Monday, December 15, 2008

Charity

Oh my! December is half way over. I feel like I go to sleep and wake up and three days have passed, but I've only slept 8 hours.

Here are some thoughts on what charity is:

But charity is the pure love of Christ, and it endureth forever; and whoso is found possessed of it at the last day, it shall be well with him. (Moroni 7:47)

Charity is a work of the heart. It is not merely affection, but the highest and strongest kind of love. It is the pure love of Christ. If we love the Lord with all our heart, it becomes easier to love others. And as we do, we become more like Him. (Ensign, July 1999, 55)

Charity can be the outward expression of faith and hope. (Joseph B. Wirthlin, “Cultivating Divine Attributes,” Ensign, Nov 1998, 25)

Monday, November 24, 2008

December's Theme

For the month of December, I am going to tie all of my blogs to charity - for a monthly theme. I like themes. It helps me to categorize things better. So December will be about the love of Christ, the love of Heavenly Father, and how we can show love to others. Love helps our journey to be more enjoyable.

Wednesday, November 12, 2008

Veteran's Day

I know it's a day late, but I wanted to say thank you to all the Veterans. We do live in a great country.

I'm proud to be an American
Where at least I know I'm free
And I won't forget the men who died
Who gave that right to me

And I'll gladly stand up
And defend her still today
Cause there ain't no doubt I love this land
God bless the USA!

~Lee Greenwood

(I hope I got the words right - I'm just going off memory.)

Monday, November 10, 2008

Thanksgiving Traditions

Last week for FHE, we started off November with a lesson about Gratitude of course.
Something new I wanted to do this year was a "Thankful Tree" and "Appreciation Pockets".

I used a lesson on Gratitude from Lds Living. I modified it and just basically read the story from President Faust. (We only have one three-year-old child.) Then we put together our appreciation pockets and talked about them and our Thankful Tree.

For the Thankful Tree, the idea is to write what we are thankful for on a leaf and put it on the tree. I have a bulletin board tree cut-out that I am using and leaves cut out in fall colors. I would put up the Thankful Tree in my classroom during November when I taught school, and I don't remember where I got the idea. I've seen similar ideas since then.

I got the idea for appreciation pockets from a book about traditions by Kimberly Bytheway. I have modified this also. The book says to write things we are grateful for and put them in the pockets, but I am using the tree for this. My appreciation pockets are to write things we appreciate about each other and put those in the pockets.

Then, for the last Monday in November, we are going to have a pie night and read the leaves from the tree and the notes in the appreciation pockets.

Wednesday, October 8, 2008

Getting Started

I have recently become aquainted with blogging and wow there are sooo many cute ideas out there! I want to do cute and crafty things too.

I decided I wanted to do a blog and share my plethora of knowledge with the world, but as I started writing down my thoughts and looking for ideas, I realized I don't know all that much. So I was thinking I would blog about my "journey" of learning, and hopefully what my experiences and what I learn will help others.

Even though I have felt the need to do a blog, I've felt apprehensive and intimidated about sharing my thoughts with the world. I'm reminded of President Boyd K. Packer's talk, The Candle of the Lord. It says "Somewhere in your quest for ... knowledge, there is that “leap of faith,” as the philosophers call it. It is the moment when you have gone to the edge of the light and stepped into the darkness to discover that the way is lighted ahead for just a footstep or two."

Well, as I begin this blogging journey, I am very much stepping into the dark, but "the way is lighted ahead for just a footstep or two."


And Away We Go!!