Spiritual Hunger

Have you ever been hungry?

Yes?

What do you do to solve that problem?

The answer is simple.  In order to take care of hunger, you must eat.

Have you ever been spiritually hungry?  Spiritual hunger is easy to recognize if you know what to look for.  Have you ever been angry, sad, offended, critical, worried, doubtful, fearful, apathetic, mean, defensive, afraid, jealous, frustrated...to name a few?

How do you solve the problem of spiritual hunger?  You MUST feed yourself with spiritual food. If you use something else to satisfy the need, the problem deepens or increases.  Spiritual food is prayer, scripture study, gratitude, service, kindness, forgiveness, sacrifice, temple, family history or missionary work etc. If we keep our spirits fed well, the challenges of life are much easier to manage.

When we fast, we can just go without food or starve our way through it; or we can fast and pray with a purpose.  The two produce very different results.

This puts the concept of "hungering and thirsting after righteousness" into new light.  In this world our spirits WILL hunger.  But we can starve our spirits and experience life wanting and wishing for more and greater satisfaction, or we can use those opportunities of spiritual hunger to hunger and thirst after righteousness.

Second Coming Thoughts

A portion of a CNN news article on the day of the eclipse has given me much to ponder about:

“It’s not fake news; it’s good news. It’s a story that could eclipse all other stories.

There is no way you can stop today’s total solar eclipse from happening. It is celestial, and we have no control over it. The only way to stop it would be to extinguish the sun or knock the moon or Earth out of orbit.

Over the past few millennia, people who knew nothing about eclipses couldn’t explain the natural phenomena. Many cultures thought it was a sign from their sun god; it is even known to have ended full-flung battles.”

As far as I know, everyone trusted the authorities at NASA that the eclipse would happen when and where it did. No one doubted. Some wanted to experience the phenomenon enough that they traveled long distances, spent a lot of money and prepared themselves to get to a place where they could enjoy a total eclipse of the sun. Those who witnessed it in totality said it was amazing and worth every effort to be there.

This article has caused me to wonder, do I likewise trust the authorities, or special witnesses, who testify of the reality of Jesus Christ and His second coming? Do I give time and attention to prepare myself for the Second Coming? Do I look forward to it with greater anticipation than many did to the impressive eclipse?

What would a mirrored article written by a believer about the Second Coming read like (purporting that we know the exact time)? Perhaps something like this:

It is not fake news!! It’s good news! The world as we know it today will change forever! Jesus Christ will again return to the earth in full glory. All will be made right. All will be healed. All will be understood. It is the story of all millennia. In the past, many have doubted the power and reality of Jesus Christ, but today we understand who He is and why He is so important.

There is no way you can stop today’s events from happening. They are celestial, and we have no control over it. Today, ‘every knee shall bow and every tongue shall confess that Jesus is the Christ.’ Many have looked forward to this event for millennia and today it’s finally here. (Wouldn’t that be quite the article?)

These thoughts have caused me to search for witnesses from trusted authorities regarding Jesus Christ and His Second Coming. There are several in recent General Conference addresses. Here are just two powerful testimonies:

“As the prophesied birth of Jesus drew near, there were those among the ancient Nephite and Lamanite peoples who believed, though most doubted. In due course, the sign of His birth arrived—a day and a night and a day without darkness—and all knew. Even so today, some believe in the literal Resurrection of Christ, and many doubt or disbelieve. But some know. In due course, all will see and all will know; indeed, “every knee shall bow, and every tongue confess before him.”

Until then, I believe the many witnesses of the Savior’s Resurrection whose experiences and testimonies are found in the New Testament—Peter and his companions of the Twelve and dear, pure Mary of Magdala, among others. I believe the testimonies found in the Book of Mormon—of Nephi the Apostle with the unnamed multitude in the land Bountiful, among others. And I believe the testimony of Joseph Smith and Sidney Rigdon who, after many other testimonies, proclaimed the great witness of this last dispensation “that he lives! For we saw him.” Under the glance of His all-seeing eye, I stand myself as a witness that Jesus of Nazareth is the resurrected Redeemer, and I testify of all that follows from the fact of His Resurrection." (Elder Christofferson April 2014; emphasis added.)

"Our faith grows as we anticipate the glorious day of the Savior’s return to the earth. The thought of His coming stirs my soul. It will be breathtaking! The scope and grandeur, the vastness and magnificence, will exceed anything mortal eyes have ever seen or experienced.

In that day He will not come “wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger,” but He will appear “in the clouds of heaven, clothed with power and great glory; with all the holy angels.” We will hear “the voice of the archangel, and … the trump of God.” The sun and the moon will be transformed, and “stars [will] be hurled from their places.” You and I, …..[and], “the saints … from [every quarter] of the earth,” “shall be quickened (we won’t need special Second Coming Eclipse glasses!) and … caught up to meet him,” and those who have died in righteousness, they too will “be caught up to meet him in the midst … of heaven.”

Then, a seemingly impossible experience: “All flesh,” the Lord says, “shall see me together.” How will it happen? We do not know. But I testify it will happen—exactly as prophesied. We will kneel in reverence, “and the Lord shall utter his voice, and all the ends of the earth shall hear it.” “It shall be … as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of a great thunder.” “[Then] the Lord, … the Savior, shall stand in the midst of his people.”

In that day the skeptics will be silent, “for every ear shall hear … , and every knee shall bow, and every tongue shall confess” that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, the Savior and Redeemer of the world.

May we prepare for His coming by rehearsing these glorious events over and over in our own minds and with those we love, and may His prayer be our prayer: “Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.” I testify that He lives.” (Elder Andersen April 2015 emphasis added)

Although we don’t know the time of the Second Coming, we have witnesses from authorities that we can trust. Whether a news article is written about it or not, it will be the story that eclipses all other stories. It is an event that cannot be stopped. And it is better than good news. It is the best and most important news ever.  

I must do everything I can to prepare myself for it.

Christmas 2016

We knew in September that our theme for Christmas this year was going to be 'Charity Never Faileth'.  Beginning in mid-October, I started committing 15 minutes a day to working on ideas and plans to make it happen in a fun meaningful way for all.  It truly was amazing to see things come together in such an incredible way.  I know the ideas were inspired and doing this has blessed our family so much.

We started our study of charity 26 days before Christmas.  We took the 13 strands of charity as listed in Moroni 7:45 and studied each one separately. What does it mean in real life situations to not be puffed up or to not think evil or to hope all things (etc.)?  Every other morning we would have a devotional discussing what that day's strand meant and then we would act on that strand.  The next day we would report on what we experienced.  We recorded our experiences and sent them to our BYU students to involve them as well (they also received our devotional notes so they could participate).  This was a wonderful thing to do and made such a difference for all of us.  {NOTE:  this does not mean perfect!!!  We still had the same number of melt downs, disagreements etc, that happen in a normal imperfect family such as ours...but it gave us dialogue to evaluate ourselves and recognize small new ways of thinking to help us solve those problems that arise. That was where we found the most remarkable experiences.}  Each day we added a strand we added a word strip to our pantry door to remind us what we were working on.

On Christmas day we played a game called OPERATION CHARITY to help us wrap up what we had worked on during the month.  (It was just like regular the Operation game with an altered board, but with a few twists and turns...)

The basics: when you are spiritually sick from lack of charity, you need to remove the ailment by applying charity to get back to full spiritual health again.  As we learned throughout the month, you can try to act with charity using only your own self discipline and you will make some gains, but unless you involve Jesus Christ's divine help, living such a high standard is impossible.  This was a lesson we wanted to drive home with the game.  

We remade cards, money and several game board pieces.

PS...I'm publishing things way behind the times!!!  So this post isn't finished, but it is better than nothing. 😏

Halloween

The candy-loving Greta was a candy machine for Halloween.  Very fitting.  And very delightful for her.

Mathieson Spa

Since Tessa is a kindred spirit to Fancy Nancy (boring parents and a love for French, fancy and accessories), we thought it would be fun for her to have a 'spa' experience for her birthday (last November; I'm SO tardy!).  But we didn't want to pay the price because that could consume our whole budget.  So our cute and generous neighbors did a spa for her and Greta.  It was the BEST THING EVER!  I was just hoping to get their nails done and they came home looking absolutely adorable and feeling totally pampered.  They went above and beyond! What a great example they are for my girls.

Splattering of Christmas Pictures

A few pictures from Christmas this year--in reverse order of occurrence 

(because I'm lazy, and in a hurry!):

Greta's "to do" gift.  She loves these snap circuit sets and is very good at them.

Chandler's "to do" gift:  a drone.

Cache's "to do" gift:  a rice cooker (the only non blurry picture), I know, I know, but it was something he wanted!  

Tessa's "to do" gift:  art supplies. Prisma colors, coloring books, sketch book and drawing book.

Everyone got shoes and socks.  Greta's.

The ONLY thing Tessa wanted for Christmas was a pair of high heeled boots.  Instead she got a pair of gray Converse!

Cache needed a new pair of Converse, but instead he got a pair of high heel boots!

Playing Clue!  to get the next set of presents.

The kids do each other's stockings and this year they had to make a 5 question quiz for the person they gave to before they could open their stocking.  It turned out pretty fun.

During our morning devotional.

The stockings lined up. When I made them I wanted them long and skinny because I love how they look; but they are very hard to stuff!

Our friend Roger, who comes over every Christmas Eve, and Greta during the Nativity.  

Tessa as an angel during the Navitity.

Joseph and Mary and the manger.

Greta first asked me to be the donkey this year; but I was glad when she asked Cache instead!

Ingredients ready to be made into yummy Chinese food.  This year we had Beef and Broccoli, Kung Pao Chicken, Honey Walnut Shrimp, Chow Mein (with homemade noodles), Tiny Spicy Chicken and Spicy Beef Soup.  It was a DELICIOUS fare and lasted for days--which is my motivation!

This year's edition of baby quilts for Primary Children's Hospital.

Decorating Gingerbread cookies.

One of Tom's friends made this tree (he is blind, so that is an amazing feat!) and Chandler decorated it with Star Wars Lego guys.  

This year's versions of the annual Santa Beard Game:  (Tom and I never manage to win!)  

Christmas 2015

About six weeks before Christmas this year we started studying attributes of Jesus Christ as listed in Preach My Gospel.  We took 4-5 days for each attribute reading scriptures, quotes and discussing how to apply them and why they were so important in our lives.  At the end of each attribute session we opened a Christmas ornament we found to represent that attribute.  (Many of them were stretched connections, so for my records: faith was a treasure map ornament because you have to trust the map and move forward to find the treasure. Humility was a pair of headphones because humble people listen and are receptive to whisperings of the spirit.  Virtue was a camera because goodness is recorded regardless of who is watching. Hope was a kitchen mixer because you mix something together in hopes of something good to eat in return. Diligence was a set of golf clubs because to get good at things (like golf) you must work diligently.  Obedience was a car because you have to follow the rules if you want to drive. Patience was a container of TicTacs to hang on the tree and we had to patiently wait for each new day to eat a TicTac.  Knowledge was books, charity was a heart.)

Tom and I had a hard time determining what our Christmas day activity was going to be this year.  I knew I wanted some sort of closure on our study of Christ's attributes and my other idea was to use some sort of decoder activity.  We threw ideas back and forth throughout the month without anything really feeling exactly right.  The Thursday night before the kids got out of school a complete, perfect idea came like lightning.  I was thankful, but suddenly in a hurry!  I only had one day to pull it off without kids watching my computer work.  And would be a miracle at best with our temperamental computer!

But since it was a divine idea, divine help came and somehow I was able to get it all put together.  It made Christmas amazing; all of the kids from young to old really liked it (such a RARE thing at our house!) and it made our Christmas day very focused around Jesus Christ and helped us make important connections.

The activity was a Clue game.  I made a game board with 8 locations in or around our house where presents could be hidden.  I took very close up pictures and then put a large number over them so there had to be a fair amount of deciphering in order to tell where it was.  They also had to discover which wrapping paper was used to wrap the gifts and which language they would need to translate from.  I made cards for each grouping (location, wrap and language) and each round they got a new set of cards to help them solve the mystery.

Game Board; the blue squares are doors.  I didn't want to spend all of the time moving from room to room so one could go to the transport and go to any room.

Clue tracker cards

Location cards

Gift Wrap options

Language cards.  The languages we used were German, French, Portuguese and Italian (yes, our children only get four gifts; 100% planned that way!).  

Back of all the Clue cards. They say "I...commend you to seek this Jesus."  Ether 12:41

After they played a round and determined the location, wrap and language, they had to retrieve the packages.  Then they had to use a decoder to find a word.  The decoded word was in a different language.  Each word translated into a characteristic of Christ.  Each child had an assigned characteristic (that they had to determine at first) and all the presents thereafter were synonyms of their original word.  So there was a fair amount of effort for each person to be able to be able to open a present. We likened that to how we receive gifts from Heavenly Father.  Gifts, insights, tidbits of knowledge or direction come piece at a time and we shouldn't stop until we have reached the full blessing Heavenly Father intends for us.  If they were to stop after retrieving the boxes and were unwilling to decode and translate and determine whose gift was whom's, they would have missed out on receiving the gift.  It was a great illustration for that principle.

Each gift had a grid with a coded word to solve.

We all were assigned scriptures to give 2 1/2 minute talks on sometime in the day.  They all had to do with seeking and finding, seeking the best gifts and seeking Jesus.  That turned out to be a really great thing and brought some good discussion about our focus.

For our Christmas day service project this year, we shoveled the 1 foot of snow that fell in the night for a handicapped neighbor.  We had other plans, but given the snow, we decided to forego that plan.  My regret about that activity: I forgot to take pictures.  But as usual, getting out of our four walls on Christmas day for service really adds something important for the kids.  Selfishness decreases and feelings of entitlement melt away.  It is always one of the greatest blessings of the day every year.

AND....we got to talk to Caleb.  He sounded great and happy and it was good to spend almost an hour talking with our favorite person in Argentina!

Hopefully more pictures later!