To Be Happy

We were asking about the plan of salvation.

Hurricane said: I want the plan to be happy.

So here is how he makes the plan happy.

He asked for a salad lunch.

This is how he eating it.

Here is another way.

He is to watch a scripture story 

before he goes to school. 

He's getting it done before we leave.

A Passover Seder

I did this post for Jocelyn at  

We Talk of Christ! We Rejoice in Christ! in 2011.

She sent it to me so I could have a record of it. 

Tonight starts Passover.

We celebrated and enjoyed the evening.

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Growing up, we enjoyed when Easter and Passover fell on the same weekend. My Mom would make a passover meal, and we would be taught about Moses, Jesus Christ, and Elijah. All of their stories point to the atonement of Jesus Christ and his resurrection. I will share a brief history. I know there are others who can give more details and explanation to the Passover. I love to learn how all things connect together. My hope is to share the symbols and a meal and references to how simple or complicated the meal can be.

But first:  Here is a brief history lesson. 

(Note: I am simplifying the account.)

The Ten Commandments 1956 Film

 Moses came to Egypt as a prophet and told Pharaoh that the Israelites were giving their two-week notice and were moving on to a land of milk and honey. God had commanded Moses to do this. Pharaoh really didn't like the idea of losing his labor force and decided to fight against God. God always wins when He wants something to happen.

After bad water, bug bites, nasty food, and dead animals, Pharaoh was still a little reluctant to let the Israelites go. So God said that the Israelites needed to sacrifice a first born lamb and put the blood of the lamb on their door posts. This sign signaled to the Destroying Angel to leave all in the house living. All of the first born children died in the homes of anyone who chose not to sacrifice as instructed, being taken by the Destroying Angel. Pharaoh finally conceded and let the people go. He had second-thoughts though and chased them down again. But that is another story for another day.

The Israelite families held a special meal that same evening. God told them to have the meal every year to remember the sacrifice and the exodus from the bondage of Pharaoh.

Source

 During "The Last Supper", Jesus and his apostles were celebrating the Passover feast which commemorated the Israelites being spared from temporal bondage, which caused an actual death of the first born.

This was both an awakening of their faith in God and a foreshadowing of the sacrifice of the Lamb of God.

Jesus came to save us from our spiritual bondage and from death - both physical and spiritual. His death was the sacrifice of the Lamb not a figurative lamb, but the true Lamb of God. The first born. Christ freed us from all things as long as we are willing to be obedient and believe in Him.

Elijah has a place set for him at the table in most Jewish homes during Passover. At one point during the meal, the door is opened to invited Elijah to come and be apart of the meal. The belief is that Elijah will return with the Messiah. The hope is that the Messiah will come before the next Passover.

Source

According to the testimony of Joseph Smith, Elijah has returned.  He came to the Kirtland Temple equipped with the "keys to bring to pass the restoration of all things." (Source) Surely it is no coincidence that Elijah came during Passover. The prophesy has been fulfilled. And in accordance with that prophecy, the Messiah appeared also in the Kirtland Temple that day with Elijah. (Source)

Here are some of the symbols of the feast of Passover.

• Vegetable - Parsley, celery, or a potato and salt water are eaten together. The parsley is a reminder of the lowly station of the Isrealites. The salt water are the tears that have been shed because of the slavery in Egypt.
• Matzah - Matzah is a flat bread. Because of the flight of the Israelites, the bread did not have time to rise. It is also considered a poor man's bread.
• Bitter Herb - Horseradish or romaine lettuce is to remind of the bitterness of slavery.
• Mortar - This is usually an apple, cinnamon, nut, and wine (grape juice) salad to symbolize the mortar used for the building projects in Egypt. When the bitter herb and mortar are eaten together, it is surprisingly tasty.
• Pechal Offering - The sacrifice of the lamb's blood was used to mark the door.The rest of the lamb was eaten.
• Drink - During the meal of passover, there are 4 blessings over a glass of wine. Each has symbolism in the feast.

A whole meal can be made from the above items if a simple meal is desired. Such as:

• Vegetable - a tabouli with parsley added or just the parsley with salt.
• Matzah - flat bread or a pita bread
• Bitter Herb - a green romaine salad
• Mortar - A Waldorf salad
• Pechal Offering - Roasted Lamb
• Drink - Grape Juice with soda

All symbols are used in the meal. A Seder is the meal of Passover. Passover is known as the feast of the Firstborn or Pesach. The above menu is not a traditional Seder though. Each of the items are represented on the Sedar Plate. Also on the Seder plate, a hard-boiled egg is included representing the destruction of the temple at Jerusalem so there cannot be a Pecach sacrifice. A Seder is the whole evening with the blessings and the telling of the Exodus. This site gives a beautiful explanation of the evening. A festive meal is included in addition to the above items.

If you are looking for a more traditional Passover meal, there are many wonderful menus.  Here is a script if you are interested in having a more traditional Seder.

Temple Day

"Temples are more than stone and mortar. They are filled with faith and fasting. They are built of trials and testimonies. They are sanctified by sacrifice and service. ... Why are so many willing to give so much in order to receive the blessings of the temple? Those who understand the eternal blessings which come from the temple know that no sacrifice is too great, no price too heavy, no struggle too difficult in order to receive those blessings. There are never too many miles to travel, too many obstacles to overcome, or too much discomfort to endure. They understand that the saving ordinances received in the temple that permit us to someday return to our Heavenly Father in an eternal family relationship and to be endowed with blessings and power from on high are worth every sacrifice and every effort."

~ Thomas S. Monson (April 2011)

Princes and Kings

My Grandpa had a favorite poem. He asked that we learn the poem. Over the past few weeks we have every morning at breakfast recited it.

Underfoot needed to share a talk in Junior Primary. He decided to use the poem as part of his talk. We drew and colored pictures for R. L. Sharpe's poem, "A Bag of Tools."

Isn't it strange that Princes and Kings,

And clowns that caper in sawdust rings,

And common people like you and me,

Are builders for eternity?

 Each is given a bag of tools

A shapeless mass, a book of rules

And each must make, ere his life is flown -

A stumbling block or a Stepping Stone.

 (End of Poem - Rest of Talk)

I know that Jesus will help me to build Stepping Stones.

One of the Stepping Stones is to be baptized.

When I turn 8 years old, I will choose to be baptized.

Simple and Sweet: A Big Brother

In an attempt to get more physical exercise, I pushed our boys up our hill. I asked them to get ready. And this is what I got on one boy. He was obedient and put shoes on. They are both his older brothers.

I am the oldest in my family. I've liked being the oldest. Growing up I was told (by Grandparents) that I needed to be an example that all the others would look to me for what I would do. In some ways, there was a lot of pressure in that comment. In a different light though, apparently my Grandparents believed I had great potential to do great things. I have done some pretty great things. Right now in my role as a Mom, I'm trying to do good things so they will become great boys.

They decided to share a blanket on the chilly morning.

I've been learning lately that I don't have control over everything in my life. Something I desperately want. I especially would like to know how the plot turns out so I can go along my way. Yet it is not the plan God has for me. He wants me to trust and wait on him. Robert D. Hales talked about waiting on the Lord and said that from the scriptures waiting is "means to hope, to anticipate, and to trust." (Source) So when I look at Hurricane who looks to his older brother for help and a way to be, and then I look at Underfoot as he and his brother look to us, their parents, on what will be, they have given us an incredible amount of trust. And it is similar to how God wants me to look to him.

Wow! What a great realization!

Elder Hales explains:

We realize that the purpose of our life on earth is to grow, develop, and be strengthened through our own experiences. How do we do this? The scriptures give us an answer in one simple phrase: we “wait upon the Lord.” Tests and trials are given to all of us. These mortal challenges allow us and our Heavenly Father to see whether we will exercise our agency to follow His Son. He already knows, and we have the opportunity to learn, that no matter how difficult our circumstances, “all these things shall [be for our] experience, and … [our] good.” (Source)

 We have the choice to follow Jesus Christ and his teachings to learn and grow. As Easter continues to approach, I continue to think about the power that Christ gave to each of us to deliver us from death and sin to experience joy.

As I walked, I thought of our journey in the moment up the hill. It was a push and hard. But as I've thought about what life is that it too is a push and hard. And can be made easier if we look to Jesus Christ as our big brother and example.

Remembering: Thompson Submachine Gun

My Grandpa served in the Navy during WWII. He went with his sons and a few of his grandsons to see the ship he served on from age 18-20. The picture below is him as a Grandpa and one as a sailor. The hair color is the same.

For his viewing, either my Dad or Brother made arrangements for the same gun to be next to the picture displayed of him. As different people would come through they were asked to heft and hold the gun. The gun weights around 10 pounds without a full clip.The truck is a Diamond T 1950 model 222 (link gives history on this actual truck for the restoration). The brakes were the last thing to be done. It is a beautiful truck.

I don't get in many pictures with my Sweetheart. When we take pictures we want to make a memory. :)

Someone said to me that you expect your Grandparents to die. I didn't. I still will have moments that I think I should call my Grandma for this recipe or to talk to my other Grandma who listened to me with complete love and kindness. I am thankful for the resurrection and the power that it gives me. I believe that I will be with my family again and continue to enjoy the same association that I had with them during mortal life.

I have been looking forward to Easter this year. I hope I can teach it well and to learn the lessons that I need to in the coming Easter season of Jesus Christ and his sacrifice for all our families.

Snapshot: March 2012

We celebrated a birthday last week! He asked for a purple light saber cake.

 Underfoot loves to sing. We found at a yard sale a karaoke machine. He sang and sang and sang Primary songs at the top of his lungs.

This is pure joy in him. His eyes are lit up like he's got the best thing in the whole world!

Hurricane also likes to sing. He turns the volume up as high as it will go. I've been amazed at his memory for the words to the songs.

These boots were made for walkin'.... After wearing the same cowboy boots for one year, he got new ones. The boots wore through the sole.

Some times we need to eat ice cream from the bucket.

This other part of this week has been a sad one for us. My cousin, Eldy, passed away. We were very shocked to learn about his death. Eldy was always kind and had a smile for anyone he met. It was said that he never knew a stranger. He was honest and very entrepreneurial.

His sister shared a thought that I think each of need to remember.

Checkin' Out

My Grandpa would say this phrase every time I would hang up with him on the phone. "When are you coming again? I'll probably check out before then." I would respond that he wouldn't check out, and I'd see him or talk to him again. He always told me he loved me before we hung up on the phone.

Yesterday he checked out. And just in the manner he would have liked - quick and with his dignity. I was called and told he went to the hospital in the early evening. When I called back later (because I had silenced my phone), he had passed.

The tender mercies we have seen as a family have been that he passed quickly. He carried his dignity with him and did not need to have assisted care. He was not alone at his home. He did not fear death. He understood that death is part of God's plan to be with family and friends and await the resurrection.

Merry Christmas!

Thank you for joining us for our advent! Our hope is that as you will ponder as did Mary and do as she "kept all these things, and pondered them in her heart."

 Merry Christmas!

Be A Builder

Moving away from home was an exciting adventure. First to college. Then on a mission. And finally with my Sweetheart. Home in my heart will always be Idaho. I know that I have a family now, and our home is where we are living. Yet in my heart, Idaho is my promised land. I love how well I know the land where I came from. I love the people there. I love my growing up and the many, many memories it evokes.

Many prophets talked about how the children of Israel would one day be carried off as slaves because of their disobedience. Yet they were promised they would return to build the walls of their promised land in Jerusalem. Nehemiah returned to Jerusalem and started the work. The people in the land weren't too keen on him doing this work, and tried to trick him to leave his work. He answered them saying, "I am doing a great work, so that I cannot come down: why should the work cease, whilst I leave it, and come down to you?" (source) 

If the children of Israel were to return to Jerusalem before the birth of Christ, how do we prepare for the Second Coming of Christ? He is promised to return. The signs prophesied of Christ's coming surround us. Russell M. Nelson says:

Why do we need such resilient faith? Because difficult days are ahead. Rarely in the future will it be easy or popular to be a faithful Latter-day Saint. Each of us will be tested. The Apostle Paul warned that in the latter days, those who diligently follow the Lord “shall suffer persecution.”¹ That very persecution can either crush you into silent weakness or motivate you to be more exemplary and courageous in your daily lives.

How you deal with life’s trials is part of the development of your faith. Strength comes when you remember that you have a divine nature, an inheritance of infinite worth. The Lord has reminded you, your children, and your grandchildren that you are lawful heirs, that you have been reserved in heaven for your specific time and place to be born, to grow and become His standard bearers and covenant people. As you walk in the Lord’s path of righteousness, you will be blessed to continue in His goodness and be a light and a savior unto His people.²

(source)

(source)

 We can be builders and like Nehemiah not be tricked by what will come. We each have worth in the sight of our Savior and must follow his commandments. I am learning to hope for a home with God and have that be where my heart is at all times.

Just Stand

Have you ever felt betrayed or forgotten or hated? Have you ever had to stand up for something with your personal image on the line?

In the Old Testament, many heroes stand for events such as these. Usually they were not in the land of their inheritance. Esther did. Daniel did. Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego did. Each was faced with a death sentence for what they stood. 

Consider that for just a moment. Are there things we face death for? People? Morals? I have not been threatened with physical death. I have though felt some of the sting of spiritual death. In my heart, I recognize the times I didn't want to stand up because I didn't want to look foolish. Those events are very clear in my memory. That is embarrassing to admit. I knew the truth and feared what others would say.

How can this great change occur? Howard W. Hunter gives encouragement saying,

A successful life, the good life, the righteous Christian life requires something more thaan a contribution, though every contribution is valuable. Ultimately it requires commitment—whole souled, deeply held, eternally cherished commitment to the principles we know to be true in the commandments God has given. We need such loyalty to the Church, but that must immediately be interpreted as a loyalty in our personal habits and behavior, integrity in the wider community and marketplace, and—for the future’s sake—devotion and character in our marriages and homes and families.

If we will be true and faithful to our principles, committed to a life of honesty and integrity, then no king or contest or fiery furnace will be able to compromise us. For the success of the kingdom of God on earth, may we stand as witnesses for him “at all times and in all things, and in all places that [we] may be in, even until death.” (Mosiah 18:9.) (source)

Source

 As I ponder where this might begin, I am struck by how my behavior is magnified by my sons. The place to start to stand as a witness in our homes with our families.

Home is strongest and most beautiful in which we find each person sensitive to the feelings of others, striving to serve others, striving to live at home the principles we demonstrate in more public settings. We need to try harder to live the gospel in our family circles. Our homes deserve our most faithful commitments. A child has the right to feel that in his home he is safe, that there he has a place of protection from the dangers and evils of the outside world. Family unity and integrity are necessary to supply this need. A child needs parents who are happy in their relationship to each other, who are working happily toward the fulfillment of ideal family living, who love their children with a sincere and unselfish love, and who are committed to the family’s success. (source)

 With the idea that it starts at home, the parents of Esther, Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego must have taught them the law, and at some point they made their decision. As I have participated in our advent this season, I have found areas in where I need to better myself as an individual, spouse, and parent. The hope for this change comes through knowing Jesus Christ better and having faith in the atonement that I can repent and change to truly stand as a witness.

In my heart....

Once upon a time, I was a missionary. Since I was 3 years old, I talked about going on a mission. I wanted to go so much that I bought a fake engagement ring because of all the marriage talk around me. I wasn't dating anyone, and no one was looking my way so my $10 purchase could have been better placed like into a package of Oreo cookies.

Made with buttons from Sweetheart's Grandma's sewing items

In my heart, I wanted to share the gospel of Jesus Christ. I wanted to share the love that I had felt from the Savior with other people. And I got to do it. Every day for 18 months, I wore a name tag over my heart saying I was a disciple of Jesus Christ.

My Missionary Tag

In Jeremiah, a prophesy is shared about our day. The prophesy says that God "will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts; and will be their God, and they shall be my people" (source). In our day, God says that his children on the earth will want to know him, to follow his plan, and will want to share the good news with others. They will be good people and will carry the name of Christ on their hearts. Not all Christians wear the name of Jesus Christ on a name tag. They emulate it in their lives by living the law which is their love of God and their love of their fellowman.

Scraps from the dresses I wore a missionary. My Mom made it into a quilt for my first Christmas after my mission.

I am grateful for my neighbors of other faiths that show they love God through their actions and their expressions of faith. Dieter F. Uchtdorf said:

The gospel of Jesus Christ is not an obligation; it is a pathway, marked by our loving Father in Heaven, leading to happiness and peace in this life and glory and inexpressible fulfillment in the life to come. The gospel is a light that penetrates mortality and illuminates the way before us. (source).

I hope that others can see in our actions that we choose a path that will lead to happiness even without a name tag on our chest.

The Atonement during Christmas

To celebrate Easter during Christmas might seem odd. Because of Christmas we have Easter. This post was to go up yesterday, but we spent the day as a family doing odds and ends.

The past few days have been the prophesies of Isaiah. Jesus Christ said, "Yea, a commandment I give unto you that ye search these things diligently; for great are the words of Isaiah."

In Isaiah 53, Isaiah gives a complete description of what the crucifixion would be. As we read this, what struck me was "yet it pleased the Lord to bruise him." God the Father knew that Jesus Christ was willing and had covenanted in the counsel in heaven to follow through on "this is my work and my glory to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man." Heavenly Father did not take pleasure in the suffering of his son nor does he take pleasure in our suffering. He knew that it needed to happen for our happiness.

Our happiness is improve when we following the teachings of Christ such as prayer, service, scripture study, and having a Christian heart. In keeping with Christ's admonition to study Isaiah, Richard G. Scott about the power of scriptures in our lives.

Scriptures are like packets of light that illuminate our minds and give place to guidance and inspiration from on high. They can become the key to open the channel to communion with our Father in Heaven and His Beloved Son, Jesus Christ. (source)

 I hope each of us can find Christ in our Christmas to ponder the miracle of his birth to bring about the miracle in our live to live with God again.

High on the Mountain Top

One week ago at church, the women had a social gathering. (We call this gathering an additional Relief Society meeting meaning it isn't on Sunday.) The purpose of the meeting is to bring women closer to Christ. The evening had food, conversation, and an opportunity to share a Christ-centered family tradition. Many ideas were shared of giving gifts through service organizations or to a family in need, filling a manager with hay for acts of service, each member of the family unwrapping a picture of Christ as the first present on Christmas morning, and many others.

One of our traditions is the Advent Jesse Tree. Over the past 13 days, I have shared each day of the advent by adding my own thoughts and feelings building up to the birth in Bethlehem through the Old Testament.

As we opened the "gift" today, Underfoot asked if after Christmas the picture could be put into his room for the rest of the year. I think it is sweet because the scripture we read talks about how a little child shall lead them.

The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid; and the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; and a little child shall lead them.  And the cow and the bear shall feed; their young ones shall lie down together: and the lion shall eat straw like the ox. And the sucking child shall play on the hole of the asp, and the weaned child shall put his hand on the cockatrice’ den. They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain: for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea. (Isaiah 11:6-9)

Isaiah prophesies of Jesus Christ's Second Coming. He sees that we will have peace on the earth after the coming of Christ. "Isaiah taught that even the animals will live in harmony: wolves, leopards, lions, and bears will no longer hunt lambs, goats, and calves" (source). Isaiah 11 is to encourage and give hope to the followers of Jesus Christ in a world where wickedness will be the same as in the days of Isaiah.

"And in that day there shall be a root of Jesse, which shall stand for an ensign of the people" (Isaiah 11:10). An ensign is a flag, a banner, or a standard that signals to others what the beliefs are of a group of people. My Dad's favorite hymn is High on a Mountain Top. For me, this anthem says that there is a "bigger picture" in God's plan than the pinhole approach sometimes I have. Isaiah shared this vision because he knew that men and women in the winding-up-scenes before the Second Coming would need to remember the Savior's love.

I am reminded each day recently through our advent experience that God does love his children and wants to teach them of His plan so they can return to live with Him. Our day is not isolated to receive the word of the Lord. He has given it to His children throughout all time - Adam and Eve, Noah, Moses, Ruth Esther, and many more.

The Giving Tree

Isaiah talks about how the "stem of Jesse" will come to judge us in righteousness. Olive tree are and were very common in Isaiah's area.

Source

Here are a few things I learned from a talk called The Olive Press:

• The olive tree is a perennial, not a deciduous tree. Its leaves do not seasonally fade nor fall. Through scorching heat and winter cold they are continually rejuvenated. The tree is thus evergreen, or “everolive.” 
• Without cultivation it is a wild, unruly, easily corrupted tree. Only after long, patient cultivating, usually eight to ten years, does it begin to yield fruit. 
• New shoots often come forth from apparently dead roots. 
• Today some trees, still productive on the Mount of Olives, are known by scientific measure to be at least 1,800 years old. ^a 
• Even after the harvest, the olives are bitter, useless to man or beast. To make them edible, one must place them in a large stone box, layer them with salt and vinegar, make more layers of olives, and add more purgatives. Slowly the bitterness is purged from them.
• To produce olive oil, the refined olives had to be crushed in a press. The mellowed and seasoned olives were placed in strong bags and flattened on a furrowed stone. Then a huge crushing circular rock was rolled around on top, paced by a mule or an ox and a stinging whip. Another method used heavy wooden levers or screws twisting beams downward like a winch upon the stone with the same effect: pressure, pressure, pressure—until the oil flowed.

Source

Truman G. Madsen spoke on this topic better than I about how Jesus Christ is the stem of Jesse and how Christ is similar to an olive tree and the fruit it produces. I encourage you to read Madsen's words.

My own paralells from the point above are:

• We are forever living. Because of the atonement of Jesus Christ, we will gain immortality. We may grow and change with time but our spirit lives on.
• Today we tied Ruth and Boaz to Obed to Jesse to David. Each was given the promise that Jesus Christ would be born through their lineage and what an honor it was for them. They were taught the commandments and given the choice to choose if they would follow Jesus Christ. "Happiness in family life is most likely to be achieved when founded upon the teachings of the Lord Jesus Christ" (source). 
• The gift of the atonement makes it possible for new life to come to each of us. We can repent and make a better life.
• We lived before we came to earth, and we will live again after this earth life.
• Some times we are bitter and mean, time, care, and experience helps each of us to be more specific in how we want to be better to ourselves and to each other.
• The refining process comes to each of us in our trials. We can either choose to reach out and ask for the aid of the Savior or suffer on our own.

All things denote there is a God even the new growth from an apparent dead stump and the hope that comes with new life.

Pure Religion

Last Christmas we learned about the Advent Jesse Tree. The family that invited us to participate explained to me one of their Christmas family traditions. When their daughter and son were young, they would receive a lot of presents from family for Christmas. The parents wanted their children to have a more giving heart and decided that they would make Christmas special for someone else. Their inspiration was from James 1:24

Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world.

The parents with their children put together a plan. They decided they would pray through out the year for the inspiration to know of a widow who would need to feel the love of Christ at Christmastime. Usually this would be the first Christmas without their spouse. Once a widow was identified they would learn who she was and would prepare gifts with her and her children in mind.

Source

 The giving vehicle was the 12 days of Christmas. They called it their 12 Days Ministry. Instead of giving one item and building to 12 gifts, they would give specific items they knew the family would love. They would leave a note like a ransom letter out of magazine letters so the family could never identify them. They giggle as they would tell of their night time marauding and daring dashes to safety from being discovered.

Another widow sought for aid after the death of her husband. Elimelech and Naomi had two sons and decided to move to Moab because of the famine in Bethlehem. Both sons married women in the country they were living. At the death of Elimelech and his sons, Naomi decided to return to the land of her heritage. Orpah decided stay in the land, and Ruth said, "for whither thou goest, I will go; and where thou lodgest, I will lodge: thy people shall be my people, and thy God my God."

Ruth followed Naomi. Ruth supported them by gathering the left over grain in the fields. Boaz saw this and asked the gathers to leave enough to support Naomi and Ruth.

Day 9 of Advent

Naomi knew the custom of her people was that the widows would be taken care of by family members. Naomi instructed Ruth on the custom and how to have Boaz claim her as a wife. Boaz being honorable did  marry her. They were promised that through them the Savior would be born.

Source

Boaz took care of the widows in his care. He followed the example that the Savior would teach about caring for the lonely and poor in spirit.

Last Christmas the above mentioned family were directed to a widower. He in turn would write each evening about the gifts he received, but more importantly he wrote about the change he felt come over him to feel the joy of the Christmas season as he had his first Christmas without his wife. He felt the heavens were opened to him, and he was blessed.

At first he wrote, he was curious to know who his "angels" were. But as time continued, he respected their wish to remain anonymous. Each night before picking up the gift, he would offer a prayer to heaven for them. On the 12th night, he shared his manuscript with his "angels." They don't know how the 12th night turned out. This was the first detailed written response they have had. I shared this post with the family, and they responded by saying,

Since we started the 12 Days ministry, we actually haven't exchanged gifts with anyone (friends or family so the journal we received from him was on only gift but undoubtedly the best gift we've ever received from when we used to exchange Christmas gifts. I would venture to say it was the best gift any of us has ever received, regardless of the gift-giving occasion.

As this family shared this story with me, I felt the love of the Savior and his mission is being carried out by his faithful followers on this earth.

How do you plan to share the love of  Christ this season with someone?

Too Hard to Try

Have you ever been paralyzed because of fear of failure so you don't even try? Now consider for a moment an event or task that you knew would be hard, and you accomplished it. For me, I can think of many things that I am fearful in even starting because I'm not sure of the outcome like teaching my child to read. It seems overwhelming and instead of having patience that he is learning I get frustrated with my inability to teach him. I will purposely put up obstacles so I don't have to do it.

Instead of getting on my knees and asking heaven for help, I act like the children of Israel in the desert. Twelve spies were sent by Moses to look at the land of Canaan. They came back with a glowing report that the land "floweth with milk and honey; and this is the fruit of it." The fruit was of grapes that had to be carried by two men, figs, and pomegranates (Genesis 13:23). The land was ideal. Yet 10 of the 12 spies said, "We be not able to go up against the people; for they are stronger than we" (source). Caleb and Joshua (the other 2 spies) were ready to go and claim the land. The people voted in favor of fear and were left to wander in the wilderness for 40 years.

Source

40 YEARS! What blessings am I delaying because of my fear? Why do I not trust in the Lord to make the pathway bright so he will help me on this journey? Joshua eventually said, "As for me and my house we will serve the Lord." Joshua was to lead a new generation into Canaan. Only a few who left Egypt came into the promised land.

Day 9 Advent

Caleb came into the land also. He was to defeat the Anakims, the giants. He showed his faith by saying, "Give me this mountain." He said to Joshua, "as yet I am as strong this day as I was in the day that Moses sent me [at least in the spirit of the gospel and its call and needs]: as my strength was then, even so is my strength now, … both to go out, and to come in” (Josh. 14:7–8, 10–11).

Spencer W. Kimball compared our journey now to Caleb's journey,

This is my feeling for the work at this moment. There are great challenges ahead of us, giant opportunities to be met. I welcome that exciting prospect and feel to say to the Lord, humbly, “Give me this mountain,” give me these challenges.

Humbly, I give this pledge to the Lord and to you, my beloved brothers and sisters, fellow workers in this sacred cause of Christ: I will go forward, with faith in the God of Israel, knowing that he will guide and direct us, and lead us, finally, to the accomplishment of his purposes and to our promised land and our promised blessings.

“And Jesus said unto him, No man having put his hand to the plough, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God” (Luke 9:62). (Source)

With the examples of the past, I can teach my son to read. I can conquer my giants. My friend, Suzette, says often, "I can do hard things."

Source

What blessings do you want but fear to ask for because of the figurative or literal giants in your way?