Education week

I am doing a little back tracking and I still want to write some thoughts I had about conference, but I saw this post I started month ago and just wanted to finish it up now.  Back in August Janay and I spent a day at Education Week (thanks to my mom who came to watch the kids). It was fun to be back on campus and I loved spending the day with Janay and being uplifted by her as well as so many wonderful speakers.  All of the speakers were so good but I just wanted to highlight a few of my favorites:

The first lecture we attended was by Michael Wilcox. He talked about Peter being "magnificently flawed." I love that imagery and the reminder that we don't have to be perfect to follow the Savior or be like him. He talked about Peter sinking on the water because he lost confidence in himself, but he never lost his confidence in the Savior and that when he was in his moment of peril he did not forget to look to the Savior who kept him from sinking. He also talked about how Peter was a "nevertheless" kind of guy. That even when it didn't make any sense to him, if the Savior said "do" he did.  Peter had weaknesses, like all of us do, but through his faith in Christ he was able to overcome and do great things despite of and even because of his weaknesses.  Brother Wilcox reminded us that we need to be careful of our assessments of ourselves and remember that when God looks at us he sees POTENTIAL, and that is what we need to remember and work toward and look for in others.  We shouldn't worry about how God deals with other people we should be concerned how he deals with us personally.  He is forgiving and is not as concerned with our mistakes as he is with how quickly we get back on track.  An important reminder to me to not dwell on what I've done wrong, but to move forward and continually strive to be my best self and to help others be their best too.

Vickie Pahnke Taylor's address was titled, "Shining when we don't feel shiny."  She said the sooner we go to Heavenly Father the sooner we get "plugged in" to his light source.  We need to LOOK; be aware of all of the wonderful things around us.  Then she gave 5 ways we can stay "shiny."  (1)Attitude is everything: A lady woke up one morning with only 3 hairs left on her head.  She wondered how she would fix her hair that day and decided a braid would be perfect.  Next morning she had only 2 hairs left.  She looked in the mirror and said, "Looks like pigtails today."  The next day there was only 1 hair left, "It's a ponytail day!"  On the fourth day she had no hair left.  She said, "This is great!  I don't have to fix my hair today!"  And off she went with a smile on her face.
(2) Dump the doubt.  Satan knows doubt and discouragement will work when nothing else will.  So don't let it linger!  Work on something you're good at or find someone to serve.
(3) Smile! 
(4) Slow down.  Be calm.  Enjoy the moments.
(5) Be teachable.  It's a level playing field in the Lord's eyes and there is always something we can learn from others. 
Overall the key to staying shiny is accepting our Savior's love and loving others!  Take care of people first and things later.

And finally one of my absolute favorite professors from my time at BYU, A. Lynn Scoresby!  He is so fun to listen to and he always shares such usable knowledge.  He talked about how to develop high quality relationships with others.  He said that with God, our growth and development are measured not so much by what we do by how we do with each other.  As we interact with others we should be more concerned about what is going on in their lives (feelings and relationships) than what they did or didn't do.  For example, when talking to someone who just received a mission call we often focus too much on where they are going instead of the excitement about serving the Lord, about the personal growth they will receive, and about the people they will have the opportunity to meet and serve.  With home and visiting teaching we become more concerned about getting into their home and giving a lesson than figuring out what they need help with and how we can encourage and help them in those needs.  He cited studies that show people are healthier when they have deep social contact with others and feel necessary to the development of others.  And that is what the gospel is all about; loving and helping each other.  Remembering that helps me to be a better wife, mother, friend, visiting teacher, and Young women leader.