Dear friend,
Here is my 2022 Advent Calendar, with a scripture to praise God every day leading up to Christmas. Whatever you are going through, I know that His goodness, grace, and mercy are able to reach you.
In celebration,
Angela
P. S. If you would like a copy of the pdf file, send me a message. I will be happy to send it to you.
I have lived long enough to understand that gatherings are worth documenting, and I regret that we didn’t pose for a group photo at our Thanksgiving dinner. Richard mentioned he would also have liked to see a picture of all the good food. Thanks to Paige, we have photos of the tables and a few Ross family guests in the background, and look, there are some pies there, too.
Dale and Lorraine
Richard and Angela
Paige and Michael
Daniel and McKenna
Mark
Dave and Shari
Sara and Christopher
Henry, Katie, Fletcher
Susanna and Cameron
This is a continuation of my notes of really heartfelt messages from children’s sacrament meeting presentations that I have attended this fall.
Reflecting on what she learned from reading Daniel in the Old Testament, “I know that Heavenly Father will help us when we face troubles of our own. He gives strength through hard things. He will keep us safe. I am thankful for the example Daniel is to us. (girl, age 10)
After telling the story of Jonah being swallowed by the whale, this boy said, “That’s why I like the story of Jonah though; he teaches us how hard it can be when we have to own up to our mistakes and face the consequences. But he also teaches us that through repentance we can be forgiven.” (boy, age 10)
“My favorite name of the Savior is a Shadow by Day and a Pillar by Night because the Savior is there to keep us protected and lead us with his light. (boy, age 9)
My favorite name of the Savior is Light because Jesus is the biggest light in my life! He is a light for me when I am scared. When you’re in the dark you get scared, but when you are in the light you are going to be fine! (girl, age 9)
Spoken with clarity and confidence, this tiny boy had these words memorized, “Jesus Christ came to earth to live as a mortal man. He suffered and died for us. His suffering is called the Atonement. Jesus was resurrected and came to life again. Because of what Jesus did for us, we can live forever with Heavenly Father.” (boy, age 6)
This boy showed his maturity in gospel knowledge by saying, “We believe that Heavenly Father will continue to teach us and reveal many important things through our prophet. I can also receive personal revelation and learn much about Heavenly Father’s plan for me. I am thankful for President Nelson who receives revelation for our Church. And I am thankful for the restoration of the Gospel.” (boy, around age 9)
“I think the gathering of Israel and the Second Coming [are] important because I want to see Jesus again. I think He will visit all the neighborhoods and will knock on everybody’s door and say “Hi” to them. Because I believe in Jesus, I want to do what He would do. He would help those in need. I wanted to help those in need, so I worked to raise money to help people in need at the Road House.” (boy, age 10)
“The Eleventh article of Faith is talking about religious freedom…I am thankful I could choose to be baptized. I know not everyone in the world has the chance to worship any way they want. It is a blessing to have the freedom to believe and act according to my beliefs.” (boy, age 10)
A tiny little girl recited this from memory, “We believe in being honest, true, chaste, benevolent, virtuous, and in doing good to all men; Indeed, we may say that we follow the admonition of Paul–We believe all things, we hope all things, we have endured many things (with her arms extended and moving in a circular motion, as if to show “many things”), and hope to be able to endure all things. If there is anything virtuous, lovely, or of good report or praiseworthy, we seek after these things.” (girl, just barely age 5)
“Whenever I am having a bad day, I can always sing one of the Primary songs to feel better. My faith has grown by understanding each of the Thirteen Articles of Faith and how they make me become closer to Jesus Christ.” (boy, age 11)
Pentatonix is a group whose music we have used in our annual Christmas videos for years. Their music has accompanied our family slideshows, so they are tied to our history. They performed a great concert and we knew almost every song.
A few months ago, as I helped lead a discussion in a stake leadership meeting with men, women, and youth, I asked the question, who are the top three people in your life who have helped bring you to Christ? Mothers and fathers and teachers ranked highest among those who chose to share. After the meeting, a man pulled me aside and told me that he had realized that all of his gospel learning until the time he was twelve years old had been from women in his family and women in the Primary organization. It was to them that he owed so much. I don’t know if this was a new thought for him, or if he had regrets that he couldn’t thank them. This experience reminds me that it is a good week to give thanks to somebody special. Who has helped bring you to Christ?
This was my little entertainer a few weeks ago. It’s the season to prepare for winter.
The squirrel in me has been gathering books that I want to read this winter. This week, as I walked through the house, I found my books in the living room, kitchen, bedroom, my desk, and more on the doorstep. I am ready.
I keep going back to the guest room to rearrange these quilts blocks, and I think I am getting close to the final arrangement. As I post this photo, I see some blocks that need to be moved. Or maybe I will rearrange them all into a gradient of colors. Photos are helpful with this. I can stare at the fabrics for a long time and not pick out problems as well as when I look at a photo. I don’t like the sunflower print as much as I thought I would. This is going to a sunflower-loving family, so they will probably like the print just fine.
A local artist explained that sometimes he has so many projects that he feels overwhelmed and stuck. In times like this, he lines up his paintings, sets a timer, and commits to work on each of them for a short, set time, something like 10-15 minutes. One by one, he makes focused progress and feels better about life.
I have found this is a great way to stop feeling overwhelmed about my own tasks. I think it works, not because I get a lot done in 10 minute segments, but because it trains me to focus. Once I regain my focus, the unhelpful panic recedes and I can move freely within my world. I am no longer hiding from a difficult job or feeling shame for neglecting something. This strategy works for me, especially on a task-heavy Monday.
Mark performed a really difficult Chopin Nocturne this week, so we took him out to dinner to celebrate.
“Harden not your hearts”* is a phrase I read today in the book of Jacob, and I began to think about the control we need to exercise over our thinking.
Recently, I started to feel a little bothered by someone. “This person just wants me to feel small,” I thought. But then these two simple words came to my mind,
“Or not.”
Or not? The Spirit was teaching me to question my thinking. I was making assumptions. I was taking the easy bait of victimhood. I was hardening my heart. I was not giving the person the benefit of the doubt. I was wrong!
It is a common tendency to trust thoughts and feelings as though they are pure truth. Sometimes thoughts can be wrong because they might be influenced by emotion, popular philosophies, low blood sugar, fatigue, unhealthy family patterns… So much static.
My wisdom for the day is that we can be fooled by our thoughts. Measure your ideas with the standard of Christ’s doctrine. For me, the words “or not” were enough to help me see that there was a better way to look at things.
Our thoughts matter because they lead to action. Our hearts matter because they represent our loyalties.
“Harden not your hearts” is great counsel.
*See Jacob 6:5 in the Book of Mormon. See also Obadiah 1:3, “The pride of thine heart hath deceived thee.”