Keep up the good work: January 2014

Thursday, January 23, 2014

The Henrich Hoffman print on our wall

25 years ago, Rick's mother gave us a Henrich Hoffman print of Christ for a Christmas gift. The framed print has hung on our wall all these years. It is this picture of the face of Christ, from the shoulders up just showing his facial expression. It has been an important constant reminder of who we believe in and who is the central figure in our home. I've seen the entire picture (shown above) before, but it wasn't until I saw the original work at the BYU Museum of Art display of Sacred Gifts that I came to fully understand and appreciate the rest of the story depicted in the painting as related in Matthew 19:16-30, Mark 10:17-31 and Luke 18:18-30.

In Matthew, a rich young man asks Jesus what actions bring eternal life. First Jesus advises the man to obey the commandments. When the man responds that he already observes them, and asks what else he can do, Jesus adds:

If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.

Luke has a similar episode and states that:

When he heard this, he became very sad, because he was a man of great wealth. Jesus looked at him and said, "How hard it is for the rich to enter the Kingdom of God! Indeed, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God."

The disciples then ask Jesus who then can be saved, and Jesus replies: "What is impossible with men is possible with God."

I got to share this story with my little granddaughter Lizzie and she was very interested in the picture and the story of Jesus asking the rich man to share his wealth. Jesus asks all of us to share our wealth in many ways.

After pondering these verses and the story in the painting, I've come up with some realizations:

Being generous isn't just about money. It's also about seeing a need and acting to fill that need.
Give to those who have less of something than you have
Give your time and talents
Help those with less and you will find more
Having fewer "things" in life doesn't mean having less of what really matters
Give until it hurts or until it becomes a real sacrifice
Giving your extra doesn't count as much as giving what little you have until you have nothing left to give
Some of the "poorest" people I've know are the "richest" in the things that really matter

These acts and more are truly the way to find God and ultimately build treasures in heaven and to enter the Kingdom of God. It's hard to do, but the times I've tried it, I've always been amazed at how the both the giver and the receiver benefit. I want to make this attribute more a part of my life. What is hard or impossible for us on our own, becomes possible when we seek the help and strength of God to do good.

Wednesday, January 15, 2014

And a few more photos...

Childhood friends...the best kind

Craft time at the annual family party...thanks Colleen!

Uncle Dave taking a turn with Thomas

Pianist Rich favoring us with some beautiful music

Breakfast at Mimis with all the gang...thanks Grandma Pat!

Boy cousins who we hope will be great friends...Will and Charlie

Happy New Year!!!

New Year's eve dinner

Eating again???

Making a lot of noise!

Family photo session...in the lobby of the studio

Charlie, Lauren and Will looking very coordinated

Bowling time at BYU

Uncle Andy getting in on the action

Grandma Vonnie teaching Lizzie the
finer points of the game

Tuesday, January 14, 2014

Come, Let us Adore Him!

Mom and her restored doll

my wonderful brothers and sisters...

and spouses together again after many years.
It made my Mom so happy to be the hostess in her home!

Thomasclaus

This year for Christmas eve dinner I cooked a prime rib
(that turned out fabulous) and made an English triffle for dessert.

We enjoyed spending Christmas eve with these little ones

All ready for dinner

Can these two really be the parents of four little children?

We LOVE our grandchildren so much!

Ellie giving Tommy a kiss

Another great Christmas has come and gone. I'm always amazed at how excited I am for it to come and at the end of the month, how excited I am for it to go. In many ways, it's exhausting (in a good way!) I love to put up my decorations and get ready for the holiday and I also love to take it all down and get back to normal. This year, all of our children and their families spent some time with us at home. For two full weeks, it was nice to have them come and go in waves and we only overlapped one full day on New Year's eve with everyone. Rick and I had a two and a half week break from work and we managed to fill every day with something fun to do with our kids and grand kids. We started out enjoying a visit to Logan with my brothers and sisters as my Mom hosted a wonderful Christmas dinner and program. It was great to be together and enjoy one anothers company since we don't get together very often. Carol and Taylor hosted a fun party the night before and Lee and Mike were good enough to take us in for the night at their home complete with a nice sit in their outdoor hot tub.

Dave, Courtney and Charlie arrived on the 22 of December for an overnight-er and then came back for a week from the 25th through January 1st. It was so wonderful to get to know Charlie even better and to bond with that darling little boy. He calls me Ba and Rick Bampa. He melted our hearts and we loved playing with him.
Jordan and Jake and girls, along with new little Thomas came to town on December 23 and stayed til Christmas day and then again from the 29 through the 2 of January. They spent time with us and with Jake's family and it was lovely to have them with us for Christmas eve and Christmas morning and again for the New Year. Baby Thomas was given a name and a blessing while they were here and it was fun to get together with Jake's family and to have Grandma Pat and Robyn, Bob and Romney in town to attend as well. Lauren, Ellie and Ada did a great job performing at the Christmas eve program and they are budding pianists, vocalists and Chinese speakers. Santa was good to these little girls! Ellie got a karaoke machine and we laughed ourselves sick taking turns singing various renditions of our favorite songs. Let's just say that "The Voice" won't be calling on any of us anytime soon.
Claire and Rich pulled in with their little family on the 28th and they got to stay for a week, leaving to head home on January 4. We loved having some one-on-one time with Lizzie and Will and enjoying the delightful things they say and do. Claire got us tickets to see the BYU exhibition of Sacred Gifts and it was a wonder to behold, especially at this time of year. I recommend it to everyone!
Andy and Chelsea spent most of their time this year with Chelsea's family, but they came back to town in time for a group family photo and our New Year's eve party complete with the PRESENT GAME. Our neighbors lit off some HUGE fireworks this year and it just added to our revelry welcoming in the new year.
We also enjoyed lots of good food, Grandma Pat treating us all to Mimi's for breakfast, bowling, sledding, playing the Game of Things, movies, games, the BYU bowl game (which was forgettable), Christmas dinner at Grandma Pat's with all Rick's family, attending the temple, Wayne's wedding, our annual party with the Philipp family and just being together and enjoying one another. It was a memorable holiday season and Rick and I felt so blessed to celebrate the birth of our Savior with our dear ones.