RELIEF SOCIETY BIRTHDAY DINNER

 Wednesday, 23 March, Relief Society sisters of the  BL 3rd ward celebrated the 174th birthday of the Relief Society Organization.  A great feast of chicken salad croissant sandwiches and wonderful fresh fruit of all kinds was enjoyed, along with tasty chocolate & vanilla cake for dessert
Our seemingly strange theme for our celebration was “PURSES”.  Pat Chappell gave a wonderful presentation on the content of our Purses vs the content of our lives.   When you get a new purse or clean out your purse everything is so neat and organized, then as you go through your life you fill it with stuff, good stuff, but sometimes so much stuff that you can't find what you need or you don't have room for things that you need.  
Sometimes we fill our lives with so much good that there is no room for the important things in life.
Do our purses reflect who we really are?  Do we need to de-clutter & Spring Clean our lives?
What are some important things we can do to de-clutter our lives?
·  De-stress & figure out how to simplify our lives. (learn to say no)
·   Find the higher spiritual plane
·  Simplify our relationships w/ friends & family
·  Expect less
Do we spend more time planning and executing a lavish Sunday dinner for family members than we do studying the scriptures that day? Do we value a perfectly clean home over spending time teaching and loving our children? The story of Mary and Martha, observes Elder Dallin H. Oaks, “reminds every Martha, male and female, that we should not be so occupied with what is routine and temporal that we fail to cherish the opportunities that are unique and spiritual.” (Ensign, Nov. 1985, p. 61.
In Luke 10:42, Jesus speaks of one thing being needful: “And Mary hath chosen that good part, which shall not be taken away from her.” What in our own lives have we chosen that is good, lasting, and eternal? Have we separated the trivial from the important? Do we really understand the differences between “nice to know,” “want to know,” and “need to know”? In an age when information virtually explodes around us, are we developing the skills to sort out what we will choose to take into our hearts and minds, and what we will discard? Have we developed an eternal perspective so that “the good part” is clearly visible now?

Two tables were set up in the Relief Soceity
Room showing articles that could/should be in our 72 hour kits. (see bottom photos)

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