Joy, December 1

I prepared an advent calendar of scripture passages about joy for my friends this Christmas. I will share a few things each day leading up to Christmas to explain why I chose each scripture.

Make me to hear joy and gladness; that the bones which thou hast broken may rejoice. Hide thy face from my sins, and blot out all mine iniquities. Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me. Cast me not away from thy presence; and take not thy holy spirit from me. Restore me unto the joy of thy salvation; and uphold me with thy free spirit…The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: a broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise.

Psalms 51:8-12, 17

This scripture challenges the way I have thought about joy during a lot of my life. It is linked to a broken and contrite heart. It is a gift from God, not something we can summon through our own powers; it is something we seek from God. He is the source, the way, and the memory of joy. Truly, we are “restored” to joy, the state in which we lived with God before we were born.

Things we ask of God in order to feel joy:

  • “Make me to hear joy and gladness”
  • “Hide thy face from my sins”
  • “Blot out all mine iniquities”
  • “Cast me not away from thy presence”
  • “Create in me a clean heart”
  • “Renew a right spirit within me”
  • “Take not thy holy spirit from me.”
  • “Restore unto me the joy of salvation”
  • “Uphold me with thy free spirit”

Things required in the process of seeking joy:

  • Ask God for the above things
  • “The Sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: a broken and a contrite heart.”

The Savior acts in our behalf, continually and faithfully. His work of creation continues in our hearts and in the renewal of “right spirit.” I love the phrase, “Uphold me with thy free spirit.” To me, this means two things, 1. He chooses to help us, and 2. Our Savior’s mastery of agency qualifies him to uphold us as we stumble along to achieve self mastery.

Two things that don’t fit in either category, but are important:

  • “The bones which thou hast broken may rejoice”
  • “O, God, thou wilt not despise”

Sometimes he allows us to become broken. This is not evidence of his neglect, but a tutoring in our dependence on God. Also, he will not despise us in our brokenness. Illness, sin, and discomfort can drive people away because these things are not pretty. The Lord does not despise the ugly tears, the pain of being driven to humility, and the stench of sins we are trying to blot out. He will not despise us in our moments of pain. He comes and makes our broken bones rejoice. He has done this for me.

Eagle project and Piano competition

By definition, milestones are evenly spaced, but sometimes we can’t pace and space events. Milestones hurl past Richard and me as we careen towards the end of the 2019. This decade is ending in a whirl of notes, color, celebrations, and plans. I don’t just want to keep up. I want to enjoy each step.

Hopefully these pictures will help me relive these moments when I have more time, and experience the things I had to miss while I chased a milestone down a different road.

The week of so much paper

This week, the kitchen table in its 104-inch majesty was our repository for stacks of paper for two Eagle projects, merit badge work, hundreds of wedding invitations, and handouts for 40 women for Stake organization training. I really like what all these stacks of paper represent, and neat stacks of paper, some of them so beautiful, were satisfying to see.

Today, though, I am tired. And I hope I didn’t stuff merit badge cards or baptism guidelines in the wedding envelopes by mistake.

That is all I have today. It’s just a full time. (You may know I hate the word busy…)

Sparkle babies

We delayed my birthday dinner to a later night, hopeful that we could spend more time together. After hearing our plans, one of our sons showed us in a variety of ways that this was not where he would like to be.

My reaction when he asked how long this was going to take was to more fully define a line between us. I dug a canyon with steep cliffs, hungry mountain lions hidden in caves, and a raging river below with my words, and retreated to my bed, so hurt that I considered canceling the evening.

“Why do you say one thing when you really mean something else?” The Spirit spoke to my mind. “All you need to tell him is that you want to spend some time with him for your birthday.”

My opportunity came during dinner as my son slumped in the seat beside me, refusing to enjoy the meal.

“I said a lot of things, but what I really meant was that I just wanted to be with you for my birthday,” I said quietly, leaving out the reprimand.

We walked through the mall after dinner and stopped at the Lego store. When he saw my delight at the tiny baby Lego figures, he carefully pulled the box from the shelf when I wasn’t looking, scaled the canyon walls to reach me, ignored the mountain lions of bad memories, and bought them for me.

I think the Lego sparkle babies were his way of saying what he had really meant to say, too.

Something for the study of Hebrews

Last fall, I attended a presentation by the man who produced this video. He made this clothing to help students understand and appreciate how the Israelite High Priest symbolized Christ. I wonder which detail is meaningful to you. For me, it is the names of the tribes of Israel written on precious stones, borne on the shoulders and over the heart of the High Priest.

Tin Tin and Life Scout

Tin Tin has been a favorite at our house for a long time. In fact, I wonder why we haven’t thought to do it before now. It’s delightful when a thirteen year old smiles because of a costume.

This week was the last Court of Honor with Richard as Scoutmaster. He prepared a slideshow of the places the boys have been in 2019 and it was impressive. They’ve camped in snow, rain, desert, mountains, and sand.

This was the last song in the slideshow. (The video is not anything. It’s just the only one I could find with the right version of the song.) It was a sweet goodbye to his Scouts who will move on next January to new leaders.

Maverick

He follows the family pattern in piano study and academics, but he is an original in every way, redefining independence and ability with his own additions. He moves among yard maintenance, serious piano study, frisbee play, steady service, AP classes, and wood furniture design, all without fanfare. Mix that with a his social circle and this begins to describe Timothy.

These were taken at the National Honor Society induction this week.