My Gift

It is Christmas and I have a gift for you.

It isn't a big gift, though it has taken me a while to accumulate all of it.

My gift is my testimony.

I share it with you because I know that my life is better because of my testimony and I want your life to be as wonderful as possible.

 I know that Jesus Christ was born here on Earth. I know that he lived, setting an example we should follow. An example of love and kindness, an example of of compassion and humility. He set an example of accepting the Father's will. I know that He went through with the atonement because He loved us. Me, you, everyone around us, everyone that has been, everyone that will be, He suffered and died just to help us.

I know that because of Him my sins can be forgiven. I can repent of  those ridiculous sins that I commit over and over, or the sins that come through just blatant disdain. Forgiveness is possible. Possible for me. Possible for you.

I know that because He was resurrected I too will be. And that all of us will. That these bodies that house our immortal spirits will be perfected. That illness and pain will cease. I know that God loves us enough to put us where we will be most comfortable in the life to come. Be that in His presence, or elsewhere. Because He loves us.

That love is what this life is all about. We lived before we came here. Our glorious Father in Heaven created an entire world and bodies for each of us so that we could come down and experience mortality. That through those experiences we could learn and be more like Him. He has given us this life to grow. Those trials and hardships, or mild inconveniences, help us to see with a more eternal perspective- if we allow it.

I know that in 1820 Joseph Smith Jr had a question about his faith and sought an answer in prayer. I know that  he received an answer. I know, because I have prayed for myself, that he really did see Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ. I know that because of that prayer the fullness of Christ's gospel has been restored.

I know that restoration of Christ's church includes a living prophet. I am so grateful for the prophets of old who have left their teachings in the scriptures. I am also grateful for a modern prophet, currently Thomas S. Monson. I accept his teachings as additional teachings from God. General Conference is one of my favorite times of year thanks to the blessing of a living prophet. I can listen to his teachings. I am blessed and inspired when I live by them. He teaches love and I feel that sincere love that radiates from him. I know that he is called of God.

I know that restoration of priesthood authority is real. I know that because of the priesthood I was able to go to the temple and be sealed to my best friend. That because of that ceremony, if I live up to my end of the promise, that I can have my husband and children, my family back after death. I know that someday I will see my father and my baby sister, whom I had never known. I know that their existence has not ended. Nor have any of your loved ones ceased to be. I believe in eternal families, not just mine, but that yours can be too. Make those bonds strong, they matter not just here but in the world to come. I can also testify of the sweet comfort that can come through a priesthood blessing. I am grateful that any worthy man can carry this authority and bless his sphere of influence.

I testify of the power of prayer. I know with all my heart that my Father in Heaven hears me when I call on Him. That He is aware of me and my needs. That He knows exactly what is best for me and seeks to bless me. I know that he has answered the most trivial musings or soul searching prayers I have ever uttered aloud or in my heart. Has he given me what I always think I want? Of course not! Do I give my own children exactly what they think they want every time? No, because I have a greater understanding of what they need then they do. My Heavenly Father knows what I really need and when I really need it. He provides tender mercies along my way that serve as a reminder that he loves me and knows what I need. Sometimes it is the right lyrics in a song, or the perfect comment someone makes .The store that gave out popcorn when my hungry little boy had just asked for popcorn. He reminds me of His love and compassion frequently in small and personal ways. He does this because He knows who I am, where I am, what I need..If you stop to look, and open your heart with gratitude you will see that He does this for you too.

I know that studying the scriptures brings real blessings. I can testify of the truthfulness of the Book of Mormon. I have studied it, I have prayed about it. I continue to gain insights from it. If you have never read it, please do. If you don't have a copy, find a missionary or to go Mormon.org. Make friends with a Latterday Saint and ask them for a copy, I personally will send you a copy.  Read this book. It will change your life for the good. For more than a decade I have studied the scriptures (Book or Mormon and Bible both) on a daily basis. Within the last year I have tried to give it more center part in my day. I have worked to make sure that I really used that as a time to learn and commune with God. With 5 children running around it hasn't always been easy. But by trying to remember to seek for things of eternal worth before things of this world, my world has changed. I can testify that there has been a positive change in my life.Putting God first makes life so much more wonderful.

I know that the Holy Ghost is real. And with that knowledge comes gratitude. I don't even want to imagine how much harder life would be if I did not have the influence, the comfort, the peace that He is able to bless me with. I am not perfect or even very good at hearing and heeding those promptings. But I continue to try. I pray that someday I will be good at it. That I will be able to see with spiritual eyes and be a blessing to those around me.

I testify of tithing. I have seen miracle after miracle that has come from tithing. I want to clear something up. God does not need your money. The Creator of this planet, of this universe has no NEED of your tiny offering. He has given us this law so we can chose to receive blessings. My family has received these blessings. There is no possible way that we could get along without tithing. Fortunately we don't have to. Tithing blesses my life and those around me. I am so grateful for it.

I know that there are angels around us. I never saw them quite as clearly before I had children. Now that I am a mom I can testify without a shadow of a doubt that there are angels on this Earth to help us. I know that miracles can happen. I know that frequently you can see and touch and talk to because they are the friends, neighbors, family and strangers around us.

I hope you know that I am always open to discussing faith with you. If you have a question please just ask.

This is my testimony. I know my Savior lives. He did die, but he lives again. He lives that you and I may live again. I have shared this testimony with you because I also love you. I pray that some small part may touch your heart and help you feel the love that God in Heaven has for you.

This is my gift to you. Merry Christmas.

Why?

Imagine working in the kitchen, sorting laundry, etc. The children are "happily playing" in the other room. Then you hear the thud and the crying, sometimes followed by accusations and possible tattling. 

Then repeat. 

This scene happens some days way more times then I would like. 

The other day while making dinner this scene played again, and again. 

Each time growing more annoyed at how hard it seems to be to play together. I didn't say build the great pyramids, I said play! Why is this so hard?

I asked myself " Why is it so hard to just be nice to each other? Why do you have to keep hurting your brother or sister?"

And then a thought came to mind "I bet Heavenly Father feels that way too. Why is it so hard to be nice to each other? Why do you have to keep hurting each other?"

I am not sure why it is so hard to be nice, but it sure is sometimes. But that doesn't mean I always need to go with easy.

Efficient

I should use my time wisely.

That is true. I absolutely need to use my time wisely. Do I always? Um. No. Try to? Most of the time.

I feel like becoming a mother has helped me become more efficient. Got 5 minutes? Quick, wash the dishes. I can get some jobs done so much faster then I could previously. I really think some of motherhood is learning to use time efficiently.

Conversely, I also realized that being a mom is learning to embrace the inefficient sometimes.  When your child wants to help make cookies or wash dishes, it certainly won't get done faster.

Yesterday I think it took a record long time to bag groceries. But why rush when the 14 month old is having a fantastic time figuring out how to get each item into a bag? Efficient? Nope. Not at all. Worth while? Yup. Absolutely.

My story

I am ready to share what is going on with my lotions now. 

I have sensitive skin. I am prone to eczema and extremely dry skin. Commercial lotions leave my hands smelly, which then triggers me to sneeze. In addition they don't seem to actually heal much. I didn't want to be using steroids consistently. The price tags on more natural lotions were so much more then I was ready to pay. So in an effort to heal I turned to the internet for homemade options. One that did not contain all the ingredients I couldn't pronounce.

When you try to make lotions one of the most common ingredients is beeswax. Well I didn't have any beeswax. However, my husband did know someone that did. This very generous soul provided me with some wax. 

So a cool lady I know organizes a craft show and she invited me, probably as a customer, but I started thinking "maybe I could sell this stuff. It is pretty awesome."  

I will make a separate post for all the process of putting the product together. Here are my completed products for the craft show.

So here are the pictures of my display at the show.

 I apologize for the poor picture quality. 

 Here are the sugar scrubs.

 The Body Butter.

 Thank you Meggan Britton for the naming help. 

Yes, I know this sign isn't that awesome. I will be working on it for the next show.

 Spa salts, bath salts, whatever you want to call them. 

It appears I forgot to take a picture of the lip balm. 

So at the show I didn't do as well as I had hoped but not as bad as I had feared. I met a lot of great people.I am really glad that I went. One particular person I met was very enthusiastic about my body butter. She chatted for a bit and I thought she was talking about the honey I was selling on behalf of someone else when she said something about "consider selling it in a store."

 I said "I am sure he would love to sell it in a store."

"Well, what about you? Would you ever consider selling your things in a store?"

Me? Yes, take my bottles right now. I will pack it up for you. 

So we traded information and I emailed her later. She and another woman were opening a store in a town about 20 minutes from here. They sell gourmet jams and jellies and were looking for additional merchandise. The focus of their store if local handmade crafts.

So this week I went to meet with them.I had previously only met one member of the partnership.So as far as I knew we were just discussing further if they actually wanted to sell my stuff there. I took a box of salts, body butters, and lip balms. 

They bought it all. 

All.

There is a store near me that is selling my stuff. Stuff I have worked on is being sold in a store. How cool is that? I am so honored they found my project worthy of their store. 

Now I am working on getting ready for the next show. Here is a picture of the business cards I just ordered. 

 So exciting!

And just think, if I hadn't had a skin problem, this never would have happened. Sometimes our challenges really do turn out to be something to be grateful for.

Take it easy

I think we all are familiar with, or are, those people who become extremely opinionated online. Yes, we have opinions in our personal lives too, but it is so much easier to spew them passionately from the anonymity of our computer. I have read many things and seen example after example of people saying truly terrible things online.

We have all heard or known people who have died or been hurt because of poor judgement moments. How easy it is to cast stones. 

Shouldn't have been driving so fast.

Everybody knows drugs are bad for you.

Well that is what you get for drinking so much.

Serves them right playing with fire.

How utterly irresponsible they were for .....

Yea, you might be right. Sometimes those really are the natural consequences of an action. Someday you may look at your kid walking down a bad path and say "I knew a person who did_________ and this is what happened to them."

Learning is an important part of growing.

Condemning is not.

When I read a news story of someone who died, possibly doing something a bit reckless, there are always lots of comments about what an idiot that person was. I admit, I have had thoughts along those lines. However as I have pondered those replies what comes to my mind is this-

The person you are condemning is dead. Maybe that is why you feel so comfortable beating on them, I don't know. However the only one left to read your opinion of what happened is their mourning loved ones. How painful must it be to know that your loved one died in a way that could have been avoided? How much worse to have a group of strangers continue to bad mouth your loved one once they are gone? It isn't as if the dead is now going to live differently now that you have voiced your opinion on their decision. 

Life is hard sometimes. We all have loved ones who make choices contrary to what we view as best. Why must we make it harder on one another by being so unkind? 

Express your condolences for their loss,  learn the lesson from it if you need, and then move on your way. Mean comments do not make you a better person. 

Happy

Here are a few things that are adding to my happiness this morning-

I am not a garbage man, sewage person, cart return lady or anything that requires extended periods of time in the cold. I am SO grateful for that. 

I am capable of reading. I am not talking just about books here. How terrifying would it be to go someplace new and be unable to read signs or directions?

I have gotten to Skype with my brother serving in the Air Force who is stationed in Alaska. Plus I surprised my mom with that Skype last night. Let's just say she was thrilled having never experienced Skyping before.

Moments when I have the skill or resource needed to help someone. 

This is trivial, I know, but it brings me joy. I started a new journal. Officially filled up the last one and now I get to start again. I love that. 

Life is good. My life is good.

LEGOs really do hurt to walk on.

Many a soul have encountered the pain that is stepping on a LEGO.

Ruby needed to take that pain to a new level.

My poor babe was upstairs crying, not sobbing like she was injured or in danger. She just sounded frustrated with her situation. I figured she would come downstairs and seek comfort. She didn't. The sadness continued.So I went to save her.

I found her at the top of the stairs. She kept attempting to stand but quickly fell back down. That is when I realized the problem.

She had stuffed LEGOs down her footie pajamas. When she stood to walk they all went straight down her legs into the footie portion. So each time she tried to step the LEGOs moved under her foot.

She was not a happy baby. However, it did make me laugh while I removed about 14 pieces from her outfit.