Should Sharks and Christmas

I've been reading the gospels of the New Testament in preparation for Christmas and my heart is full to overflowing. On every page the Savior teaches me more about what it means to Live in Truth, and the reality of what His birth means to me sinks deeper into my soul.

This time through I've been amazed once more at how the Savior never lets the Should Sharks prey on Him.

The best example of this is the night of his trial. Peter, James and John should have stayed awake and watched over Him. Judas shouldn’t have betrayed Him especially with a token of affection such as a kiss. Soldiers shouldn’t have arrested Him when He had not committed any crime. But those Should Sharks, never concerned Jesus. Instead of being vexed with illusion which always turns us inward and fills us with self-pity, Jesus dealt with the verity of each moment, and continued to turn outward and serve others by restoring Malchus’s ear after Peter had cut it off.

I have put up my tree, but I haven't shopped for gifts or t started baking, but my heart is fulll of Christmas.

Good

There are days when for some reason we just wake up feeling out of it. It isn't that we feel bad, we just are in some foggy state of not feeling anything at all. On days like that I've found that the mood can be quickly changed by simply repeating in you mind the word good.

This works on other occasions also. When negative feelings plague you, push them away by repeating, "Good!" and watch what happens. Or when you want to remember something from the past that is good, but you can't quite think of it, say, "Good" and all sorts of past memories that are good will spring to mind. Hopefully one of them will be the one you want.

But you have to say the word with meaning. There are ways to say good and really mean bad. This only works if you mean what you say!

Make it a good day!

May Be

Provo River last spring. No green today, but just as peaceful.

I went for a long walk today along the Provo River.

 Sunshine and blue skies made it the perfect day for reflecting and pondering. 

I took a notebook along and stopped for awhile to write out some thoughts. 

The thoughts turned out to be very random and mostly sentimental, 

but one has stuck with me: 

The word maybe is used in place of perhaps 

without stopping to realize that may 

is permission to be.

I'm going to keep pondering that.

A Fulfilling Life

We've all wished to have a fulfilling life, and we've wished the same for our children and loved ones. But what exactly is a fulfilling life?

Fulfill is an old English word that means exactly what it says--to fill until full.


Fill means to put into something as much as it can hold.

"Put into" sounds to me like investing. Thus when we are filling something we are investing in it.

Investing means to make use of for future benefits or advantages.

Reading through these definitions helps me see that a fulfilling life isn't about waiting until the end of my life and looking back to see if I've filled it up. A fulfilling life is a cumulative experience. A fulfilling life is one in which every day something has been invested to make it fuller. A fulfilling life is one in which we invest as much good in ourselves as we can hold every day, and that investment compounds and earns interest to provide future benefits and advantages..

I'm Thankful for Salt

Yesterday I found myself thinking about my Savior all day long. While Thanksgiving usually makes me think of the Savior, this was more. As I salted the food I was cooking it reminded me of the Atonement. As I filled salt shakers for dinner I was reminded of the covenants I had made. As I ate dinner and put more salt on my mashed potatoes, I thought about Mary salting and swaddling her baby, my Savior. Last night as the kids got hungry again and broke out the potato chips I thought about how I should be more "salted." I have so, so much to be thankful for and I need to be better at reaching out to others.

My study of salt has been amazing because of the many things I have learned, but the best part is that like yesterday I don't go through a single day without being reminded many times of the covenants and the Atonement. Studying salt has turned out to be such a blessing in my life.

Who'd have thought that going into In and Out Burger and ordering a grilled cheese would be a spiritual experience? It was on Wednesday when I pumped a little cup full of catchup and suddenly saw a container of little salt packets next to the catchup. My heart jumped at the sight and my mind suddenly filled with so many good thoughts. I love salt!

Happy Thanksgiving To You

My Thanks Giving table is all set and ready to go!

I am so thankful for Thanks Giving Day!

It is my favorite holiday of the entire year.

I have so much to be thankful for,

and I love that I have a day to gather my family around

and talk about all the good things in life.

 

I hope your day is wonderful!

I've Grateful for Versions

I am so thankful for the many versions that now exist of the Bible. Comparing different translations is one of the best ways to ponder and learn. Growing up I only read the King James Version (KJV), but for many years now I've loved the New Revised Standard Version (NRSV) and the New International Version (NIV).

Let me show you what I mean. In the KJV Romans 15:1-3 reads: "We then that are strong ought to bear the infirmities of the weak, and not to please ourselves. Let every one of us please his neighbour for his good to edification. For even Christ pleased not himself; but, as it is written, The reproaches of them that reproached thee fell on me."

Now let's look at the NRSV of the same verse: "We who are strong ought to put up with the failings of the weak, and not to please ourselves. Each of us must please our neighbor for the good purpose of building up the neighbor. For Christ did not please himself; but, as it is written, 'The insults of those who insult you have fallen on me.'"     

And now the NIV: "We who are strong ought to bear with the failings of the weak and not to please ourselves. Each of us should please his neighbor for his good, to build him up. For even Christ did not please himself but, as it is written: 'The insults of those who insult you have fallen on me.'"

In this case the NSRV and the NIV are not much different, but even that small difference makes you think in different ways. Both the NSRV and the NIV, however, are modernized and explain in ways that are easier to understand and that often speak directly to my heart.

There are hundreds of versions of the Bible available on line and anyone can use the to study. I'm so thankful for them and for the technology that makes them so assessable!

I've got so much to be grateful for!