Mother of Mary

(second installment of the women of Christmas)

I am the mother of Mary. It was my daughter--young, sweet, pure and ever obedient-to whom Gabriel appeared; my daughter to whom he said, "Hail, thou are highly favored, the Lord is with thee, blesses art thou among women."

In common with other daughters of Israel, Mary had contemplated with joy the coming of the Messiah through the royal line. She knew that some Jewish maiden was yet to become the mother of Christ. But was it possible that the angel's words to her had reference to this supreme expectation and hope of the nation? She had little time to turn these things in her mind, for the angel continued: "Fear not, Mary, for thou hast found favor with God. And, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb and bring forth a son, and shall call his name Jesus. He shall be great and shall be called Son of the Highest."

With gentle submissiveness and humble acceptance the pure young virgin replied, :Behold the handmaiden of the Lord. Be it unto me according to thy word." My daughter's promised Son was to be the "Only Begotten" of the Father in the flesh, as it had been abundantly predicted.

That child to be born of Mary was begotten of Elohim, the Eternal Father. He was of right to be called the "Son of the Highest."

The mother of John

(Each day I will highlight a different woman from the Christmas Story)

I do not know who wrote this so I cannot give credit where credit is due...sorry...

I am Elizabeth, the mother of John, called the Baptist, the cousin of the girl Mary. The miracle of my conception, the strange and wonderful things that occurred in the life of my husband, the life and death of my son--all are most wondrous and filled with the power of the Lord. Were there time, I would tell you of it all. But there is no time and so I will share with you only one small moment most precious to me that lifted my spirit and made my heart overflow with gratitude for the goodness of God. Within my body I carried a child. As my cousin Mary came to my door I felt my babe leap within me, as the Holy Ghost bore solemn witness that the chosen mother of the Lord stood before me. I returned her greeting with gratitude and reverence: "Blessed are thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb."

She responded with one of the most beautiful and glorious statements of praise known to mankind. "My soul doth magnify the Lord, and my spirit hath rejoiced in God, My Savior. For he hath regarded the low estate of his handmaiden; for behold, from henceforth al generations shall call me blessed."

God had granted to an ordinary woman the privilege of a personal witness that this was indeed the Christ--Savior of the World.

I bear you this day that same witness.

another story of angels

Another story that was posted on Facebook by a friend...Thanks Britney.

"I went on a date with a friend last night. While we were walking to the restaurant he stopped and talked to a homeless woman and offered to buy her dinner. He bought her dinner and then gave her his coat which was worth at least $150."

"He truly lives the gospel and what it stands for; Props to my homie Jared for staying true."

Jared-i don't know you but props from me too! Another reminder that angels do live among us. Thanks for your example.

took this gem from a friends facebook posting...

We were given two hands to hold. Two legs to walk. Two eyes to see. Two ears to listen. But why only one heart? Because the other was given to someone else for us to find.

Wrong Number Miracle

(Doug found this story)

She could hear the desperation in the voice on the message left on her answering machine. It was 5 a.m. on the day before Thanksgiving, and the caller, Lucy Crutchfield, was leaving a message for her daughter telling her that she would send money for groceries, even though she'd have to miss a mortgage payment to do it.

But Lucy had dialed the wrong number. Instead of getting her daughter, she got Virginia Saenz, a real estate agent from the San Diego area.

The message broke Virginia's heart. She did the only thing she could think of. She called Lucy back. She told Lucy that the number she dialed wasn't her daughter's and then told her she didn't need to worry anymore. Virginia volunteered to buy the groceries Lucy's daughter needed so that Lucy could pay her mortgage.

Virginia then called Lucy's daughter and asked her what she needed. All that was asked for was milk and eggs. That furthered Virginia's heartache. She felt that if one was asking for only milk and eggs, they probably needed so much more.

So, Virginia went grocery shopping on Thanksgiving morning with her 14-year-old son in tow to tell her what kids liked to eat. They bought food for a Thanksgiving dinner and enough groceries to get Lucy's daughter through the end of the month.

Angels do live among us.

"I have spoken . . . of heavenly help, of angels dispatched to bless us in time of need. But when we speak of those who are instruments in the hand of God, we are reminded that not all angels are from the other side of the veil. Some of them we walk with and talk with—here, now, every day. Indeed heaven never seems closer than when we see the love of God manifested in the kindness and devotion of people so good and so pure that angelic is the only word that comes to mind."

"May we all believe more readily in, and have more gratitude for, the Lord's promise as contained in one of President Monson's favorite scriptures: 'I will go before your face. I will be on your right hand and on your left, . . . my Spirit shall be in your heart, and mine angels round about you, to bear you up' (D&C 84:88). In the process of praying for those angels to attend us, may we all try to be a little more angelic ourselves—with a kind word, a strong arm, a declaration of faith and 'the covenant wherewith [we] have covenanted' (D&C 90:24). Perhaps then we can be emissaries sent from God." (Elder Jeffrey Holland -October 2008 General Conference)

The Snake Story

Here's a great story I heard at a meeting I was at recently. It was told by a man who lives in the East Lancaster area. I may not have all the details exactly right-but the gist of the story is as follows:

One early morning-around 4:00 a.m. he was up and planning his day, meditating and praying. He got a prompting to go check the weather. He thought that was an odd prompting and thought "I dont need to know what the weather is going to be today" and continued on with his praying. Anyway, he received this prompting again and thought, "Ok. I will go and check the weather." When he opened his front door he heard the unmistakable sound of a rattlesnake right outside his door. Instinctively he jumped. While he was mid-air he thought,"Great. I am mid-air and the snake is somewhere below me and I don't know where it is and I am barefoot." He landed, not on the snake, but went and got a shovel, found the snake and killed it. (nice story)

A few minutes later he returned to his praying and pondering and wondered why he was so prompted to check the weather and find the snake. And then he remembered. A 16 year old girl came to his house every morning and waited on his porch for a ride to seminary. The Lord was protecting this girl. (He said, I don't know why he found me expendable, but he loved this girl.) He later felt that this girl needed to hear about this experience and so he shared with her how much her Heavenly Father loved her.

I love this story because it epitomizes many things that I love. First-that there is a God in heaven who hears and answers our prayers. Second-we need to act on promptings when we receive them. Third-That our Heavenly Father does indeed love us very much.

Further Protection

One day, years ago, in the town of Gelsenkirchen, Germany there was a missionary who was having a very bad, horrible, rotten, terrible, no good day. She was walking her bike to the repair shop for about the 4th time that week. (And it was only Wednesday!) Frustrated, because instead of working, time was being wasted in bike repairs. Not only that but each repair cost money, and resources were limited. Feeling very alone and sad she offered up a silent prayer to her Heavenly Father, asking him if he saw her or if he heard her or if he was even aware of her plight. And then, she was given a sweet little gift. A vision of sorts. In her minds eye she saw her family at home gathering in family prayer. She heard her earthly father ask in prayer to bless and watch over his daughter and son while they were on their missions. Quick calculations were made, and even though it was later in the day in Germany it was probably the exact time her family was having their morning family prayer at home. Her spirit soared. She knew she was being watched over. She knew someone cared. She felt her burden lifted. She knew that not only did she have a earthly father who cared for her, her Heavenly Father was equally aware of her and did indeed answer her prayer.

(And the bicycle repairman that day took pity and didn't even charge me for my repair!)