christmas

Changed From Within

/ Christine Maynor / Leave a comment

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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.

Standing Tall with Jesus

/ Christine Maynor / Leave a comment

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Backstory:
One of my favorite Christmas movies is Mr. Krueger’s Christmas starring Jimmy Stewart. I love the scene when his character, Mr. Krueger is talking with the baby Jesus. He said to the baby that he could hold his head high because Jesus was his closest friend. About the filming of this scene, Jimmy Stewart said that it was deeply personal and that he wanted the scene done right, with genuine emotion. I agree with Mr. Krueger that we, as Christians, can hold our heads high because Jesus can be our closest friend.

Standing Tall with Jesus

Mr. Krueger didn’t earn Christ’s friendship by being impressive or important,
But his faith in Jesus had never become dormant.
We offer Jesus what we can-
Our kindness, service and love for others as our plan.

We can hold our heads high because we are known to Jesus,
And we are loved by Him even though He knows our every weakness.
We belong to Jesus, even on days when we feel unseen or inadequate,
For His love for us is always passionate.

We don’t need the world’s approval
Since it isn’t all that useful.
As long as we know that we belong to our Savior,
We can hold our heads high and know that we are always in His favor.

At Christmastime, the nativity isn’t just a scene to be admired
It’s an invitation to be near to Jesus so we can feel inspired.
His birth signals to us His desire to be near
Not just at Christmastime, but throughout the year.

If we believe Jesus is our closest friend
Then we are never alone in the end.
Our every sorrow and tear are understood by Him,
And our trials in this life won’t seem so grim.

The Takeaway: We can all hold our heads high if we believe that Jesus is our closest friend. That assurance allows us to lift our eyes-during Christmastime and throughout the year-because we walk with the Light of the World. And because of that knowledge, we can feel more hope and joy even in our darkest moments.

Learning to Adore Jesus

/ Christine Maynor / Leave a comment

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Backstory:
One day I was thinking about the Christmas hymn, O Come, Let Us Adore Him. I thought to myself that I know that Jesus definitely adores me. Sometimes I can’t imagine why because I am so human. But I know that He is super kind and compassionate and that He sees the best in me. So I asked myself, “how can I show Jesus that I adore Him like He adores me not just at Christmastime but throughout the year?” I looked at the meaning of “adore" and it is to worship, to bow before, or to give one’s heart in reverence. 

Learning to Adore Jesus?

When we sing, “O come, let us adore Him, Christ, the Lord,
We are not just inviting people to look at the baby Jesus in one accord.
We are inviting them to recognize His divinity as our Redeemer and Savior,
And to offer our hearts to Him, not just our voices, so that we can change our behavior.

This is a call for all of us to worship Jesus as our God, 
For we can win any battle with Him in our cheering squad.
The shepherds, the wise men and the angels were all called to adore Him,
And we are also called to do the same so the light inside us will never dim.

They were led by a bright star in the sky,
But they didn’t stop to think why.
They just obeyed the call and went to worship the baby,
Even though it might have seemed a little crazy.

In our day, we can adore Jesus by remembering His Atoning Sacrifice for us,
That He purchased our struggles and pains for a huge price and He didn’t make a fuss.
We can adore Him by looking toward Him for our strength and hope,
Then in our trials we can more easily cope.

We can adore Jesus by trusting that we are in His Loving and Capable Hands,
And that with us He always stands.
We can adore Him by becoming more kind, forgiving and compassionate towards other people,
So that our lives can feel less chaotic and more peaceful.

The Takeaway: When we hear the words, “O come, let us adore Him” at Christmastime, we should also hear Jesus whisper back to us, “I have adored you first.” This feeling should make us want to be closer to our Beloved Savior and to be more like Him. We can learn a lot from His example of how He adores us so that we can more properly adore Him.

The Basement of the Heart

/ Christine Maynor / Leave a comment

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Backstory:
This idea came from an episode of one of my favorite podcasts called Latter-day Lights. The guest on this episode said that he had been abused by someone in the basement of a house when he was 4 or 5 years old. He had a dream later in life that Jesus had been with him in his darkest times including in that basement and in other dark times in his life. Then he and the hosts of the show said that Jesus is with us in our basement of our darkest times. Jesus really has descended below it all so He can help us get upstairs to the light and have hope.

The Basement of the Heart

We all go through dark times when we don’t know if we can keep going,
We may seem ok on the outside but our inside struggle isn’t showing.
One person was abused in a basement of a home and for him the wind kept blowing,
He felt like those dark times he would always be knowing.

This man compared his dark times to a basement of a home,
Usually the basement is the darkest and coldest place in the home.
He didn’t know for a while if he could get upstairs to the light or if he would forever in the cold roam,
He didn’t want to forever be on his own.

So he decided to go to the Savior,
He had learned that through the Savior’s light he could change his behavior.
Then because of that light he wouldn’t constantly feel like a failure,
He knew that if he was on his own he could be in more danger.

We too may have dark times when we feel like we are constantly in a cold and dark basement,
We may think that we can never feel the light again but we just need to be patient.
For it is in those dark times when our Savior can heal our heart’s ailment,
With Him we can go upstairs to the light and have a better arrangement.

We just need to call out for Jesus when we are feeling blue,
He always knows how to help us and what to do.
For He has suffered everything we feel and only He can help us through,
With Jesus by our side we can feel brand new.

The Takeaway: We all have dark times when we feel like we will never see the light again. Those are the times when we need the Savior’s light the most in our lives. We just need to call out to Him. Only Jesus knows how we are feeling because He has felt everything we have and only He can help us feel better.

Refined By God’s Fire

/ Christine Maynor / 1 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 think we can learn a lot from our ancestors. One of my ancestors I have always felt a strong connection to is my third-great-grandmother on my Mom’s side, Amanda Barnes Smith. She went through so many hard trials and kept her faith through it all. I can’t imagine what she went through. That’s probably why I am drawn to her, because of her faith during her hard times.

Refined By God's Fire

Amanda in my family history went through so much,
I am drawn to her because of her faith in her Heavenly Father’s touch.
She was married and her family moved with the members of her faith to Missouri,
Things were fine for a while but there was a mob who came with a fury.

The mob drove them out of their home
And for a while they had to just roam.
They felt directed to a place called Haun’s Mill,
This was a place where her husband and one of her sons was killed.

This trial would have been enough to shake her faith,
And probably in her heart she felt a huge weight.
Another son named Alma was shot but not dead,
His hip needed to be repaired and she felt inspired and led.

The story of how she repaired her son’s hip is miraculous,
She trusted in her Heavenly Father for help and saved her son from paralysis.
As far as I know, her faith never failed,
She trusted that her son would be healed and she let God prevail.

Her son was healed even though it took a while,
And I’m sure she had many reasons not to smile.
Her story is such an example to me,
And that helps my faith so that I can more clearly see.

The Takeaway: We can learn a lot from other people’s stories, especially from our ancestors. Just reading their stories and hearing how they made it through their trials can help us feel strength and have more faith when we face hard times.