Nauvoo

I'm back for a minute!! I had to reserve for posterity our trip to Nauvoo!!
What an amazing journey for us.

 It was a 13 hour drive for us.  We arrived close to 11 PM and saw the temple.  Beautiful.  I can't believe how hard the early church members worked for that temple. I could tell from history how grateful they were to be able to attend a temple before they left across the plains to Utah. I love it that we rebuilt this temple. In many ways it is a tribute to them.

Here we are on the front steps of the temple.

This was fun.  The kids didn't think I could do it. But I also love the symbolism.  I go to the pioneers in my mind for examples of women who did hard things with faith and joy.  So this pic is a keeper for me. I can get my kids across the modern day plains.

They have some wonderful plays and theatrical performances up in Nauvoo during July. We saw one at the visitors center called, High Hopes and Riverboats.  We LOVED it.  Beautifully done. Excellent message of love and faith of the early saints in Nauvoo.  The pageant is an outdoor performance every evening during July. It is absolutely amazing.  What a beautiful performance. 

A couple great highlights without pictures:  We were able to see the brick makers, the blacksmith, and the gunsmith. They showed us what life was like in the 1800s. We loved to tour the inside of these old homes. And it was meaningful for us to see the graves of Joseph, Emma, Hyrum and their parents.  The trail of hope down to the waters edge was touching for the kids. And we also were able to visit Carthage jail, the site of the martyrdom of Joseph Smith.  

All throughout Nauvoo is a special feeling of peace and love. The Spirit of the Lord is present in great abundance. It was a great experience for us all. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter day Saints has its restoration and beginnings with a boy named Joseph Smith who grew to a man and restored Jesus Christ's gospel to the earth once more, clarifying much of the confusion and differences in religion, translating the wonderful Book of Mormon for us as additional scripture.  He sacrificed all for us to have all these awesome blessings and many more.  I wish more people knew about the happy life of the LDS people.

Thirty Ways #19: Do Less

Make time to ponder, to relax, to think, to feel, to experience, to listen, to study, to grow, to love and share.  In all the serving and helping and enabling and encouraging and building and peacemaking and working and constructing and creating etc please take time to just feel.  To enjoy.  To love. You will feel in the quiet, an opportunity for the Savior to reach you.  An opportunity for Him to speak to your heart.  It can be a beautiful experience.

Thirty Ways #18: Make Gingerbread Houses

 Great wonderful friends invited us over last night to make gingerbread houses with them!! We each made two.  We kept one and we are giving away one.  SO FUN. We love to do this.  She made the gingerbread for us and everything. What a dear. So creative too.  When I saw her house and her fun ideas I realized once again how some people are just incredibly creatively gifted. Never fear though, for all of us who are marginally creatively gifted (or not at all like me.... :)) there are plenty of pre-made kits you can buy where all you do is set them up.

 

Christmas offers lots of activities and opportunities to be together.  Building friendships and strengthening families and feeling love for and from each other are all things that bring us closer to Jesus Christ.



And this is just a quick shot of our little one ready for her dance recital.

Thirty Ways #17: Read The Book of Mormon

When I read the Book of Mormon, I feel close to Jesus Christ, almost like I have spent time with a dear friend.  I feel like I know Him better than when I started.  This happens particularly when I read for longer periods of time.  Christ's gospel is so clearly explained in the Book of Mormon and there are so many great examples in the stories and history that is told.  Similarly to the Bible, I find myself learning from it all.

You can go to this great link to read an online, search-able copy of The Book or Mormon.  http://lds.org/scriptures/bofm?lang=eng  I recommend 3 Nephi 11.  There is an account where Christ comes to visit an ancient people in the Americas.  3 Nephi 11

Also, here are the rest of the suggested scriptures to read one a day.  I recommend you read them and then discuss them and read some more and talk with your families about what they are trying to teach.

December 10 Jacob 7:11-12
December 11 1 Nephi 10:4
December 12 1 Nephi 11:13-`8
December 13 1 Nephi 11:20, 21, 24
December 14 1 Nephi 11:27
December 15 Helaman 14:3
December 16 Helaman 14:5-6
December 17 Luke 1:30-31
December 18 3 Nephi 1:13
December 19 3 Nephi 1:19
December 20 Luke 2:4-7
December 21 Luke 2:8-11
December 22 Luke 2:12.14
December 23 Matthew 2:1-2
December 24 Luke 2

Read the Bible: Thirty Ways #16

The absolutely best way to make Jesus Christ more a part of this Christmas season is to read the words of the Prophets about Him in the Bible http://lds.org/scriptures?lang=eng (and the Book of Mormon, more on that later).  There are some great "scripture a day" programs I will share below. And also an awesome link to a search-able online Bible and an index by topic http://lds.org/scriptures/tg?lang=eng for it so you can choose your own scriptures to read on any topic.  And also I will include a list of our favorite verses to read about Jesus Christ.  If you do anything at all this Christmas to focus more on the Savior, this will work better than anything else, with a close second from serving others.

Scripture a Day until Christmas

December 1:  Isaiah 7:14  "Behold a Virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name immanuel."
December 2:  Isaiah 9:6  "Unto us a child is born..."
December 3:  Micah 5:2 "out of thee shall He come forth"
December 4:  Jeremiah 23:5 "I will raise unto David a righteous branch..."
December 5:  Isaiah 40:3-4 "The voice of Him who crieth in the wilderness..."
December 6:  Jeremiah 33: 14-15 "I will perform that good thing..."
December 7:  Isaiah 40:11 "He shall feed his flock.."
December 8:  Psalms 24:9-10 "Who is the King of Glory?"
December 9:  Jeremiah 23:6 "In His days, Judah shall be saved..."
More later, from the Book of Mormon too.

Do you want to search for a specific word or phrase in the Bible? Do you want to know where a specific story is so you can read it again? Go to this online searchable set of scriptures. http://lds.org/scriptures?lang=eng
It is very user friendly.

And then if you want to look for Jesus Christ in an index and then go to some of the references listed for the Bible, go to this link
http://lds.org/scriptures/tg?lang=eng

We are going to read all the references to Jesus Christ The Good Shepherd and Jesus Christ Redeemer.  It will take awhile, a few days at least, but I look forward to every minute. 

Let me add a footnote here. We just finished our devotional for the night. So fun!! We picked out some families to do 12 days for and the kids listed some things they want to give them.  And then under Jesus Christ The Good Shepherd in the Topical Guide of the Bible, we found the 23 Psalm.  The kids recognized it and love it. They have heard it to music before.  And then under Jesus Christ Redeemer, we read some of the story of Job.  I am so inspired by him.  And the kids were amazed.  After all he had been through, his testimony and declaration that Jesus Christ is our redeemer is powerful.

Thirty Ways #8-15 or so: Service, Service, and more Service

I was thinking of what makes Christmas really special for us. And it is when we serve, when we feel like we have made a difference in someone's life.  Here are some ideas of things we have done or our friends have done to serve.  I share them thinking that you might find joy and fun and blessings in doing the same with your families.

We love to do 12 days of Christmas for people.  We start on day one and give them 1 thing up until 12 days on Christmas eve when we are giving them 12 things....which is usually a CD with 12 tracks or 12 brownies or napkin rings or something. But anyway, it is super fun for the kids to leave it on the doorstep and run.

We love to do the traditional make and deliver cookies.  As much work as it is, the kids are the most excited about this activity. And we include all kinds of people in our delivery pool.

We have gone to elderly care homes and delivered cards and ornaments and talked with the residents. This is super fun too because they get really excited to have kids visit.  Families have joined together and did a sort of talent show for them as well.  I want to do this some day.

(I will stop talking in the first person:))

You could make and mail cards and packages to the soldiers.

You could assemble hygiene kits, education kits, newborn kits, etc. in your home with your kids and ship them to Salt Lake.  http://classic.lds.org/humanitarianservices/0,19749,6208,00.html

You could quietly choose a family or a couple people or a couple families to serve during the holidays and anonymously mail them gift cards or drop off a box of fun Christmas cheer at their house.

You can organize a caroling group and visit the houses of friends and invite them to join you. Super fun!!

You could serve lunch at a soup kitchen.  Union Gospel Mission in Fort Worth is a wonderful wonderful organization.  http://www.uniongospelmissiontc.org

You could help stock a soup kitchen.  You can help any and all battered women's organizations in your area. Their shelters are always in need of supplies and love and cheer.

You could invite your friends' children over for a kids party right in the middle of the busy holiday season. Their parents will be grateful. And the kids will have super fun.

You can serve at any and all Ronald McDonald houses over Christmas and change lives. My dear friend was blessed by such service and it meant so very much.  What a hard time to have a sick hospitalized child.

Etc Etc Etc.  Look around. There will be specific ways you can serve in your area every day. I was just telling a dear friend today. I would much rather be super busy serving than be super busy doing anything else.  It isn't as draining.  Instead it kind of fills you up.

Anyway, we will be implementing many of these throughout the holidays but it becomes tricky reporting on your service activities so I just thought I would throw out the big list to choose from over the next couple weeks. 

If you have any other ideas or experiences to share, I am looking for more. Please let me know.

Watch LDS Christmas Programs: Thirty Ways #7

We had an awesome day.  Tonight we watched parts of a Christmas concert with the kids and we decorated our main tree.  (I say main tree because this year we set up that additional inspirational tree in the other room.)  See  Original thirty ways  And then we were blessed to see the annual Christmas devotional from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter day Saints. wow. It was phenomenal. Talk about bringing Christ into Christmas.  We got some great ideas from them too about how to keep this Christmas a meaningful one.

The concert we watched, "Ring Christmas Bells" has a story behind it.  Dustin and I were married at Christmas time and we like to get back to the Salt Lake City Temple Square area at Christmas time when we can.  For our anniversary last year we took a quick trip to see the annual Christmas concert at the conference center in Salt Lake City.  We were so so blessed because our dear kind awesome and wonderful friend Glen sings in the choir and was able to get us tickets on the SECOND ROW.  Anyway, we aren't sure if it was because it was second row or our date trip or just a truly exceptional concert but we loved it and it is one of the highlights of Dustin's life he just told me.  So, it is well worth seeing.  Anyway, we showed the kids the retelling of the story surrounding "I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day." 

 The annual Christmas Devotional can be seen here by December 6th.  http://lds.org/broadcasts/watch/christmas-devotional/2010/12?lang=eng 
It was really so so inspiring! The music was beautiful, the talks were heart changing and very timely.  We loved it and found ourselves lingering together in the family room after it was over.

We ate yummy cinnamon rolls. mmmmmm.  Thanks Grandma Jane for the recipe.

This is what it looks like right when we are done BEFORE I tweak it tomorrow when the kids are at school. :)