MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Every December we celebrate a birth that happened more than 2,000 years ago because it was the beginning of a life and mission that hold critical and eternal significance for all of us.  It was the birth of Jesus Christ which manifested the supreme love of God for all His children.

                                 

In a recent Devotional Meeting at Brigham Young University, newly called counselor to President Dallin H. Oaks in the First Presidency of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, President D. Todd Christofferson, spoke about the Savior’s condescension to leave His divine throne above and live like every other mortal on the very earth which He helped God the Father create.

“It is almost impossible to grasp the magnitude of the Savior’s condescension”, President Christofferson said in his remarks.

“He came as a helpless babe, born in a humble stable, with a manger used for feeding animals as His cradle. He experienced what all of us experience: growing over time in knowledge and ability, developing from infancy to childhood to youth to adulthood.  While on the earth as a mortal man, Jesus experienced hunger and deprivation, pain and fatigue, persecution and rejection. In the end, He was crucified and put to death.

 “We are fully justified in joyously celebrating the birth of Jesus. It is this tender beginning that eventually led to His Atonement, which, in turn, leads to the new beginnings in our lives and faithfulness to the end of our lives.”

No wonder we sing “Joy to the World"!

"Joy to the World" was written in 1719 by the English minister and hymnist Isaac Watts.  The hymn is usually sung to an 1848 arrangement by the American composer Lowell Mason of a tune attributed to George Frideric Handel. The hymn's lyrics are a Christian interpretation of Psalm 98 and Genesis 3.

Since the 20th century, "Joy to the World" has been the most-published Christmas carol in North America, even though it originally was unassociated with Christmas.  It was initially written about the Second Coming, not Christ’s first coming as a baby.

But I love how W. W. Phelps, a poet and early member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, changed the words in the chorus from “Let heaven and Nature Sing” to “Let Saints and Angels Sing”. We sing this version at Church.

I believe we were all in that numberless throng of angels proclaiming joy at the birth of Jesus Christ and His mission on that “ONE WONDERFUL NIGHT”!

This December let us include in our celebration of Christmas, not just Christ’s birth, but also a re-consideration of Christ’s remarkable atoning mission as a new beginning in our own lives with a fervent personal commitment of faithfulness to Jesus Christ forever.

                                     Merry Christmas!

SHOPPING NEWS!

 

We got a "new" Walmart!

After months of renovation and lots of rearranging, our "new" Walmart is finally finished!  Complete with a shiny new Walmart logo on the front of the store.  There is also a new expanded Pick-up area, a refurbished parking lot, and wider aisles.  In all, it is a nicer shopping place.  So far, the prices seem to have remained steady to what they were before the do-over.

This is the Walmart we most often went to--until the shelves seemed to be empty of what it was I needed and I didn't want to be around hammering inside and lots of activity outside which was the center of the remodeling operation.  Or sometimes it was the frustration of "store open during remodel" but whole departments seemed to have disappeared, and the store didn't feel like it was easy to navigate like it had been before.  I couldn't find anything.  All the paper goods disappeared!  Then I found out they were on the back wall where the infant department had been.  No wonder I hadn't been able to find a cute little play toy to put on the package of a baby gift I was preparing to take to a friend.

But all that is over now.  Surprisingly, for all the work that was accomplished and the amount of time it took to complete, it really wasn't very long at all.  From summertime to the first part of November.

Though I still am trying to navigate better as I look for the items I usually purchase, I like the addition of pods that have "showroom setups" complete with mannequins and furniture to make the products attractive and inviting to try.  And the shelves are filled to the brim with inventory now like they used to be.

Though it is still kind of a shock to go inside the store and see a completely different look, I like it.  Several of the other Walmart stores in our area got remodeled first, so it was nice to be part of the plan, too.

Progress... move forward or lose your place!  Guess we have a place in the community once again.  Just nicer.

VETERANS DAY

Today is Veterans Day 2025

I'm inviting you to honor our Veterans today because they have defended the principles of freedom with courage and blood and quiet, unheralded sacrifice.

As Americans, we love the United States, our country—not because it is flawless, but because it was founded upon principles of liberty that go directly to heaven itself—and there is a striving within the TRUE heart of our nation to adhere to those principles.

I took these thoughts from many, many things I have read about Veterans Day, but they are also MY thoughts. I hope they are YOURS, too. 

TODAY AND ALWAYS!

SERVING GRATITUDE THIS YEAR FOR THANKSGIVING

 

FORWARD:

If you are like me, Thanksgiving is a much loved—and very favorite—holiday.  But don’t wait exclusively for November 27th before you focus on the blessings in your lives or to give thanks for the abundance God has bestowed on you and your loved ones. Since November is our American Thanksgiving holiday month, I am inviting everyone to "Choose Gratitude" as their personal priority. 

HERE ARE MY REASONS FOR THIS INVITATION:

I opened up my computer the other morning and saw an interesting article about yet another scientific study detailing how giving thanks is beneficial to healthy living.  What a shocker!  And yet, a lot of people still don’t seem to think this simple little practice can make a world of difference in their lives.

A few years ago, I felt so strongly about the encroachment of commercialism on Black Friday versus what I called Bright Thanksgiving Thursday, that I penned a couple of pages about my feelings in the monthly Nichols Family Newsletter I wrote for my kids over a ten-year period.  It was November 2011.   

I told them scientists have set out statistics for what many religions—including the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints—have taught for years:  Gratitude is good for both the body and the mind.

Dr. Robert Emmons of the University of California-Davis has done a lot of research and writing about this subject, so I quoted to my children some of the interesting findings he had made.   Dr. Emmons reported that over a ten-week period, the people in his study who wrote down five things they were grateful for were 25 per cent happier than the people who wrote down five hassles they had had during the week.  He wrote that gratitude can in fact actually have the greatest impact during crisis conditions.  “In the face of demoralization, gratitude has the power to energize.  In the face of brokenness, gratitude has the power to heal.  In the face of despair, gratitude has the power to bring hope….  Gratitude provides a perspective by which we can view life in its entirety and not be overwhelmed by temporary circumstances.” 

Dr. Emmons went on to say that grateful people don’t deny or ignore the negative aspects of life.  Their continued awareness of problems in their lives brought positive action to make things better.  Hence, they were happier people in spite of challenges.

Former General Relief Society President Bonnie Parkin of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints told in a General Conference talk a few years ago about a family who had suffered some hardship.  But they wanted to maintain a positive outlook. Every day at their dinner table they each shared something good that had happened to them, something they were thankful for that day.   Soon their “blessings basket” was overflowing. 

I liked the simplicity of this family’s intent to still be thankful for what they had.

That year for Christmas I purchased a basket for each of my children’s families and filled it full of little tablets and pencils along with a copy of the story Sister Parkin had shared.  I suggested that they might want to hang the basket so it was convenient for each person to write a sentence or two—or draw a picture—on a regular basis about a blessing or something they were thankful for.  Then set aside a regular time to share with the rest of the family all the wonderful bounties they were receiving. 

I’m almost sure you have already read/heard about ways to focus on gratitude.  But I thought I would include the short list Dr. Emmons published.  It might have some ideas you hadn’t already thought about.

1.    **KEEP A GRATITUDE JOURNAL

2.   **REMEMBER HOW FAR YOU HAVE COME FROM A BAD SITUATION

3.**ASK YOURSELF THREE QUESTIONS:

“What have I received?”  “What have I given?” and “What troubles and difficulty have I caused?”

4.   **LEARN TO OFFER PRAYERS OF GRATITUDE

5.   **COME TO YOUR SENSES. 

          Through our senses—the ability to touch, see, smell, taste, and hear—we gain an appreciation of what it means to be human.

6.   **GO THROUGH THE MOTIONS

           Grateful motions include smiling, saying thank you, and writing letters of gratitude.

Do it now.  Do it every day.  Doing that will make you happy.  I know!

IT'S HALLOWEEN TIME AGAIN!

 

I've never been very fond of Halloween.  I'm not particularly impressed with dressing up in a costume and parading around for everyone to see me.  I would rather be in the background of the Halloween party.  

And the Trick or Treating--not fun for me for these two reasons

👻I don't like candy.  Weird, I know.  But for me it was a useless activity to ask people for candy I wasn't even going to eat.

👻I grew up on the high windy plateaus of south-central Wyoming.  By the 31st of October there was probably snow on the ground most years--and it was COLD.  Brrrr!  So, the costume was covered up by a winter coat.  Who got to see that when we rang the doorbells?  No one....

I do remember one house that used to serve hot cider and doughnuts.  Now THAT was MY kind of treat.  Of course, this was in the 50's before all the scare of razors and drugs and whatever in the treats that weren't already prepackaged before they were purchased at the store.

Anyway, I did make a big deal about Halloween for my kids.  I usually sewed their costumes, and we went all out on a family Spook Dinner which we all loved.  Then Dad would take them Trick or Treating.  He had as much fun as they did, and they all loved to check out their candy loot when they got home, trading with each other the likes and dislikes of their haul.

But this year, I saw this cute Trick or Treat wish online.  I can "do" this one.  

Happy Halloween!

This October, 

may your treats be many and your tricks be few.

 Hope you have a sweet Halloween.

TIMELY WORDS OF WISDOM

I must have some sort of writer's block again.  I have a whole list of writing assignments that I need to take care of--projects I usually look forward to and relish as I am conveying my thoughts and feelings onto a blank page and turning them into mini essays.

But I am dragging my feet.  Now, once I get to the desktop computer, I sit here with nothing in my head--let alone anything coming out of the tips of my fingers!

Hmmm!  Perhaps I need to go to my vast store of "possible ideas" which includes sayings, quotes, snippets of thought--anything that I have stored in my folders that might be the spark of a good writing piece.

So, here is my output for today.  Perhaps posting this one "small stone" will be the impetus to get the creative juices flowing again.! 

I hope so!

CONFUCIOUS SAY:  

THE MAN WHO MOVES A MOUNTAIN BEGINS 

BY CARRYING AWAY SMALL STONES.

FAMILY TRUMPS ALL...

 

                                      A  FAMILY

About 20 years ago when I pulled up my schedule for September flying with United Airlines, I saw that I had been assigned eight days of vacation and had no vacation plans.  So, I decided to visit with each of my kids individually for a few hours (just one on one with me without their spouse or children) in the hopes that maybe I could get reacquainted with the people whose lives I used to be in the middle of on a daily basis for so many years while they were growing up.  Truthfully, I could no longer remember stuff such as who liked peas and who didn’t and what each person’s favorite Nichols Family activity was.  In spite of the fact some of the conversations took a more serious turn, I looked back on the whole experience as a satisfying one.  I liked it and had fun with each one of my kids.

 The next year I decided to PLAN my vacation time and do the whole “one on one” visit thing all over again.  Only that time I prepared some questions I thought might lead us into conversations which weren’t as superficial as “What is your favorite color and food now that you’re grown?” Though some of that information popped out, too, when I asked questions like, "What was most surprising for you when you became a parent?" and "What are some of your accomplishments you are really proud of?"  

Once again, I was not disappointed.  In fact, I came away from each experience thinking to myself we had some really great discussions about a variety of topics.  Best of all I was reminded of the terrific person each of my children is.  I spent a fair amount of time pondering the moot question “What in the world did I do to have the privilege of being the mother of the Nichols Kids?"  Whatever it was, I was so very glad we belonged to each other. 

In spite of the fact I heard later that the “one on one” with ”probing” questions made a couple of my kids uncomfortable because they saw it as a quiz about their life instead of a genuine interest in who they had become, I still think fondly on those two vacations when I purposely spent intentional time with each of them. 

Sure, the lunch or dinner, or the visit to my grandmother's tiny little town, or the shopping trip or just sitting on a bench outside the temple after a session were fun.  It varied with the kid I was with.  But it was just the "being" with them that made it special for me.  I loved them.  I loved being with them.

This September 2025 is the 30th anniversary of a Proclamation about the family which the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints published for the world.  It teaches about family, marriage, and gender, and their part in the kingdom of Heavenly Father.  "The family is central to the creator's plan for the eternal destiny of His children."

Family is one of the words that matter in this document.  It says we have a responsibility to love and care for each other.  And that includes our parents in one direction and our children in the other direction. We supported and cared for each other.  We celebrated birthdays, baptisms, weddings, graduations, mission calls, marriages, and many other things.  We as a family are there for each other!   

I continue to marvel at how well my children grew into their adult roles, providing for and nurturing their own families and friends along the way. 

But most of all, I appreciate each of them for their acceptance of me no matter what, even though I made a lot of blunders as a parent along the way—and still do even though I am staring my 80^th birthday in the face.

I once read that Denzel Washington said, “We’re all destined to leave some kind of mark in this world.  Sometimes we may miss that mark, but with a push in the right direction from time to time, we can set a positive example for others to follow.”  He continued, “We’re all extraordinary, in our own way, and that it’s what we do with our extraordinariness that sets us apart and makes all the difference.”

I believe Denzel Washington’s comments reflect how I feel about each one of my children.  Each in his/her own way is an example to me of some unique trait that is worth emulation. But that’s what families are for...to teach and to learn from each other.

And, I am glad we are in the same family--forever!