Develop, Share, Give

Go figure - my time and brain power towards writing has been more limited the past few months.  I hate not parking myself for this, especially when there's something I really want to get down, but I don't want to click "publish" when I don't have enough time to polish.  (I especially don't want anyone walking away from their computer stupider than when they sat down.)

While stewing on this problem, I realized that I'm still thinking and gathering thoughts, but they are being delivered in a different format.  Yet it wouldn't take much more effort to bring those things to this format.  So that's what I'm going to do.

A few months ago I led a discussion on a quote I heard in December:

"Develop yourself, share yourself, then give yourself to something bigger than yourself."

Since I wanted to learn as much I could from the discussion and the great women participating in the discussion, knowing I wouldn't remember a lot after sitting down, I asked my counselor to take notes for me. For each part of that quote we discussed a scripture that goes along with it, then talked about how we could do that.

Develop Yourself - Matt. 25:14-19, 22-25.  How can we develop ourselves?  Try new things, education, strengthen weaknesses, temple attendance, develop talents, pray, read the scriptures, church magazines, accept new callings, set goals, learn from others, stretch and grow.

Share Yourself - Matt. 5:14-16.  How can we share ourselves?  Teach others, service, callings, smile, visiting teaching, give and show love, be a friend, volunteer (don't wait to be asked), make time for others, be receptive to the Holy Ghost, give your heart, speak your mind, visit and get to know each other.

Give Yourself to Something Bigger Than Yourself - Matt. 16:25.  What can we give ourselves to?  Callings, community, schools, family, marriage, serving a mission, family history, temple work, sharing testimony.  Ultimately, to the Lord.

As we talked about each of these it was brought up that going through this leads to self-reliance.  It's a cycle - sometimes we need to work on developing, other times we can give of ourselves more, but we should remember that when we are asked to give ourselves to the Lord, He will qualify us and help us be what we need to be.  We need to counsel with the Lord on how, when, where we can/should share and give ourselves, and remember that we are all individual with unique gifts and talents.

The responsibilities of the Relief Society as individuals and as a group are to (1) increase faith and personal righteousness, (2) strengthen families and homes, and (3) help those in need - each of which fits very well with developing, sharing, and giving ourselves.  When we follow these, we will strengthen ourselves, our families, our ward, and everyone around us.

Any other thoughts?

My thoughts on 12/17/2012 - I wish I would have asked them HOW them personally doing those things has helped them to develop, share, and give.  It's one thing to say you should read the scriptures, and deeper learning and application to say how it's actually been beneficial.

Touchy Feely - Lego Series 4

We got a phone call yesterday from a friend of mine asking if I could bring my son, Sammy, to a store to help them find the minifigures they were looking for.  Sammy is the Lego genius that brought me into the realm of Lego package feeling.  (It's amazing what you can learn with a master by your side.)

For those that don't know, Lego has been put out 4 sets of 16 minifigures each.  Series one and two had an extra bar code on the back which could be scanned to find out which minifigure was inside.  Lego realized people were picking and choosing, so they took the extra bar code off starting with series three.  There are some tiny raised dots that supposedly indicate what is inside (not always correct), so most people resort to the touch method.

Back to the story.  Before we headed to the store I looked to see if there were any feeling helps and didn't find any, so while this is not regular fare for my blog, it is a public service announcement to assist those attempting to feel which minifigures are hiding inside those little orange series 4 packages.  Sammy is helping me explain.

Artist - We could tell this best with the palate.  It is small, flat, and roundish, with a handle on the back.

Soccer Player - We found this by the trophy and cone piece.

The Monster - The head piece is easy to find - big and flat on top, head hole at the bottom.

Kimono Girl - The dress/skirt is the easiest way to tell this.  It's a pretty big piece.

Lawn Gnome - The long fishing pole and handle.  He also has shorter legs.

Hockey Player - The hockey stick and body armor piece (it goes over the neck onto the body).

Ice Skater - Harder to tell.  Little skate pieces.

Musketeer - The hat is a dead giveaway.  Also the sword.

Punk Rocker - The guitar is long and forks at the bottom.  The hair is an odd shape as well, small and curves on the bottom side.

Sailor - The hat is easiest - round with a lip around it (edge of the hat folded up).

Crazy Scientist - He has rubber hair, so the points are hard to feel.  If you find a big rubber piece, you got him.  Also the beaker.

Street Skater - Skateboard piece is easy.  The wheels should be off, and they feel like little dumbbells.

Surfer Girl - The surfboard is big, and if you find her hair it has the knob on the top.

Hazmat Guy - The helmet is a big piece.  Besides just a head piece, it has the front/back that slides over the body attached.

Viking - The helmet is really different, and you can feel the round shield and ax handle.

Werewolf - I would usually find him by his hair (like the elf's hair from series 3), then feel for the small bone.

My hands ache after all that package feeling (we went through 3 cases, mostly full), but supporting my Lego genius is great quality time.  Plus, I since he's not a big fan of reading, I use these little guys as reading incentives.  We have a couple friends we help and swap with now.  Feel free to join us!