Think about the behavior of a dog. They go their merry way of taking life as it comes (most of the time). We can learn a lot from dogs (and other animals, unless the particular animal has behavior problems). Eat, play, love, sleep, eat--you know the routine. They don't do the following:
Compare themselves to other dogs
Criticize what other dogs are doing
Judge the behavior or bark of another dog
Spread venom with their barks because either they are warning, protecting, need attention, establishing territory, or being verbal because another dog is barking.
Backstab others
Think they are better than any other dogs
Take offense at every opportunity
Never forgive or carry grudges
Well, the list can go on. The point is--CHILL. Let us adopt an I'm okay and you're okay attitude. Give people a break and benefit of the doubt before jumping all over with criticism or judgment. Don't we all have better things to do like good, uplifting, kind, and generous things to do?
After watching the movie, It's a Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood and being reminded that if we all extended respect and acceptance to others as if we wanted them to be our neighbor (friend), it truly would be a more beautiful day each day. Value others. Recognize that most people deep down inside just want to get along.
Henry van Dyke was a member of the clergy, this story reads like a sermon for good reason. Its full title is A Short Christmas Sermon: Keeping Christmas. Van Dyke also composed lyrics to the popular hymn, "The Hymn of Joy" sung to Beethoven's Symphony No. 9, "Ode to Joy."
Henry van Dyke leads an Easter service atop Mount Rubidoux, 1913
ROMANS, xiv, 6: He that regardeth the day, regardeth it unto the Lord.
It is a good thing to observe Christmas day. The mere marking of times and seasons, when men agree to stop work and make merry together, is a wise and wholesome custom. It helps one to feel the supremacy of the common life over the individual life. It reminds a man to set his own little watch, now and then, by the great clock of humanity which runs on sun time.
But there is a better thing than the observance of Christmas day, and that is, keeping Christmas.
Are you willing...
to forget what you have done for other people, and to remember what other people have done for you;
to ignore what the world owes you, and to think what you owe the world;
to put your rights in the background, and your duties in the middle distance, and your chances to do a little more than your duty in the foreground;
to see that your fellow-men are just as real as you are, and try to look behind their faces to their hearts, hungry for joy;
to own that probably the only good reason for your existence is not what you are going to get out of life, but what you are going to give to life;
to close your book of complaints against the management of the universe, and look around you for a place where you can sow a few seeds of happiness--are you willing to do these things even for a day?
Then you can keep Christmas.
Are you willing...
to stoop down and consider the needs and the desires of little children;
to remember the weakness and loneliness of people who are growing old;
to stop asking how much your friends love you, and ask yourself whether you love them enough;
to bear in mind the things that other people have to bear on their hearts;
to try to understand what those who live in the same house with you really want, without waiting for them to tell you;
to trim your lamp so that it will give more light and less smoke, and to carry it in front so that your shadow will fall behind you;
to make a grave for your ugly thoughts, and a garden for your kindly feelings, with the gate open--are you willing to do these things even for a day?
Then you can keep Christmas.
Are you willing...
to believe that love is the strongest thing in the world--stronger than hate, stronger than evil, stronger than death--and that the blessed life which began in Bethlehem nineteen hundred years ago is the image and brightness of the Eternal Love?
I wish I knew who took this photo 'cause it is so darn cute.
“I AM THE GOOD SHEPHERD,” John
R. Lasater, Ensign, April 1988
Some
years ago, it was my privilege to visit the country of Morocco as part of an
official United States government delegation. As part of that visit, we were
invited to travel some distance into the desert to visit some ruins. Five large
black limousines moved across the beautiful Moroccan countryside at
considerable speed. I was riding in the third limousine, which had lagged some
distance behind the second. As we topped the brow of a hill, we noticed that
the limousine in front of us had pulled off to the side of the road. As we drew
nearer, I sensed that an accident had occurred and suggested to my driver that
we stop. The scene before us has remained with me for these many years.
An
old shepherd, in the long, flowing robes of the Savior’s day, was standing near
the limousine in conversation with the driver. Nearby, I noted a small flock of
sheep numbering not more than fifteen or twenty. An accident had occurred. The
king’s vehicle had struck and injured one of the sheep belonging to the old
shepherd. The driver of the vehicle was explaining to him the law of the land.
Because the king’s vehicle had injured one of the sheep belonging to the old
shepherd, he was now entitled to one hundred times its value at maturity.
However, under the same law, the injured sheep must be slain and the meat
divided among the people. My interpreter hastily added, “But the old shepherd
will not accept the money. They never do.”
Startled,
I asked him why. And he added, “Because of the love he has for each of his
sheep.” It was then that I noticed the old shepherd reach down, lift the
injured lamb in his arms, and place it in a large pouch on the front of his
robe. He kept stroking its head, repeating the same word over and over again.
When I asked the meaning of the word, I was informed, “Oh, he is calling it by
name. All of his sheep have a name, for he is their shepherd, and the good
shepherds know each one of their sheep by name.”
It
was as my driver predicted. The money was refused, and the old shepherd with
his small flock of sheep, with the injured one tucked safely in the pouch on
his robe, disappeared into the beautiful deserts of Morocco.
As
we continued our journey toward the ruins, my interpreter shared with me more
of the traditions and practices of the shepherds of that land. Each evening at
sundown, for example, the shepherds bring their small flocks of sheep to a
common enclosure where they are secured against the wolves that roam the
deserts of Morocco. A single shepherd then is employed to guard the gate until
morning. Then the shepherds come to the enclosure one by one, enter therein,
and call forth their sheep—by name. The sheep will not hearken unto the voice of a
stranger but will leave the
enclosure only in the care of their true shepherd, confident and secure because
the shepherd knows their names and they know his voice.
Each Christmas, many in the world celebrate the life of Jesus Christ, the Light of the World. By following His teachings, we let his light shine—in our lives and in the lives of others. This year, there are many ideas and activities you can do as you shine your light in this world to spread positivity and goodness. There is a calendar of activity suggestions you can use for inspiration as you plan your Christmas season to help LIGHT THE WORLD by serving those in need or anyone you are inspired to serve.
YouTube videos, inspiration for the holiday season, art, encouragement and just about all you can possibly need to grasp the true joy of the holiday season can be found here:
When I was a school counselor, I adopted the Community of Caring within the various schools where I served. The goal was to use this as an instrument to be inclusive, caring, and respectful of all people. Are you wondering where June, July, and August are? Well, the school year breaks for most of these months and I wanted to start the school year off with "RESPECT." The themes I used were tied into what I wished to focus on for the months the colored signs were posted (the color was part of a way to separate and emphasize the themes for desired behavior). There were announcements and homeroom reminders of the theme and short examples (highlighting how we demonstrate these values) each month.
Parents can get creative and build a Caring Home ongoing project by using these themes and colors to emphasize things the family will focus on throughout the year. Choose your own colors, the theme for the months, and have fun. What is developed in the home will spill over into the community.
January and February are BLUE, representing FAMILY
March and April are ORANGE, representing RESPONSIBILITY
May is YELLOW representing TRUST
September and October are PURPLE, representing RESPECT
November and December are GREEN, representing CARING
Driving along the Ogden Canyon road last month produced a surprise--red sunflowers! They really stood out because we're having the most abundant year of wild sunflowers lining our highways and across the fields than we've ever seen. They are a cheerful sight to see. There is nothing like a sunflower to make me smile and feel happy and thankful for their beauty.
My daughter says someone painted these flowers. I couldn't imagine why someone would choose a few random flowers along the road to paint red. Researching online for information about genetic mutations brought up nothing about red sunflowers of this particular kind. Perhaps someone did have a paintbrush and dabbed a bit of paint to grab curiosity and attention from the thousands of people traversing the canyon road. In any case, it's a mystery that won't be solved unless someone comes forward and confesses this is manmade.
I'm grateful for the God-made wildflowers. What fun to see these tenacious plants growing out of gravel, asphalt, and in the worst possible ground to be found. Rainfall was abundant this year in Utah, which is unusual. This provided the opportunity for more flowers to prolificate.
I have tried growing these flowers on our property by digging up plants, getting a bunch from a friend, and taking the dried seeds and spreading them. They will not grow when transplanted. Some things cannot be forced.
Our neighbors plowed their field last year and left it undisturbed for the first time in 26 years. Their field was covered in sunflowers throughout the summer but they stopped at our property line. Not one little yellow head dared lean over to grace us with its beauty. I did enjoy those flowers but felt a bit offended that not one plant came to live on my property.
Rumi once said: "Nothing can grow here until the earth is turned over and crumbled. There can be no roses and no orchard without first this devastation."
Apparently, I must first plow my own field if I want wildflowers to take root. I'll extend that invitation for next year to those wily sunflowers. I can be just as tenacious as they are.
Go ahead, spread sunshine all over the place. I'll put on a happy face.
Make your own collage of good words to use that bring happiness to others.
HINT: Type in "word collage generator" in your search engine and choose a free way to put your own words into a work of art like the example above.
Remember, you are one person with the power of words. The bad words cannot take over when we continually send out our drops of good words into the world.
Come Follow Mehas helped me to more personally connected to the Church that Christ originally set upon the earth, which had to later be restored because of a falling away of His original teachings, ordinances, and authority to act in God's name.
See https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lJnN2FkgD-g
This curriculum is useful for any Christian hoping to have the Holy Ghost more fully in his or her daily life. It has helped me stay true to a more in-depth study of the Gospel and gain a stronger testimony of the miracle of Christianity.
Think about it. Jesus Christ teaches for three years in His official ministry, calls the Twelve Apostles to teach and bring people unto Him (doing away with the long-tradition of the Law of Moses), and those inexperienced, common men went forth doing what He asked by teaching the Gospel and converting small numbers of people to following Christ. The apostles and many of these followers eventually we persecuted and murdered because of their teachings of the resurrected Christ. A small group of Christians spread the Word. Amazing, isn't it? It brings to mind the mustard seed parable (Matthew 13:31-32-New Testament-Bible). Something so small can grow into a tree!
This week I studied 1 Corinthians 8-13 by reading and following the suggestions to ponder the chapters throughout the week. This personal and family scripture study guide (Come Follow Me) will bring anyone to know the men and women of ancient times who accepted Christ and tried their best to change from their old traditions to a new way of living according to what Christ taught.
Reading about the difficulties the early Apostle had trying to build Christ's Church and keep the flock going in the right direction isn't much different than it is today for many Christians. So many things are pulling us every which way. We must work hard to maintain our faith. The negative things happening in the world subject us to hopelessness unless we cling to the promises that we will be blessed if we continually keep the commandments and stay true to our God.
The scripture I posted to remind me to stay strong and faithful is from
1 Corinthians 13:7, concerningCharity:
...BEARETH ALL THINGS, BELIEVETH ALL THINGS, HOPETH ALL THINGS, ENDURETH ALL THINGS.
