Sunday, December 28, 2008

Christmas Throughout The Year


At the end of one of my most favorite books, A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens, we read of the main character, Ebeneezer Scrooge, that, ". . . it was always said of him, that he knew how to keep Christmas well, if any man alive possessed the knowledge. May that truly be said of us, and all of us!" With the passing of Christmastime 2008, I would like to share an idea for keeping Christmas throughout the year. It comes from this article by Elder Jeffery R. Holland, published in the Ensign over 30 years ago.

We hope you enjoy this thought-provoking article, and that it helps you keep Christmas, each year in December, and all through the year.

Christmastime

Christmas Eve we started off with a special turkey dinner with all the trimmings. Including Italian Sodas and Berrie pie. Then we had a special Family Home Evening where we all shared scriptures of Christ that we feel particularly fond of, whether they were prophecies, or the fulfillment of prophecies. After this time of sharing we reviewed again the story in Luke of the Savior's birth and it came alive with special meaning.

Christmas Day we started a lot earlier than I remember starting in the past - but it was a good thing as we had another special meal, complete with freshly squeezed OJ, hot cocoa, cinnamon rolls, and omelets. Then came the line-up and the main event. There were special gifts from Peter, just returned from Switzerland, as well as books and more techno-gifts.


Ty with techno gift:Both Christmas Day and the day after were excellent, weather wise, and we had lots of outdoor fun at the park, and playing horseshoes and basketball. On the 26th we had the kite experience that is the subject of a previous post.

Then on Saturday we all went to the temple, a perfect way to round out the week.


Finally, today Peter reported his mission to the high council at 7:30 a.m., then spoke in Sacrament Meeting at 9:00 a.m. Both were superb. In the earlier meeting he told of some previously undisclosed incidents in Bern in which he learned that persecution is still alive for missionaries, as well as talking about some choice learning experiences while serving in 4 countries at once (Germany, Austria, Switzerland, & Lichtenstein). In the latter meeting he did a masterful job of preaching on the change that comes as we come unto Christ, using the change experienced by Alma the Younger as an outline, and experiences from his mission to illustrate. His consistent message on both meetings was that the work is going forward in Switzerland, and in all of Europe, and that he had a successful mission, replete with teaching experience, watching individuals change as they come unto Christ. Peter does great in the preaching department.

Saturday, December 27, 2008

For the benefit of Mr. Kite

Yesterday was beautiful, so we all went to the local school to fly a kite, crack the whip, and toss the football. Unfortunately, we had technical difficulties with getting the kite airborne. Fortunately, we had our favorite flight engineer on hand to unravel (literally) the problem and set it right. Here he is at work:
And through it all, grandma never lost her natural cheerfulness - and was the primary help to the flight coordinator.
And in the meantime, Uncle Peter gave rides to all of those present under 12 months old.
And after wading through much tribulation, with Jeff demonstrating great faith, patience, and diligence, the kite was up, and we had a wonderful day.

BONUS: Most of us remember the great kite debacle of ought 5. Here are the never-before seen actual photos of what really happened. It all began so innocently as a fun day of kite flying.
There was more wind that day, and the chief kite pilot and his helpers had no trouble getting airborne.
But it was on that fateful day that the guy at the end of his rope (string) completely lost his grip.
And it was off to the races, with him in the lead.
Unfortunately for him, he had not taken time to adequately stretch before trying to sprint off into the sunset, and he pulled his hammy.
And - fortunately for all of you, nobody recognized the symptoms, and the paparazzi just kept on clicking away, while the kite chasers kept on going.


And this is the last we saw of that kite:

Saturday, December 20, 2008

Petersaga - El Fin

After approximately 43 hours on the road Peter finally made it to Sacramento this afternoon around 1:00 p.m. And here he is:

Petersaga Update 2

Well, Peter called around 7:00 a.m. to let us know that the 8:35 [MST] flight was moved to 11:30 a.m., so he is now on standby for the 11:10 flight [Delta 1187], and that if he doesn't get on that one they will print him a boarding pass for the 3:00 p.m. flight [Delta 4867, which is actually a Canadair Regional Jet 700]. So we are assuming that at the very latest we will see him by around 4:00 p.m. this afternoon.

The Continuing Saga

Well, we got home from the Sacramento Airport at 3:00 a.m. Saturday - sans Peter. I will update this when we finally get Peter home and get the whole tale, but this is what I think I know at this point [for consistancy sake, I have converted all times to PST:
  • His flight from Zurich left at 7:00 a.m., local time, on Friday, December 19th. This converts to 10:00 p.m. Thursday night, 12/18. Coincidentally, this was the exact time we were in the Sacramento Airport picking up MLE. We were so excited that in exactly 24 hours we would be picking up Peter.
  • From Zurich he arrived in London around midnight [PST remember] for his first layover.
  • About 3 hours later his flight left London for Dallas, where he arrived around 1:00 p.m.
  • This is where things began to unravel, because he was supposed to be there only a couple of hours, and then continue on to SLC. However, that flight kept getting delayed because of bad weather in SLC. Fortunately we were able to be in contact with him to a small degree and he was able to let us know that he was alright, and that, finally, it looked like his flight would be leaving at around 7:30 p.m. and make it to SLC in time for him to make his connecting flight to Sacramento, which had also been delayed due to bad weather.
  • So we're watching these flights to see if it was all working, and, hearing nothing from Peter, assume that he got to SLC just in time to make his connection and be here around 2:00 a.m.
  • So we all go to the airport and sure enough, his connecting flight shows up on time, and we wait with the Petersons and Hellers to pick up our children. Imagine our dismay when they finally close the gate and no Peter! Miraculously, just as we (mom, M, James & Sabrina) were standing there trying to figure out how we were going to contact Peter to find out where he is, he calls.
  • It turns out that his flight from Dallas had been diverted to Boise due to the weather in SLC. But all they did was put down in Boise, refuel, and take off again for SLC. Not having a cell phone, and not being able to go into the terminal, he couldn't call us to let us know he had missed his connecting flight.
  • So it is now 2:00 a.m. on Saturday, and assuming he checked into the Zurich airport 1.5 hours prior to his flight leaving, and that it took about 1/2 hour to get to the airport from the mission home, he has now been on the road for 28 hours.
  • He is now in SLC on standby. They will try to get him on the 8:30 a.m. [SLC time] flight, getting him to Sacramento just before 9:30 a.m. here. If that one doesn't have room, the next one is about 11:00 a.m. [SLC time], and the one after that 3:30 p.m. We'll see which one he gets on.
  • They considered putting him up in a motel, but they would just get there & have to come back to the airport, so he is just toughing it out there in the SLC airport. Fortunately he has been with a group of returning missionaries, and a couple of them are still in this with him.
  • So we came home to get some sleep before trekking to Sacramento again. We'll keep you posted . . . or keep this posted . . . or something.
  • And when we do finally get him home we'll post some pics.

Sunday, December 14, 2008

A Dickens of a Talk

Because my current calling is primarily devoted to teaching and training, many aspects of it slow down this time of year, and I focus on the year to come. But fortunately my own sweet bishop remembers me and asked that I speak in Sacrament Meeting. So here is the gist of my remarks. Because of the way I prepare and deliver such remarks, this is not exactly what was said. When I got up there some things written here didn't get said, and others that are not here did, but this is the collection of thoughts I had while preparing. I hope it inspires you with the true spirit of Christmas at this most loving time of year, and in the times to come.

Caring for the Poor & Needy

Elder Quentin L. Cook:
"We were traveling by car from San Francisco to Utah in June. The weather had been very good.
As we started our ascent to the Donner Pass summit in the Sierra Nevada Mountains, suddenly and without warning an enormous snowstorm hit us. None of the drivers was prepared. A semi-truck in front of us had jackknifed and was spread across two lanes. Other trucks and cars had slid off the freeway. One lane was open, and many vehicles, including ours, were desperately trying to gain traction to avoid the other vehicles. All traffic then came to a halt.
"We were not prepared for this blizzard in June. We had no warm clothing, and our fuel was relatively low. I huddled with the two boys in an effort to keep us warm. After many hours, safety vehicles, snowplows, and tow trucks began to clear up the massive logjam of vehicles.
"Eventually, a tow truck hauled us to a service station on the other side of the pass. I called my wife, knowing she would be worried because she had expected a call the prior evening. She asked if she could speak to the two boys. When it was the three-year-old’s turn, with a quivering voice, he said, “Hope ya know, we had a hard time!
"I could tell, as our three-year-old talked to his mother and told her of the hard time, he gained comfort and then reassurance. Our prayers are that way when we go to our Father in Heaven. We know He cares for us in our time of need.
"The incident I just recounted, while a difficult travel situation, was brief, and there were no lasting consequences. However, many of the trials and hardships we encounter in life are severe and appear to have lasting consequences. Each of us will experience some of these during the vicissitudes of life. Many listening to this conference are experiencing situations of a most serious nature at this very moment."

There is another name for those who are “having a hard time” – It is “the poor & the needy” and today I would like to expand our understanding of who they are, and our responsibility & our capacity to care for them.

Pres. Eyring tells of a priesthood leader who taught him to always treat everyone he met as someone experiencing difficulty, and more than half the time he would be right.

Mosiah 4:26
I would that ye should impart of your substance to the poor, every man according to that which he hath, such as feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, visiting the sick and administering to their relief, both spiritually and temporally, according to their wants.

So ministering to those in need includes, but goes beyond, just ministering to their temporal needs.

And the Lord never gives a command without providing a way for it to be accomplished – but it is always the Lord’s way – not the world’s way.

Doctrine & Covenants 104:
11 It is wisdom in me; therefore, a commandment I give unto you, that ye shall organize yourselves and appoint every man his stewardship;
13 For it is expedient that I, the Lord, should make every man accountable, as a steward over earthly blessings, which I have made and prepared for my creatures.
15 And it is my purpose to provide for my saints, for all things are mine.
16 But it must needs be done in mine own way; and behold this is the way that I, the Lord, have decreed to provide for my saints, that the poor shall be exalted, in that the rich are made low.
17 For the earth is full, and there is enough and to spare; yea, I prepared all things, and have given unto the children of men to be agents unto themselves.

Principles taught:
All things belong to the Lord.
He has prepared all things.
He has given all of us earthly blessings.
He has made us stewards over those earthly blessings & agents in their use.
Some are rich in certain earthly blessings, and others are not.
The Lord’s way is for those with abundance to humble themselves by imparting to those without an abundance.

As we follow the admonition of the hymn to prayerful “count our many blessings”, and the scriptural admonition to “thank the Lord in all things”, we discover that our earthly blessings are far more than just our financial means. Since all belongs to the Lord, then our stewardship includes everything we count as earthly blessings:

Family - close and extended; health; physical strength; emotional stability; education; time; musical ability; spiritual gifts, such as faith, prayer, receiving the Word, teaching the word, understanding, listening, hope, cheerfulness - and the list is inexaustable.

All these things are given to us, first to develop - to increase - and then to give to others by casting them into the storehouse of the Lord.

Doctrine & Covenants 82:
16 Behold, here is wisdom also in me for your good.
17 And you are to be equal, or in other words, you are to have equal claims on the properties, for the benefit of managing the concerns of your stewardships, every man according to his wants and his needs, inasmuch as his wants are just—
18 And all this for the benefit of the church of the living God, that every man may improve upon his talent, that every man may gain other talents, yea, even an hundred fold, to be cast into the Lord's storehouse, to become the common property of the whole church—
19 Every man seeking the interest of his neighbor, and doing all things with an eye single to the glory of God.

This latter-day commandment that we are responsible for being diligent in increasing the earthly blessings over which we are stewards is consistent with the parable taught by the Lord Himself, as recorded in Mathew 25:14-30.

And the purpose for which we are all to do so is made clear: to cast them into the storehouse of the Lord for the benefit of the Church.

The most common & obvious example of doing this is in the giving of fast offerings – a freewill offering – that we have been instructed by living prophets should be generous.

I testify that the more generous we are with our fast offerings – and other donations for the relief of those suffering – the more the Lord will increase our earthly blessings to enable us to cast even more into the Lord’s storehouse.

Isaiah 58:
7 Is it not to deal thy bread to the hungry, and that thou bring the poor that are cast out to thy house? when thou seest the naked, that thou cover him; and that thou hide not thyself from thine own flesh?
8 ¶ Then shall thy light break forth as the morning, and thine health shall spring forth speedily: and thy righteousness shall go before thee; the glory of the LORD shall be thy rereward.
9 Then shalt thou call, and the LORD shall answer; thou shalt cry, and he shall say, Here I am. If thou take away from the midst of thee the yoke, the putting forth of the finger, and speaking vanity;
10 And if thou draw out thy soul to the hungry, and satisfy the afflicted soul; then shall thy light rise in obscurity, and thy darkness be as the noonday:
11 And the LORD shall guide thee continually, and satisfy thy soul in drought, and make fat thy bones: and thou shalt be like a watered garden, and like a spring of water, whose waters fail not.
12 And they that shall be of thee shall build the old waste places: thou shalt raise up the foundations of many generations; and thou shalt be called, The repairer of the breach, The restorer of paths to dwell in.

But that is just the beginning, we all have other earthly blessings that need to be increased by casting them into the storehouse of the Lord. The Lord has provided us with a way to do this.

Remember that the Lord's way includes:
Organize yourselves.
Appoint stewardships.

This is the great system of home teaching and visiting teaching.

It is organized under the direction of the Bishop and constitutes an integral part of the “Lord’s Storehouse” into which we cast our earthly blessings for the benefit of those in need.

Doctrine & Covenants 50:
13 Wherefore, I the Lord ask you this question—unto what were ye ordained?
14 To preach my gospel by the Spirit, even the Comforter which was sent forth to teach the truth.

We teach the gospel as we visit the home of every member and minister to their needs:
Spiritual
Emotional
Health
Educational

Our faithful participation in home teaching and visiting teaching allows us to retain a remission of our sins, and to participate fully in the gospel.

Charles Dickens' character, Jacob Marley understood the need to "visit the house of every member" relieving suffering:
"It is required of every man that the spirit within him should walk abroad among his fellow-men, and travel fare and wide; and if that spirit goes not forth in life, it is condemned to do so after death. It is doomed to wander through the world - and witness what it cannot share, but might have shared on earth, and turned to happiness.
"Oh! captive, bound, and double-ironed, not to know, that ages of incessant labour by immortal creatures, for this earth must pass into eternity before the good of which it is susceptible is all developed. Not to know that any Christian spirit working kindly in its little sphere, whatever it may be, will find its mortal life too short for its vast means of usefulness.
"Business! Mankind was my business. The common welfare was my business; charity, mercy, forbearance, and benevolence, were, all, my business. The dealings of my trade were but a drop of water in the comprehensive ocean of my business.
"At this time of the rolling year I suffer most. Why did I walk through crowds of fellow-beings with my eyes turned down, and never raise them to that blessed Star which led the wise men to a poor abode? Were there no poor homes to which its light would have conducted me?
"The air was filled with phantoms, wandering hither and thither in restless haste, and moaning as they went. The misery with them all was, clearly, that they sought to interfere, for good, in human matters, and had lost that power for ever."

One of the great resources we have to entering the homes of the Saints and "interfering for good" is the Ensign, including the conference addresses.

But this is just the beginning – as we add to those teachings our very selves:

Matthew 25:
31 ¶ When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory:
32 And before him shall be gathered all nations: and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats:
33 And he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left.
34 Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world:
35 For I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in:
36 Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me.
37 Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink?
38 When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee?
39 Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee?
40 And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.

Mrs. Claus rides again

Back by popular acclaim the world over, Mrs. Claus once again appeared at the Hillcrest Ward Christmas dinner last Friday. Here are some pictures of the Claus the children are drawn to.
No tears when Mrs. Claus has children on her lap. She loves them and they love her.
This little guy was barely a week old when this picture was taken. He was quite the little surprise when he showed up, as his folks had been told he was a little girl.
Later that evening, after dinner, we all enjoyed the retelling of the story of the first Christmas. Here is a portrayal of Joseph & Mary, with the newborn King.
And no telling of that story would be complete without the appearance of the wise men. Can you guess who they are? Or at least which family they come from?

Saturday, December 13, 2008

Look ma! No blood.

This is the story of one of my projects. As you know, it is a rare project that I get through without some bloodletting of some sort. But over the past few weeks I have been working on replacing the vanity, as shown in the pictures below. It really turned out nicely, and I don't remember any major injuries along the way. [note the part about it having taken more than a week, and the part about not remembering] At least I don't have any scars.

So here is the progression, this first photo is the old sink, etc. - the BEFORE.
And this is how it looked after I had dismantled it.And this is how it has looked as I accumulated all of the materials, etc. to install the new one.
Ta da! Here is the new one, all installed - even the electrical socket is new. The mirror is still the same, however.
We got very good pricing on all of the parts (the cabinet, the top, and the fixtures all came separate), but the fixtures were more than 1/2 off. And we think they look really nice.
This is an odd angle, but we really can't get a very good front on shot as the wall is in the way.
Here's another kind of odd angle shot, but it givew you another perspective.
And here's a shot of the whole thing - the AFTER shot.
So there you have it. I think it turned out quite well, but just because there were no major injuries associated with this project doesn't mean it was pain free. There were multiple trips to the hardware store because of difficulties with the cabinets (some of them on our end, and some on the store's), so I need to thank Uncle Peter & our home teacher for their part in all of this. And then because of the crazy plumbing in this house, I kept having to get different, non-standard fittings, so that was a lot of trips. But we are both really happy with how it turned out.

Sunday, December 7, 2008

Lights

Moving right along, we got the lights up today. By tomorrow we should get the rest of the decorations on the tree.
And once again, the artistic side of me seeps out as I attempt unsuccessfully to keep the camera still. Looks kind of pretty doesn't it?

Saturday, December 6, 2008

Creeping up on Christmas

This past week went by at warp speed, and we are scrambling to make ready for the 18th et. seq. We seem to be slowly getting all things in readiness, with Joanne leading the way. Last night we did manage to get a tree from Raley's. This is the "live tree" made famous in Rebecca's blog (if you haven't been there and seen the video of Tyler interacting with their tree, you really need to go). The "synthetic tree" was the subject of a prior post and, as noted, is relegated to peeking at us through the dining room window as we scurry around inside decorating, etc.
Here is a picture of the tree waiting around in the back yard for me to take the time to get it ready for "planting" in the house. The long wait was occasioned by the need for me to mow the lawns (although it has been very foggy all week, the grass hasn't be cut for many weeks and it finally today dried out just enough to cut). And I also spent some time at the hardware store laying in stores of the tools and materials necessary to install the new vanity in the master bath. It will look great when I get it all done.
In this picture you can see the other tree in the background. Amazingly, both trees were in the back yard almost all day and there were no signs of fighting or other misbehavior on the part of either tree. They got along just fine.
And here is the tree in its place of prominence in our living room. We'll put up more photos after we get it decorated - shouldn't take more than a couple of days.

Oh yes, we are taking time for the important things - last evening we got an attachment for our Kitchenaid that allows us to grate chocolate that can then be used in the baking of . . . toffee! Yummmmm! I came right home and did 5 bags of it - enough for 10 plates. That way there may actually be some left when everyone comes later this month. ;)

Finally, the word for the week is "penultimate". If you think you know the meaning of this word, and its application to our family, leave a comment to that effect and we'll announce the winners in a future post.

Friday, November 28, 2008

Tree's Up

It's the day after Thanksgiving and we have our tree up. At least the one we got from Grandma Ottley. We don't have any room in the house, so we put it up out on the patio. What do you think?
Here it is again after dark, but with a flash - still not too impressive.
Here's that night view without the flash. Pretty cool, huh? We like it. We are well on our way to being into Christmas. In order to get the tree out, of course we had to clean out the garage, so we got that added benefit.

And one of the great things is that although it's outside, we can see it through the dining room window. What a great sight. It kind of makes it almost worth it for it to get dark so early.

So are you wondering how I got these cool shots? I am pretty surprised myself, because I didn't get out my tripod to take them. So here is one of the more "artistic" shots:

Pretty cool, huh?