Beginnings and Endings.

Several years ago I had a Young Woman's leader who told us about an afghan that she had in her home. She was getting ready to move into their first home and her mother asked her what colors her home would be in. She told her mother. Unknown to my leader, her mother then went out and bought the supplies to make her an afghan to use in their new home. Her mother began that afghan.
Unfortunately, her mother passed away before she was able to complete the afghan. A member of the church stepped in, and again unknown to my leader, took the partially finished afghan. She put a label on it where it had been stopped that read something to the affect of 'made with love by your mother'. This lady then went on to finish the afghan and delivered it to my leader.
Great story right? I loved hearing this and have thought for years how wonderful it would be to be able to give a service as precious as that to someone. To be able to ensure that they got what their mother, or grandmother, intended them to have, even if they were unable to complete it themselves.

When an opportunity presented itself to me a few months ago, I didn't have to think twice about helping out.  A lady from my ward approached me with two nearly finished Christmas stockings in hand. She explained to me that one of the other ladies in the ward had lost her mother over the summer. This mother had made Christmas stockings for all of her children, grandchildren, and now great-grandchildren. She had two great-grandchildren arriving soon, and so the stockings were made. However, the names were not decided on yet, so that part remained blank on the stockings. None of the family knew how to knit, and were feeling a bit lost and disappointed that Great Grandma had left stockings for these children, but the stockings were 'incomplete' and no one could finish them. I took the stockings, and got the names of the children, and finished the stockings.I feel like maybe I was able to provide a good ending for those families and that they will feel like Great Grandma was able to have completed the work she set out to finish. (In more ways than just knitting.)

The completed stockings, with one provided to me so I could duplicate the writing.

In light of this, I had wanted to make stockings for myself and my husband. One co-worker pointed out that I would need to make one for each child we would have to which I responded "duh". Sometimes I get a little deep thought-ed (if that is such a thing). And I really enjoyed that I was able to provide an ending for one family, while providing a beginning for another. I loved making our stockings! I am so very grateful that I have been blessed with the talents I have that center on the home and family, and am ESPECIALLY grateful that I had an opportunity to use those talents to serve a family in need of the comfort a simple name on a stocking could bring.

My husband's stocking: He wanted "real Christmas colors"

My stocking! I wanted to tip my hat to my wonderful Scandinavian heritage and chose colors that I not only like, but could maybe be considered traditional Scandinavian-ish. 

Advent of Sorts: Week Three

For Week One go [here]
For Week Two go [here]

WEEK THREE: Book of Mormon:
 This week, as with last week, I will quote a full scripture, and then give you a couple to look up for yourself.

For those of you who didn't know, I am a Mormon. As a Mormon, I believe that the Lord loves us as much as he loved people in Biblical times, and so God gives us a prophet today. The first prophet in modern times was Joseph Smith, and part of his mission as Prophet, was to translate a record kept by the peoples of the Americas chronicling their prophecies and revelations, similar to the Bible.

The scriptures this week come from the Book of Mormon, and give us further testimony of Christ and His divine mission on earth. (If you'd like to learn more about Mormons and their beliefs, there's a handy little button in the sidebar that says "I'm a Mormon" Click it!)


1 Nephi 11: 13, 18-21 ...And I beheld the city of Nazareth; and in the city of Nazareth I beheld a virgin, and she was exceedingly fair and white....And he said unto me: Behold, the virgin whom thou seest is the mother of the Son of God, after the manner of the flesh. And it came to pass that I beheld that she was carried away in the Spirit; and after she was carried away in teh Spirit fo the space of a time the angel spake unto me saying: Look! And I looked and beheld the virgin again, bearing a child in her arms. And the angel said unto me: Behold the Lamb of God, yea, even the Son of the Eternal Father!

He Did Bring Glad Tidings to My Soul by Walter Rane (It's Samuel the Lamanite, right before he goes to prophecy to the Nephites by climbing up the wall of their city, and preaching from up there. They tried to shoot him with arrows but couldn't hit him. It's a great story all around.)

Helaman 14:2-7 (Samuel the Lamanite's prophecy one of my favorites) here's a highlight from this one: And behold, there shall a new star arise, such an one as ye never have behld; and this also shall be a sign unto you.
 
3 Nephi 1: 13-15 (The Nephites the night before Christ's birth, the fulfillment of Samuel's prophecy)