Two Powerful Words

The obvious key words here are I choose.  Life is about choices.  We came into this world with what Jefferson called our God-given and inalienable rights: life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.  To me, this means that I am given life at birth, a gift of God and my wonderful parents.  Liberty means that I have the right to choose and to pursue my life's goals, dreams, and ambitions.  I think sometimes people forget or fail to understand these terms.  They think liberty means license, the freedom to do whatever I want without consequences.  They also misread Jefferson's trio to say that we are guaranteed happiness by our government.  These are false assumptions that can lead only to sorrow.  We are not guaranteed happiness: only the right to pursue it.

 

My life was a gift I didn't earn.  But liberty and the pursuit of happiness imply choice.  I have my agency.  I can choose whatever I want, but in doing so I recognize that I choose the consequence when I choose the behavior.  Too many of us blame everyone and everything else for the problems in our lives.  Only when we begin to take responsibility can we find happiness.  Even when life sends us challenges that are no one's fault, being a responsible person gives us the moral and emotional strength to grow through those challenges and endure with grace.

 

So this year, I do choose.  I choose to be happy.  I choose to pray daily.  I choose to honor my covenants.  I choose to study the scriptures.   I choose to take responsibility for my own choices. I choose not to be a victim. I choose not be react, but to act.   I choose to submit my will to the Father's will.  I choose to seek the guidance of the Spirit and to follow those promptings as they come.  I choose to follow the Savior.  I choose to love and serve the Lord by loving and serving His children.  I choose. 

 

Happy New Year!

 

Text copyright 2012 Gebara Education

Picture downloaded from Facebook

God is the Potter; We are the Clay

As the new year approaches and I think about all the things I want to do, it can become overwhelming.  But I learned long ago the secret to avoiding that sort of mental and emotional overload.  Remember, whatever happens, the Lord is in charge.  If I start each morning with a pray that He guide me, then I'm able to handle the day.  I ask only for the ability to understand His will for me and the courage, love, and wisdom to carry it out, allowing my will to be swallowed up in His.  I am not 100% successful, but I my percentage is improving every year as I grow older.  When I am in the flow of God's will, I can feel it, and it is the most wonderful feeling in the world.  I invite you to join me this new year in being the clay and allowing Jesus Christ to be the Potter.

 

Text copyright 2012 Gebara Education

Photo downloaded from Facebook

Choosing Our Thoughts and Actions

Moving forward into the new year is all about choices.  I loved this poster on several levels: the most obvious on is that we choose based on values rather than on personal gain.  The second is less obvious: we don't just choose what we do; we choose what we think.

Choosing behaviors based on values shows that we are in it for the long haul.  We are not choosing merely based on current desire or expediency.  We choose what we know to be right, even when it is not convenient.  I remember a time in my life when my heart was severely shaken.  My mother had just died and I was vulnerable.  Several very challenging things were going on in my life and I was so depressed and shell shocked that I couldn't feel anything. (My friend bpp will remember that time very clearly, for she feared for my faith.)  As I approached that new year (1990) I remember kneeling in prayer.  I told God that I didn't feel anything, even Him.  But I promised Him that I would continue to choose my behaviors based on what I knew to be right, trusting Him that my feelings and faith would return.  It was not an easy choice when there were days when I wanted to turn my head to the wall and die, but I did it, one painful step at a time.  In time, the feelings did return and so did the faith, much stronger than before.  I am so grateful that I never did a shameful thing during those long months and was able to move forward without regrets.

 

Choosing thoughts based on values is key.  In Proverbs 23: 7, we read: For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he.  This is true, because behavior and character begin as thoughts.  Nothing was ever done in this life that wasn't a matter of some thought beforehand, even if it was a quick impulse and the doer hardly aware of the thought preceding the action.  We cannot always stop every thought that pops into our heads, but we can choose not to dwell on thoughts that are outside of our value system.  Some people feel they can do anything they want in their own minds because no one will know.  The fallacy here is that God knows and the person knows, and if the person continues to play with fire in his mind, it is only a matter of time before he is playing with fire in his behavior.  That is why the Savior told us not to allow ourselves to be consumed with anger or lust or covetousness.  All three lead to graver sins.

 

So as I write my resolutions this year, I will consider what I value most and resolve to do better within the context of what is precious to me.  I invite you to do the same.

 

Text copyright 2012 Gebara Education

 

Picture from Facebook

Burning Bridges

Most of us have heard the phrase burning bridges.  It's usually seen as a negative and we are advised not to do it.  But could it sometimes be a positive?  I recently saw a poster that said "Sometimes burning bridges isn't a bad thing.  It prevents you from going back to a place you should never have been to begin with."  As we allow God to pull our immature hands away from our eyes and look at our faults, we have two choices: we can turn away from the wrong roads we have been walking and walk with Him, or we can return the way we came.  In Proverbs 26:11, we read a graphic statement about the latter choice: As a dog returneth to his vomit, so a fool returneth to his folly.

 

An old proverb defines insanity as doing the same thing over and over again, while expecting a different result.  I don't know about you, but I don't want to leave this world (or live in it, for that matter) as insane.  When God shows me a weakness, I want Him to help make it a strength.  So I challenge myself and you to make a resolution this year of doing a course correction every time we recognize that our feet have left the path.  Then don't look back like Lot's wife. Allow that bridge to insanity to be burned so as not to be tempted to return to that place where we should not have been in the first place.  

Text copyright Gebara Education 2012
Picture downloaded from Facebook

Admitting Faults, Then Removing Them

All of us have blind spots.  I don't believe anyone can completely eradicate them.  But we can open them up a little at a time, take out a fault, and make a conscious effort to exchange a negative for a positive.  Here are some ways to illuminate the blind spots:

• Listen to others who truly love you.  By this, I mean those people whom you love and trust with your tenderest feelings.  There is an old saying in AA: if one person tells me I have a tail, I can ignore him, but if several people tell me I have a tail, I better back up and look in the mirror.  If we can keep ourselves from getting overly defensive, we can often find ways to strengthen our characters.
• Listen to the Holy Spirit.  Even people who don't regularly converse with the Spirit can have moments when that little built-in alarm in their head goes off.  We all come into this world with the Light of Jesus Christ, even if we don't really know Him well.  If we can develop the habit of acknowledging those little "tinglings and twinklings" as a Baptist minister once called them, they can teach us a lot about ourselves, the world, and God.

My challenge to myself and to anyone who is interested in growing this year, is to recognize faults, understand how they weaken us, and make an honest effort to turn a weakness into a strength.

And if men come unto me I will show unto them their weakness.  I give unto men weakness that they may be humble; and my grace is sufficient for all men that humble themselves before me; for if they humble themselves before me and have faith in me, then will I make weak things become strong unto them. (Ether 12:27)

Text copyright Gebara Education 2012

Picture from Facebook

Life Goes Forward, Not Backward

After weeks of preparing, shopping, wrapping, decorating, and baking, Christmas is over in 24 hours.  Now is the time when people begin to look toward the new year and new beginnings. 

 

I chose this poster to begin a week dedicated to New Year's Resolutions.  The past is past.  It cannot be changed.  We can look back in fondness of memory and we can remember lessons learned from less than fond experiences, but we cannot live there.  However, we can glean from those experiences to direct the writing of the next chapters.

 

As you evaluate your life, if you find memories that still bring strong, negative feelings, you may want to do the exercise we learned in 12-Step.  Fold a paper in half lengthwise and write those memories on the left side.  Then write the lessons learned and spiritual growth attained.  Keep the lessons and the growth, and throw away the pain of the experience.  Then take a deep breath and let it go.

 

Text © Gebara Education, 2012

Picture  from Facebook

Merry Christmas to All!

 

Merry Christmas to all and to all a joyeous and peaceful new year!

Love Gifts

 

My son's family has created the tradition of letting the children open gifts from their siblings on Christmas Eve.  As I watched them this morning, I was so impressed at the thought that went into each gift.  The baby got a toy that so fits his favorite thing to do that he's been playing far beyond a one-year-old's usual attention span.  The eldest got a huge board from his younger sibs with a saying that fits him so well, we all laughed when he opened it.  It will look great in his college apt.  The only daughter got bling - and she loves it.  The middlest boy is a budding engineer and he got Legos and more Legos and is in heaven.  He also got two little electronic bugs that scoot and scurry all over.  Good thing his dad is an exterminator!  The parents got pencil cups that their daughter made out of recycled cans and crayons.  Believe it or not, they are beautiful.  A lot of love went  into the planning and the giving.

 

It reminded me of a tradition we had when my children were younger.  On Christmas Eve, we had our big turkey dinner and after dinner we would sit by the fire and exchange love gifts.  The gifts had to be thoughtful and created out of love for the recipient.  The year I remember best was the year Beed and Sess learned to sing Beautiful Savior and performed it for my dad, who loves the song.  He sat there with tears dripping off the end of his nose.  I think it was one of the best gifts he ever received.

 

After the gifts, we would read the Christmas story from Luke and Matthew.  One year, when the children were little, they dressed up in bathrobes and towels and acted out the parts.  Then my mom, who was a gifted pianist, played carol after carol as we gathered around the baby grand to sing the songs of the Savior's birth.

 

Love gifts are what Christmas is all about.  After all, it was on Christmas that all humanity received the greatest love gift in eternity and beyond.  For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life. (John 3: 16)

 

Give love this Christmas.  It's value is above gold.

 

Text © Gebara Education, 2012

 

Picture of Santa and the Chirst Child from Facebook

Advent ~ The 4th Sunday ~ Luke 2

Some of the most beautiful words in the English language:

Luke 2, KJV

 

1 And it came to pass in those days, that there went out a decree from Cæsar Augustus, that all the world should be taxed.

.  .  .

3 And all went to be taxed, every one into his own city.

4 And Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judæa, unto the city of David, which is called Bethlehem; (because he was of the house and lineage of David:)

5 To be taxed with Mary his espoused wife, being great with child.

6 And so it was, that, while they were there, the days were accomplished that she should be delivered.

7 And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn.

8 And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night.

9 And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid.

10 And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.

11 For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.

12 And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.

13 And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying,

14 Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.

15 And it came to pass, as the angels were gone away from them into heaven, the shepherds said one to another, Let us now go even unto Bethlehem, and see this thing which is come to pass, which the Lord hath made known unto us.

16 And they came with haste, and found Mary, and Joseph, and the babe lying in a manger.

 

A beautiful Christmas rendition of For, Unto Us a Child is Born, from Handel's Messiah:

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ozgz95pot1s

 

Text © Gebara Education, 2012

 

Joseph, Mary, and Jesus from www.philospherjosh.wordpress.com

Shepherds from Facebook, www.mormon.org

Advent candles from www.stteresa-avila.org

The Christmas Card House

 

 

When I was a child growing up in Las Vegas, I used to love to spend Christmas with my grandparents in northern Utah.  It didn't happen every year because my dad was the feature singer at the Thunderbird Hotel and rarely got a Christmas Eve off.  So it was a special treat the year we went to Grandma Corinne's and Grandpa Scotch's house for Christmas.  I was 8 that year and I wanted a Toni doll from Santa. (Are any of you old enough to remember Toni dolls?).  The first thing I did Christmas morning was to wash and "perm" her hair (with sugar water solution) much to my mother's dismay.  The doll never looked the same!

 

We had snow that year and Dad took my brother and I out on a sled.  Dad was the only one who was warm because he was pulling the sled!  He helped us make a snowman - my first.  I appreciated Grandpa's huge coal fire in the fireplace.  It's warmth is one of my fondest memories of that Christmas.  Perhaps the thing I remember most is the love I felt in that home.  Sadly, that house was torn down in 1966 to make room for a big apartment complex.  I grieve its passing as if it were a person.  It was a Christmas Card House.

 

About halfway between Las Vegas and my grandparents' homes is the little town of Beaver, UT.  Just south of Beaver, on the west side of the freeway, is a little white farmhouse with a green roof.  After my grandparents' home was demolished, I began to I call the house in Beaver my Christmas Card House.  It has tall pines around it and in the winter time, it is always surrounded by snow.  I remember it from childhood as being halfway to Grandma's house; halfway to love.  As an adult, I went to graduate school in northern Utah and used to pass my Christmas Card House every time I drove south to visit my folks.  By then, the paint was faded and peeling and I'm not sure my children appreciated my feelings for the house.  They do not share my memories of a simpler time and my grandparents' love. 

 

When I see the above picture, I remember the Christmas Card House and that magical Christmas with my grandparents. The snow, the Christmas lights, the snowman, the pine trees - even the old car - remind me of the love I felt that Christmas.  I want to make those kinds of memories for my grandchildren and great-grandchildren.  When they grow old, I want them to look back at Christmas at Grandma's house as snow and Christmas lights and good food and a crackling fire.  But mostly, I hope they remember it as time when they traveled all the way to love.

 

Text © Gebara Education, 2012

Trusting God's Promises

 

It's December 21st.  We are here.  When the Lord's prophet tells me to prepare, I prepare.  But I do not worry.  I trust God's promises.  Like this one:

Matthew 24:36

But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only.

 

'Nuff said.

The Spirit of My Childhood Christmas

I like this definition of a good life.  It is true that people are happiest, not when they have what they want but when they want what they have.

 



This picture captures the spirit of Corinne-Bee's House



 

My Grandma Corinne asked little of life, but gave a lot.  Her glass was always half full.  She was an optimist.  She smiled often.  She laughed easily.  She was always up and doing.  She was my very best friend when I was a child.

 

If Grandma woke up to a garage full of manure on Christmas morning, she would have been so excited because she would have known that meant there was a pony somewhere!  I remember her oooohing and aaaahing over a Christmas gift one year and I suspected even then that she didn't have a clue what it was.  But it was given to her by someone she loved and that was enough for her.

 

My Dad inherited a lot of that.  When we were kids, he was the magic in Christmas.  Every year he'd tell us that when we got up, we should go straight into the kitchen for breakfast and then look at what Santa bought.  But there was always that twinkle in his eyes that let us know he was pulling our legs.  I remember the year my brother got an electric train for Christmas.  There was B, barely sitting up and half asleep (I think he was about 1) and Dad was playing with the train.

 

When my kids were little, they loved to go to Grandpa Barney's house for Christmas.  Just as Grandma Corinne was my Christmas icon, Grandpa Barney was theirs.

 

I want to be just like them both when I grow up!

 

Text © Gebara Education, 2012

Poster downloaded from Facebook

A Light in the Darkness

My heart has felt a weight these past few days.  Not for myself, but for another.  I am preparing for Christmas.  I've trimmed the tree, wrapped presents, set up "Santa" under the tree for my great-grandchildren, sent the cards, and I am now baking and making cakes and goodies to take to friends and neighbors.  I am looking forward to spending Christmas with two of my children in the Valley and will see six of my grandchildren.  Then I plan to spend a couple of days with my mom-by-marriage.  A wonderful holiday, wouldn't you say?

 

So why do I feel heavy?  Because God has placed someone on my heart.  I cannot tell you this person's challenges without violating the person's privacy, but I feel those challenges keenly.  I feel the great out-pouring of God's love for this person through me, yet I no longer know how to reach the person.  This person's darkness is beyond being cheered by a gift or a goody or even a kind word.  For all my loquaciousness, I don't know what to say. 

 

So I pray.  And I pray again.  Throughout the day, whenever this person comes to mind (which is often) I pray.  I had one insight yesterday and I have moved on that impression and ordered something.  I hope it gets here in time.

 

In the meantime, do you have people in your life whom God has placed upon your heart?  If so, pray for them.  Then pray again.  And when you feel an impression to act, do so.  And look beyond the darkness to the son or daughter of God and love that person as Jesus would love him or her.  God bless you.

 

Text © Gebara Education, 2012

Poster downloaded from Facebook

Christmas and Easter ~ Inseparable

Without Gethsemane and Calvary, there would have been no reason for Bethlehem.  Keep Christ in Christmas and in every day of your life.

Just Sayin' ~ Pure Religion at Christmas

 

I have decided to use my Just Sayin' format for the next two weeks.  I will return to my posts on The Family right after the first of the year.  Until then, I'd like to share pictures and posters that have caught my eye and talk about why each spoke to me.

 

There is a Christmas song that tells us "It's the most wonderful time of the year. But for many people, this time of the year is a time of sadness.  Some reasons are apparent, such as the recent tragedy in Connecticut, but others are hidden.  People do cry behind closed doors and face personal struggles we can hardly imagine. 

 

My maternal grandmother was always sad at Christmas time.  I'll admit, I would rather spend the holidays with my paternal grandparents, who were cheerful souls.  It was a downer to have Grandma looking so glum all the time.  In all of my growing up years, I remember only one Christmas spent at her house.  I often wondered why she couldn't even try to be excited about Christmas coming.  I was almost an adult before I understood the reason: my mother's only brother died in December and was buried on Christmas Eve.  Things only became worse when my mom's father followed him in death, also in December.  She had suffered serious bouts with clinical depression for years afterwards.  I wish I had understood this when I was a child.  I would like to go back and sit down beside her and tell her I loved her, no matter what.

 

So as we set out to prepare for a joyous Christmas season, let us be mindful of those who struggle to find joy.  Let us take time to reach out to the sad and the weary; the sick and the lonely.  James tells us this: Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world. (James 1: 27)

 

Let us walk among men as Scrooge learned to do and reach out to those who seem strong and perhaps are strong, yet who still cry alone.

 

Text © Gebara Education, 2012

 

Poster downloaded from Facebook

Advent ~ The Third Sunday ~ Joy

 
In his book, Surprised by Joy, C. S. Lewis talks about joy as those tiny moments that just burst upon your soul unexpectedly.  You can't create them and you can't hang on to them, but you can remember them forever.  Those moments of brilliant insight can inform and alter you entire life.  Lewis describes his coming to Christianity by these surprising moments of utter joy.
 

As I think of the birth of the Savior, utter joy comes to mind.  I am thinking this morning of the Star that heralded His birth and must have surprised and awed all who saw it.  We call it "The Star of Bethlehem," but it truth it was seen around the world.  Wise men far to the east of Bethlehem saw the star and followed it for two years to find Him who was born King of the Jews.

 

Another group of people saw the star and recognized it as the sign of the Savior's birth.  These people lived half a world away in ancient Mesoamerica.  There story is recorded in The Book of Mormon.  You don't have to be a Latter-day Saint to enjoy this oft forgotten Christmas story.

 

From Helaman 14, we learn of an ancient prophet named Samuel who foretold Jesus' birth:

 

1 And now it came to pass that Samuel the Lamanite, did prophesy a great many more things . . .

2 And behold, he said unto them: Behold, I give unto you a sign; for five years more cometh, and behold, then cometh the Son of God to redeem all those who shall believe on his name.

3 And behold, this will I give unto you for a sign at the time of his coming; for behold, there shall be great lights in heaven, insomuch that in the night before he cometh there shall be no darkness, insomuch that it shall appear unto man as if it was day.

4 Therefore, there shall be one day and a night and a day, as if it were one day and there were no night; and this shall be unto you for a sign; for ye shall know of the rising of the sun and also of its setting; therefore they shall know of a surety that there shall be two days and a night; nevertheless the night shall not be darkened; and it shall be the night before he is born.

5 And behold, there shall a new star arise, such an one as ye never have beheld; and this also shall be a sign unto you.

 

Believers rejoiced at this news.  Like the ancient Jews, these descendants of Israel also awaiting the coming of the Son of God.  But as the time for the sign to be given drew close, the non-believers mocked them.  It became politically incorrect to talk about new stars and signs and of a God who would have a Son and a Son of God who would save His people.  Finally, the persecution became so great that the non-believers (who controlled the government, by the way) set aside a day in which all the believers would be put to death if the sign were not given.

 

Another prophet, one name Nephi, prayed mightily to God that the sign might come and the believing people saved.  This is his prayer and God's response from 3 Nephi 1:

 

10 Now it came to pass that when Nephi, the son of Nephi, saw this wickedness of his people, his heart was exceedingly sorrowful.

11 And it came to pass that he went out and bowed himself down upon the earth, and cried mightily to his God in behalf of his people, yea, those who were about to be destroyed because of their faith in the tradition of their fathers.

12 And it came to pass that he cried mightily unto the Lord all that day; and behold, the voice of the Lord came unto him, saying:

13 Lift up your head and be of good cheer; for behold, the time is at hand, and on this night shall the sign be given, and on the morrow come I into the world, to show unto the world that I will fulfil all that which I have caused to be spoken by the mouth of my holy prophets.

14 Behold, I come unto my own, to fulfil all things which I have made known unto the children of men from the foundation of the world, and to do the will, both of the Father and of the Son—of the Father because of me, and of the Son because of my flesh. And behold, the time is at hand, and this night shall the sign be given.

 

That night, the sign was given.

 

15 And it came to pass that the words which came unto Nephi were fulfilled, according as they had been spoken; for behold, at the going down of the sun there was no darkness; and the people began to be astonished because there was no darkness when the night came.

.  .  .

19 And it came to pass that there was no darkness in all that night, but it was as light as though it was mid-day. And it came to pass that the sun did rise in the morning again, according to its proper order; and they knew that it was the day that the Lord should be born because of the sign which had been given.

20 And it had come to pass, yea, all things, every whit, according to the words of the prophets.

21 And it came to pass also that a new star did appear, according to the word.

 

Millions saw that star around the world.  It must have been an incredible and unmistakable celestial manifestation.  Most of the people who witnessed it probably didn't understand its meaning, but those who had heard and believed the words of ancient prophets did.  When the sign was given, I am sure that they were surprised by joy.

 

And so the promises made by our Heavenly Father to each of us, all those long ages ago in heaven have been fulfilled.  He gave unto us a Savior, born to a very young mother in a little stable in Bethlehem.  That event changed the history of the world forever.  Jesus did everything He promised us He would do.  Because of Him, we can return to live with our Heavenly Father.  When we feel confused or troubled, we can look to Jesus just like simple shepherds and wise men and true believers half a world away once looked at a star, and we, too, will find the Son of God.  Let us remember Him as we celebrate His birthday this Christmas and remember that quiet and holy night that brought joy to all believers and changed all of eternity. 

 

© Gebara Education, December 2012

Picture of third candle of Advent from www.stteresa-avila.org

Picture of the Star of Bethlehem from www.theresainfortworth.wordpress.com

Short Musings of a Frustrated Playwright!

My blog is my sanity!  Perhaps that's why I have been feeling slightly insane this past week!  I have been stressing over the Christmas pageant.  I have five boys, age 14, as shepherds, but only one took a costume I offered.  The rest want to do their own.  I'm afraid I'll have one shepherd and four kids in jeans and/or pjs!  Mary is outfitted as is Joseph (both age 16) and the innkeeper.  The wise men have robes, but only one has a headpiece.  The other two are supposed to be making their own crowns.  Sigh! 

 

The angel Gabriel is an adult who wants to speak softly.  His wife has made him a white robe, but I don't know if he will wear it.  One of the wise men has missed all but one practice and they are singing a challenging song.  The young women's choir is good, but I thought they had a director.  They don't.  Guess who was drafted?  Sigh.  My pianist is awesome.  I haven't seen the sets yet, but I trust the set-maker, so that's okay.

 

Tomorrow will be better.  The men will show up at 10 to put up the stage and the sets and the tables.  The women will come at 10:30 to decorate tables.  The cast and crew will rehearse at 2:00 so I can see what we still need.  And at 6:00 the show will go on!

 

I think of that line from a song my dad used to sing:

 

     "Another Opening. Another Show"

 

     4 weeks, you rehearse and rehearse.

     2 weeks and it couldn't be worse.

     1 week will it ever be right?

     Then out of the hat comes that big first night.

 

Oh, and I still need to find or buy a doll to represent the baby Jesus.

 

Akkkkkk!  I think I'll move to Australia!

The Best Christmas Pageant Ever ~Hopefully!

 

I am writing and directing our church's Christmas pageant this year.  So far, it's been lots of fun and I'm loving it, but it is also lots of work.  So my posts on the blog will be sporadic, at best.  I'll be back in full swing the day after the pageant (next Saturday), so look for me on the third Sunday of Advent.  Until then, have a fun time yourselves getting ready for the "summer of the soul in December." (Kermit the Frog)

 

 Picture of nativity from www.churchsupplies.com

 

Advent ~ The Second Sunday ~ FAITH

 

 

On the second Sunday before Christmas, I want to spend a moment talking about FAITH ~ specifically the faith of a young girl in a remote Galilean village over 2000 years ago.  Mary was very young - much younger than we'd like to think - when a messenger from God came to her and told her that she had been chosen to be the mother of the Son of God.  Her only question was a natural one: how is this going to happen since I am not married and have never been with a man.  Once the angel had explained, she said, "Behold, the handmaiden of the Lord.  Be it unto me according to thy word."  How many of us could have said that? 

Contrast that to Zacharias who was a priest in Judah and had served the Lord in the Temple in Jerusalem all of his life.  He didn't believe the angel when he appeared in the temple with glad tidings.  No, Zacharias asked for a sign.  I am afraid too many of us are more like Zacharias than we are like Mary.

 

Faith is not knowledge.  It doesn't require a sign (for that would be knowledge, wouldn't it?)  Faith is complete trust in God that, whatever happens, He will guide us and in all these things, He will give us experiences that will help us grow, and learn, and even heal.

 

In these unsure times, we need the faith of Mary that the Lord is mindful of us; that we may approach each new day and each new experience without fear, secure in His love.   As I light the second candle, I pray that I might I face my challenges with faith as Mary faced hers.

 

Mary’s Challenge

Ages past there was a woman, who was lovely, young, and pure;

Called to be the Savior’s mother, gentle Mary was unsure

Of how this could be.  And she troubled when she heard.

But having faith she answered, “Unto me as is thy word.”

 

She must have often worried at the secret she must bear;

Of the challenge that was hers alone, though Joseph took her care.

The rocky road to Bethlehem must have been hard to tread -

And to bear her son in a stable with a manger for His bed!

 

She must have taken time untold to train her Holy Son

The countless hours she must have spent to teach this Chosen One.

For we know he waxed strong in spirit and wisdom in His youth

For at twelve, He was found in the temple teaching the aged truth.

 

 Did she ever tell Him, “Later, Son, I’m much too busy now?”

Was her temper ever short?  Did she ever wonder how

She could hope to raise this boy to man?  Or did she softly smile

Knowing He was God’s forever and her babe but a little while?

I’m sure when times were hard, she turned to those she loved for aid,

Perhaps to gentle Joseph, or Elizabeth she paid

Visit with her questions.  But her deepest inquiries

Were taken to her Father, oft’, in secret, on her knees,

I know He gave her comfort in her own Gethsemane

For she, too bore a cross of sorts that day on Calvary.

And as she watched her son fulfill his mission here the earth,

Did she remember Bethlehem, the stable, and His birth?

 Her life was rarely easy, but her calling was divine;

As is each call to Motherhood, which calls are yours and mine. 

And life’s not always easy.  God never promises us so.

But it is the greatest gift He gives, if we but only know

That these precious spirit children –each have an earthly trial,

For they are God’s forever and our babes but a little while.

Written as a gift to the Gilbert 2^nd Ward LDS Relief Society, December 1970

© Gebara Education, December 2012

 

Picture of second candle of Advent from www.stteresa-avila.org

Just Sayin' Saturday ~ C. S. Lewis

 

A couple of months ago, I ordered an audio course on the writings of C. S. Lewis.  I was enthralled!  I have always loved him as an author and Christian apologist, but I didn't even begin to realize the scope of his work until I studied that course. 

 

Since then, I have started reading my way through a plethora of Lewis books.  I've finished all three books of his Space Trilogy and am on book five of the Narnia series.  I am rereading the Screwtape Letters and am looking forward to Pilgrim's Regress.  I want to finish reading Mere Christianity.  I've also ordered a book written about his life with his wife, Joy, called Through the Shadowlands. 

 

I'm thinking of hosting a book study group next year to focus solely on C. S. Lewis.  Does anyone want to come?  Seriously, let me know at gebaraedu@yahoo.com.

 

I know I'm being obsessive about these books, but I can learn so much from Lewis by reading the lines.  I learn even more by prayerfully reading between the lines. 

 

Just sayin'.

Text © 2012 Gebara Education

 

Picture downloaded from Facebook

The Family ~ Some Resources.

In summing up our "unit" on problem solving, I'd like to share with you some objectives and guidelines for problem-solving from Dr. H. Stephen Glenn's DCYP [1] program.  I'm also including some ideas from Bill Oliver's P2P Program [2].This is an exercise for parents, so I suggest you get a notebook or paper and pen and answer the following questions:

• Do I both model and teach basic skills for human relationships such as listening and problem-solving?  If not, what can I do to improve in this area?  (Do I remember from P2P that one of my roles as a parent is to model appropriate behavior?) 
• Do I seek to reduce barriers and obstacles to listening and problem-solving? Do I respond in ways that reduce the tension or do I exacerbate the problem by reactions?
• Do I allow for differences in how people perceive the world, including differences inherent is age, culture, maturity, and even gender?  Do I remember that as human beings, we all see the world as we are not as it is?

H. Stephen Glenn

Dr. Glenn discusses his "Dirty Dozen:" communication habits that shut down communication and stifle all efforts at solving problems and conflicts within the family.  These are:

• Operating from a position of power/power struggles
• Giving You-messages instead of I-messages
• Advising before advise is asked for - "Let me tell you what you should do..."
• Lecturing
• Judging/being judgmental (particularly before you've heard all the facts and feelings)
• Giving non-specific praise ("Good job; you're a great kid; nice work, etc.")
• Name-calling
• Interpreting (I am not a mind reader and neither are you.)
• False reassurances ("I know how you feel; it's okay [3]; it's really not a big deal, etc.")
• Ridiculing
• Attacking the person, not the problem
• Avoiding the issue

If you want further information about either Parent-to-Parent or Developing Capable Young People, you can follow the links below or you can query either program on www.Amazon.com.  I went there this morning and found several resources from both programs.  I have studied, trained, and taught both.  Their approaches are different, but compatible.  I highly recommend them both and will be sharing more in the future.

 

[1] Developing Capable Young People; http://www.capabilitiesinc.com/course-material.html

[2] Parent-to Parent: Safe Passages; http://www.thepassagegroup.com/

[3] My youngest son had just started the third grade when Carmon died.  The first day of school, (less than a week after the funeral) he was sitting by a wall at recess and crying.  A teacher on duty came over to him and asked what the problem was.  He told there that his father had just been killed in a car accident.  She said to him, "It's all right."  He looked in her eyes and said, "It's not all right!  I am only 8 years old and I need a dad!" Amazing truths come from children if we'll only listen.

 Text © 2012 Gebara Education

 

Picture of Dr. Glenn from www.positivedicipline.com

P 2 P Logo from Blogspot

CCYP Logo from www.radans.com