Christmas Spirit!

Tonight was our family Christmas Dinner and Party. I don't have the photos yet, so I will share with you one of my favorite Christmas poems. This is why I want Christmas to be celebrated all year long. Wouldn't the world be a better place if we did?
Good night dear friends!

I am the Christmas Spirit

I enter the home of poverty, causing pale-faced children to open their eyes wide, in pleased wonder/
I cause the miser's clutched hand to relax and thus paint a bright spot on his soul.
I cause the aged to renew their youth and to laugh in the old glad way.
I keep romance alive in the heart of childhood, and brighten sleep with dreams woven of magic.
I cause the eager feet to climb dark stairways with filled baskets, leaving behind hearts amazed at the goodness of the world.
I cause the prodigal to pause a moment of his wild, wasteful way and send to anxious love some little token that releases glad tears--tears which wash away the hard times of sorrow.
I enter dark prison cells, reminding scarred manhood of what might have been and pointing forward to good days yet to be.
I come softly into the still, white home of pain, and lips that are too weak to speak just tremble in silent, eloquent gratitude.
In a thousand ways, I cause the weary world to look up into the face of God, and for a littlee moment forget the things that are small and wretched.
I am the Christmas Spirit!  ~ E.C. Baird

"The real Christmas comes to him who has taken Christ into his life as a moving, dynamic, vitalizing force. The real spirit of Christmas lies in the life and mission of the Master....

"If you desire to find the true spirit of Christmas and partake of the sweetness of it, let me make this suggestion to you. During the hurry of the festive occasion of this Christmas season, find time to turn your heart to God. Perhaps in the quiet hours, and in a quiet place, and on your knees—alone or with loved ones—give thanks for the good things that have come to you, and ask that His Spirit might dwell in you as you earnestly strive to serve Him and keep His commandments" ~ Howard W. Hunter

Arise and Shine

   I just recently got a calling or teaching position at church to work with the Young Women. I am so grateful to have the opportunity to work with so many amazing girls! Each year they have a Theme that they work on, and the one for this year is Arise and Shine! As I was reading an article here: about the theme, I was impressed with what that really means to Arise and Shine forth. It is sorta like a standard for them to uphold. One definition for Standard is a rule of measurement by which one determines exactness or perfection.
   We all know those people who seem to understand and live this theme don't we? They have a light in their eyes and their whole countenance just shines, it makes you want to be around them. Then after you have been with them, you some how always feel better.  That is the type of person I would like to be!
   The girls are encouraged to take an inventory of their habits and  hearts to see if they are clean and worthy of that light, that countenance that comes from making good choices. But that is not easy to do to in today's world. There are many challenges that the kids today face, that seem much harder than when I was a teenager, some are the same... but some are much more dangerous. Sometimes it is hard to see the way, as leaders we are trying to help them recognize their self worth and potential.
   I love the theme, because it is a good reminder to us all to arise up among all the bad things in the world and try and shine our light to others and help them.

   Yes, I think this will be a good help to me each week as I work with the girls and remember things that I too can learn from.
   Good night dear friends

"You must be the change you want to see in the world."

Mahatma Gandhi

We all need each other

I found this letter that someone wrote to Ann Landers, and thought it was a great reminder how much we all need each other. Too often we get busy and I think we forget to stop and realize the people that really make a difference in our lives. So this letter was great, I hope you take the time out to read it. I hope then we will all take the time out to thank those older people who have touched out lives and shared their wisdom with us. They truly have made a great difference in my life.

I had hoped to write more tonight but I have bronchitis and I have got to go to bed. Good night dear friends!

"Dear Ann Landers," "I am a twenty-two-year-old graduate student who would like to express my admiration for some people who have taught me more than all the books I ever read."

"Dear Older American, I want you to know how much you have improved the quality of my life. Today I was driving down the street. You were sauntering uptown, your white hair shining in the sun, a smile on your face. You waved when I went by, though you had no idea who I was.

"On my first job as a cashier, I was nervous and scared. The line was long and everyone was impatient. You let the others go first because you didn't mind waiting. When your turn came you said, "Take your time. My, but you have pretty eyes." I could have kissed you.

"You say,'Have a nice day,' in the elevator and talk about the weather. I can tell by your gnarled hands that you've done a lot of hard work and I admire that.

"You have an aura of calmness that so many of my generation will never know in their mad rush for money and status. Thanks, Older American, for being there."

 

"Some people, no matter how old they get, never lose their beauty - they merely move it from their faces into their hearts."  ~Martin Buxbaum

"And in the end, it's not the years in your life that count. It's the life in your years." ~ Abraham Lincoln