Doing Nothing
Yesterday–since I was staying home from church, tending Miss Chompy Sniffles, it ended up being one of those put-your-feet-up, kick-back-in-the-chair sort of days where it kinda feels good to sit and do a little bit of, you know…
nothing.
I could have made some serious headway on the baby’s ripple blanket, but alas…
it was too much of something, to fit into the category of…
nothing.
I really thought about catching up on some light reading, but again–too important to be considered–
nothing. So they just sat there staring at me.
I thought, for a while, about baking something poofy and warm that would make the house smell like Snow White’s cottage in the forest, but it was too much trouble, and…
well, you get the picture.
There are just some times when it has to be ok to sit back and soak it all in and let everything else be big and important and necessary, on another day.
Believe me, it felt just lovely, thank you very much.
{ A Grateful Heart }
“With our Father’s help, all of us can choose to feel more gratitude. We can ask Him to help us see our blessings more clearly, whatever our circumstances. Giving thanks in prayer can allow us to see the magnitude of these blessings and all of our other blessings and so receive the gift of a more grateful heart.”
President Henry B. Eyring
For Another Day
Every year, in preparation for the holidays there are dozens of sewing bags or craft boxes or piles of yarn strewn throughout the house–so that no matter what else is going on, in the event that there is a spare moment–somewhere, the handmaking can continue, uninterrupted. I love it this way, because these particular hands are just too fidgety and restless to sit still for very long, without some purpose–any purpose.
But something interesting happened this year. There were the same stacks and piles and bags and yarn, all with a certain important project to be finished, but quite often, a little whispery voice would nudge me to just put it down…and so…quite often…I did.
True, the Babushka ornaments will have to wait another year to get their flowers…
the button trees are only partly put together…
the girls’ headbands are nearly finished…nearly…
and the cards never got sent at all.
I couldn’t find the laminating sheets for the nativity set…
and the snowflakes were never hung.
But in the end–there were the same smiles and giggles and hugs that come with the season– even without a few “vital” projects–that no one seemed to miss. And for me, the conscious decision to slow down, and be present and enjoy the moment with those faces I love–
turned out to be the greatest gift of all.
{ The Real Christmas }
“If you desire to find the true spirit of Christmas and partake of the sweetness of it, let me make this suggestion to you. During the hurry of the festive occasion of this Christmas season, find time to turn your heart to God. Perhaps in the quiet hours, and in a quiet place, and on your knees—alone or with loved ones—give thanks for the good things that have come to you, and ask that His Spirit might dwell in you as you earnestly strive to serve Him and keep His commandments”
Howard W. Hunter
A Day of Thanksgiving
“This Sabbath day has been designated as a day of thanksgiving, a day of gratitude—even a day of prayer. We pause, we ponder, we reflect on the blessings an all-wise Heavenly Father has bestowed upon us, His children, by bringing peace to the battlefield of war and comfort to the hearts of so many in this wonderful world where we live and which we call home”
Thomas S. Monson
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