The Sunday One About Being Grateful

I loved church today. For me, the theme for the day was gratitude. I just couldn’t help but be grateful for all of my blessings. I am grateful for my little ten-year-old girls that I get to teach. Here was the scenario I laid out for them today: You are a good girl. Your dad asks you to go check on your older siblings. But they see you coming, and they dig a big pit, and when you get there they put you in the pit. They take your favorite jacket and dip it in blood, and they go back to your dad and they tell him, “Oh no… looks like Kendell got torn apart by wild animals!” And you think the worst thing is that you are in a deep pit in the desert with no water… but no, some people happen by and see you, and pull you out, and sell you as a slave! And then you get to be a slave for about the next twenty years, while your dad thinks you are dead.

The key to the scriptures is to liken them unto ourselves, so that we can learn from them. I don’t know that I ever saw that I had much in common with Joseph who was sold into Egypt. But as we talked, we found that we all have trials that we are dealing with. Sometimes they are not nearly as terrible as Joseph’s… being sold into slavery by your brothers is fairly extreme, after all. But sometimes they are really just as difficult, and it is those trials that make us who we are. Joseph was “preserved by the Lord” so that he could be a hero and save his father, his family, and all the people from the famine. I don’t know what Heavenly Father’s plan is for me. The trials have been pretty thick lately. But I do absolutely love this quote from Elder Richard G. Scott, an apostle in my church, in which he talks about this principle. He says, “Were you to know His entire plan, you would never ask for that which is contrary to it, even though your feelings tempt you to do so.” I love that. Trust in the Lord. And be grateful.

And then the girls and I left our classroom to go into singing time, and again I was grateful... this time for a little humor. These twin boys got their heads caught in the railing outside the primary room. I guess I should have helped them, but my first thought was to take a picture instead, so that you all could be grateful as well. Happy Sunday!

The One Where Joseph Was Missing

I let Skippy set up this little nativity set. It was a good choice, as it seems fairly indestructible. Unfortunately, as I came to the bottom of the box, unwrapping and handing him each figure as I went, it became apparent that there was a missing figure: Joseph. Even the other nativity participants seem a little dismayed...just look at their facial expressions!

I have always been fascinated by Joseph. What would happen if Joseph really was missing? Where would Mary and Jesus have been without him? It wasn't an easy role he had to play. I am sure it wasn't exactly what he thought he was signing up for when he made plans to wed Mary. And yet he went on to personify grace under pressure. He must have really loved Mary, and he must have really loved the Lord, to respond to the call he was given and to protect them with all that he had. Don't you just love Joseph, when you think about that? I do. I wrote this song to be sung from Joseph's perspective. I apologize that it is about the worst recording I have...it was recorded live at a Christmas concert, and although you can hear vocalist Ric Starnes quite well, the piano sort of fades out. There is a fair amount of audience noise as well. But perhaps you can overlook that and just hear the spirit of the song.



Joseph’s Song

In a thousand anxious moments
I have seen this very night
I’ve imagined how I’d feel now
And I’ve wished with all my might
That I’d know you when I saw you
And I’d love you as my own
Though you’re God’s son born to save us
You’ll be mine until you’re grown.

In this city full of strangers
There is no place left to stay
But a stable meant for cattle
And a manger full of hay.
Not a place I would have chosen
For your long awaited birth,
But it’s quiet and it’s safe here
As we welcome you to earth.

Lay your soft head on my shoulder
Sleep until the night is done.
Hear my song and feel my heart beat,
You’re my little baby son.

I have seen how in an instant
Things can change like night to day.
From the moment you arrived
Life transformed for me that way.
When I held you for the first time,
Angels sang and shouted praise.
Then a new star burst from heaven
Bathing earth with silver rays.

When I gazed then at your mother
My heart swelled; tears filled my eyes
For her beauty burned like fire
As she smiled and soothed your cries.
In the glory of that evening
I fell on my knees to pray
Thanks to God for my sweet family
And this Savior come to stay.

Lay your soft head on my shoulder
Sleep until the night is done.
Hear my song and feel my heart beat,
You’re my little baby son.

Lay your soft head on my shoulder
Sleep until the night is done.
Hear my song and feel my heart beat,
You’re my little Jesus son.