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Day 23 of My gift to Jesus: I am grateful to have experienced and learned through the giving of this gift. I feel like I was more of the receiver from having done so. I saw things in a different light through this process. I looked at complete strangers with a Christlike love that did not come from me. It influenced all my interactions as I kept Christ at the forefront of my mind. A few days were missed, I regret to say, but even at the end of those missed days I still recounted the moments when something could have been said and resolved to do better the next day. For the most part, it became easier to talk of Him. Some promptings at times remained challenging. I hope as I continue to talk and testify of Christ more often, I will be a light to those that come within my circle of influence. Christ lives, He is my anchor in this world of tumult. He is my sure foundation. Merry Christmas

I learned something from yesterday's experience. As I went through my day, naturally each person I encountered became a possibility for testifying to. Each interaction seemed to have more meaning to it as I prayed silently to know if they were the right person for the day. An unexpected softening of my heart was felt with each interaction and a new love was felt for that individual. I believe this new love was Christ's love, or as called in the scriptures, charity-the pure love of Christ. "...if a man be meek and lowly in heart, and confesses by the power of the Holy Ghost that Jesus is the Christ, he must needs have charity; for if he have not charity he is nothing; wherefore he must needs have charity." (Moroni 7:44) I learned that Charity in conjunction with the listening to Holy Spirit is essential in following this personal challenge. When the Spirit whispered which individual it was to be that I should testify to the nerves were still there, but the words to spe

My gift to Jesus, definitely a personal challenge. Day one, I woke and prayed to know when and who to testify to. Heavenly Father knows me well and prompted me to tell a friend. He was giving me baby steps to help me succeed in my endeavor. My first thought was "why this friend, they already know about Jesus Christ?" As I continued to converse with this friend it was clear I was not to leave without saying something, so I did. I blundered through and did a terrible job! My heart was going to beat right out of my chest! My friend was kind and received the message as intended though and gave me a hug. Then we proceeded to converse about other things for quite some time and in the end my friend thanked me and was grateful for the opportunity to talk about some things that were personally challenging to them. I left happy and uplifted by the conversation, a little chagrined for the nerves and the blundering, but extremely grateful to Heavenly Father for letting me be an instrume

This is my family. They are growing up way too fast for my liking. We have a tradition every year, on the first Monday of December we talk about the gift from our Heavenly Father of our Savior that came to earth as a baby that special night so long ago. We decide what each of us can do for the month as a gift to Jesus. Then we write it down and place it in a box and it becomes the first present under our tree every year and it is the last one left when all the giving has been done. Through the years I have enjoyed listening to my kids choose what they want to give. Some choose simple things that can easily be accomplished, like giving a hug everyday. Some like to choose a gift that is more challenging, such as reading the scriptures on their own. We are not perfect in our accomplishment of each gift every year, but with diligence I hope to encourage faith in Jesus and a love for Him that will lift and sustain them as they grow and encounter challenges. For my gift this year I have chos

Recently, I was asked "Why have you stayed true to the church?" The church in reference is The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. After a moments reflection, the answer was clear in my mind. I explained that for me, it wasn't a single event that was overwhelming and powerful in its conversion glory, but rather it was a handful of quiet experiences where a belief was exchanged for a sure knowledge. A knowledge that was pure and came directly from heaven, so clear that it could not be misunderstood. That knowledge then became fused with my heart, a bond and an anchor to the heavens, one in which I could never go against without knowing I would be going against God. I can clearly remember the day and place of each quiet affirmation. Since that time, whenever I begin to slack or become lazy in my outward acts of devotion, it is these sacred moments that I reflect on and that always bring me back to where I need to be. They truly have become a foundation whereupon my

  Good morning! My heart is so full this morning, I feel like giving the whole world a hug. A recent reunion with dearly loved friends has given me cause to think about my life and review how I have progressed individually along with the progression of my little family members that are growing day by day. Throughout my marriage there are a handful of people that have played a significant role in the life of my family. Their influence continues to shine as an example of good and righteous living. How I love each one of these special friends! As one tiny insignificant person on this earth, I feel my circle of influence is small. But just as one tiny pebble can eventually ripple an entire smooth surface of water, so can one person influence untold numbers. Can I do it alone? No. One will make their mark, then others will carry it forward and so forth and so forth until is covers a great surface. As I reflect on what others have done for me, on what Jesus Christ has done for me, I feel

My last post has left me thinking. I did not want, in any way, to leave the impression that only those going through death and disease are entitled to the right to claim the path of trial and hardship. Quoting from the most recent General Conference of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, Elder Uchtdorf reminds us of the shadows we all sit in from time to time. "There may be some among you who feel darkness encroaching upon you. You may feel burdened by worry, fear, or doubt. To you and to all of us, I repeat a wonderful and certain truth: God’s light is real. It is available to all! It gives life to all things. It has the power to soften the sting of the deepest wound. It can be a healing balm for the loneliness and sickness of our souls. In the furrows of despair, it can plant the seeds of a brighter hope. It can enlighten the deepest valleys of sorrow. It can illuminate the path before us and lead us through the darkest night into the promise of a new dawn." Li

Note to self: Eating an entire bag of these, by myself, in a matter of a couple of days, will not pull me out of slump, nor will they make my skirt feel very comfortable around the waistline. Thank goodness the Easter candy has been removed from my local grocery store shelves. (I cannot admit how many bags of these little bits of malty goodness I ate this season. I'm sure I have poisoned my body in some way) What does this have to do with anything? Not much, however, as noted above, I have been in a slump and eating chocolate seemed like a good place to start before addressing any real issues :) My pity party included a list of not so worthy "trials" (FYI, death and disease are among the list of worthy life trials) Number 1: My kids are growing up way too fast for my "take life at a snails pace" liking and there are no more babies due to join the Umbrell house-sniffle sniffle. Number 2: My house seems to always be in disarray. Who's bright idea was it to tea

The word "Entitlement" was on my mind in January. Possibly because, as parents, we are trying to rid our children of this ugly attitude which comes from living in an age of bounteous offerings. An article in January's Ensign prompted additional thought and led me to choose this topic as a blog entry. Well, while working through my thoughts and readings my Hubby and I were asked to speak in church. So here is the result of my preparation: We live in a world of information overload. Not only is information plentiful, it increasingly gets easier and easier to obtain it. In fact, if the information that I am seeking doesn't load as fast as I think it should, then I may tend to get a little frustrated. If you can relate, then maybe I am not the only one who has lost the admiration and awe of this technological informational world and replaced it with more of an expectation instead. A personal example, one day while finishing up one of my many taxi days as a mom, I received