Tuesday, December 21, 2010

The Real Meaning of Christmas

Everyone needs to view and listen to this perfect message about What Christmas Really Means...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=PURToRRq7gM

Sunday, December 19, 2010

Sometimes Angels Are Regular People

Psalm 55:22

'Friends are God's way of taking care of us.'

This was written by a Metro Denver Hospice Physician:

I was driving home from a meeting this evening about 5, stuck in traffic on Colorado Blvd., and the car started to choke and splutter and die - I barely managed to coast, cursing, into a gas station, glad only that I would not be blocking traffic and would have a somewhat warm spot to wait for the tow truck. It wouldn't even turn over.
Before I could make the call, I saw a woman walking out of the quickie mart building, and it looked like she slipped on some ice and fell into a gas pump, so I got out to see if she was okay. When I got there, it looked more like she had been overcome by sobs than that she had fallen; she was a young woman who looked really haggard with dark circles under her eyes. She dropped something as I helped her up, and I picked it up to give it to her. It was a nickel.
At that moment, everything came into focus for me: the crying woman, the ancient Suburban crammed full of stuff with 3 kids in the back (1 in a car seat), and the gas pump reading $4.95.
I asked her if she was okay and if she needed help, and she just kept saying 'I don't want my kids to see me crying! So we stood on the other side of the pump from her car. She said she was driving
to California and that things were very hard for her right now. So I asked, 'And you were praying?' That made her back away from me a little, but I assured her I was not a crazy person and said, 'He heard you, and He sent me.'
I took out my card and swiped it through the card reader on the pump so she could fill up her car completely, and while it was fueling, walked to the next door McDonald's and bought 2 big bags of food, some gift certificates for more, and a big cup of coffee. She gave the food to the kids in the car, who attacked it like wolves, and we stood by the pump eating fries and talking a little.
She told me her name, and that she lived in Kansas City. Her boyfriend left 2 months ago and she had not been able to make ends meet. She knew she wouldn't have money to pay rent Jan. 1, and finally, in desperation, had called her parents, with whom she had not spoken in about 5 years. They lived in California and said she could come live with them and try to get on her feet there.
So she packed up everything she owned in the car. She told the kids they were going to California for Christmas, but not that they were going to live there. I gave her my gloves, a little hug and said a quick prayer with her for safety on the road.
As I was walking over to my car, she said, 'So, are you like an angel or something?'
This definitely made me cry. I said, 'Sweetie, at this time of year angels are really busy, so sometimes God uses regular people.'
It was so incredible to be a part of someone else's miracle. And of course, you guessed it, when I got in my car it started right away and got me home with no problem. I'll put it in the shop tomorrow to check, but I suspect the mechanic won't find anything wrong.
Sometimes the angels fly close enough to you that you can hear the flutter of their wings...

Psalms 55:22 'Cast your burden upon the Lord, and He will sustain you. He will never let the righteous fall.'

Wednesday, December 15, 2010

"Be strong and of a good courage, fear not, nor be afraid of them: for the LORD thy God, he it is that doth go with thee; he will not fail thee, nor forsake thee."
~Deuteronomy 31:6

"Life's journey is not traveled on a freeway devoid of obstacles, pitfalls, and snares. Rather, it is a pathway marked by forks and turnings. Decisions are constantly before us. To make them wisely, courage is needed: the courage to say no, the courage to say yes. Decisions do determine destiny.
"The call for courage comes constantly to each of us. It has ever been so, and so shall it ever be."          ~ Thomas S. Monson (Ensign, November 1986, p. 40).

I feel like this scripture and quote speak to me of the journey I have had this year.  Many times I was told I had so much courage to do what I did.  I did not think of it as courage, but of necessity.  Nevertheless, I know my Lord has been good to me and has been watching over me this past year.  He has not failed me, nor has He forsaken me.  I am so, so grateful.
Decisions Determine Destiny.
I love that quote.  I saw it done in embroidery at a local store.  I think I will go get it when I get a permanent place to live.
If only I had the courage to have made this decision years ago.  So much time spent in waste.  I have my whole life ahead of me.  I choose to be happy.
If the Lord brought me to it, He will see me through it.
Amen!

1 Nephi 1: 1, 3

...therefore I make a record of my proceedings in my days.
And I know that the record which I make is true; and I make it with mine own hand; and I make it according to my knowledge.