Showing posts with label character. Show all posts
Showing posts with label character. Show all posts

Wednesday, May 16, 2012

DAR Award

I was shocked and brought to tears literally last night when the counselor of the school announced my daughters name as the recipient of this years National Society of the Daughters of the American Revolution. I am always so proud of all three of my children. They are so unique from one another. I can see the Lord's plan before them and their contribution to society. This is an honor I have seen presented before to a young lady. I remember thinking of MeKenzei that night two years ago when my oldest was in 8th grade. Hoping that she would continue to grow and demonstrate the same great qualities. I never imagined that as a 7th grader she would be nominated for this prestigious award.
Some background on the Daughters of the American Revolution
"The National Society Daughters of the American Revolution was founded on October 11, 1890, during a time that was marked by a revival in patriotism and intense interest in the beginnings of the United States of America. Women felt the desire to express their patriotic feelings and were frustrated by their exclusion from men's organizations formed to perpetuate the memory of ancestors who fought to make this country free and independent. As a result, a group of pioneering women in the nation's capital formed their own organization and the Daughters of the American Revolution has carried the torch of patriotism ever since. "

Her award states:
Good Citizenship Award
Honor: honesty, high principles, trustworthiness, loyalty, truthfulness, punctuality, moral strength and stability, cleanliness in mind and body.
Service: cooperation, meritorious behavior bringing honor to school or community, kindliness, unselfishness, true Americanism, individual responsibility to God, Home and Country
Courage: mental and physical, determination to overcome obstacles.
Leadership: personality, originality, ability to lead others, good sportsmanship, responsibility.
Patriotism: fundamental Americanism.

I think about her lately and how she has grown. A couple things come to mind. She had sought out to join a group called PALS, our oldest son was involved with the program and I was excited to see her interest. She was disappointed when she did not make it, however there were only 20 slots out of 100+ applications. Very difficult to choose I am sure. When she told me why she was so upset my heart went out to her. It was not that she could not be part of the group. She really wanted to be able to mentor students at the elementary school where she had attended. That was very important to her. Such wisdom to want to help others.
Then this past couple of months she has been really pushing hard to earn money for her own braces. We cannot afford to get these for her. She has been saving everything she can and now has $400. I think of the idea of saving for braces. What a huge responsibility. I think about the fact that she just turned 13 and realizes that I would give them to her if I could but that she has the ability to do something about it. She took it upon herself to save that money. Those are skills and qualities that we would want in all of our children. It shows great Leadership. Think of the world if we had a Congress full of leaders with such qualities. 
I am so proud of her hard work. Proud of her character and what she sets out to achieve. I can't wait to see what her next 5 years hold.
Thank you to our local DAR Chapter for this wonderful award and honor.

 Photobucket

Tuesday, February 10, 2009

Open Your Eyes and Your Heart

In continuing with our Love Theme for this week it is important to open your eyes and your heart to see who our Father really is. Love is the Lord's Character, his essence. The Bible Says, "Love comes from God...for God is love." 1 John 4:7-8
I can't think of a better quality to posses. I can't think of a better quality to share with everyone. It is so hard to do at times though, especially that unconditional love. It is easy to withhold love to someone, such as a sister or spouse, because we feel we have been wronged or maybe they did something we did not like. Where does that really get us? In the times that things are the worst I feel like we should love even more.
The bible also says that "We love because God first loved us." 1 John 4:19
How amazing to be loved by God- he is the only one that can give unconditional love. As hard as we try our love can tend to be conditional. We don't automatically love strangers. We tend to get to know people and as we become friends we love them. It doesn't just happen. For us love is a feeling not an action, yet it really should be an action. We will talk more about that tomorrow.
For today I want to leave you with one more thought. Love is a Choice- it is a commitment.
The Lord says in Deuteronomy 30:20 "Choose to love the Lord your God and commit yourself to him." To improve your relationships you have to make love a choice- a commitment.
Is there areas in your marriage, or with your children, or even with your family members where you could work on making love a choice in order to have a better relationship?
I know for me I feel I have a pretty good relationship with my children and my husband. I would say if they were asked they would agree. I would also say that I am not satisfied with where those relationships are, I can always desire to have more, especially in the area of quality. I don't think I could ever love too much.