12 Days: A Preach My Gospel Christmas

“Therefore, go ye into all the world…” 

A Preach My Gospel Christmas- 2014

On the first day of Christmas, we bring to you with love…

Our Annual Ornaments

Because this will be the only Christmas when our family will have two missionaries serving at the same time, I chose to do our 12 Days of Christmas based on Preach My Gospel.  Each of the days we will be focusing on a chapter and understanding a little bit of how we can all share the gospel of Christ.  Today is chapter one: What Is My Purpose as a Missionary?  President Benson teaches, “We are commanded by God to take this gospel to all the world.  Only the gospel will bring joy, happiness, and salvation to the human family.”  These ornaments will be our reminder of this responsibility.

On the second day of Christmas, we bring to you with love…

Orange Wreaths to Give Away

How Do I Recognize and Understand the Spirit?  President Gordon B. Hinckley said, “You recognize the promptings of the Spirit by the fruits of the Spirit- that which enlighteneth, that which buildeth up, that which is positive and affirmative and uplifting and leads us to better thoughts and better words and better deeds is of the Spirit of God.”  Today, let’s make these orange wreaths and deliver them to Dad’s home teaching families.  

On the third day of Christmas, we bring to you with love…

Service at the Utah Food Bank

How Do I Develop Christlike Attributes?  “Christlike attributes are gifts from God.  They come as you use your agency righteously.  Ask you Heavenly Father to bless you with these attributes; you cannot develop them without His help.  With a desire to please God, recognize your weaknesses and be willing and anxious to improve.” As we serve with Uncle Erik’s family tonight at the food bank, let’s think about the attribute of charity and love that we are developing.  

On the fourth day of Christmas, we bring to you with love…

Scripture Study Charts

How Do I Study Effectively and Prepare to Teach?  “Effective daily study must always begin with prayer.  Study is an act of faith requiring the use of personal agency.  Getting good results from you study depends on having a strong desire to learn, studying with real intent, hungering and thirsting after righteousness, and searching for answers to your investigators’ questions and concerns.”  Let’s all do better with our own personal scripture study.  Heavenly Father wants to bless us with more spiritual knowledge as we put forth the effort to pray then study His words.  

On the fifth day of Christmas, we bring to you with love…

“Simply” Products from Target

What Is the Role of the Book of Mormon?  What do “Simply” products have to do with the Book of Mormon?  Chelsea recently said how important it is for her to “teach simply”…down to the basics.  And the Book of Mormon is our main source.  “It is the most correct of any book on the earth.  It teaches the doctrine of Christ plainly.”  Simply put by Joseph Smith…the Book of Mormon is “the keystone of our religion”.  It is our witness of Christ; it contains the fulness of doctrine, and it is the foundation of testimony.    Let’s enjoy some “Simply” snacks while we do our nightly reading of the Book of Mormon.

On the sixth day of Christmas, we bring to you with love…

A Visit to Temple Square

What Do I Study and Teach?  The living prophets and apostles have given the missionaries five specific lessons to teach investigators. Can you name them? They contain essential doctrines, principles, and commandments.  (1-the message of the restoration of the gospel of Jesus Christ, 2-the plan of salvation, 3-the gospel of Jesus Christ, 4-the commandments, 5-the laws and ordinances)  Tonight we are going to Temple Square where many people every year learn more about our Church and the Gospel of Jesus Christ.  Since we’ve been there before, let’s go and see it as if we were non-members.  Let’s see if we can learn a little of each of the five missionary lessons.

On the seventh day of Christmas, we bring to you with love…

A Latino Dinner

How Can I Better Learn My Mission Language?  The Lord declared, “Every man shall hear the fulness of the gospel in his own tongue, and in his own language, through those who are ordained unto this power” D&C 90:11.  As Chelsea and Josh recognize that they have been called by a prophet of God, live worthy of the Holy Ghost, are obedient to the commandments and missionary standards, pray for divine help, and study, practice, and use Spanish every day, they will be able to teach and testify convincingly to the Latino people of California and Ecuador.  Tonight we are going to eat dinner at a Ecuadorian/El Salvadorian restaurant, Salcita, and get a little practice speaking in Spanish while we wait and while we eat.  

On the eighth day of Christmas, we bring to you with love…

Cinnamon Rolls

How Can I Improve My Teaching Skills?  ‘By studying, developing, and using the teaching skills in this chapter, we will become more capable instruments in the hands of the Lord.”  Christ was the perfect teacher.  We can follow his example as we strive to be better teachers.  Mom is going to teach how to make cinnamon rolls today.  She doesn’t know everything about it, but that’s okay.  Nobody has to be perfect at something in order to teach.

On the ninth day of Christmas, we bring to you with love…

Our Annual Christmas Book

How Do I find People to Teach?  We are all part of God’s family.  We are brothers and sisters.  He wants all His children to come unto Christ and return to live with Him forever.  Heavenly Father has has given us, and especially His full time missionaries, the responsibility and blessing to find and teach our brothers and sisters who are prepared to receive the restored gospel.  This nativity book will remind us that no matter where someone lives on this earth, they are loved sons and daughters of God.

On the tenth day of Christmas, we bring to you with love…

2015 Calendars

How Do I Use My Time Wisely?  In this chapter, we learn that “Goals reflect the desires of our hearts and our vision of what we can accomplish.  Through goals and plans, our hopes are transformed into action.  Goal setting and planning are acts of faith.” If it is done meaningfully and carefully then it will help us accomplish what the Lord requires of us.  These calendars can help us in our planning and goal setting if we use them as such.  What do you want out of the new year?  How can you become a better person?  Who can you influence for good as you become more goal oriented and organized? 

On the eleventh day of Christmas, we bring to you with love…

Body Wash/Scrub

How Do I Help People Make and Keep Commitments?  “Commitment is an essential part of repentance. It is the act of obligating oneself to a course of action and then diligently following through on that decision.  When people are genuinely committed, they make an unwavering and earnest decision to change.”  Hence, the body wash can remind us each day of the importance to repent and keep the commitments that we have made to our Heavenly Father.  Let us be devoted followers of Christ and dedicated to living his gospel.  

On the twelfth day of Christmas, we bring to you with love…

A Painting of Christ: Rescue of the Lost Lambs

How Do I Prepare People for Baptism and Confirmation?  Missionaries follow Jesus’ example and strive to find and rescue the “lost lambs” by bringing them unto Him through baptism.  Doctrine and Covenants 20:37 tells us what the qualifications are for baptism.  Let’s read that together now.  One of those qualifications is to be willing to take upon ourselves the name of Christ at baptism.  Since we have already been baptized, let’s allow this painting to remind us that we have have his name written in our hearts and to always be worthy of that name.  Also, let us look around us to find his “lost lambs”.  We are thankful for Christ’s birth on this Christmas Eve. He is central to God’s plan of salvation, and we should be forever grateful that he came to earth and fulfilled his purpose for us.  Let us go forward and PREACH HIS GOSPEL unto all nations, kindreds, tongues, and people! 

My 43rd Birthday

After a whole year of no blogging, I decided that I would start up again.  I think it was funny that my last post was titled "Stinky Blogger" because I never did blog again for 362ish days.  Much has happened this year that I certainly could have written about.  I barely wrote in my own personal journal about these things.  But hey, it's a new year.  I can do better.  Not that anyone looks at my blog anymore.

So yep, today I turned 43.  I usually start my new year off with a good run.  I have a healthy body, and I need to take care of it.  My running has been pretty sporadic the last couple of months.  I've put on 4-5 pounds since moving to Utah.  That has got to change.  We have been year round runners for the past five or six years.  Running in sub-freezing temps all winter long.  But we have gotten a bit wimpy since our move here.

Thankfully, my husband bought us a pretty cool treadmill.  We have a basement now, so we actually have a place to put one.  Our new 'toy' is pretty fun.  We can create our own running maps or we can use pre made ones... we can run through Central Park, hike up Diamond Head in Hawaii, run the Boston Marathon course and so much more.

This morning, I ran my old four mile route in Meridian.  It was awesome.  I ran past my friend Kris's old house and down Linder Road past the horses.  The new Walmart wasn't there on the corner of Overland.  It was the old empty field.  The satellite needs to catch up to the current times.  And then my run ended in front of my old house on the corner of Alaska.  I saw it.  And the nice diagonal mowing lines that Matt created that week in the front yard.

Here's to being 43!
(somebody get this girl some botox)

Hello Cub Street!  Kris's house on the right side.

Running past the horse field.

Stinky Blogger

I'm a stinky blogger these days.  Using only the few pictures that I have taken lately, I thought that I would do a quick recap on the last month or so.

#1.  Matt and I finally put up family pictures that we had taken last July.

#2. I've been substitute teaching again this year,and really like it when I get jobs in middle and high schools.  That's my favorite.  Here's a pic of me in a 7th grade science room with a view of a gorgeous autumn morning.

#3.  A dear lady that I visit teach, Vi Huber, painted a picture of the shoes of a leprosy patient in India.  She used the photograph that I had taken.  I love it!  It is a treasured gift.

#4.  My birthday came.  And this is what I got that morning.  Ugh.

#5.  But this is what I really got for my birthday.  Thanks Natalie!

#6.  No pictures of my beautiful grey cashmere sweater from my thoughtful husband, but this little machine made its way into our home right around my birthday too.  Everyone in the fam is happy to have this gem.

#7.  I got a new calling as the 1st counselor in the Relief Society presidency and I'm over the extra RS meetings.  I got this calling right before our RS Christmas dinner.  The theme was Christmas Around the World.  I was asked to decorate a table and of course I chose India.  I decided to decorate with photographs of women we had taken pictures of when we were there.  I used my tapestry and that of a friend's that we both bought when there.  Simplicity=India.

#8. We bought a live tree this year for Christmas.  It was soooo cold the day we went out to get it.  It was a quick decision.  Emma chose a beautiful, short tree that was snow covered.  I wish that I had snapped a pic of it before the snow was shaken off and laid down to have its trunk cut.  

#9.  Speaking of snow... After our run in the fresh snow, Matt braved the bitter cold some more to shovel our big driveway and then help a neighbor do hers.

That's all I have folks!  Maybe I will be better at posting from now on.  Or maybe not.  

Chili Cook-Off At Church

Months ago I was asked to be in charge of putting together a ward adult dinner.  I didn't really have much help, but after asking a few of my ward friends, it finally came together.  I'm really glad I decided to do a chili cook-off because most of the food was brought by ward members.  I didn't have to figure out how to cook a bunch of pulled pork or whatever.  I don't think our ward has had a chili cook-off in quite a few years, so it was well received.  But then we all realized that the dinner was falling on the Saturday after General Conference (not able to remind people at church) and also on a four day weekend for families with school children (some families left town that otherwise would have attended) and also there was a BSU football game on that same night.  But, we had a decent turn-out anyway.  At least it was worth the effort I (and my helpers) put into it.  I'm glad to be able to check this off my to-do list.

Here are some pictures I took at the beginning of the evening.  Not shown is the "harvest share table" for people to drop off any excess garden produce and also not shown is the "guess who" game of original 5th ward members.

the tasters cups were a great idea

awesome pumpkins for decor on tables and floor

I went with a chalk board theme (I got crafty) for the signs for various tables

paper table runners to cover most of the red tablecloths

voting jars where people dropped in dry beans in their top 3 favorites

corn muffins and honey butter

We Are Missionary Parents!

I didn't write in September.  I broke my blogging streak.  Darn it.

A big event even happened that month, and I missed writing about it.  So I will post a little bit about it.
Our sweet 19 year old daughter left to serve a mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.  She has been at the CCM, or the MTC, in Mexico City for the past six weeks.  Today she flew to California where she will be serving in the Ventura California Mission teaching in spanish.  We are so very proud of our girl.  She has loved the CCM and has been blessed as she has been learning more of the spanish language and also how to be an effective missionary for Jesus Christ.  She loved her companion that she had while there, Hermana White.  They got along wonderfully.  Chelsea was able to attend the Mexico City Temple three times during her stay there.

Here are a few pictures from the weekend before she left when she spoke in church and had many family members come to support her and say good-bye.

And here are a few that she has sent to us from Mexico City MTC (or CCM)...

Random Ragnar and Other Pics

Matt and I ran the Wasatch Back Relay again this past June.  It was its 10th anniversary.  Our team name this year was Runnin' Happy.  We had a mix of family members and friends.  We had a sweaty, sleepless, happy ol' time!

VAN #1

VAN #2

Matt tackling the mountain

Pushing up the Ragnar Hill

Happy to be finished!

Other summer happenings...

Emma's 12th birthday party at the archery range.

 Josh turns 17 and gets a job.

Chelsea spends her summer getting ready for her mission and turns 19.

Back to school for Emma (7th grade) and Josh (senior).