-
Sabbath Devotional :: Music of Christmas
Music inspired this weekend’s Sabbath devotional. How I love the music of the Christmas season! O come, Thou Day-Spring, come and cheerOur spirits by Thine advent here.Disperse the gloomy clouds of night,And death’s dark shadows put to flight. Rejoice! Rejoice! EmmanuelShall come to thee, O Israel! December 6th marks the second Sunday of Advent for those of you familiar with a broadly Christian liturgical calendar. Advent is a time of longing and expectation that Christ may soon come to redeem His people. Our family has its own Advent tradition involving scripture reading, singing, and lighting candles in an Advent wreath — a cherished holdover from the Scandinavian and German traditions…
-
Are You Aware? A Christmas Carol
This is part I in our “Echoes” Awareness Wednesday series. “A Christmas Carol,” written by Charles Dickens, is a story of how our past shapes our present, and how past and present affect our future — both because of circumstances beyond our control and those of our own making. The story illustrates how the events and choices of one’s life send ripples throughout. Maturity can help us shake off our pasts to some degree, but sometimes — because of force of habit and personal equilibrium — we have a hard time changing. But perhaps most importantly, the ripples we make in the world can have negative or positive effects in…
-
Sabbath Devotional :: Eyes to See
My senior year, I felt that the title of National Honor Society (NHS) Chapter President would go nicely on college applications, and I was confident I could win. Seven people ran for positions and only five would have official leadership titles; the winner of the most votes would be president. I was very confident and expected to win (oh to have that teenage hubris again). Not only was I not president, I wasn’t in the top five. When I saw the president was a somewhat awkward girl named Jessica, I knew something was wrong. Angry, hurt, and confused, I spent the entire day talking to the other NHS members trying…
-
Sabbath Devotional :: Deep Waters
Water has always been powerful imagery for me. There have been times in my life when I have felt like these words from David could be my own: “Save me, O God; for the waters are come in unto my soul. I sink in deep mire, where there is no standing: I am come into deep waters, where the floods overflow me.” (Psalms 69:1-2) During the most difficult times of my life, one word that has often come to mind to describe my experience has been the word “drowning.” The feelings of helplessness, suffocating, crushing weight pressing down on my chest, sinking deeper and deeper as waves of heartache, grief, or despair…
-
Sabbath Devotional :: Where is Our Focus?
“The joy we feel has little to do with the circumstances of our lives and everything to do with the FOCUS of our lives.” — President Russell M. Nelson There are so many things swirling around in my life right now. We have gone through moving into a new home we have built over the last five months. We were without internet or cable for the first week. (It’s so much fun hot spotting off your cell phone during election week!) Unpacking, acclimating to the area, and attending a new ward. Having people in and out of your home amidst this COVID pandemic add to the challenge. We had a tithing settlement…
-
Sabbath Devotional :: The Healer’s Art
“If you do one good deed your reward usually is to be set to do another and harder and better one.” (C.S. Lewis, The Horse and His Boy) This may not be the message that any of us want to hear right now, but I believe that it is perhaps the most important one I can offer. Simply put, having done one hard thing, it may be time for us to do another and harder and better one. We must each commit to transition from warriors to healers. So how can we “learn the healer’s art” and truly accelerate the return to health that we are all in desperate need…
-
Sabbath Devotional :: Hope
As we near the end of this election season, I know many of us are feeling stressed, anxious, and just plain tired. Right now, it feels as if we’ve been sprinting for quite some time and can see the finish line, but we don’t quite know what lies on the other side. For the most part, I’m able to keep the stress and anxiety at bay in a few ways — taking positive action and making time for the things that nourish my soul. A few nights ago, though, I found it catching up to me, and I prayed that the Lord would calm my anxious heart and soothe my…
-
Are You Aware? Face Value
This is part IV in our Awareness Wednesday series on the Asian American Experience. Read the other posts in the series here. As we anxiously awaited the birth of our daughter, I found myself, as countless parents before me, wondering about my baby and her future. What would she look like? What would her personality be like? What traits would she gain from us and our families? However, I also spent time thinking about how my baby girl would see and be seen in the world — how would she self-identify in terms of race, and how would others define and perceive her because of her appearance. In 1941, another first-time mother was…
-
Sabbath Devotional :: Anxiety: The Power of “Palms Up, Palms Open”
The clock is ticking. As we approach the single digit days before the election, I find my stomach clenching, my hands curling into tight little balls, my brows furrowed. I’ve started having flash backs to November 8th, 2016. Something in me broke that day. As a mildly left-of-center Midwesterner who had a son working for the 44th President, I felt like a stranger in a strange land in my very own USA. I was flummoxed by the choice of so many of my fellow citizens, and even among a majority of my sister and brother Saints. I still hold to the Church’s proclaimed stance as non-partisan and international, but an…
-
Sabbath Devotional :: Christ-Centered Leadership: Examples from First Nephi
When our son TJ was a young child, my husband and I visited my graduate school mentor. As he watched our son totter around his office energetically, he said to me, “Lisa, you’re a psychologist now, trained in personality theory and behavior. Let’s see you control that child!” My mentor was, of course, teasing. But he was also reminding me that children come with the developing ability to act for themselves; and we, as parents, have the opportunity to help nurture their ability to make good choices. In our capacity as leaders, and in our roles as parents, we are constantly faced with decisions about encouraging or restricting the agency…
