YOU Can Light the World!

Get ready for a fantastic giving season! 

 Mary and Joseph travel to Bethlehem in the production of, "The Christ Child." (found on ChurchofJesusChrist.org)

 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:

https://newsroom.churchofjesuschrist.org/article/2019-christmas-initiative-encourages-service-one-by-one

Another resource-use the calendar found here for ideas:

https://heyfriendshop.com/2019/11/light-the-world-2019-one-by-one/

A Bouquet of Community of Caring Colors for the School Months & What they Represent

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

(see the little green flowers in this bouquet?)

Red Sunflowers Fake or Quirk?

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.

Sunflowers on Stringtown Road, Eden, Utah

Words--What Do You Do With Them?

Word Power

On the wind, words go

to hurt or to harm

never-ending when they hit

their mark

like dominoes touching--taking everything

flat down

or like beautiful blocks building

everything up.

Choose carefully those words

sent out 

carrying the worst or the best

for humanity.

                                               -Roberta 2019

 Let Us Oft Speak Kind Words 

1. Let us oft speak kind words to each other

At home or where’er we may be;

Like the warblings of birds on the heather,

The tones will be welcome and free.

They’ll gladden the heart that’s repining,

Give courage and hope from above,

And where the dark clouds hide the shining,

Let in the bright sunlight of love.

(Chorus)

Oh, the kind words we give shall in memory live

And sunshine forever impart.

Let us oft speak kind words to each other;

Kind words are sweet tones of the heart.

2. Like the sunbeams of morn on the mountains,

The soul they awake to good cheer;

Like the murmur of cool, pleasant fountains,

They fall in sweet cadences near.

Let’s oft, then, in kindly toned voices,

Our mutual friendship renew,

Till heart meets with heart and rejoices

In friendship that ever is true.

Text: Joseph L. Townsend, 1849-1942

Music: Ebenezer Beesley, 1840-1906

Challenge for the week:

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.

Getting Closer to Jesus Christ, the Prophets, the Apostles, and Early Christians

Come Follow Me has 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, concerning Charity: 

 ...BEARETH ALL THINGS, BELIEVETH ALL THINGS, HOPETH ALL THINGS, ENDURETH ALL THINGS.

Let's DO this!

Light the World Through December

Have a wonderfully enlightened holiday season!  



I took this picture as we did our annual tour of Temple Square.  It is always a magical experience and it is worth going even when it is bitter cold.  It's guaranteed to get everyone into the Christmas spirit.

Eleven Super Heroes Graduate from Canyon View

My grandson, Bridger, age 22, has earned his Weber High School diploma!

On May 20, 2016, 11 superheroes graduated from their various high schools at Canyon View School in Ogden. This special ceremony wasn't announced in the newspaper with the times and places for the local high school graduations that were taking place this month, yet these young adults have spent four years beyond high school earning their high school diploma in the Life Program course of studies offered at Canyon View. For those of us who have earned higher education degrees, we know how difficult it was to finish high school and go on to complete four more years of school,  but we still didn’t experience anything nearly as tough and challenging as these young people have during their education; what they accomplished should be called a Master’s degree in life.

Canyon View's graduation ceremony was one of the most heartfelt, amazing graduations I’ve ever attended. Tears welled up in our eyes and we chocked back our emotions as the graduates took their turn standing bravely in front of the audience while their individual accomplishments were highlighted.  No one in the room could explain what it felt like to see these fine young men and women reach the monumental goal of graduating from high school. Every parent in that room knew the effort it had been to teach small and simple things to their child who had disabilities—the patience, the love, the persistence, the endurance, the every-fiber-of-their-being strength required to get them to where they stood on this special day. The teachers and aides knew, too, and experienced the same feeling of pride for a job well done. The investment in these wonderful human beings, these unsung heroes, was worth every sacrifice, all the tears and sorrow for their struggles, and everything else. There they stood as examples of true courage and great accomplishment.

As each graduate was presented, these are some of the individual accomplishments that were mentioned:  “He learned to advocate for himself,”  “She came to the United States four years ago and learnedEnglish and is working on her citizenship,” “He can now communicate with a device that helps people understand him,”  “She can take the UTA by herself and is looking forward to begin independent living,”  “He has learned to say, ‘Excuse me’ when he needs to do something and people are ignoring him as he stands by patiently, waiting for them to acknowledge him,”  “When he started school here, he  did not communicate, but now has learned to interact with people comfortably and effectively,”  “She can now speak and be understood,”  “He found every educational challenge very difficult, but he hung in there and worked hard and learned,”  “He was recently complimented for being the best custodian the school has ever had,”  “He has expertly managed the school’s recycling program,”  “He has held a job at Smith’s Marketplace,” “She has done a good job as an employee at Deseret Industries for the past two years,” “He has learned to drive his wheelchair safely,”  “He is able to demonstrate proper social behavior and will soon live in a group home,” “She was very shy at first, but can now express herself with confidence.” The list of large and small accomplishments was long and impressive. They each should have received a standing ovation.

These students’ family members and friends will keep this special moment in their hearts, knowing that the world hasn’t been the kindest to people with disabilities. Yet, they go forth into the world now with hope for the future, just like any other high school student. They have dreams and goals. They will achieve much. They will remind us all to be grateful for what we have, and, most of all, to be grateful for what they have taught and given us. They will, indeed, continue on, making the world a better place.