Women of Faith

Margaret D. Nadauld spoke about being "A Woman of Faith" and she said "A woman of faith trusts God. . . . She knows of His interest in her life. She knows that He knows her. She loves His words and drinks deeply of that living water." She continued with some points I'd like to reiterate...

A woman of faith trusts God and faces adversity with hope.

A woman of faith is confident because she understands the divine plan of our Heavenly Father and her role to bless lives.

A woman of faith is fearless. She fears no evil, for God is with her.

And finally, she mentioned that "A woman of faith loves the Lord. She wants Him to know it by the life she lives, by the words she speaks, by the service she renders to His children, by her every action. She knows that He loves her even though she is imperfect and still trying to be better. She knows that when she does her very best, that it is enough..."

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Ponder the question: What is the meaning and purpose of your life as a woman of faith?

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You have your own unique meaning and purpose for this life. The Lord knows you best. He can help you answer this question for yourself. You are a woman of faith. You are imperfect, but trying to be better. You are showing your love for the Lord by your thoughts, words, and deeds. Keep up the good work!!!

Merry Christmas Song

My little son likes to sing his "Merry Christmas Song" and the lyrics are "We wish you a merry Christmas song. We wish you a merry Christmas song. Merry Christmas song."

Today in the Primary, our lovely chorister decided that it was appropriate to 'share the gift of music' to others. She was right. A few children were selected to grab someone from the hallway and bring them to Primary. They received a big white bow and the children sang.

Surprisingly, when I returned from helping in the hallway, I saw that my sister and her daughter (newborn) were chosen by a child to receive this special gift of music. We sang the song, a Christmas lullaby. It was very sweet.

A few weeks ago, we reviewed the poem "The Friendly Beasts" and each had given a gift to Jesus. We asked the question again "What can I give to Jesus Christ?" and the resounding answer was LOVE. Love for the Gospel. Love for His children. Love for the commandments. Love for Heavenly Father. Love for all mankind. Love of service. Love of peace.

I'm not sure what else to say tonight, but that I wish you a Merry Christmas song...that you may feel the love of the Savior and in return share that love.

And just to share...my love for Christmas music here are a few versions of my most favorite song of Christmas "O Holy Night"

JOSH GROBAN--O Holy Night


CELINE DION--O Holy Night


CELTIC WOMEN--O Holy Night

O Holy Night! The stars are brightly shining,
It is the night of the dear Saviour's birth.
Long lay the world in sin and error pining.
Till He appeared and the Spirit felt its worth.
A thrill of hope the weary world rejoices,
For yonder breaks a new and glorious morn.
Fall on your knees! Oh, hear the angel voices!
O night divine, the night when Christ was born;
O night, O Holy Night , O night divine!
O night, O Holy Night , O night divine!

Led by the light of faith serenely beaming,
With glowing hearts by His cradle we stand.
O'er the world a star is sweetly gleaming,
Now come the wisemen from out of the Orient land.
The King of kings lay thus lowly manger;
In all our trials born to be our friends.
He knows our need, our weakness is no stranger,
Behold your King! Before him lowly bend!
Behold your King! Before him lowly bend!

Truly He taught us to love one another,
His law is love and His gospel is peace.
Chains he shall break, for the slave is our brother.
And in his name all oppression shall cease.
Sweet hymns of joy in grateful chorus raise we,
With all our hearts we praise His holy name.
Christ is the Lord! Then ever, ever praise we,
His power and glory ever more proclaim!
His power and glory ever more proclaim!

Undecided

In February, I began a personal project to read the Book of Mormon. Because of my schedule, I determined that reading online at http://www.lds.org/ during lunch hour and email comments to myself would be a good way to track my personal progress.

Yesterday, I finished Alma 43.

Today, my work schedule was shifted due to training. I immediately went to lunch and with various other random tasks, I didn't remember to read. The last 5 hours at work have been rough and kept wondering why I felt so undecided. Am I hungry? Am I tired? What else can I do?

Then, I remembered...my daily routine of reading the Book of Mormon had been forgotten. So I opened the web page and began to read Alma 44 and emailed myself favorite passages and my thoughts for today. I felt better.

From this experience, I gained a stronger testimony that good comes from daily reading the Book of Mormon and the Spirit brings happiness into my life. Reading the scriptures builds confidence and an assurance that cannot be gained by any earthy venue. Although I'd been seeking temporal methods like food and water to fill the void, it was spiritual nourishment that I'd been craving. Only by reading the words of the Lord was I filled with substantial light and refreshment to bring joy and peace to my mind.

Surely, we can all find time to read from the scriptures to be renewed and feel that the Light of Christ in our lives. When we are struggling to decided or when you're feeling sad or frustrated, remember that you can turn to the Book of Mormon to read the Word of God and be nourished.

2 Nephi 9:51 "Feast upon that which perisheth not"

2 Nephi 31: 20 "If ye shall press forward, feasting upon the word of Christ, and endure to the end, behold, thus saith the Father: Ye shall have eternal life."

Alma 32: 42 "And because of your diligence and your faith and your patience with the word in nourishing it, that it may take root in you, behold, by and by ye shall pluck the fruit thereof, which is most precious."

MAY YOU FEAST UPON THE WORD OF GOD & BE FILLED WITH JOY!

*Update: Said project is completed as of Sept 14, 2010. Wow, I've learned alot.

The Missing Egg

This story is in the Friend this month...so touching! Its a great story about simple acts of kindness and service:

**Image by Deann B Photography

The Missing Egg
By George Sterling Spencer

One year when I was about eight years old, Dad told my brother, my sister, and me that there would not be much money for Christmas gifts. He suggested we use our imagination and talents to make gifts for each other.

I made gifts for Dad, my sister, and my brother, but I had trouble thinking of a gift I could make for my mother. I thought for a long time.

Finally, I came up with a plan. My mother was well known for her sponge cakes with orange-peel frosting. She often made them for fundraisers, and everyone loved them. But making a sponge cake took a lot of egg yolks, and this year there had not been enough eggs. I wanted to give my mother a dozen eggs for Christmas.

Dad had put me in charge of taking care of the young chickens. Usually, these chickens would start laying eggs in January, but I figured if I took extra special care of them they would start earlier.

Twice every day, right on time, I fed the chickens by hand. I carried warm water from the house for them to drink. I covered the windows with burlap to keep the chicken coop warmer. I even cleaned the coop and made six nests with fresh straw.

Every day, I checked the nests for eggs. December came, and there were still no eggs. In my prayers, I began to ask for the chickens to be blessed.

Finally, 12 days before Christmas, I found an egg! I kept checking every day, and carefully collected the eggs in a carton.

Two days before Christmas, my father announced that we would leave early the next morning for Grandma’s house. My heart sank. I only had 11 eggs! I was one egg short of my goal.

All night I tossed and turned. I got up early the next morning and ran to the coop to see if there was another egg. There were none.

At Grandma’s house, I wrapped the 11-egg surprise in pretty paper and ribbon and put it with the other gifts under the tree. I wondered if my mother would be disappointed about the missing egg.

On Christmas morning, my curious mother unwrapped the carton. A look of amazement spread over her face. Then happy tears filled her eyes and streamed down her cheeks. She looked at me lovingly and told me what a special gift I had given her. There were just 11 eggs, but I had done my best to show my love.

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“If every one of us would make the effort to do our best, the world would be much better, and we would be much happier.”--Gordon B. Hinckley