books

Changed From Within

/ Christine Maynor / Leave a comment

Thank you for subscribing-may these words bring a quiet moment of peace and reflection to your day.

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Backstory:
One of the best Christmas stories in my opinion is A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens. I try to reread it every year around Christmastime. It has such a good message that is important for each one of us to remember. I was thinking the other day about the transformation of Ebenezer Scrooge at the end of that book. Dickens writes that Scrooge “became as good as a friend, as good a master and as good as man as the good old city knew.” Scrooge’s story is a reminder of what the Savior can do with any heart-yours, mine, or even those we worry about. Dickens’ tale is really a testimony of hope and that healing, change and redemption are real.

Changed From Within

In the beloved tale of Ebenezer Scrooge, his change came from a deep shift of his heart,
He looked through his past, his present and his future and didn’t like any part.
Through Christ, the Atonement can change our hearts if we let it,
When we turn to Him, He can soften our hearts so that we can change more than just a bit.

The 3 spirits held up a mirror to Scrooge’s life
And he knew that if he didn’t change things quickly then he would eternally be filled with strife.
Our Savior can lovingly show us who we really are and who we can become,
Then we can see what blessings could be ours if we will just to His loving arms come.

Scrooge woke up Christmas morning filled with joy and the hope of a second chance,
He knew that if he changed his behavior then his transformation could advance.
Because of the Atonement of our Savior, every day is a second chance for everyone,
And no one is too far gone in His loving eyes because He loves us each more than a ton.

Scrooge ended the book overflowing with joy
And he was a great friend and neighbor for everyone around him to enjoy.
Because of our Savior’s sacrifice we can feel peace, light and purpose to be in a better mood,
And we can feel the joy of being forgiven, healed and spiritually renewed.

Dickens’ tale is really a testimony of hope
And it can teach us how to change so that we can more easily cope.
There is always hope for us no matter what we do,
And because of our Savior we don’t have to feel blue.

The Takeaway: We can learn a lot from the story of Ebenezer Scrooge. He was able to change his life, and to feel joy and hope that he had never felt before. When Christ transforms us, we can become instruments of His love to help other people just like Scrooge did.

Unlikely Protectors

/ Christine Maynor / 1 Comment

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Backstory:
I have always loved to read, ever since I was  a child. One of my favorite book series is The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis. My therapist and I were talking about how sad it must have been when the land of Narnia was run by the evil White Witch because there was an eternal winter with no hope of Christmas or spring. I personally don’t like winter. After Christmas is over, I just want it to be spring. So imagining a world with an eternal winter wouldn’t be my ideal world. My therapist asked me, “What is your White Witch? What are some things in your life that prevent you from being happy and having hope?” I thought that was a really good question and I pondered it. I asked my close family members and a few friends what they thought about it. In the Narnia books, one of my favorite characters is a big lovable lion named Aslan. When he comes on the scene after years of the reign of the White Witch over the land, there is hope, the winter starts to melt, Santa Claus comes back and their world is so much better. In this world as a Christian, I know that because of my Savior, Jesus Christ there is always hope.


Unlikely Protectors

I have realized recently that there are things in my life that get in my way of me being happy and feeling hope,
At times, I get in my own way with my attitude about my life and it makes it harder for me to cope.
Then, evil influences get in my head and then I feel like I’m at the end of my rope,
But I just need to remember that my Savior is always there to wash away my sins and tears like when I wash my hands with soap.

Another thing is the negativity and chaos in this world that I hear about constantly in the news,
If I am not careful I could get wrapped up in all of that negativity and feel like I have the blues.
I just try to block it out of my head or else with those negative influences I would lose,
I try to notice the beautiful and tender mercies all around me, for what is in my head I get to choose.

Then I get overwhelmed by my weaknesses and they seem to weigh me down,
And the weight feels so heavy that inside I feel like I might drown.
But if I let the weight get to me too much than I could do is frown,
And I just need to remember that my Savior suffered it all for me and He wears a crown.

Then there are times when I get overwhelmed by the weight of the struggles of my friends and family,
Everyone is going through something and if I’m not careful I can get caught up in that weight and go through my day very anxiously.
The best thing that I can do most of the time is to just let my loved ones know that I am there for them so that they can go through life happily,
So yes, there are many things that get in the way of me going through life more hopefully.

But when I feel like I’m living in a world with no hope like when the White Witch ruled the land,
I need to remember that Aslan or my Savior will always come to hold my hand.
He will help me make my life better than I could have ever planned,
Because He suffered everything that I will ever suffer, He can help me through my life and He will be there at my command.

The Takeaway: Sometimes we might feel like there isn’t any hope in the world or in our own lives. When we feel like this we just need to remember that we are never alone. Our Savior, Jesus Christ, is always there for us. He has gone through everything we go through and only He can help us heal. He can be our hope when we feel like there is no hope.

Finding God Beyond the Noise

/ Christine Maynor / Leave a comment

Thank you for subscribing-may these words bring a quiet moment of peace and reflection to your day.

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Backstory:
I have a few hobbies I use as distractions sometimes. I like to listen to audiobooks while my husband is at work and that distracts me from my problems most of the time. I have always loved to read from when I was little. I love to get lost in the storyline of a good book. I also like to color and that can distract me while it also relaxes me. I listen to faith-promoting podcasts as well. I think that those are good distractions most of the time if they are uplifting books and podcasts. But I also think that in this modern world, we are constantly distracted by our phones and other devices and that might not be a good thing. So for me, writing has been a good way to write down my thoughts and feelings. It also helps me to understand how I am feeling and what I am thinking while I am not distracted by other things around me.

Finding God Beyond the Noise

In this modern world we have a lot of things to distract us,
I think for me sometimes that can be a plus.
Some days my mind needs distractions so that I don’t make a fuss,
Then I get frustrated by little things and sometimes my problems I need to discuss.

I distract myself with listening to audiobooks and I feel like I get lost in the world of a book,
I can imagine myself sitting and relaxing next to a quiet brook.
My mind gets so lost in a book that I feel like a crook,
For when I am listening to a good story then my life takes on a brighter look.

I distract myself with coloring a page that starts out as black and white,
And by the time I am done it is quite a sight.
I enjoy writing down my feelings for it’s a good distraction for me to write,
Then I get really exhausted and there are less distractions at night.

I think it is good to have some distractions but it is also good to live in the moment and focus,
And if we don’t give ourselves time like that then our lives might seem kinda hopeless.
For sometimes if we have too many distractions then we might be put into hypnosis,
So for me I like to take a break sometimes and then my life I can refocus.

The Takeaway: We have a lot of distractions in this fast-paced world that can help us escape our lives. Those are good things as long as they are uplifting. But sometimes we need to let the distractions go and think about what we can learn in our experiences.

A Story Only He Can Finish

/ Christine Maynor / 1 Comment

Thank you for subscribing-may these words bring a quiet moment of peace and reflection to your day.

Backstory:
I love to read. I feel like when I read, I escape into another world, a world of books. I heard a quote recently that I liked that said, “Life is like a book. Some chapters are sad, some are happy and some are exciting. But if you never turn the page, you will never know what the next chapter has in store for you.” In this context, we could think of ourselves as the author. We could think of our Heavenly Father as the Master Editor. 

A Story Only He Can Finish

If our lives are like a book,
Sometimes we might be scared just to look
At what could be next in our story,
But if we never look then we will never behold the glory.

In our story, we are the author,
Most of the time we can determine where the story goes and in what order,
Although sometimes we can’t control what goes on around us,
We can wake up every day and choose what we want to discuss.

Some pages in our book might be sad,
We all have trials and sometimes they might make us feel mad,
Then we also have times when we feel joy,
As we write our story, those parts we really enjoy.

Our Father in Heaven is our Master Editor,
He knows a lot more than we do and can give our story more wonder,
We can trust that He will hear our pleas in His ever listening ears,
He has helped His beloved children for thousands of years.

So, as we go through this life,
We don’t need to be in constant strife,
We should trust that our Master Editor knows how our story will turn out in the end,
And His love for us He will always send.

The Takeaway: Our lives are like a book. We are the author so most of the time we control what happens in our story. Our Loving Heavenly Father is our Master Editor. We can trust that He knows what He is doing as He helps us develop our story. We can also trust that no matter what, He is always there for us and loves us very much.

Ink Blots and Masterpieces

/ Christine Maynor / Leave a comment

Thank you for subscribing-may these words bring a quiet moment of peace and reflection to your day.

Backstory:
I have always enjoyed literature and books. Writing has been a really great outlet for me the last few years. I heard of this metaphor and really liked it: that we may only see one stanza of a poem at a time-but God knows the entire poem-and it is beautiful, even when it’s unfinished. This really resonated with me being a poet and with my love for words and books.

Ink Blots and Masterpieces

We experience life line by line,
We don’t see the big picture because our vision is so fine.
Just one stanza of a poem may feel awkward and incomplete,
And in the beginning of writing it the theme doesn’t yet feel concrete.

As our Master Poet, our Loving Father in Heaven
Sees the whole poem in its entirety and its theme is never in question.
He sees the opening lines, the long middle where growth happens,
And the final resolution that brings meaning to every earlier line and all of its captions.

What feels like a rough draft to us with our paper and pen,
To our Father is part of His divine plan in the end.
Our unfinished lines in our poems of life,
To us may seem like failures full of strife.

Our inward growth in life is not about perfection in a single moment,
But as long as we progress and keep writing until we are out of content,
Then our Savior comes along and turns our unfinished work into a perfect and beautiful masterpiece,
And we can finish our rough draft with Him as our editor whispering in our ears words of love and peace. 

Some of the most powerful poems are full of hard moments when the soul is aching and yearning for more,
Our lives are the same because we long to be in our Father’s Loving Arms but all we need to do is open the door.
And one day after this life is over-our poem of life will be read aloud in its finished state,
Then all of our earthly cares will be gone and our souls won’t feel so much weight.

The Takeaway: We are all writing our unique stories while we live on this earth. But we are never alone in our journey in mortality. By our side is our Master Editor in our Savior, Jesus Christ. He will help us erase our shortcomings and weaknesses. He will be there to whisper words of love and peace to our minds when we feel darkness inside. Our Father will also be there as our Master Poet to help us write our stories into something beautiful and full of purpose.