The Game Plan

I'll be honest: Our inspiration comes from a group of young, marriage-hungry RM boys.

No, really...
They are young, smart, fun, handsome- and they have decided they are going to be married by Summer 2012.

Hmmm, thought we. That is a little unusual. (Though let's be honest, Taylor Henderson could probably get married next week if he wanted to.)

But not necessarily a bad idea. Marriage is celestial. And it's the next big step in our lives. And although we were more hesitant to dictate matters of timing to the Lord, we decided we could at least prepare ourselves and become the kind of people we want to marry.
We wrote a long list (not included here) of the qualities most important to us in a companion. Then we focused on how we could develop those things in ourselves. To make it concrete and feasible, we broke it up into smaller weekly focuses- formulated specifically around the normal course of the semester (holidays, finals, etc.) We realize that this is by no means a "Summer of 2012" guarantee. But that's not what we're shooting for, so much as the fact that we just want to be better people.

That said... ladies and gentlemen! (aka Mom.) We are proud to present:

The Game Plan

Pick one goal a week and work on it
Effective scripture STUDY
Weekly self-analysis with journal and patriarchal blessing
Regular temple attendance
Sincere prayer:
           Pray for opportunities to develop friendships and grow as individuals
           Pray for “Thy will be done” and be willing to accept it when it comes
Daily reflection- trying to listen to the Spirit
Regular exercise and balanced eating habits
Immersing yourself in your ward
Give everybody a chance- look for the best in everybody
Do something social every week

Schedule

August
1.) Study (STUDY) scriptures
Journal and reflect
Listen for the spirit daily (meditate and reflect)

September
1.) Think about others first- pray to recognize opportunities
                                             be a good listener
2.) Care deeply about relationships-- work for them
                                                            even if inconvenient, maintain friendships, keep them deep
3.) Love to serve- pray for opportunities and recognition
4.) Be real- good communicator, honesty
5.) See the beauty in those around you- pray to see them as children of God

October
1.) See the beauty in everything- positive attitude when things go wrong
2.) Be happy with what you have- content and grateful- express it
3.) Honor our divine potential- develop talents
4.) Choose to be optimistic- look forward with faith and patience (Thy Will Be Done)

November
1.) Consecrate our time to things that really matter
2.) Be intellectually curious and discuss it with others
3.) Be a hard worker- put whole heart into whatever you’re doing
4.) Develop good friendships- reassess our most important relationships
5.) Be physically attractive- take care of our bodies- be classy.

December
1.) Hunger for the gospel- assess where we want to go, strengthen our relationship with Christ
2.) Be giving and generous-- forget ourselves during finals (People > Problems)
3.) Focus on family- be a better sister, daughter, friend.
4.) Put your whole heart in whatever you’re doing

Again, let me be honest
I'm pretty ecstatic about this.
xoxo
Lauren

P.S. Ceb-babe here- We'll be logging our weekly progress on here.  Oddly, even though I adore Taylor Henderson, I didn't know about his idea until today when Lauren mentioned it.  But I just pretended to understand, and nodded silently.  Anyway, that's why we created the blog.  Enjoy!!