Oh, Sugar! Progress Report

You may remember the poem I came up with to encourage people to think about the words they use and say “Oh, sugar!” instead of using profanity or obscenities.  And then when people use God’s or Jesus’ name as an exclamation or a curse, I was going to start saying “I’m so glad you brought Him up.  He loves you so very much!”

I printed the poem and put it in a frame and put a pretty bowl of sugar cubes in front of it at my desk about a week before Thanksgiving.  And I still have it up along with some Christmas decorations now.

A good handful of people have noticed the sign or the sugar while I was around, so I invited them to read the poem and explained why the sugar cubes.  Everyone of them left with a smile, and most seemed to agree it was kind of cute.

Then today along came the perfect opportunity to try the 2nd part of my plan.  I was talking one-on-one with someone and as she described a recent painful event, she was suddenly exclaiming God’s name several times.

I couldn’t hold myself back.  I jumped in with, “Yes, God certainly was watching over you!” and as she continued, I went on with “Please don’t say that, God loves you so much!  Please stop saying ‘God’.  Don’t use His name in vain.”

So, I have broken the ice.  I hope to be more courageous now and to speak up in love when people misuse His name.  I want everyone to know that God is real, He loves you, and He knows who you are.  🙂

Here’s the poem again if you want to use it (I’m thinking of substituting Christmas for the word Thanksgiving now on my framed copy):

Thanksgiving is the perfect time

to give up words not sublime.

To drive those words right from your head,

try Grandma Pearson’s words instead:

“Oh, sugar!”

Christmas Elves

Last night some Christmas elves stopped by our house.

They left a basket of Christmas goodies.  This thoughtful gift warmed our hearts and stirred my soul.

Being remembered is such a nice thing.  Though we don’t always think about it, it does fulfill a basic human need we all have.  We all have the need to be loved, and this was a sweet, simple way for “elves” to demonstrate that to us.

They left a card denoting themselves as the young men and young women (of our Church).

With this kind act, our elves fulfilled another basic need – to give service and show love for others.

They were following Jesus Christ, the great Example to all mankind, who taught us in word and deed the true path to happiness and everlasting life.

And the really great news is, “elves” such as these are going about doing good and serving others all over the world.  Many of our young people are leading good and honorable lives, striving to live our Father in Heaven’s great Plan of Happiness by sharing what they know and showing love for others.

You don’t hear about these “elves” very often, especially not in the news.  But they are out there, quietly and relentlessly serving God one person, family, or community at a time.

What Christmas Elves are you aware of?  🙂

Easter, Celebrating Christ’s Atonement and Resurrection

What does Easter mean to me?  It is a time to remember the atonement, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ because these great gifts make possible the greatest gifts mankind has to gain!

“We believe that through the Atonement of Christ, all mankind may be saved, by obedience to the laws and ordinances of the Gospel.

“We believe that the first principles and ordinances of the Gospel are: first, Faith in the Lord Jesus Christ; second, Repentance; third, Baptism by immersion for the remission of sins; fourth, Laying on of hands for the gift of the Holy Ghost.”  Pearl of Great Price, Article of Faith 3 and 4.

Jesus Christ, the Son of God, came to earth to show us the right way to live and to prepare the way for us to return to live with Him and with our Heavenly Father.  His great example has helped me live a better life every day of my life.  When problems arise, or I am unsure what to do in a situation, the stories and the teachings of Jesus help guide me to make the right choices.

As a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints I have learned the way that Christ prepared so that I and my family may follow in His footsteps, live the principles and accept the ordinances that Jesus instituted for those who desire to know the truth and return to live with Him one day.

Because Jesus was resurrected, everyone will be resurrected – body and spirit reunited once again never to be separated again!  This is a free gift that He provided for all.

In the Garden of Gethsemane, Jesus Christ paid for the sins of all mankind.  This is difficult to fathom, for our minds are so finite and small.  Yet, He accomplished this great price:

“For behold, I, God, have suffered these things for all, that they might not suffer if they would repent;

“But if they would not repent they must suffer even as I;

“Which suffering caused myself, even God, the greatest of all, to tremble because of pain, and to bleed at every pore, and to suffer both body and spirit—and would that I might not drink the bitter cup, and shrink—”  Doctrine and Covenants 19:16-18.

This great gift is available to everyone, but it is a conditional gift.  To receive it, we must repent of our sins and strive to live a good and righteous life, following the example of Jesus.  We build our faith in Jesus, which allows us to learn more about how He lived and try to make the same types of choices in our own lives.

The reward for that is not only to be resurrected, but also to live with God forever and ever!

What greater joy could there be?

other results

25 Days of Christ – Day 8

Christ came to the earth to show us the right way to live.  He is also our mediator, bridging the gap between Heavenly Father and His children.  As the mediator, Christ pays the price that we are not able to pay so we can return to live with our Heavenly Father.

We’ve learned that, because of sin and weakness, we cannot return to live with our Father in Heaven, as no unclean thing can dwell with God.  We can not buy our way into heaven.  And we can not pay for our own sins.  We needed someone to make up the difference for us between what we can do and what is left to do.  “For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus” 1 Timothy 2:5.

Christ did this for everyone.  In the Garden of Gethsemane He suffered for the sins of all people!  He has already paid the price for our sins.  What we do to accept that gift is to repent of our sins and try to live as Christ lived.

He did this because of His great love for us.  He loves you so much that, if you were the only person in the world, I believe He would still have gone through the atonement for just you.  🙂

 

25 Days of Christ – Day 2

“And God saw the light, that it was good: and God divided the light from the darkness.  And God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night.  And the evening and the morning were the first day.” Genesis 1:4-5.

What is this light?  It can’t be the light we see in the sun, the moon, and the stars because they were not created until the 4th day!  Therefore the light that is talked of “in the beginning” had absolutely nothing to do with the light we see with our temporal eyes.

Did the writers of Genesis get this out of order?  Were translations throughout the ages done incorrectly?

Let’s look a little deeper.

In John 9:5 Christ explains, “I am the light.”

These scriptures teach us some important things:

• God was there in the beginning
• Christ was also there in the beginning
• Christ is the light

Why is Christ the light?  What do we need light for?

Light shows us the way through the darkness.  Jesus Christ came to earth to show us the way to live to be happy and to return to God.  But there is something to consider.

What happens if a light is shining in front of you, and you start walking off to the side?  Is that light doing you any good?

It works the same way with the light of Christ.  To benefit from His light and return to our Heavenly Father we must follow Christ’s example.  It is when we do the things He did, and live His teachings, that we find true joy.

Christ is the light.  🙂

P.S. Thanks to Beloved hubby for his help on today’s blog!