S.T.A.R. - Young Women in Excellence

{I just posted the following on my personal blog and thought I'd share it here as well.  I'd love to see your ideas for these events!}

We had our Young Women in Excellence program last night.  I was a little bit worried about it.  Some of our girls haven't been very excited about Personal Progress.  Since Young Women in Excellence is a "celebration of Personal Progress," I challenged each of them to do something that they could share last night.  Well those amazing girls stepped right up to the plate and did a great job!  I was so proud of them as they shared what they've learned, what they still hope to accomplish, and how setting goals has helped them.  A member of our Bishopric is doing the program with the girls so he contributed his accomplishments last night as well.

Our theme was S.T.A.R. - Stand for Truth And Righteousness

There is a Primary song called I Am Like a Star which went along with our theme for the evening: S.T.A.R. - Stand for Truth And Righteousness. (No credit to myself for that one.  The internet is full of good ideas!!)  I wrote a second verse to the Primary song which went like this:  I am like a star shining brightly, shining for the whole world to see.  I can be a light, stand for truth and right, and be all that He wants me to be. The young women sang that as our special musical number for the evening.  Simple and sweet.

Our Bishop challenged each young woman to:  Seize the Day (Carpe Diem), live life more abundantly (see John 10:10), and be anxiously engaged in good causes (D&C 58:27).  [Maybe he forgot he was speaking to the young women because I'm pretty sure that was all for me!!]

It was a great evening, complete with an impressive display of food at the end.  From spiced cider, meatballs, little sausages wrapped in crescent rolls to a huge veggie tray and star shaped cupcakes, there was something for everyone.  The young men and cub scouts who found us after their activities enjoyed the treats as well.  :)  (Hooray for a wonderful counselor who took on the food challenge and outdid herself.  Otherwise, we would have had homemade cookies and water...)

Overall, a great evening!  (I am SO glad it's over!!)

Memorize the Family Proclamation.... Check!

The Stake YW Presidency has a special announcement to make:  3 of us have finished memorizing the Family Proclamation!! 


That's right.  Our president, Sister Becca Anderson, and her two counselors, Sister Janna Allan and Sister Emily Savage, have just passed off a big personal progress project.  And let me tell you, memorizing it certainly brought about a lot of personal progress.   There is so much joy and wisdom to be found in that inspired document.... and it feels so good to have it committed to heart and memory.

We're excited to hear about your own personal progress stories!  How are you doing with your personal progress?