My thoughts on Scouts.

 Earning  the nutrition belt loop
They all complained about using wheat bread and spinach for their sandwiches 
but because they made it all themselves, they ate it up and asked for more!

My husband went to Wood Badge last summer and so he has these projects he needs to accomplish to complete his "tickets". I'm oblivious to what it all entails, but this morning he is out doing a fun Scout Leadership Training. 

Scouts is an interesting thing. I remember taking a new Primary Presidency member with me (I am a den leader) to Round Table. They were conducting some sort of ceremony for those Scout Leaders who had gone to Wood Badge and completed their "tickets" and were getting the award for that.  It was pretty intense with die hard scouters dressed in full scout uniform adorned with beads and patches and a walking stick with furs and emblems hanging from them. They had a replica of a log and an ax. Part of this ceremony was that they needed to pull the ax from the log to achieve the last part of the award. It was pretty cheesy.  If you've ever been to a Round Table, sometimes it could very well resemble a  Star Trek Fan convention. POW WOW is similar. My friend who was with me that evening (who only has 2 young daughters) was wide eyed and speechless at the scene. I just giggled and just nodded my head.

Sometimes you just take from the whole thing what you need and be done with it.

On the other hand, I went to an amazing scout meeting at the Tabernacle down town and some of our general leadership spoke.  I don't remember who spoke except for the General Primary President. She was dressed in full uniform and she looked awesome. The flag ceremony was performed by some dedicated scouts in our Stake and the spirit was very strong there. They spoke about leadership and how scouts can really make a difference in a boys life.

And it really can. I have seen the changes our little Wolf and Bear Dens have made is some of our boys' lives and it makes me think. 

It takes sacrifice to serve in scouts or in any other way. It can be very inconvenient and frustrating and it's so easy to get caught up in all the negative and weirdness of it but, really, when we put those boys in our hearts and serve them .. it is a way for us to say "I love you Heavenly Father. Thank you for all you do for me!"

So, I can look passed the weird of scouts and find the beautiful pearl, which is true leadership and a relationship with Heavenly Father and can be making a difference in someone's life for the better.

And that's all I have to say about that!

P.S.I got called to be a Stake Assistant Camp Director for Girls camp this summer. Should be lots of fun.