I was talking with my boys the other day about Christmas. The Media is trying to make it all about the "gift-giving". "You need to buy this, and this and this to make your friends and family happy." It is all about the bling-bling.
Scrooge is not what I am shooting for in this entry. However, I have been thinking of the true meaning of Christmas. We have the opportunity to celebrate the gift of a loving Heavenly Father this time of year. He sent his Beloved Son to us, wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger. He came to us humbly.
Trying to explain the true meaning of Christmas to a three year old is a bit tricky. I was taking her Christmas shopping and she wondered why she had to but gifts for everyone else, and not herself. I tried to explain that giving gifts to others is our gift to the Savior. It is a way we can remember His gift to us.
From the gifts of the Savior's birth come the gift to repent and be forgiven when we deviate from our intended direction. We receive the gift of being able to return to a Father who loves and adores us. I am so thankful for the Savior and the blessings I have in my life through His teachings and example. I hope I can teach my children the true meaning of Christmas and not get caught up in the halla baloo of "gift giving". Remembering the love of our Savior, our older brother, is the meaning of this holiday. It is a time of thanks and gratitude.
Now, I do believe the giving of gifts can be a way of showing our thanks or gratitude. Also it can be an opportunity to teach our children to serve. As the Savior taught us through his service to those he encountered, we too have opportunities. This doesn't mean we need to go into unnecessary debt to show our love. Simple acts of service and love are greater than gifts purchased at the store. This year and the one to come I am going to look for opportunities to serve others, and show them love. This is what the Savior did for us.
Showing posts with label love. Show all posts
Showing posts with label love. Show all posts
Monday, December 7, 2009
Friday, March 27, 2009
A Lesson From Life
A lesson and/or thought keeps coming back to me. I thought I would take a moment to share it.
Have you ever found yourself looking at another and wondering why they do things the way they do? What is their motive? or simply, what are they thinking? Now, have you stopped to think that they may look at you with the same questions?
On with my thought. I believe that everyone whether intentionally or not is striving for perfection. In one shape of the word or another. Now bare with me, I know, there are those with "white trash yards"(been there) maybe the always seem frazzled(there too) maybe their shirt is wrinkled(who has that not happened to?) Or they have a sink full of dishes, toys all over their house. Some things we notice may be trivial, others we may feel are life and death. Maybe none have noticed these things. In that case, this blog is not for you, others are thankful for your lack of sight.
Okay, now I have you thinking, you might even be thinking of someone in particular. I am finding at different seasons in my life that I am beginning to understand more and more how these things can happen. But this isn't where I wanted to go, so I will move on.
We all will agree we are striving for perfection right? So what is perfection? For one it may be an immaculate house. For another, happy creative children. Some may want vast amounts of knowledge, while others are wanting to experience it all. Some want the know how, others to teach. There are so many of us out there, it would take me forever to list us all. However, I think you have the idea. Moving on.
Everyone has their own idea of what the perfection is they are trying to reach. I am finding though that there is someone out there who knows better than ourselves, not only what our potential is but how we can obtain even a greater perfection than we can see for our selves. That is our Heavenly Father.
The right is ours to work on perfection for ourselves single handedly, but how realistic is that? With out experiencing life, how can we walk in others shoes, how can we grow to our potential? With out Heavenly Fathers assistance, how can we endure those cruel times (that we can sometimes look back on and laugh at)? With out the Savior how would we be able pick ourselves up after a great fall, brush ourselves off, and return to the race we signed up for long before we can recall?
I find more each day how perfect God's plan is. Not only is it tailored to us as individuals, It is also tailored to us as individuals. I am finding again and again how Heavenly Father knows me better than I do. Not only that, but he really does have our happiness at heart. If this is honestly the case, He definitely knows you just as well. Then comes the difficult part, I have to remind myself "who am I to judge? I don't know what has brought that brother/sister to this point. Nor do I know what Heavenly Father has in store for either of us."
When I have this thought, instead of judging I try to see what I can do to help, and if the help is not wanted, I trust they are putting it in bigger hands than my own and hope that the same would be done if someone is looking my way. By the way, Heavenly Father has blessed me with plenty of hands having been stretched my direction, and I hope I show the appreciation I feel to each of them.
Have you ever found yourself looking at another and wondering why they do things the way they do? What is their motive? or simply, what are they thinking? Now, have you stopped to think that they may look at you with the same questions?
On with my thought. I believe that everyone whether intentionally or not is striving for perfection. In one shape of the word or another. Now bare with me, I know, there are those with "white trash yards"(been there) maybe the always seem frazzled(there too) maybe their shirt is wrinkled(who has that not happened to?) Or they have a sink full of dishes, toys all over their house. Some things we notice may be trivial, others we may feel are life and death. Maybe none have noticed these things. In that case, this blog is not for you, others are thankful for your lack of sight.
Okay, now I have you thinking, you might even be thinking of someone in particular. I am finding at different seasons in my life that I am beginning to understand more and more how these things can happen. But this isn't where I wanted to go, so I will move on.
We all will agree we are striving for perfection right? So what is perfection? For one it may be an immaculate house. For another, happy creative children. Some may want vast amounts of knowledge, while others are wanting to experience it all. Some want the know how, others to teach. There are so many of us out there, it would take me forever to list us all. However, I think you have the idea. Moving on.
Everyone has their own idea of what the perfection is they are trying to reach. I am finding though that there is someone out there who knows better than ourselves, not only what our potential is but how we can obtain even a greater perfection than we can see for our selves. That is our Heavenly Father.
The right is ours to work on perfection for ourselves single handedly, but how realistic is that? With out experiencing life, how can we walk in others shoes, how can we grow to our potential? With out Heavenly Fathers assistance, how can we endure those cruel times (that we can sometimes look back on and laugh at)? With out the Savior how would we be able pick ourselves up after a great fall, brush ourselves off, and return to the race we signed up for long before we can recall?
I find more each day how perfect God's plan is. Not only is it tailored to us as individuals, It is also tailored to us as individuals. I am finding again and again how Heavenly Father knows me better than I do. Not only that, but he really does have our happiness at heart. If this is honestly the case, He definitely knows you just as well. Then comes the difficult part, I have to remind myself "who am I to judge? I don't know what has brought that brother/sister to this point. Nor do I know what Heavenly Father has in store for either of us."
When I have this thought, instead of judging I try to see what I can do to help, and if the help is not wanted, I trust they are putting it in bigger hands than my own and hope that the same would be done if someone is looking my way. By the way, Heavenly Father has blessed me with plenty of hands having been stretched my direction, and I hope I show the appreciation I feel to each of them.
Wednesday, March 25, 2009
Dancing with God
My mother was going through some old papers and found this among them. I hope you enjoy it.
"When I meditated on the word of Guidance, I kept seeing "dance" at the end of the word. I remember reading that doing God's will is a lot like dancing. When two people try leading , nothing feels right. The movement doesn't flow with the music, and everything is quite uncomfortable and jerky. When one person realizes that, and lets the other lead, both bodies begin to flow with the music. One gives gentle cues, perhaps with a nudge to the back, or by pressing lightly in one direction or another. Its as if two become one body, moving beautifully. The dance takes surrender, willingness, and attentiveness from one person and gentle guidance and skill from the other.
My eyes drew back to the word Guidance.
When I saw "G" I thought of God, followed by "u" and "i". "God,""u," and "i"dance. God, you and I dance. As I lowered my head, I became willing to trust that I would get guidance about my life. Once again, I became willing to let God lead.
Dance together with God, trusting God to lead and guide you through each season of your life."
~Anonymous
"When I meditated on the word of Guidance, I kept seeing "dance" at the end of the word. I remember reading that doing God's will is a lot like dancing. When two people try leading , nothing feels right. The movement doesn't flow with the music, and everything is quite uncomfortable and jerky. When one person realizes that, and lets the other lead, both bodies begin to flow with the music. One gives gentle cues, perhaps with a nudge to the back, or by pressing lightly in one direction or another. Its as if two become one body, moving beautifully. The dance takes surrender, willingness, and attentiveness from one person and gentle guidance and skill from the other.
My eyes drew back to the word Guidance.
When I saw "G" I thought of God, followed by "u" and "i". "God,""u," and "i"dance. God, you and I dance. As I lowered my head, I became willing to trust that I would get guidance about my life. Once again, I became willing to let God lead.
Dance together with God, trusting God to lead and guide you through each season of your life."
~Anonymous
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