The New Testament: What I would have learned in Seminary if I had been paying attention

     Before I begin I must preface this post by saying that I am an early morning seminary graduate.  Notice that I bolded and underlined 'early morning'.  It is not an excuse but rather a badge of courage.  Six thirty in the morning comes pretty early, when you are a crabby kid.   Most mornings I got right up, got dressed (which was a rule at our house... no pjs at seminary), and car pooled to seminary.   For the most part I loved seminary.  I am not going to lie and say that I never complained.  I remember the year I turned 15 being the hardest one for me.  I was only bribed out of bed with the promise of getting to drive Dad to seminary... a real treat for any kid with a learner's permit.  So my 2nd year in seminary was rough.  I did learn and my testimony did grow.  I just remember being less than enthusiastic.   What should we happen to be studying that year?  The New Testament.  This may explain why what I am about to reveal escaped me in seminary.
What I am about to reveal could be a little bit shocking... I mean it could shock you that I didn't know it until now.   In fact, dear reader, you probably already know the information that I am about to reveal.  I feel  a little bit dumb and utterly unstudied for not realizing this sooner.  Here goes....
     The New Testament is divided into several books/gospels.  The first four are titled: The Gospel According to St. Matthew; The Gospel According to St. Mark; The Gospel According to St Luke; The Gospel According to St. John.  I have always know that the other books (Acts through Jude) were letters or Epistles that the apostles wrote to members of the ancient church... with the exception of Revelations. So... here's the big bombshell:  I just realized that the gospels are the accounts of 4 different disciples (Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John) that tell what they saw and heard when they were with Jesus Christ.  That is amazing to me.
     You, dear reader, are probably rolling your eyes at me.  You probably already know this.  But I didn't until just recently.... I was reading the account of Christ's atonement in the Garden of Gethsemane and of His Crucifixion.  I was in awe of His sacrifice and the ill treatment that He suffered for me... a sinner... least of all deserving.  I realized that some of the details that I had been taught... specifically about the sacrament and the last supper were a bit different.   I went searching and that's when I noticed the titles of the these four books: the gospel according to..., meaning this account was seen by the specific disciple named for the book.  That's when I figured it out.  Each of these apostles walked with Jesus and each of them had different memories or perspectives.  I imagine that most of them heard the same things but they did not all write the same things.  For example, it is not until John that I read that Jesus washed his disciples feet (John 13: 4-12).  In Luke's account he tells of the disciples being in contention with each other over who was the greatest among them (Luke 22:24).  I never knew this before. That is pretty amazing to me.  How could this have escaped my attention?   Truly there are many things to learn and to remember.  I think this is why were are told to read and re-read our scriptures.

What will my Gift be to Him?

"And when they were come into the house, they saw the young child with Mary his mother, and fell down, and worshiped him: and when they had opened their treasures, they presented unto him gifts; gold and frankincense, and myrth." Matthew 2:11  

      I was sitting in church today waiting for the service to begin and my mind was very restless.  I started thinking about all the gifts that I still need to buy for my niece and nephews.  Then I remembered that I still haven't even thought of what I will get my mom and dad.  Church started and we sang "It Came Upon A Midnight Clear".  I couldn't help but think of that wondrous night of Jesus' birth, and my "to do list" quickly got pushed to the back of my mind.  After our ward business, the speakers got up and one by one spoke on gratitude.  The talks were all very good.  Suddenly a thought came to me: What gift will I get Christ this year?        

     I am 38 years old, and I am ashamed to say that this is the first time I've really ever seriously pondered this question of a gift for Christ.  No sooner had I thought of the question than the answer came to me:  I must give Christ my love.  My obedience would show Him my devotion.  My sweet nephew, who I had dragged to church with me, had been thumbing through my scriptures, fascinated by the indented tabs.  He looked up at me with his sweet, innocent eyes and asked me, "Aunt Jenny, how far have you read?"   BLAMO!!!  A DIRECT HIT!!!  I explained to him that I was reading in the Book of Mormon and showed him how far I had read.  It was then that I realized what I would give to Christ. The ultimate test of my obedient devotion would be to read the rest of the Book of Mormon by the end of December.  Since I had 330 pages left to go this will be quite a feat for me.  I will have to be disciplined, but I know that I can do it.  As soon as I decided upon this gift, a wave of love crashed over me.  I knew that this would indeed be the perfect Christmas gift for my Lord and Savior.  I will pray day and night that I maintain the strong desire that I have right now to read 11-12 pages a day until the end of the year.  

"... He bringeth them unto their desired haven."

  Last night I was feeling pretty sorry for myself.  I admit I was a little down in the dumps. I have been babysitting my nephews for the last 2 weeks solid, my air conditioner went out in my car, and now my car won't start.  To top it all off my little sister... you know the one who was born when I was 16... is talking about having a baby.  Well, with everything piled all together it all looked pretty bleak.  Yesterday's post really helped me to work the "boo hoo's" out of my system.
     In knew that the metaphor of a storm as a trial was mentioned in the scriptures. After all, the hymn "Master the Tempest is Raging" is all about the life's stormy weather.  By the way, this has ALWAYS been one of my favorite hymns.  So I went digging in the scriptures and I found a very beautiful scripture in Psalms which refers to the children of Israel wandering the in wilderness.  It reads: "He maketh the storm calm, so that the waves thereof are still.  Then they are glad because they be quiet; so he bringeth them unto their desired haven." Psalms 107:29-30  Of course the "haven" the scripture refers to is "heaven"... right?  But I'm only 37 and heaven... I hope... is a long way off.  The being said I think the word "haven" refers to a harbor of sorts.  The word harbor means "a part of a body of water along the shore deep enough for anchoring a ship and so situated with respect to coastal features, whether natural or artificial, as to provide protection from winds, waves, and currents." (taken from www.dictionary.com)  Of course the "he" in the scripture refers to our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.  He will take us to safe harbor.. if we let Him.  Once in the harbor it is up to us to throw down our anchor.  I'm also sure that even in a harbor the storms of  life can be felt... seeing as you are still on the water.  However, I'd much rather be in the harbor during a storm than on the "open sea".

Well... ain't that somethin'

   Into each life a life a little rain must fall.  So... carry an umbrella?  You can't always get what you want... but if you try real hard you get what you need?  Wait... what if what you need really isn't what you think you need?  How do you know what it is that you need?  I mean... aside from the basic requirements of life... food, shelter and clothing.  Hmmm... this is some deep thinking for a Tuesday night.  I really don't have anything deep to say other than to comment on how funny it is that when it rains it pours.  Am I feeling sorry for myself?  Why just a touch... yes.  I'm allowed.  However, I haven't forgotten that I am being watched over.  My prayers are heard and, if I let him into my heart, the comforter will give me peace during such stormy weather. I have a saying stenciled on my living room wall to remind me of who I am and what I believe.  It says, "Look toward the sunshine and let the shadows fall behind."  To me the "sunshine" is my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.  This world is really, really distracting to live in.  It is hard to really focus on what it is that  needs to be done instead of what I NEED.  I am slowly finding out that when I focus on what needs to get done.. what I need gets taken care of.  Wait a second... Am I married?  No. Do I have kids? No.  But do I need that right this second to accomplish the task at hand?  No.  So I guess I just have to remember that and look toward the sunshine so that the shadows truly do "fall behind".

A Child's Prayer

 My cat Truman went missing a few days ago. Truman came from the shelter and used to be an outdoor cat. While he transitioned beautifully to living in my home, he always had a tendency to try and escape to the great outdoors. Previously, he had only slipped out of the house and wandered over to the neighbor's house.  On that occasion I found him within 20 minutes. 

     This week I have been fostering an 86 lb Newfoundland puppy.  The pup has to go potty... a lot.  One night, while taking the pup out to do his business one last time, Truman decided to go exploring.  Of course, it was so very dark that I didn't realize what had happened.  When I woke up on Wednesday morning, I knew that something was wrong.  Usually Truman pelts me with his not so amazing acrobatics.  So when I woke up a little later than normal, I knew he was gone.
     I searched and searched for him, but did not find him.  I checked all of his favorite places... his very favorite place being the neighbor's garage.  I searched the garage THREE times, but he wasn't there.  By nightfall I was very worried.  I knocked on neighbor's doors and put up posters.  The next day I reported him missing to animal services.  I prayed to find him, but I just knew that I would never see him again.
     All of my nephews dearly love Truman.  When they heard of his disappearance, they were very upset.  Mason, the oldest, helped me to hang the missing posters in my neighborhood.  He told me to go knock on doors again and again.  He said, "Aunt Jenny, if they say, 'I don't have your cat.' and then they smile at you, you will know that they are lying."
     By Friday evening  Truman had been missing 3 days, and I had all but given up hope.  I had been helping my mom babysit the boys that day.  They left with my dad, their Grandad, at 6:00 to go to the show and I made my way home for more door knocking.  I did knock on a few doors that night, but nothing panned out.  Then, just before dark, I took the dogs out for one last play session.  It must have been about 8:50 or 9:00.   All of the sudden I got the feeling to call Truman's name.  Now I had been doing this EVERY day since he was missing.  But the feeling came to me that I should do this again.  So I did.  I called Truman a couple of times.  To my amazement I heard a very small meow.  It was so soft I thought that I had imagined it.  I quickly put the dogs inside.
     By this time it almost dark, so I grabbed a flashlight.  I raced outside and looked up into all of the trees calling him again and again.  I heard his distinctive meow just once, and I knew I needed to look in the neighbor's garage again.  That's just what I did.  To my amazement, a very happy Truman strolled up to me and rubbed against my legs.  I scooped him up and cried into his fur, so happy to have him back.  After getting him food and water I called my mom to tell her the good news.  She cried with me and then shouted to the boys, who had just gotten back from their movie, that Truman was found.  My dad then told my mom that on the way to the theater my little nephews had felt impressed to pray to Heavenly Father for Truman.  My dad later told me that they were the most beautiful prayers he had every heard either of them utter.  The little boys were very happy to hear of Truman's safe return... but they were not surprised.  Jesus said, "Whosoever therefore shall humble himself as this little child, the same is greatest in the kingdom of heaven." Matthew 18:4 I need to strive to have the same kind of faith that my little nephews had that Friday night.  I'm so very thankful that I didn't have to permanently loose my cat to learn this lesson.

A dream fulfilled...

Fourteen years ago a wonderful golden retriever came into my life.  His name was Chase, and, like Aslan of the Narnia series, he was the most giving, loving, self sacrificing creature that I will EVER have the pleasure to know.  I loved Chase with all of my heart.  As his time drew to a close I was faced with the awful realization of his departure.  I knew myself and I knew that I could not be without a dog and that, when Chase passed, it would be too painful to look at other dogs.  So I went about finding a puppy.  I wanted a dog that would be just like Chase, laid back and placid.  Chase was a golden, but having grown up with the breed, I knew how rare he was among his peers.  As a result, I decided to look at the only breed that ever came close to resembling Chase... a newfoundland.
     I went to club meetings, talked to many owners, and met LOTS of big black dogs.  I fell in love.  But... after talking to the owners reality set in.  They told me how very expensive these dogs can be. As a teacher, I will never make loads of money so this concerned me.  They also told of their many health issues, ect.  The clincher for me was that their coat required LOTS of care.  I was used to taking care of Chase's coat.  I brushed him 2x a week and he went to the beauty parlor 1x a month.  However, I was told that a Newf would have to be brushed every day.  The spirit whispered to me that, although I really, really wanted a newfie, now was not the right time.  This is how I ended up with Tucker Jack.
     Tucker's personality is the complete OPPOSITE of Chase's personality.  I was truly guided to this little ball of fur.  I have made SO many friends in Utah because of the agility training that I have put Tuck through. It is a classic case of the Lord knowing what is best for us  before we know it.

     Even though I love Tucker and Allie (my female golden) my dream of owning a newfie never did go away.  I was always convinced that I could do it.  Once again, the Lord gives us exactly what we need.  Last week I coordinated a rescue of 3 purebred newfoundland puppies... a dream come true.  One of the female pups stayed with me for a couple of days before being adopted... by my mom and dad!!!  I felt so happy that my mom and dad had finally found the dog for them, but I also felt deflated.  I really liked this little girl and was seriously thinking of adopting her myself.  Let me correct myself.  My heart wanted to adopt her my mind said, "You don't have the means to do so."  Then out of the blue the male puppy's foster home fell through.  I soon found myself driving up to get him, thinking the whole time, "I wanted the male to begin with.  This is perfect.  Heavenly Father is totally working it out for me."  

     I've now had Cade, the male puppy, in my home for 5 days, and I can now say without a doubt that Tucker Jack and Allie Mae are the dogs for me.  I love Cade.  He's a real cutie.  But having an 86 pound six month old puppy in my house REALLY makes it seem a lot smaller.  The club members that I visited with before I got Tucker were telling the truth.  He does require more... more food, more space, more attention.  So today I thank my Heavenly Father for giving me the opportunity to learn this "hands on".  In the meantime I get to enjoy his squishy face before sending him to his forever home.  :) 

Faith... pass it on!

A friend of mine e-mailed me this story.  It touched me so much that I just had to share it.  

Our 14-year-old dog Abbey died last month. The day after she passed away my 4-year-old daughter Meredith was crying and talking about how much she missed Abbey. She asked if we could write a letter to God so that when Abbey got to heaven, God would recognize her. I told her that I thought we could so, and she dictated these words: 

Dear God,
Will you please take care of my dog? She died yesterday and is with you in heaven. I miss her very much. I am happy that you let me have her as my dog even though she got sick.

I hope you will play with her. She likes to swim and play with balls. I am sending a picture of her so when you see her you will know that she is my dog. I really miss her.

                                                      Love, Meredith

We put the letter in an envelope with a picture of Abbey and Meredith and addressed it to God/Heaven. We put our return address on it. Then Meredith pasted several stamps on the front of the envelope because she said it would take lots of stamps to get the letter all the way to heaven. That afternoon she dropped it into the letter box at the post office. A few days later, she asked if God had gotten the letter yet. I told her that I thought He had.

Yesterday, there was a package wrapped in gold paper on our front porch addressed, 'To Meredith' in an unfamiliar hand. Meredith opened it. Inside was a book by Mr. Rogers called, 'When a Pet Dies.' Taped to the inside front cover was the letter we had written to God in its opened envelope. On the opposite page was the picture of Abbey & Meredith and this note: 


Dear Meredith,

Abbey arrived safely in heaven. Having the picture was a big help and I recognized her right away.

Abbey isn't sick anymore. Her spirit is here with me just like it stays in your heart. Abbey loved being your dog. Since we don't need our bodies in heaven, I don't have any pockets to keep your picture in so I am sending it back to you in this little book for you to keep and have something to remember Abbey by.

Thank you for the beautiful letter and thank your mother for helping you write it and sending it to me. What a wonderful mother you have. I picked her especially for you.  I send my blessings every day and remember that I love you very much. By the way, I'm easy to find. I am wherever there is love.

Love,
God