A great teaching tip a friend shared with me is: after asking a question wait ten seconds, actually count it out in your head, before offering the answer- if you don't count the silence can seem like forever even though it's only been 3 seconds.
(Just in case any one else wants that advice)
Earth/Balancing Strengths & Weaknesses/Being workable clay in the master potter's hands
Supplies:
chalk & Eraser
bag of mud
clay
water in a dish
table cloth
apron
paper towels
playdough
a professionally made pot
a small homemade pot
References:
Artswork ASU basic pottery techniques (sorry the link no longer exists :-( )
I was really nervous about teaching for the first time in Relief Society so a friend of mine suggested I teach what I love. I decided to take her advice and that's how I came up with the lesson and we will do some brain/psych stuff and some art since those are kind of my hobbies.
The basic point of this lesson is Ether 12:27
And if men come unto me I will show them their weakness. I give unto men weakness that they may be humble; and my grace is sufficient for all men that humble themselves before me; for if they humble themselves before me, and have faith in me, then will I make weak things become strong unto them.
So, here we have a bag of mud. A weak and possibly undesirable thing.
[Ask someone to read the following story and while she is reading write the cons of dyslexia on the board]
A
little girl named Jackie faced a devastating weakness that deeply
affected her life—an inability to read. For years she experienced daily
rejection and humiliation.
She
said, “I was in second grade, and already I knew I was dumb. I just
didn’t ever really catch on to reading.” Day after day and year after
year the humiliation continued. Jackie said, “I was either told directly
I was stupid or was asked, ‘Haven’t I already told you that a thousand
times?’” She was labeled “lazy” and “a daydreamer.” Comments like these,
she said, “caused me such emotional stress that it was like having a
curtain drawn across my mind.” Being called upon to read aloud in class
was excruciating. “Even when I knew the words, I could not say them,”
she recalled. “Tears would well up in my eyes and blur the page.”
Soon
Jackie learned to cover for her weakness or avoid situations that would
reveal her dreaded secret. When she and her friends visited the local
library, she followed their lead in checking out popular mystery books.
But even though she carried the books home, she could never read them or
join in her friends’ lively discussions about the characters and plots.
She also found herself failing nearly every subject in school. Finally,
at age 15, she decided to drop out of school and get married.
This
decision could have led to more serious problems and a permanent detour
from learning. Instead, through the loving, ongoing encouragement of
her husband, the watchful care of the Lord, and her own determination,
things began to change. “My husband has been my lifesaver,” she
explained. “He always treated me like I was the smartest person he ever
saw.” Many years later, this mother of eight children graduated from
high school—one year before her eldest daughter.
Jackie
continued her education beyond high school, but each day was a
struggle. “I cried every day, it was so hard,” she said. Her husband
gave her priesthood blessings,
and a daughter tutored her in algebra, leaving her little notes of
encouragement. In faith, Jackie turned to the Lord and prayed for His
help. Finally, after years of effort, she received a college degree at
age 50. Her weakness ultimately became a great strength as she pursued a
career path that became a great blessing to others also struggling to
read. The little girl who once thought she was too dumb to read now
directs a statewide program that helps children with reading
difficulties.
2
[on the board write:]
CONS
Struggles with reading
does things slower
considered lazy
often needs to re-learn something over and over
struggles with memorizing or tasks becoming a habit
Something I've been reading a lot about lately is dyslexia [The Advantages of Dyslexia and Overcoming Dyslexia]. Neurologists are now finding that BECAUSE of these weaknesses, because of the paths a dyslexic brain is taking, (the brain takes the scenic route instead of the direct route) there are some admirable strengths.
[on the board write:]
PROS
curiosity
eager embrace of new ideas
creative
resilience
adaptibility
excellent reasoning skills
gets the "big picture"
finds new ways to reach a goal or sees new ways of doing things
So instead of mud maybe we actually have clay. [take out lump of clay]
Lets try applying this to our lives this way- If we are noticing a weakness in our selves let's start by finding a new vocabulary word
[Write Weak on one side of the board and Strong on the other and have the group suggest qualities typically thought of as faults and write them under "weak" and then write the suggestions for the same behavior but seen as a positive quality. For example: my mom says her mother sometimes told her she was stubborn, but her father called her "stalwart"]
Now we can see that we have something to work with. We can work on our weaknesses becoming more like the positive word. Working with our clay we can make a pot. We can make our weaknesses useful.
Since I have mostly had callings in primary and Cub Scouts we will be actually doing something so take some playdough if you'd like and we are going to make a pot together. [Pass around the bucket of playdough- I used actual clay to demo with and wore an apron, but passed around playdough because it isn't as messy & shouldn't stain clothes like clay can].
There are some important things we can learn from making a pot. The prophet Jeremiah in the old testament was told to go down to the potter's house and in chapter 18 verse 2 the Lord says, "there will I cause you to hear my words." As we are making our pots imagine you are there and listen for the Spirit to teach you as we go through the steps. If you have any ah-ha moments you want to share feel free to just say them or if you have questions feel free to interrupt.
#1 When your pot is finished it should
have even thickness of walls
have a pleasing form
have well-joined pieces
and be made for a designated purpose
#2 First we need to prepare our clay. We do this by kneading the clay to get rid of trapped air bubbles and for an even wet/dryness. If there are too many air bubbles the pot could explode in the kiln and if the pot is too wet in some spots and too dry in others it won't bake properly.
#3 pat your clay into a smooth ball. Once you have a nice round ball press your thumb in the center. Holding the pot in one hand slowly turn the pot as you pinch the sides between your thumb and fingers.
#4 work your clay into the shape you want. If you start to notice cracks in your clay it is because the clay is drying out- just dip your fingers in some water and smooth those out. Try to get your pot to an even thickness all around "and the shape of your pot is pleasing to you."
#5 "when your pot is finished, put it aside to dry. When it is leather hard you may want to add designs to the surface. When it is completely dry your pot is called greenware and is ready to fire. You can test it by placing the pot to your cheek. If it no longer feels cold, it is ready to fire.
[Ask someone to read Jeremiah 18:6]
"O house of Isreal, cannot I do with you as this potter? saith the Lord. Behold, as the clay is in the potter's hand so are ye in my hand, O house of Isreal."
In order to be a balanced pot we need to balance our strengths and weaknesses through self-mastery and continuing to learn and improve. Most importantly is being a workable clay, a clay that is easy to shape, by humbly trusting in the Lord. Like Ether 12: 27 said, "...my grace is sufficient for all men that humble themselves before me, then will I make weak things become strong unto them."
Also, let's remember Paul who became Saul who persecuted the church, but changed [Acts 9:4-6, 8 & 9], and then in vs. 15 the Lord tells a disciple named Ananias that Saul "is a chosen vessel unto me". He suffered much and turned to Christ and even said in 2 Corinthians 12:9-10
9 And he said unto me, My agrace is sufficient for thee: for my bstrength is made perfect in cweakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may drest upon me.
10 Therefore I take pleasure in ainfirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in bpersecutions, in distresses for Christ’s sake: for when I am cweak, then am I dstrong.
Let's not forget we are each "chosen vessels".
