The Reason for the Season

What can I give Him,

Poor as I am?

If I were a shepherd

I would bring a lamb.

If I were a Wise Man

I would do my part,

Yet what can I give Him?

Give my heart.

(Christina Georgina Rossetti)

President Monson tells this story about a Christmas when he was a boy.

"Christmastime had come. We were preparing for the oven a gigantic turkey and anticipating the savory feast that awaited. A neighborhood pal of mine asked a startling question: “What does turkey taste like?”  I responded, “Oh, about like chicken tastes.” Again a question: “What does chicken taste like?”  It was then that I realized my friend had never eaten chicken or turkey. I asked what his family was going to have for Christmas dinner. There was no prompt response, just a downcast glance and the comment, “I dunno. There’s nothing in the house.”  I pondered a solution. There was none. I had no turkeys, no chickens, no money. Then I remembered I did have two pet rabbits. Immediately I took them to my friend and handed the box to him with the comment, “Here, take these two rabbits. They’re good to eat—just like chicken.”  He took the box, climbed the fence, and headed for home—a Christmas dinner safely assured. Tears came easily to me as I closed the door to the empty rabbit hutch. But I was not sad. A warmth, a feeling of indescribable joy, filled my heart. It was a memorable Christmas."

Christmas is a time to remember the birth of Jesus Christ.  It's his birthday.  It is always nice to get gifts on your birthday, isn't it?  Have you thought about what kind of gift you could give to Jesus for His birthday?

Here are a few ideas that you could give for a gift:

Say prayers every morning or every night, or both!

Read the scriptures every day.

Or choose something from this list to do.  You could even make up a little calendar and write down what you do each day.  On Christmas Eve, you can look at your list and know that you have truly given a gift to Jesus.  

Always remember that we love YOU!

 

Corporal James

Last week as we were waiting for someone at the airport, we almost got a ticket for parking on a double yellow line that did not exist.  The officer was not very pleasant and we had to talk a blue streak to get him to not give one to us.

Today, we had to go to the airport again and guess who was on duty?!  We pulled up in the loading zone and he came over (to ask us to move, because they always do.)  We were looking at the arrival board and it said that the flight was on time but there was no Sister Shirts.  He was kind enough to go to the desk and ask the airline when the flight would be in.  It would be another hour so we left. 

We came back an hour later and the same thing happened.  He came to ask us to move, we asked him if the flight was in, he found out it would be yet another hour and a half so we left again.

I started thinking about him.  We are going to be seeing him a lot so I thought we should try to become friends.

The last time we went, another officer came up and asked us to move and I asked her if I could talk to that other nice young officer.  He came over and I told him that we appreciated that he was just doing his job the other day.  That we were still learning things because we are new here and appreciated his patience.  I told him that I hoped we could be friends because we would be seeing a lot of each other.  I told him my name and asked him for his.  He said it was Corporal James.  Then he told us we could park in the staff parking lot until our Sister missionary arrived.  That was so nice!  So we did.  I hope we have made a friend.

I had to swallow my pride a bit.  We were not in the wrong when he tried to give us the ticket.  The pictures clearly show that there were no double yellow lines where we were parked.  (Those are his feet in the first picture.)  I realized that it is more important to be friendly than right.   Many things are more important than being right.  I learned a lesson today.  Have you?

We love YOU!

Danger Sneaks up on You!

The other night we decided to watch the sunset on a section of beach that jutted out in the water.  It was surrounded by water on three sides.  We were sitting on a bench at the very end when we noticed 9 horses!  They went to the sand and rolled around in it.  They seemed to be really enjoying themselves.  We felt safe where we were.  Then they slowly started walking towards us.  They kept getting closer and closer and closer!  I started getting a little concerned because horses here are on the wild side!  Finally, some were so close that I could have reached out and touched them.  We decided that we should try to get off the little peninsula before it got dark.  We didn't want to startle the horses so we started carefully walking around the side.  A security guard was at the other end and she said, wait!  Be careful!  We waited a little while longer and then gingerly and quietly walked as far to one side as we could.  The horses left us alone and we made it to safety.  The guard told us that sometimes the horses can act up without any provocation and she was grateful we had made it to safety.

Sometimes we find ourselves in a situation where we thought we were safe.  Maybe we are at a friends house or at school and everything seems fine.  Slowly, things change.  Maybe something comes on TV or the radio that we shouldn't see or hear.  Hopefully a little "alarm" goes off to warn us that we are in danger and that we should leave.  We have to decide what is the best way to do that.  Sometimes if you make a big fuss, it will cause more problems.  Sometimes you just have to quietly leave and never let yourself get in that situation again.  The Spirit will whisper to you what you should do.  Listen to it and you will not be led astray.

We love YOU!