February - Purify Your Heart

Theme: “For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.” (Matthew 6:21)

 Application: Purify your heart

February was the perfect month for this theme, and our heart tree exercise. Instead of being distracted by the “things” the world tries to tell us will make us feel loved, we were able to focus on serving others – showing love in the Lord’s way. The heart tree drew my family closer together. There were quiet acts of service written on pink, purple, red, and white hearts. Instead of unloading only half of the dishwasher (as is the daily task assigned to the younger children); the entire dishwasher was emptied. Someone set and cleared the table. Nobody complained. Helping hands were offered. The laundry was done. Bathrooms were cleaned without asking or negotiation – and we don’t know exactly who did the work. As a family we discussed how acts of service made us feel. After a while the paper hearts were forgotten, but the little acts of service continued – as if it were a fun new game. I hope the acts of service in your family, or between friends and neighbors have brought your hearts closer to the Lord and each other because serving each other will accomplish precisely that.

Stephanie Pugsley

"The Heart Tree is Lost!"

As I slipped into the back of Primary today to hear my son participate in closing exercises, I was delighted to see many of the children clutching their light pink "hearts" to hang on our heart tree.

At the conclusion of the meeting: "Sister Pugsley, the heart tree is LOST!" A sweet little primary child came up to me to tell me that when they went to class the bright red tree that lives in the west foyer was NOT there, and they were just not going to be able to hang their hearts on the tree.

Luckily, all was not lost and although the tree was a little late in its arrival in the foyer, it did make it in time for heart-hanging after Primary.

It warms my heart that our Primary children are focused on serving others. Our tree is covered in hearts of various colors - many of them light pink. I am grateful for the examples of our Primary children.

Purify Your Heart - February RS Activity

Flower Arranging with Libbie Archibald

“The Earth Laughs in Flowers” Ralph Waldo Emmerson

Flowers bring about positive emotional feelings and health & brighten people’s day. So, in the spirit of this month’s theme, to purify our hearts by sharing love through flowers, Libbie taught us the art of flower arranging.

The Art of Clumping

1. Select your container. Anything will do from a terra cotta pot to a short vase.
2. Line the container with cellophane or even a large Ziploc bag. Just cut off the zipper.
3. Get some pre-soaked oasis. Cut it with a knife to fit your container. (It is ok to use 2 or 3 pieces if needed.) Be sure you have soaked the oasis for several hours in water. Let it stick out of the top of the container a little bit.
4. Select your flowers: take off some of the outside petals (roses) so the flowers don’t have dark spots and are uniformly sized. Cut the flowers on the bottom with a slanted cut. Libbie prefers a knife, some people use clippers. Cut the flowers with 4-6” long stems (but this depends on the size of your arrangement).
5. Poke each flower into the oasis and arrange.
6. Trim the cellophane so it is within ¼ of the top of the container with scissors after all of your flowers have been pressed into the oasis in the container.
7. Use decorative moss to cover the cellophane. This moss may be purchased at craft stores. Press the moss into the space between the edge of the container and the cellophane covering the oasis (to hide the oasis).
8. Nice flowers to use: roses, sunflowers wrapped with twine with apples at the bottom

Flowers to clump in a clear vase:

- ranunculus, carnations, roses
- Hold the flowers in your hand and add another flower one at a time until you have a lovely mound of flowers.
- Cut off all of the stems at one time at just the height so the blossoms sit right on top of the container.

- Trick: to hold all of the stems together, use a clear plastic hair elastic
If you don’t like the look of stems in a vase when you are not using oasis (or if you are) and you would like to hide them, use big leaves on either the inside or outside of the vase wrapped horizontally around the oasis. Or, you can take moss and wrap it around the outside of the vase. Or you can take a really wide ribbon and wrap it around the outside of the vase.

Taking Care of our Hearts and Bodies with Sarah Ingebretsen

Sarah gave us some tips on how to stay healthy with some simple exercises. She recommended mixing strengthening exercises into a training program that works for you.

Examples of Strengthening Exercises:

Lunges – alternate forward and backward
Push ups – normal and staggered
Squats
Arm curls
Hamstring curls
Tricep extensions
Calf raises / jump rope
Up downs
Stabilization – front, sides and back

When creating YOUR training program, she explained that you should plan your exercise days of the week and stagger how hard you intend to train. It is important to always give yourself time to recover from hard workout days. For example, if on Monday you walk for 15 min (a light day), Tuesday you walk for 45 minutes (a medium day), Wednesday you walk 60 minutes (a heavy day), Thursday you should either take off to rest or walk only 15 minutes (a rest day or light day), Friday walk 30 minutes (medium day), Saturday walk 15 minutes (light day), Sunday (rest day). By so doing, you are able to give your body time to recover from a harder work out. This same type of pattern applies to running longer distances.
You should always remember to stretch out before and after each workout. And remember to allow time after your workout to bring your heart rate back to a normal level.

From our Hearts to Yours Service Project

We had the most wonderful outpouring of love from the Relief Society, Primary and Young Men/Young Women of this ward! We were able to put together 3 dozen care packages to be delivered to the Gundry’s inner-city mission ward. Each care package contained fresh fruit, jello, canned protein, canned fruit, canned veggies, and a treat. What a wonderful little treat to be able to send.

** By this Sunday, we had received a wonderful hand-signed card (many of the notes were in Spanish) from the Gundry’s ward thanking us for the sweet little treats. We were told that each little care package was received into homes where the impact was greatly needed. Thank you to each of you who contributed to this effort!

Quilt for Nick Massey

A beautiful quilt has been pieced in honor of Nick Massey, injured in Afghanistan, recovering at Walter Reed Hospital. Inspirational quotes are being collected and written on the quilt. We will be donating it in his name to the V.A. Hospital.

Acts of Service - What Have YOU Seen?

I treated myself yesterday. I just stood and read the hearts hanging sweetly from the red limbs of our "heart tree" hanging in the west foyer of the church. Each heart represents an anonymous act of service that "WE" are performing for each other.

I hope each of you have noticed this "tree" and have read some of these wonderful acts of service.

Some of my favorites:

- cookies delivered to my doorstep

- did the dinner dishes

- received a thank you note

- gave a back rub to my hot wife

- wrote a thank you note

- husband helped wash my hair

- vacuumed the house

- babysat the kids

- received an unexpected telephone call

- brought treat to RS presidency after Visiting Teaching conferences

- nice note after I gave sacrament meeting talk

- invited to dinner at neighbors' house

- sat by someone at lunch

- "maked" my bed


I hope you will perform some sweet act of service for someone today. And if someone does something for you...please record these on a heart for our tree.

“For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.” (Matt. 6:21) I hope our hearts will be turned toward serving each other all month long.

Purify Your Heart

THEME: “For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.”
(Matt. 6:21)

APPLICATION: PURIFY YOUR HEART

We are now in our SIXTH MONTH of our NINE MONTH preparation process. Two weeks ago, as a Ward we watched and discussed the sweet movie UP. What have you applied from the principles taught in the movie? What has changed in your life during this past five months ? We hope that every person in the Ward has experienced at least five steps of improvement, and MOVING UP, to prepare us for our day of dedication in the Temple.

Isn’t it so clearly obvious that we often allow ourselves to be caught up in the “things” of the world, which are there to distract us from the “most important” things of life. The adversary has placed so many stumbling blocks in our pathway, intended to keep us from those “most important” things of life.

When the Savior came to Israel and to the Nephites, he ended sacrifice by the shedding of blood, and he then taught them that he did not come to Destroy the Law of Moses, but to fulfill it. The new Law he gave them:

And ye shall offer for a Sacrifice unto Me, a Broken Heart
and a Contrite Spirit. (3 Nephi 9:20)

For where your treasure is, there will your HEARTS be also.
(Matt. 6:21)

Blessed are the PURE IN HEART for they shall see GOD.
(Matt. 5:28)

When the Savior challenged us that Unless ye become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven (Matt. 18:4), he directed us to keep CONSTANT VIGILANCE in our lives to prevent the world from contaminating our hearts.

He taught us that the Greatest Commandment of all, is to Love the Lord, thy God WITH ALL THY HEART. (Matt. 22:38)

King Mosiah called the people to the Temple and taught them:
Open your ears that ye may hear, and your HEARTS
that ye may understand, that the mysteries of God may
be unfolded to your view.

The condition of our hearts directly affects our sensitivity to Spiritual Things. May we invoke in our lives, the DAILY EXERCISE of pursuing daily choices to ELIMINATE any conditions that would interfere with the SPIRIT, that we may PURIFY OUR HEARTS,and open our Hearts to the TEACHINGS OF THE SPIRIT.


Grandview 1 Heart Tree

Throughout the month of February, there will be a HEART TREE located in the WEST FOYER. Each auxiliary will receive a different color of paper hearts on ribbons to be hung on the tree (Primary - pink, Relief Society - red, YM/YW - purple, Priesthood - white). On each of these hearts, individual anonymous acts of service and kindness are to be recorded as they are performed or noticed.

We look forward to serving, loving, and reaching out to others around you. We hope your heart will be turned towards those whom you serve. We also hope as you prepare to serve in the temple, your hearts will be turned towards those waiting for your loving service.