Merry Christmas

Isaiah 58

2 They take delight in approaching God
3 Wherefore have we fasted, say they, and thou seest not? wherefore have we afflicted our soul, and thou takest no knowledge?
4 Behold ye shall not fast as ye do this day, to make your voice to be heard on high.

6 Is not this the fast that I have chosen? to loose the bands of wickedness, to undo the heavy burdens, and to let the oppressed go free, and that ye break every yoke?
7 Is it not to deal thy bread to the hungry, and that thou bring the poor that are cast out to thy house? when thou seest the naked, that thou cover him?

9 Then shalt thou call , and the Lord shall answer; thou shalt cry, and he shall say, Here I am.
10 And if thou draw out thy soul to the hungry, and satisfy the afflicted soul; then shall thy light rise in obscurity, and thy darkness be as the noonday:

13 And thou shalt call the sabbath a delight, and shalt honour the Lord, not doing thine own ways, nor finding thine own pleasure, nor speaking thine own words:
14 Then shalt thou delight thyself in the Lord.

Calvin & Hobbes

Merry Christmas

Love kt

Quote of the Day

tra il dire e il fare, c’è di mezzo il mare

An ocean lies between saying and doing

1 Kings 3:7

I am but a little child: I know not how to go out or come in.

The Sustaining Power of Faith in Times of Uncertainty and Testing by Richard G. Scott

Even if you exercise your strongest faith, God will not always reward you immediately according to your desires. Rather, God will respond with what in His eternal plan is best for you. He loves you to a depth and completeness you cannot conceive of in your mortal state. Indeed, 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. Sincere faith gives understanding and strength to accept the will of our Heavenly Father when it differs from our own. We can accept His will with peace and assurance, confident that His infinite wisdom surpasses our own ability to comprehend fully His plan as it unfolds a piece at a time.

Read the full talk here.

Reprise

Here.

Ecclesiastes 7:3

By the sadness of the countenance the heart is made better.

Proverbs 13:12

Hope deferred maketh the heart sick: but when the desire cometh, it is a tree of life.

Seattle Report: Pike Place Market

Friday morning I flew to Seattle for Strawbs' wedding. My first time in Washington State!

Strawbs and (now) Mrs. Strawbs!

Pike Place Market

I went with my Nielson cousins in a bus to Pike Place Market in downtown Seattle. Strawbs has 10 siblings (one is on a mission right now) and they and their spouses and I all piled in the bus. It was a nice bus. We crossed the water and had a great time listening to Strawbs give us a tour as we went downtown.

kt, delighted to be on the bus:

Lizzy's husband:

At Pike Place, we all piled out of the bus (at Pike & Pine) and split up. About half of us ate cheese together at Beecher's; cheese and mac & cheese (made with penne), and grilled cheese. My aunt Mary bought No Woman cheese. "A nutty Jamaican cheese with cloves and brown sugar." Yum.

Then, Strawbs & soon-to-be-Mrs. Strawbs took me to the fruit market, where I bought dried strawberries (wow!) and a comice pear. We also sampled white truffle oil, pumpkin butter, and lavendar raspberry jam.

The fruit was too beautiful:

We then went back to Pike & Pine and got hot chocolate and ginger snap cookies (giant three dollar cookies). They were so soft and good, I kept thinking about them all weekend and have not stopped thinking about them since.

Quote of the Day

Some look at the overwhelming need in the world and think, What can I do that could possibly make a difference?

I will tell you plainly one thing you can do. You can live the law of the fast and contribute a generous fast offering.

Joseph B. Wirthlin