Thursday, December 17, 2009
Good Ol' Days
Inspiration comes to everyone in different ways and for me it often comes in phrases from songs. I will often wake up with a song in my head and realize that these words are just what I needed to hear that day. The other day I woke up with the musical phrase "these are the good ol' days" from Carly Simon's song "Anticipation." With all the struggles of day to day life and looking to the future for a solution it is sometimes difficult to remember that one day I will look back on these days as "the good ol' days." So, here's to today! Make a memory and enjoy!
Wednesday, December 16, 2009
"Home for Christmas"
By President Henry B. Eyring, First Counselor in the First Presidency, Ensign 2009
There was a song I heard first when I was a little boy—a song about Christmas and home. Those were days of war when many people were away from their homes and family—a dark time for those who feared that they might not be reunited with loved ones in this life. I remember my feelings for home and family when I walked by one house on the way to school at Christmastime and saw a little flag with a gold star on it hung in the window. It was the home of a girl I knew in school. Her brother, not much older than I, had been killed in the war. I knew his parents and felt some of what they did. On the way home after school, I would feel grateful anticipation for the glad welcome I knew awaited me.
When I turned on the radio in our living room during the Christmas season, I would hear words and music that still echo in my mind. A few lines of that song touched my heart with a yearning to be with family. I was living with my parents and my brothers in a happy home, so I knew somehow that the yearning I felt was for more than to be in a house or in the family life I then enjoyed. It was about some future place and life, even better than I knew or had yet imagined.
The line of the song that I remember best is “I’ll be home for Christmas / If only in my dreams.”1 The house in which I decorated Christmas trees with my mother and father in those happy days of my childhood still stands, largely unchanged. A few years ago I went back and knocked on the door. Strangers answered. They allowed me to step into the rooms where the radio had been and where our family had gathered around the Christmas tree.
I realized then that the desire of my heart was not about being in a house. It was about being with my family, and it was a desire to feel enveloped in the love and the Light of Christ, even more than our little family had felt in the home of my childhood.
Longing for Eternal Love
What all of us long for in our hearts, at Christmastime and always, is to feel bound together in love with the sweet assurance that it can last forever. This is the promise of eternal life, which God has called His greatest gift to His children (see D&C 14:7). That is made possible by the gifts to us of His Beloved Son: the Savior’s birth, Atonement, and Resurrection. It is through the Savior’s life and mission that we have the assurance that we can be together in love and live forever in families.
The feeling of longing for home is born into us. That wonderful dream cannot become real without great faith—enough for the Holy Ghost to lead us to repentance, baptism, and the making and keeping of sacred covenants with God. This faith requires enduring bravely the trials of mortal life. Then, in the next life, we can be welcomed by our Heavenly Father and His Beloved Son to that home of our dreams.
Even in this life we can have an assurance of the coming of that day and feel some of the joys we will know when at last we arrive home. The celebration of the Savior’s birth at Christmas gives us special opportunities to experience those joys in this life.
Finding the Promised Joy
Many of us have lost loved ones to death. We may be surrounded by individuals who seek to destroy our faith in the gospel and the Lord’s promises of eternal life. Some of us are troubled with illness and with poverty. Others may have contention in the family or no family at all. Yet we can invite the Light of Christ to shine on us and let us see and feel some of the promised joys that lie before us.
For instance, as we gather in that heavenly home, we will be surrounded by those who have been forgiven of all sin and who have forgiven each other. We can taste some of that joy now, especially as we remember and celebrate the Savior’s gifts to us. He came into the world to be the Lamb of God, to pay the price of all of the sins of His Father’s children in mortality so that all might be forgiven. In the Christmas season we feel a greater desire to remember and ponder the Savior’s words. He warned us that we cannot be forgiven unless we forgive others (see Matthew 6:14–15). That is often hard to do, so you will need to pray for help. This help to forgive will come most often when you are allowed to see that you have given as much or more hurt than you have received.
When you act on that answer to your prayer for strength to forgive, you will feel a burden lifted from your shoulders. Carrying a grudge is a heavy burden. As you forgive, you will feel the joy of being forgiven. At this Christmastime you can give and receive the gift of forgiveness. The feeling of happiness that will come will be a glimpse of what we can feel at home together in the eternal home for which we yearn.
Feeling the Joy of Giving
There is another glimpse of that joyful future home that we can see more easily at Christmastime. It is the feeling of giving with a generous heart. This can come as we feel the needs of others more than our own and when we sense how generous God has been to us.
It helps to see the kindness of others at Christmastime. How many times have you gone to leave a gift on a doorstep, hoping not to be noticed, only to find more than one unmarked gift already there? Have you felt, as I have, the impression to help someone only to find that what you were inspired to give was exactly what someone needed at that very moment? That is a wonderful assurance that God knows all of our needs and counts on us to fill the needs of others around us.
God sends those messages to us with more confidence at Christmastime, knowing that we will respond because our hearts are more sensitive to the Savior’s example and to the words of His servants. At Christmastime, we are more likely to have read recently and been touched by the words of King Benjamin. He taught his people, and he teaches us, that the overwhelming gift of forgiveness that we receive should make us feel an overflowing generosity toward others:
“And behold, even at this time, ye have been calling on his name, and begging for a remission of your sins. And has he suffered that ye have begged in vain? Nay; he has poured out his Spirit upon you, and has caused that your hearts should be filled with joy, and has caused that your mouths should be stopped that ye could not find utterance, so exceedingly great was your joy. “And now, if God, who has created you, on whom you are dependent for your lives and for all that ye have and are, doth grant unto you whatsoever ye ask that is right, in faith, believing that ye shall receive, O then, how ye ought to impart of the substance that ye have one to another.
“And if ye judge the man who putteth up his petition to you for your substance that he perish not, and condemn him, how much more just will be your condemnation for withholding your substance, which doth not belong to you but to God, to whom also your life belongeth; and yet ye put up no petition, nor repent of the thing which thou hast done. “I say unto you, wo be unto that man, for his substance shall perish with him; and now, I say these things unto those who are rich as pertaining to the things of this world” (Mosiah 4:20–23).
You have already felt the joy of giving alms and receiving them. That joy in this life is a glimpse of what we will feel in the life to come if we are generous here out of faith in God. The Savior is our great exemplar. At the Christmas season we contemplate anew who He is and what generosity He extended to us by coming into the world to be our Savior.
As the Son of God, born to Mary, He had the power to resist all temptation to sin. He lived a perfect life so that He could be the infinite sacrifice, the unblemished Lamb promised from the foundation of the world (see Revelation 13:8). He suffered the agony of the guilt of our sins and all the sins of the children of Heavenly Father that we might be forgiven and go home clean. He gave us that gift at a price we cannot fathom. It was a gift He did not need for Himself; He was without the need for forgiveness. The joy and gratitude we feel for His gift now will be magnified and will last forever as we honor and worship Him in our heavenly home.
The Christmas season gives us encouragement to remember Him and His infinite generosity. Remembering His generosity will help us feel and respond to the inspiration that there is someone who needs our help, and it will let us see the hand of God reaching to us when He sends someone to succor us, as He so often does. There is joy in giving and in receiving the generosity that God inspires, especially at Christmas.
Blessed with His Light
There is another glimpse of heaven that becomes easier to see at Christmastime. It is of light. Heavenly Father used light to announce the birth of His Son, our Savior (see Matthew 2; 3 Nephi 1). A new star was visible in both the Eastern and the Western Hemispheres. It led the Wise Men to the child in Bethlehem. Even wicked King Herod recognized the sign; he feared it because he was wicked. The Wise Men rejoiced because of the birth of the Christ, who is the Light and the Life of the World. Three days of light without darkness was the sign God gave to the descendants of Lehi, heralding the birth of His Son.
We remember at Christmastime not only the light that announced the birth of Christ into the world but also the light that comes from Him. Many witnesses have confirmed that light. Paul testified that he saw it on the road to Damascus:
“I saw in the way a light from heaven, above the brightness of the sun, shining round about me and them which journeyed with me. “And when we were all fallen to the earth, I heard a voice speaking unto me, and saying in the Hebrew tongue, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me? it is hard for thee to kick against the pricks. “And I said, Who art thou, Lord? And he said, I am Jesus whom thou persecutest” (Acts 26:13–15).
The boy Joseph Smith testified that he saw a marvelous light in a grove of trees in Palmyra, New York, at the beginning of the Restoration: “Just at this moment of great alarm, I saw a pillar of light exactly over my head, above the brightness of the sun, which descended gradually until it fell upon me. “It no sooner appeared than I found myself delivered from the enemy which held me bound. When the light rested upon me I saw two Personages, whose brightness and glory defy all description, standing above me in the air. One of them spake unto me, calling me by name and said, pointing to the other—This is My Beloved Son. Hear Him!” (Joseph Smith—History 1:16–17).
Such light will be visible in our heavenly home. It will bring us joy then. Yet even in this life you have been blessed with a part of that wonderful experience, through the Light of Christ. Every person born into the world receives that light as a gift (see Moroni 7:16). Think of the times you have had an experience that makes you a witness that the Light of Christ is real and precious. You will recognize from this wonderfully assuring scripture that you have been guided by that light: “And that which doth not edify is not of God, and is darkness. “That which is of God is light; and he that receiveth light, and continueth in God, receiveth more light; and that light groweth brighter and brighter until the perfect day. “And … I say it that you may know the truth, that you may chase darkness from among you” (D&C 50:23–25).
In a world that is being darkened by evil images and dishonest messages, you have been blessed to recognize more easily the flashes of light and truth. You have learned for yourself that light grows brighter as you receive it gladly. It will become brighter and brighter until the perfect day when we will be in the presence of the Source of the light.
That light is easier to discern at Christmastime, when we are more likely to pray to know what God would have us do and more likely to read in the scriptures and so more apt to be on the Lord’s errand. When we forgive and feel forgiveness, when we are lifting the hands that hang down (see D&C 81:5), we are being lifted ourselves as we move toward the Source of the light.
You remember that the Book of Mormon describes a glorious time when the Savior’s faithful disciples reflected His light for others to see (see 3 Nephi 19:24–25). We use lights to celebrate the Christmas season. Our worship of the Savior and our service for Him brings light into our lives and into the lives of those around us.
We can with confidence set a goal to make this Christmas brighter than the last and each year that follows brighter still. The trials of mortality may increase in intensity, yet for us, darkness need not increase if we focus our eyes more singly on the light that streams down on us as we follow the Master. He will lead us and help us along the path that leads upward to the home for which we yearn.
There have been times, often at Christmas, when we have felt parts of what we will experience when we at last come home to the Father who loves us and answers our prayers and to the Savior who has lighted our lives and lifted us up.
I testify that because of Him, you may have an assurance that you can go home not only at Christmastime but also to live forever with a family whom you love and who love each other.
There was a song I heard first when I was a little boy—a song about Christmas and home. Those were days of war when many people were away from their homes and family—a dark time for those who feared that they might not be reunited with loved ones in this life. I remember my feelings for home and family when I walked by one house on the way to school at Christmastime and saw a little flag with a gold star on it hung in the window. It was the home of a girl I knew in school. Her brother, not much older than I, had been killed in the war. I knew his parents and felt some of what they did. On the way home after school, I would feel grateful anticipation for the glad welcome I knew awaited me.
When I turned on the radio in our living room during the Christmas season, I would hear words and music that still echo in my mind. A few lines of that song touched my heart with a yearning to be with family. I was living with my parents and my brothers in a happy home, so I knew somehow that the yearning I felt was for more than to be in a house or in the family life I then enjoyed. It was about some future place and life, even better than I knew or had yet imagined.
The line of the song that I remember best is “I’ll be home for Christmas / If only in my dreams.”1 The house in which I decorated Christmas trees with my mother and father in those happy days of my childhood still stands, largely unchanged. A few years ago I went back and knocked on the door. Strangers answered. They allowed me to step into the rooms where the radio had been and where our family had gathered around the Christmas tree.
I realized then that the desire of my heart was not about being in a house. It was about being with my family, and it was a desire to feel enveloped in the love and the Light of Christ, even more than our little family had felt in the home of my childhood.
Longing for Eternal Love
What all of us long for in our hearts, at Christmastime and always, is to feel bound together in love with the sweet assurance that it can last forever. This is the promise of eternal life, which God has called His greatest gift to His children (see D&C 14:7). That is made possible by the gifts to us of His Beloved Son: the Savior’s birth, Atonement, and Resurrection. It is through the Savior’s life and mission that we have the assurance that we can be together in love and live forever in families.
The feeling of longing for home is born into us. That wonderful dream cannot become real without great faith—enough for the Holy Ghost to lead us to repentance, baptism, and the making and keeping of sacred covenants with God. This faith requires enduring bravely the trials of mortal life. Then, in the next life, we can be welcomed by our Heavenly Father and His Beloved Son to that home of our dreams.
Even in this life we can have an assurance of the coming of that day and feel some of the joys we will know when at last we arrive home. The celebration of the Savior’s birth at Christmas gives us special opportunities to experience those joys in this life.
Finding the Promised Joy
Many of us have lost loved ones to death. We may be surrounded by individuals who seek to destroy our faith in the gospel and the Lord’s promises of eternal life. Some of us are troubled with illness and with poverty. Others may have contention in the family or no family at all. Yet we can invite the Light of Christ to shine on us and let us see and feel some of the promised joys that lie before us.
For instance, as we gather in that heavenly home, we will be surrounded by those who have been forgiven of all sin and who have forgiven each other. We can taste some of that joy now, especially as we remember and celebrate the Savior’s gifts to us. He came into the world to be the Lamb of God, to pay the price of all of the sins of His Father’s children in mortality so that all might be forgiven. In the Christmas season we feel a greater desire to remember and ponder the Savior’s words. He warned us that we cannot be forgiven unless we forgive others (see Matthew 6:14–15). That is often hard to do, so you will need to pray for help. This help to forgive will come most often when you are allowed to see that you have given as much or more hurt than you have received.
When you act on that answer to your prayer for strength to forgive, you will feel a burden lifted from your shoulders. Carrying a grudge is a heavy burden. As you forgive, you will feel the joy of being forgiven. At this Christmastime you can give and receive the gift of forgiveness. The feeling of happiness that will come will be a glimpse of what we can feel at home together in the eternal home for which we yearn.
Feeling the Joy of Giving
There is another glimpse of that joyful future home that we can see more easily at Christmastime. It is the feeling of giving with a generous heart. This can come as we feel the needs of others more than our own and when we sense how generous God has been to us.
It helps to see the kindness of others at Christmastime. How many times have you gone to leave a gift on a doorstep, hoping not to be noticed, only to find more than one unmarked gift already there? Have you felt, as I have, the impression to help someone only to find that what you were inspired to give was exactly what someone needed at that very moment? That is a wonderful assurance that God knows all of our needs and counts on us to fill the needs of others around us.
God sends those messages to us with more confidence at Christmastime, knowing that we will respond because our hearts are more sensitive to the Savior’s example and to the words of His servants. At Christmastime, we are more likely to have read recently and been touched by the words of King Benjamin. He taught his people, and he teaches us, that the overwhelming gift of forgiveness that we receive should make us feel an overflowing generosity toward others:
“And behold, even at this time, ye have been calling on his name, and begging for a remission of your sins. And has he suffered that ye have begged in vain? Nay; he has poured out his Spirit upon you, and has caused that your hearts should be filled with joy, and has caused that your mouths should be stopped that ye could not find utterance, so exceedingly great was your joy. “And now, if God, who has created you, on whom you are dependent for your lives and for all that ye have and are, doth grant unto you whatsoever ye ask that is right, in faith, believing that ye shall receive, O then, how ye ought to impart of the substance that ye have one to another.
“And if ye judge the man who putteth up his petition to you for your substance that he perish not, and condemn him, how much more just will be your condemnation for withholding your substance, which doth not belong to you but to God, to whom also your life belongeth; and yet ye put up no petition, nor repent of the thing which thou hast done. “I say unto you, wo be unto that man, for his substance shall perish with him; and now, I say these things unto those who are rich as pertaining to the things of this world” (Mosiah 4:20–23).
You have already felt the joy of giving alms and receiving them. That joy in this life is a glimpse of what we will feel in the life to come if we are generous here out of faith in God. The Savior is our great exemplar. At the Christmas season we contemplate anew who He is and what generosity He extended to us by coming into the world to be our Savior.
As the Son of God, born to Mary, He had the power to resist all temptation to sin. He lived a perfect life so that He could be the infinite sacrifice, the unblemished Lamb promised from the foundation of the world (see Revelation 13:8). He suffered the agony of the guilt of our sins and all the sins of the children of Heavenly Father that we might be forgiven and go home clean. He gave us that gift at a price we cannot fathom. It was a gift He did not need for Himself; He was without the need for forgiveness. The joy and gratitude we feel for His gift now will be magnified and will last forever as we honor and worship Him in our heavenly home.
The Christmas season gives us encouragement to remember Him and His infinite generosity. Remembering His generosity will help us feel and respond to the inspiration that there is someone who needs our help, and it will let us see the hand of God reaching to us when He sends someone to succor us, as He so often does. There is joy in giving and in receiving the generosity that God inspires, especially at Christmas.
Blessed with His Light
There is another glimpse of heaven that becomes easier to see at Christmastime. It is of light. Heavenly Father used light to announce the birth of His Son, our Savior (see Matthew 2; 3 Nephi 1). A new star was visible in both the Eastern and the Western Hemispheres. It led the Wise Men to the child in Bethlehem. Even wicked King Herod recognized the sign; he feared it because he was wicked. The Wise Men rejoiced because of the birth of the Christ, who is the Light and the Life of the World. Three days of light without darkness was the sign God gave to the descendants of Lehi, heralding the birth of His Son.
We remember at Christmastime not only the light that announced the birth of Christ into the world but also the light that comes from Him. Many witnesses have confirmed that light. Paul testified that he saw it on the road to Damascus:
“I saw in the way a light from heaven, above the brightness of the sun, shining round about me and them which journeyed with me. “And when we were all fallen to the earth, I heard a voice speaking unto me, and saying in the Hebrew tongue, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me? it is hard for thee to kick against the pricks. “And I said, Who art thou, Lord? And he said, I am Jesus whom thou persecutest” (Acts 26:13–15).
The boy Joseph Smith testified that he saw a marvelous light in a grove of trees in Palmyra, New York, at the beginning of the Restoration: “Just at this moment of great alarm, I saw a pillar of light exactly over my head, above the brightness of the sun, which descended gradually until it fell upon me. “It no sooner appeared than I found myself delivered from the enemy which held me bound. When the light rested upon me I saw two Personages, whose brightness and glory defy all description, standing above me in the air. One of them spake unto me, calling me by name and said, pointing to the other—This is My Beloved Son. Hear Him!” (Joseph Smith—History 1:16–17).
Such light will be visible in our heavenly home. It will bring us joy then. Yet even in this life you have been blessed with a part of that wonderful experience, through the Light of Christ. Every person born into the world receives that light as a gift (see Moroni 7:16). Think of the times you have had an experience that makes you a witness that the Light of Christ is real and precious. You will recognize from this wonderfully assuring scripture that you have been guided by that light: “And that which doth not edify is not of God, and is darkness. “That which is of God is light; and he that receiveth light, and continueth in God, receiveth more light; and that light groweth brighter and brighter until the perfect day. “And … I say it that you may know the truth, that you may chase darkness from among you” (D&C 50:23–25).
In a world that is being darkened by evil images and dishonest messages, you have been blessed to recognize more easily the flashes of light and truth. You have learned for yourself that light grows brighter as you receive it gladly. It will become brighter and brighter until the perfect day when we will be in the presence of the Source of the light.
That light is easier to discern at Christmastime, when we are more likely to pray to know what God would have us do and more likely to read in the scriptures and so more apt to be on the Lord’s errand. When we forgive and feel forgiveness, when we are lifting the hands that hang down (see D&C 81:5), we are being lifted ourselves as we move toward the Source of the light.
You remember that the Book of Mormon describes a glorious time when the Savior’s faithful disciples reflected His light for others to see (see 3 Nephi 19:24–25). We use lights to celebrate the Christmas season. Our worship of the Savior and our service for Him brings light into our lives and into the lives of those around us.
We can with confidence set a goal to make this Christmas brighter than the last and each year that follows brighter still. The trials of mortality may increase in intensity, yet for us, darkness need not increase if we focus our eyes more singly on the light that streams down on us as we follow the Master. He will lead us and help us along the path that leads upward to the home for which we yearn.
There have been times, often at Christmas, when we have felt parts of what we will experience when we at last come home to the Father who loves us and answers our prayers and to the Savior who has lighted our lives and lifted us up.
I testify that because of Him, you may have an assurance that you can go home not only at Christmastime but also to live forever with a family whom you love and who love each other.
Christmas Morning Strata
Every Christmas our family joins us for brunch at our home after we have finished opening our presents. We look forward to this strata as the main part of our meal.
12-18 slices white bread, crusts removed
1 lb baby asparagus, broken into pieces
1 1/2 lbs sausage (mild)
1 lb grated cheddar cheese
12 eggs (or 3 cups egg beaters)
1 cup sour cream or buttermilk (I use sour cream)
salt/pepper to taste
dash of Worcestershire sauce
3 to 4 green onions, chopped
Butter 9x13 baking dish, set aside. Steam asparagus for 2 minutes, drain, rinse with cold water. Brown sausage and green onions; drain well. Blend eggs, sour cream and seasonings. In pan, layer as follows: 1/2 of the bread, 1/2 of the cheese, 1/2 of the sausage, 1/2 of the asparagus. Repeat. Pour the egg mixture over all. Cover and refrigerate overnight. Remove from fridge and let sit at room temperature for 1 hour before baking. Bake uncovered at 350 degrees for one hour, or until knife inserted comes out clean. Serve warm.
12-18 slices white bread, crusts removed1 lb baby asparagus, broken into pieces
1 1/2 lbs sausage (mild)
1 lb grated cheddar cheese
12 eggs (or 3 cups egg beaters)
1 cup sour cream or buttermilk (I use sour cream)
salt/pepper to taste
dash of Worcestershire sauce
3 to 4 green onions, chopped
Butter 9x13 baking dish, set aside. Steam asparagus for 2 minutes, drain, rinse with cold water. Brown sausage and green onions; drain well. Blend eggs, sour cream and seasonings. In pan, layer as follows: 1/2 of the bread, 1/2 of the cheese, 1/2 of the sausage, 1/2 of the asparagus. Repeat. Pour the egg mixture over all. Cover and refrigerate overnight. Remove from fridge and let sit at room temperature for 1 hour before baking. Bake uncovered at 350 degrees for one hour, or until knife inserted comes out clean. Serve warm.
Tuesday, December 15, 2009
More Holiday Traditions
Growing up we would get really excited for Christmas morning and it resulted in a lot of fun middle-0f-the-night memories like the Knee Olympics (we did every sports event we could think of on our knees). We always had to wait until an appointed hour in the morning before we could wake our parents. Prior to that time touching presents was off limits, but stockings were fair game. These always included a can of Pringles and an orange in the toe.
Tobi Bishop
Every year before Christmas, we meet our good friends at the 33rd South Trax station and ride Trax downtown to see the Christmas lights on Temple Square. The kids look forward to this every year! We always try to get the "Christmas Card Photo," but it never turns out. (but we keep trying every year!) Then we always go out to dinner, usually to Little America. It is a fun thing that both families anticipate this time of year.
Another tradition that our family has, is a Christmas Even program at Jeff's parents house. Jeff's dad makes up a printed program, and everyone has a part on it. Whether it's playing your piano recital piece, a Christmas song on the trumpet or violin, or just reading part of A Visit from St. Nick. We draw for parts and sing the Twelve Days of Christmas (there is always relief when you get anything by the dreaded number 5). We always end the evening with a reading from Luke in the Bible (accompanied by Charlie or Henry holding up their nativity pieces on cue). I love going home on Christmas Eve with a wonderful feeling of love for my Savior, and for my family.
Loralee Miner
Tobi Bishop
Every year before Christmas, we meet our good friends at the 33rd South Trax station and ride Trax downtown to see the Christmas lights on Temple Square. The kids look forward to this every year! We always try to get the "Christmas Card Photo," but it never turns out. (but we keep trying every year!) Then we always go out to dinner, usually to Little America. It is a fun thing that both families anticipate this time of year.
Another tradition that our family has, is a Christmas Even program at Jeff's parents house. Jeff's dad makes up a printed program, and everyone has a part on it. Whether it's playing your piano recital piece, a Christmas song on the trumpet or violin, or just reading part of A Visit from St. Nick. We draw for parts and sing the Twelve Days of Christmas (there is always relief when you get anything by the dreaded number 5). We always end the evening with a reading from Luke in the Bible (accompanied by Charlie or Henry holding up their nativity pieces on cue). I love going home on Christmas Eve with a wonderful feeling of love for my Savior, and for my family.
Loralee Miner
Our favorite holiday Wassail recipe:
2 c. sugar
2 c. water
Bring to boil to disolve sugar
Add:
1 lg. can orange juice concentrate
3/4 c. lemon juice
1 t. vanilla
1 t. (slight) almond extract
2 qts. water
Heat and serve.
So easy! So good! I often keep this in my hot chocolate maker so we can sip it on a cold day.
2 c. sugar
2 c. water
Bring to boil to disolve sugar
Add:
1 lg. can orange juice concentrate
3/4 c. lemon juice
1 t. vanilla
1 t. (slight) almond extract
2 qts. water
Heat and serve.
So easy! So good! I often keep this in my hot chocolate maker so we can sip it on a cold day.
Friday, December 11, 2009
A Christmas in Nauvoo
After a lovely 1840's Christmas dinner of Ham, carrots, beans, rolls and pie, members were taught some of the social dances of the Nauvoo era.
Many gave the dances a try, while others. . .
. . . learned by watching.
Thursday, December 10, 2009
SWAP - WOW!!!
Tuesday evening we had the first Grandview 1st Ward Swap -N- Shop. (And if I were to make a guess, I'd bet it won't be the last... WOW!!!) 
I must admit, I wasn't quite sure what to expect. It seemed that many of us had the same feelings. We'd all tried to take it with a leap of faith . . . take over things that you don't wear, but in good condition, but things that you'd actually want to wear. WOW, what an amazing result. The gym was OVERFLOWING!
We had clothes for men, women, teens, kids, babies, pregnant women, shoes, jewelry, purses, household items, toys, books, etc. AND SOME OF THE ITEMS STILL HAD THE STORE TAGS ON THEM. So many wandered around saying, "I seriously wasn't going to take anything home, but . . ." And men kept coming in saying, "you promised you wouldn't bring anything home!" (But, it's such a deal!)
We also had a lot of fun. Honestly, we love red long johns and aprons! By the end of a long night, everyone was laughing, giddy and ready to go home. What an amazing evening!
I am overwhelmed at the great "deals" that I got at the RS Swap. Thanks to all of you who brought such beautiful things and donated them. What a treat! Now we have to decide when we are going to have the Swap & Shop fashion show. (I wore my swap & shop sweater to work yesterday and got tons of compliments. Thanks!!!)We had an overabundance of things left over. We called the Gundrys who came over and took a load of things down to their inner city mission ward. By way of example, they took white shirts for their priesthood holders.
Thank you to everyone who so willingly shared at this wonderful time of year.
Monday, December 7, 2009
Presidency Message - "Changing Times" - Kathleen Walker - Dec. 6, 2009
Excerpts from a delightful and inspired lesson:
I have been at this assignment 3 months now. I came to it with some trepidation - at the completion of our Temple Assignment, I was fatigued. And that experience had been so glorious, so heavenly, that I was sure anything else would be a let down. I didn't really know you and you didn't know me. But I know I had two things going for me. 1) I loved Relief Society. 2) I love the Lord and whatever he requires of me will be mere minutia compared with what he has given me.
And 3 months later, I can say, I am finding joy in this service. I love this work. And I love you. There are mornings when I can hardly wait to get to the phone and start dialing some of you. I love to talk with you and share with you and learn and grow because of you.
As I have pondered on what I would talk about today, I thought I would just share 3 months of musings. Thoughts that have rumbled in my head.
I begin with this: We know that the principles and ordinances of the gospel will never change. they do not sway with the times, they do not follow social trends. They are constant and will remain so, because they are true. But the process by which those principles and ordinances are taught do change.
Pres. Eyring, in this last General RS Meeting, spoke of this - of the evolution of RS and its enduring legacy. When you look at the history of the church and specifically of RS we find a kind of "growing up." The Primary Organization, LDS Family Services, The Humanitarian Program, the church magazines, the hospital system in the valley, all found their beginnings in the RS.
. . . .
There was a time when temple attendance was tracked. The Handbook of Instructions used to be very thick, now it is thin. The Missionary lessons were once memorized, now we have Preach my Gospel which outlines the topics but encourages teaching by the spirit. The RS Manual for next year, the average length of lesson instruction is about 2 1/2 pages compared with 7 - 12 pages.
Why?
. . . .
The more we have to rely on the spirit for guidance, the more we bless the lives of those we serve.
We know that with Visiting Teaching, the more we practice the spirit of the law the less important the letter of the law becomes. We begin to simply love and care for the sisters and think less of rushing to their homes the last week of the month to get the visiting done.
We know that when we have an opportunity to fulfill a welfare assignment, or help at a funeral or take a meal in, that the spirit with which it is done, makes the difference between an act of charity and an imposition.
All of this brings me to the new instructions regarding the once called (Home Family and Personal Enrichment) Enrichment Program and now called Relief Society Meetings.
. . . .
This program is pushing us to live by the promptings of the spirit.
1. To offer things that will meet the spiritual, temporal, emotional and physical needs of the sisters in our ward.
2. These new RS Meetings will be held during the week (for us it will be on the 3rd Tuesday). They will generally be held monthly.
3. The bishop oversees the program, but under the direction of the RS Pres, in the same way priesthood quorums function.
4. The once Enrichment leader is now called "The RS Meeting Coordinator". In our ward it is Jenna Pratt, with 2 assistant coordinators, Coco Peterson and Jan Ingebretson. She also has a committee of helpers and has access to anyone on the RS Board (or in the RS).
We will begin this new program in January and will meet on January 19 for our first meeting. We have identified, with the Bishop's help, some of the needs that we feel the sisters of this ward have. If there is something you would like this program to cover, something that you need help in, something you are interested in, are capable of teaching or that you think would benefit others of this ward, please step forward and share with us. This program is for you. It is a supplementary program to the Sunday RS. it is not mandatory for entrance into the Celestial Kingdom, but can greatly enhance our knowledge, our skills and our interests and build a sense of camaraderie and sisterhood in this ward.
. . . .
I believe it is one more evidence that the Lord is hastening his work. We are being prepared to stand on our own feet and be accountable for our own lives! The spoon feeding is diminishing and the spirit of the law, as opposed to the letter of the law becomes the empowering principle. In the end we will each be accountable for our own salvation We will not slide in on the coattails of our parents, our husbands, our children or our best friends.
The result of this self empowerment will be that we will move UP. As you know, MOVIN UP is our theme this year . . . taken from the movie UP. We hope to have a ward movie night in Jan, in which we see that movie.
. . .
One final plea: Please connect with those you visit teach. The Christmas season can be one of loneliness. Get on your knees and pray for guidance and then get on your feet and become the Savior's hands. Reach out in love.
I have been at this assignment 3 months now. I came to it with some trepidation - at the completion of our Temple Assignment, I was fatigued. And that experience had been so glorious, so heavenly, that I was sure anything else would be a let down. I didn't really know you and you didn't know me. But I know I had two things going for me. 1) I loved Relief Society. 2) I love the Lord and whatever he requires of me will be mere minutia compared with what he has given me.
And 3 months later, I can say, I am finding joy in this service. I love this work. And I love you. There are mornings when I can hardly wait to get to the phone and start dialing some of you. I love to talk with you and share with you and learn and grow because of you.
As I have pondered on what I would talk about today, I thought I would just share 3 months of musings. Thoughts that have rumbled in my head.
I begin with this: We know that the principles and ordinances of the gospel will never change. they do not sway with the times, they do not follow social trends. They are constant and will remain so, because they are true. But the process by which those principles and ordinances are taught do change.
Pres. Eyring, in this last General RS Meeting, spoke of this - of the evolution of RS and its enduring legacy. When you look at the history of the church and specifically of RS we find a kind of "growing up." The Primary Organization, LDS Family Services, The Humanitarian Program, the church magazines, the hospital system in the valley, all found their beginnings in the RS.
. . . .
There was a time when temple attendance was tracked. The Handbook of Instructions used to be very thick, now it is thin. The Missionary lessons were once memorized, now we have Preach my Gospel which outlines the topics but encourages teaching by the spirit. The RS Manual for next year, the average length of lesson instruction is about 2 1/2 pages compared with 7 - 12 pages.
Why?
. . . .
The more we have to rely on the spirit for guidance, the more we bless the lives of those we serve.
We know that with Visiting Teaching, the more we practice the spirit of the law the less important the letter of the law becomes. We begin to simply love and care for the sisters and think less of rushing to their homes the last week of the month to get the visiting done.
We know that when we have an opportunity to fulfill a welfare assignment, or help at a funeral or take a meal in, that the spirit with which it is done, makes the difference between an act of charity and an imposition.
All of this brings me to the new instructions regarding the once called (Home Family and Personal Enrichment) Enrichment Program and now called Relief Society Meetings.
. . . .
This program is pushing us to live by the promptings of the spirit.
1. To offer things that will meet the spiritual, temporal, emotional and physical needs of the sisters in our ward.
2. These new RS Meetings will be held during the week (for us it will be on the 3rd Tuesday). They will generally be held monthly.
3. The bishop oversees the program, but under the direction of the RS Pres, in the same way priesthood quorums function.
4. The once Enrichment leader is now called "The RS Meeting Coordinator". In our ward it is Jenna Pratt, with 2 assistant coordinators, Coco Peterson and Jan Ingebretson. She also has a committee of helpers and has access to anyone on the RS Board (or in the RS).
We will begin this new program in January and will meet on January 19 for our first meeting. We have identified, with the Bishop's help, some of the needs that we feel the sisters of this ward have. If there is something you would like this program to cover, something that you need help in, something you are interested in, are capable of teaching or that you think would benefit others of this ward, please step forward and share with us. This program is for you. It is a supplementary program to the Sunday RS. it is not mandatory for entrance into the Celestial Kingdom, but can greatly enhance our knowledge, our skills and our interests and build a sense of camaraderie and sisterhood in this ward.
. . . .
I believe it is one more evidence that the Lord is hastening his work. We are being prepared to stand on our own feet and be accountable for our own lives! The spoon feeding is diminishing and the spirit of the law, as opposed to the letter of the law becomes the empowering principle. In the end we will each be accountable for our own salvation We will not slide in on the coattails of our parents, our husbands, our children or our best friends.
The result of this self empowerment will be that we will move UP. As you know, MOVIN UP is our theme this year . . . taken from the movie UP. We hope to have a ward movie night in Jan, in which we see that movie.
. . .
One final plea: Please connect with those you visit teach. The Christmas season can be one of loneliness. Get on your knees and pray for guidance and then get on your feet and become the Savior's hands. Reach out in love.
Sunday, December 6, 2009
Holiday Traditions
What a wonderful time of the year! A time for remembering the true meaning of Christmas and to focus on the Savior. A time to be with those we love the most. A time to be extra conscious of others and to be a little bit nicer, a little bit more Christlike, and a little bit better in all we do.As we begin the season, we've been asking around. . . what fun and special traditions do you have in your family to celebrate the season?
Laura Ralphs:
One of our kids' favorite Christmas Eve traditions is when we spend it with Luke's family is their traditional Christmas Eve pinata. Last year was funny because the pinata was Santa Claus and at first you could tell the younger cousins were being really timid about hitting Santa (after all, he is the one bringing them presents in the morning!) It didn't take long for the older cousins to get things going though and then they all realized that getting the candy and toys inside the pinata was worth it.
We also pick out a new Christmas picture book as a family each year to add to our collection. We usually try to pick something that has to do with what's been going on with our life (i.e. the year Matthew built his first snowman we bought "What Snowmen Do At Night" by Mark and Caralyn Buehner).
Liz Zundell
We have a few Christmas traditions. We put up our tree the weekend after Thanksgiving and then kick off the season by watching "A Charlie Brown Christmas." We also take a picture for the Christmas cards we send out. This totally stresses me out more than Christmas shopping. No Eric, you can't do bunny ears behind your sister's head. Ally, take your fingers out of your mouth. Kaylee, smile. Ryan, I know you hate the flash in your eyes, but you do have to look straight ahead. No, if the dog can't sit still, he can't be in the picture. No Ally, we don't want your blanket in the picture. No Eric, your guinea pig can't be in the picture either. CAN EVERYONE JUST LOOK AT ME AND SMILE????? Here Mike, you just take the picture, I'm going to Maverick. Merry Christmas!
Stephanie Pugsley
I love being home on Christmas Eve, but discovered that for some reason the kids have a lot of excess energy that night. As a result, one of our favorite traditions was born. We now decorate gingerbread houses before we settle down for the final spiritual reading of the true Christmas story out of the New Testament. We work in teams to create our houses and have contests to see who can make the longest icicles, the most colorful whatever, the best fences, etc. Working together is fun, while enjoying a pleasant evening without the hustle and bustle of the season.I also have wonderful memories of being a child at Christmastime. I have distinct memories of helping my mother in the kitchen make all sorts of cookies, candies and fruitcakes. I was great at making almond "flowers" with maraschino cherry centers to decorate the tops of the cakes. (I must admit that I never learned to like fruitcake. I assume that once I grew up I would...they were made of all sorts of yummy things. sorry mom.) For me, it is hard to enjoy the Christmas season without all of those amazing smells in my home. I love her for teaching me to make gingerbread, spritz, sugar cookies, fudge, toffee, and biscotti. I love that my children are excited to help me make them now. MMMMmmmmmm I am excited to get started!!
Carol Theurer
The Theurer has a special tradition of planning a Christmas Eve spiritual fireside and dinner for their entire family. The entire family gathers for a lovely meal. Afterwards, they retire to the living room for a special message, which is different every year. Each year, Carol carefully considers the message and selects a gift which will remind the family of that message. At the end of the evening, every member of the family is given the gift to open. This special Christmas Eve tradition is something the family looks forward to all year long.
We'd love to hear about your traditions! Email them to us.
Sing! Sing a Song!
"For my soul delighteth in the song of the heart. . . and it shall be answered with a blessing upon their heads." (D&C 25:12)
The YW Singing: Sing, Sing a Song!
In our progression towards the Temple during the past three months, we have learned to SMILE, we have blessed our bodies by thinking and eating VEGGIES, and we have taught our HANDS to be more like CHRIST, and now this month we will commit ourselves to recognize and use the POWER OF MUSIC in our lives. We will SING wherever we are, in the shower, in the kitchen, in the care, and with our families.
Lex De Azevido, a well renowned, LDS musician spoke of the POWER OF MUSIC (Ensign, March 1985, 35) where he said:
"Music is so powerful that it affects even our physical beings. Who hasn't had the experience of tapping his toe to a certain song - without even realizing he was tapping until after the fact. many ancient peoples have recognized the power of music on the body, and some used music as a healing agent. In mythologies, the god of music is also the god of medicine.
In recent years, studies have substantiated these ancient ideas, demonstrating music's effect on a myriad of bodily functions: pulse rate, respiration rate, blood pressure, galvanic skin responses, brain wave impulses, muscle responses, finger coordination, and reading speed and comprehension. A force so powerful that it can influence our hearts, our glands, and our muscles is a force to be reckoned with."
President Boyd K. Packard (New Era, April 2008, 6-11) counseled us:
"The Lord has said "For my soul delighteth in the song of the heart; yea the song of the righteous is a prayer unto me, and it shall be answered with a blessing upon their heads (D&C 25:12). The first Presidency of the Church commenting on the influence of music in our lives, has said: "Through music, man's ability to express himself, extends beyond the limits of the spoken language in both subtlety and power. . ."
During this wonderful month of December, we have available to us a myriad of beautiful music to celebrate the birth of the Savior. So lets, EVERY DAY, SING, SING A SONG. Don't worry if its not good enough for anyone else to hear. Just SING, SING A SONG. Sing wherever you are. In your home, in the shower, in the kitchen, as you drive to work. Allow the POWER of MUSIC to fill your hearts!
The YW Singing: Sing, Sing a Song!
In our progression towards the Temple during the past three months, we have learned to SMILE, we have blessed our bodies by thinking and eating VEGGIES, and we have taught our HANDS to be more like CHRIST, and now this month we will commit ourselves to recognize and use the POWER OF MUSIC in our lives. We will SING wherever we are, in the shower, in the kitchen, in the care, and with our families.
Lex De Azevido, a well renowned, LDS musician spoke of the POWER OF MUSIC (Ensign, March 1985, 35) where he said:
"Music is so powerful that it affects even our physical beings. Who hasn't had the experience of tapping his toe to a certain song - without even realizing he was tapping until after the fact. many ancient peoples have recognized the power of music on the body, and some used music as a healing agent. In mythologies, the god of music is also the god of medicine.
In recent years, studies have substantiated these ancient ideas, demonstrating music's effect on a myriad of bodily functions: pulse rate, respiration rate, blood pressure, galvanic skin responses, brain wave impulses, muscle responses, finger coordination, and reading speed and comprehension. A force so powerful that it can influence our hearts, our glands, and our muscles is a force to be reckoned with."
President Boyd K. Packard (New Era, April 2008, 6-11) counseled us:
"The Lord has said "For my soul delighteth in the song of the heart; yea the song of the righteous is a prayer unto me, and it shall be answered with a blessing upon their heads (D&C 25:12). The first Presidency of the Church commenting on the influence of music in our lives, has said: "Through music, man's ability to express himself, extends beyond the limits of the spoken language in both subtlety and power. . ."
During this wonderful month of December, we have available to us a myriad of beautiful music to celebrate the birth of the Savior. So lets, EVERY DAY, SING, SING A SONG. Don't worry if its not good enough for anyone else to hear. Just SING, SING A SONG. Sing wherever you are. In your home, in the shower, in the kitchen, as you drive to work. Allow the POWER of MUSIC to fill your hearts!
Wednesday, December 2, 2009
Bye Hands!
These two hands can wave hello,
Or put smudges on the wall.
They can fold in prayer,
Throw a kiss, or
Reach up and wave when you call.
They will clasp your hand for an Autumn stroll
Or shovel snow on a winter's day.
But most of all their touch will stay with you
When I am far away.
anonymous
December Events
Saturday, December 5th - - Ward Temple Day
Tuesday, December 8th - - Relief Society SWAP - - 7 pm
*Everyone is welcome! Give, take, swap or just socialize.*
Friday, December 11th - - Ward Adult Christmas Party - An Evening in Old Nauvoo
Saturday, December 12th - - Stake Conference - Priesthood Leadership Session 4-6 pm, Evening Adults Session 7-9 pm
Sunday, December 13th - - Stake Conference - Youth Session 8-9 am (youth 12-18); General Session 10 am - noon
Tuesday, December 8th - - Relief Society SWAP - - 7 pm
*Everyone is welcome! Give, take, swap or just socialize.*
Friday, December 11th - - Ward Adult Christmas Party - An Evening in Old Nauvoo
Saturday, December 12th - - Stake Conference - Priesthood Leadership Session 4-6 pm, Evening Adults Session 7-9 pm
Sunday, December 13th - - Stake Conference - Youth Session 8-9 am (youth 12-18); General Session 10 am - noon
Olympus High School Seminary Service Project
This December the Olympus seminary is doing a service project and we need your help! We are making fleece blankets, scarves and hats to donate to the Road Home and the Church Humanitarian Center. We need donations of material to make blankets and scarves (especially fleece material) and yarn to make hats. Any color or patterns are fine.
There will be boxes to collect the donations in the foyers at the stake center on Sunday, December 13th during Stake Conference. Any donations will help keep people warm this winter.
Casey White, Wilford Stake Olympus Seminary Representative (801-484-0732)
There will be boxes to collect the donations in the foyers at the stake center on Sunday, December 13th during Stake Conference. Any donations will help keep people warm this winter.
Casey White, Wilford Stake Olympus Seminary Representative (801-484-0732)
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