Advent #5

Helaman 14:1-5

1 And now it came to pass that Samuel, the Lamanite, did prophesy a great many more things which cannot be written.

 2 And behold, he said unto them: Behold, I give unto you a sign; for five years more cometh, and behold, then cometh the Son of God to redeem all those who shall believe on his name.

 3 And behold, this will I give unto you for a sign at the time of his coming; for behold, there shall be great lights in heaven, insomuch that in the night before he cometh there shall be no darkness, insomuch that it shall appear unto man as if it was day.

 4 Therefore, there shall be one day and a night and a day, as if it were one day and there were no night; and this shall be unto you for a sign; for ye shall know of the rising of the sun and also of its setting; therefore they shall know of a surety that there shall be two days and a night; nevertheless the night shall not be darkened; and it shall be the night before he is born.

 5 And behold, there shall a new star arise, such an one as ye never have beheld; and this also shall be a sign unto you.

Sing “Oh, Come, All Ye Faithful” Hymns #202

This is my absolute favorite "Oh, Come, All Ye Faithful." It is performed by Josh Groban and the Mormon Tabernacle Choir. 

Advent #4

Mosiah 3:5-13

5 For behold, the time cometh, and is not far distant, that with power, the Lord Omnipotent who reigneth, who was, and is from all eternity to all eternity, shall come down from heaven among the children of men, and shall dwell in a tabernacle of clay, and shall go forth amongst men, working mighty miracles, such as healing the sick, raising the dead, causing the lame to walk, the blind to receive their sight, and the deaf to hear, and curing all manner of diseases.

 6 And he shall cast out devils, or the evil spirits which dwell in the hearts of the children of men.

 7 And lo, he shall suffer temptations, and pain of body, hunger, thirst, and fatigue, even more than man can suffer, except it be unto death; for behold, blood cometh from every pore, so great shall be his anguish for the wickedness and the abominations of his people.

 8 And he shall be called Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the Father of heaven and earth, the Creator of all things from the beginning; and his mother shall be called Mary.

 9 And lo, he cometh unto his own, that salvation might come unto the children of men even through faith on his name; and even after all this they shall consider him a man, and say that he hath a devil, and shall scourge him, and shall crucify him.

 10 And he shall rise the third day from the dead; and behold, he standeth to judge the world; and behold, all these things are done that a righteous judgment might come upon the children of men.

11 For behold, and also his blood atoneth for the sins of those who have fallen by the transgression of Adam, who have died not knowing the will of God concerning them, or who have ignorantly sinned.

 12 But wo, wo unto him who knoweth that he rebelleth against God! For salvation cometh to none such except it be through repentance and faith on the Lord Jesus Christ.

 13 And the Lord God hath sent his holy prophets among all the children of men, to declare these things to every kindred, nation, and tongue, that thereby whosoever should believe that Christ should come, the same might receive remission of their sins, and rejoice with exceedingly great joy, even as though he had already come among them.

Sing “A Poor Wayfaring Man of Grief” Hymns #29

Advent #3

Isaiah 11:2-4

2 And the spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord;

3 And shall make him of quick understanding in the fear of the Lord: and he shall not judge after the sight of his eyes, neither reprove after the hearing of his ears:

4 But with righteousness shall he judge the poor, and reprove with equity for the meek of the earth: and he shall smite the earth with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips shall he slay the wicked.

Sing “How Great Thou Art” Hymns #86

(I apologize - because of copyright, I couldn't link you to the music and couldn't find a video I wanted to attach, either. Just grab your hymn book and sing!)

Advent #2

Isaiah 9:2,6-7

2 The people that walked in darkness have seen a great light: they that dwell in the land of the shadow of death, upon them hath the light shined.

6 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, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.

7 Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with distance from henceforth even for ever. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this.

Advent #1

I looked all over the internet and couldn't find an scripture advent that I liked. So, I created my own. I don't know if it is something anyone else is interested in, but I thought I would share it here, just in case. I wanted scriptures and songs, because I find music such a powerful form of worship. Although we will be doing ours in the evening, some people prefer to do theirs in the morning, so I will try to stay a day ahead in my postings. I decided not to begin with a scripture, though, but a quotation from Howard W. Hunter:

"If you desire to find the true spirit of Christmas and partake of the sweetness of it, let me make this suggestion to you. During the hurry of the festive occasion of this Christmas season, find time to turn your heart to God. Perhaps in the quiet hours, and in a quiet place, and on your knees—alone or with loved ones—give thanks for the good things that have come to you, and ask that His Spirit might dwell in you as you earnestly strive to serve Him and keep His commandments. He will take you by the hand and His promises will be kept." –Howard W. Hunter

Sing “He Sent His Son” Children’s Songbook p. 34

I will be making a bigger effort to bring the true Spirit of Christmas into my life and into my home.

TWELVE!

The days have been being counted down since January. Ashton could not wait to turn twelve. Let me repeat: Counting down the days since January to the end of November when she turned twelve. Twelve is a very big deal. She now gets to attend Young Women. She can now get a temple recommend and attend the temple to do baptisms for the dead. She can begin working toward her Personal Progress award, which will take her 4-6 years to complete. She could hardly wait! She is most excited to attend the temple. I am, too. What a sweet experience it will be for me to join my worthy and precious daughter in the House of the Lord.

In spite of her excitement, she did not want any big party or anything. Her local extended family came over Sunday night for some treats. Ashton has always preferred fruit to any kind of cake or anything. So, for several years, she had fruit salad. Last year, she decided on individual fruit pizzas. It was so delicious, she wanted them again this year.

She got many fun presents, but her favorite appears to be the piano book for Pirates of the Caribbean. I will post a video of her playing it soon. It is great stuff! She is constantly on the piano playing it. I love it!

In honor of her big day, I will list twelve things I love about Ashton (in no particular order):

1. She is responsible.

2. She is supportive. I love and appreciate her.

3. She is kind. To everyone. No matter their ages, races, or situations.

4. She is helpful. Like you can't believe. How do other people survive without an Ashton, anyway?

5. She is beautiful. Inside and out.

6. She is spiritual. She loves the scriptures and the Lord.

7. She is brilliant. Really. No exaggeration.

8. She is talented. And she is not embarrassed to share her talents.

9. She is confident. I wish we all had her confidence. No arrogance. Just confidence.

10. She is genuine.

11. She has a deep desire to be good. If I need to talk to her about an unbecoming behavior that is creeping in (this is rare!), I notice an immediate change, a major effort on her part. She just swallows her pride and sets to work. I so admire that!

12. She is my daughter! She is my first daughter! She made me a mom.

I love you, Ashton! Happy TWELFTH Birthday!

My Most Recent Epiphany

This is not a Halloween post. But, because I don't have much to say about Halloween this year except that I think my kids are cute, I thought I would use a Halloween photo so you could see for yourselves how cute they are, even as Pooh, pirates and a princess. 

The other day, we went to Doug's brother's house for the blessing of their sweet new daughter, Chloe. Afterward, we had lunch and visited. It was nice. Sophie was in a cute mood and interacted sweetly with her grandparents and aunts and uncles. She was funny and charming. Roxie and Christian played nicely with cousins. Ashton visited with family members. Many people commented on how cute Sophie is. I overheard my mothers in law talking about what a lovely young woman Ashton is becoming. Comments were made about Roxie and Christian being such nice kids.

On the way home, I had mixed emotions. On the one hand, I love it when people see greatness in my children. I love it when they enjoy them and love them. On the other hand, it makes me feel sad that they don't know just how great they are. They don't know just how cute and funny Sophie is. They don't know just how amazing Roxie's heart is. They don't know just how strong and generous Christian is. They don't know just how beautiful Ashton is inside. They can't know. I feel blessed and honored that I, as their mother, know these things better than anyone on earth. I see their greatness. I see who they really are. It makes me sad that no one, except perhaps their future spouses will know what I know.

As I thought about this, a thought hit me. An epiphany, if you will. That is how our Father in Heaven feels about us. He knows us better than we know our own children. He sees our greatness. He really knows just how amazing each of his children is and can be. I am sure He, too, wishes that we could see one another the way He sees us. I am sure that He also wishes that we could see ourselves the way He sees us.

I love being a mom for many reasons. Countless, in fact. One of the things I love is what I learn about God through parenthood. I grow closer to Him and gain greater understanding as I try to be more like Him.