The Ground is Lava!

Just to brighten up your Wednesday :)

Stand As A Witness

On lds.org/youth there is a wonderful story called "My Chance to Stand" about a Laurel who moved to Honduras when her father was called to be a mission president there. She shares her experience of how she learned to be an example and disciple of Jesus Christ. There were many in her school class that didn't know much about the LDS Church and some rude comments were even made. Instead of being offended or sulking about it, she decided to teach her classmates the truth about the Church. She asked her teacher if this would be possible and her teacher allowed her to take an entire class period to share her beliefs and answer questions.

While listening to the April 2014 General Conference, I felt like there were SO MANY talks given about being a disciple of Jesus Christ and standing as a witness of Him. Elder Holland's amazing words about defending the gospel with courtesy and compassion in his talk "The Cost - and Blessings - of Discipleship." Elder Anderson's talk about standing strong against the "Spiritual Whirlwinds" of life by being a disciple. We were taught that we share His witness by our very lives in how we serve and act and love by Elder Rasband in "The Joyful Burden of Discipleship." And Sister Burton also taught about discipleship, sharing that "Hands and Hearts to Hasten the Work" are needed in God's Kingdom. 

These last few weeks I've been reading them again and have felt of their importance once more! This is our time to stand up and share what we believe. Our time to live the gospel of Jesus Christ and find joy in its blessings.

Being a disciple of Christ is not easy. But like all of these wonderful leaders mentioned (as well as plenty of other leaders in the past), it is worth it!!! 

Have you had an experience when you stood as a witness of Jesus Christ? How did you feel? What did you learn from that experience?

This is the true church upon the earth! We are children of God and there is a plan for us made possible by Jesus Christ! He is our Savior and we will "stand as witnesses of God at all times and in all things and in all places." 

Find Your Pioneer Heritage!

Ok. Do you have a FamilySearch account?

Well, if you go to their home page you'll see this "Have Pioneer Ancestors?" link.

Click on it! For real!

After you sign in, it will take you to a list with the ancestors in your family tree

that were in pioneer companies.

Mine looked like this:

And then I scrolled down the page to see about 30 ancestors!

Isn't that amazing!!

On each person you can click on their name, company, or trail experiences

to learn more about their individual life or things that their company experienced during 

the expedition to Utah.

Check it out and let us know if you learn anything new!

I seriously just spent two hours on it and have barely scratched the surface!

What an awesome way to spend Pioneer Day.

#TempleChallenge

Have you heard Elder Neil L. Andersen's challenge for you?

He has challenged all the youth to take their own names to the temple!

You can find info on lds.org/youth but we'll share some here for you too.

First, you'll want to accept the challenge.

There is a cool counter on the site that shows how many youth have accepted.

And you can enter your name to accept the challenge as well!

Then the site shows the steps for you to take:

- Find family names on FamilySearch

- Take the names to the temple

- Share your experience with others

Remember, you can find all of the links and info you need on lds.org/youth.

Taking names to the temple is such an important work.

You are helping individuals to receive their covenants

and families to be sealed for eternity.

I promise you will feel the Spirit of the Lord help you in this work,

because it is the Lord's work.

photo from New Era 2014

Be You & Love It

Yesterday we talked about being Hot Vs. Beautiful. Remember?

And then I came across this music video from Colbie Caillat called "Try."

Seriously people. I cried the whole time.

This is the message that every girl needs to understand and remember.

That I need to remember.

My favorite part is when she sings:

Wait a second,

Why, should you care, what they think of you

When you're all alone, by yourself, do you like you?

Do you like you?

You don't have to try so hard

You don't have to, give it all away

You just have to get up, get up, get up, get up

You don't have to change a single thing

You don't have to try so hard

You don't have to bend until you break

You just have to get up, get up, get up, get up

You don't have to change a single thing

You are beautiful

and amazing

and perfect

just the way you are.

No make up

or hair style

or photoshop pro

can change that.

Take your make-up off
Let your hair down
Take a breath
Look into the mirror, at yourself
Don't you like you?
Cause I like you

Be You.

And Love It!

#beyouandloveit

#standandshinemagazine

Hot VS. Beautiful

Earlier this month I was chatting with some Young Men - you know those goofy boys that either tease you or ignore you at mutual? Yea, them. And because I knew these YM quite well, I brought up the topic of girls and who they were liking or dating or hanging out with.

Most of the YM were very respectful talking about the girls they liked. They described the girls as "beautiful" and "fun", "kind" and "smart". And even though those may sound like simple or silly descriptions, I thought they were pretty good for teenage boys :)

However, one of the boys worried me with how he described the girl he liked. She was "hot!" That was it! I couldn't get him past calling her "hot" to find out anything else about this girl. But then I realized that he probably didn't know anything else about her if all he was noticing was her level of hotness.

So here's the deal and my little rant for YM even though they don't read this blog. GIRLS ARE NOT HOT. As soon as you call a girl "hot" you are turning her into an OBJECT FOR LOOKING AT and nothing more.

Now girls. Why do I share this with you? Because you are SO MUCH MORE THAN BEING HOT. You are a daughter of God who is beautiful, unique, and special. I know you worry about looking pretty and wearing the right clothes or styles. I know you worry about if a certain boy notices you. But make sure you really want that boy to notice you, does he like hot girls or beautiful girls? Does he notice your true beauty or just your body? Does he appreciate your talents, humor, and goals?

Beauty is deep. It is real. It is defining. It is empowering. 

It encompasses your heart, your dreams, your zest for life. It's your quirks, your silliness, and your smile.

It's your smarts, your determination. Your confidence and joy.

Being beautiful is so much more than the fleeting appearance of being "hot." You are a beautiful daughter of God. Remember that. And remember to surround yourself with friends (and those silly boys) who believe the same and treat you with the respect that beauty deserves.

Girls Camp: Journals

Writing in my journal is one of my routine-things.

It's a great place to write about experiences, fun moments, important people, and

everything else that makes up your life.

Check out 3 fun ideas for making your own personalized journals

from our Girls Camp Issue!

The History of Sister Missionaries

With over 20,000 sister missionaries serving throughout the world, we are in an age like none before. As daughters of God we have so many opportunities to serve and share our testimony. We have such an important role in helping build the Kingdom of God.

Just last month, the church released a video that tells the history of sister missionary work and how it came to be. The first sister missionaries were called in 1898 but the story begins long before that. (If the video doesn't work you can watch it here.)

Julie B. Beck said "The Lord cannot accomplish His work without the help of His daughters." This is true! Even if you don't serve a full-time mission (which is not a requirement for sisters) you have so many gifts and talents that you can share every day wherever you may be. You can share the gospel by your example and testimony. Just like Elizabeth McCune in the video, you can do so much good and be a light unto the world.

How can you be a missionary now?

Bleach Out T-Shirt Tutorial

From our Girls Camp Issue, a fun tutorial for Bleach Out T-Shirts!

Could be a great YW Activity too!

Girls Camp: Crafts Crafts Crafts!

Ok. A BIG part of Girls Camp is the crafting. Am I right?

Sitting down with some of your besties and chatting it up while getting those creative juices flowing...

not much can beat that.

And whether you're into making jewelry or bags or clothing...there are SO many ideas out there.

In our Girls Camp Issue we shared a few of our favorites including the

No-Sew Tote Bag from a Pillowcase and the Lace Earring Holder.

Here are some of the other's featured in our magazine. (Link Here)

Like A Girl

The company Always recently started their #LikeAGirl campaign.

It's purpose is to uplift girls and build their confidence.

To denounce the notion that doing things "like a girl" is negative

and that in reality when us girls do things "like a girl" that we are doing it just as we should.

With awesomeness. :)

Watch and be proud of being a girl.

Dream Wedding

We all dream about our wedding.

Just admit it, I know you do.

And what would the perfect wedding be without a Knight and

a wicked sorcerous and....wait...what?

Haha. Have a Happy Saturday and check this out:

Happy Fourth of July Weekend!

We know, a day early. But we want to with you a Happy 4th and a safe weekend!

Lace Earring Holder

This was one of the adorable tutorials featured in our Girls Camp Issue but

it could honestly be done any time of the year!

Thanks for sharing Tanya! We LOVE it!

July July July!!!

It's July! Which around here means it's crazy-hot and super busy!!

What fun things do you have planned this month?

Girls Camp? Youth Conference? Working? Family Trips?

One thing I bet you didn't know about July is that it's National Anti-Boredom Month!

So be on the lookout for lots of NOT boring ideas, crafts, etc. that we'll be sharing the next 31 days.

And just FYI in case you forgot.

We were publishing our eMagazine monthly but are now doing it seasonly because it's a crazy amount of work. (Makes us sound super lazy right?)

So check out our Summer Girls Camp Issue that came out in June and look for our next amazing issue coming this fall!