We Need a Little Christmas

I'm thinking about Christmas music. I am normally a stickler for absolutely no Christmas until after Thanksgiving. One of my favorite sayings is 'one holiday at a time'. But today, with the rain and depression I decided I needed "a little Christmas, right this very minute!" 

Christmas is such a wonderful time of year. People tend to be a little nicer to each other. The focus becomes one of giving instead of getting. People think about serving one another. And most of the music is so cheery and bright. I am so grateful for this time of year and the joy it brings. 

 
(Nativity my Mom brought back from her Italy trip.) 

The greatest gift we can get for Christmas is the joy that only Jesus Christ can give. His gift to all the world in his willingness to come to this earth and suffer and die to atone for our sins is far better than any wrapped present we will ever receive. When you see a nativity scene I hope you take a moment to pay respects to the baby in the manger who would dedicate his life and eventually give it for all humanity to pay a debt we could not pay ourselves. Praise be to God! 

Women of the Scriptures - Lydia

Women of the Scriptures - Lydia

Favorite pastime:  Spreading the Good News that Paul, Silas and Luke recently brought to our area when they formed a Church here in Phillippi.

Favorite place to eat:  In the words of someone who would come much after my own time, “There is no place like home”.

Favorite food:  Living in a trade city like Phillippi we have grand markets with all of the fruits, vegetables and spices one could possibly ever want.  It is a big difference from our garden in Thyatira.

Education:  I come from a wealthy family and was very well educated.  I married well and secured a position in the Dyer’s Guild in Thyatira learning to make the famous purple dye.  I later moved to Phillippi to become a tradeswoman, selling the dye in this lively trade market between Asia and Europe.

Favorite thing about where I live:  Phillippi is a bustling city with many travelers coming through to trade goods.  That is why some of us women go to the bank of the Gangites River to pray on the Sabbath, it is the only place we can find some peace and quiet.  This is where we met Paul and Silas and where I opened my heart and accepted Jesus Christ.  (Acts 16:14)

Favorite thing to do with my family:  We were all baptized together and we are zealous in spreading the Gospel.  We support the Church any way that we are able.  (Acts 16:15)

Children:  (The Scriptures say nothing of children and it is speculated that Lydia was a widow with older children living in her household.  Cameos: The Women of the New Testament)

Where did you grow up:  I grew up in Thyatira, a city in the district of Lydia (where I received my name) in Asia Minor. 

Hobbies:  Assisting in the building of the Church, selling purple dye (a symbol of my high status in the community) and hosting Church leaders in my home.

Anything else interesting about you:  I am the first European convert mentioned in the New Testament.  My home is a safe place for all Christians and is often used as a Meeting House.  My story is in Acts 16:14-40.

Women of the Scriptures - Esther

      Women of the Scriptures - Esther

Favorite pastime:  Being the wife of the King I am very busy in the palace, but I most enjoy writing letters to my cousin Mordecai and my people.

Favorite place to eat:  There is no place finer than the palace.  The banquets are quite extravagant.  It is often my responsibility to plan them. 

Favorite food:  We have every food known to our Kingdom here but I am quite fond of the fruits and vegetables that we grow in our own garden.

Education:  My parents died when I was young and I was brought up and educated by my older cousin, Mordecai, who was esteemed in the world of Jewish and cultural knowledge and passed that knowledge on to me.

Favorite thing about where I live:  There is so much variety here at the palace.  Many foreign people and unusual creatures pass through to pay homage to the King on their way to other lands and pay tribute to the King by giving all sorts of strange and exotic gifts.

Favorite thing to do with my family:  Celebrate Purim, the commemoration of the salvation of the Jews from the evil plot of Haman.  At the risk of my own life I approached my husband, the King, to reveal Haman’s plot to annihilate the Jews.  (Esther 7)

Children:  I have a son named Darius who will succeed as King.

Where did you grow up:  In the city of Shushan near the palace of the King.

Hobbies:  Preparing banquets, spending time with my family, and reading.

Anything else interesting about you:  I am the wife of King Ahasuerus, chosen by the King for my beauty to replace Vashti, the former Queen, who was dethroned after refusing to come unto the King when he called.  After a lengthy purification process that lasted over a year I was presented to the King with a number of other maidens and was chosen by the King to be his Queen.  I did not reveal that I was a Jew until much later when it was necessary to save my people.  (Esther 2)

Women of the Scriptures - Zipporah

Women of the Scriptures - Zipporah

Favorite pastime:  We are all helping to gather material to build the Tabernacle.  I spend a lot of time preparing animal skins and goat hair for the use of the builders.  (Exodus 25:3-8)

Favorite place to eat:  We never stay in one place for very long.  I look forward to the day when we reach the promised land that is flowing with milk and honey.  (Exodus 13:5)

Favorite food:  I miss the abundance of lamb that we had when we were in Midian, I used to like Manna and Quail but I’ve had my fill of it lately.  (Exodus 16)

Education:  I was educated by my Father, Jethro, a high priest of Midian.  He was a great leader and even instructed Moses a time or two.  The Melchizedek Priesthood was given to Moses by my Father. (D&C 87) 

Favorite thing about where I live:  No matter where we go the Lord rains Manna and Quail down upon us so that we have food to eat and often produces water from the rocks or sweetens bitter water with special branches.

Favorite thing to do with my family:  With Moses being the head Prophet of God and leader of all His people I spend very little time with him as he is always handling some quarrel or lack of faith of the Israelites.

Children:  My two sons are Gershom and Eliezer.  (Exodus 18:3-4)

Where did you grow up: Midian.  That was where I met Moses when he wandered in to Midian after fleeing Pharaoh.  He saved us from some jerk shepherds who chased my sisters and I away from the well where we were drawing water for our family, but Moses stood up to the shepherds and then helped us draw water.  My Father invited Moses to stay with us and gave his blessing for Moses to marry me.

Hobbies:  I have spent a great deal of time learning the customs of my husband’s people and teaching them to my children.  Much of the care of my children is left to me because Moses is so busy judging the people.  However, thanks to my Father, Moses is learning to delegate.  (Exodus 18)

Anything else interesting about you:  I circumcised my first born son by my own hand when the Lord came to reprimand Moses because he had not followed the Abrahamic Covenant by having the boy circumcised. 

Women of the Scriptures - Sarai/Sarah

Women of the Scriptures – Sarai/Sarah

Not really a picture of Sarah but possibly similar to what she would have looked like

Favorite pastime:  Nothing, in all my many years, has been greater than spending time with my son, Isaac.  I waited 90 years to have a child and I am not missing a moment to be with him, especially after Abraham took him up the mountain and almost sacrificed him.  (Genesis 22)

Favorite place to eat:  We eat best when we pass by a city and can trade for spices and honey.

Favorite food:  I make cakes with fine meal and we often eat them with milk and butter.

Education:  In Ur we were wealthy but wicked people and I was taught to pray, worship and sacrifice to idols.

Favorite thing about where I live:  We have traveled thousands of miles from my homeland of Ur to Haran, all around Canaan and even to Egypt.  I prefer the cities where we are often blessed with fine goods.

Favorite thing to do with my family:  This might sound odd but on several occasions when Abraham and I have entered a large city (Egypt and Gerar) he has insisted that we tell the King that I am his sister because he is afraid that the King will see my beauty and kill him so that he might make me his wife.  Since we were both born of the same Father this is not entirely a lie.  Both times we have done this God has protected us and we have been richly rewarded by the Kings in order for them to regain God’s favor.  (Genesis 12 & 20)

Children:  After many years of being barren and giving Hagar, my handmaiden, to Abraham so that he might have a son, God finally remembered his promise to me and I bore Isaac. (Genesis 21:2)  I even sent my maidservant, Hagar and her son Ishmael away for fear that Ishmael would harm my son (and I was a little bit jealous and regretful of my earlier hasty decision to allow Abraham to have Hagar to wife).  (Genesis 16 & 21)

Where did you grow up:  In Ur of the Chaldees, East of Canaan near Babylonia in Southern Mesopotamia.

Hobbies:  Baking, traveling (not sure if it’s a hobby but I have done it for so long that I have gotten very good at packing and repacking and learning to travel light!)

Anything else interesting about you:  I was born with the name Sarai.  However, with the new promises from God of being blessed with a son and becoming the ‘mother of nations’ came a new name.  I am now called Sarah.  (Genesis 17:15-16)

Women of the Scriptures - Jezebel

Women of the Scriptures - Jezebel

Favorite pastime:  Plotting revenge against Elijah for turning the people against Baal with his little magic fire trick and killing my prophets.  (1 Kings 21:23)

Favorite place to eat:  At my own royal table with 450 prophets of Baal and 400 prophets of Asherah as my guests, oh, and my husband, Ahab, King of Syria.

Favorite food:  Meat sacrificed to Baal and then charred to a crisp.

Education:  I am a princess and was afforded a great education by my Father.

Favorite thing about where I live:  Now that the three year famine is over that Elijah prophesied would come because of our supposed wickedness the land is again bountiful.  We now own a vineyard next to our home in Jezreel for my husband’s herb garden because I had the previous owner falsely accused and stoned.  (1 Kings 21:1-20)

Favorite thing to do with my family:  Worship Baal in the temple that I convinced my husband to have built.

Children:  Ahaziah and Joram were my first two boys but I have had several other children.

Where did you grow up:  I am a Princess of Tyre, my Father is Ethbaal, king of the Zidonians.

Hobbies:  Killing prophets of the Lord, adorning myself with makeup and beautiful trinkets of gold, ordering my weak-minded husband around and basically ruling the kingdom.

Anything else interesting about you:  Elijah went so far as to prophesy my death (1 Kings 21:23) but I am sure that none of his silly prophesies will ever come to light, that famine thing was just a coincidence.  (To see Jezebel’s actual fate read 2 Kings 9:30-37, but be warned, it’s pretty gruesome.)

Heavenly Father's Fridge

The visiting teaching message for the month of February 2015 was to teach my Sisters about the sinlessness of Jesus and how we should be following him. I felt it was a daunting task. How can I teach about trying to be like Jesus Christ, who was perfect, when I am so far from it myself? Immediately, an example came in to my mind as I read the lesson:

In preschool, children are given supplies by the teacher and then shown an example of what their project should look like. They try their hardest to make their art look like the teacher's perfect example. Their finished projects often barely resemble the teacher's. But when they take them home their parents still love them and hang them on the fridge. So, too, it is with us. Jesus Christ is the perfect example that we strive to become. We try our hardest but the finished project of our lives when we leave this Earth barely resembles the example of Christ. Yet, when we return to our Heavenly Father he still loves us and sticks us on the fridge.

True to Myself

     True to Myself

If I state my opinion I'm close-minded.
If I question those in power I'm defiant.
If I think old fashioned ways are good I'm a prude.
If I'm an advocate for unborn babies I'm against women's rights.
If I believe marriage is between a man and a woman I'm anti-gay.
If I feel that all people should work for what they get I'm right-wing radical.
If I say Jesus is the Way I'm narrow-minded.
If I don't do these things I'm not being true to myself.

Women of the Scriptures - Martha

Women of the Scriptures - Martha

Favorite pastime:  Preparing meals for friends who visit.

Favorite place to eat:  My own home, where I can make my guests feel comfortable.

Favorite food:  I like simple foods like warm bread and homemade soup.

Education:  My sister and I were both educated by our parents and elders in the village.

Favorite thing about where I live:  I share a home with my sister Mary and brother Lazarus.

Favorite thing to do with my family:  I love serving my family, keeping the house clean and preparing meals for us to all sit down and eat together.

Children:  I am not married and have no children, but sometimes I feel like the mother of my sister and brother.  Perhaps Heavenly Father is just giving me practice for later in my life when I am blessed with a family.

Where did you grow up:  Bethany, just a few miles outside of Jerusalem.

Hobbies:  Since Jesus’ first visit I have been trying to relax a little more and listen to his wonderful stories when he comes through Bethany.  I love that he stays in our home while he is here.  (Luke 10:38-42)

Anything else interesting about you:  My brother, Lazarus, died of a terrible sickness recently.  He lay in the grave for four days before Jesus came and raised him from the dead and brought him back to us.  (John 11)

Women of the Scriptures - Abish

    Women of the Scriptures - Abish

This is not really a picture of Abish but a picture of what I think she might have looked like

Favorite pastime:  Listening to Ammon tell stories from the Scriptures.  (Alma18:36)

Favorite place to eat:  Being a servant of the Queen I am sometimes asked to escort her to the great feasts of King Lamoni’s Father who is King over all the land.  (Alma18:9)

Favorite food:  We eat a lot of meat, I am partial to mutton.

Education:  I was mainly educated by my Father.

Favorite thing about where I live:  The land is bountiful with much grazing land and water for our animals.  The Waters of Sebus are truly beautiful. 

Favorite thing to do with my family:  When I was young I used to sit at my Father’s feet while he told of the remarkable vision he had that converted our family to the Gospel of the Lord.  (Alma19:16)

Children:  I am a dedicated servant to the Queen and have no time for a family.

Where did you grow up:  I have been a resident of the land of Ishmael all of my life.

Hobbies:  Watching the sons of the king race the horses and chariots and serving my Queen.

Anything else interesting about you:  Before Ammon came, the people I lived amongst were very wicked.  They worshipped idols, which my Father told me was wrong.  After Ammon came and the King and Queen were touched by the Spirit of the Lord and fell to the ground I ran to tell the others what had happened in hopes of spreading the Good News.  Some of the Lamanites had evil intentions but the Lord struck them down and I was able to revive my mistress, the Queen, by taking her hand.  She then awoke her husband, the King, and he rebuked the people and taught them the words of Ammon.  Since that time the people of King Lamoni have become a righteous people and have established a Church.  We now live in peace.  (Alma19:14 – 36)

Women of the Scriptures - Eve

Women of the Scriptures - Eve

Favorite pastime:   Do mothers have pastimes?

Favorite place to eat: The Garden of Eden (everything was free!)

Favorite food: Fruit from the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil.  Although it was a tough decision I wouldn’t give up my children for anything.  I realized that ‘it is better to pass through sorrow that we may know the good from the evil’. (Moses 5:11)

Education:  I had the privilege of being taught directly by Heavenly Father during my time in the Garden of Eden.  After being driven out of the Garden, Adam and I had to learn for ourselves the good from the evil.

Favorite thing about where I live:  Well, after eating the fruit we were cast out of the garden and had to grow our own food and make our own shelter and clothing.  The blessing of having children and raising a large family has made it all worth it though.

Favorite thing to do with my family:  Bless the name of God and teach my children of his goodness (Moses 5:12).

Children:  Cain and Abel were my first two boys but after a terrible tragedy where I lost both of them the Lord blessed me with my son Seth and many other children after. (Gen. 4:1-16)

Where did you grow up:  I have the unique history of not actually growing up, I was formed from Adam’s rib and we spent many years learning and ‘growing’ in the Garden of Eden.

Hobbies:  Gardening, teaching my children, following the Gospel principles.

Anything else interesting about you:  I am the Mother of all living and my name in Hebrew means ‘life’. (Gen 3:20)