a carol of joy

dear family and friends,

it's coming closer to christmas!

i wanted to share this song that a friend shared with me. it is sung by the byu choirs at their christmas concert. it is a beautiful piece that really helps me to find the spirit of christmas that's everlasting and full of joy.

my recommendation: listen and read, you won't regret it :)

listen (mp3 coming soon!)

A CAROL OF JOY
Green leaves all fallen, withered and dry;
Brief sunset fading, dim winter sky.
Lengthening shadows,
Dark closing in...

Then, through the stillness, carols begin!

Oh fallen world, to you is the song--
Death holds you fast and night tarries long.

Jesus is born, your curse to destroy!
Sweet to your ears, a carol of Joy!

Pale moon ascending, solemn and slow;
Cold barren hillside, shrouded in snow;
Deep, empty valley veiled by the night;
Hear angel music--hopeful and bright!

Oh fearful world, to you is the song--
Peace with your God, and pardon for wrong!
Tidings for sinners, burdened and bound--

A carol of joy!

A Saviour is found!

Earth wrapped in sorrow, lift up your eyes!
Thrill to the chorus filling the skies!
Look up sad hearted--witness God's love!
Join in the carol swelling above!

Oh friendless world, to you is the song!
All Heaven's joy to you may belong!
You who are lonely, laden, forlorn--
Oh fallen world!
Oh friendless world!

To you,

A Saviour is born!

share your love and your heart will be full. i love you; my sincerest prayers are with you!

feeling so grateful

so i've just realized that i mostly end up writing on my blog at night time, which is one of the times when i feel most at peace with things. it's been a good day, and i'm realizing more and more how grateful i am for the gospel that brings the most joy and freedom to our lives.

a few things i learned during finals, which of course, have absolutely nothing to do with school :)

• maybe christmas doesn't come from a store (what am i talking about?)
• my shephered will (and does) supply our need, my needs
• i have sometimes not been as Christ was and is to the Church, but i want to be--Christ is the greatest and the least of us all--He is the servant to all man--how i want to be the same!
• power in photography (reflections of christ, please visit!)
• when you forget about yourself, the lord doesn't forget about you :)
• if ye are prepared ye shall not fear
• the Savior said, "A new comandment I give unto you, That ye love one another, as I have loved you" (John 13: 34)--seems simple enough, right? :)
  

Merry, merry Christmas dear friends :)

recognizing what's really important

"When we yield our hearts to the Lord, the attractions of the world simply lose their luster." (read more)

I'm grateful for the little reminders I get every so often of what's really important. So often I feel easily distracted by "shiny things," but as life goes on I think I'm getting better at focusing on what I really want and letting everything else go. happy day. :)

figuring things out :)

“Life isn’t what I thought it would be.” I heard someone say that recently and thought about how I have felt that myself. It’s a funny thing and it makes me think, “What did I think life would be like?” Whatever it was, I don’t think it was this. However, I believe a part of all this, knowing that life isn’t what you thought it would be, is also being able to see how much better it is, and not in a superficial way, for life’s greatest happiness does not come without its testing or its trying. It is rich and so beautiful. The gospel of Jesus Christ has the ability to give each of us the greatest joy. I believe if we hold faithful and have the courage to stand strong in all things during this life, we will find the brightness of our lives to be brighter than the noonday sun.

One quote that has come to mean a lot to me is one by President Gordon B. Hinckley. He spoke at a BYU devotional a few years ago, about the seemingly little experiences that had touched his life in an unforgettable manner. At the end he said:

“You likewise will have significant experiences. I hope that you will write them down and keep a record of them, that you will read them from time to time and refresh your memory of these meaningful and significant things.

“Some of them may be funny. Some may be of significance only to you. Some may be sacred and quietly beautiful. (And then, this part that I love) Some may build one upon another, until they represent a lifetime of special experience.

“God bless you, my beloved friends. May this be a wonderful season in your lives . . . is my humble prayer, in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.”

feeling grateful today and everyday

Tonight I feel a lot of gratitude and I cannot help but desire to express my feelings for the many joys I have been blessed with. With all of my heart I am grateful for the gospel of Jesus Christ, which fills my soul with the fullest amounts of love and joy and peace and safety and freedom. More than anything, almost, I wish I could share this beautiful gift with the entire human race. My knowledge and application of the truths of the gospel have changed me for good, and though I'm not perfect and continue to make mistakes on a daily basis, my soul longs to be better and to be made more pure through the atonement of Jesus Christ.

I have thought and pondered recently about what it is I really want in life and what would make me truly happy. Sometimes things conflict and I wonder if one day I'll have to choose. Here are the things I have come up with...

To discuss, live, and teach true principles with the people in my life that I love
To work together--through good times and bad--and enjoy the simple things that make life so wonderful and priceless
To share everything I have--material and the love of God--with as many people as realistically possible
To share everything I have with my family and those closest to me
To have the most fun in family traditions and spending time together
To giggle and to laugh and to share memories in each moment
To grow and become better
To have my heart changed to be more like God

To finish off this very thoughtful post (ha, just kidding) I want to share a scripture I read a few weeks ago while I was in Arizona at Jessica's wedding. I had been thinking about what I wanted and would I ever have what I want, and trying to have faith, yada yada, and I found this wonderful little scripture that I'm sure I just passed over many times, without really noticing it. It's in Hebrews 6, and it says starting in verse 10:

“For God is not unrighteous to forget your work and labour of love, which ye have shewed toward his name, in that ye have ministered to the saints, and do minister. And we desire that every one of you do shew the same diligence to the full assurance of hope unto the end: That ye be not slothful, but followers of them who through faith and patience inherit the promises.

“For when God made promise to Abraham, because he could swear by no greater, he sware by himself, saying, surely blessing I will bless thee, and multiplying I will multiply thee. And so, after he had patiently endured, he obtained the promise.”

How wonderful is life :)

Enduring Faithfully

“Have courage for the great sorrows of life, and patience for the small ones; and when you have laboriously accomplished your daily task, go to sleep in peace. God is awake.” --Victor Hugo

Life is sometimes hard, but how rewarding it is when we endure faithfully to the end. The joy that comes from waiting patiently on the Lord is wonderful. Let us all strive to trust more, and we will find as Elder Henry B. Eyring said, “Those who never give up will find that God never gave up and that He will help them.”

Thoughts

It has been a long time since I have written anything, but after reading my friend Jessica's blog, I felt inspired to write a few things. I feel so incredibly grateful for my life and the blessings that have come to me even though I am not perfect and sometimes feel very undeserving. Luckily, whenever I start to feel undeserving, I can't help but feel inside how much my Heavenly Father and Savior Jesus Christ love me--with a kind of love that I can't even really comprehend, but it fills my heart with pure peace and joy.

I'm grateful for learning. Every day I feel like I am learning new things, and it helps me to know better who I am and what it is I really want from life.

I'm grateful for good friends that make me smile and listen to my silliness and give me the confidence to try all of my ideas.

I'm grateful for my parents. I am amazed how they can still offer their love when I am sometimes such a brat! Which really equals when I'm not that effective at sharing how much I really love them and appreciate all they have done for me and especially their support.

I'm grateful for second chances. Thank goodness! Sometimes I feel like I am always falling, but then again sometimes I feel like I have everything together and nothing can stop me!

I'm grateful to continue developing my talents in things that I really enjoy. I haven't gotten to dance that much since I've been home from China, but I have been playing the piano again and I just love it! I love it I love it I love it! I love how playing the piano is like an expression and I can really let my heart sing out through my fingertips and every movement I make as I try to gracefully glide up and down the piano keys. I have also been experimenting with some different recipes and it is just so fun!

I love life! Oh why do I ever doubt how good I have it? Someday I will learn to really put more faith and trust in things. I am definitely better at it than I was a year ago or even a few months ago, but I know that I want to be better.

Well, this has probably been the longest post I have ever written, so that's either exciting or a little boring? I'm not sure. But it's nice to get my thoughts out and share them with the people I love most.

Ok, my final thoughts. This means a lot to me, and I pray that as you read it that it will not only touch your heart, but sink down so that it moves us to action so that we may enjoy the blessings that come from living according to true principles!

"My dear brothers and sisters, I love you. And I pray for you. Please, pray for me. And together we will reap the blessings our Heavenly Father has in store for us." -President Thomas S. Monson

I think that is beautiful. Let's all reap the blessings together!

Recipe: Simple and Hearty Whole Wheat Bread

For Nancy and Jessica...

Dissolve 2 packages of dry active yeast in 1/2 cup of water with 1 tbs of honey. Mix the following ingredients with the dissolved yeast mixture:

3 1/2 cups of warm water
1 1/2 cups of dry powdered milk
1 cup of oil
4 eggs, beaten
3/4 cup of honey
2 tbs salt
1 1/2 cups of white flour
10 to 12 cups of whole wheat flour

After kneading bread (will still be a little sticky) let rise until dough has doubled. Divide into six small loaves or two large loaves. Knead and shape. Let rise in greased pans. Preheat oven to 400 degrees, then reduce temperature to 300 degrees. Bake 1 hour.

from Sister Marjorie Pay Hinckley's Small and Simple Things book

There is sunshine in my soul!

for good friends...














for silly moments...














for childlike confidence and freedom...


for pure love and joy...

David O. McKay once said, "To live is to radiate who we are and what we are, and to live is to absorb that radiation from others--by our life we affect, to some degree, the life of the whole world."

BEAUTIFUL!

Morning Thoughts

Running (esp. in the morning) = great thinking time

The older I get and the more experiences I have, I realize more that everyone struggles, no matter how perfect their life may seem.

"Shall we not go on in so great a cause? Go forward and not backward. Courage; and on to the victory! Let your hearts rejoice, and be exceedingly glad. Let the earth break forth into singing. . . .

"And again I say, how glorious is the voice we hear from heaven, proclaiming in our ears, glory, and salvation, and honor, and immortality, and eternal life; kingdoms, principalities, and powers!" (D&C 128:22-23)

Deeper Understanding

Living through difficult things has strengthened my gratitude for families teaching each other the gospel. Growing up my parents weren't perfect in their preaching or their practicing. But not one is perfect. And deeper understanding comes as we see the great blessings that come from families doing their best.

I see my mother kneeling with our family each day.
I hear the words she whispers as she bows her head to pray.
Her plea to the Father quiets all my fears.
And I am thankful love is spoken here.

Mine is a home where ev'ry hour
is blessed by the strength of priesthood pow'r,
with father and mother leading the way, teaching me how to trust and obey;
and the things they teach are crystal clear, for love is spoken here.

I can often feel the Savior near when love is spoken here.
Janice Kapp Perry

Story: The True Meaning of Brotherhood

There was a Jewish rabbi who was conversing with two of his friends. The rabbi asked one of the men, “How do you know when the night is over and a new day has begun?”

His friend replied, “When you look into the east and can distinguish a sheep from a goat, then you know the night is over and the day has begun.”

The second was asked the same question. He replied, “When you look into the distance and can distinguish an olive tree from a fig tree, then you know morning has come.”

Then they asked the rabbi how he could tell when the night is over and the day begins. He thought for a time and then said, “When you look into the east and see the face of a woman and you can say, 'She is my sister.' And when you can look into the east and see the face of a man and can say, 'He is my brother.' Then you know the light of a new day has come.”

Think of that my dear friends. How eloquently it speaks of the true meaning of brotherhood. (Told by President Gordon B. Hinckley)

Just something small...

One of my favorite small and simple things in life is a good story. I'm not sure why but it means so much to me. Thus, every so often I think I'll add a good story. Why keep everything to ourselves?

Recipe: Healthy Spice Granola

To my dearest Jessica,

Healthy Spice Granola

1 3/4 c. old-fashioned oats
1/2 c. sunflower seeds
1/4 c. almonds, chopped
1/4 c. honey
1/3 c. unsweetend applesauce
1 1/2 t. cinnamon
1/2 t. salt

Mix oats, seeds, and nuts. Pour into 9x13 glass baking dish.
Combine honey, applesauce, cinnamon, and salt in medium-sized bowl. Mix well.
Pour liquid into dry mixture. Stir/toss with fork.

Bake: 350 degrees, 30 minutes (toss every 10 minutes)