Today and next week:
Thanks for a great discussion in class today. I hope you all went home with some new thoughts about acceptance and diligence.. Thanks Nathan for leading a great discussion! Since the discussion was so good, I didn't want to interrupt with a few things in Old Fashioned Girl I still want to talk about and to relate to our Great Works environment (and other environments) so please finish it this week so we can discuss these things. It is really not a hard book to get through.
As you read, think about what it is that inspires the characters to be better, and what it is that keeps them down. Take notes on what you find. If you already finished it, just go through and skim so you can remember what those things were. If you already wrote a discussion question last week, you don't have to write another one this week unless you come across something else you want to discuss. I will look through both weeks for the discussion questions for this next class.
Creative Projects:
Until we have a blog going to communicate about what we are working on for collaborative projects, please let me know if you have an idea (on paper) that you would like to work on so I can give you time in class to share it. We got a lot of ideas last week and you were able to see what people were excited about, so the next step is to plan something with more details.
You will want to pitch your idea to the class so they will be excited to do it with you - so it should be well thought out - it won't be perfect yet - just a thought-out draft. Others will help you refine it and we will pool our resources together to make it work - but you should have a written draft with as much detail as you know, ready to share with the class. When you think you are to that point, shoot me an email so I can plan time in class for it and I will forward your email to Isaiah so he can start helping you refine it so it will be ready to pitch to the class.
Inspirements:
- Finish Old Fashioned Girl if you didn't finish it last week...I am going to ask that you finish it instead of just reading certain chapters, but you can skip "Grandma" (this is different than from what I said in class).
- Read: The Battleground of Perfectionism (PDF) By Cramer and Change Yourself by Palmer
- Write: a favorite quote, application, and question from the readings
- Read: Guidepost 2 on GOI
- Act: Do what you committed to do in your "reflection" writing in class (see below).
Reflection Question to act on this week:
if you forgot what the reflection question at the end of class was or you lost what you wrote down, here it is:
What is my take home message from this discussion and book? What vulnerable thing can I do this week to practice being authentic while I do it? What will I say to myself to remind me to be authentic when I am faced with this uncomfortable situation and others?
From Rachel:
ReplyDeleteQuote:
"Goals are stars to steer by, not sticks to beat yourself with."
Application:
Just remember that people aren't perfect and neither am I so give everyone a break, and be forgiving.
Question:
Why did God command us to be perfect if we can't achieve it?
Quote: "I do not ask that you reach beyond your capacity. Please don't nag yourself with thoughts of failure. Do not set goals far beyond your capacity to achieve. Simply do what you can do, in the best way you know, and the Lord will accept your effort." - Gordon B. Hinckley, Ensign Nov. 1989, 96 (The Battleground of Perfectionism)
ReplyDeleteApplication:
I actually have a little story to share! :) I think the reason why this one in particular stood out to me is because of my experience yesterday. I was meeting with a member of the bishopric and something he said really really touched me. I can't remember exactly what we were talking about - but it was something that kind of had nothing to do with what he then said. He said "The Lord accepts your efforts and is proud of you." He also talked about how he didn't know why he needed to say that, but that he felt like I needed it. And I did need it - exceedingly! Of course I felt like crying (I was able to hold it back, though), because that is exactly what I did need, and what I do need.
I have SUCH a hard time accepting my imperfections, even though I read book after book and article after article telling me that it's not good, and how to overcome it - my mind just battles me so much about it that I've never really been able to accept myself. :/
But that experience changed my aspect. Heavenly Father knows exactly what we're going through - and He only expects us to try our hardest. We're all going to fail, but he doesn't care. He "accepts our efforts and is proud of us". That was just a really amazing experience that I had yesterday, I felt like I needed to share it. :)
Question: How do we come closer to the Spirit in order to feel closer to Christ, others, and ourselves?
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ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
DeleteQuote: "I also know, with a perfect knowledge, that for now, on this earth, we are all imperfect, both in knowledge and in performance, but Christ’s Atonement can bring us to perfection if we allow it to."
ReplyDeleteQuestion:
How can we do better in our Performance to follow in Christ's footsteps?
Quote:"Not only must we have the option to fail—we will fail. We do fail. Often.
ReplyDeleteThe most miraculous proof of God’s love for us is the Atonement of Jesus Christ. The purpose of the Atonement is precisely to allow us to recover from our many failures. He knows we will fail, despite our best efforts, and He has provided a way for us to be freed from our sins, to be healed, and to return to Him."
Application: To lower my expectations for people around me. If I do not expect them to be perfect then I will not be disappointed when they make a mistake. I also want to work on not beating myself up when I make a mistake.
Question: How do you forgive someone who makes a mistake that ends up deeply hurting someone else/yourself?
"Now it's all over and done with," thought Polly as she fell asleep after a long vigil. But it was not, and Polly's fun cost more than the price of gloves and bonnet, for, having nibbled at forbidden fruit, she had to pay the penalty. She only meant to have a good time, and there was no harm in that, but unfortunately she yielded to the various small temptations that beset pretty young girls and did more mischief to others than to herself. Fanny's friendship grew cooler after that night. Tom kept wishing Trix was half as satisfactory as Polly, and Mr. Sydney began to build castles that had no foundation."
ReplyDeleteGirls be careful!
Question: How can we better realize when someone actually needs your attention or is just trying to get your attention?
New favorite quote. Fanny had been to many elegant lunches, but never enjoyed one more than that droll picnic in the studio; for there was a freedom about it that was charming, an artistic flavor to everything, and such a spirit of good-will and gayety, that she felt at home at once. As they ate, the others talked and she listened, finding it as interesting as any romance to hear these young women discuss their plans, ambitions, successes, and defeats. It was a new world to her, and they seemed a different race of creatures from the girls whose lives were spent in dress, gossip, pleasure, or ennui. They were girls still, full of spirits fun, and youth; but below the light-heartedness each cherished a purpose, which seemed to ennoble her womanhood, to give her a certain power, a sustaining satisfaction, a daily stimulus, that led her on to daily effort, and in time to some success in circumstance or character, which was worth all the patience, hope, and labor of her life.
DeleteFanny was just then in the mood to feel the beauty of this, for the sincerest emotion she had ever known was beginning to make her dissatisfied with herself, and the aimless life she led. "Men must respect such girls as these," she thought; "yes, and love them too, for in spite of their independence, they are womanly. I wish I had a talent to live for, if it would do as much for me as it does for them. It is this sort of thing that is improving Polly, that makes her society interesting to Sydney, and herself so dear to every one. Money can't buy these things for me, and I want them very much."