Sunday, December 14, 2014

Love's Pure Light

For the last couple of Christmas seasons I have wanted to write about a phrase that I heard in a favorite Christmas carol a couple of years ago that really impressed me. I told mom last year that I would write about it but I ran out of time. When Hannah sang beautifully Silent Night in sacrament meeting a couple weeks ago and the phrase sunk into me again I promised myself I would write about it this year. 
In the last verse of Silent Night are the words "Son of God, love's pure light". This time of year we experience the extra love of family and friends as well as the beautiful lights and decorations. The first Christmas had the brightness of the new star and lights and wonders in the heavens that announced the birth of our Savior. However love's pure light does not refer to either of these. In this case love is in reference to our Father in heaven. John says that God "is" love. 1 John 4:8. This is because everything he has done or will do is out of love for us.  The best example of this love is that he sent his son to save us. "For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son that whosoever believeth in him should not perish but have everlasting life".  John 3:16.
Light is in reference to Jesus Christ the light of the world. John 8:12. When we have light in our live's we can see the correct path, see clearly to correct our errors and make correct choices. Christ's light is pure. It is perfect. He is perfect. We can never error when he shines the light for us and follow him. For this reason Satan loves darkness and everything he does is in darkness and deception. He is the opposite of pure light. The world was truly in darkness and sin before he was born.
Therefore this Christmas I encourage you to ponder God's great gift to us, his son Jesus Christ and do our best to follow him. He truly is love's pure light.

Love, Dad

 

Sunday, September 7, 2014

Blessings

Last night Tim and Brian gave Dennis a Blessing. Dennis hurt his back a couple weeks ago and yesterday was particularly bad. He was in a lot of pain. Today I have been thinking about that Blessing and the words spoken, the meaning behind them, and how God communicates with individuals differently. Some people need "flowers" and some people need to be "knocked over the head". This particular blessing was a combination of the two. I was glad I could listen because as you know Dennis does not hear everything. Today we were able to talk about what each of us heard and in my case, fill in some blanks as well as discuss impressions that were defined by the Spirit.

The experience has made me reflect on other Blessings that have been given to me personally, what they meant at the time, and how they have influenced my life since. Blessings are like that. They last. The answers, the comfort, the peace and the knowing that comes from them, and the opportunities that open because of them, are real. In remembering, those feelings come back and once again I feel God's love for me, just as He intended.

I think all of you have experienced the same at one time or another. Blessings given to us individually are tailored to what we need to hear or even what we need to do. Because of them we are able to move forward. We are so fortunate that through priesthood power we can know of Gods love for us, that He knows what we need and wants to help us reach beyond ourselves and trust Him.
Today I ask you all to remember Blessings you have received. Reflect on what you learned then and how your life has been blessed since. Take the opportunity to include your children. I promise as you do those sweet feelings you felt long ago will come to you again.

Sunday, August 10, 2014

Yowza! It's been tooooo long.

This is terrible. My last post was December 2013 and not that I have anything earth shattering or super important to say but... for shame. Surely there was something good to impart or think about. As you know life has really changed for me. I'm a 9-5 girl with an occasional odd schedule thrown in. As much as I love my new life and the opportunities it affords there are some things I really miss. Talking to my kids on the phone during the day just because. Seeing the grandkids more often. Playing with my family. Going on vacation whenever we want. Helping. Serving. Being available. It takes a lot of planning and coordinating now and sadly having to say no when I want to say yes. Some things I haven't got used to are doing house work when I come home from work or squeezing in a grocery shopping run. I have great empathy for working mothers and understand the exhaustion that our husbands feel after a long day beating back the hordes and fighting to make enough to support their families. I finally get it. You don't want to work after work. You are tired. You are hungry. You want relief and someone else to feed you. That's why I really love El Tenampa. Good quick food and I didn't have to think about what to fix or if I have groceries in the house to fix what I want anyway. And then throwing in a medical issue...it can get complicated.

I guess what I am saying is how much I love and appreciate you all. You work hard. You love your families. I see what you do and think what a wonderful job you are doing. There are always hick-ups but by and large you are doing some really great parenting. Seeing you play together and caring for each other, giving relief and sharing the load. And throwing in some medical issues too, well, you are doing the best you know how and when you realize that may not be enough then you figure something else out. GOOD JOB GUYS! Life is not always easy but you are doing well and your dad and I are so very proud of the people you are. We love seeing you live the gospel in word and deed.
We are so grateful to have a family that includes you. We love you all.

So until next time and hoping it won't take another 8 months for another message from home...

One Liners

To continue the series I decided to post a few simple truths that I was reminded of. One liners to be exact. Some are short, some are not. G...