'tis the season

i would have to say that one of my favorite things about Christmas is the music! all kinds! i have learned much, and more importantly, felt the spirit so strong as i have heard beautiful music singing of Christ's birth, of His mother Mary, of Joseph, of the inn keeper, the shepherds, the wise men, of every imaginable thing that tells of that blessed night. when my friend emailed me this week with the link below, my heart was touched.  i knew i needed to share it on my blog.



i can only imagine what the choir of angels sounded like at His birth, but i know it was beautiful beyond description. these musicians, singing the hallelujah chorus here in this food court, were amazing as well. i want to keep listening to good music this Christmas season, so i will truly remember "the reason for the season". the humble birth of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

forever, for always, and no matter what

Our Engagement picture!

This December I will have been married for twenty nine years, more than half of my life.  It is a little hard remembering a time in my life with out my sweetheart Jon.  It feels like we have been together forever!  (and I mean that in a really good way!)  Hailey, our daughter, has been interviewing me this past week about a time when I fell in love.  She is studying "Romeo and Juliet" in school and has an assignment due to write a paper about the subject.  We talked about where I was the first time I saw him, what I thought and felt, was it love at first sight, was I excited or scared, how did I know I was in love, did it take long...lots and lots of questions like these.  It has been fun remembering and sharing with my fifteen year old.  The last question she asked me is what I would like to write about today, "How did falling in love with this person change me or my life?"

room enough for every ONE!

This is a picture of a few young women and adult women leaders that I worked with in the Church a few years ago.  They came in all different shapes and sizes, they had different backgrounds, different interests, different problems, different hobbies...every ONE of them was different.  That is something I especially love about the Mormon church or the gospel of Jesus Christ, there is room enough for every ONE to belong!  

If you have ever thought that you couldn't be a Mormon because you didn't fit some stereotype in your mind of what Mormons are, you haven't met enough Mormons.  We are a very diverse group of people.  You need to spend a few moments on mormon.org and get to know some Mormons.  I bet you can find someone who has some similar interests, or a similar background, or similar questions, if you look.  I would like to introduce you to Paris.  His story has touched my heart.  Take a minute and watch as he tells his story.  

One thing I know to be true...God loves each ONE of His children.  He wants them all to return to Him someday.  As different as we all are, He loves us!  It is never to late to come to Him, He is waiting.  I promise there is room for every ONE in His church. Please feel welcome to come and worship with us. We want you there!  If you have any qustions please feel free to comment.  I would love to help in any way I can.

Have a great day!

faith

A quick thought on faith.

"Faith is a principle of action and power that motivates our day-to-day activities." gospel principles lesson 18

Last week during our Relief Society lesson we discussed faith. (side note - Relief Society is one of the largest woman's organization in the world. We meet together weekly, as women (actually sisters) to learn more about the gospel of Jesus Christ.) Last week our teacher led us in a discussion about faith that really pierced my soul.

We spoke of Peter, who for a moment did walk on water with the Savior, but soon sank from thoughts of doubt. Our teacher then used Sister Chieko Okazaki's book Aloha and on page 118 Sister Okazaki used the example of Esther who was in a life and death situation. "She knows that God can help her, but she doesn't know if God will help her in this particular situation. It is in this context of doubt and uncertainty that she exercises her faith".

We know that faith increases as we step out in faith and that successful experience prompts new and more faith, but occasionally a particular issue may challenge our testimony or shake our faith with fear or doubt. It's in those moments that we must hang on, trust the Lord and leap forward in faith.

Sister Okazaki continues, “God isn't in the business of making us believe him. Faith cannot exist if there is no freedom to doubt. And freedom means that terrible mistakes will be made. I don't believe that faith means God will remove all tragedies from our path or solve all of our problems for us. I believe it means that he will be with us, suffering with us and grieving with us and working with us as we deal with our own tragedies and work our way through those problems.”

This is something I know to be true! I was diagnosed with breast cancer in August of this year. Breast CANCER? What? It most certainly was not something I expected to deal with while serving a mission. But I have faith in my Savior Jesus Christ. I know He knows the beginning to the end. Even though I might not understand why this should happen to me now, I know He knows. I know I have felt His spirit sustain me as thoughts of the unknown have caused me to doubt. I have felt His comforting arms around me as I have struggled from the effects of my treatments. I know He will be with me as I work my way through this disease and the treatments I must take to keep me healthy for a very long time.

One thing I have learned, the longer I live, is that each one of God's children is constantly living with trials, temptations and tradgedies. No one has a free ride. That is how we grow in this life. Some of those trials are very apparent (they can't be hidden - like cancer) and some are very private (no one else knows what they are). Either way, God our Father and His Son Jesus Christ are aware of all that we face. They are here with us, suffering with us, grieving with us, and working with us as we work our way through our problems. We are never alone. Sometimes we just have to believe (have faith) and take a step into the darkness. They will be there waiting for you!

hope

I have been thinking about hope for awhile. What is the difference between having hope and wishing that something will happen or be true? I recently listened to a talk given by President Dieter F. Uchtdorf that helped clarify what hope is for me. He was talking about becoming more like Jesus Christ and how a person might be able to work on having more Christlike attributes in their lives. One of those attributes is hope. It made a lot of sense to me, I hope it might make sense to you also.

"Hope is directly connected to faith in Jesus Christ. Hope is the abiding trust that the Lord will fulfill His promises to us. It is manifest in confidence and optimism, and enthusiasm and patient perseverance. It is believing and expecting that our prayers will be answered. The word hope is sometimes misunderstood in the world. In our everyday language the word often has a hint of uncertainty. In the language of the gospel, the word hope is sure, unwavering and active. Hope is the anchor of our souls. Hope is trust in God's promises. It is confidence that if we act now we will receive the desired blessings in the future. With hope comes joy and happiness." President Uchdorf

I believe very personally that these words are true! Hope is the anchor to my soul. It is what helps me live with confidence and optimism as life throws curve balls and unexpected tests my way. Remember with hope comes joy and happiness!

attitude

Charles Swindoll wrote:

"The longer I live, the more I realize the impact of attitude on life. It is more important than the past, than education, than money, than circumstances, than failures, than successes, than what other people think or say or do. It is more important than appearance, giftedness, or skill. The remarkable thing is...we have a choice every day of our lives regarding the attitude we embrace for that day. We cannot change our past. We cannot change the fact that people will act in a certain way. We cannot change the inevitable. The only thing we can do is play on the one string we have, and that is our attitude...I'm convinced that life is 10% what happens to me, and 90% how I react to it. And so it is with you. We are in charge of our attitude."

Today I'm going to try to have a happy, positive, kind, helpful attitude, refusing to be offended or annoyed by anyone or anything!