MUST READ PICTURE BOOK

"The Mansion" by Henry Van Dyke is a must read this Christmas season.  The illustrations are beautiful and the story line is meaningful especially around this holiday.  It teaches all of us the importance of caring for the poor particularly those within our own sphere.  It will stick to your heart if you let it.

Christmas Movies To Watch

I just love Christmas!  I love to pull out all of our holiday favorites and get excited about the season.  Here is a list of some of the best:
1.  The Christmas Carol
2. The Nativity
3.  Miracle on 34th Street
4.  White Christmas
5.  It's A Wonderful Life
6.  Elf
7.  A Christmas Story
8.  Muppet's Christmas Carol
9.  The Bishop's Wife
10. King of Kings
11. The Shop Around the Corner
12. The Greatest Story Ever Told
13. Prancer
14. The Man Who Came To Dinner
15.Christmas in Connecticut
16. Jesus of Nazareth
17. O.Henry's Full House
18. Holiday Affair
19. Holiday Inn
20. Silent Night
21. The Grinch Who Stole Christmas
22. Polar Express

The Difficulty of the Dive

I have always believed that when we die we will be judged according to our works whether they be good or evil.  Every good act will be rewarded and every bad deed will be judged.  I also believe in repentance.  The Lord will hold us accountable.  We will be judged, I believe according to the DIFFICULTY of the DIVE.  Some people have so many challenges and trials.  I know that God sees all and will judge us according to how rough we had it.  Like in the Olympic event of the high dive, the judges judge according to the challenge and difficulty of the dive.  If the athlete does a complicated, difficult dive then he is rewarded accordingly.  Same with in this life.  I know a woman whose husband left her and then her daughter committed suicide and now she was recently diagnosed with cancer.  Is life fair?  I think NOT, but in the world to come the Lord will make EVERYTHING fair and right.  In the Bible, the man Job was tested and tried to the point of loosing everything and yet he kept the faith.  The Lord then blessing him double.  I believe the Lord will  compensate for all that we had to suffer and go through in this life, no matter how difficult.  The more challenging and hard, the greater the reward!

Give Your Heart This Christmas

My Favorite Things (At Christmas)

Here is a list of my favorite things at Christmas:
1.  Being with my son and 5 daughters and husband.
2.  Being with my 9 grandchildren.
3.  Making gingerbread houses.
4.  Christmas Carols.
5.  Decorating Christmas trees.
6.  Whipped Shortbread.
7.  Cheese Balls with Ritz crackers.
8.  Peppermint Ice cream with hot fudge.
9.  First Presidency Broadcast.
10.  Tabernacle Choir Christmas with David Foster.
11.  Dad's Cookie Fudge
12.  Poinsettas.
13.  Handel's Messiah.
14.  "Carols to our King" concert
15.  Shopping.
16.  Midway Swiss Creche Exhibit.
17.  Nativities.
18.  Christmas Lights at Temple Square.
19.  Swimming in a hot pool.
20.  Getting and Sending Christmas Cards.
21.  Snow and tons of it!
22.  A White Christmas.
23.  Children's Christmas Books.
24.  Little Smokies with Sweet Baby Ray's Barbeque  Sauce.
25.  Red Dresses.

26.  Snow Globes.

Christmas Glamour Look

Want To Look Younger? Quit Smoking!

The fastest way to look younger and live longer is to quit smoking!  It is so bad for your health.  A federal judge just ordered tobacco companies to publish corrective statements that say they lied about the dangers of smoking and that they must disclose the health effects of smoking including the death on average of 1,200 people per day!  Among the required statements is:  "Smoking kills, on average, 1,200 Americans.  Every day.  Smoking kills more people than murder, suicide, drugs, AIDS, car crashes, and alcohol combined, and second-hand smoke kills over 3,000 Americans a year."  All cigarettes cause cancer, lung disease, heart attacks, and premature death.