Having Joy

| cnaglis63

“Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.” (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18) I love to witness the moments of joy in my life and give appreciation for them. When you look carefully and thoughtfully, you will find joy in your life. I witnessed this throughout the past week.

Having joy is a choice to find deep contentment in faith, rather than a denial of pain. I love these scriptures because to rejoice always is an invitation to find strength in God during trials like stress, fatigue or conflict.

To pray continually gives me a constant connection to God’s strength. Giving thanks in all circumstances is a practice that I found to shift my difficulties to gratitude. Through this practice I have helped myself build maturity, patience and a deeper more resilient faith.

As taught by President Russell M. Nelson, true joy is a spiritual state, not merely fleeting happiness, that can be maintained regardless of whether one is experiencing a bad day, week, or year. 

We had the opportunity to assist a family who were being joined together in marriage this past week. As members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, we believe that families can be together forever in the eternities. While the couple were being married, the youngest children were getting impatient and could hardly wait to go into the sealing room. After the sealing of the family was done, the children were heard exclaiming, “THIS is the BEST day of my life!! We are an eternal family now!!!” I was so touched by their gratitude and joy at being joined together. I don’t remember seeing such joy from children before as they understood the importance of being together forever.

As well, the grandparents were so grateful and full of joy, and that joy spread throughout the temple. Family had flown in from across the country to be together and witness this marriage and sealing of family. What a beautiful day! Another miracle was that the sun was shining and they were able to take photos outside the temple together. The sun doesn’t shine very often in the winter here in New York. One person told me that this sky color is called “New York Gray”.

Here we are; best of the goofing around photos

Our home Ward has asked us for a photo of the two of us and a scripture to go on a plaque to commemorate our mission. Erik and I never sit for a professional photographer and thus we kept forgetting to get a photo done. We wanted one outside of the temple, but the weather didn’t cooperate. We finally went next door to the Gurr’s and asked them to take a photo of us. The next problem is that we don’t seem to take photos very seriously and it’s more of a comedy scene than anything else.

It’s hard to take this seriously!

Erik has been fine tuning his spreadsheet for our journey home. If there is anything you have seen in the USA that you would recommend for us, let me know. So far, we are planning on going to Lancaster, Pennsylvania to see a play at the Sight and Sound Theatre. This year the play is called Joshua. I’m really looking forward to it!

Sight & Sound® began nearly 50 years ago in rural Pennsylvania when a dairy farmer went from producing milk to producing live entertainment with a purpose. Now with two state-of-the-art theater locations, an online streaming platform, and a film studio, Sight & Sound brings powerful stories from the pages of Scripture and history to life on stage and screen.

Whenever I think of Gettysburg, I think of Bruce Blumell. Bruce has a deep love of history and for one Empty-Nester family home evening get together, he gave a presentation on Gettysburg. I have been to Germany to the concentration camps and felt the horrors of those places so I have mixed feelings about Gettysburg which had over 51,000 casualties in three days. This was one hundred years before I was born. This battle was the turning point in the American Civil War.

I am on the final projects for quilting and Erik is starting to get nervous that I won’t get them done. Today I have the final large project ready for the long arm quilter. Binding is made and ready to apply to the quilt when it gets back to me. I laid out fabrics for the next two projects and am feeling confident.

The lost sock

My missing sock has been found!! I bought some socks from North Carolina and they are based on using recycled wool. Each pair is made with the same pattern but the colors may not be in the exact same places in each sock. I was sad, wondering where my sock could have wandered off to. Erik (the official laundry person) said that it was probably stuck inside of some piece of clothing. Today he decided to cut up one of his collared T-shirts and found my lost sock inside of it. I am so grateful that he didn’t cut the sock!!

Next Sunday, Erik and I have been asked to give our final talks in our Branch. We will be talking about the blessings of the temple. When an English speaker uses a translator, the time is as if there were two talks given, so, we will have to be cognizant of the time (well, Erik will have to).

Tonight we are going to join up with the Historic Site missionaries for a Valentine’s Day meal. Their new Mission Leader for the Historic Sites will be joining us. There has been a two week break between the last Mission Leaders leaving and the new leaders arriving. Next month the new sister missionaries will start arriving as well to prepare themselves for the tours. They memorize the scripts for the tours and do a fabulous job.

I found an Instagram page called “mormon_food_review”. It’s really cute because these men who drink beer and cook chili decided to feed the missionaries. They edit their salty language but it’s so nice to see people being kind and helping the missionaries. They are from New York (Rochester) and I recognized two missionaries who have served at the temple. One of the videos show them in a restaurant being fed “Garbage Plates” which are famous in Rochester.

https://www.instagram.com/mormon_food_review/

I am bringing my seven (or more) layer salad to the dinner tonight. Erik cooks the eggs and the bacon and opens the can of water chestnuts for me. I chop and grate and get the salad put together. The good thing is that I used up two jars from the fridge, plus a can, haha! The Gurr’s showed us their food left and it’s not much at all. They are doing much better than us at reducing our food pantry. We’ll get there eventually!

I may sound like a broken record but I really believe that where we focus our lives will determine the joy we experience. The world around us is going to pieces, we need to be a righteous people who will receive the Lord when he returns. I encourage you to be part of creating Zion, having joy, keeping your covenants and stand ready to have Zion in your hearts.

Have a joyous week!

Unity

| cnaglis63
Reclining together

We have spent the last two Sundays in Palmyra because of the snow. Unbeknownst to us, Palmyra Ward was having Ward Conference on Sunday. As I looked around at the people who were attending as well as the Stake leaders, Erik and I realized that we know many of these people. It was beautiful to meet together for the purpose of renewing our baptismal covenants.

I was overcome by the strength of the congregation renewing our baptismal covenant through partaking of the sacrament. We were one in Christ. Then I thought about all the saints world wide doing the same thing and was reminded of the great strength there is in doing so. What do we covenant at baptism?

We renew these covenants each week as we partake of the sacrament.

  1. Come unto the fold of God (become a member of the church of Jesus Christ).
  2. Be called His son or daughter (take upon me the name of Christ).
  3. Bear others’ burdens, that they may be light; mourn with those that mourn; and comfort those in need of comfort (help others).
  4. Stand as a witness of God at all times and in all things and in all places (testify of Christ and set a good example at all times).
  5. Serve God and keep his commandments.

When I keep my baptismal covenants the Lord covenants to:

  1. Forgive my sins.
  2. Pour his spirit more abundantly upon me (give me the companionship of the Holy Ghost).
  3. Redeem me that I might be numbered with those of the first resurrection and have eternal life (permit me to enter the celestial kingdom to live with Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ).

Can you imagine the power that is available on earth when we collectively renew our covenants? I loved thinking about this while sacrament was being passed to the congregation.

Members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints are a covenant making and keeping people. In both our Relief Society and Priesthood meetings, we had discussions about the covenants that we make in our lives with God. The feeling of unity was beautiful and it made me think of the life that we have developed and lived the past year. We have made so many new relationships with hundreds of people. The first month of our mission brought a feeling of being overwhelmed for me because I love to meet people and learn all about them. I was thrust into a new situation and was trying to process how I was going to accomplish the integration of all these people into my brain.

Last week, I looked back at the year and am thrilled with all my new friends and love to greet them by name as they come to the temple. One sister arrived on a Thursday for an initiatory session. Then I saw her again with youth from her ward to do a baptistry session. She was surprised to see me and said, “Are you always here?” I told her that, “Yes, we are here at the temple nearly everyday”.

I always think that we work with the best people at the temple. Temple workers are trying so diligently to live up to their covenants and thus we feel so blessed to be together. They truly are kind, sweet people who love to serve and be in the Lord’s house.

I had the opportunity to visit with a young lad (approximately 14 years old). He is one of a set of quadruplets. His other siblings had come the previous day but he had the opportunity to come by himself with other ward members. We had a great discussion about the Savior and I shared some experiences that are sacred to me with him. The following day, a sister that I was working with filled me in on some background of that young man and it quickly became apparent that God had put him and I together the day before. There are no coincidences in this life. Our experiences have a purpose and we need to pay attention to understand what the Lord has for us.

The south side of our house

So, it seems that winter has followed us to New York. While our western friends are living life in the balmy breezes well above freezing, we have actually reached minus 20 Celsius. Whenever the groundhog predicts six more weeks of winter, I usually think that, of course we do, it’s Canada! Hopefully in a month, it will look a little different here in New York. Erik has been plotting out our route for going home. We are heading south to avoid the blizzards that will be streaking across the continent. The first thing that Erik found to do, is bass fishing in Guntersville, Alabama. We do have other things lined up first on the recommendation of our friends. Stay tuned for those adventures!

This week I managed to get all the quilt blocks done for a quilt. I can hardly wait to see this quilted. Then I am on to table runners. My sewing machine still has two more weeks at the “spa”. I’m very grateful for my loaner machine!

Making heart blocks

This past week, I was prompted to do an endowment session in another language. I ended up doing a French session and it was delightful. I have never done a French session before and I was surprised because we have been attending a Spanish branch and my Spanish has greatly improved by doing so. I have been working on my French for a few months and it went very well. I am also working on my ASL skills and I’m so tickled to be able to keep learning new languages.

I am selecting recipes to try for my sweetheart. We enjoy our chocolate so I will try this one.

Paleo Chocolate Torte (Flourless, No Bake)

https://bakeitpaleo.com/paleo-chocolate-torte

I can testify of this! We are absolutely walking different paths. Working together makes this life easier.

I was thinking about the city of Enoch. They were all taken up. No one on the earth has been perfect save the Lord, Jesus Christ. I think of this city and in years past, I thought that they were taken up to the Lord because they were near perfect. Now, I think the important thing is that they were all facing the same direction. Having our hearts knit in unity with Christ is important. We are all so diverse and facing different challenges, yet, we can be unified by facing towards Christ.

So, let us walk upright before God and with one another. We will receive help from the other side to give us succor on our journey. As we continue in our imperfections and foibles may we be ever blessed with help from each other and from our savior, Jesus Christ.

Breathe

| cnaglis63

It is an odd thing when Upstate New York is colder than Alberta. We were sitting at -15C here in New York and Alberta was having above zero Celsius temperatures. With the cold here comes very dry air. I am over the sensation of getting zapped every time I get up to go do something. I had packed a little diffuser for essential oils but we have been running it constantly just to put a little moisture back into the air. Still….Zing! Uncomfortable but I know that one day it won’t happen anymore. Oh, glory be!

I am including this photo that Erik took a couple of weeks ago. This is our church parking lot in Greece. It looks very frosty but it is entirely covered in salt.

Our house developed huge icicles hanging from the eaves. If one of those fell, it would kill someone. We were wondering how to deal with them and I suggested opening the laundry room window and using a broom, try to knock off the icicles. Erik tried it and it worked. It’s getting treacherous to walk on our stoop stairs because of all the melting, dripping and refreezing. On the other side of the house is our bedroom window and while I was sewing, I heard the thud of ice hitting the ground. Erik was again using a broom to knock off the icicles. I was worried about them falling because the air conditioning units sitting below the bedroom.

We finally were able to make it to Jon’s Sewing Machines in Wolcott. On Thursday we left early and made it with clear roads. They carry a small selection of fabric but I was able to find the New York State panel that has been sold out everywhere. They were able to reorder some and I was thrilled to find it. I want to make a quilt of the places we visited while in New York and many of the panels depict these places. Jon expanded his shop to have a huge repair area and so my Bernina is in for some spa time. On the way home, we hit a snow squall right before highway 14 and so we turned south and went to Lyons.

While in Lyons, we went to Aldi’s to pick up some veggies. We saw an Amish couple shopping there and when we left I had Erik take photos of their ride.

Our son Lyndon sent us a little video of our grandson, Henry opening his birthday present that we mailed to him. I found a quiet book of the Old Testament stories. When Henry asked his mom what it was, his dad replied, “Those are the brass plates.” Henry then said, “They sure are, they sure are!” Toddlers are so cute! He has now decided that he needs to wear a tie to church to go to nursery class.

Salt laid down by the snow removal company.

This past week, we experienced the onslaught of salt on the temple grounds. It’s very pretty and looks like sea glass but unfortunately it does get tracked into the temple and then melts into the carpets and makes blue puddles on the floor. Thus the presidency decided that we should encourage the patrons to remove their outer footwear before coming into the main foyer. We have four little cloak areas to hang coats and place footwear. It really helped to keep the temple cleaner and safer for everyone. This photo shows how much salt is on the sidewalks.

Palmyra temple by C. Fazio

My friend Christine loves to take photos and she’s really good at it. This photo is one of hers on a day where we actually could see blue skies.

On Sunday, we attempted to drive to Greece for church but as we were leaving Palmyra, the snow started picking up in intensity. By the time we reached the west side of Macedon, it was coming down so thickly that we thought that it might not be a good idea to proceed. We passed 3 big snowplows heading out in a row to the freeway and that sealed the deal. We turned around at Egypt and came back to Palmyra in perfect time for church.

This was my first church meeting in English in nearly a year. The first Sunday of the month, we have the opportunity to share our testimonies of the Savior. Members go up to the pulpit one at a time and share their thoughts. Near the end of the meeting, I saw out of the corner of my eye, a young lady going to the front row to wait her turn. I was on the opposite side of the chapel and couldn’t see who she was but my spirit was so drawn to her and I wondered who she possibly could be. When it was her turn, I gasped when I saw that she was a young lady from our 5th Branch that I hadn’t seen in months. Her parents are divorced and she had decided to spend some time with her mother. This young lady is very special and is so, so sweet. She has a very kind soul and looks to help others. I couldn’t wait to see her after the meeting. I turned to Sister Lau, who I was sitting with and said, “That’s why we were sent back to Palmyra today!” This darling girl and I exchanged contact information and had lots of hugs and a great little catchup. I love her like she is one of my grandchildren. This was a great lesson in knowing that God has plans for us and we just need to listen.

I have been asking the Lord about what’s next after the next. He told me that I am getting ahead of myself and that I need to breathe. So, I place my trust in Him and know that all will work out for my benefit.

Take your time to breathe and pause. Especially in these times with all the chaos going on around us, it can become overwhelming. Step back to reclaim your peace and serenity. I love the quote, “Don’t trade God’s timing for your deadline.”

In John 14:27 we find: Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.

Go forth with faith, not fear and know that you are loved and God’s timing is perfect.

There’s No Time Like the Present

| cnaglis63

I have been blessed with confidence to try new things, new experiences, new skills and this was not so early in my life. When I tell people that I used to be uncomfortably shy, they are in shock and can’t believe it because of how outgoing I am now.

I’ll share something that may make you uncomfortable but know that we all go through hard things in our lives. The first two years of my life were really rough with torture and abuse from my biological father. I quickly learned that if you tried to make yourself invisible, the abuse might not be so bad. If I cried out, it escalated but if I laid still, it might be the end of that session of beating.

My mom, who also was being abused by him, was able to get away from him shortly before I turned two years old. An unlikely person took us in and when my mom met a fellow who came to help her move, he told me that he fell in love with me when he saw me. He knew that I was his little girl. Yes, he married my mom and then adopted me. I was a scared little rabbit, afraid of loud noises and quick movements. I hid behind my parents at every outing until I was fourteen years old. Everyone always commented on how shy I was. In reality I was terrified of everything.

My friend, Opal, one day said to some people, “She’s not as shy as you think.” I went home and started thinking about my life and my fears. I asked myself, “Do you always want to be hidden away and never be brave?” It was easier to stay in the background and work hard at home and try to stay out of harm’s way. How was I to learn? How was I going to get out of this cycle?

I told myself that I was going to have to try something and be braver than I’ve ever been. Try talking to someone by initiating conversation, try learning something new. I remember in grade three, we had song books and they were full of folk songs of the day. I loved going outside behind the big propane tank and singing my heart out. After the age of fourteen, I started really breaking out of my shell and it continues to this day.

This past Thursday, our shift coordinator, texted me to see if I knew ASL (American Sign Language). I don’t but we had a patron coming to the temple who requested ASL. Here’s where my trust in the Lord comes into play. I told the coordinator that I would look after it. Then I contacted my friend, Margaret, who learned ASL in college. She made a video for me showing me how to do the signs for the ordinance so that I could interpret for the patron. I learned it in about 10 minutes and then that evening went to my assignment. I was able to interpret for the patron with no issues. Erik was very proud of me and the other workers were stunned that I only learned it that afternoon. I was pretty excited and thought, “HA, a new skill unlocked!!” Many thanks to the Lord for helping do His work.

This week I was working on special gifts for departing missionaries. My sewing machine broke down mid project. My frustration was peaking and I was plotting out a course of action to carry on. I started by taking the front case off of my machine to see what was the issue. Then I called Jon’s Sewing Machine Repair in Wolcott. They thought they knew what the issue was but I thought that it would be better to take it in for some spa time.

My sewing machine that I brought on our mission.

Here’s where the timing gets tricky. The USA was about to be blasted with a huge storm and Wolcott is 45 minutes away from us. This was Wednesday and Erik checked the highway cameras (later finding out that they were the wrong area for where we were going). It was partly cloudy skies in Palmyra and we jumped in the vehicle by 9 am. We headed north through Marion and by the time we were in Marion the snow was coming down quite heavily. The roads were snow covered and I was really rethinking our life decisions. We turned onto the 104 and were driving northeast. The snow came even thicker and after halfway to Wolcott, we made the decision to turn back. We were in whiteout conditions and there were other vehicles who also decided to get off the highway. We turned south onto highway 14 and pulled into someone’s driveway. Suddenly a snowplow was driving south and I told Erik, “Quick, follow that snowplow!” We followed the snowplow to Lyons and by then the snow had tapered off to nearly nothing. Erik said, “The things we do for quilting!”

On the 104 heading east and it got progressively worse.
Driving south to Lyons. Such a difference!

The clock is still ticking and I am not making progress on projects that need to be completed. I received inspiration to ask one of my fellow temple sisters, if I could borrow her sewing machine to get this work done. She agreed and low and behold, the machine is a Bernina which is the same brand I brought on our mission. Today I was able to use my walking foot on her machine to put the binding on Penny’s quilt. Tender mercies!

Penny’s quilt
Front of potholder
Back of potholder with my custom made temple fabric.

Whilst “Snowmageddon” is raging around us, I have inside work to be done and we are grateful for heat and power that has not waivered. Our landlord has a snow removal service clear our parking lot and he has been busy. I have run out of my Russian pickled cabbage salad and my herring potato salad, alas! It’s going to be time to try to get to a grocery store again.

On Friday, we decided to go to the temple to do work for our own ancestors. We printed out names and headed to the baptistry. After completing the work for those names we were able to head to an endowment session and get more work done. I was thinking about the timing of the next year and about where we will live. We will submit our next mission application later this year and the Lord told me that I was getting ahead of myself and not to worry.

I love our friends and family who send us real estate listings for us to ponder. Looking at listings and thinking if the layout suits us or would we need to to do extensive renovations. I look forward to the day when we will not be nomads. It has been ten years since we had a home base. For now, I will follow the Lord’s command and go where He wants me to go.

Okay, I have questions for you. Do you each have a book of remembrance for your family? I have to tell you about the one that made such a huge impact on my life. When I was 11 years old, a book was published called the C.F.B Lybbert History. This was the size of family tree sheets and was pivotal in influencing my life. In this book was a collection of impactful stories from members of the family and their downline. There were family tree sheets, photos, and important documents. It was truly a labor of love and it was published 52 years ago.

This is from the introduction to the book: Christian Frederick Bernard Lybbert (1834-1923) was born Flade, Horns herred, Hjorring amt, Denmark, the son of Joachim Frederick and Margarethe Elizabeth Wilhelmine Evart Lybbert. He joined The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in 1854 and served a mission for the Church. He married 1) Marie Anderson (1833-1906) in Denmark. They immigrated to Utah in 1865, with his mother. He married 2) Anthonette Marie Olsen (1845-1932) in 1866 in Salt Lake City. They had eleven children, 1867-1890, born at North Ogden, Spring City, Levan, Vernal, and Naples, Utah, He died at Logan, Utah. Marie Andersen Lybbert died at Naples, Utah; and Anthonette Marie Olsen died at Vernal, Utah. Descendants listed lived in Utah, Alberta, Canada, and elsewhere.

Includes ancestors, chiefly in Germany, and ancestors of Anthonette Marie Olsen in Norway.

Waldemar Christian Lybbert (1869-1944) was born at Spring City, Utah, the son of Christian Frederick Bernhard and Anthonette Marie Olsen Lybbert. He married Ella Dora Darnell (1875-1964), daughter of Martin Van Buren and Susan Katharine Nickles Darnell in 1892 at Logan, Utah. They had eleven children, 1893-1917, born at Naples, Utah, and Frankberg and Glenwood, Alberta, Canada. He died at Glenwood, Alberta. Descendants lived in Alberta, Washington, Idaho, and elsewhere.

There haven’t been any new books published that I know of and it made me consider that it’s time to make a new book that would include our family from my grandma Lois and all her progeny. My grandma had five children and there have been four more generations. Books of remembrance can include anything of importance to your family history. While watching “Come Follow Up” on BYU TV on Sunday, the lesson talked about books of remembrance. A guest author was on the program who was from Pakistan. He brought his book and showed parts of it. I loved that the Punjabi alphabet was illustrated like how we would do in English, “A is for Apple”, “B is for Banana” and so on. There was also a beautiful photo of his grandmother. I called my sister Tanya and asked what she thought of doing this for our family. She agreed and is going to produce a sheet of interest and get people’s juices flowing. We could include recipes because these are an important part of our family history.

The most amazing thing is that the Christian Frederick Bernard Lybbert book is available as a digital version on Family Search. I will enjoy reading through it as an adult. I really believe that it is important to record your life. I know that my children don’t know a lot about my life or their father’s life. I too have questions for people who are dead and it’s too late to ask. Okay, it’s not too late to ask but will you get the answers you are looking for?

There’s no time like the present to start preparing your life history so that future generations will know you better and have an understanding of where they came from. This summer I learned about my biological father’s side of the family. I have loved connecting with them and one of my cousins has been instrumental in helping me understand my ancestors. I understand on where I get some of my features, my likes of foods, my love of handwork.

Not everything is going to be wonderful and perfect and our progeny need to understand that we did not live perfect lives; that we had struggles and trials. There are many mysteries to be unraveled but that may be for the future after the coming of our Savior. This past week I received an incredible sacred experience in the temple. I know that He lives and that He loves us. Hold on tight to what you know as truth and righteousness.

I feel this strongly! We are part of something greater than ourselves. I love my family and look forward to spending time with them again. Enjoy your week, staying warm as needed. My sister told me that they had an experience of living with no power for 12 hours and they see what they could do better if needs be.

Much love to all!

Gifts

| cnaglis63
Snow Squall blowing through
A respite from the squall

I love to give gifts and this past week had me reflecting on gifts of various types. Do you ever wonder about the gifts you have been given and want to know more about your gifts and abilities? I have been thinking about the gifts of the Spirit. Through the power of the Holy Ghost we can be blessed with gifts of the Spirit. These gifts are given to those who are faithful to Christ. “All these gifts come from God, for the benefit of the children of God” (D&C 46:26). They help us know and teach the truths of the gospel. They will help us bless others. They will guide us back to our Heavenly Father. To use our gifts wisely, we need to know what they are, how we can develop them, and how to recognize Satan’s imitations of them.

The scriptures mention many gifts of the Spirit. These gifts have been given to members of the true Church whenever it has been on the earth. (Mark 16:16-18).

  1. Gift of Tongues: I think about this and rejoice in my ability to learn languages. It does take effort and I am quite happy to practice and learn more.
  2. The Gift of the Interpretation of Tongues: I have experienced this while sitting with people whose language I do not know well but yet, I receive the message. It’s miraculous!
  3. The Gift of Translation: I think about my mom for this one because my mom is a rock star in genealogy. She prepared nearly 1 million names for genealogy. She told me how she specialized in German and specifically Old German Script. My mom could look at the script and translate it while to others, it looked undecipherable.
  4. The Gift of Wisdom: Of course, I immediately think of Solomon who was blessed with great wisdom and was world renowned for it. The first scripture that comes to my mind is from James 1: 5-7. “If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him.“ But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed. “For let not that man think that he shall receive any thing of the Lord”. The Lord said, “Seek not for riches but for wisdom, and behold, the mysteries of God shall be unfolded unto you” (D&C 6:7).
  5. The Gift of Knowledge: The Lord revealed, “If a person gains more knowledge and intelligence in this life through his diligence and obedience than another, he will have so much the advantage in the world to come” (D&C 130:19). One day I was sewing a complicated set of pillowcases for my sister. I struggled with the order of the sewing. The pillowcases had ties, ruffles and layers. That night I had a dream and the Lord showed me the method of creating the pillowcases. I got up in the morning and followed His instructions and they went together perfectly. I immediately gave thanks and said, “Heavenly Father, you REALLY do know everything!!”
  6. The Gift of Teaching Wisdom and Knowledge: President David O. McKay taught: “It is given unto some, says the Lord in the Doctrine and Covenants, to know by the Holy Ghost that Jesus is the Son of God and that He was crucified for the sins of the world [see D&C 46:13]. It is to these I refer who stand firm upon the rock of revelation in the testimony that they bear to the world”.
  7. The Gift of Believing the Testimony of Others: By the power of the Holy Ghost we may know the truth of all things. If we want to know whether someone else is speaking the truth, we must ask God in faith. If the thing we are praying about is true, the Lord will speak peace to our minds (see D&C 6:22–23). In this way we can know when someone else, even the prophet, has received revelation. Nephi asked the Lord to let him see, feel, and know that his father’s dream was true (see 1 Nephi 10:17–19).
  8. The Gift of Prophecy: Those who receive true revelations about the past, present, or future have the gift of prophecy. Prophets have this gift, but we too can have it to help us govern our own lives (see 1 Corinthians 14:39). We may receive revelations from God for ourselves.
  9. The Gift of Healing: Some have the faith to heal, and others have the faith to be healed. We can all exercise the faith to be healed when we are ill (see D&C 42:48). Many who hold the priesthood have the gift of healing the sick. Others may be given a knowledge of how to cure illness.
  10. The Gift of Working Miracles: The Lord has blessed His people many times in miraculous ways. When the Utah pioneers planted their first crops, a plague of locusts nearly destroyed them. The pioneers prayed that the Lord would save their crops, and He sent seagulls to devour the locusts. When we need help and ask in faith, if it is for our good the Lord will work miracles for us (see Matthew 17:20; D&C 24:13–14).
  11. The Gift of Faith: Moroni promises, “Whoso believeth in Christ, doubting nothing, whatsoever he shall ask the Father in the name of Christ it shall be granted him” (Mormon 9:21). I love that promise and I believe that it can happen!

The Lord has said: “For all have not every gift given unto them; for there are many gifts, and to every man is given a gift by the Spirit of God. To some is given one, and to some is given another, that all may be profited thereby” (D&C 46:11–12). I always wonder how I can help others with the gifts I have been given. Of spiritual gifts, the Lord said, “They are given for the benefit of those who love me and keep all my commandments, and him that seeketh so to do” (D&C 46:9).

Our Patriarchal blessings are a font of knowledge for our lives. I remember our Patriarch from the Calgary West Stake giving us instructions on how to receive more knowledge and wisdom regarding our blessings. It was fantastic because it taught us to open ourselves to direct communication with God.

As we start the year, it’s a great time to reflect on what we would like to accomplish and better ourselves in. Are there gifts of the Spirit you would like more of? Are there skills you would like to learn?

This past week has been so wonderful with all the birthdays and anniversary of my parents. They celebrated their 61st Wedding Anniversary. My mama has had so many struggles in her life that this many years together is an incredible blessing.

Papa Moe & Mama Joan – 61 years together.

I like to sing birthday songs to my children and grandchildren. I record myself and then send it to them. The Primary birthday songs are so fun and personalized. I also give them a little message of love. One granddaughter turned 4 and their family has a delightful tradition of each member carrying a lit birthday candle into the birthday person’s bedroom to awaken them on their birthday. The birthday girl woke up and blew out all her candles; it’s very precious!

I was very grateful for all the messages and notes to wish me a happy birthday. As I think on each person, I love remembering our times together. This is a banner year; turning 63 and being born in 1963. Good things should be happening!

Yesterday, I sat beside the Espinoza family during compartir. They have three little boys, 8 years old and under. Those boys told me so much stuff; I learned a lot about them and their family. The oldest boy likes vegetables more than meat. The two youngest are not fans of veggies but love their meat. When their dad let them have some cake, the middle son, takes a bite and says, “It’s okay (chocolate cake) but carrot cake is far superior!” He turned to me and placing his hands on either side of his head, says, “My first time eating carrot cake…it blew my mind!” So, so cute to listen to them and get to know them better.

My sister-in-law shared a great recipe with me on my birthday.

https://www.everyday-delicious.com/herring-salad-with-potatoes/#wprm-recipe-container-9612

Renate told me that her and Hans eat this a lot. It’s a quick and easy recipe with delicious taste. If you aren’t a fish person (oh, well, hahaha). You could also substitute smoked salmon in the recipe. I am now on my third batch of the Russian Pickled Cabbage salad. I’m not tired of it yet. A loaf of bread was baked today as well, a batch of almond flour is in the oven, dehydrating.

Oh, the day to day striving! My big take away from the Come Follow Me lesson was that God didn’t create the world in one day or the snap of His fingers. It took days and in our time thousands of years. I shouldn’t get frustrated when I don’t achieve my goals in a short time. Line upon line and precept upon precept will get us there. Enjoy your week; stay healthy and chin up. Stand in holy places keeping your eyes on the prize.

We’re Not Trunky

| cnaglis63
The church we live behind; originally a Methodist church.

I have to laugh while typing the title of this post. I am starting to think about things at home that I have missed; king size bed, Soda Stream drink station, a sewing room and the list goes on. We have two months left of our mission. Our last shift will be on March 14. I was taking some salad over to Tonya (our next door neighbor) and Rick, Tonya and I were looking at the calendar at the dates of what we are doing in the next two months. They finish at the same time as us.

I have enjoyed having a dishwasher (our cottage does not have one). It is a Samsung brand and definitely has issues but if you hold your tongue right, the cycle might come out okay. The large capacity washer and dryer have been lovely. When the washer is on the spin cycle it sounds and feels like a Chinook helicopter is right over the house! We had an Electrolux washing machine and dryer in Calgary and it was the cat’s meow; I adored those machines. At the cottage we have a European stacking set but apartment sized, thus small loads are what we can do. Give and take…

We had a fun moment this past week when we went shopping. We first went to BJ’s for bulk items (it’s like a Costco style store) and gasoline. Then we went to Wegman’s for things we had on our shopping list that weren’t available at BJ’s. Finally, we ended up at Walmart to get windshield washer fluid and a couple of grocery items that Wegman’s didn’t have. Three stores!!!!! The fun part was seeing missionaries in Walmart. There were two sister missionaries and I went up to them to say hello. They serve in the Palmyra area. Then Erik came up and asked the sisters if we could buy their groceries for them. They were hesitant and graciously thanked us but no, they were fine. We insisted and I told them the story of when our son, Lyndon was on his mission in Arizona and was approached by a lady who wanted to buy groceries for him and his companion. Lyndon ran off to grab a jug of chocolate milk and a bag of cherries, while his companion grabbed some cereal and milk. When they met back up with her, she looked at what they had chosen and said, “Oh, no, that’s not nearly enough!” She grabbed them each a cart and then went up and down the aisles filling their carts with groceries. She explained that her husband played NFL football for the Cardinals and they could certainly afford to buy these missionaries groceries. At the check-out, she also purchased gift cards for restaurants for them. What a huge tender mercy! So, I told the sisters that we wanted to pass along this kindness to them. Thanks to the example of Deuce Lutui and his wife, other people are being blessed. It was fun, to shop with the sisters as we headed to the cosmetic area for face cream and sugar scrubs. I acted like a Mama Bear and tried to influence the girls to choose better quality products with less chemicals. They were worried about cost and I was telling them that it doesn’t matter; buy what’s best for you.

We had some beautiful weather this past week and the snow has mainly melted. A cold front is moving in and this week on my birthday it will be forecasted for -4C. I say, it’s in honor of the Canadian living in New York state, hahaha!

One day when it was 9C, I told Erik that I was going for a walk and he decided to join me. It was brisk at first because of the wind but as we moved along, it was just fine. We love looking at the historic homes in Palmyra and especially the big ones with carriage houses in the back. It’s fascinating to think about life here 150 years ago.

We stopped in at the T-shirt printing shop and I had questions for them about what they can print and how they do it. I have so many ideas spinning through my head and if I want to implement anything, I need to step on it and get cracking.

Walking past a tattoo shop, I had a good giggle at their sign. When Erik texted it to our daughter-in-law (a tattoo artist), she said, “Yup, those are the rules!”

Them’s the rules!

At the Palmyra temple we do training meetings for the workers for two weeks at a time. Everyone gets the training and it leaves out very few people. This session is about emergency procedures and practices. When it comes to dealing with a tough situation, I could imagine my husband saying, “Let my wife, the wolverine, deal with it!” I realized how well trained I am because of all my leadership training with being a Girl Guide leader. They had a comprehensive training system to help leaders be great with the girls and keep their health and safety at the forefront. I had to be trained to be able to take girls camping and so on. Many of the practices meld well with my life in working with the public. I have great understanding of how to deal with emergencies and how to stay calm.

This past week, my cousin, Crysta gave me some more information about my ancestors. This brings up a point where I have so many questions and all the people to ask are dead. Ask the questions while your relatives are alive!! There are gaps where I don’t understand or know where or why this person lives here or what they did with their lives. It’s so important to keep a journal of your life.

A really exciting and cute piece of news came out of our temple this past week. Brother and Sister Pace have been called to be mission leaders in Guatemala City Center, starting July 1. Also Brother and Sister Mayo are called as mission leaders in Sweden. In the locker room at the temple, I asked Sister Pace to later tell me the details of her call. There was a lot of excitement in the locker room. Suddenly she turned to me and said, “When you are finished with your mission, you can apply to go to Guatemala City for your next mission!” I said, “I see what you’re doing there!!” Sister Pace said, that now that the news is out, she is shamelessly going to be recruiting people to serve in Guatemala.

We are excited to serve again. Who knows where it will be but we will be happy to be out serving again. Being late to church on Sunday was so bizarre because that it not how we operate. We have the sister missionaries back in our Branch and I was super excited to see Sister Parr again. There is a sister from Washington state who is a “visa waiter” going to Peru. Her last name is Law and when we checked our Family Tree app, it seems that we are 3rd cousins! Next week is Compartir and I signed up to bring a salad.

It’s a lot of fun to be good and do good.

Have a happy week of service where you can. Today as I was cutting my husband’s hair, he had a smile on his face. I asked him why he was smiling and he said, “It makes me happy when you are doing something for me.” It doesn’t have to be a grandiose gesture of service; any small act affects in big ways that you may not see. Love to you all!

Tick Tock

| cnaglis63
Peter Whitmer farm

We realized that we only have a short time left on our mission. Before we know it, we’ll be packing up, sorting our belongings and trying to fit everything back into the car. We have purchased a roof top carrier to help with our packing. When you move out of your normal surroundings, you quickly discover the creature comforts that you use to make your life easier or just what you are accustomed to.

This past week we had a phone call with the missionary sister who will be moving into our apartment. She was interested in knowing what was in the apartment and what she needed to bring. Her husband is trying to wrap up his law practice and she is doing the leg work for preparing to leave on their mission. I remember feeling that exact same way last year. Because I love to cook, I was worried about the kitchen appliances and what would be available. Fortunately for us, moving to the USA proved to be an easy switch for the most part. Electric tea kettles are an anomaly here, whereas I like my kettle that has different temperature settings for the water. Certain herbs shouldn’t be brewed with boiling water. It’s what you are used to.

Our New Year’s Eve party with the senior missionaries was fun. We played a couple of games and me not being a game person, I’m not sure that I can remember what they were called. I think one of them was “Ranter-Go-Round” or could be “Chase the Ace”. The second game was “Left-Center-Right”. Lo and behold, I won that game! Of course, there were plenty of treats to eat and then we broke up the party early because the snow was really starting to come down thick. Two sets of Historic Site missionaries live 45 minutes away at the Whitmer Farm and we wanted them to get home safely. I brought Canadian treats to share with everyone.

This was week two of shortened work days at the temple. On Saturday morning Erik and I were baptistry coordinators and then for the second shift we were the shift coordinators. I wanted to apologize to the workers because the regular shift coordinators bring a picnic each time they work. I wanted to say, “Sorry for not bringing the Pierce Picnic!” Rene outdoes herself with two types of chicken salad, various cookies, and crackers and tortilla chips for dipping into the salads and during Christmas, she brought 4 different types of fudge as well. Her dad was the master fudge maker and Rene wants to get her fudge as good as his. The workers are very well fed during that shift.

I realized that I may not need my winter parka that I brought with me. Palmyra sits at the 43 parallel and we have pretty nice temperatures in the winter. The snow on the other hand can be ridiculous in New York state. Up along highway 104 which is close to Lake Ontario, they received between 4 and 6 feet of snow last week. Lake effect snow is no joke! I have been wearing my fleece jacket this winter and I have been plenty warm. Our friends, the Rutkowski’s, are serving their mission in the Historic site of San Diego, California. Their winter is all sunshine and roses, haha! Oh, and they have a hot tub at their apartment building.

Study Guide

I love January because we start a new round of “Come Follow Me” at church. This year, the church is studying the Old Testament (Antiguo Testamento). I really enjoy the Old Testament. Every year I start reading it on August 15 and finish it on February 14. The thing that I love about the Come Follow Me program is that it encompasses scriptures from other books as well. I purchased a study guide developed by Shannon Foster (The Red Headed Hostess). It’s called Seek. Plus there are other authors who give their own perspectives and knowledge on the history of the Old Testament which I look forward to reading. At Deseret Book, they have so many resources for studying the Old Testament and one that I haven’t read yet is about “Seeing the Women in the Old Testament”.

My mind has been swamped with feelings of wonder as I learn more about my ancestors from my biological father’s family. I have learned where they settled when they came to Canada and am getting help from cousins with information about the family. I still have cousins in Kyiv, Ukraine. Our great grandparents were Doukhobors in Russia and were pacifists who ate a plant based diet of Russian and Ukrainian foods. One of the grandparents told the family that they were White Russians, the ethnic Belarusians.

Ethnic White Russians (Belarusians)

  • Historical name: “White Rus” (Bela Rus) was a medieval term for the lands of modern Belarus, differentiating it from “Great Russia” (Muscovy) and “Little Russia” (Ukraine). 
  • Modern identity: Today, they are known as Belarusians, with their nation being Belarus (meaning “White Rus”), and speak Belarusian. 

How fascinating! I have been studying their culture to gain more understanding of how it affects my life and gives me knowledge of my forefathers. In the meantime, we are eating our way through some fantastic Slavic recipes. Oh, the Russian Pickled Cabbage Salad was incredibly good! I bought more ingredients today to make it again. I did add an onion to mine. It keeps really well and we were eating it with nearly every meal.

Russian Pickled Cabbage Salad

I bought some smoked salmon today to make another Russian salad, called Shuba. I will let you know how it goes.

Here we are starting anew again. That’s the part I love; through Christ our time to repent and renew is unlimited!

Go forth, my chosen friends! Have a beautiful week and live well; sending you love across the miles.

For Unto Us A Child IS Born

| cnaglis63

Isaiah 9:6 For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.

It has been a wild two weeks since I have posted. Many things have happened and also many things did not happen. The plague entered the doors of our apartment and the endurance was brutal. I think that Erik was a day ahead of me with the influenza situation. I was surprised at how quickly it overcame us with it’s force. It started with a chest cough for me with no other preemptive symptoms. The next day brought aches, fever and headache. The headache was strange because it came from the base of our heads and worked it’s way to the front. As each consecutive day passed, I felt that a fresh new hell awaited as new symptoms unlocked. I do not usually get sick with viruses so I was a little peeved and also in awe of how my body was responding. Neither of us had an appetite so, very little cooking happened for a week. I was living off of chicken broth and fluids. Erik was sleeping a lot; one day he clocked 12 hours of sleep.

I have this little theory that if I have a virus, I want to sweat it out. If it’s bacterial, I should rest and let my body battle it. Thus, despite being so ill, I still wanted to get some form of exercise in each day. I wear a smart watch and as I’ve said before, it’s like a Tamagotchi but it’s keeping me alive. I love my goals of closing all my rings everyday and despite feeling like death warmed over, when the moment arrived where I felt like moving, I was up on the rebounder. Last Wednesday, I told Erik that I was going for a walk. I really needed fresh air, so he followed me and we were walking for an hour. Around 40 minutes into the walk, my brain started worrying that I wasn’t going to make it home. I had to tell myself that it would be okay to stop and rest if needed to keep going. A sweat was worked up and I felt happy that I completed my goal.

I found Santa out on our walk.

By Christmas Day, we knew that we wouldn’t be able to attend the missionary Christmas dinner. It would be wise to stay home since we were only 5 days into the flu. I was feeling sorry for myself and wondered what the issue was. As I analyzed my feelings, I realized that it was actually harder to be away from our family than I thought it would be. Two Christmas’s ago, Erik and I had nothing to do for Christmas, so we got up, started puttering and opening our stockings. We didn’t even get dressed until 2 pm. We watched football all day and ended up having grilled cheese sandwiches for Christmas dinner. It was very relaxing but coming from a family of Christmas traditions, it was hard.

I was sad not to be able to celebrate with the other senior missionaries but we didn’t want to share the flu with anyone either. Erik did put a little stocking bag together for me while I didn’t even have a thing for him to open. Instead, I decided to pull myself together and make him a Christmas dinner. I started the morning by making cinnamon roll muffins. Then I had to bake a loaf of bread for the stuffing because we didn’t have any bread in the house. Our dinner ended up with roast chicken, roasted cabbage wedges, cranberry/orange sauce and stuffing with gravy. It was tasty, but I felt like a roasted chicken by the time all was said and done. I was cleaning as I went all day long and by the end of the night I was ready to put my feet up and rest.

Thus, last week when I should have been posting, I was absolutely in the throes of the flu. Church this week was quite sparse because so many people are sick. The week before Christmas, I was able to sing in our Branch choir and we sang Hark the Herald Angels Sing (in Spanish).

In my misery, I told myself that Christmas is just one day. Instead focus on the Savior and his life and that brought me comfort and happiness. Earlier this year, I purchased a tiny pewter Nativity set comprised of woodland animals. The moose (shepherd) was what sold me on it.

Woodland Nativity

A huge tender mercy for us occurred on the 17th of December. Erik and I were filling in as shift coordinators at the temple that evening. We always go over the daily checklist of patrons and ordinances that are reserved. As I approached Erik at the recommend desk, he pointed to a name on the list. My eyes got huge as I realized the significance of that name. Tears immediately came to my eyes. A gentleman’s name on the list was a very dear friend of ours from our Butte, Montana days. Erik had not seen Dan in over 30 years. Dan Wendt and his first wife Lisa are eternal friends of ours. Dan and Lisa joined in on Erik’s first missionary discussion. Two weeks after that first discussion with the missionaries, Dan baptized Erik. I couldn’t believe that we were going to have the opportunity to see Dan and his second wife, Judy, who we hadn’t met yet. About 5:55 pm, I had a thought that they weren’t coming after all so I quickly said a prayer, asking Heavenly Father to please get them to the temple. They were booked for the 6:15 pm Endowment session. At that moment, they had been sitting in a restaurant in Palmyra about to order supper. They received a prompting to look at their reservation time and were shocked that the session was not at 7 pm but 6:15 pm. They quickly jumped up and drove to the temple and made it on time. As we went for supper together after the temple shift, I told them my experience and they said, “You prayed us to the temple!!” They had the same waitress as previous and we were able to eat together and have a quick visit before they headed to Syracuse for the night. Dan and Judy have both recently retired and were on a giant road trip, starting in Washington state. They didn’t know that we were in Palmyra and we didn’t know where they were living as we had lost touch with them. What a tender mercy!!

A little piece of home for my heart!

Last week, I was thinking about the news of Elder Holland being admitted to the hospital and I knew that he would be leaving us soon to join his beloved wife. I am loving all the accounts that people are sharing of their experiences with Elder Holland. He truly was a disciple of Christ. His example makes me want to be a better disciple too.

This week I am choosing to embrace my Slavic side and am learning some new recipes to switch things up a bit. I told Erik, “It’s time we embraced more of our Slavic natures!” He got a worried look on his face and said, “What does that mean!!?” A couple of summers ago, I made Olivier Salad which the Russians took from the Latvians. I absolutely loved it and will be making it again soon. Today I put together a Russian Marinated salad. It has cabbage, sweet peppers, carrots, jalapenos, garlic and I added onion. A marinade is cooked, cooled and poured over the veggies. Let it sit overnight and then it will be ready tomorrow. I love having salads around ready to eat and only thinking about putting a protein together with it.

I don’t have fire cider here or the equipment to make it but my friend Kasie found it at Sauder’s (a Mennonite store). I sent Erik to Dutchland (another Mennonite store) which is in Marion, just north of us. He bought me some “Yoder’s Good Health” which is comprised of elderberries, 20 different herbs, apple cider vinegar and 5 different juices. I’m taking 2 ounces a day to help me overcome and get my strength back.

I woke up this morning to 7C and this afternoon the wind was blowing fiercely and the house was moving. We have a winter storm warning. At the grocery store today, people were stocking up on the essentials. The storm is forecast to last three days, so we shall see what comes of it all. We also went to Marshall’s so I could look for a Dutch oven. Erik says, “Are you prepared to leave that behind?” I told him that I will carry it on my lap all the way back to Canada if I have to! So, we shall see if my Merten & Storck lives up to it’s reputation.

My Health Coach has asked me to think about new goals for the upcoming year. I feel like it’s been a roller coaster for the last little while. We’ve had big ups and low lows. I love to think about being better and how to accomplish that. The Lord opens doors for us and we need to be brave enough to take the steps that will take us out of our comfort zones and into being an even better person. Elder Holland has said, “Life has always been a little messy, but there is always a way through it as we lean on our Savior”. I want more joy, more hope, more faith in my life. Eternity is a long time to be miserable or to decide to have joy. I choose JOY!

As you ponder on where you are and where you could possibly be, don’t limit yourself. Heaven is cheering you on; the greatest army stands behind you. Trust God and believe in good things to come. Stay well and know that you are loved!

The Elves Have Started

| cnaglis63

We have been the recipients of gifts from elves (Historic Site Missionaries) this past week. It is very nice to be thought of and to receive something special. Gift giving doesn’t have to be grandiose but can be something that just lets the recipient know that they are seen and loved. The baby quilt that I showed a photo of last week was admired and appreciated by the new mom and her family. Grandma shared photos of her dear new grandson and he is thriving!

Our family has many Christmas traditions and I think of them at this time of year. In the First Presidency Christmas Devotional, Elder Holland made mention of the 85,000 plus missionaries who are serving away from their families. The holidays can be difficult but my perspective leads me to think about serving others and thinking less of myself and my imaginary boo-boo lip trembling with sadness. We will be having Christmas dinner next week with the other senior missionaries on Christmas Day and look forward to spending time with others in the same situation as ourselves.

Sometimes our Christmas traditions were born out of necessity. One year, Erik was between contracts and I didn’t think it prudent to buy anything large for the kids. That year Extra Foods opened a store in Olds (it’s now No Frills). You know you’re from a small town when you recognize your fellow shoppers in the grocery store. We had a Co-op store and an IGA, so when a new discount store opened, we started seeing “out-of-towners” coming to Olds for grocery shopping. My Spidey senses were on alert, haha! That was in the fall and one day I was shopping and a loss leader was toilet paper, large packs of 24 for only $6.77 each. My brain said, “Everyone needs toilet paper! Buy a package for each of your kids!” I loaded up my cart with enough packs for everyone including my son-in-law. Around our Christmas tree were all these packages of toilet paper. At first when the family started arriving, they were shocked and left wondering. That started a tradition and as the years passed, the kids made mention that they were hoping to receive their package of toilet paper each year. As they were in university, they told me how they brought their own roll of toilet paper to the bathroom for their constitutionals because there was at least one roommate who yarded off so much paper at a time that the rolls were empty whenever they needed to use the bathroom. It turns out that one large package lasts one person for a year! It was an annual event at our house for years until Erik and I started our nomadic life ten years ago.

Some Christmas traditions are not your usual “Merry Ho-Ho” type of thing but they can create lasting memories. Each year as I was shopping for toilet paper, inevitably someone would stop me and ask why I had so many packages of toilet paper. I told them the story and everyone loved it and wanted to do that for their families.

These candles are far too big for the race!

Christmas Eve is big in our family and we all contribute one dish each to our hors d’oeurves table. We dress up and spend the day preparing the feast. That’s when the “Great Candle Race” starts. I was informed of the Great Candle Race by my friend Mary Hatcher. Each person receives a small candle in it’s own holder at their place setting. Each candle is lit at the same time. The race starts and the candle that lasts the longest is the winner and they win the rights to open the first gift. Over the years the rule book is inches thick on the regulations.

  1. No breathing on anybody else’s candle.
  2. No re-lighting your candle if it goes out.
  3. All candles are lit at the same time.
  4. No adding wax to your own candle.

You get the idea! There have been years of crocodile tears that prompted daddy to re-light a certain daughter’s candle much to the dismay of everyone else. The annual photo of the winner generally has the losers gathered in the background giving sad faces and thumbs down, while the winner has the biggest grin. One year, Erik’s mom joined us and she couldn’t believe that she won the candle race! It’s a tricky feat to put food on your plate without burning your arm as the evening progresses.

We have learned to not give everyone candles that are too big because they take forever to burn. Birthday candles seem to last enough for our attention spans. One year, Erik decided to get a piece of wood and drill holes down the length of it for the candles. We learned that the holes needed a piece of foil placed in them otherwise a little fire is started when the candle burns low. It think that idea was chosen because we didn’t have enough of the ceramic candle holders for the family with the marriages that had added members to the ranks.

I’ll tell you about more traditions next week. It’s been fun to reminisce about the things we did when our family was near to us.

Cookie baking was a tradition that I loved. I don’t do much anymore but I want to share a recipe that I’m making tomorrow.

https://www.theconsciousplantkitchen.com/cranberry-pistachio-shortbread/

One of the first cookie recipes that I made shortly after getting married was whipped shortbread. I’ll take shortbread in any form and when I saw this recipe I was happy to try it.

Speaking with a fellow temple worker on Saturday reminds me that many people are experiencing strong emotions around the holidays. Her husband died three years ago after a massive stroke. Time doesn’t take away the feelings of love and wishing our loved ones were with us. Love is what binds our hearts together and it can be hard to have joy at special occasions. I often tell people that if you could only see what I see, you would know that your loved ones are so near to you and want you to have joy and live happily. Grief is a strange beast and navigating it brings out feelings that we often wish we could just pack away.

When we center our thoughts on Christ and what his life represents it can bring us peace. Whenever I ponder on the majesty of our Lord of Lords, our King, the Great I Am, coming to earth in a tabernacle of clay to dwell among man and then to give us his law and take upon us our sins, our burdens, our grief and rise above all, I am in awe and grateful that I can worship Him.

Wherever you may be on the pathway of life, this season gives us reason to think about our daily practices and where our thoughts lead. May you all find peace and joy in the coming days. As you bring precious gifts to your loved ones and maybe even to those who simply are in need, feel the love of the Savior in your lives as you work in compassion and charity.