Christmas Giving
There is such magic in the air at Christmas time. There seems to be something tangible in the atmosphere. The world itself almost has a cozy feeling. The lights, music, giving…We want to give to each other. I think it is more than tradition. There is something within us that pricks us to want to give to others. Could it be that our hearts are turned to the Savior as the celebration of his birth nears?
I’ve been thinking about the years when my children were younger and longing a bit for those little bitty ones that made me laugh and cry! Baby Luke was really quiet for one of his naps. When I opened up the door, he had stuffed all of his pants with clothes and called them fat pants. He brought them into the living room and lined them up. I have no idea where he came up with that…ha! It’s interesting how we tend to long for what has passed or what is yet to come. Somewhere along the way we need to convince ourselves that now is pretty great too.
Image by Lady Disdain
http://www.flickr.com/photos/rilmara/5002556311/
4 Cups Rolled Oats (or Quick Oats)
4 Cups of Low Fat Milk (or Soy Milk)
1/4 Cups Oil
2 tsp Salt
Mix ingredients and let stand overnight, or until thickened. Whip with whisk. Spread on hot greasedwaffle iron. Bake until browned. EASY HUH?
Mind, Body, and Spirit
When considering wellbeing, think of your physical, emotional and spiritual self as a 3 legged stool. When one of those aspects of your life is off balance you are going to fall. You can be in top physical shape but if you are an emotional wreck, you fall. You’re spiritually will suffer if you are not taking care of yourself physically etc.
We know that stress causes emotional, physical and spiritual troubles.
A few of the causes of stress:
There are ways to attack stress:
A few of the benefits of exercise
Ezra Taft Benson, talk given at President Dwight D. Eisenhower’s second annual Council on Physical Fitness, Cascade, Maryland, September 8, 1958.
A Happy Marriage
Before you were married (those of you who are married), did you ever think two people could be so different? What’s not to love about shopping? Did you know there was such a thing as ‘man‘ food? Or find it downright fascinating that someone won’t turn on the car and start backing out when we are talking. Those, of course, are a female’s point of view. Obviously the males could come up with some good lines too. Marriage has many facets. One way to help keep things blissful, is laughter. This video is hilarious. I need my married kids to watch this! Even if you have seen this before, it is worth watching again. Maybe it will clue us in a little bit on those differences between the sexes.
image by
My husband walks through the door and complains, “Awk, what’s that smell?!” The children on the other hand exclaim, “I LOVE that smell! What’s for dinner?” Yep, garlic. Whether you like the smell or not, the health benefits are there. Mayo Clinic states: ”Garlic also is well known for its potential benefits to heart health, especially lowering high levels of lipids in the blood. And, some evidence indicates that garlic may relax smooth muscles and dilate blood vessels. Studies have shown that taking a garlic extract (200 to 400 milligrams three times daily for one month) can lower blood pressure modestly. This research is preliminary and is not enough to support taking garlic solely to lower blood pressure.” Garlic is known for it’s anti-bacterial, anti-viral, anti-fungal, and powerful anti-oxidant properties. Study results are found on Mercola.com.
I have discovered that garlic is a snap to grow. Plus, the flavor is much richer and robust than store bought garlic. The cloves are almost juicy. Here’s how to grow it:
Plant individual cloves in the fall about two inches deep. In the spring they will sprout up early. I dig up garlic near the end of July and store them in a cool dry place.
One great thing about growing your own, is the crop multiplies quickly year to year because you plant the individual cloves. In other words, you get many plants from one garlic.
How do you use your time? What direction are you going?
Neil A. Maxwell said, “The scriptural advice, “Do not run faster or labor more than you have strength” (D&C 10:4) suggests paced progress, much as God used seven creative periods in preparing man and this earth. There is a difference, therefore, between being “anxiously engaged” and being over-anxious and thus underengaged.
Some of us who would not chastise a neighbor for his frailties have a field day with our own. Some of us stand before no more harsh a judge than ourselves, a judge who stubbornly refuses to admit much happy evidence and who cares nothing for due process. Fortunately, the Lord loves us more than we love ourselves.. A constructive critic truly cares for that which he criticizes, including himself, whereas self-pity is the most condescending form of pity; it soon cannibalizes all other concerns.
Brothers and sisters, the scriptures are like a developmental display window through which we can see gradual growth—along with this vital lesson: it is direction first, then velocity! Enoch’s unique people were improved “in process of time.” (Moses 7:21.) Jesus “received not of the fullness at first, but received grace for grace” (D&C 93:12) and even He grew and “increased in wisdom and stature” (Luke 2:52).
Grin and Bare it
I’m sure you’ve heard the old saying, “Grin and Bare it.” There are benefits galore from smiling and laughing. Studies have found that a smile that reaches the eyes as opposed to a forced smile, relieves stress more effectively.
Previous research shows that positive emotions can help during times of stress and that smiling can affect emotion; however, this is first of its kind to experimentally manipulate the types of smiles people make in order to examine the effects of smiling on stress.“..Huffpost Lifestyle (click above link)
Have you noticed a laughing fit gives you a wonderful sense of wellbeing? Laughing releases dopamine, which produces feelings of happiness. So LAUGH, LAUGH, LAUGH!
Viking Dinner -
It is great fun to throw the kids for a loop once in a while. Try something really out of the ordinary. The kids love the unexpected. When the normal is, mom cajoling for chores to be done and dad coming home tired from work, it is easy to come up with a shocker. I covered the table with a plastic tablecloth. When it was time for dinner, we called the children. The kicker was my hubby decked out in medieval clothing. I dressed the part too, but my husband outdid himself.
When the children were seated, we slopped a glob of spaghetti on the table in front of them. They had to eat with their hands. For drink they cupped their hands as we poured water into them to slurp. Honestly, we had more fun than the kids. Well, maybe not…those teenagers ate it up 
.
Halloween festivities aren’t always the joy of a child’s life