As I continue thinking about RS activities, I think we all have similar complaints.  It’s frustrating to plan something and nobody comes.  It’s hard to come up with something the sisters will find appealing and get them to commit their time.  Jane, your comment from Sis. Beck was perfect.  Are we creating the socializing event or supplying a need?

I often find myself cornering friends, especially those I visit teach, with my third-degree format:  How’s your food storage;  don’t you wish it weren’t so hard to keep up?  It is so hard to stay out of debt, how do you do it?  What are you feeding your family for dinner tonight?  Ugh!  I’m in a rut!

It never fails to bring on a great mutual conversation on ideas that end up helping and exciting us all.  We have discussed sacrificing some things to get other things, we’ve talked about world problems and how the church offers us answers, we either know something or are learning something and have thoroughly been inspired.  I am ashamed now to say that’s as far as it went.  Why in the world didn’t we plan to go out together and demonstrate all that we were talking about?  Why didn’t we plan our own little “event”, smaller groups are that much easier to deal with.

Maybe you’ve had these conversations too.  Taking  from the list below and using some of your own, would you experiment with these discussion ideas and let us know what happens?  I’d love to see the interest level you get.  And  if you are smart enough to actually go out and accomplish something together as well, all the better:

• Actually finding good stuff at Deseret Industries; Learning how to fix up what you bought at Deseret Industries; Bragging about the good deals you found at Deseret Industries
• Bragging about following your budget for an entire month; What it felt like to save and pay cash for something you really wanted
• Went shopping and found some nicely priced modest clothing at this one certain store
• Let’s go hit all the grocery stores and load up on all their lost leaders!
• Decided to save my spending money this month and pay down my credit card.
• Actually updated my 72-hour kit completely and figured out a convenient place to store it.
• Discovered some great simple recipes that are healthy, cheap and my family might actually eat them.
• Decided it was time to have a heart to heart with my family during Family Home Evening where we can get some things out in the open.

I know good things are going on in some wards,  and I also know some wards are really struggling.  A sharing of ideas can help us all.  RS activities don’t have to be a big deal anymore, they can be pulled together in an instant.  Not everyone has to come or even know about it.  The reward comes when you report your success,  after the fact, to the rest of the sisters and cause a stir, an interest and additional small accomplishments.