Small and wonderful things . . .

   

 

"The world is fairly studded and strewn with pennies cast broadside from a generous hand. But who gets excited by a mere penny?...It is dire poverty indeed when a man is so malnourished and fatigued that he won't stoop to pick up a penny. But if you cultivate a healthy poverty and simplicity, so that finding a penny will literally make your day, then, since the world is in fact planted with pennies, you have with your poverty bought a lifetime of days. It is that simple. what you see is what you get." ~Anne Dillard  

A few of the small and wonderful things from the past week which brought untold joy into my life. It's the small things in life which truly mean the most. Simple abundance . . . it's the best. 

  

This is my good friend Audrey with her husband Peter. I know you will remember them. They came down to Kent to stay with us for a while when we lived down there and we went to the South of France with them must have been about 15 years ago now.  Audrey has been one of my best friends since I moved over here to the UK, and Peter was Todd's best man when we got married.  Audrey passed away quietly yesterday afternoon in the care home where she had been living for the past six months, with Peter by her side.  Audrey had been in hospital since last January and we had spent many an hour visiting her and spending time with her.  She was never able to come home in the end because Peter was just unable to care for her as she needed to be cared for.  She had no mobility left and near the end was unable to feed herself.  I went a couple of weeks back with my friend Tina to visit with her and I was devastated to see my good friend having deteriorated so much.  Audrey has been a great example to me through the years of a loving and devoted wife, mother and sister in the church, and a great friend. I loved her dearly.  We were Visiting Teaching partners for many years, as well as friends, and I had the priviledge of working with her as one of her counselors in Primary. She set the standard and bar for me in the church, and was someone that I have always looked up to, admired, and strove to be like. I am grateful that her suffering is over now and that she is free, but I mourn for Peter's loss.  I know he will be able to take comfort in the Gospel and knowing that they had been sealed together as man and wife and as a family in the Temple, and that now she is with their child that they lost a very long time ago, but He will miss her so very much.  You never saw a couple more devoted to each other.  Peter has spent morning, noon and night with her these past six months, attending and ministering to her every need that he could. Please pray for him and their family.  Thank you. 

  

 The Christmas Season is upon us.  This is my favourite time of year.  I love celebrating the birth of the Saviour and all of its attendant customs and traditions.  I love singing the carols in church each week, preparing the Christmas cards, decorating the tree, cooking the special foods we enjoy at this time of year.  I was always known as the Christmas Queen . . . . Christmas's are much smaller for me now. They are a lot quieter than in the past.  But they are still good.  I still have someone to share them with.   So many are on their own and lonely. This can be a really sad time of year for them.  If we could try to remember even just one person that we might know who will be on their own, or in need, and try to make a difference for them, that would be a very good thing. It needn't be a grand gesture, just to know you are thought of, and that someone cares, is a blessing to many. 

  

Advent.  I am not sure if yesterday was the first Sunday in Advent or if next Sunday is.  I love the season of Advent, although it is not something which is generally practiced in my church.  It is a time of remembering and bringing the holiness of this special time of year into your life daily in the weeks preceding Christmas. It is more than a chocolate calender that gives you a treat each day as you count down the days until Santa comes.  It is a time of spiritual preparation, and joyful anticipation.  The candles and their colours are packed with rich meaning, each one representing an aspect of spiritual preperation for Christmas. The three main colors are purple, pink, and white. Purple symbolizes repentance and royalty. Pink represents joy and rejoicing. And white stands for purity and light.

Each candle carries a specific name as well. The first purple candle is called the Prophecy Candle or Candle of Hope. The second purple candle is the Bethlehem candle or the Candle of Preparation. The third (pink) candle is the Shepherd Candle or Candle of Joy. The fourth candle, a purple one, is called the Angel Candle or the Candle of Love. And the last (white) candle is the Christ Candle.

 

When we lived down South, we used to take ourselves to the Village Church each Christmas Eve to the Christingle Service.  It was beautiful. All the children would be dressed in costumes for the Nativity and they would present a Nativity play.  Each child would also be given a Christingle. 

  

We really enjoyed this service and it was a big part of our Christmas Celebrations when we were living down there.  I am a traditionalist at heart.  I love the traditions surrounding these special times of year and their religious symbolism.  Even though I celebrate Jesus in my heart every day of the year, I love the opportunity to be able to celebrate and remember Him in a more overt way through these festive and sacred traditions. 

  

Christmas Movies.  Scrooge McDuck, otherwise known as Todd, thinks we should only watch Christmas movies on Christmas Eve, Christmas Day and Boxing Day.  I have news for him. This year we are going to be watching them starting with the one we watched on Saturday night.  hehehe  Maybe he won't notice.  I need to get my jingle on. 

 

My mother wasn't quite ready when I called her yesterday but that gave me an opportunity to have a lovely conversation with my sister, which I really enjoyed.  There was a time when we used to speak to each other for an hour at least every morning, on the telephone. That's just not possible now I know, with the time difference and all, plus we both have busier lives for some reason.  So, spending the time talking in this special way yesterday was a real treat for the both of us. (I hope!)  So yesterday I had the extra bonus of not only talking to my mom, but also being able to share some time with my sister.  I miss her probably more than she knows. When my marriage was breaking up and everything was going down, she was pretty much the only person in my family who was communicating with me.  Christmas that year was a very lonely time for me, and took me from Christmas's that had been full of people and activity to a very sedate Christmas living on my own in a rented bedroom in a stranger's house. My sister took the opportunity that year to send me a lovely white flannel nightgown as a gift, which I still have.  It meant the world to me that she would do something so kind for me.  I appreciated it so very much, and while the nightgown is now a bit threadbare and not so white anymore, it is a symbol to me of a Sister's unfailing love and support for me, no matter what. Whenever I wear it, I feel like I am being hugged by her. 

As a cheese lover, this sounds like a very nice idea. Maybe I will get one for Todd.  He loves cheese.  The other day when I did my Cheese tray tutorial on the food blog, he had cheese and crackers, etc. for his lunch and he really enjoyed that a lot.   I think you can get these at Asda.  I am going to have a look anyways.  They are probably really expensive though . . . 24 days of cheese.

With that I best leave you with a thought for the day.  I want you to know that all of you are very special to me as well, and I appreciate each one of you very much.

 

Its a picture one.

Advent begins on the 3rd December this year.

(I checked)

 

BOOK OF MORMON CORNER - Today's Reading -  2 Nephi 2:11-21 

Talk - Howard W Hunter: God will have a tried people.
Question -What have you learnt from the reading today? Why is opposition so important? Has opposition ever helped you?

 

What I learnt - I love the thought that Lehi expresses to Jacob that God will consecrate (make sacred) our afflictions for our gain. I haven't had any really huge trials, but I do feel that when I have tried to do what is right in hard times and be open to learning from them,  God uses them to make me a little bit better and more like him. I hadn't seen this talk by Howard W Hunter before, he explains it really well when he talks about the boat race and how the rowers need the resistance of the water to be able to move forward.  Verse 11 has always been a favourite scripture of mine, and one that I clung to during those first few months after my ex husband and I had separated.  It was a very difficult time for me, but somehow I managed to scrap through it and had enough faith to know that ultimately this was going to benefit me in some way, and that God would use it to bless me and make me into a better person.  We all have to meet opposition in our lives, how we react to it can be the making or breaking of us.  I love this video here, called the Refiners Fire.  I highly recommend watching it. When you see what that women went though, you realise that anything life might throw at us is probably quite pale in comparison. That she could hold onto her faith through all of her loss is a wonderful example to me of the tenacity of the believing, faith-filled spirit.

 

Tomorrow's reading (Day 39) -   2 Nephi 2:22-3:5 

Question - What have you learnt from the reading today? What do you think is the purpose of Heavenly Father's plan? 

 

 

 

In The English Kitchen today  . . .  Easy Oven Mac & Cheese.  Deliciously simple.

I hope your week is filled to overflowing with small and wonderful things.  I think I might put my Christmas tree up today. We'll see.  Don't forget along the way of your week!

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And I do too!