Behold the handmaid of the Lord

 

 

 

 

May we be more like Mary

by Shannon... theredheadedhostess

I am fascinated by her reaction to the Angel Gabriel.  A response like this one is hard to come by in the scriptures.  I wonder to myself, “Shannon, if an angel came to you, what would you do?  What would be your first, very raw, response?”  Would you be like Mary?  Or would you be like others and be afraid, and doubt, and wonder if they came to the wrong person, or brought the wrong message?”

“And the angel came in unto her, and said, Hail thou that art highly favored, the Lord is with thee:  blessed art thou among women.  And when she saw him, she was troubled at his saying and cast in her mind what manner of salutation this should be.”  

I find it so interesting that Luke mentions that she was “troubled at his saying”, not “troubled at the angel”, of which Luke had no problem showing that Zacharias was earlier in the same chapter.  Mary was clearly a righteous young woman who knew much about the coming Messiah.  The verses that soon follow show that Mary understood the promised prophecies and at the moment was able to testify many things about him.  She would have known that the Messiah was to be born through the royal lineage of David, of which she was.  She knew that she was a qualified candidate for such a sacred position.  And in this unexpected moment, she was able to process the message of the angel, not just the shock of him being there.  What a prepared young woman she was!  Clearly, she already had faith in such things.

“And Mary said, Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it unto me according to thy word.  

And the angel departed from her.”  

She didn’t ask for a sign, or proof.  She just submitted.  I don’t think this is a response that could come without the kind of faith that you have been developing for a long time.  I can only imagine that if an angel appeared to me, I would reveal a lot about myself and where I really stood.

I would love to know more about her.  I would love to hear what she was like, to hear stories.  Such a beautiful example of all of the young woman values.  Of faith, divine nature, individual worth, knowledge, choice and accountability, good works, integrity and virtue.

Her Faith:

She never doubted, wondered or wavered at the Angel’s announcement to her.   Mary didn’t know the details of how she would fulfill the mission she was given, nor did she understand the full meaning of it.  But she trusted, believed and then acted on it.

Her Divine Nature:

She clearly had a testimony that life existed on the other side of the veil just as much as on this side.  She showed no need to gather her bearings that an angel actually existed.  She would have understood that Gabriel was a spirit, just as she was.  Both spirit children of Heavenly Father with divine potentials.

Her Individaul Worth:

Mary never said, as others had, that she did not have the capacity to do this assignment.  She fully offered herself:  ”Behold the handmaid of the Lord“.  She believed that she could, even if she didn’t know how she would.  This is the ultimate sign of humility.  Sometimes we thing that saying we can’t do something is humility, but perhaps it is actually pride.  Saying we can’t is doubting who we really are, and what the Atonement is really capable of doing in our lives.  Saying we can is fully submitting and then praying like crazy for the help to do it.

Her Knowledge:

She clearly knew about angels, about the Messiah, and the prophecies surrounding the coming of the Lord.   After she arrived to Elisabeth’s home,  she was able to quote several prophecies, in what is now commonly known as Mary’s Magnificat (Luke 1:46-55).  Also, the knowledge deeply rooted in her was able to steady her in an unexpected moment.  Her reaction to the Angel was so revealing of things she already knew.  That same knowledge would surely give her strength during her unexpected pregnancy, almost losing Joseph, her long journey to Bethlehem, the less than favorable birthing circumstance, having strangers suddenly appear to see her child, and her sudden announcement to escape Bethlehem because of Herod’s evil doings.

Her Choice & Accountablility:

When Gabriel first appeared to her, his salutation was: “Hail thou that art highly favored, the Lord is with thee:  blessed art thou among women”  You don’t earn this title without a long history of proving yourself.  She must have been so righteous, and from the Premortal Life to Mortality!  For she was chosen long before she ever came to earth.  What a powerful spirit she was.  She had used her agency to become stronger and stronger, not weaker.  What a great example to all women!  Plus, Joseph had chosen her to be his wife!  The best description of Joseph is that he was a “just” man (Matthew 1:19).  If you are “just”, then justice or the law is on your side – you aren’t depending on mercy, you have done what is right.  Therefore, Joseph was a very righteous man, one who highly valued God’s laws and commandments.  And he had chosen Mary to be his wife.  He wouldn’t have wanted anything other than someone like her.

Her Good Works:

At the very beginning of her pregnancy, she traveled to where Elisabeth was and stayed with her for 3 months.  Before being pregnant myself, I didn’t appreciate how difficult of a journey that could have been for her, but it doesn’t seem that something be hard ever stopped Mary.  She did things because they were right, not because they were convenient.

Her Integrity:

I have often wondered how difficult it would have been for her to start showing her pregnancy.  Certainly a few heads were turned and a few gossiping interpretations were exchanged.  For someone so pure, and so committed to her standards, how would it have felt to know that others thought such things of you?  Integrity comes from the word “integer” which means “whole”.  So if you have integrity, you wholly live what you believe.  And who is a better example of that than Mary?  So to know that you are being accused of something so sacred to you… she must have kept a lot of feelings in.

Her Virtue:

Salutations and introductions of her highlighted her purity.  “To a virgin, espoused to a man” (Luke 1:27), “And I beheld the city of Nazareth; and in the city of Nazareth I beheld a virgin (1 Nephi 11:13).  And it is her purity that qualified her for this sacred role.  If she would have lost her purity, she would have forfeited this opportunity.  I wonder how hard Satan had worked on her, as he is constantly trying to unravel God’s plan.  But Mary was pure, and purity brings power.  And that confidence that comes when you feel pure before God, would impact how she felt before the Angel and in accepting this call.  Its not just about being virtuous, its about being confident before God.

 

 

Carrot Cake Cheesecake : )

 

Carrot Cake Cheesecake

 

Ingredients

For the cheesecake:
16 oz. cream cheese, room temperature
¾ cup sugar
2 ½ tsp. vanilla
1 tbsp. flour
3 eggs

For the carrot cake:
¾ cup vegetable oil
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 ½ tsp. vanilla
1 cup flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1 ½ tsp. cinnamon
8 oz. pureed carrot baby food {I use Gerber}
8 ½ oz. pineapple tidbits, drained
½ cup sweetened coconut
1 cup toasted pecans, divided

For the cream cheese frosting:
3 oz. cream cheese, softened
½ cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
2 cups confectioner’s sugar
1-2 tbsp. milk, as needed
1 tsp. vanilla

 

Directions

For the cheesecake:
Beat cream cheese, vanilla, and sugar until smooth. Beat in flour and eggs {one at a time}.

Mix thoroughly. Set aside.

For the carrot cake:
Mix together dry ingredients- flour, baking soda, and cinnamon. Set aside. In another bowl, combine oil and sugar. Mix in eggs until blended. Add carrot baby food and vanilla, stirring until well combined. Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients. Mix in pineapple, coconut, and ½ cup pecans.

To assemble:
In a 9 or 91/2 inch springform pan, spread 1 ½ cups carrot cake batter over bottom. Drop dollops of cream cheese mixture over carrot cake batter. Top with more dollops of carrot cake batter, do not swirl. Repeat if necessary to use up batters. You will need to finish with a layer of cream cheese mixture spread over the top {about a cup of the mixture}. Again, do not marble.

Bake in a preheated 350° oven for 50 - 60 minutes until edges of cheesecake are slightly puffy and the center {about an inch-and-a-half in} slightly jiggles. Cheesecake will finish setting up as it cools. Cool to room temperature and then refrigerate. When cheesecake has chilled completely, finish with frosting.

 

Blessings unmeasured

I Knew, Yet I Would Not Know

By Emily Freeman

Alma 9:25 – Alma 12:8

I love to read the story of Amulek, a man of no small reputation,

many kindreds and friends, and much money. (Alma 10:4)

Amulek was obviously a man who was very blessed, and yet he tells us, “Nevertheless, after all this, I never have known much of the ways of the Lord…and his marvelous power.

I said I never had known much of these things; but behold, I mistake, for I have seen much of his…marvelous power.  Nevertheless, I did harden my heart…therefore I knew concerning these things yet I would not know.” (Alma 10:5-6 emphasis added)

Even though he was surrounded by blessings, Amulek did not open his eyes to see the good things.

It wasn’t until the Lord opened his eyes that Amulek recognized blessings unmeasured and said, “he hath blessed mine house, he hath blessed me, and my women, and my children, and my father and my kinsfolk; yea, even all my kindred hath he blessed, and the blessing of the Lord hath rested upon us.” (Alma 10:11)

I sometimes wonder if we fall into the trap of Amulek do we get so caught up in the day-to-day moments of life that we forget to see that God is in the details?  Maybe if we could just stop for a moment and remove the distractions we would begin to discover the blessings we otherwise would not know.

The first decade of our married life was really difficult.

Things kept going wrong.

Just when it seemed one thing was resolved, something new and foreboding was waiting around the corner.

Together Greg and I learned the meaning of words like cancer, diabetes, and CPR, our vocabulary expanded to include severe migraines and depression.  Hospitals became like a vacation home for us it seemed that we tried to schedule a trip there at least once every six months.  Our life lessons included realizing that you don’t always get what you hope for, and sometimes you have to set aside your dreams knowing you won’t come back to pick them up later.

I can remember turning to Greg after one particularly hard day and saying, “My life was really great until I met you, after that everything seemed to go downhill.”  We laughed and laughed.

That was the state of our life.

It got to the point where I found myself constantly wondering what could possibly happen next.  I didn’t look forward to the future with anticipation; instead I looked forward with a constant sense of foreboding.

Then one day I realized I wasn’t happy anymore.  I wasn’t the cheerful person I had always been.

I had forgotten what it felt like to feel joy.

I had lost focus.

I knew I had to do something to pull myself out of the pit I had gotten into.  Part of the solution included prayers in the late hours of the night, where I learned I could receive strength beyond my own to help me carry the burdens that were mine.  But I also needed a daytime solution.

One evening within a small craft boutique I found the answer a blessing jar.

I brought the small green jar home and placed it in the middle of the kitchen table, where I would see it every single day.

The word ‘blessing’ written across the front of the jar became a constant reminder

that I needed to change my focus.

I opened my eyes to see the hand of the Lord in my life, to see Him in the details, and then I wrote down those moments on tiny pieces of paper and placed them in the jar.

It’s amazing what happens when you do that.

I found blessings everywhere in the phone call from a friend, a favorite song on the radio, and within my daily scripture study. Looking back, I realize the Lord was sending blessings all along, I just couldn’t see them.

I knew, yet I would not know.

The blessings were in the details.

They had been there all along.

There are many decorations that have come and gone from our home in the two decades that we have been married.  One still holds a prominent place of honor.

It is the blessing jar.

I find myself turning to it on a regular basis when I need to find focus again.

Perhaps you would like to create your own blessing jar.

Find a prominent place for the jar somewhere in your home.  Let the jar become a constant reminder of your desire to remember that God is in the details.

Peach and Cinnamon Cobbler Happy Fall : )

Peach and Cinnamon Cobbler

Ingredients: Butter for coating dish

FILLING:
6 cups peaches, halved, pitted, and sliced 1/4 inch thick
3/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup quick-cooking tapioca
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
Pinch salt

TOPPING:
1 2/3 cups all-purpose flour, plus additional for dusting
3 1/2 tablespoons sugar
1 1/2 tablespoons baking powder
1/8 teaspoon salt
6 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into cubes
2/3 cup heavy cream, plus additional for brushing
Instructions:
Preheat oven to 350°F. Butter a 2 1/2-quart baking dish. In a medium bowl, stir together the filling ingredients. Pour filling into the prepared dish; set aside.

For the topping, in a food processor or large bowl, pulse or whisk together the 1 2/3 cups flour, the sugar, baking powder, and salt. Pulse or cut in the butter until the
mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Slowly add the 2/3 cup cream, mixing until the dough just comes together. Turn the dough onto a lightly floured surface and pat together. Form the dough into 2-inch balls. Flatten balls gently with the palm of your hand.

Evenly arrange the dough rounds on top of the filling. Brush a little cream over the rounds. Bake about 1 hour or until the biscuits are golden and the filling is bubbling.

When I asked

 

  

    

 

                            Each day provides its own gifts.

 

 

 

                   

                            When I asked for all things, so that I might enjoy life,

  I was given life, so that I might enjoy all things.

 

                                                   unknown

 

 

 

         

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

How simple it is to see that all the worry in the world cannot control the future. How simple it is to see that we can only be happy now.  And that there will never be a time when it is not now.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We cannot cure the world of sorrows,

But we can choose to live in joy. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

To be able to find joy in another’s joy, that is the secret of happiness.

 

   

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

      This very moment is a seed from which the

 

                               flowers of tomorrow’s happiness grow.

 

 

Caramel Stuffed Apple Cider Cookies

 

 

Caramel Stuffed Apple Cider Cookies

Ingredients

1 cup softened butter

1 cup granulated sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 box (7.4 oz) Alpine Spiced Apple Cider Instant Original Drink mix -not sugar free- all 10 packets

2 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

3 cups all purpose flour

1 bag Kraft Caramels (14 oz)

 

Directions

• Preheat oven to 350° F. Line cookie sheets with parchment. (You really need the parchment!)
• In a small bowl whisk together flour, baking soda, baking powder and cinnamon.
• With your mixer (or an energetic spoon) cream together butter, sugar, salt and all 10 packages of apple cider drink mix powder, until light and fluffy.
• Beat in eggs, one at a time. Add vanilla and mix well.
• Gradually add flour mixture to butter/egg mixture. Mix until just combined.
• Refrigerate for about an hour. (If you're really impatient you don't have to do this, but it makes it so much easier to work with.)
• When you are ready to bake, unwrap your caramels. 
• Scoop out cookie dough ball about the size of a walnut. (I used a rounded cookie scoop-full. My scoop holds about a Tablespoon.)
• Flatten the ball of dough slightly in the palm of your hand. Press the unwrapped caramel into the center of your dough and seal the dough around it, covering it completely. Place on parchment covered cookie sheets 2 inches apart.
• Bake 12-14 minutes, or until very lightly browned around the edges. Please don't over-bake! Once the cookies are done, slide the parchment off of the baking sheet right out onto the counter. Allow cookies to partially cool on the parchment. When cookies are cool enough to be firm but still slightly warm, carefully twist off of parchment and allow to finish cooling upside down (either on the parchment or on a rack.) If you forget about them and they cool too much and stick to your parchment, put them into the freezer for a few minutes and they'll pop right off.
• Yield: about 4 dozen, depending on how large you make your cookies (or how many caramels have been snitched out of your bag before you begin.) Store in an airtight container.

 

 

You're my brightest shining star

  

 

My little eyes are watching all you say and do and when I grow up big and tall I want to be like you.

May little ears are listening to everything you say I am learning how to grow up to be like you someday.

So be careful how you teach me to be the person that you are. You’re the best friend that I could have,

You’re my brightest shining star.

 

Each Family prayer, each episode of Family scripture study

 

and each Family home evening is a brushstroke on the canvas of our souls.

 

David A. Bednar

 

 

“A Bible that’s falling apart usually belongs to someone who isn’t”

Charles Spurgeon

 

“How are we to know the voice of the Good Shepherd from the voice of a
stranger? Can any person answer this question? I can. It is very easy. To
every philosopher upon the earth, I say, your eye can be deceived, so can
mine; your ear can be deceived, so can mine; the touch of your hand can be
deceived, so can mine; but the Spirit of God filling the creature with
revelation and the light of eternity, cannot be mistaken the revelation
which comes from God is never mistaken”

Brigham Young

“The Divine Shepherd has a message of hope, strength, and deliverance for all. If there were no night, we would not appreciate the day, nor could we see the stars and the vastness of the heavens. We must partake of the bitter with the sweet. There is a divine purpose in the adversities we encounter every day.

 

They prepare, they purge, they purify, and thus they bless.”

 

James E. Faust

 

“We have all been children, and are too much so at the present time; but we hope in the Lord that we may grow in grace and be prepared for all things which the bosom of futurity may disclose unto us. Time is rapidly rolling on, and the prophecies must be fulfilled. The days of tribulation are fast approaching, and the time to test the fidelity of the Saints has come. Rumor with her ten thousand tongues is diffusing her uncertain sounds in almost every ear; but in these times of sore trial, let the Saints be patient and see the salvation of God. Those who cannot endure persecution, and stand in the day of affliction, cannot stand in the day when the Son of God shall burst the veil, and appear in all the glory of His Father, with all the holy angels.”

 

Joseph Smith, Kirtland, Ohio, December 1833,

 

 

“Pioneers are still needed. A pioneer is described as one who goes before, preparing the way for others. He is a leader, first in his field in discovery and invention. He will be followed by settlers and developers who expand and exploit his discoveries. Anyone seeking to become a pioneer will take care to fill his mind with what is known about the route he plans to take. Some of the qualities needed in pioneering are interest, intelligence, imagination, and determination. A pioneer must investigate, plan, experiment, and work.”

 

N. Eldon Tanner

 

“There are lessons for us in every footstep they the pioneers took–lessons of love, courage, commitment, devotion, endurance, and, most of all, faith.”

 

M. Russell Ballard

 

“No matter how difficult the trail, and regardless of how heavy our load, we can take comfort in knowing that others before us have borne life’s most grievous trials and

 

tragedies by looking to heaven for peace, comfort, and hopeful assurance.”

 

M. Russell Ballard

 

 

“As the pioneers had the larger vision in their daily challenge for survival, so also we need to have a greater vision and understanding of our eternal destiny. ”

 

James E. Faust

 

“Occasionally we reach the top of one summit in life, as the pioneers did, only to see more mountain peaks ahead, higher and more challenging than the one we have just traversed. Tapping unseen reservoirs of faith and endurance, we, as did our forebears, inch ever forward toward that day when our voices can join with those of all pioneers who have endured in faith, singing: “All is well! All is well!”

 

M. Russell Ballard

 

“Do you, like the pioneers, have the courage and the consistency to be true to the faith and endure to the end? ”

 

 Dallin H. Oaks

 

 

“Whatever your work may be, endure at the beginning, endure through opposing forces along the way, and endure to the end. Any job must be completed before you can enjoy the result for which you are working.”

 

Russell M. Nelson

 

 

“We’re all pioneers. Across the years, and across the miles, we blaze our trails through our personal wild frontiers. In a wide variety of circumstances, we cross our plains, sing our songs, bury our dead, deal with our personal sorrows, bear one another’s burdens, visit, comfort, and show compassion. Blessed, honored pioneers!”

 

 Mary Ellen Edmunds

 

“The Lord can readily discern between those with superficial signs of activity and those who are deeply rooted in His Church. This Jesus taught in the parable of the sower. He observed that some “have no root in themselves, and so endure but for a time: afterward, when affliction or persecution ariseth for the word’s sake, immediately they are offended.”

 

Russell M. Nelson

 

Lemon Crinkle Cookies

Lemon Crinkle Cookies

Makes 2-3 dozen

Ingredients:
½ cups butter, softened
1 cup granulated sugar
½ teaspoons vanilla extract
1 whole egg
1 teaspoon lemon zest
1 Tablespoon fresh lemon juice
¼ teaspoons salt
¼ teaspoons baking powder⅛ teaspoons baking soda
1-½ cup all-purpose flour
½ cups powdered sugar

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease light colored baking sheets with non-stick cooking spray and set aside.

In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Whip in vanilla, egg, lemon zest, and juice. Scrape sides and mix again. Stir in all dry ingredients slowly until just combined, excluding the powdered sugar. Scrape sides of bowl and mix again briefly. Pour powdered sugar onto a large plate. Roll a heaping teaspoon of dough into a ball and roll in powdered sugar. Place on baking sheet and repeat with remaining dough.

Bake for 9-11 minutes or until bottoms begin to barely brown and cookies look matte. Remove from oven and cool cookies about 3 minutes before transferring to cooling rack.

*If using a non-stick darker baking tray, reduce baking time by about 2 minutes.