Quote - Strengths & Weaknesses

From October 2011 General Conference,  Forget Me Not,  Dieter F. Uchtdorf

I want to tell you something that I hope you will take in the right way: God is fully aware that you and I are not perfect.

 

Let me add: God is also fully aware that the people you think are perfect are not.

 

And yet we spend so much time and energy comparing ourselves to others—usually comparing our weaknesses to their strengths. This drives us to create expectations for ourselves that are impossible to meet. As a result, we never celebrate our good efforts because they seem to be less than what someone else does.

 

Everyone has strengths and weaknesses.

 

It’s wonderful that you have strengths.

 

And it is part of your mortal experience that you do have weaknesses.

 

God wants to help us to eventually turn all of our weaknesses into strengths, but He knows that this is a long-term goal. He wants us to become perfect, and if we stay on the path of discipleship, one day we will. It’s OK that you’re not quite there yet. Keep working on it, but stop punishing yourself.

Love and Logic Parenting - Peer Pressure

Listed below are some tips on how to up the odds that your kids will make wise decisions even when their buddies are not:

Let them see you saying "No" to your friends…and to societal pressures.
When kids see us resisting peer pressure…and resisting the urge to keep up with the Joneses next door…they are more likely to do the same.

Spend time building and maintaining a loving relationship.
Relationships take plenty of time. The more we invest, the more likely our kids will emulate our values when we're not around.

Help them focus on how their decisions affect them…not you.
It's tempting to say, "This really makes me mad!" when our kids make poor decisions. A more effective strategy involves empathizing, "This is so sad. I bet it hurts having to deal with these consequences. I love you."

Send positive expectations.
Saying, "Your friends are lucky to have someone like you with a good head on their shoulders," sends a far more positive expectation than lecturing, "That kid is bad news. Don't hang around with him."

Keep a close eye on them.
While we can dramatically up the odds that our kids will make good decisions when pressured by their peers to make bad ones, there's no substitute for doing our best to know where they are and what they’ll be doing there.

Object Lesson - Friends Rub Off on You

Brief Description/Purpose:
By coloring in with pencil large letters that spell FRIENDS, you will show how friends, whether they are good or bad can easily rub off on you.

Objects Used/Preparation:
chalk, chalkboard (or)piece of paper with the word FRIENDS on it in bubble letters for each student, pencil for each student

Lesson:
Before class print out the word FRIENDS in large bubble letters, about two inches high. During class, give each child a sheet of paper with FRIENDS printed on it and a pencil. Tell them to use the pencil to color in all the letters completely and very dark with the pencil. This may take a few minutes. After they are finished, you will have them rub their fingers over the letters to see that the graphite from the word friends has rubbed off on them. The friends you choose in life can have a big impact on the way you act. Friends can influence what type of clothes you wear, the type of music you listen to, what you believe, the words you use when you speak, the way you treat others, and the list goes on and on. In other words, friends can rub off on you.

Alternate: You can also have someone write the word "Friends" on the chalkboard and then have them rub the letters instead of using a pencil and paper.

Discuss: Talk about positive ways that each of us can rub off on our friends. Who is a friend that we want to have rub off on us? (the Savior)Scriptures: Proverbs 22:24-25; Proverbs 18:24; D&C 23:6; John 15:14

Source: Children's Sunday School Object Lessons, some additions by Michelle Walton