As with yesterday, I will use this font for
the agenda of the activity, things taught and learned. I
will use this font for my own thoughts and (unfortunately) wandering mind and
quotes that don't have pictures
Each of the instructors had the option to decorate their
room or boards to go with the theme. I think
the next class I had gone was decorated in balloons. I had enjoyed this class the most. It was taught
by Sister Tieger, a kindergarten teacher.
The subject: Celebrate Failure
"Failure
is not the end of the world, it is the beginning of growth"
Nobody starts out doing something well. A child who is
just learning to walk - there
is a reason why we call them TODDLERS
We don't laugh at their accomplishment. They may take only two steps before they
fall, but we praise them anyway.
We don't say, "You're
stupid"
"That was really dumb."
"You're just
never going to get it."
We say, "Nice
try!"
"Good job!"
"Honey, that was
great!"
We don't start out doing things well. We start out doing them badly.
Failure
is not meeting the Intended Outcome
A picture was shown of a
child frustrated with an activity - he
either couldn't stack his blocks correctly, wasn't as fast as some of the other
children, or whatever.
My mind wandered back to
a time when Jenna was just a baby. She
was quite persistent at trying to twist a cap off the water bottle and replace
it. She had exceptional motor skills for
her age, and was very patient. I think she must have used up all her self-patience
during before she was six.
Continue progress with
baby steps. We are all Heavenly Father's
Babies. When we fall down, He is not
going to laugh or call us Stupid. He is
happy to see that we are trying and is rooting for us.
So maybe you can't do 20 sit-ups. Start with 5 or 1. Can't clean that entire room in twenty
minutes. Start with what you can do in
twenty minute, whether it is just the desk drawer or vacuuming the carpet.
Can't pick up the clarinet
for the first time and belt out the tune to "Danny Boy"? What's wrong with you? You have to start out with the basics. You have to learn the notes and practice
them. You have to start out badly before
you can get good at it.
Sister Tieger gave an analogy of tobogganing down hill in
fresh snow verses a well-worn path.
Sometimes we need to pause at the top of the hill. Sometimes - though the well traveled path is
definitely the fastest, and will give us the biggest thrill - sometimes we need
to celebrate the pause before we trudge on.
Sometimes we need to start down on fresh snow to make the path for
somebody else.
I
thought about our pioneer ancestors, who really made a lot of sacrifices
"forging the way for those who would follow"
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| last quote of the class |
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this was her handout, and though the cut wasn't perfect, she
kept it anyway, because wasn't that the whole point of the class |
The next class I went to was taught by Sister Glad. I love the way she had decorated the board.
She passed out
these pamphlets:
We spent the class time filling them out.
First question:
Think of a problem you're experiencing these days that is on your mind a
lot. Describe that problem in a sentence
2. What feelings come up for you when you think
about the problem? List several
She read the 3 and 4 to us
as we closed our eyes. She read in a
very calming voice and told us to take a few minutes (she actually had changed
it to 45 seconds as we were pressed for time) to feel the power of gratitude
and allow our bodies to relax.
As
a rule of thumb, I don't do well in silence when there are a number of people
surrounding me and we've all got our eyes closed. I did well while she was talking, but my mind
wandered for the 45 seconds. 45 seconds
is a long time when it's that quiet.
5. What are you feeling
right now?
For the majority of the
class, the answers given in number two were pretty much opposite of number
five. Not every sister in the class had
changed. One seemed to have even harsher
answers (apparently
mine is not the only mind that wanders; she may have used that 45 seconds to go
back to her problem - though I don't know)
The last class I attended
was taught by a sister from my ward.
Janine Super, who plays piano in the primary and had also taught the
gospel essential class when we moved in.
Her theme was geared to
Superheroes:
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| this is how she decorated her room. |
She asked questions about
Anikan (who became Darth Vader) and Superman.
What were their strengths? What
were their weaknesses. I was able to
participate only because my brother, Corey, is an avid fan of Star Wars and my
husband collects everything Superman related.
She first asked the class
what were some of the character's strengths and what were their
weaknesses. Some weaknesses we can
repent of - like a bad decision to go to the dark side (even though there were
good intentions to start out with) and others are challenges that they
themselves don't require repentance (for example, Superman cannot repent for
Kryptonite. We, who are vision impaired,
don't repent for needing to wear glasses;
it's how we deal with our weakness that may give us strength)
Do you allow your weakness
to define who you are? Remember Brittany from my last post?
often guilt has a productive function - if it makes us have the
desire to change.
Can you pray your weakness
away?
I
was reminded of a comment my brother Corey had made when he was being
interviewed by Mormon Expressions. There
was a time in his life that he saw his same sexual urges as a weakness that he
just could not change. Over the course
of many many years, he realized it was a desire that just has not gone
away.
After decades of struggling and praying for his "gayness to be gone" and starting his own blog and finally realizing that his sexual preference was
never going to change, he finally accepted and eventually embraced what some
might call weakness, and he has made it his strength.
Sadly, he lost his membership as far as Church records go, but at
the same time it was a necessary event that had to take place. And although he did not choose to become a
pioneer in assisting to bridge the LDS Community and the Gay Community, he has really helped a lot of
people through his blog. Kudos to you,
Corey. May you start posting again! (LOL)
For her last four classes, Janine displayed this picture on the table she had set up
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| Pres. Dieter Uchtdorf, Harrison Ford, Col. Gail Halvarsen aka the candy bomber |
I was also reminded of Sandra Bullock's line in
"While You Were Sleeping" when Peter (the character) wakes up, and
her character (Lucy) says to him that he is a hero because he gives his seat up
every day on the train.
When
he comes back with a line that he doesn't see as heroic, she reminds him that
he is to the person he gives it up for. Also
another post I created here
Weaknesses turned strength
makes us more than we can make on our own.
In conclusion, Janine
encouraged us to take a minute to read over the lyrics to Superwoman by Alicia
Keys found here.
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The candy was not included, but the colors used on Janine's
handouts reminded me of confectionery hearts |
