Forgiveness

Today I went to see the movie "Invictus" with my siblings. I am not one to write about movies in a religious manner, but I wanted to talk about the principle of Forgiveness that is highlighted in the movie. One of my favorite lines in the movie refers to Nelson Mandela and is said by the other main character Francois. "I was thinking how a man could spend thirty years in prison, and come out and forgive the men who did it to him..." That line really touched me because it is so true. I find it amazing that he could forgive after 30 years in jail.

Invictus is a poem from the author William Ernest Henley. The last line of the poem says, "It matters not how strait the gate, How charged with punishments the scroll. I am the master of my fate: I am the captain of my soul." We are in charge of who we decide to forgive.

Think about people who harbor grudges against another person for long periods of time. Who does that benefit? When we are unable to forgive it is only hurting ourselves. Jesus Christ is the ultimate forgiver. Imagine being treated like he did and forgiving His trespassers. Imagine forgiving all of mankind everyday!!! I am so grateful for the principle of forgiveness and repentance in my life and pray that I may be better at forgiving others.

My Savior

I have felt the love of my Savior so abundantly in the last week I wonder how I am so blessed. One evening last week I felt the spirit so strongly about a subject that I have never had guidance in before. Pretty much everyday I have felt His hand in my life recently and I know it is because of my own personal worthiness. I say this not to build myself up, but because when you are reading your scriptures, praying, and thinking about others daily you are open to receive the promptings of the Holy Ghost. Today, Christmas Day, I was the first one awake in my family, not because I woke up, but I was awakened. So I was able to get ready and read my scriptures by the Christmas Tree without any interruptions. My prayers and scripture study were amazing!!! I cannot describe the feelings that I had with the exception of love from my Savior. I am so grateful for His Birth and Atonement!

The Reason for the Season

Lately I have been wondering if people remember the reason for the season, mostly because I have seen a lot of angry people this week. We have so much to be happy, grateful, and joyful about!

Recently the church announced an addition to the three fold mission of our church. They are adding "to care for the poor and needy." They are no longer calling these four principles "missions", but "purposes." The four purposes will now be:
1-Perfect the Saints
2-Redeem the Dead
3-Proclaim the Gospel
4-Care for the Poor and Needy

When I heard about this announcement I thought a lot about the main PURPOSE of our church. When you look at these 4 purposes the common bond I saw is that they SAVE people! This gospel is about saving people, because that is what the SAVIOR did for us. May you remember the "true" reason for the season as I have tried to do and enjoy the clip below that exemplifies exactly what I am trying to say!

Oh Christmas Tree!

I love Christmas time, but I am not a big fan of decorating, or should I say excessive decorating! For example, I helped set up four Christmas Trees this year, crazy!!! Let's just say I would rather look at trees then decorate them, which is also what I did. If you haven't been to the Festival of Trees you have to go next year. It was my 2nd time going and I loved it. They also have gingerbread houses and other decorations.

So I have been thinking about the symbolism of Christmas items, namely the Christmas Tree. I searched high and low over the Internet for answers and none of them were great. The explanation that I liked best was found on www.lds.org and in the Family Home evening Manual. Here are a few:

Bells-Sheep bells
Candy canes-Shepherd’s staff
Lights,candles,star-The star that appeared on the night of Jesus’ birth
Holly-The crown of thorns
Evergreen tree-Eternal life
Green,ivy-Life and hope
Red,holly berries-The blood of Christ





Pictured:
1- Savior tree (decorated with describing words and paintings)
2- Temple Tree
3- Book of Mormon Tree
4- USA Americana Tree
5- I Love Lucy Tree (For those of you who didn't know, I am a huge fan)

These were my top 5 favorite trees. I took many other pictures, but I decided that these were the best. Sorry about the quality of the pictures!

Hair Hero's

Family, isn't it about time?

For the Thanksgiving Holiday I was able to go visit my family in Missouri. I was grateful to talk about Mormonism most of the plane ride with a 21 year old guy from San Diego going to visit his Mom for the holiday. When we talked about our families I realized how important and lucky I am to have the type of family I have. This was brought on by his apparent lack of family. I was going to see 30 some-odd (yes, that means literally too:) family members and he was only going to see one.

I knew the visit might be rough because of my Mom having cancer. I was grateful at how well my Mom did. I don't think she was sick at all, but she was tired most of the time and took a lot of naps. Then came the hard part. My Mom's hair started really falling out and she wasn't ready for it. To make the long story short, my brother shaved his head to help her transition. She was then able to shave her head, all the while joking with us. I can't remember if myself and my sister-in-law suggested he do this or if he came up with the idea. The point is family is what made my Mom able to cope! I realized how much more I love her and how depressing life would be without my family members.

Pictured in the slide show are my Mom, Brother, and Aunt. My awesome sister-in-law did the shaving. They aren't in order, but remember my brother went first to help. We had fun making Mohawks too. Mom you are amazing, I love your guts!!! And little bro your not so bad yourself!