I studied about this yesterday but didn’t get a chance to write it all down.
Becky and I talked yesterday about making sure we focus on what’s most important during the Christmas season – serving others. I shared this story that I’d found in my lesson for yesterday.
A few days before Christmas, when Rob was fifteen years old, he overheard his father say to his mother, “Mary, I hate to call Rob to milk the cows in the mornings. He’s growing so fast and he needs his sleep. … I wish I could manage alone.”These simple words made Rob fully realize something for the first time: his father loved him!
The family was poor. Rob had bought his father an inexpensive tie, but as he lay thinking on the night before Christmas, it didn’t seem enough. With growing excitement he decided on a better gift. He would get up early and milk the cows before his father got up. He laughed to himself in anticipation of his father’s surprise.
The task went more easily than he had ever known it to go before. Milking for once was not a chore. It was something else—a gift to his father, who loved him.
His task finished, Rob returned to his bed just moments before his father called him. He knew his father would go to the barn ahead of him to get started and in only a few minutes would discover the two big cans standing in the milk-house, filled. Breathlessly, Rob waited for his return.
After what seemed an eternity, Rob heard his bedroom door open, heard his father laughing, a “sobbing sort of laugh,” and heard his father say, “Thought you’d fool me, did you?”
“It’s for Christmas, Dad!” In the morning darkness, he found his father and clutched him in a great hug. Rob’s heart was “bursting with love.”
“Son, I thank you,” his father said. “Nobody ever did a nicer thing. … The best Christmas gift I ever had, and I’ll remember it, son, every year on Christmas morning, so long as I live.” (Adapted from Pearl S. Buck, “Christmas Day in the Morning,” in Colliers, 23 Dec. 1955, pp. 10–11.)
I loved this story that I shared today in our class from the lesson.
Another thing I wanted to study today about one of the talks from Conference. It so happens that the talk I found was about teaching. I think this talk is important to study because, at times, it can be really challenging to teach the boys I teach. Yesterday there were 14 boys there and I was the only one in the class with them. It was quite a challenge and they were a bit hyper.
There are some great points in the talk titled “Gospel Learning and Teaching“:
Think for a moment of a teacher who really made a difference in your life. What was it about him or her that caused you to remember what was taught, to want to discover the truth for yourself, to exercise your agency and act and not just to be acted upon—in other words, to learn?
I’m not sure exactly. One of the teachers I can remember from Church was Cody Thurston. I don’t know if I remember him the most because I liked him and thought he was cool, or if there was something he did that really helped.
I’ll study more about this today.
1. Let us oft speak kind words to each other
At home or where’er we may be;
Like the warblings of birds on the heather,
The tones will be welcome and free.
They’ll gladden the heart that’s repining,
Give courage and hope from above,
And where the dark clouds hide the shining,
Let in the bright sunlight of love.[Chorus]
Oh, the kind words we give shall in memory live
And sunshine forever impart.
Let us oft speak kind words to each other;
Kind words are sweet tones of the heart.
This is a song I think we can learn as a family. I’ve been working hard lately to try to not raise my voice at all with the kids. Sometimes it can be really hard to do so.
On another note, today was another really successful and blessed day at work.
I closed the Steps deal, got a verbal commitment with Cedar, and got a verbal commitment with Dean from NY to do a re-design.
I feel so lucky and blessed and hope I can continue to do the little things that seem to be making all the difference.
I talked a bit more to Andy tonight about some of the “making amends”, although he is one I feel I’ve apologized to a few times.
I also talked with Becky yesterday after getting frustrated with her. It felt good to recognize right away that I was in the wrong, to apologize, and to get back on the right track.
I got most of the work done TODAY and tonight for the Steps account. There are only a few more things to accomplish to get that really moving:
- Online registration forms
- Photo gallery
- Downloadable music pages with PW
- Content that they provide, including images, video, etc.
The account I’m most nervous about is the Cedar account. They are bringing me on as a Marketing consultant to help them sell more books, both online and offline. It was a referral from Kat Eden and then, being the small world that it is, the owner, Lyle, and the computer guy, Bryce, are family with Adam Mortimer from PR, who I was good friends with. It seems he put in a good work for me too. It will be my biggest account yet, a similar price point as VIQ with growth potential.
What I feel I really need to do is simply map out all the things I have done and know how to do and then piece all those things together in a plan of attack – almost as if I’m teaching them how to market something more effectively online.
I need to continue to recognize the hand of Heavenly Father in all this and work hard to be obedient in all the little processes. It’s really late tonight since I stayed up to get that site done.
Hasta manana!
Nate
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