"Merry Christmas" . . . a Reflective Letter from Pennies of Time

Our family is rounding the bend of serving every day for four months.  That is more than seventy hours of service . . . and that doesn't include the time that it takes for me to post our adventures on the blog or contribute towards the fb group, the pinterest board, or recruit others to share their serving stories.  Some days I wonder if all this work is worth the level of effort and time needed.  Each time I wonder that and then look back on what we have gained, I have to whole-heartedly say,"Yes!"

Dear Reader:

For me and my family, the winter holiday times are ones where we reflect upon what we believe, they are ones where we take notice of the blessings that we have, they are ones where we share gratitude for our Savior, Jesus Christ. We are blessed to have two awesome boys that more than energetically participate in whatever we want to do. We are blessed to live in a community that allows us the freedoms to live and worship in ways that we believe are best for us. We are extremely grateful for that.

I am a Christian.  I believe in Jesus Christ.  I believe in the value of striving to exemplify His teachings and example.  I believe that my own actions and way of life should be more of a testament of what I believe than any words that I can say.  I believe that to more fully accept and appreciate the Atonement I need to live a life that is worthy of the sacrifice that He made in the Garden of Gethsemane.

I believe that to truly change our hearts and leave behind our imperfections, we need to do the hard work of serving others.  We need to feel and accept personal sacrifice for the purpose of blessing another person.  Each time we serve, each time we take into our hearts the example of Jesus Christ healing others, serving others, and showing compassion towards others---our spirits and souls are blessed.  What we gain when we sacrifice our resources (time, talents, and money) is more than equal to whatever we sacrifice.

When we serve with our children, we are teaching them ways that improve the intentions of their souls.  Serving with our children heals, and in a sense, matures their spirits against the many, many negative influences that surround them.  I think the highest level of understanding of compassion is to be kind to someone that is unkind to you.  I hope that as I continue this journey with my children that we can achieve that accomplishment.

I believe that as we all strive to teach our children through serving with them that we are raising our children in powerful ways.  When we serve with our children, we are honoring the responsibility of the stewardship that we have in raising them in an honorable way.

In all, I would like to take this holiday season to send warm wishes to your family!   Wishing you and your families incredible experiences this holiday season!

Merry Christmas!
Pennies of Time