LIGHTtheWORLD - Worship

"Where is he that is born King of the Jews? For we have seen his star in the east, and are come to worship him" (Matthew 2:2).Wise men still seek Him. Do you? Do I? Do our actions show we still seek and worship Him? May the star atop our Christmas tree remind us to seek and worship the Savior. - That is what I posted today on Instagram.

LIGHT the WORLD

During Christmas we are reminded that Jesus Christ is the Light of the World. This year, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints invites all to share that light by resolving to do the things Jesus Christ did - for 25 days, in 25 ways. Every day leading up to Christmas, we are invited to focus on a different Christlike behavior and strive to do as He did.  The church has offered suggestions of Christlike attributes we can work on. For December 4 they invited us to do as Jesus did and worship the Father.

“1 These words spake Jesus, and lifted up his eyes to heaven, and said, Father, the hour is come; glorify thy Son, that thy Son also may glorify thee:

2 As thou hast given him power over all flesh, that he should give eternal life to as many as thou hast given him.” (John 17:1-2)

One of the suggestions for worshiping as Jesus did was: attend a church service in your area. I attend church every Sunday and love it. I love singing Christmas hymns this time of year. There's something about singing about the Savior's birth that really helps me feel like I am worshiping. I've been known to even join our church ward choir, just so I can sing Christmas Hymns, and I'm not really much of a singer. This Sunday I also watched on television a beautiful Christmas devotional. It can be viewed via this link: 2016 First Presidency Christmas Devotional.

For more suggestions on ways to worship, click on this link: mormon.org.

LIGHTtheWORLD - Help Others See

LIGHT THE WORLD

FOLLOW OUR SAVIOR JESUS CHRIST. IN 25 WAYS. OVER 25 DAYS.

Every day leading up to Christmas is a chance to look at the things Jesus Christ did and resolve to do the same. For ideas on how to do this, click on the link below for daily inspiration, suggestions, and encouragement on how we can follow the example of Jesus Christ to LIGHTtheWORLD during this Christmas season.

December 3 – JESUS HELPED OTHERS TO SEE AND SO CAN YOU

“As the Light of the World, Jesus Christ was born so that no one would have to live in darkness. He miraculously healed the blind, but that’s far from the only way Jesus Christ can open our eyes. Today, there are many ways we can help others—and ourselves—to see the things that matter most" (mormon.org). 

About half a year ago I came across some wonderful, short videos depicting "things that matter most". I'd love to share them with you. They are about Jesus Christ: His birth, His life, and His teachings. The videos have children in them, explaining different aspects of Christ's life. They have candid, cute and even funny comments. Their thoughts are combined with beautiful reenactments of Christ's life. They are worth watching. Click this link to see "The Birth of Jesus". And while you're at it, one of my favorite videos is called "Jesus Heals a Man on the Sabbath". I hope you enjoy them as much as I do. 

I hope during this crazy, busy time of year, we'll each find time to think about, see and do those things that matter most. 🙂

LIGHTtheWORLD - Honor Parents

This is a photo of my husband, close to the age when this story took place.

LIGHT THE WORLD

FOLLOW OUR SAVIOR JESUS CHRIST. IN 25 WAYS. OVER 25 DAYS.

Every day leading up to Christmas is a chance to look at the things Jesus Christ did and resolve to do the same. For ideas on how to do this, click on the link for daily inspiration, suggestions, and encouragement on how we can follow the example of Jesus Christ to LIGHTtheWORLD during this Christmas season.  .

December 2 - JESUS HONORED HIS PARENTS AND SO CAN YOU

"Jesus Christ is the King of kings, but as a child He loved and respected His earthly parents, Mary and Joseph. As we find ways to honor our parents, we can learn from our parents, just as Jesus did" (mormon.org)

In honor of Del's mom, Wanda, who passed away over 30 years ago, I would like to share with you this story, as told by Del. It is titled: Baby Chickens

I learned much of what I know about kindness from my mother who was a remarkably charitable person. As a small boy I lived on a farm in Arbon Valley. We had chickens, which pretty much foraged on their own and provided us with eggs and entertainment. Now you’ve all heard the Lords description sometimes regarding the various groups of his children who he equates with chickens and his difficulty to gather any one of them into a group and keep them on the right path and how just as soon as you gather them, they scatter. Well all of that is true from my vantage point as a little boy on the farm. Now, it just so happened that one of the duties we had as children was to watch out for the chickens and to gather eggs that were sometimes left outside of the nesting area. As we would do this, from time to time, there would be a few little lost chicks, as a result of them becoming separated from their mothers. When this occurred, we were to take the little chick and place it in a box that was provided on our front porch where we could feed the young chicken until it could be reunited with its mother or mature enough to take care of itself. Well…me and my sister, LeeAnn, who was two years younger than I, enjoyed our assignment. On one occasion we decided if one little chicken was good, it would be a lot more fun if we had a lot of little chickens. So rather than just wait for the odd lost chick, we decided to chase the chickens, through the weeds, and vastly improve the number of available lost chicks. As we brought these little chicks and placed them in the recover box, I’m sure mother began to notice that there was a strange inflation of the number of “lost” chicks. Her reaction, rather than being unkind, was to enjoy the eager playfulness of two little kids. I’m sure it took her a substantial amount of time to return all those little chicks to their rightful home, but I learned, as I grew older, what it means to be kind from my mother.

LIGHTtheWORLD - Help Lift Burdens

This is the picture I painted with my friends

LIGHT THE WORLD

FOLLOW OUR SAVIOR JESUS CHRIST. IN 25 WAYS. OVER 25 DAYS.

Every day leading up to Christmas is a chance to look at the things Jesus Christ did and resolve to do the same. For ideas on how to do this, click on the link for daily inspiration, suggestions, and encouragement on how we can follow the example of Jesus Christ to LIGHTtheWORLD during this Christmas season.  .

December 1 – JESUS LIFTED OTHERS’ BURDENS AND SO CAN YOU

 “No shoulders have ever borne as much as those of Jesus Christ. By descending below all things, Jesus put Himself in a position to lift our burdens. When we lend our strength to those who are weighed down by life’s challenges, even the heaviest load can be made lighter” (mormon.org)

One day I offered to show Julie how to paint an ostrich. Since that day we have tried to paint together once a week. This week we painted a snowman we saw and fell in love with on Pinterest. While painting this we had a discussion about burdens, specifically related to how one gets over the negative feelings that come when you feel someone has been unfair to you or when someone has hurt you. Our conclusion was that although we may wish for, and even pray for, justice, the true miracle is having our hearts feel "light" and full of love. Jesus Christ taught: "Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light" (Matthew 11:29-30). As we strive to do as Jesus did and lift others' burdens, may it help lighten our load as well. Painting with these sweet ladies lifts me each time we're together😊

Group of friends painting the cute snowman

#LIGHTtheWORLD

I painted this, kicking off the LIGHTtheWORLD, initiated by
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

On December 1, 2016 was the kick off of LIGHTtheWORLD initiative from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Each day leading up to Christmas, on mormon.org, we are invited to look at the things Jesus Christ did and resolve to do the same. To help, the site provides daily inspiration, suggestions, and encouragement on how we can follow the example of Jesus Christ. They are encouraging us to share what we have done, using social media, and the hashtag: #LIGHTtheWORLD, with the hope that by sharing our experiences of striving to be more Christ-like, we can LIGHTtheWORLD with goodness during the Christmas Season. Please join us in Lighting the World with goodness, in 25 ways, over 25 days!!

 "Since a new star first appeared above Bethlehem, Christmas has been a season of light, reminding us that Jesus Christ is the light of the world. Together, we can celebrate His birth by making the world a brighter place. All we have to do is follow Him - His life, His example, and His teachings. In doing so, we can help #LIGHTtheWORLD."

Christmas

As stated in other blogs, I paint tags. While at a bank, one of the tellers asked about my tags. I showed her a stack of 55, which she kindly commented on. Observing I didn't have any nativity tags, she asked if I'd consider painting one. I had 17 Christmas tags…snowmen, snowflakes, poinsettias, holly berry, Christmas lights, trees, ornaments and candy…but not one nativity or Christ-centered tag. We celebrate Christmas because of Christ’s birth – why hadn’t I thought about painting one? I loved her idea and painted the two pictures to turn them into tags.

This is one of the tags

I dropped off a bag of her favorite Christmas candy, along with my new nativity tags. I wanted her to know that I appreciated the idea.

I put both styles of Nativity tags inside the baggie
 with the mints to thank her for the idea. I don't know her except
that she's often the teller at the bank I go to, so it was fun to
drop this off to her. 

I recently read a Facebook entry written by Dallin H. Oaks. He once analyzed a stack of Christmas cards he had received and sorted them into three groups.

The largest group of cards (47%) were not religious in nature, but they had the words “Merry Christmas” on them, connecting the card to a religious holiday. Twenty nine percent of the cards did not mention Christ or Christmas at all and only acknowledged it to be a season of peace, joy and love. Only 24% of the cards actually mentioned or showed pictures representing Christ’s birth. 

I love everything about the Christmas Season - more family and friend get-togethers, good food, lights, trees, music, snowmen, and so on. I love it all.  And yet…I am totally aware of, and committed to, the fact that Christmas gives us an opportunity to celebrate Christ’s birth. I am grateful for Dallin H. Oaks reminder that Christmas is about Christ. And I am also grateful for all the wonderful religious celebrations that take place at this time and the opportunity to celebrate His birth.

“For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder; and his name shall be called, Wonderful, Counselor, The Mighty God, The Everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace” (Isaiah 9:6; 2 Nephi 19:6).

(Note: the link above takes you to Dallin H. Oaks Facebook. If you scroll down to December 15, 2015 you will find his comments about the Christmas cards)

PS If you want any tags for Christmas, check out my Etsy store: TagsByTrudy.

Pumpkins & Autumn

There is something wonderful about autumn. The colors are gorgeous! Last year I drove around and took snapshots of all the colorful trees with their greens, yellows, golds, oranges, browns, and reds. This year I stepped outside my front door and snapped photos of my own bushes during a lull in a rainstorm. Maybe I like the autumn colors because my mom decorated with them (we had an orange couch while growing up). Or maybe it reminds me of family gatherings around Thanksgiving. Whatever the reason, I love autumn.

Photo out my front door

Autumn means crisp, yet sunny days; picking, eating and dehydrating apples and pears from our trees; all foods pumpkin; and raking leaves (to name a few).  My husband and I spent the Saturday before Halloween getting our yard free of leaves. On Sunday the winds hit leaving lots of leaves on the ground for the trick-or-treaters to wallow through on Monday. Five days later we spent 4 more hours gathering leaves, and rotten pears and apples - enough to fill a pickup to overflowing. It was great being outdoors. It was a sunny, beautiful day!

While trying to come up with an autumn painting to teach my friends, I found a painting I did last year, only to realize how ugly it was. Rather than let it get the best of me, I added more colors to it, turning it into something I liked. (It's the painting displayed at the top). 

I painted this as an option to teach my friends, but in the end
they wanted to learn how to paint the one at the top.

In the last couple of weeks I've made and delivered and eaten many things pumpkin (the reason I chose my pumpkin paintings to display). Last week it was pumpkin chocolate chip bread - yummy! This morning I made pumpkin cake to give to some friends. And yesterday the girls in my youth group made Pumpkin Chocolate Chip cookies and delivered them to nearby neighbors. Delicious!!

By the way, the cookie recipe is the easiest/fastest cookie recipe I have ever used. You might like trying it! 

Mix:

• 1 box of Spice Cake Mix

• 1 can (15 oz) pumpkin

 (Note: only those two ingredients! No eggs, oil, water, etc!)
Add:

•  1 bag of chocolate chips. (I really like the Ghirardelli Milk Chocolate Premium baking chips with this recipe. They are big and yummy.)

Bake:

• Drop balls of batter onto a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper or sprayed with a cooking oil and bake at 350 degrees for about 15-18 minutes (until a toothpick comes out clean). With the size of cookie balls I made, this recipe made 27 cookies.

Photo outside front door

Many Instagram’s have displayed the joys of Autumn. I hope you’re enjoying this time of year as well!

To go with my post, I want to share three articles my youth group is studying this week about work and self-reliance. It's such a beautiful time of year to work hard getting ready for the winter or outdoors in the colors of fall. I hope you enjoy these articles. 

• For the Strength of Youth: “Work and Self-Reliance”

• Dieter F. Uchtdorf "Two Principles for Any Economy" Ensign November 2009

•  H. David Burton "The Blessing of Work" Ensign December 2009