Y.W in Excellence.

The best part of being the parent of a young woman is all the special events I get to attend as a parent.
At the end of every year the Y.W have a night of Excellence. It's a special night to recognize the girls and the achievements they made throughout the year.
This year they focused on encouraging the girls to set high standards and moving away from the what the world would want them to be and to strive for what the Lord intended them to become.
At the beginning of the night a story was told about a king who was in such a hurry to get to his troops that were fighting in battle he didn't have his horse properly fitted with shoes. Some were missing nails or the shoes were ill-fitting. The king thought he would be OK. and rode off to tell his men to pull back.
As he was riding at full speed the horse threw a shoe and he was thrown from the saddle. Because the king did not properly prepare his men suffered and were lost.
The story was to encourage the girls to use this life now to prepare for their futures. Set goals that will better their future families. Learn things now in their youth that they can use in life as a mother. Make decisions now that will benefit them and future generations.
The gym was split in 1/2 for the decorations. On one side was a castle, representing the greatness and wealth of the world. The other half was the temple and where the Lord want them to be. The temple represents their eternal goals and becoming mothers in Zion.

Amazing decorations.

For the program that night they had each girl come up and tell us about one of the Personal Progress values they worked on during the year and how they were able to apply it in their lives today. And how that value plays a role in their lives tomorrow.
After each girl was done speaking, they presented her with a necklace with a horseshoe and the girls' birthstone.