A Good Woman Knows

Julie B. Beck once said, I have felt that there has never been a greater need for increased faith and personal righteousness. There has never been a greater need for strong families and homes. There has never been more that could be done to help others who are in need. How does one increase faith, strengthen families, and provide relief? How does a woman in our day find answers to her own questions and stand strong and immovable against incredible opposition and difficulty?

A good woman knows that she does not have enough time, energy, or opportunity to take care of all of the people or do all of the worthy things her heart yearns to do. A good woman must constantly resist alluring and deceptive messages from many sources telling her that she is entitled to more time away from her responsibilities and that she deserves a life of greater ease and independence. Ladies we have work to do, we have responsibility and we must constantly be striving to do our very best. With personal revelation she can prioritize correctly and navigate this life confidently.

In order to receive personal revelation, we must be in a position to receive the Lord's Spirit. Qualifying for the Lord's Spirit begins with a desire for and implies a certain degree of worthiness. Keeping the commandments, repenting, and renewing covenants made at baptism and also making and keeping temple covenants.

A good woman knows she can search the scriptures to find the answers to difficult questions because the scriptures are an aid to revelation. We must read from them daily, we can receive peace, inspiration and strength.

Also, a good woman knows the greatest strength is found on our knees in daily sincere prayer. It is essential to success in dealing with the road bumps in the day to day busyness madness.  

Mothers can feel help from the Spirit even when tired, noisy children are clamoring for attention, but they can be distanced from the Spirit if they lose their temper with children. A good woman composes herself well in opposition and relies on God for guidance in unfavorable situations.  Promised personal revelation comes when we ask for it, prepare for it, and go forward in faith, trusting that it will be poured out upon us.

Attendance at Relief Society meetings also help us be blessed by the combined spiritual power of all the sisters. Women should be women and not babies that need petting and correction all the time. We all want to be appreciated but if we don't get the appreciation that we think we deserve, what matters? A good woman knows we serve unconditionally, we are serving God when we serve our families and others around us. We are here to please God not man.

The greatest good we can do to ourselves and each other is to refine and cultivate ourselves in everything that is good and ennobling to qualify us for those responsibilities.

We are doing well when we develop attributes of Christ and strive to obey His gospel with exactness. We are doing well when we seek to improve ourselves and do our best. We are doing well when we increase faith and personal righteousness, strengthen families and homes, and seek out and help others who are in need. When we have done our very best, we may still experience disappointments, but we will not be disappointed in ourselves.

Much of the major growth that is coming to the Church in the latter days will come because many of the good women of the world, they will reflect righteousness and articulateness in their lives to the degree that the women of the Church are seen as distinct and different in happy ways--from the women of the world. The Lord depends on His daughters to do their part. A good woman knows that part.

Paraphrasing and quoting between Julie B. Beck's May 2010 Conference address, rearranged with my own thoughts. Read it yesterday, it has been one of my favorite motivation speeches. Wanted to share it.

Treat Your Body Right! Discussion on Sleep/Food Intake and Exercise

Do you feel yourself by late afternoon sluggish, burned out and exhausted? You might ask yourself three things?

1. How many hours of sleep am I getting each night? Don't know, maybe start keeping a sleep journal. Do I stay up late and get up early? Why am I staying up late? Are the things I'm staying up late for important? Sleep like good nutrition and exercise is an essential component of a healthy lifestyle. Practice self-care and make sleep a priority. Consequences of inadequate sleep:

• Impaired immune response. The quality of sleep before becoming infected is a significant determinant of the severity of cold symptoms. Even one night of inadequate sleep reduces the number and activity of natural killer cells the next day. 
• Impaired learning and cognitive function-blood oxygen levels in the brain are measurably lower after insufficient sleep.
• Increased snacking-lack of sleep results in dysregulation of hunger and satiety hormones.
• Weight gain
• Emotional disturbances and excessive emotional reactivity.

How much sleep should one get? Answer: 7 + hours each night for adults, more for children.
Why am I not sleeping well even though I go to bed early? The answer can be many different reasons but ask yourself these questions.

2. What am I doing right before bedtime? Do I eat after or snack after 8:00pm? Do I partake of caffeine in any form before bedtime? (drinks, prescription, headache medicine, chocolate, etc.) Am I thinking of things that would bring me stress before bedtime? It is important that we pinpoint our weakness and fix it. We must be more careful what we put into our bodies before bedtime so that we can get the sleep we desperately need and deserve. Make a habit of not eating or drinking anything except water, before bedtime. (Water should not be drank at excess amounts before bed to avoid many trips to the bathroom in the middle of the night.)  Also, it is important to take notice what foods you are partaking of at the beginning of your day. Remember breakfast is the most important meal of the day for a reason. So that we have the energy to participate in the day, we must eat a nutritious breakfast, we MUST NOT SKIP breakfast because we are afraid of the pounds it might add. We owe ourselves, our kids, or job if you have one to treat yourself right. So, at the beginning of the day eat the right foods and drinks (not caffeinated or diet drinks that loaded down with sugar-quick start to a quick dive), giving yourself plenty of fruits and veggies throughout the day to give positive energy. Do Not Skip lunch. Keep peanuts/cashews handy for a quick shot of protein and energy for in between meals. Opt out of candies that are sweet and fun these will head you in the wrong direction, a straight course down hill.  Be Smart, Eat Right.

3. What kind of activity am I doing throughout the day?  Don't be a couch/chair potato always looking at some screen or another. This is exhausting. Limit your hours watching T.V., internet, facebook, blogging or gaming, these are sure ways to drain energy. When you find yourself getting tired, get up and do something; stretch, jog in place, climb some stairs, take a walk, circle your arms, change of scenery, anything active. To give yourself extra energy do at least 20 min.of formal exercise a day.This can be done in a variety of ways. I will let you brainstorm for that one.

Some real and tested things that help me sleep better at night:

• Reading - I find that when I read before I go to bed, I have less wake up times in the middle of the night. Of course, you may not want to read an intense thriller book or of that nature before venturing to bed. 
• Don't go to bed in a huff - I found that I have less of a chance of a good nights rest if I have had a disagreement with my spouse. The saying "Don't Go To Bed Mad" is a good saying. 
• A long sincere, emotional prayer helps in big, big ways. I'm able to get all my feelings out in the open, crying helps cleanse the body, I am left with a clear mind to sleep peaceably.
• A very warm bath- invigorates the body, but, afterwards, as I lay down in comfortable, soft blankets, I can sleep uninterrupted, so very nice.

Twenty-four hours in a day usually doesn't seem like enough to "get everything done". Exercise and sleep are often sacrificed in our busy lives. Maybe you didn't finish everything on your mile long to-do list. Let it go--you owe yourself some rest! Start your new year off right! Be healthy: eat/drink right, exercise/stay active but don't over do it and get enough sleep. 

Health Challenge

Week 1: Keep a food journal
Week 2: No eating after 8pm
Week 3: No Sweets
Week 4: Drink 64 oz. (8 glasses of water a day)
Week 5: Choose your own challenge
Week 6: Get 7+ hours fo sleep a night
Week 7: No Soda or Juice
Week 8: Eat 5 servings of vegetables per day
Week 9: No refined flour or sugar

Along with these challenges, I think it is appropriate to add: At least 15 minutes of active exercise each day. We exercise more than we think we do, but, here are some scheduled challenges for those who might need it.

Here are some exercise challenges already put together for you. Thank you Jen Ward.
It's called the 3-2-1 Workout:  (3 min. Cardio, 2 min. Resistance, 1 min Abs)

3-Jump Squats
2-Bicep Curl
1-Plank

3-Standing Mountain Climbers
2-Tricep Kick Back
1 Bicycle legs

3-Plank Jacks
2- Moving Lunges
1- Full sit ups

3-Burpees
2- Wide arm lat pulls
1-Straight leg lower

3-Skiers
2-Wide leg squats
1-V position hold

3-Jump Rope
2-Shouldler raises
1-Medicine Ball side to side

or there is this challenge:

30 Jumping Jacks
5 Push ups
25 High Knees
7 Burpees
10 Crunches
7 Squats
5 Push ups
10 Crunches
5 Push ups
7 Squats
30 Jumping Jacks
1 minute wall sit
5 push ups
25 high knees

*Repeat 3-5 times

This is the health challenge, anyone can do it with me. A group of us are doing the health challenge, maybe you want to too. To our health.