Kennedy Hugs

Today we want to give our love and support to Kennedy. She is a Young Woman in Utah who has Batten Disease. We first heard of Kennedy a few months ago when her cheerleading squad took 2nd in state and the stories of her experience were flooding the local news stations. But what impressed us most was the remarkable spirit that we could feel as we read about Kennedy. Now we've been following her Facebook page called Kennedy Hugs where her father shares pictures and updates. And that same spirit can  be felt. Kennedy, thank you for sharing your story. You are beautiful, inspiring, and so strong. Everything about you shines! Our hearts and prayers are with you.

Modest is Hottest. Wait...Nope.

We recently posted about Beauty Redefined.

One of their recent blog posts focused on phrase we've all heard: "Modest is Hottest"

and they teach that putting emphasis on what we look like instead of what we feel like

is harmful to our motivation, character, and self-image.

Yes we have been asked by Heavenly Father to dress modestly.

Remember that one time when we shared how dressing modestly is giving

thanks and glory to God? It's true! 

But modesty is NOT to help other's with their thoughts or actions.

PLEASE, I BEG YOU to read Modest is Hottest? The Revealing Truth

at Beauty Redefined.

We, as girls and women, are NOT objects.

We are NOT defined by the clothes we wear or don't wear.

We are MUCH MORE than an image on a billboard or movie.

We encourage you to dress modestly for YOURSELF and for GOD.

And educate yourself more about these issues. It's so important!

Happy Memorial Day

Hello there! It's a holiday which means you're probably sleeping in, spending some time with your family, or going on an adventure! Have fun!

But just a reminder to enter our Girls Camp Giveaway! Just comment with your favorite Girls Camp memory or send in your favorite Girls Camp photo and you'll be entered to win a pair of handmade earrings!

How To Deal With Mean Girls

Did you see our Girls Camp Giveaway yesterday? Make sure to enter! It closes on Tuesday morning!

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Okay. So maybe this isn't the best way to deal with mean girls. But I sort of thought it was HILARIOUS.

Happy Saturday! Do something awesome.

Favorite Things Friday: A Giveaway!!!!

Ok people. One of my favorite things EVER are giveaways!

Who doesn't like winning something just for being awesome?

Even though I've only won like 3 things in my life.

So, in joyous celebration of giveaways and also our upcoming Girls Camp Issue (coming in June!)

we are giving away some of our favorite Summer Earrings!

There are 2 Ways to Enter:

1. Share your favorite Girls Camp memory, moment, or story with us in the comments or you can email it to us at standandshinemagazine@gmail.com

2. Share your favorite Girls Camp photo in the comments or email it to standandshinemagazine@gmail.com

There will be 3 Winners, Each Receiving One Pair of Earrings:

1. The funniest picture or story

2. The sweetest picture or story

3. One name drawn at random

* Open to residents of U.S. only. Sorry international friends!

* Please note that you do not have to be a current YW to enter. We'd love to hear from any woman of any age!

* Also, by sending in stories or pictures you are giving Stand & Shine Magazine the right to share those photos or stories on our blog or in our eMagazine.

* Giveaway closes on Tuesday May 27th 2014 at 7:00AM MST.

GOOD LUCK!

Confidence

In 2007 the mutual theme was D&C 121:45.

"Let virtue garnish thy thoughts unceasingly; 

then shall thy confidence wax strong in the presence of God."

The YW and YM general presidencies shared a few of their thoughts on this topic. They taught that if you have this confidence in the presence of God, then you will have confidence around anyone else as well.  To gain confidence, they tell us to live the Lord's standards found in For the Strength of Youth. This is different than the world's idea of confidence but it is the way that you will truly find happiness.

They gave a few suggestions of how we can become more confident:

Pray that the Lord will help you remember that you are His child 

and that you have important work to do 

Make a list of your strengths and good qualities.

Read and ponder your patriarchal blessing, or prepare to receive one.

Serve others, and write in your journal how service makes you feel.

Eat well and exercise. Your body is a gift from God, and good nutrition and physical activity will lift your mood and help you feel better about yourself.

Offer prayers of gratitude, and record your gratitude in a journal.

Develop your talents.

Keep the commandments.

Do you have any other ideas on how to become more confident?

Please share in the comments, we'd love to hear!

Beauty Redefined

We shared a few thoughts about modesty a few days ago in Modesty: More Than A Hemline.

This is a BIG topic. And modest clothing is just the beginning.

The idea of "beauty" is being warped and attacked all around us.

Celebrities, media, advertisements, fashion, etc. are centered around the world's definition of beauty.

As Daughters of God we do not have the same definition.

We do not define our beauty based on trends.

We do not define our beauty based on opinion.

We define our beauty based on God.

And if you ever feel alone is this battle of beauty and self-image, don't! You are not alone!

Girls, young women, and women all around the globe deal with the pressure of image.

That they need to look a certain way to feel happy about themselves.

All of us want to be pretty and beautiful.

But we forget that my beautiful is different than your beautiful.

It's based on how I feel about myself. 

Not necessarily what I see in the mirror.

A site that we have recently become familiar with is a great place to visit if you are dealing with these feelings of low self-image.

It's called Beauty Redefined and was created by twins Lindsay and Lexie.

Their Bio:

Lindsay Kite and Lexie Kite are the directors of Beauty Redefined and 28-year-old identical twin sisters with PhDs in the study of media and body image from the University of Utah (’13). They have a passion for helping girls and women recognize and reject harmful messages about their bodies learn to develop body image resilience to move beyond body shame and fixation on appearance to much more important things. Beauty Redefined represents their not-for-profit work through the Beauty Redefined Foundation (501(c)(3)) to take back beauty for girls and women everywhere through continuing the discussion about body image and media literacy through their website (beautyredefined.org), social media, and through regular speaking engagements in both secular and religious settings, from universities and high schools to professional conferences and church congregations for all ages. Their co-authored master’s thesis and complementary doctoral dissertations form the basis for a popular and empowering visual presentation, which Lindsay and Lexie have presented to tens of thousands of people across the U.S. since 2009.

Aren't they amazing?

They've decided to fight the world's definition of beauty by educating girls and women.

Since we're not experts in this area, we strongly encourage you to check out their website and blog for more information, research, and articles on this topic.

And remember:

YOU ARE BEAUTIFUL!

When I Grow Up: Pediatric Nurse

We have a section in our eMagazine called "When I Grow Up" that shows a 

Young Women (like you!) and what she wants to be when she gets older.

Next to it has an LDS women who is in that same career and who can share advice and tips

on how to prepare or get involved in that field of work.

You can read below for May's spotlight on Emily who wants to be a pediatric nurse.

And if YOU would like to send in your dream career,

PLEASE DO!! We would love to share it in our magazine!

Modesty: More Than a Hemline

by Kelsey Reed

LDS.org defines modesty as "an attitude of propriety and decency in dress, grooming, language, and behavior." Notice that only half of the list is related to physical appearance. Modesty is much more than the length of a hemline. Modesty is an encompassing attitude in which we avoid anything crass, vulgar, suggestive, or harmful for the presence of the Spirit.

Our words should be modest by keeping our conversations uplifting and clean. Our actions should show modesty by only participating in things that are positive, saying no to anything we know is wrong. And as you already know, our appearance should reflect our modest attitude. By focusing on all aspects of modesty, you will cultivate the right kind of attitude that shows gratitude to God and brings more happiness into your life.

Why is modesty so important? When we are modest, we don't try to draw attention to ourselves, instead we try to "glorify God in [our] body, and in [our] spirit" (1 Corinthians 6:20). Heavenly Father created our spirits. He made it possible for us to have bodies. The best thing we can do to show gratitude for such a tremendous gift is to use our bodies for good, not to glorify ourselves. 

While trying to cultivate a modest attitude, question your motivation. Are you doing this to make yourself look better in some way, be it cute or cool or funny? Or will your actions help others or show obedience to God?

This can be difficult to do. I don't spend every moment of the day asking myself these questions. I easily get caught up in doing whatever is easiest for me. But the smallest change can make a world of difference.     

         

For women, one of the more difficult aspects of modesty involves clothing. In general, women's fashion falls farther away from the Lord's standards of modesty than men's. It can be downright difficult to find modest clothing, especially when summer rolls around.

So why do we bother? Besides the gratitude and obedience reasons mentioned above, the Lord's standards are set for a specific reason: to prepare us for the temple. In the temple we take on sacred covenants and wear special garments to remind us of these promises. Garments for both men and women cover the shoulders, stomach, back and thighs. Sound familiar? It's identical to the standards our prophets have set out for the youth.

By keeping these standards of dress as a teenager, you show that you are ready for the temple. Temple work allows us to return to Heavenly Father and live with our families forever. In that light, modest clothing takes on much greater importance.

I want to mention one reason that shouldn't influence whether or not you choose to dress modestly. I have heard many well meaning people claim that women should dress modestly to help men control their thoughts. This is a dangerous line of reasoning because it ignores agency.

The gift of choice is one of the most precious and important gifts God has given us. To say that a person is responsible for another's thoughts ignores this. Thinking like this can lead to situations where women are blamed for the actions of others. One such story involved an eight year old girl who was harassed on her way to school, called terrible names by adults who claimed they were upholding God's standards. Many women who have been sexually assault have been accused of dressing provocatively, as if their attackers have no accountability for their own actions. This sort of mentality leads to women being blamed for another's bad behavior regardless of whether or not she is covered from head to toe.

Along those same lines, we should be careful not to judge other for their clothing choices. Many do now know about God's standards. Others may have lost their way and need love and understanding in order to find their back. Focus on what you can control: yourself.

We are lucky to have the guidance of the Lord through his prophets and the Spirit. As you work to build a modest attitude through your words, actions, and appearance, you will be more open to the influence of the Holy Ghost and God will bless your efforts. I know that when I try to focus on glorying God instead of myself, I find greater happiness than I ever could on my own.

(From our May 2014 issue)

Summer Skin Care

from our May 2014 issue

Favorite Things Friday: Books Books Books!

One thing I can never get enough of is a good book!

Anyone agree?

I love a good romance story or an adventure in the dystopian future.

And when you find out one of your favorite books has a sequel or even a whole series?

It's basically a DREAM COME TRUE.

So dust of your library card and figure out what books you're going to read this summer.

And don't worry that you won't get to them all, you can read until 2 in the morning since you won't have school the next day.

Don't tell your parents I say that was okay, okay? Hehe.

And check out our Summer Reading List from our May 2014 issue

that includes some of my FAVORITE BOOKS EVER!

Any of your favorites that we missed?

Meet These AWESOME Young Women From West Haven, Utah

Did you read our latest issue of Stand & Shine Magazine?

If so, you saw this awesome Young Women's group from West Haven.

Aren't they beautiful?

Here's a little bit about this awesome group of gals.

Thanks for sharing with us!

Choice & Accountability

An article from the May 2014 issue of Stand & Shine Magazine.
Written by Marci Preece.

When I left elementary school to start 7th grade at the junior high, my whole life changed. Suddenly I was worried about my clothes, how my hair looked, and what other thought of me. My mom even purchases MAKE UP for me! See? Big deal. I went from being a soccer-playing, field-roaming tomboy to being a self-conscious 12 year old girl. Weird.

Junior High was a different world. There were cool kids and nerdy kids and sport teams and academic clubs. And most importantly, there were REALLY CUTE boys.

For some reason I didn't really notice boys until I start Junior High. Maybe you're the same? Maybe not? But when 7th grade came it's like someone gave me new glasses and I could finally see that WOW! some of those boys were cute business!!

Now my parents must have known this boy-noticing-experience would happen because they kept on remming me of "The Rules": no attending dances. No boy/girl parties unless my mom went (UGH). And especially no "going out" with a boy. (Back in that day "going out" meant that we would be called boyfriend and girlfriend but not actually go on dates or anything like that. It was more an I-like-you-and-so-let's-hang-out-at-school-thing.) But even with all of these rules, I kept telling my parents that they had nothing to worry about since I was terrified of actually talking to the cute boys anyways.

One day though, the unfathomable happened. A cute boy told his friends to tell my friends to tell me, that he wanted to "go out" with me. And yes, it all happened through the friend chain. Can you believe it!?! I was so excited, especially with all of my bubbly friends telling me the news! In the back of my mind I could hear my parents telling me "The Rules" but I quickly pushed them away, because how bad could it be? It's not like I was going out on a date or sneaking off with him to parties and such. So I said yes.

My friends rushed off to give my answer to his troop of friends and that was that. I figured this boy would wave to me in the hall or sit by me at lunch and it would be a good old time.

 Wrong-oh. Guess who called me that night? At my house? (This is way before the cell phone era.) The boy!! Luckily I answered the phone and luckily it was cordless so I could run up to my bedroom and hide in my closet. I just knew my parents would FLIP! if they knew what was going on. So in the security of my closet, I said hello and made small chit chat. The whole time my heart was pounding and my ears stringing to listen for any looming parents. I don't even know what Cute Boy told me or asked me since I was so concerned about getting caught. I quickly wrapped up the conversation, said bye, and took a breathe of relief when I finally ended the call. Phew.

Now something interesting happened here. I realized that I was feeling very guilty inside. But why? I wasn't kissing him. I wasn't going out on dates. I hadn't technically done anything "bad". BUT I was doing something my parents had specifically asked me not to do. And i knew it was also something that church leaders had counseled against as well. I knew that the feeling of guild would only grow and that I would never feel comfortable "going out" with this really cute boy. I had made a bad choice and I needed to fix it.

I broke up with Cute Boy the next morning at school. Well, actually, I told my friends to tell his friends to tell him that I broke up with him. I'm sure he had no idea what was going on and looking back I'm sure I hurt his feelings, but I knew that it was the right thing to do.

So what's your point, you say? To ignore boys? To pretend they're not cute? No way! Of course we can be around cute boys and of course we build friendships with them. My point is that we need to make good choices. By making good choices we show God that we love Him and are willing to follow Him. In Joshua 24:15 it says, "Choose you this day whom ye will serve; but as for me and my house we will serve the Lord." Make the decision today to serve God and then make your choices match that decision. If I love God and He's asked me to not date before I'm sixteen, then I won't date before I'm sixteen. If He asks me to wear modest clothing or pay my tithing or whatever principle of the gospel it is, I will do that because I love God. God has a purpose in the things He asks us to do. He has great blessing in store for us! And we need to follow the path of god choices to get there.

Now I'm not saying it will always be easy. It won't be! That's part of life! But I will promise you that if you choose to follow the gospel of Jesus Christ and use the tools God has given you to make good decisions, you will be blessed. You will have confidence and greater understanding of God's plan for you, as well as a greater measure of His spirit. May the good choice be with you!

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Need activity ideas or value projects for Choice & Accountability?

Click here for more ideas!

Smoothie Time!

from our May 2014 issue

Choice & Accountability Activity Ideas

Remember how we've been focusing on Choice & Accountability in our May Issue?

Well today we're sharing ideas for YW activities!

The possibilities really are endless, but here are a few ideas to get you started:

Jelly Bean Choices: Have two kinds of Jelly Beans, one that tastes good (like Starburst jelly beans) and one that is gross (like those Harry Potter beans with nasty flavors). The girls have to answer questions like "Should I go to seminary?" and eat the jelly bean that corresponds with the choice. 

Have a nutrition night where girls are taught about the positive effects of healthy eating. You could share recipes, provide food samples, do a cooking demonstration, etc.

Together create a small book of quotes or pictures about Choice & Accountability. 

As a YW group, organize and present a modesty fashion show. You could do this with Prom dresses, summer fashions, or wedding dresses. So many possibilities! 

Find a place where you can build a campfire and have a "Bad Habit Roast." Each girl writes on a piece of paper a bad habit that she wants to get rid of and throws it into the fire. Then it's s'more time!

Work together to organize a For the Strength of Youth Discussion Night with all of the youth in your ward.

Create a maze outside with various lengths of yarn. The girls have to unwind the yarn to try and get the prize tied at the end (like candy). Relate this to the Iron Rod - our choices will lead us back to God and His rewards.

Together make a suit or armor to put on once of the leaders. Use Ephesians 10 to have the girls help make each piece of armor and discuss how it will protect them physically and spiritually.

Have a Money Smarts night and talk about how to earn, save, and spend money wisely.

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What other ideas do you have?

Have you done a fun Choice & Accountability activity? 

Please share in the comments! We'd love to hear!

New Beginnings: Don't Give UP!

This is a post from Maggie about their recent New Beginnings! Thanks for sharing Maggie! 

First what is New Beginnings? 

"Young women who will reach the age of 12 in the coming year are also invited to attend with their parents. It may be held during Mutual. This event provides an opportunity for leaders to express their love for the young women, encourage parents to help their daughters in Personal Progress, and introduce new young women to the young women program."

Don't Give UP!

I am a Miamaid Advisor and we were asked to plan the night. At first I came up with several ideas and let the girls choose what they would want. After some debating we all decided we loved the UP theme. I probably watched this show 10 times to get the details of it and to get an idea for how to bring the movie into our theme for the night. 

Our theme was:  "Don't Give UP the beginning is always the hardest."

On the Program we also used the quote, "Adventure is out there!" from the movie.

For two months we planned everything out. My fabulous sister Kelsey drew some amazing pictures of the house. She even made the cool graphic balloons that would attach to the house. I loved what she made for me & did I mention she is pretty RAD!

My other sister Marci, got roped into this ordeal as well. I called her before Valentine's Day to see if her daughter needed an idea for a V-day box. Well, her school wasn't doing that so instead we planned to start something once she came up for a weekend. After my collection of boxes & a few hours of duct taping and cutting, we had an awesome Up house. This was probably the longest and most time consuming thing.. but it made the night!

Next I went to work on these adorable pins! It's the bottle cap pin that Ellie gives Carl in the movie. At first I was going to make them into necklaces for the girls & after I already had made 10 or so of them I just wasn't in love with them. So, I changed things a bit and ended up getting them to look just perfect!

If you'd like to know what supplies I used, here is that info. And I will be honest I am a Hobby Lobby shopaholic so I got all my supplies there. 

Supplies for Pins:

Bottle Caps 1 1/4" (Collect and then spray paint or buy them)

*the package at Hobby Lobby gives you 24 in a pack

Safety Pins (Make sure you get a bag that is 1" to 2" in size)

White Cardstock

Foam brushes 1"

A 1.8" mm Bottle Cap Hole Punch. 

Glossy Accents 3D Medium glue

Krylon Workable Fixatif 

Modge Podge Matte 

*if you are a serious crafter you may already have Modge Podge. If not they do have a smaller 4oz. bottle that will be plenty.

                                                   

Instructions for Pins:

First, I printed out my grape soda design on Cardstock. Before you cut them into circles spray them with the Krylon Fixatif spray. Let them sit overnight or up to 4 hours. This helps with the ink not bleeding.

Second, while they are drying you can take out your bottle caps and start punching the holes in them. I would make one hole then stick the safety pin and line up where I want the other hole to be. (Make sure you punch it close to the top of the bottle cap so your safety pin can be seen at the top.) Punch your second hole & fasten the safety pin and you are ready to begin the next part.

Once you have coated the page of circles with Fixatif and let it sit overnight, you can then cut them out. This may take some time depending on how good you are at cutting a perfect circle out. You then will be able to begin to put your badges together.

Dip your foam brush in the Modge Podge and coat the top of the bottle cap. Then center and stick your circle to the bottle cap. Rub it around so you won't get bubbles and let it dry. Once you go through and finish gluing your circles on you will be ready to use your Glossy Accents.

Take the Glossy Accents and start around the edges of your glued paper. Go slowly around the edge in a circular motion and work your way into the center of the cap. It will be cloudy looking. It's best to wait overnight for these to dry & cure. 

And be sure not to shake the Glossy Accents! If you happen to get bubbles take a lighter next to it and they will pop. Also another tip don't get on to the very edge of the cap because the glue will slide off and can create a mess.

Now, do you remember the adorable Mailbox from the movie?!

I have about 40 girls in my ward not including the leaders. So with that being said I couldn't have put that many handprints on a mailbox. But, with the help of my Sister in Laws Silhouette Cameo machine I was able to cut all of their names onto vinyl and put them on one side of the mailbox.

This was by far one of the crazy dreams I had while planning this activity. I wanted something that would unify the girls throughout the rest of the year. That is when it hit me.

Come Unto Christ. That is the theme for the LDS youth this year. So, I decided that every Sunday the mailbox will be sitting out for them to write a letter to Christ.

As leaders we will keep all of there papers & at Evening of Excellence they will get them back.
We want them to work on becoming closer to Christ. So if they helped a friend on a bad day, prayed morning and night, read their scriptures, completed a Personal Progress, shared their Testimony. They can write those things down and stick it inside the mailbox.

Along with the bottle caps & mailbox the girls each got a goody bag to take home. I honestly lucked out on these little things! Since everything is about UP we used a can of 7up, Mentos Up2U gum, and 7 ways to have an uplifting day.

(The following was laminated and we put magnets on the back of them so the girls can stick them in their lockers, mirrors etc.)

                                     7 ‘UP’ lifting ways to start your day 

1- WAKE UP & decide to have a good day

2- DRESS UP. The best way to dress up is to put on a smile!

3- CHEER UP and say nice things & have a positive attitude

4- STAND UP for what you believe in. Stand for something or you will fall for anything.

5- LOOK UP to the Lord. He is only a prayer away

6- REACH UP for something higher. Set some good goals.

7- LIFT UP, be a good friend and help those around you.

The girls also took home a YW theme card, a 5x7 picture of the Youth Theme and a fun coloring picture of their very own UP house. (My sister had made one with just pencil and my YW love to color!)

Our YW were assigned to bring the cupcakes. They are all so talented and every cupcake I had was delicious! We have some mini chefs in our ward!

It was a fun night and a big thank you to my sisters who helped with my crazy ideas! 

Remember It's Better to Look Up!

Favorite Things Friday: DIY Slip Extenders

Did you see our No-Sew Extender Slip tutorial from Jenny at Plane Pretty earlier this week?

Well, we're just in love with the idea of making skirts and dresses more modest and comfortable with these awesome extenders!

So today we gathered up a few DIY tutorials from online.

The possibilities are endless! You can pick the colors, what type of lace,

how many layers to add, how long to make it, etc.

Tutorial from While Camden Sleeps

Tutorial from iCandy 

Tutorial from Anthromollogies 

Tutorial from Creative Chicks

Tutorial from A Girl and a Glue Gun

Keep the Sabbath Day Holy: Make A Sunday Box

Need a Value Project for Choice & Accountability? Or how about a fun Young Women's activity? We have an idea for you: make a Sunday Box!!

In For the Strength of Youth we are taught:

The Lord has given the Sabbath day for your benefit and has commanded you to keep it holy...Prepare during the week so that you can reserve Sunday for the many uplifting activities that are appropriate for the Sabbath day. Such activities include spending quiet time with your family, studying the gospel, fulfilling your Church callings and responsibilities, serving others, writing letters, writing in your journal, and doing family history work....Observing the Sabbath will bring you closer to the Lord and to your family. It will give you an eternal perspective and spiritual strength.

Sometimes it's easy to find ourselves doing activities or chores on the Sabbath that might be more appropriate for other days of the week. Putting together a Sunday Box with items that help you focus on the Savior is a great way to help you and your family spend your Sabbath day in a way that is pleasing to our Heavenly Father.

To get started on your box, first make a list of activities or items that you think would be appropriate and ask your parents about any that you are unsure of. Look around your home to see what items you might already have that would be a great addition to your Sunday Box. Some ideas you could include are:

Recent issues of the New Era or the Friend for younger siblings

Letter supplies (paper, envelopes, addresses, stamps) to write missionaries or family

A list of Scripture Mastery scriptures to work on memorizing

A scrapbook or journal of an ancestor that you can read about

A notebook containing family history charts, research, your goals, and other relevant info

A puzzle that you can put together as a family

Thank you cards to write to those who've helped you or have been an example that week

Church CD's with hymns (like the MoTab!)

Small folder games or scripture games that you can play with younger siblings

Church video's (like Legacy or Special Witnesses of Christ)

Favorite recipes that you can make together (like cookies or homemade ice cream)

A copy of Preach My Gospel to learn the missionary lessons

Next you'll want to find a box, basket, or other container that will fit your items and fill it with the items you found. Make sure to "okay" this with your mom :)

And if you're doing this as a Value Project, you'll want to use the Sunday Box each Sabbath day for a couple of months and record your feelings about the experience. Did it help you focus on the Savior more? Did you feel the Spirit more? How did it help your family? Discuss your experience with a parent or leader.

What else would you add to a Sunday Box?