Our theme for the evening was "Pattern Your Life After Personal Progress." I found the idea on an awesome website, Sugar Doodle, which I adapted a bit. I loved this theme! I loved that it was cutsie and fun, but also practical and meaningful! 
We used sewing-type things to decorate the entire room. We had sewing patterns on the walls and chalk boards, sewing machines, rotatory cutters, jars with bobbins, buttons, and thread, fabric and sewing projects through out the room.
We used ironing boards as tables for the displays, which we covered in plastic table clothes (in value colors, of course).
In our desserts we had skewers that said "Sew Yummy" or "Sew Scrumptious." (Isn't that too cute?!)
Two of our fabulous young women, Lizzie P and Samantha P, gave wonderful talks about how they have been able to and how they can pattern their life after Personal Progress. Two other fabulous young women, Necia P and Marinda J, sang a beautiful song called Everywhere I Go. The song went wonderfully with our theme for the evening and the theme for the year, Joshua 1:9.
I also gave a talk about Patterning Our Lives After Personal Progress. I have loved working on PP lately and have such a strong testimony of the program. I'll share a summary of my talk at the end of this post.We had closing comments by a bishopric member, Brother Porter. His remarks were perfect and very well thought out.
Lastly, we gave the girls a travel sized sewing kit (found at the dollar store) to help remind them about this evening and to make personal progress a life long goal.
(Haley J, Bentlee H, Christy M, Tracy G)
I used my sewing box as guidance for my talk, filled with scissors, needles, thread, a seam ripper, pins, and a thimble. I told them how I used this sewing kit to do projects big and small. I do simple mending jobs, like sewing up a hole in my child's blanket or favorite shirt... I also use my sewing box to do larger projects to make and give to people I love, like Hannah's bedspread, Bryson's drapes, or an apron for my mom. Like use of my sewing box, Heavenly Father is there to mend our sorrows and help fix things in life that need mending. He also uses it to show love and bring happiness. He has blessed us with many tools to guide us in life so that we can be "sew" beautiful.
I had one of the girls try to make a skirt with no tools just fabric. Then showed a skirt I had made with the same fabric... but using a pattern and tools. Personal Progress is like a pattern and tools given to us by our Heavenly Father!
One thing I love about Personal Progress is that it is personal! We can make it fit us individually, just as we can a pattern to fit our size, weight, and personally. I showed two skirts using the same pattern, but different fabrics and how different they looked. I talked about how I made 6 skirts for all the nieces for my sisters wedding, each one was a little different to fit each one individually. There was a learning curve with those skirts and the 6th was definitely better than the 1st! I was grateful for my seam ripper.
Sometimes we mess up the stitches, but we have a seam ripper to help us repair the mistake. Sometimes we may have to redo a part over and over, but we have the Savior to help us correct our mistakes... (I talked about other tools a bit too like a needle threader - there to help us with difficult tasks, like our leaders, parents, and PP. Also a thimble to help shield us from the pricks we know will happen.)
Each stitch is important. We learn line upon line, one stitch at a time; we cannot skip a step. As we complete each Personal Progress experience and project, we are one step closer to achieving our ultimate goal - developing our divine nature and returning to our Heavenly Father.
What I love most about the theme we chose for the evening, "Pattern Your Life After Personal Progress," is that is exactly what this program is all about! (Read the intro and overview in the PP book!) The whole goal of Personal Progress is to help us to build habits of reading, studying, setting goals, and bettering ourselves so that we can become more like our Savior! No matter if we are young women, YW leaders, college students, missionaries, parents, or in any other stage of our life we should be progressing personally! We all need to pattern our life after personal progress!
(Haley J, Bentlee H, Christy M, Tracy G)I used my sewing box as guidance for my talk, filled with scissors, needles, thread, a seam ripper, pins, and a thimble. I told them how I used this sewing kit to do projects big and small. I do simple mending jobs, like sewing up a hole in my child's blanket or favorite shirt... I also use my sewing box to do larger projects to make and give to people I love, like Hannah's bedspread, Bryson's drapes, or an apron for my mom. Like use of my sewing box, Heavenly Father is there to mend our sorrows and help fix things in life that need mending. He also uses it to show love and bring happiness. He has blessed us with many tools to guide us in life so that we can be "sew" beautiful.
I had one of the girls try to make a skirt with no tools just fabric. Then showed a skirt I had made with the same fabric... but using a pattern and tools. Personal Progress is like a pattern and tools given to us by our Heavenly Father!
One thing I love about Personal Progress is that it is personal! We can make it fit us individually, just as we can a pattern to fit our size, weight, and personally. I showed two skirts using the same pattern, but different fabrics and how different they looked. I talked about how I made 6 skirts for all the nieces for my sisters wedding, each one was a little different to fit each one individually. There was a learning curve with those skirts and the 6th was definitely better than the 1st! I was grateful for my seam ripper.
Sometimes we mess up the stitches, but we have a seam ripper to help us repair the mistake. Sometimes we may have to redo a part over and over, but we have the Savior to help us correct our mistakes... (I talked about other tools a bit too like a needle threader - there to help us with difficult tasks, like our leaders, parents, and PP. Also a thimble to help shield us from the pricks we know will happen.)
Each stitch is important. We learn line upon line, one stitch at a time; we cannot skip a step. As we complete each Personal Progress experience and project, we are one step closer to achieving our ultimate goal - developing our divine nature and returning to our Heavenly Father.
What I love most about the theme we chose for the evening, "Pattern Your Life After Personal Progress," is that is exactly what this program is all about! (Read the intro and overview in the PP book!) The whole goal of Personal Progress is to help us to build habits of reading, studying, setting goals, and bettering ourselves so that we can become more like our Savior! No matter if we are young women, YW leaders, college students, missionaries, parents, or in any other stage of our life we should be progressing personally! We all need to pattern our life after personal progress!
4 comments:
Ok, for two seconds there, you about gave me an anxiety attack..putting those programs together for 3 years was the only stressful part of that job for me!
Moving on...if you want more information about the "Let's Play Music" program that Dallin is in, let me know. His teacher is up near 1700 east in SF.
here's my email if you have any questions: paulandkristen at gmail dot com
Natalie,
love the theme. What a great idea. You guys are amazing! Inspiring!..and of course awesome!
Sounds like the perfect theme for you and a great evening. You tied it all together beautifully. I love your analogies and testimony of PP. Good job at doing it!
Very cute....I just read over this again and am trying so hard to figure how we can pattern our lives by Relief Society!! :) Loved the analogies you used with your sewing tools.....great job Nat!
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