"Learning to Dance in the Rain"...year 30

Remember a year ago when I set a new goal for my 30's..."Come what may and love it and watch me dance in the rain" I believe is what I said...

So how was I doing...

It's been hard, definitely not coming naturally, but I've given it a try.

I purchased a cute sign and have it above my desk where I sit everyday to do some form of work on the computer.

Spent a month preparing a whole Relief Society Meeting/Activity about it.  Tried to get sisters from our ward to dance in the rain with me so we could make this flyer and a music video (watch below).

The RS activity went well- here's how the evening flowed:

Learning to DANCE in the rAiN

6:00 Sierra- write statistics & quotes on board

Kasey & Virginia- set up lemonade and muffins

Christy- set up craft station

Amber- decorate with umbrella’s & rainboots

6:30 Amber- Welcome

Opening Song & Prayer

Virginia- Neighbor positive comment activity 

6:40 Sis. Aliki (RS Pres & therapist)- How is it we become what we think?

How does God view us (ideas posted around the room)

Word Card

Hillary Weeks Blog Entry

Write 5 positive words about ourselves

Mother’s do this for your children, Wives do it for your spouse

6:50   What influences our thinking.  Place items in big bowl (brain).  3min. lessons. What they brought that inspires them, they can share under one of these categories.

Kasey D. Media (Internet, TV, Movies)

Sierra S. Music

Barbara H. Literature (including scriptures)

Tina W. People

Christy S. Environment (our homes, work place, where we hang out)

Katie M. Exercise

Virginia N. Nutrition

7:20 The Holy Ghost & Choices (Amber)

ACTION PLAN 

Decide:  Is this a thought from God or the Adversary

Choose:  Will this thought invite the Holy Ghost?

Act:  How will you change your thought 

• sing a primary song in my head
• quote a scripture or thought
• think of someone you love like your children or spouse
• change environment
• pray
• change to positive affirmation statement (view list)

7:25  Staying positive amongst trials?  (Adalia Redd- lost her husband last summer in helicopter accident)

Give yourself the best chance by surrounding yourselves with all the good things we discussed.

With God all things are possible!

“Dancing in the Rain”- video

7:30  Craft w/ Christy

Make scrap flower for hair, jewelry, or clothes

7:45 Closing prayer

Refreshments

8:00   Clean up 

I remember one day while filming literally just yelling, "so what if my husband's going to be deployed for 9 months --- I can totally do this!"  I had just miscarried a week or two previously and was still quite hormonal/emotional, the Army unexpectedly whisked Doug away into field training and wasn't home and I was literally fighting some serious negative thoughts on this whole deployment thing...this was the worse case scenerio of deployments in my mind (though I have friends who's situations are way worse) and then all the what if he doesn't come home thoughts were creeping around.  This same day while we danced in the rain one of my good friends, Virginia's husband had just left unexpectedly for a 9 month deployment a few weeks previously and another friend Sierra was diagnosed with breast cancer then it went away...miracle and another friend Kasey was miserably sick with her first child.  Each of us going through something, and trying to reflect on the positive as we "danced in our rain."  I really felt this whole activity came at a time I was fighting negative thoughts and was an opportunity to live what we were about to preach. (p.s. I loved my RS activity planning committee)

This whole idea was inspired by Elder Wirthlin's conference talk titled, "Come what may and love it" and from Hillary Week's T.O.F.W. clicking experiment.  (Watch below)



Video disclaimer:  I have a very talented videographer friend who kindly threw this together for us last minute as she was moving and had literally one night to do it and feels she could have done it much better with more time and footage, so she doesn't want me to give her credit.  Nonetheless it fulfilled it's purposes just fine...though embarrassing me a bit...really wish I could have convinced someone else to play the lead as I'm NO actress and felt funny being in front of the camera like this.