The WORTH Book - Free Resource

The WORTH Book is a resource that I recently came across from Life Changing Services.  I love what the acronym stands for:

Women of Rebirth Therapeutic Healing

They have a FREE online book accessible here: The WORTH Book

A sneak peek into this book is this wonderful message:

Our aim is to guide you toward Pioneer Woman mode, a state of emotional and psychological strength where your happiness, confidence, and identity are no longer tied solely to the condition of your marriage but instead anchored in your own personal healing and self-discovery.  A Pioneer Woman finds joy in her personal growth and spiritual resilience, whether she remains in her marriage or moves forward on her own.  It's about reclaiming your power, your heart, and your peace, even when external circumstances don't align perfectly. pg 5

I am very grateful for individuals that have given their time to educate themselves and develop resources such as this one.  Sharing our resources helps us build our healing community and helps us find healing for ourselves too.  Not all resources are a match, and what speaks to me may not speak to you.  Thankfully resources are abundant and no matter where we are on our journey, we will hear the loving message that speaks peace to our souls.

We've got this!

Let God Prevail - Youth Program

This is something that I have prayed for for years!  I am so grateful to the Croshaws for their sacrifice in bringing this program to fruition!

This fills the gap that is needed for the youth.  I am so very grateful!

For Youth – Let God Prevail

● A bishop applies for access to Let God Prevail resources and Tyfoom by completing the Enrollment Form. 

● The bishop presides over and directs the use of Let God Prevail within the ward. The program operates under his leadership and priesthood keys. The bishop plays a central role in what we refer to as the spiritual recovery process. 

● The bishop introduces eligible ward youth to the Let God Prevail approach. Participation is voluntary and requires individuals to opt in. For youth under age 18, parents must be informed and provide permission. 

• Minimum participation age: 15. 

● Once a participant opts in, trained mentors support the bishop by helping communicate the Let God Prevail approach to participants and parents. This includes explaining recovery principles, expectations, and practical tools used to support healing and spiritual growth. 

• Two mentors must be assigned to each youth to provide two-deep leadership in weekly Zoom meetings
• In the absence of a second mentor, the bishop may also attend youth Zoom meetings

● Participants receive Tyfoom access and log in via mobile or desktop. Tyfoom provides daily education, accountability, and connection. 

● Participants:

• Watch daily video messages 
• Connect with someone in recovery circle daily (e.g. bishop, mentor, parent, etc.)
• Fill out Daily Check-In form via Tyfoom 
• Meet with mentors weekly to support your education and accountability 

● The Let God Prevail approach strongly encourages daily check-ins between youth and parents. Connection and honesty are vital in recovery from unwanted sexual behavior. A suggested youth/parent check-in procedure (The Vowel Check-In) is available in Resources or in Documents in Tyfoom. 

● The bishop receives daily check-in responses via Tyfoom and provides a brief, timely response to each participant. 

● Youth participants meet weekly with their mentors to receive encouragement, instruction, and support in applying recovery principles and tools (see Youth Meeting Script document). 

Accepting the Lord's Will and Timing

 I often speak about Surrender.  Before the Spouse and Family Support manual was published the only manual I had was the same one that was for the addicts.  Those same principles, same steps resonated with me.  That manual has also changed, but the principles remain the same.  

Step 3 in the addict's manual is: Decide to Turn Our Wills and Our Lives Over to the Care of God, The Eternal Father, and His Son, Jesus Christ.  This is the principle of Surrender.  At first I didn't understand at all why I needed to surrender.  Shouldn't that be my spouse?  It is HIS addiction.  Not MINE.  The Serenity prayer is said in AA, SA, SAnon and SAL meetings.  I remember seeing the first portion of this hanging on the wall of my grandmother's kitchen.  

God grant me the serenity
to accept the things I cannot change;
courage to change the things I can;
and wisdom to know the difference.
Living one day at a time;
Enjoying one moment at a time;
Accepting hardships as the pathway to peace;
Taking, as He did, this sinful world
as it is, not as I would have it;
Trusting that He will make all things right
if I surrender to His Will;
That I may be reasonably happy in this life
and supremely happy with Him
Forever in the next.
Amen.

 I want to have that SERENITY.  But to achieve that I must learn to SURRENDER. I had to learn that surrender does not mean giving up.  It is allowing my Savior to direct my life.  

In the Healing Through the Savior, The Addiction Recovery Program 12-Step Recovery Guide it says:

God grants us serenity when we trust in His ability to help us. We accept that although we cannot control the choices and actions of others, we can decide how we will act in each situation we face. We courageously decide to trust our Father in Heaven and act according to His will. We turn our wills and lives over to His care. We decide to obey Him and keep His commandments.

HIS CARE.  That's what I want to be in.  His care.  I know I will be safe there and one of the ways to be there is to stop focusing on my own will.  My own belief of how things should be.  Be still and watch and listen.  

Elder David A. Bednar spoke a lot about this in an article Accepting the Lord's Will and Timing.  He said, "Strong faith in the Savior is submissively accepting of His will and timing in our lives—even if the outcome is not what we hoped for or wanted....Many of the lessons we are to learn in mortality can be received only through the things we experience and sometimes suffer. And God expects and trusts us to face temporary mortal adversity with His help so we can learn what we need to learn and ultimately become what we are to become in eternity."

One step at a time.  Surrendering one thought, one action, one belief, one fear, one hurt, one portion of our "anxious load"...one piece at a time.  That's all we're asked.  Not the whole thing at once.  One step at a time. 

Talking to Children About Sex in a Healthy Way

I am a mother of 6 and now a grandmother of 8.  I look back to the days of my youth and conversations that surrounded sex.  It was taboo.  It wasn't something talked about.  If someone is engaging in it they are "dirty", "sinning", " bad".  If we had questions, who did we go to?  Either our friends or nobody.  This did not quell curiosity, or prepare us for marriage.

My goal was to remove the stigma and give my children a better and safer understanding of sex than I'd had.  I tried to create a climate of openness with my children, but even with that, I didn't have the right tools to truly do it the way it needed to be done.  

Gratefully, over the years because of research and openness from those that have been on the path of addiction recovery, so much more is understood!  So many more resources are available.

Utah Coalition Against Pornography (UCAP) is one of those resources.  

At one of their Rallies, the following presentation was given:

What does a healthy Parent-Child conversation about sex look like?

It is long and is worth taking the time to watch.

If there are things that you find in it that stand out to you, please put them in the comments to share for those reading this.  As we share we can lift each other!

I'll start:

• Teach each child to appreciate and love all aspects of their bodies as a beautiful gift from God.
• Teach them to have awe and wonder about the body's ability to reproduce and become bonded to a partner.
• Teach them to recognize the pleasurable and arousing feelings that come with sexuality and learn to control them through awareness and mastery.
• Avoid attaching fear and anxiety to sexuality.