Tuesday, December 30, 2008
winter blues
Although I've been told that people read this, it never feels as though any one is truly reading, I know that its probably because I don't have a whole lot to say these days. I seem to be caught in a rut of sorts, a sort of depression. I was listening to a talk on my way to one of the buildings I work in, and I heard the man say how everyone gets into that stage of depression every once in a while. Reviewing my own personal life I realized that I'm in one of those places. I don't know exactly when it began but I do know that its been going on for at least several weeks now. I don't feel very spiritual and I've tried increasing my scripture studies , and I realized that I had not been praying as often as I should , But even still, I don't feel that I am in tune with the Spirit the way I should be. Times between Hope and I have seemed kinda ruff lately and money always seems tight, even when there seems to be enough. I cant seem to shake the feeling of not caring much about too much , and for me that's a bad thing. I love my job and it truly is a huge blessing in my life , without it who knows what I would be doing. I enjoy being at church most of the time but get very tired of all the worrying about everyone else's problems. I think that maybe I need a break from some of the responsibilities included in my calling , but if I tell anyone that there liable to release me, thinking I'm not doing a good enough job, and I definitely don't want to be a slacker! So I'm kinda caught in a strange place , the Lords work never ends and to do it to the best of my ability is difficult , to give up is not acceptable and to go half way isn't getting results. So where do I go? I will try my best, but I need to pray that I do it with the correct frame of mind, It is to easy to get into the bluesy feelings about things. I don't want to let people down , but honestly I don't feel strong enough at this time to bare the burdens I'm already toting. Hopefully things will take a turn for the better soon, maybe someone out there will be able to give me a fresh perspective on ways to handle this funk that I'm in.
Thursday, December 25, 2008
Why do some people have to be so mean?
The last post I had, I made mention of how Christmas and Christ need to be a separate thing. Now my reasoning behind that is that sometimes I feel that all to often we forget the real reason for the season. That does not mean that I don't think there should never be any talk of Santa!
I spoke with my sister in law today about the plans for this up coming next 2 days of what we are going to do and during our discussion some how we began to talk about Santa and the commercialization of the whole season, I expressed my opinion, as I always do , and I told her that I don't like all the hype that Santa gets and not Jesus..... So she informed me that my brother and I are on the same page that he feels like I do. Well at the time I thought nothing of that comment, Until I found out later by my Mother " who supports Tom completely" that not only does he not like the hype attached to Santa, but that he told his children that there is no such thing as Santa and that the whole Christmas story about him is one big lie and that the only thing they need to be thinking about is Jesus! His kids are 6,4,2.5, 1!!!!!! Give me a break! That is probably the most idiotic thing I have ever heard, I would never tell my kids that there is no such thing or tell them its all a lie. I don't like the commercial end of things , but I was dressed up as Santa last night for dear friends of mine for the enjoyment of many wonderful children who so patiently were awaiting Santa. It is up to each of us to share with our children the true meaning of Christmas and celebrate the birth of Christ, but I can't see crushing little children's hearts like that,, Frankly it makes me sick to my stomach to no that people are so wrapped up in there own personal religious beliefs that there own selfishness allows them to justify crushing a child's imagination and dreams. How can people be so mean?
It will be a rough couple of days, I feel that we will be on are way home sooner than original planned, If the cat gets out of the bag, so to speak, about Santa at there house and my kids hear anything out of line ....its gonna be ugly!
Santa may not be real but he is in the hearts of children every where, I asked Connor this morning " Hey Connor" I said " what is Christmas about?" His response " Jesus " !
Enough said............................................
http://blacknright.wordpress.com/2008/12/17/a-mormon-mom-looks-at-jesus-vs-santa/
Check this out.
I spoke with my sister in law today about the plans for this up coming next 2 days of what we are going to do and during our discussion some how we began to talk about Santa and the commercialization of the whole season, I expressed my opinion, as I always do , and I told her that I don't like all the hype that Santa gets and not Jesus..... So she informed me that my brother and I are on the same page that he feels like I do. Well at the time I thought nothing of that comment, Until I found out later by my Mother " who supports Tom completely" that not only does he not like the hype attached to Santa, but that he told his children that there is no such thing as Santa and that the whole Christmas story about him is one big lie and that the only thing they need to be thinking about is Jesus! His kids are 6,4,2.5, 1!!!!!! Give me a break! That is probably the most idiotic thing I have ever heard, I would never tell my kids that there is no such thing or tell them its all a lie. I don't like the commercial end of things , but I was dressed up as Santa last night for dear friends of mine for the enjoyment of many wonderful children who so patiently were awaiting Santa. It is up to each of us to share with our children the true meaning of Christmas and celebrate the birth of Christ, but I can't see crushing little children's hearts like that,, Frankly it makes me sick to my stomach to no that people are so wrapped up in there own personal religious beliefs that there own selfishness allows them to justify crushing a child's imagination and dreams. How can people be so mean?
It will be a rough couple of days, I feel that we will be on are way home sooner than original planned, If the cat gets out of the bag, so to speak, about Santa at there house and my kids hear anything out of line ....its gonna be ugly!
Santa may not be real but he is in the hearts of children every where, I asked Connor this morning " Hey Connor" I said " what is Christmas about?" His response " Jesus " !
Enough said............................................
http://blacknright.wordpress.com/2008/12/17/a-mormon-mom-looks-at-jesus-vs-santa/
Check this out.
Saturday, December 20, 2008
Jesus Time instead of Christmas time
With all the hustle and the bustle this time of year, we can if were aren't careful lose site of the miracle of it all. I am not one for the Christmas season....Santa and the toys department don't have my vote this time of year, oh sure I go along with things for the kids, but believe me if I had it my way you would never hear ho ho ho from me. I do however love the fact that this is the time that Christians around the world have chosen to celebrate the birth of the baby Jesus! That's our miracle for the hustle were in. I wish we could all be ever mindful of the true reason for this season of giving and remember that He came and gave us the best gift ever, Himself! Now I know that all those out there that read this that are Christian know the real reason and we all choose to be kind and generous and be helpful to the needy, but maybe just maybe there are one or two people that read this that haven't thought about why we need to remember Christ at the holidays.
To start off Jesus wasn't born on December 25, no that was the celebration day for the pagan sun god Saul, and when the Romans had adopted Christianity they chose to replace that day with the recognition of Jesus birth. If you read in the four Gospels in the New Testament you'll see that it talks about the Angel that visits with the Shepard's out in the field that are watching over the sheep, there aren't any sheep out in December because its cold out there also this time of year and the grass doesn't start growing until mid March, so they were probably out there in April. Any how the announcement was made that the Savior of the world had just been born and that the prophecies of old had been fulfilled, 600 years has passed since the writing of the Old Testament at this time and so those waiting were so over joyed that here at this time 4000 years after Adam now comes the Christ, the Holy redeemer of all of Israel. The scriptures in the four gospels say that it was such a glorious occasion , that the Heavens could not be held back and the Vail was torn and the angels sang so loudly that the Shepard's heard them as they say" peace on earth and good will toward man" . Now the important part is that He was born, the time doesn't really matter but the fact that He was born that was a big deal. Now we have our freedom to the ability to get back to our Heavenly Father. This is the part for me that mean so much, Christ being the Son of God could have came at any time , he could have chosen to come now a days when there are more rights that protect people's beliefs or values and non-values, He being the Son of God could have chosen to not come down here to face the persecution that He endured, but He knew it had to be that time. It was important to come unto a people that would be sure to disown and even kill him. Without the death there could be no life for any of us, it was all part of the plan from the beginning , in the creation period of the world, Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ knew it was necessary, and so did we. After being sent here to earth we as people loose that memory of knowledge of life with the Father, so as we are sent here to our probation period of our lives we forget the reasons we were created to begin with, so Jesus had to come down and show us and teach us so that we would remember and learn . So the reason for the Birth of Christ was a saving gift the Gift of life.
Through his eternal example we have been given the gift of life and the knowledge to do marvelous things in the name of God. We as Christians have a solemn duty to spread the gospel to every end of the earth, He did. We are blessed to belong to a Heavenly creator that loves us so much that He sent His Only begotten Son to be our savior. I am thankful to God that my real Christmas present this and every day was and is Jesus the Christ . I am thankful for his mercy, His grace , and His endless love for all of us. Out of all the people good and bad in this world, He loves us all the same, not one more than the other. The scripture tell us that He even loves the sinner , that's me! I don't know about you but I sure am glad you don't have to be perfect in order to have God love you.
Take this time of the year and tell the people around you how much you love them, then show them by making sure there where they need to be with Christ, pray with your family this holiday season, Love one another, and be kind to all you meet. Share the gospel of Jesus with someone who might benefit from the Good news of great joy that the angels proclaimed at His birth. Try to remember that it isn't Santa its the Savior, and that he is watching all the time to see if your naughty or nice.
To those of you out there that read this ...Merry Christmas, and may God bless you this holiday season and may He bring you joy as you remember His Son. I love you
To start off Jesus wasn't born on December 25, no that was the celebration day for the pagan sun god Saul, and when the Romans had adopted Christianity they chose to replace that day with the recognition of Jesus birth. If you read in the four Gospels in the New Testament you'll see that it talks about the Angel that visits with the Shepard's out in the field that are watching over the sheep, there aren't any sheep out in December because its cold out there also this time of year and the grass doesn't start growing until mid March, so they were probably out there in April. Any how the announcement was made that the Savior of the world had just been born and that the prophecies of old had been fulfilled, 600 years has passed since the writing of the Old Testament at this time and so those waiting were so over joyed that here at this time 4000 years after Adam now comes the Christ, the Holy redeemer of all of Israel. The scriptures in the four gospels say that it was such a glorious occasion , that the Heavens could not be held back and the Vail was torn and the angels sang so loudly that the Shepard's heard them as they say" peace on earth and good will toward man" . Now the important part is that He was born, the time doesn't really matter but the fact that He was born that was a big deal. Now we have our freedom to the ability to get back to our Heavenly Father. This is the part for me that mean so much, Christ being the Son of God could have came at any time , he could have chosen to come now a days when there are more rights that protect people's beliefs or values and non-values, He being the Son of God could have chosen to not come down here to face the persecution that He endured, but He knew it had to be that time. It was important to come unto a people that would be sure to disown and even kill him. Without the death there could be no life for any of us, it was all part of the plan from the beginning , in the creation period of the world, Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ knew it was necessary, and so did we. After being sent here to earth we as people loose that memory of knowledge of life with the Father, so as we are sent here to our probation period of our lives we forget the reasons we were created to begin with, so Jesus had to come down and show us and teach us so that we would remember and learn . So the reason for the Birth of Christ was a saving gift the Gift of life.
Through his eternal example we have been given the gift of life and the knowledge to do marvelous things in the name of God. We as Christians have a solemn duty to spread the gospel to every end of the earth, He did. We are blessed to belong to a Heavenly creator that loves us so much that He sent His Only begotten Son to be our savior. I am thankful to God that my real Christmas present this and every day was and is Jesus the Christ . I am thankful for his mercy, His grace , and His endless love for all of us. Out of all the people good and bad in this world, He loves us all the same, not one more than the other. The scripture tell us that He even loves the sinner , that's me! I don't know about you but I sure am glad you don't have to be perfect in order to have God love you.
Take this time of the year and tell the people around you how much you love them, then show them by making sure there where they need to be with Christ, pray with your family this holiday season, Love one another, and be kind to all you meet. Share the gospel of Jesus with someone who might benefit from the Good news of great joy that the angels proclaimed at His birth. Try to remember that it isn't Santa its the Savior, and that he is watching all the time to see if your naughty or nice.
To those of you out there that read this ...Merry Christmas, and may God bless you this holiday season and may He bring you joy as you remember His Son. I love you
Wednesday, December 3, 2008
How can I forget.
I spoke to my dear friend via email chat last evening and after, I took a few minutes to pray, sincerely pray and ask the Lord for His grace and mercy, strength and understanding. With the words still fresh upon my lips I felt of the Spirit of the Lord, How sweet the tender mercy of a loving Heavenly Father. I realized something that I am sure I am not alone in last night, while I talked with my friend and pondered the conversation I realized that I forget to remember those spiritual experiences that have been defining moments in my relationship to God. As I got to thinking about all the time that prayers have been answered and how many times He has forgiven me in the past for my transgressions, I began to realize that once again a prayer had been answered! I sat at this computer and with a fear and doubt filled heart posted a blog of desperation as I plead for prayers....not realizing that it was not just to those that would read the blog but to a loving Heavenly Father as well. My friend chimed in to chat with me and in the course of a few minutes , I had begun to feel better,as I thought it over more today this very morning as I traveled to work I was praying and felt the Holy Spirit testifying of the love that the God-head possessed for me. I felt renewed in Christ and realized that prayers were answered. I can't help but think how wonderful and merciful He is to all of us, In Genesis 6:6 the Bible states that God looking down at what men had done it, "grieved the heart of God" and yet he loves us anyways. I got to thinking about the fact that He loves us so much that He is willing to have pain in His heart in order to have us learn, I learned that when I start forgetting what it is that He truly wishes for me to be doing, I need to stop my whole life and ask " Father what can I do to more pleasing unto you?" As my day went on today I was able to feel of the Spirit more and know with a sure knowledge that my Savior lives and He did die for my sins, and that no matter what , He has a place in His heart for me. I sometimes need to remember that His yoke is easy and light and that He can carry my burdens if I can learn to swallow my pride long enough to ask.
A dear and marvelous man passed away last evening Elder Joseph B. Worthlin, an Apostle of the Lord Jesus Christ. He will truly be missed.....and remembered. I will say that he is very fortunate to have been blessed to be part of the greatest Churches ever to be on Earth, And I know that Elder Worthlin is with the Savior now. I am almost jealous.
http://newsroom.lds.org/ldsnewsroom/eng/news-releases-stories/joseph-b-wirthlin-oldest-apostle-dies-age-91
God bless you all.
A dear and marvelous man passed away last evening Elder Joseph B. Worthlin, an Apostle of the Lord Jesus Christ. He will truly be missed.....and remembered. I will say that he is very fortunate to have been blessed to be part of the greatest Churches ever to be on Earth, And I know that Elder Worthlin is with the Savior now. I am almost jealous.
http://newsroom.lds.org/ldsnewsroom/eng/news-releases-stories/joseph-b-wirthlin-oldest-apostle-dies-age-91
God bless you all.
Tuesday, December 2, 2008
Prayers please
Finding the strength to do the right thing isn't always easy! I have been privileged in my life to have many opportunities to do the thing that our Father in Heaven has asked, many times I have come up short. Lately I seem to be struggling quite a bit, I wont go into any details but I have been facing the same challenge over and over and it seems as though I fall prey to Satan's temptations every time. I can't seem to get past the hurdle. I hope those of you that are out there, that do in fact read this, will pray that I get the strength I so desperately need to beat my demons. I realize that there have been some gaps in my blogging and I don't have time to write quite as often as I would like , perhaps if I got back into the writing habit again then maybe mind would be more spiritually fed.
No real worries, but I could use a few prayers.....I have been slipping a little too much back into my old ways of thinking and not focusing on the long term plan. I read my friends blog tonight and she really made me think about how much I am not putting what God wants first in my life at this moment. If I want to have that communication line opened to our Heavenly Father then I had better get back on track.
Sorry I haven't kept my promise to be consistent in blogging and thanks Ann for your inspiring words ......I miss you guys so much , I need Matt so bad it truly hurts!
No real worries, but I could use a few prayers.....I have been slipping a little too much back into my old ways of thinking and not focusing on the long term plan. I read my friends blog tonight and she really made me think about how much I am not putting what God wants first in my life at this moment. If I want to have that communication line opened to our Heavenly Father then I had better get back on track.
Sorry I haven't kept my promise to be consistent in blogging and thanks Ann for your inspiring words ......I miss you guys so much , I need Matt so bad it truly hurts!
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