Tiana Mangakahia

While things may get a little heated in the biennial Stake basketball competition, the
sport is not a year-round pursuit for most 17 year old girls.

That is, unless, you’re Cleveland Girl Tiana Mangakahia, point guard for the Australian Institute of Sports team in the Women’s National Basketball League.

The 17 year old is still in high school but has a staggering list of achievements under her belt.

She began playing basketball at school and the local PCYC, and was soon chosen

to represent Queensland at both levels.

Before being accepted to the AIS, Tiana was playing at a high level for Brisbane State High School (a daily 1 hour commute from home), and for the Spartans club in Carina.

The AIS reports Tiana is quick and fiery athlete that could develop into international level player.

She would love to one day play for the Opals (the national women’s team) and travel overseas to play alongside some of her icons.

Her most recent achievement was winning a gold medal in the under 17 Women’s Team Oceania World Qualifications Series.

Coming from a family of 8 (including 5 brothers), Tiana enjoys coming home to visit her friends and family.

60th Wedding Anniversary

Robert and Patricia Davidson’s mailbox was fuller than usual this week as they received letters from the Queen, Governor General, The Prime Minster and family congratulating them on their diamond wedding anniversary.

Robert Davidson, was born in 1930 and grew up in Cowra NSW. It was there he meet his beloved wife Patricia (Born in Young, 1932) whilst working together at Edgell’s Cannery.
Pat recalls “During the day we would all work then afterwards the ladies would go home to put on our pretty dresses to come back for the evening shift and mingle with the boys.”

After a short engagement they wed on May 17, 1952 in Pat’s home town, and then boarded a train to Sydney for their honeymoon.  60 years on, Bob and Pat Davidson celebrated their wedding anniversary with their family at Outback Spectacular over the weekend and will be enjoying their 9th cruise to celebrate their milestone.

The pair have called QLD their home for the past 32 years, but during their marriage Bob and Pat have also lived in NSW and Tasmania.

Bob has had many occupations including Postman, Water Carrier, Builder, Real Estate Agent and a Motel Owner, and now enjoys helping out at his son’s business.

Bob and Pat are the proud parents of Robert, Kathy, Will, Gary, John and Sam (deceased) and have 25 grandchildren and 7 great grandchildren.

The pair have a great capacity for love and charity, both serving missions for their church – The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints - and always being available to help friends and family.

Children and grandchildren alike have nothing but respect and admiration for the couple, who after 60 years still enjoy a good rugby league game, a trip to the trots or a show at Twin Towns.

Dakota Striplin

This week I will be posting articles about different people in our Stake making some great achievements. If you know anyone who is doing something great we would love to hear about it so we can write about it and share.

Photo by :Chris McCormack

Original Full article found here  by Judith Kerr  (Bayside Bulletin)

Capalaba Ward’s Dakota Striplin, is backing up his appearance on the popular TV show The Voice with a lead role in the perennial musical Hairspray. Although Dakota never did formal dance training, he did dance at school and managed to garner the role of slick teen heart throb Link Larkin, the object of affection for lead character Tracy Turnblad.

The 17-year-old has come a long way since first taking to the stage at the Redland Bay Hotel for Busking by the Bay in 2008, when he was 14. Since then, he's won a string of awards, dazzled audiences around the country singing at FretFest and on The Voice, cut a CD of his own compositions, starred in the Lord Mayor's Christmas Carols, played a stage-version of Harry Potter and even finished his high school certificate.

Dakota also plans to broaden his horizons by performing at the TeenHoot Hootfest, in Nashville, Tennessee, in July of this year.

Dakota is a wonderful Young Man with many opportunities ahead of him!

An Easter Invitation

EASTER, A TIME TO REMEMBER

Local members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints will hold special Easter themed services this Sunday, focusing on the message of the Resurrection of Jesus Christ.

“We celebrate, along with all of the Christian world, the wonderful fruits of the atonement of our Saviour, Jesus Christ, culminating in His glorious resurrection”, said Elder Terrence M. Vincent, Australian representative of the Church, who stresses the centrality of Christ to the Mormon faith.

We testify of His resurrection and the complete necessity of relying upon His grace for our own salvation.

Our Church bears His name and, although we may be known as ‘Mormons’ to most, our allegiance is centred completely in our Saviour, Jesus Christ.

He lives and continues to love and care, as would a loving parent, for all who reside on this earth.

Congregations of the Church across Brisbane will hold services with uplifting songs and devotionals prepared by the members conveying the spirit of Easter, Jesus Christ.

“We encourage all to go out of their way to show love and kindness to others. Christ’s teachings are a gospel of love and we appeal to all Christians, and to people of all beliefs, to live in His ways and to be messengers of peace”, said Elder Vincent.

Services will be on Sunday held at:

200 River Terrace, Kangaroo Point - 9am and 1pm

10 Sylvia Street, Camp Hill - 9am and 1pm

27 Delancy Street, Cleveland - 9am and 1pm

4 Strawberry Road, Manly – 9am

Repetition. And Repeat.

We don't want to teach everything at once
and we don't want to teach things only once.

I heard this piece of advice from the pulpit this week.

It spoke to my heart!

Sometimes parenting can seem alot of the same! I sometimes wonder how many times of doing a said thing will it take before the child takes correct behaviour on board. To me the parent, it seems an awful lot!!

I remember saying once to a child of mine "You have been to church every single sunday of your entire life {short 6 years} and you still haven't learnt that you need to just sit still and be quiet, When are you going to learn this?"

But of course these principles apply to adults too.

Yes, how many times will it take for me to learn......

{daily scripture study is important, humility, not to critisize, gossip, to be quiet and listen to others, to go the extra mile in helping, insert any personal values here}

Elder Dieter F Uchtdorf mentioned this topic in regards to conference

Don’t discount a message merely because it sounds familiar.

Prophets have always taught by repetition; it is a law of learning. You will hear repetition in themes and doctrines in general conference. Let me reassure you: this is not due to a lack of creativity or imagination. We continue to hear messages on similar issues because the Lord is teaching and impressing upon our minds and hearts certain foundational principles of great eternal importance that must be understood and acted upon before we can move on to other things.

A wise builder first lays the foundation before erecting the walls and the roof.

We have our Stake Conference happening this weekend.
You're Invited! So come along!
{27 Delancy St Cleveland: Saturday 6-8pm and Sunday 10am-12pm}
It will be a pleasure to attend with the above words of advice reminding me. It may be something I have heard before, but it will be as a loving parent stalwartly waiting with gentle words of inspiration. It will be familar, it will be comfort and it will be a main springboard from which I can jump from to receive extra revelation for myself and my family.

In an Ensign Article regarding the Old testament we see that

Those who thoughtfully study the scriptures recognize the repetition of certain themes. This repetition serves a twofold purpose: to instruct and to prepare. First, because the prophet’s audience often did not maintain their faithfulness to prophetic word, that message was constantly repeated to them, with warnings of judgment and punishment. Prophets continually reminded their audience to become God’s true children, who would faithfully fulfill his plan. By following prophetic counsel, the people removed themselves from the corruptions of the world and prepared themselves to enter into a covenant relationship as God’s people and ambassadors

Repetition ingrains gospel principles in our minds and hearts.

President Heber J Grant taught

Teach and live the first principles of the gospel, and let the mysteries of heaven wait until you get to heaven.

Like the frequent singing of our songs, we can never repeat too often the commandments of the Lord to this people, and urge upon the Saints to live up to them.

Very many times people have said to me, “I am sick and tired of hearing the same thing over and over again. There is no need of repeating.” Many men find fault with the sermons they hear because there are repetitions in them.

It seems that the Lord recognizes the necessity of repetition in impressing upon the minds of the people any message that he has to give. Our Savior, in his teaching, would repeat, time and time again, in different language the same idea, apparently to fasten it irrevocably upon the minds and hearts of his hearers.

This is why we can feel better when we start our days with {good} repetition. A day started with prayer, scripture study and meditation and serving others ~ these simple things become a repetition which creates a power within us that keeps us afloat. A power that strengthens, guides and carries us.

I repeat  "I love You" and leave each child with a kiss daily.
This is to teach them pure love so they will take it to heart and carry it with them forever.

I repeatly try to be a good and loving parent daily.
The better my repetitions in my relationship with them the easier it will be for them to understand a Loving Father in Heaven looking upon them, bestowing them with all things needed as I do.

I repeatedly teach the simple truths of the gospel.
This makes it easier for them to take on the deeper words of the gospel when it will be presented to them.


Instead of mundane  I can choose to think of my parental repetitions as searing into their hearts and minds eternal truths of a most important nature.


Just as by the repetition they need, I too am being taught from by on High by carrying them out.


Much of life is repetitive. There is a reason.

Be Ye therefore Perfect

Just as surely as the sun will rise - we too have another day to perfect ourselves

The Road to Perfection is always under Construction.

I saw this on a sign  Sunday afternoon and it reasonated with me, especially after what happened in our class Sunday Morning.

On Sunday The Young Womens class (teenage girls) joined Relief Society class (women) for their lesson. At the end one of the young women got up  and commented that she noted that the women still had to try hard, sometimes feel insecure, and constantly trying to improve themselves even AFTER they left Young Women. 'As a Young Women I've already grown so much and it overwhelms me at times all the things I know and feel. But then to hear Relief Society sisters share their trials and experiences, keeps me humbled and excited to know that I have so much more growing to do!'


I laughed with a lady next to me. OH NO. They've found us out.

As teens you may often look at grown women thinking they have it all together, they don't have fears, and seem to be able to do anything and its just so easy for them.

The comments from the lesson taught them that even as adults we falter, get embarrassed, think we can't do things, are are still FOREVER TRYING.

In one way it could make the teenage girls think less of us. In another it is good for them to know that indeed noone is perfect. Life doesn't magically become easier once you turn 18. (Sadly dear teens it can become harder?)

Why is a 'life constantly under construction' important?

Sometimes we just wish and pray life could magically become easier. Sometimes life is easy and we are just 'coasting along' not really improving or extending ourselves. It's good to know that it is not an embarrassment to have a life that you are constantly working at.

To be constantly working on ourselves and to perfection is actually what the Lord wants.

In the lesson Striving for Perfection we read:

Many people find the commandment “be ye perfect” to be overwhelming. Youth especially can get discouraged easily when they make mistakes. They may feel that perfection is unattainable and thus not worth working toward. We all need to realize that perfection in this life is not expected or even possible. What is expected is that we try each day to be better than we were the day before.

Perfection is not an instant event but a goal we must strive for throughout our lives.
Perfection is a very individual process. In one sense we are all on the same path, because we are all striving to become like Jesus Christ. At the same time, however, our paths are very different. We have all been given different strengths and weaknesses, so the order in which we learn these principles of perfection and the time it takes to grow and develop in each one will vary widely. One person may be very faithful in keeping the Word of Wisdom but find it difficult to pay tithing, while another may find it easy to pay tithing but struggle for years to overcome selfishness.

Perfection is such an individual process, we should not become discouraged by comparing ourselves to other people. Nor should we criticize those who may not be as strong as we are in a particular area. Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ will not compare us to each other but will evaluate our progress according to our own individual capabilities and efforts.


I love that the Young Women can teach me. Remind me to keep working at myself. It truly is not The End yet! There is time. There is possibility. There is joy in knowing that I can indeed be better tomorrow than I was today. It is probably the longest long term goal we will ever do.

Let's get cracking on it.

Building Righteous Traditions

table setting from our 'back to school' dinner 2011

I've been thinking about Traditions alot lately. Christmas brings it out in me. People have told me that they admire alot of the traditions our family has. It made me think that we probably had a tradition for every month of the year. I was thinking of compiling a list. I thought it would be a good way to start the year. To look at, define, compile and set goals to accomplish our favourite family traditions - and even perhaps add a few more. {oh there are so many more. so many wonderful ideas out there!}

Traditions are a wonderful thing. They give children things to look forward to, they create close family bonds, they force you spend time together, they give you memories to look back on, the more often you do something the more you can compare photos on how things/people have changed and the repetitiveness causes a spot in your heart to grow. We all have a childhood memory surrounding something our families did yearly or as a tradition. It's one of the things that stick with us!


Now some family traditions can be a bad thing. If we as a family perpetuate bad communication, feelings of being put down, name calling, impatience and any other mirade of bad behaviour we are perhaps sewing seeds of traditions that will carry on in future generations. If our focus in life is upon material possessions or disregarding the treatment of others to get what we want we are allowing negative traditions to take hold within our families.


I've found when we attempt to create righteous traditions blessings of goodness follow. In our attempts (however meager) we can be blessed in creating a stronger, happier, more resilient family. This conference talk - Righteous Traditions by Cheryl C Lant outlines many important aspects about creating righteous traditions.

"What kinds of traditions do we have? Some of them may have come from our fathers, and now we are passing them along to our own children. Are they what we want them to be? Are they based on actions of righteousness and faith? Are they mostly material in nature, or are they eternal? Are we consciously creating righteous traditions, or is life just happening to us? Are our traditions being created in response to the loud voices of the world, or are they influenced by the still, small voice of the Spirit? Are the traditions that we are creating in our families going to make it easier for our children to follow the living prophets, or will they make it difficult for them?

I've been thinking deeply about this because perhaps some of our traditions are more secular than they are Godly. I know I need to try harder to incorporate righteous, spiritually based enjoyable traditions for my children. I know I felt this keenly over Christmas when some of my spiritual advent devotionals were skipped over and missed. I felt we perhaps clung to the more fun traditions and left our spiritual ones only a small amount of time, to be done quickly.

I found this money article  very interesting. " Here's a little tip for life: try to always have something to look forward to, no matter how small. The power of anticipation in boosting our well-being is incredible.The pleasure people get from their anticipation is stronger than from their reminiscences."

This article was actually about the buy now pay later consumer society and how it actually robs us, but I thought the principles applicable to many other aspects in life. Our brains are hardwired for positive anticipation and this increases our wellbeing! It will be healthy for your family to anticipate activities that will happen throughout the year.


As I look at the calendar to see what traditions can be let go, what traditions I want to start, what traditions I want to continue I pray I might be led to the ones perfect for our family.

Righteous Traditions DO take planning. They DO take work. I've found traditions are easy to keep when I am organised. By calendaring them in, the equipment needed can be purchased in advance {so not to stretch the budget all at once}, I can start early {so not to be stressed - no tradition is any good when the mumma is cranky and stressed}, I can then invite others to join us {if we wish}, and I will know when to start getting the girls excited and looking forward to it.


May 2012 be a year of wonderful traditions for you and your family!

Carols Invitation

Carols

 Saturday 17 December

at 6pm

and afterwards an

Aladdin Pantomine

The Church of Jesus Christ of latter-day Saints

27 Delancey St Cleveland

We will be there because my husband will be the MC.
So there's another reason for you to come.
(to not heckle and throw oranges at him.)


I love carols and carolling. It's a real shame that I can't sing. At All! (really)  So my dreams of taking my family and carolling up and down our street are not to be reality. SO I always make sure I attend a Carols by Candelight or similar each year so our voices can be drowned out by the lovely ones. Wherein I can pretend that I can actually sing.



Come along and bring a friend.

Ghosts of Christmas Past

Last Christmas we made a home Christmas movie with lots of shredded paper {aka fake snow}

That paper hung around for months. I would sweep, vacuum, mop and still find those little shreds.

I thought I was finally rid of it all until this week when we unboxed our Christmas Tree.

MORE WHITE PAPER SHREDS!

They seemingly jumped out the box and were once again in every corner of the living room.


It was like the Ghost of Christmas Past come to haunt me!



Are you similarly haunted at this time of year?

I got to thinking about some things in our lives that hang around that we might want to eliminate.

Do you feel overwhelmed at this time of year
Do you feel sad that you can't provide all you would like to give
Do you feel insecure about what others think of you
Do you feel underwhelmed ~ things just aren't like they used to be
Do you feel let down by family members
Do you feel wrongly focused
Do you feel time is flying by too fast and you haven't achieved even half of what you would like

This season can sometimes exaggerate the missing things in our lives ~ family problems, the desire for material things, the expectations ~ all can sometimes set us up for seeming failure.


AS we take time to focus on the most important things and weed out some of the paper shreds left behind, or the ghosts of the past that hang around for much longer than intended I hope that we may find some feelings of peace this Christmas New Year Season.

I find this yearly Christmas Devotional helpful. Also take time to relax, ponder, write down what we want, what we want to change and how we can have that better life next year.

The common word JOY can be broken down as such : Jesus, Others, Yourself. When we take time to do these things, we can feel a greater sense of peace.

The Happiest People  surround themselves with others, give freely {not expensive gifts}, forgive easily, buy less, keep busy. Other Secrets of Happiness are Knowing who you are, confidence in your potential, ability to unplug and unwind, enjoy what you do, have a natural zest for life.

Reading those articles showed me how blessed I am, that through my religion I have most of those things. ~ I know why I am here on earth and where I am going after, I understand my divine potential, we are given the daily opportunity to pray, meditate, read scriptures, I know that motherhood is the most divine calling on earth, we attempt to live healthy, live well and I believe have that natural zest for life.


May we remember these things when we need a little lift of happiness.



If you would like to know more about what I believe go here.

Thanksgiving

I was able to attend a lovely Thanksgiving feast this week.

After our fill of turkey and sweet potato and pumpkin pie we filled boxes full of donations for care packs for DV connect (a domestic violence help centre)

We were humbled after a slideshow about the work they do. They are the busiest Domestic Violence Help Centre in the whole of Australia! It felt so good to contribute to the work they do.

This week everyone seems thinking about gratitute, thanks and blessings.

Even though I'm not American and don't really celebrate thanksgiving it's still a good time to reflect upon this just before the busy season jumps upon us.

I've read several posts this week about Gratitude with these ones being my favourite
Gratitude is not just about saying Thankyou
Gift of a Grateful Heart
All this and the Gospel too!

I'm always trying to better. I know I need an improved view on gratitude and thanks. Sometimes its just too easy to become relaxed with it. To feel we deserve more and to step on anyone to get it.

In prayer we thank the Lord every day: thanks for this food, thanks for our family, thanks for our happy little lives, thanks when everything is going well. How to have a better take on it it?

I loved the above article  Gratitude is more thank saying thanks. She spoke about Joseph from the bible: he gave thanks for all that he had while denying potiphars wife who was making advancements on him. We too can learn from this example.

I am thankful for so much... how can I do this______ thing?

What a great mantra we should have in our lives when decision making. When we chose wrongly or unwisely we are being ungrateful. When laying out decisions before ourselves it would be interesting to lay out all our blesssings first then add the decision/thing we want/ what we are doing to the end. I wonder if it would make us think differently, sway our decisions?


All this and gospel too was an interesting story of Elder Joseph F. Smith visiting the old Oneida Stake of Zion and arranging to take a meal at the home of Elder Benson’s grandfather. In telling the story, his Grandfather said that they were seated in the dining room of the farm home. The table was laden with good things to eat. The family was gathered around. Just before they were ready to start the meal, President Smith stretched his long arms over the table and turned to his grandfather and said,


“Brother Benson, all this and the gospel too?”

This is a wonderful way to look at what meagre blessing we might have. We might not have much going good in our lives, but there is always something! Look at a small blessing and think... ALL THIS! and the gospel too!

Perhaps if we insert this saying into everything it would also sway our thinking! ALL THIS! I have ALL THIS and the GOSPEL TOO! Miraculous! When we garnish our thoughts with such positive thinking our hearts will surely be changed. We would be changed so much that we would always be willing to share, to give, to know we have bounteous blessings placed upon us!

I've seen several bloggers taking part in a 1000 blessings challenge based on this book : One Thousand Gifts . Basically whenever you see a blessing write it down. Try to get to one thousand different things.

A few years back instead of keeping a daily journal I kept a gratitude journal. Just to jot down 3-4 things I was grateful for that day. I wasn't always successful but I tried really hard to think of different things each day. After seeing part of someones list a few weeks ago I was reminded that I should try it again.

I've bought a little notebook and I'm going to start with some blessings.

It's been said that the more you look for happiness, little pleasures and joys the more full your life becomes. Funny that hey? A little gratitude certainly DOES go a long way.

A large body of recent work has suggested that people who are more grateful have higher levels of well-being. Grateful people are happier, less depressed, less stressed, and more satisfied with their lives and social relationships. Grateful people also have higher levels of control of their environments, personal growth, purpose in life, and self acceptance.^[24] Grateful people have more positive ways of coping with the difficulties they experience in life, being more likely to seek support from other people, reinterpreted and grow from the experience, and spend more time planning how to deal with the problem.^[25] Grateful people also have less negative coping strategies, being less likely to try to avoid the problem, deny there is a problem, blame themselves, or cope through substance use.^[25] Grateful people sleep better, and this seems to be because they think less negative and more positive thoughts just before going to sleep.  ^{http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gratitude}


Allport (1950) suggested that mature religious intentions come from feelings of profound gratitude and Edwards (1746) claimed that the “affection” of gratitude is one of the most accurate ways of finding the presence of God in a person’s life.

How interesting! I've always thought gratitude important to develop. But perhaps it is most important! IT seems ones very health and devotion to God will rely upon our depth of gratitude!


This past week here are a couple things I was grateful for:

::  A wonderful cool breeze blowing around (my hot un airconditioned) house. I was clucking around (cleaning/cooking/wandering) like I usually am and decided that I should sit and read and enjoy the wonderful breeze instead.

:: I rarely go down the narrow soggy side of my house. But I was out there looking at the cool damp green area covered in clover and it actually looked very inviting. I was dreaming of dragging a big overstuffed chair out there or a blanket and enjoying a lie down. It gave me pleasure to think in a positive light an unused side of my yard.

::The way my littlest daughter runs with her hands bunched tight with a side to side motion looking like a little old granny trying to run melts my heart. I realised that this time is short and she won't run like a pudgy little funny thing forever

::The joy of having my girls sit on my lap as we sewed christmas pillowcases together. It's great to be loved and needed and to actually have a skill I am teaching and passing on down to them.

:: When I came home from said Thanksgiving feast my kitchen was clean and sparkling and scrubbed. My heart was joyous to come home to a polished kitchen. Thanks to my darling husband



How do you express gratitude? How do you improve your thankfulness? Any tips to share?


Some Scripture References to start you on your journey


Alma 34:38  Live in thanksgiving daily
Phillippians 4:6 With thanksgiving let your requests be made known
Psalms 50:14 Offer unto God thanksgiving
D&C 46:7 Doing all things with Prayer and thanksgiving
D&C:78:19 He who receive all things with thankfulness shall be made glorious

Christ Centred Christmas

I'm currently reading a book called Celebrating Advent

It's a compillation of daily advent devotionals enough to last two Christmases.

In the preface it mentions:

The pressure of our cultural Christmas celebrations crowd in on us. We find ourselves running in a million different directions. Where is Christ in all of this? Christian families feel the tension more acutely than any. Christmas should be a joyous celebration of our Lord's birth. We want our children to grow up with treasured memories of family times at Christmas - times when Christ is honoured in our families. This is what we long for, but somehow we don't know how to make it happen.

I found it interesting that religious people could feel more stressed at Christmas time as they know the season carries a special meaning to them (when ideally we should be least stressed?) They know that they must do more than:

Eat, open presents and party.

Even since I read that I've been thinking about it.

I love Christmas. I love traditions. I want my children to learn about the real meaning of Christmas.

To get to know God.
To understand the great importance of the birth of the Saviour
To do service for others.
To use the season to read, contemplate, understand the bigger picture
To spend time together as a family, to be still and listen
To take note of the year and embrace a new one.
To be better and do better

It's a lot on our shoulders hey?



Sometimes the Christmas stress bug hits me, not often because I love Christmas, but I too can be found complaining about organising  things, lack of money to buy all I want, wanting things just so (having to stop my inner OCD from wanting to place all decorations myself! and banning children from touching any of it ;) having too many things to attend.

What are some ways YOU are able to incorporate the true meaning of Christmas? How do you impart these sacred truths?  How have you taught yourself to slow down? Please share!

Here are some of the things we do as a family to help remember the reason for the season.

:: Pictured above is a decoration we make nearly every year. I cut out any picture of Jesus from a year's worth of Ensign magazines. We place a scripture on the back and laminate. Add a ribbon and they are used as decorations for our tree, attached to presents, given away to neighbours with plates of cookies. I have made hundreds of these things! We started this tradition after one year I realised we had no decorations on our Tree that depicted Christ. Just as we celebrate all the pretty baubles and decorations we love, I thought it important that we also include the very reason we celebrate.

:: We've declared Dec 1st the day we put out our Nativity sets. As the first Family Home Evening in December is when we put up our tree, I thought it nice to start the season in our house with Nativities first. To place in our mind first up what we hold most dear about Christmas.

:: We hold a very simplistic Advent each Sunday for the four Sundays leading up to Christmas - We light some candles, share a scripture, hold a little devotional and maybe sing a carol.

:: For a month leading up to Christmas we try to make all our Family Home Evening lessons Christmas based. We can cover the Christmas Story, Religions meanings behind several Christmas Decorations, we watch some religious based Christmas movies.

:: We have included scripture versus in our Advent Calendar

:: We read Children's Christmas books every night in December. Along with the Santa and fun story books, I always make sure to include several books that depict spiritual messages.


Some Practical ways to help me achieve these things:

:: Plan! I plan out what we want to do/achieve. Eg I pencil in Advent devotionals in the calendar.

:: I try to purchase all gifts by the end of November so December can be used to purely focus on our family and the more spiritual aspects of Christmas I want to incorporate.

:: I usually start thinking about Christmas in October.

:: As much as we would love to purchase a gift for everyone in our life that means something to us, we realise we can't and even though it's difficult we try to keep gift giving to a minimum and realise that a smile, spending time with them or some homemade cookies is a better gift. People don't need more things, they need more love.


What are your ideas for Christ Centred Christmas?

 Please Share and join the discussion!

Today is the day

Thanks to our capacity to transmit images from anywhere in the world to the homes of everyone else across the world, we have all had front row seats to the terror and fury of natural disasters across the globe. In the past few months, we have watched in horror as Bundaberg, the Lockyer Valley and Brisbane region were overcome by floods. We saw how the Far North Queensland communities of Mission Beach, Tully, Tully Heads, and Cardwell were battered by the destructive force of Cyclone Yasi. And on Friday we saw the live coverage as Japan was rocked by an 8.9 magnitude earthquake followed by a relentless tsunami which destroyed everything and everyone in its path.

It is a brutal reminder that despite the fact that we can drive our airconditioned cars all over the country, fly across the world faster than the speed of sound and that we have travelled to the moon and back, we are all vulnerable to the greater power of nature.

It is also a valuable reminder that our time here on earth is limited.

A reminder that this life is the time for us to prepare to meet God.

This life isn't about accumulating money or goods or becoming famous. It's so easy to become distracted by the tasks of each day that we can easily forget to consider the eternal perspective. Easy to become lost in the meaningless diversions and amusements of a world where entertainment is valued as supreme.

Amidst the powerful forces of life and disaster, I am reminded that the only true source of peace and power is founded on an ongoing relationship with our Saviour Jesus Christ. When the wall of despair and destruction rushes toward us and there is nowhere left to turn, no hope, no option - the Saviour is always there to give us His peace. In Matthew 11:28-30 we are reminded:

Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.
Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.
For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.

Today! Today is the day to regain that eternal perspective. Today is the day to turn to the Saviour. Today is the day to repent and each new day gives us another opportunity to commit ourselves to the Lord. Today is the day where we can find peace, despite the despair that will come.

If you would like to speak to someone today about turning to the Saviour and commiting your life to Him, you can chat online to learn more about the Saviour by clicking here

You have a mission

Imagine for a moment that you enter a whole new world and the person at the customs tells you to "Go ahead and do it". No detail, no direction, no plan - just "Go ahead and do it". How would you feel? Confused? Directionless? Frustrated? Uncertain? There was a time in my life when I didn't know what the purpose was of my life, when I didn't know what the plan of mortality was or what my role was in this life. And yes, I felt confused, uncertain, frustrated and certainly directionless.

Now I see life very differently. I now know that our kind Heavenly Father has designed a plan for each of us - a plan to bring us peace and joy - a plan that He has designed knowing our particular set of strengths and weaknesses, talents and interests, likes and dislikes, to ensure that we can succeed . . . just so long as we stay close to Him. Bishop H. Burke Peterson said "There are things for each of you to do that no one else can do as well as you. . . . If you will let Him, I testify that our Father in Heaven will walk with you through the journey of life and inspire you to know your special purpose here."

Heavenly Father does not leave us without help to begin to recognise and then learn to understand our personal mission on earth. He encourages us to pray and to listen for answers, to study scriptures, offers us promptings through the Holy Ghost and most importantly, has provided us with a church within which we can associate with like-minded people who are also trying to follow our Heavenly Father's plan.

In order to succeed in our prersonal mission though, we need to develop and maintain an ongoing relationship with our Father in Heaven. That way, we can get the help and direction that we need along the way. Instead of being told "Go ahead and do it", our Father in Heaven will travel along our life journey with us - warning us of danger, prompting us to do good, confirming good decisions with a feeling of soul satisfying peace and strengthening us with His love each step of the way.

A song that my daughters sing at church comes to mind:

My life is a gift; my life has a plan.
My life has a purpose; in heaven it began.
My choice was to come to this lovely home on earth.
And seek for God's light to direct me from birth.

I will follow God's plan for me.
Holding fast to his word and his love.
I will work, and I will pray;
I will always walk in his way.
Then I will be happy on earth.
And in my home above.

I'm a Work in Progress

I'm not big into new year's resolutions - but I do like to set specific and measurable goals. Instead of just setting goals in the beginning of a new year and then lamenting my lack of achievement at the end of the next year, I have fallen into the habit of reviewing my goals quarterly. It works well to time these reviews according to my children's school terms - at the beginning of every term, I go back to my goals and review my progress in each area. And because I like to share the joy around, I badger my poor family into joining me in setting and reviewing goals quarterly!! Perhaps you would like to join me too??

What I do when I set my goals is that I start by identifying what the different hats are that I wear or would like to add to my life. Whatever you spend your time doing can usually be given a hat, for example partner, parent, spiritual self, me time, physical (exercise, nutrition, health), work/educational, home, financial, etc.Of course, our lives are all very different and so we all have a different collection of hats and they often change, but I like to set goals for each hat to help me to try to think about and set goals in a balanced way (as far as possible).

Anyway, so when I set my goals, I have two key considerations - are my goals specific and are they measurable. It's not enough to say that I want to be healthy. I need to specify what I will DO and how OFTEN I will do it. So, I have to rework my health goal to something specific and measurable. What I did this year was to set a goal to run three times a week for between 15-30 minutes. Of course, there are so many ways that we can become more healthy, this one was what I thought would make the biggest difference in my life. Yours may be to only eat 100g of chocolate per week, or to follow a specific diet plan or to play tennis three times a week - as long as it's important to you and clearly measurable, then your goal is great.
I write my goals up in the front of my planner and I often find myself paging back to remind myself of what I had hoped to achieve for the year.

Three months flies by and before you realise it, it is time to review your goals. What I like to do when I review my goals is that I think about what I have done over the last 3 months to achieve each goal and then give my efforts a score out of 10. A score of 0/10 means that I didn't do anything to achieve the goal (a poor, forgotten goal) - 10/10 means that I actually completed my task and achieved my goal (Yippee). Most of the time I end up with a score somewhere in the middle. This allows me to see where I need to put more effort in for the next 3 months and where I can just continue doing what I was doing.

I have found that since I joined this church that not just my life, but my goals have changed too. Feeling that I have a purpose in life and putting my faith at the center of my life, has changed where I expend my energies, how I spend my time and what is important to me. Rather than set goals to achieve largely worldly ambitions, I try to set goals to achieve my eternal potential, to become a better person every day and to strengthen my relationship with my Father in Heaven. I'm still most definately a work in progress - but my goal setting habits seem to be helping me along the way.

So come on, grab a scrap of paper, or open a new window on your computer and join me in setting yourself some specific and measurable goals for 2011!!

Glory to God

The Gospel according to St Luke, Chapter 2:

1 And it came to pass in those days, that there went out a decree from Cæsar Augustus, that all the world should be taxed.
2 (And this taxing was first made when Cyrenius was governor of Syria.)
3 And all went to be taxed, every one into his own city.
4 And Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judæa, unto the city of David, which is called Bethlehem; (because he was of the house and lineage of David:)
5 To be taxed with Mary his espoused wife, being great with child.
6 And so it was, that, while they were there, the days were accomplished that she should be delivered.
7 And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn.
8 And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night.
9 And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid.
10 And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.
11 For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.
12 And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.
13 And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying,
14 Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.
15 And it came to pass, as the angels were gone away from them into heaven, the shepherds said one to another, Let us now go even unto Bethlehem, and see this thing which is come to pass, which the Lord hath made known unto us.
16 And they came with haste, and found Mary, and Joseph, and the babe lying in a manger.
17 And when they had seen it, they made known abroad the saying which was told them concerning this child

Angels we have heard

I hope that you enjoy this beautiful version of "Angels we have Heard on High", sung by David Archuleta, with gorgeous images of the Saviour. I wonderful audio-visual reminder of the real reason for the season.

Christmastime

Some more words of wisdom from the annual Christmas message. This snippet is taken from a talk by our wonderful prophet entitled “A Bright Shining Star” (Monson, 2010) and reminds us all that Christmas time is a wonderful time of the year to take stock and draw closer to our Saviour, Jesus Christ. I hope that you enjoy his words as much as I did:

“This joyful season brings to all of us a measure of happiness that corresponds to the degree to which we have turned our minds, feelings, and actions to the Savior, whose birth we celebrate.

There is no better time than now, this very Christmas season, for all of us to rededicate ourselves to the principles taught by Jesus the Christ. Let it be a time that lights the eyes of children and puts laughter on their lips. Let it be a time for lifting the lives of those who live in loneliness. Let it be a time for calling our families together, for feeling a closeness to those who are near to us and a closeness also to those who are absent.

Let it be a time of prayers for peace, for the preservation of free principles, and for the protection of those who are far from us. Let it be a time of forgetting self and finding time for others. Let it be a time for discarding the meaningless and for stressing the true values. Let it be a time of peace because we have found peace in His teachings.

Most of all, let it be a time to remember the birth of our Savior, Jesus Christ, that we may share in the song of the angels, the gladness of the shepherds, and the worship of the Wise Men.

My brothers and sisters, may the spirit of love which comes at Christmastime fill our homes and our lives and linger there long after the tree is down and the lights are put away for another year.”

Lessons learned

Yesterday at church, Bishop Craig Owen shared a few thoughts with us, which I thought were just perfect for this blog. With his permission, I share his thoughts below:

When I read the Christmas story, I marvel at the faith of Mary and Joseph. We know the story . . . we know the outcomes . . . we have the benefit of 2 043 years of hindsight, including the fulfillment of the prophecies. And despite all this evidence, many don’t believe. But there they were . . . in that pivotal moment in history. They must have asked themselves: Could it really be ME who has been chosen? Is this to be MY work? Of ALL the people in the world, it is to be ME??

Well, now it is our turn to fulfill our destiny. It is incumbent upon us, because we know, to follow His example. As I look back on what I have learned this year, it is that the Lord loves us unconditionally . . . and when we are like Him, we will love unconditionally too. We will love our enemies, as He has commanded us to do. That is our mountain to climb, if we reach that peak, we will have become what we need to be! It means being quick to forgive, to take our comfort, not from the world, but from ourselves and our God. It means being generous and making sacrifices.

There are some other things that I have learned this year and I offer them as suggestions for an even happier 2011:

1. Choose faith over pessimism and negativity. When you come across something difficult, smile . . . breathe deeply . . . remind yourself of all the good in your life and be grateful.

2. Recognise that all of us are imperfect. We can all find something wrong with the people around us. And they will find something wrong with us too by the way. Leave that behind and focus on their goodness, their faithful acts. When the moat in their eye is capturing your attention, you are headed for disappointment and pain. So, when someone makes a negative comment, at least think of a positive one and smile before you reply.

3. Stop for a second and think that putting something on Facebook is similar to writing on the front page of the local paper – it’s not your private journal.

4. Take steps to solve problems. The Lord said “Come and knock and I shall open unto thee.” These are action words, we need to come and we need to knock . . .  what are you doing this week to come and to knock?

5. When you are confronted by a problem, take a personal inventory first – am I praying with specific requests? Am I studying the words of the prophets and apostles regularly enough and with real intent? Am I following the prophets with my best obedience?

I have felt like a companion to some of you this year as you have travelled hard paths, but our true companion and the comfort we seek, is with the Saviour. Some resist, or think it must be more complicated than that, but it is not. The natural man and Satan complicate salvation or deny it. The supernal answer is to simply believe that Jesus was, born as part of His Father’s plan, all God and all Man, to become the Savior and redeemer of the world. We then go about being obedient and grateful. We can align ourselves with the Saviour and His redeeming power from any circumstances we may find ourselves in: in poverty or wealth, from China or England, from a hospital or an Olympic podium, from a family or as an individual. It is universal and infinite.

In Matthew 11:28-30, the Savior says: “Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me: for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”

This is my basic message to each of you, wherever you live, whatever your joys or sorrows, however young or old you may be, at whatever point you may find yourself: May we come unto Him and His gospel and be healed. And may we do more to heal others in the process. When the storms of life make this difficult, may we still follow His bidding to “Come”, keeping our eye fixed on Him forever and single to His glory. In doing so, we will walk triumphantly over the swelling waves of life’s difficulties and remain unterrified amid any rising winds of despair.

My Christmas gift

Each year I look forward to the Christmas message which is broadcast by the church – it always helps me to keep my focus on the true meaning of Christmas. With all there is to do in the weeks running up to Christmas, it is easy to get lost in the details and to miss the spiritual feast which this season offers.

So, as my Christmas gift to you, I thought that each day leading up to Christmas, I would share portions of some of the Christmas messages which touched my heart (that is, if all goes according to plan). I hope that you will come back every day this week and that the posts will help to strengthen your faith, anchor your focus on the Saviour and enrich your Christmas this year.

The first Christmas message that I would like to share a portion of was from this year’s broadcast entitled “The Gift of a Saviour” (Eyring, 2010). It really made me stop and think about what I could give to the Saviour this Christmas to give Him joy. It says:

“The spirit of Christmas . . . puts in our hearts a desire to give joy to other people. We feel a spirit of giving and gratitude for what we have been given. The celebration of Christmas helps us keep our promise to always remember Him and His gifts to us. And that remembrance creates a desire in us to give gifts to Him.

He has told us what we could give Him to bring Him joy. First, we can, out of faith in Him, give a broken heart and a contrite spirit. We can repent and make sacred covenants with Him. Within the sound of my voice are some who have felt His invitation to the peace His gospel brings but have not yet accepted it. You would give Him joy if you would act now to come unto Him while you can.

Second, you can give Him the gift of doing for others what He would do for them. Many of you have already done that and felt His appreciation. It may have been visiting a lonely widower. It may have been joining with others in a project to help those in need.

There is a long list of possibilities in the book of Matthew. There we read words from our Redeemer, which we all hope to hear and to speak when we see Him after this life:

“Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, and fed thee? Or thirsty, and gave thee drink? When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? Or naked, and clothed thee? Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee? And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.”

In those words the Lord makes clear what gifts we might give Him out of our gratitude. Each act of kindness to anyone becomes a kindness to Him because He loves all of Heavenly Father’s children. And because that brings joy to Him, it also brings joy to His Father, to whom we owe thanks beyond measure.

Many of you will in the Christmas season find ways to give food to people who are hungry. As you do, you bring joy to the Lord. Yet He taught us that there is a way to give an even more priceless and lasting gift. He said, “I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst.” With all the kindnesses we give for Him, the greatest we can offer is to point those we love and serve toward Him, the only source of eternal life.”

So, for 2010, I would like to point you towards the Saviour, Jesus Christ. I know that He is the only source of true peace and joy in this life and that he offers us the greatest gift of all, eternal life. I hope that my posts this week help you to draw closer to the Saviour and strengthen your faith. If you would like to know more about how to develop a relationship with the Saviour, please send me a message and I will help to put you in contact with someone from your area that could chat with you.

On the Lord's errand

Did you know that there has been an ongoing cholera outbreak in Papua New Guinea?  Well, I must say, I didn’t know – it hasn’t really come up much in the news and I haven’t heard of any relief efforts at all. I just didn’t have any idea that this small neighbouring country is in need of urgent assistance.

Cholera of course is an acute intestinal infection, primarily spread through contaminated water and food, which can actually be easily treated by replacement of fluid and salts lost through diarrhoea. Unfortunately, when cholera occurs in an unprepared community, case-fatality rates can be as high as 50%.

In Papua New Guinea, thousands of people have been infected with cholera and Radio Australia is reporting that 300 people have died. VaccineNewsDaily.com describes the island of Daru as one of the hardest hit areas with at least 800 people diagnosed and another 300 people requiring emergency treatment, all relying on the small and underequipped 60-bed Daru General Hospital. I didn’t realise that there was a need, that our neighbours were dying from a preventable condition.

I didn’t know, but local leaders of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Papua New Guinea realised the need and communicated to the broader Pacific church area leaders. The Pacific church leaders then communicated to church headquarters in Salt Lake City and relief efforts were begun. How wonderful to belong to a worldwide church with a clear and responsive line of authority so that problems across the globe can receive the necessary help and attention. I didn’t realise that our neighbours in PNG needed assistance, but because of my church, last Thursday, I got to help in a very real and practical way.

My local congregation and our neighbouring congregation were put on alert last Sunday that 3 pallets of goods would be arriving for PNG. We were asked to make ourselves available to pack 2 500 hygiene kits that needed to be assembled, ready to be shipped within 24-hours – the goods were expected on Thursday. When I arrived at the chapel on Thursday afternoon, the work was well underway. There were about 100 people milling around the hall and the room was abuzz with noise and activity. Boxes being opened, small bottles of sanitiser and bars of soaps being poured into larger boxes to allow for easy access, toothbrushes, and toothpaste boxes overflowing from their boxes and handtowels and facecloths being prepared for each pack. Everyone was assigned a job, pickers prepared the contents of the kit for packers who were busily putting the kits together and finishers wrapping each kit and putting them in boxes. Mothers, students, grandmothers, men arriving from work in business suits, family, friends and neighbours, all working side by side preparing the hygiene kits. Two thousand five hundred hygiene kits didn’t sound like much to me, but there were just boxes and boxes all over the chapel. As the work progressed, the sound of Christmas carols playing in the background touched my heart. While we were wondering what food to prepare for Christmas day, wrestling with choosing gifts for family and friends, families in PNG were worrying about surviving another day. I wished that I could do more, but it felt so wonderful to be doing something to help in a small way. As the evening drew to a close and the last hygiene pack was finished, we stretched out muscles that hurt from the repetitive task, cleaned up the now empty boxes and stacked the newly packed boxes with a grateful heart and a prayer for the wellbeing of the people of Papua New Guinea.

In preparing this post, I learnt that our small contribution was just a tiny part of the relief efforts coordinated by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. In November an initial shipment of eight tons of rice, four tons of fish, four tons of flour, 1 000 cakes of antibacterial soap and four tons of cooking oil were delivered to Daru. A further 2 500 water bottles, to be used in making stream and catchment water clean enough to drink were then shipped from the Church’s Salt Lake City Humanitarian Centre. By the end of November, the Church had chartered a plane from Australia that transported two doctors - Dr. Williams and Dr. Mahler – with additional relief supplies from Cairns to Daru. The shipment included one ton of medical aid, 10 000 Aqua tabs, IV solution, catheters, zinc tablets, and ancillary equipment. The first two doctors just arrived back in Australia this weekend and two more have been sent to continue the work. There is still much to be done and the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints will be there to work with other relief organisations to administer to the sick and the needy. How amazing it is to be a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

For more information on the Church's humanitarian efforts in PNG, click here

The Spirit of Christmas

I love Christmas . . . it’s my favourite time of the year. I love admiring my friend’s gorgeous Christmas trees that are perfectly colour co-ordinated with a flawless balance of bling and meaningfulness and which could easily grace the window of any fancy store in any city in the world. I love the sound of Christmas carols in shopping centres, on the car radio and drifting from people’s houses – suddenly it is ok to celebrate the greatest gift of all, our Saviour Jesus Christ. The Christmas get-togethers hum merrily with the sound of good friends chatting, laughing and sharing  . . . the stress and tensions of the year lift as we stop and connect with neighbours, friends and family. There are Christmas cards, mistletoe and tinsel; turkeys, mince pies and fruit puddings; candy canes, flickering lights and my personal favourite, the chocolates with magic popping dust which explodes like fireworks in your mouth (and if you stick your tongue out, you can even share the joyful noise with those around you). Ah, yes, Christmas-time is fun, but my favourite part of Christmas isn’t the tree or food or carols or gifts.

My favourite part of Christmas is finding the perfect way to share the Saviour’s love with someone who may not be expecting it. My favourite part of Christmas is the overwhelming drive that develops within me to stop and really pay attention to the people around me . . . to identify an unmet need, an unspoken heart’s desire, an unattainable wish . . . and then to find a way to meet it as best as I can. My favourite part of Christmas is to do something for someone else that they may not be able to do for themselves.  To do something for someone that leaves them feeling noticed, cared for, considered and loved . . . to do something for someone else that allows them to feel the love that the Saviour has for them. I remember a year when someone did that for me . . .

I was a relatively new member of the Church and my husband and I had moved overseas to study. It was the first time that I was away from my country, my home and my family. I was missing home – really, really missing home. I didn’t know many people, was freezing cold in the unfamiliar snowy weather and, well, to be honest, I was miserable. I couldn’t work because of visa restrictions and we didn’t have much money – we kept the central heating off to save on costs and would sleep in our freezing basement apartment wearing two jumpers over our PJ’s, beanies on our heads, a couple of pairs of socks and then still pile every blanket that we owned onto our bed. That’s not a good picture for someone who finds the balmy Brisbane winters bitterly cold.

Anyway, Christmas was approaching and things were lean – very lean – and I missed home more than I could say. Then one Sunday after church, a young couple in their early twenties that we had met a couple of times at church approached us with a Christmas card in an envelope. Both husband and wife were born with serious physical disabilities which made walking and speaking difficult. In addition to these lifelong challenges, this wonderful young woman had recently suffered a stroke and struggled with paralysis on one side of her body. Despite these physical challenges, this couple were vibrant, friendly and faithfully lived so as to include the Saviour in every aspect of their lives. They had been blessed with a gorgeous son a few months earlier and were amazing at caring for this young baby despite their many physical challenges. The young father was studying at University and also working to provide for the family, while his wife stayed home to care for their young son. There they stood, a young student family, living on a shoestring budget and dealing with extra physical challenges that made even the simplest of tasks gruelling and time-consuming. We hadn't spent a lot of time with this family and so we were surprised at what happened next.

Handing over the simple Christmas card, this kind young mother’s eyes twinkled as she humbly asked us to accept a small gift from her family. She explained that she had realised how much I had missed my home, my family, my mother and grandmother, and that enclosed in the card was $20 that she hoped we would use to phone home for Christmas. She apologised that she could not give more and stopping our protests, she hugged us and insisted that the gift of knowing that we had spoken to our families was a blessing for her family. Words cannot express the gratitude that I felt . . . in this strange, foreign country, far from the comforts of home, in cold that seemed to freeze my heart, someone had noticed me, cared for me, shown love to me . . . someone that I didn’t know very well had noticed a need and decided to do something to help . . . their kindness allowed my heart to thaw and reminded me of the Saviour’s ongoing care and love for me. I will never forget this young couple and their thoughtful kindness that cold Christmas so many years ago. Although we have lost touch, I remember their family in my prayers and feel eternally connected to them through their kind act of charity.

Yes, Christmas is a great time of the year – so much yummy food, family fun, joyful carols and sparkling wonder. But my favourite part of Christmas is not all the stuff. My favourite part of Christmas is the overwhelming drive that I feel each year to slow down and to really notice those around me. My favouite part of Christmas is the increased charity in my heart as I search for the perfect way to do something unexpected to meet someone's unmet need. My favourite part of Christmas is the opportunity that I have to do something to remind someone that they are important, that someone noticed them and in so doing, to let them feel the soul warming love that the Saviour has for each of us every day. Yes, Christmas is my favourite time of the year.