trials

Still Becoming God’s Masterpiece

/ Christine Maynor / Leave a comment

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Backstory:
One of my favorite hobbies lately has been coloring. It helps me relax and unwind. I don’t really know how things will turn out when I start a coloring page. And that can be likened to our lives. We are here in this life to have experiences and to learn and grow from those experiences. But most of the time we don’t know how things will turn out in the end. We just need to trust in our Heavenly Father and that He knows what He is doing and He will help us on our journey.

Still Becoming God's Masterpiece

I have really enjoyed coloring lately,
It helps my anxiety and depression daily.
I have been thinking that when I start a page, I hope it turns out greatly,
But I never know until I’m done how it is going to look mainly.

I start with a beautiful page in black and white,
There is a guide to tell me how to make it look bright.
I mostly follow the guide and it turns into quite a sight,
By the end I can see that it turned out right.

I think this lesson can be likened to us,
We are here in this world and we have trials and tribulations and we might make a fuss.
We will be tried and tested and that might not feel like a plus,
We can always count on others to help us discuss.

We have a loving Father up above who knows how things will turn out in the end,
He watches over us and will always be our best friend.
He lets us make decisions even though each one of us He always will defend,
He hopes that with each other our differences we can blend.

We don’t see how our lives are going to turn out because our minds are so finite,
We might not be able to see at midnight how things will look in the daylight.
But just remember that there is someone who always is there to help us see the sunlight,
He sees us as his masterpiece and can always give us His loving insight.

The Takeaway: We are here on this earth to learn and grow. We have trials so that we can learn to trust and have faith that our Heavenly Father will always be there to guide and help us in our journey.

Christ at the Heart of Christmas

/ 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:
Like most people, I have always loved the Christmas season. I remember the excitement I felt as a child at that time of year. I am the youngest of my parents' 3 daughters. We would come down the stairs and into the living room, usually oldest to youngest on Christmas morning to see what Santa brought for us. But some years I remember that my parents let me go first and that was always super exciting for me. For most children, Christmas is mostly about the presents Santa brings them. But as I have grown older, I have found a better meaning in Christmas than just the presents. There have been a couple years like last year for instance when I haven’t been very excited about the Christmas season. But most years I am more than ready to decorate my home for Christmas.

Christ at the Heart of Christmas

Growing up in a great Christian family, I always loved Christmas, but mostly because of what Santa brought me every year,
I think that most children are more focused on the presents than on the reason why this time of year is so dear.
I think that’s only natural for children, but as an adult my mindset has changed to something more sincere,
And now I want to talk about what Christmas means to me as I have put my mind into gear.

Instead of focusing on gifts, I like to focus more on who the Christmas season is about,
Christmas is supposed to be about the birth of my Savior, but sometimes in this material world, this important birth we seem to leave out.
I love to put up my Christmas tree and decorations probably because of the memories this reminds me of beyond all doubt,
I also love the feeling of love and kindness that we all feel this time of year when it feels like sometimes with kindness the world has been in a drought.

Yes I am human and I also get excited when people give me presents at Christmastime,
I think that feeling is normal and is not a crime.
But if that’s all I focus on then I should probably listen to the beautiful sounds of a bell chime,
For the “most wonderful time of the year” should be more about the birth of my Savior than about what I can get for a dime.

I love reading Christmas stories around this time of year about people being more kind,
They help me feel my mind unwind.
Then I feel better about the future of mankind,
But the greatest Christmas story ever told helps my mind and body feel more aligned.

Because Jesus was born and lived on the earth, the world around us can feel more peaceful,
Even when the world is all crazy and all we feel around us is evil.
During Christmastime and all year round we can be happier people,
And because of Jesus we can feel more cheerful.

The Takeaway: We all like getting gifts, especially at Christmastime. But we should focus more on the wonderful gift of our Savior and how we can be more like Him. We should learn from His example and try to emulate Him.

Because of Him, There is Hope

/ 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 listened to a podcast episode the other day. The hosts were talking about the phrase, “Confident Expectation”. I looked it up in Google and it defines this as “in a religious context to describe the trust in God’s promises to fulfill good things in the future.” I really love that definition and I think it goes really well with the hope we all feel during the Christmas season and that we should feel all year round because of Jesus.

Because of Him, There is Hope

Because of the Babe born in Bethlehem over 2,000 years ago,
We can have hope that a miracle happened that night and we can feel that Christmas glow.
Because of that night we can believe that miracles can happen for us today and this we can know,
We can feel hope even when we feel like our trials are so huge that we can’t face another blow.

Because His mother Mary accepted the call to be the mother of the Son of God,
We can accept whatever God expects of us even when the request might seem odd.
I’m sure Mary felt overwhelmed and inadequate when the angel told her of her mission but she knew that she just needed to obey and nod,
This should give us hope and we should remember that even when we feel overwhelmed we always have someone up above rooting for our squad.

We can learn from Jesus’ teachings to always be kind and loving to those around us,
Because of Him we should never look at another person’s imperfections and make a fuss.
For Jesus was always loving to everyone He saw no matter what and this we should more thoroughly discuss,
Because of Him we always have someone to be there for us and this is a huge plus.

Because of Jesus’ suffering in Gethsemane we can feel a confident expectation that He knows how we are feeling,
At any given moment even when we feel alone we can feel His touch instead of squealing.
We can believe that He suffered everything that we will ever suffer and this can be for us very healing,
When we feel down and in the dumps all we need to do is kneel in prayer and this should feel more appealing.

So when we think about Christmas and at other times of the year we should be confident that because of the precious baby there is always hope,
Even when we feel like the world is too evil and we are at the end of our rope.
Because of Jesus we can always feel like we have a friend and we can better cope,
Also because of Him we can feel clean from our sins like when we wash our skin with soap.

The Takeaway: When we feel like our problems are too much to bear we just need to remember that Jesus is always there for us no matter what. He will always be by our side to help us when we feel overwhelmed.

Making Room for Christ

/ 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 really enjoyed the Christmas season this year. I enjoyed listening to Christmas music, watching Christmas movies, coloring in my Christmas coloring pages and spending time with family. I looked forward to Christmas for a couple of months. I do enjoy giving gifts and receiving gifts at Christmastime, I think we all do. But the main reason I enjoy Christmas so much is because of the hope that the birth, the life and the example of my Savior brings to me. So now that Christmas is over, what’s next? What do I have to look forward to now? What can I learn from the Christmas story to take with me in my daily life? One thing I have been thinking about that can be learned from is the story of the innkeeper in Bethlehem who didn’t have room for the Savior in his inn. It makes me wonder, “in my busy life, do I have room for my Savior? What can I do to make more room for Him?”

Making Room for Christ

One part of the Christmas story that makes me ponder is the story of the innkeeper and his attitude of gloom,
When Mary great with child and her husband Joseph stopped by his inn he said there was no room.
This part of the tale makes me wonder if the innkeeper had known who he spoke to if his answer would have been in a better tune,
For he didn’t know who that babe was Mary was carrying in her womb.

We live in a fast paced, chaotic and crazy world of instant gratification,
Sometimes it is hard to slow down when from our phone all we get is a constant notification.
We go so fast and so hard some days that we feel like we don’t need any justification,
But if we don’t slow down and let ourselves appreciate what we have then we are bound for mental suffocation.

So I think that we should learn to slow down and get our priorities straight,
The story of the innkeeper should make us wonder if we have room in our busy lives for more things that are great.
Do we have room for Jesus or do we constantly feel like those things just have to wait?
If we don’t have room for Him then we might be carrying too much weight.

As we continue on with our lives after the Christmas season,
Let’s try to focus on our Savior for He is the real reason.
When we feel like life is just too heavy, He can be our beacon,
We don’t need to feel alone because He will always be with us especially when we feel beaten.

So what can we do to remember Jesus more in our busy day?
We can try to be like Him and to help those in need find a better way.
We can read about His life and teachings in the scriptures and what price He had to pay,
Also we can remember that with us Jesus will always stay.

The Takeaway: We can learn a lesson from the story of the innkeeper who didn’t have room for Mary and Joseph in his inn. We should wonder if we have room for him in our busy lives. We should focus more on Him during the Christmas season and any time of year.

He Is the Greatest Gift

/ 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:
We all love getting gifts, whether it’s for our birthday, Mother’s Day or Christmas. I was thinking about gifts that we give to each other for Christmas. Then I thought of the most amazing gift of our Savior, Jesus Christ. Then I was wondering, “What gifts can I give my Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ, not only at Christmastime but all year round? How can I pay back the best gift ever given, my Savior?” 

He Is the Greatest Gift

We all love to get gifts and hopefully we like to give gifts as well,
So pondering on gifts I thought that the greatest gift ever that we could never sell.
I think the greatest gift we have been given is the baby in Bethlehem over 2,000 years ago and this story we should always tell,
Our loving Heavenly Father chose to give us the gift of His Beloved Son and this should make our hearts with love swell.

What can we give back to our Heavenly Father for giving us this amazing gift?
We can give him all of our heart to help others heart’s lift.
I think to give Him what He wants from us we need to our priorities shift,
For if we focus more on how we can help others then maybe our spirits won’t feel so adrift.
We can give other people our forgiveness,
For our Heavenly Father always forgives us and we need to for Him be a better witness.
We should love others more instead of always being interested in their business,
We should be more concerned about how we can lift them when they have an illness.

We can also give our Father our whole hearts in serving Him,
For when we are serving others our problems won’t seem so grim.
Then we will see someone else’s perspective on their lives and how deep in their trials they swim,
And maybe from that perspective our trials will seem more slim.

I think no matter what I do I will never be able to pay back the gift of my Savior,
But maybe to start, I can be my best self and change my behavior.
Even though I will never pay back that gift I shouldn’t feel like a failure,
I will feel good about myself if I try my best and be a better team player.

The Takeaway: At Christmastime and other times of the year we should remember the wonderful gift of our Savior to the world. We should focus on Him and what we can give back to Him because of His precious gift to us. Because of Him, there is always hope.