Goals!!

New Year is coming up and with it comes the feeling to set goals to do try harder and do new things during the upcoming year.

Someone once said that if you don't write down a goal then it's only a wish. I think that's true in the way that if you write something down and put it where you see it often, you tend to do more about that goal.
Once you've written it, put it up where you can see it often and then work toward that goal.

I enjoy playing soccer, or football, and, as all sports, soccer requires teamwork. You can't expect to score a goal all by yourself. You have other players all over the field helpping you.
In the same way, a goal can be better achieved when you tell your friends and family about them. That way they know and can support you and give encouragement if needed.

Motivation also helps.
A couple years ago I wanted to buy a LEGO architecture set of Falling Water. My motivation was the joy and fun of building it once I got it.
So, once I knew what it was I wanted, I started saving money. It took time, pateicnt and effort but I did it and I felt amazing.
I'm sure you've felt this way before, you studied hard for a test and thanks to all that work and the time you spent, you passed.
Fulfilling a goal feels...amazing. You realize what you can do.

Challenge: make a goal, even if it seems kind of small, and do it. 

Challenge #2(Two challenges I know!): make a long term goal. Do you want to go to college?

Have a wonderful New Year's Day and a great year!!

Service

Winter is a great time to serve. Especially during Christmas season.
Now, I know Christmas has rolled by (barely) but now you have a whole year to think about what service you want to give next Christmas. 

A friend on Facebook shared this video a while ago; it's...spectacular. There's not really a word to describe it correctly. It's just amazing.

So, no, you don't have to go around handing money out to people to do service. In fact, I'll bet that you serve people left and right everyday without realizing it.
There's two kinds of service. Big in-the-news type service and small day to day type service. Both are important. (Although the day to day type services are, for the lack of a better word, better, I think.)

-Challenge: Do an act of service, big or small, today-

Christ

On this, the eve of the day we celebrate Christ's birth, I though it'd be appropriate to write about Him. Because, of course, He's what it's all about.

Jesus Christ, Savior of the world, was born in a manger in Bethleham to Mary and Joseph.
That year everyone was ordered to return to the city of their roots, so to speak. Joseph and Mary traveled to from Nazareth to Bethlehem, a journey of around 62 miles. That by itself is a pretty big hike, not to mention Mary was pregnant. Now a days, doctors tell women who are expecting not to exert themselves.
Things were differently different back then.
Once there, Joseph could not find an inn for him and Mary to stay at. And Mary was just about ready to have her baby. No pressure!!
Thank goodness that they were able to stay in a stable. Back then a stable wasn't what we think of. It was most likely a cave where the animals stayed.
And so, in the lowliness (and no doubt smelliness), of that stable, Jesus Christ, King of Kings, Lord of Lords, Prince of Peace and Messiah, among other titles, was born. He was not born in a palace or even an inn. No, He was born in a humble stable with the animals.
Shepherds in a nearby field were visited by angels and told to go to Bethlehem to see the Christ child. The shepherds obeyed and once they had seen the child, they went around and told everyone else of what they'd seen.
Now the significance of the shepherds being visited by the angels is this: they tended to the sacrificial lambs, the lambs that would be used as sacrifices in the temple.

Christ is the reason for Christmas. You've probably heard this a thousand times but, if you take off the second syllable of Christmas you get Christ. Do the same thing for 'The Spirit of Christmas.' Take the second syllable of Christmas and you have, 'The Spirit of Christ.'

It's very appropriate to have a holiday for Christ. He came here on His Father's mission and cleared the path for us to return to Him as long as we follow Him and obey His words.

During a talk at church one of the speakers asked a very interesting question. It was something like this, If Christmas is all about Christ and His birth, then how come we celebrate it by focusing on the presents and things? He said it better then I did or ever could but you get the idea.

One December we gathered together for a family meeting. We began by asking our 11-year-old son how he would feel if on his birthday we gave presents to everyone but him. He didn’t like that idea at all. We went on to ask if there is a holiday when we give gifts to others but not to the person whose birthday we are celebrating. It didn’t take the children long to realize we were talking about Christmas. We decided to start making Christmas more meaningful by giving gifts to Jesus Christ, whose birthday we are celebrating.

Our children wondered what they could give the Savior. We talked about what He desires of us. We discussed His Atonement and His desire for us to give up our sins and be obedient. We talked about how He wants us to give of ourselves by serving and sharing our talents.

That year, we had each family member write on slips of paper the gifts they planned to give the Savior and place the slips in a box. On Christmas morning, before we opened the other gifts, we had family prayer and shared with each other the gifts we were giving the Savior for the coming year.

As the years have come and gone, the tradition of giving gifts to Jesus Christ has helped our family focus on the real meaning of Christmas and on our love and gratitude for Him.1

What an idea! Give a gift to Christ.
We read this in an early morning class I take and then we each wrote a gift to Christ on the back of the piece of paper.
The gift could be anything from serving others or smiling more to writing in your journal more often or more meaningful prayer or scripture study.

Today this is my challenge to you: think about then write down what your gift to Christ will be. It's kind of a New Year's Resolution but more spiritual, you might say.


I still can't believe it, Christmas is tomorrow!!
Well, as you open you gifts and spend time with loved ones, remember why it is that we have this wonderful holiday.

__________
1 Remebering Christ at Christmas. LDS.org. https://www.lds.org/liahona/1999/12/remembering-christ-at-christmas?lang=eng

Family Time!!

Holidays are the perfect time to spend time with family.
And families are the most important unit on earth.

Some of the most important, and fun, family memories come from the holidays. Not just Christmas; Thanksgiving, Birthdays, New Year pretty much any event that is important to your family.

Now is the time that families are together the most; make the best of it.

Relax

This season is always a busy one. There's activities, plays, parties, family gatherings, shopping, recitals. It's kind of amazing how many things go on during the holidays.
In the movie Rascal, Willard North says something like, "What if we went through life and came to the end and we had never stopped to look at the flowers?"

Now is a perfect time to stop and look around.

This a great little video about stopping to look around and appreciate the beauty and memories that surround us.

In this month of December, I think the busiest month of the year, we really should stop, look and think. Stop what you're doing for a minute. Look around and see the blessings. Think about those blessings and aprreciate them.

Christmas is a time for family, friends and love. It just happens to be super busy. But that doesn't mean we can't stop and slow down to rest.

In a fast moving, fast growing world, don't forget to Stop, Look and Think

Remember What It's All About - Part Two

There's just so much you can write about the meaning of Christmas.

I think we all know the classic A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens. The miserly Scrooge and the cast of Christmas loving people.
Scrooge has a change of heart as he sees how his past choices have made up his present time and how the choices he makes now will decide the future. He learns to live in the Past, Present and Future; he promises to remember the past (but not linger on it too much), live in the present and look forward to the future.

I don't know if this exactly has a lot to do with the meaning of Christmas but I really like it; there's a radio drama series called Adventures in Odyssey. It's a great and teaches valuable lessons.
There's a couple episodes on the Christmas season.
One reminds us that if we can't be with our families for Christmas, or we're just feeling down during the holidays, simply remember past memories, Christmas or not. It also suggests that if you're feeling down, go serve someone. Sound funny? I can't blame you but I don't know how many people I've heard who've said the same thing.
Two other episodes, both in three parts, tell the story of Christ's birth and the travel and visit of the Magi, or Wise Men.

The episode I'm going to focus on is called The Day After Christmas. It's about a girl named Annie who, although she received a truckload of presents the day before, is already bored. She doesn't realize what she has.
She has the opportunity to visit a ghetto and befriends an elderly widow who everyone basically ignores. She learns that there's more to Christmas then the presents.
She learns that a part of the Christmas Spirit is service.

Service has always been an important thing in my life. Leaders at church talk a lot about it and I hear about it at home too.
Service is selflessly giving of your time, talents or things for someone else. 
Service is a big part of the holiday season. I don't mean that people just randomly throw money out of their cars or anything but people are so much more inclined to serve in the months of November and December then in any months of the year. I don't know why exactly that is but everyone says that. And it's true.

Christmas is a time when, although money can be a problem and days are packed full of activities and parties, we all tend to pull together in different ways.
We care for people more, we bake cookies and give them to people, we wish the best for everyone. I know there are people who do these kinds of things all year long but it happens more around Christmas.

So, as you go about your busy holidays, remember, there's more to Christmas then the worldly things.

(Yes, I know, I've already packed 3 videos in this article but this last one is a great video about the meaning of Christmas) 

_____

All these videos can be found on YouTube and LDS.org

Acts of Kindness

Acts of kindness are always special. Random acts of kindness are great too.

On Facebook a newspaper centered in Roanoke, Virginia, Growing Up In The Valley, has a 'Random Acts of Kindness' event going on, where you try to do an act of random service everyday.

Today I saw this as an advertisements on YouTube:

It was really good and reminds us about the powerful and incredible joy of giving. Like the guy says at the end, "It doesn't have to be material things."
I agree, you don't have to go out and do what the people did in this video.
One of the givers mentioned that "giving is always better." Another said that by giving we grow.
Interesting isn't it?
But at the same time it's true, at least I think so.
I like shopping for Christmas. Partially because it's such a wonderful secret to keep but mostly because I can't wait to see the person's face when they open it.

When we give we grow. Hmm. What do you think about that?
I think we do grow when we give. We grow in the knowledge that joy comes from giving to others. We grow to pay attention to others needs besides ourselves.

I have a challenge for you. Today do some act of kindness. It could just be smiling at someone, opening a door for someone, giving a hug, listening. Small things like that are all acts of kindness.

Giving is one of the best parts of the holiday.

Christmas music - and music in general

I don't know about you but I think Christmas music is relaxing.
I love to listen to uplifting music, in fact that's the only kind of music I listen to. And Christmas music is almost always uplifting and clean.
Christmas music just makes you feel good.

I have this kind of weird pet peeve, I don't like anyone getting their Christmas decorations out before Thanksgiving but I like singing Christmas songs all year round. Kind of weird, yeah, but Christmas music doesn't just have to be for Christmas. It's still uplifting and happy.
Now, of course, some people don't like singing Christmas music unless it's around Christmas and I respect that, I just like Christmas songs so much I sing them all over.

Music can enrich your life. It can edify and inspire you. Music has a profound effect on your mind, spirit, and behavior. Choose carefully the music you listen to. Pay attention to how you feel when you are listening.

~For the Strength of Youth

Music is powerful.
Just like friends, music can and will influence us.

I suggest, no I challenge you to pay attention to what music you listen to. Pay attention to the lyrics and how the music makes you feel. Do you like what the song is saying or implying? Do you agree with the song? Does this music make you feel good?
I'm not saying that if you completely change your music repertoire, I'm just saying that music has a very powerful influence on us and we need to understand that.
People say that you are what you eat, and someone once said, "You are what you do," as in your actions; I'm going to add something to that, you are what you listen to. You really are. What you listen to has the ability to change you. It can change your behavior, habits, what you say, practically everything and anything you do.

Another reason why music is so powerful, is because it can get stuck in our heads. It happens to everyone. And it can either be really nice or super annoying. I remember once a friend and I went to a Shakespeare play and the actors play music and sing before the show and at intermission. One song they sang was "What makes you beautiful" and later, my friend and I couldn't get it out of our heads. I don't think it's a bad song, I like it, it was the first time we'd heard it and we could only remember some of the chorus. So we sang that over and over and over and over and over. That was pretty annoying.
Getting off track, anyway, music can get stuck in our heads and once it's stuck it's hard to get out. It can be done but it's not necessarily easy.
(Sometimes it's a good thing, like if you're trying to memorize something)

I love music because it can be super inspiring. Some music makes you want to get up and do something for someone, some music lets you know you're important and of great worth.

Music is a blessing. It can and will change us. I think music can be like our choices; every song or music piece you listen to can shape you.

Music, I think, is a big thing all over the world. It can be a way of sending a message of peace, a way of saying thanks, a way of sharing what you believe in, all sorts of things.
Music speaks to us. It moves us.

If eyes are the windows to the soul, I think ears may be the doors to the heart.

Be careful what you let in.

Mormonad: Make Room

So this is just a link to a Mormonad that I thought was super cool.

Click here to see it (It'll come up as a PDF)

If you don't have time, I'll summarize.
I can't really explain the image but I what I really liked was the text at the bottom. It says: Make Room. "Each of us is an innkeeper who decides if there is room for Jesus!" ~Elder Neal L. Maxwell.

I love that!
We're each an innkeeper. I've never thought of it that way. But we are. We decide for ourselves if we're going to make room for Jesus.
So, as you go about your holiday shopping and gift wrapping, parties and setting up decorations, don't forget to let Jesus in.

Said the shepherd boy to the mighty king,
do you know what I know
In your palace warm, mighty king,
do you know what I know
A Child, a Child shivers in the cold
Let us bring Him silver and gold
Let us bring Him silver and gold

Said the king to the people everywhere,
listen to what I say
Pray for peace, people everywhere!
listen to what I say
The Child, the Child, sleeping in the night
He will bring us goodness and light
He will bring us goodness and light

~"Do you hear what I hear"

Remember What It's All About

December 1st already?
Time flies.
Well, as we continue to move into the holiday season remember what Christmas is all about. It's not about the gifts. It's not about the food.
It's about Christ.


Sometimes I wish Christmas was everyday but not for the same reason as most people.
There's just a special spirit that surrounds Christmas. People are kinder and we reach out more during this holiday then any other I know.
Wouldn't it be great if we all acted like that all year long?
So, I guess, what I'm really saying is, I wish we had the spirit of Christmas with us all year long.
It's such a special, extraordinary kind of spirit. And although we do strive to be caring and helpful all year long, the spirit isn't the same.
It's just...special.

"Can anyone tell me what Christmas is all about?"
Good question Charlie Brown! He asks this questions during a Nativity rehearsal as he tries to figure out the meaning of Christmas.
And then Linus, our good friend with the blue blanket, walks to center stage and quotes from Luke:

"'And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night.
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.
And the angel said unto them, Fear not; for, behold, I bring you tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.
For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, which is Christ the Lord.
And this shall be a sign unto you: Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.
And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying,
Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace and goodwill towards men.'"

"...That's what Christmas is all about, Charlie Brown."¹

I was glancing around looking for things to help illistrate my point and I ran into this statement on Wikipedia from the 1889 volume of The American Magazine:

"to give up one's very self — to think only of others — how to bring the greatest happiness to others — that is the true meaning of Christmas"2

This is a wonderful video that seems to perfectly illustrate the above statement. It does not take place during the Christmas time (I don't think) but it applies just the same.3

Dr. Suess wrote the classic, The Grinch Who Stole Christmas. It's about the Grinch who hates Christmas so he decides to stop Christmas from coming by stealing all of the Who's Christmas things. He sneaks down in the middle of the night, grabs all the Who's things and takes flight. But you know, that didn't stop Christmas from coming at all.

Every Who down in Whoville, the tall and the small,
Was singing! Without any presents at all!
He HADN'T stopped Christmas from coming! IT CAME!
Somehow or other, it came just the same!
And the Grinch, with his grinch-feet ice-cold in the snow,
Stood puzzling and puzzling: "How could it be so?"
"It came with out ribbons! It came without tags!"
"It came without packages, boxes or bags!"
And he puzzled three hours, till his puzzler was sore.
Then the Grinch thought of something he hadn't before!
"Maybe Christmas," he thought, "doesn't come from a store."
"Maybe Christmas...perhaps...means a little bit more!"3

How great! "Maybe Christmas means a little bit more!"
And how right he is! Christmas isn't the things. It's the feelings, the family, the friends. The love and the caring, the togetherness, the songs, the laughter, the fun and the hugs. And most of all it's God' gift to us all.

And so on that last note, on the first day of December,
I hope you'll all continue to remember,
That it's not about things, about Santa or stockings.
Christmas is about the joy and the hope and thanksgiving.
It's about being together and knowing ones better,
And maybe that's why Thanksgiving and Christmas are so close together.


(Okay, very last note: this is great video about what Christmas is all about.5)

----------------
1 "A Charlie Brown Christmas" movie
2  The American magazine, vol. 28 (1889) found on Wikipedia
3 This video called "Ripple" can be found on YouTube
4 The Grinch Who Stole Christmas by Dr. Suess
5 This video, "He is the Gift", is on YouTube and LDS.org