably have some leftovers, so just put them in an air tight container and refrigerate them until the next day.  They are good plain as a treat, too! }

*This post inspired 100% by E L E A N O R*

Recipe courtesty of Williams-Sonoma, "Essentials of Baking" 2003

Divine Nature #2

Hey Ladies!

Last night we completed most of  Personal Progress goal, but there is still a little bit that's up to you!

As a young woman you are blessed with divine feminine qualities. Increase your understanding of and appreciation for womanhood. Read Proverbs 31:10–31and two talks on womanhood from a conference issue of the Church magazines. Review what “The Family: A Proclamation to the World” says about being a wife and a mother. Then ask your mother or another mother you admire what she thinks are important attributes for being a mother. List the attributes in your journal. Then choose one of those attributes and strive to develop it. After two weeks report your success to a parent or leader.

Here's a recap of what we completed as part of the goal:

{ 1 } Reviewed what "The Family: A Proclamation to the World" says about being a wife and mother.

{ 2 } Reviewed one talk from conference about womanhood [ click here ]

{ 3 } Watched a video recap from one conference talk about womanhood

{ 4 } Listed attributes that you thought were important about being a mother

Here's what's left up to you:

{ 1 } Read Proverbs 31:10-31

{ 2 } Read Elder Hollands talk [ click here ]

{ 3 } Pick one of the attributes you listed at the activity and strive to develop it.

{ 4 } After two weeks, report your success to a parent or leader.

We look forward to hearing your feedback!  Thanks for all of the great questions last night.  We had a great time!

Much Love,

Sister Salmon

Our True Identity

Beautiful Ladies -

To prepare for this week's lesson, watch this short video from a talk given by President Uchtdorf.

Dare to Stand Alone

Share Your Experience!

Remember this challenge?!  

We want to hear back from you about how your experience went!  

Leave a comment on this post by writing your experience in the "Post a Comment" section.  

You can keep it anonymous if you'd like - whatever you prefer!  

We love you guys, and we can't wait to hear about your stories!

Mothers Who Know

A few years ago, Sister Julie B. Beck, then the president of the Relief Society, gave her first talk in General Conference.  I still remember hearing it for the first time.  I walked away from conference thinking it was one of the best talks I had ever heard spoken at any general conference.  Please take the time to watch, and take note of some of the attributes she shares that will make a successful home.

Wednesday night, we will be discussing Motherhood with women who know.  

Be sure to bring a head full of questions to ask them about parenting, marriage, teaching children the gospel, etc.

We look forward to seeing you there!

Save the Date: New Beginnings

We are excited to announce that our New Beginnings program 

will be held on February 13, 2013 at the church.  

It will be a special night!  

It will be so fun to plan this activity with all of you in the coming weeks.  

Mark your calendars!

Mutual

So, have I gotten behind or what?!  :)  

A few weeks ago at mutual, we discussed setting goals based on our Saviors example.  

Below is a picture of the handout we used to make specific goals that will help you increase in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and man.  

We hope you continue to take time to look at the goals you have set and make new goals as the year progresses.  

Wednesday Night Activity

Please join us on Wednesday!

We will have a lot of fun!

The Only True God & Jesus Christ Whom He Has Sent

Challenge

This week memorize and ponder
the first article of faith

and

share it with someone.

January: The Godhead

Hey Ladies!

Sorry I have been MIA these past few weeks!  We have been traveling like crazy over the holiday season, and with a computer out of order for most of it, blogging just didn't happen.  I do hope you can forgive me.  :)

Tomorrow in Young Women, we will be introducing the new curriculum and answering any questions you may have.  We will also be setting some expectations for preparation for each Sunday's lessons.  Please come with questions!!!

This month, most of our blog topics will be focused on just one gospel topic: The Godhead.
All of our lessons this month in Young Women with also be on this topic.  Think you'll get bored?  Think again.  We hope you'll take the time to study the questions listed in the previous post to be familiar and ready to talk (a lot) during the lessons on Sundays.

To introduce this topic, I can't help but turn my mind to the glorious first vision, where the prophet Joseph Smith saw God, the Father and His Son, Jesus Christ.  What a reverent and so very sacred experience.  I am so grateful for the faith of the prophet Joseph, to kneel in that grove of trees, and pour out his deepest desires to our Father in Heaven.  Because of this vision, we know better than anyone the nature of the Godhead.  I am forever grateful for this.

{ or view at: http://youtu.be/ySyv1I2e9RE }

Just like the prophet, Joseph Smith, you can kneel and pray to Father in Heaven.  He will always answer your prayers in a way that you recognize and comprehend.  You can come to know your Father in Heaven and Jesus Christ better than ever before as you do this.  The Holy Ghost will be more abundant in your life to help you through trials, insecurities, and unsure times.

With the start of this new year, remember the words of the President Thomas S. Monson: "Your future is as bright as your faith."


Love,
Sister Salmon