Like this quote....

Great quote!

"If you must look back, do so forgivingly. If you must look forward, do so prayerfully. However, the wisest thing you can do is be present in the present....Gratefully." ~ Maya Angelou

I just read this and had to share.  I hadn't heard it before....good stuff! 

Christmas Devotional Quotes

The first week of December, the LDS church always has a Christmas Devotional. It's such a nice way to start the month and really gets you thinking about the true meaning of Christmas. My friend Melody posted some quotes from this year's devotional on her blog, so I stole them. Thanks, Mel! It's good stuff!


President Uchdorf

"One sees clearly only with the heart, anything essential is invisible to the eyes." (quoting a french story) -I love love this!

What some men esteem to be of great worth, others trample under their feet.

-All of the spectacular displays of Christmas that compete for our attention can be beautiful and uplifting but if that is all we see we are missing something that is in plain sight.

-Despite our best intentions, we become preoccupied with responsibilities, commitments and stress of our many tasks that we fail to see with our hearts that which is most sacred.

Sometimes when we read about people who could not see the Savior for who He was, we marvel at their blindness. But do we also let distractions obstruct our view of the Savior—during this Christmas season and throughout the year? Some are external distractions—the gifts we worry about, the decorations, or the clamorous advertising—but often it is what is inside us that blinds us from seeing the Christ.

Some may feel a certain level of intellectual aloofness that distances them from Christ. In an age when vast amounts of knowledge are at our fingertips, the familiar story of Jesus the Christ can get lost amid the flood of scientific advances, pressing news, or the latest popular movies or books.

Some are so caught up in the details of running their lives that they don’t make time for much else. They might pay lip service to the things of the Spirit, but their hearts are so focused on the world that they cannot see the Christ.

Some, like the Pharisees, seek for the Christ, but their hearts are so set upon their own theories, spiritual hobbies, and opinions that they fail to recognize Him. In spite of their good intentions, they miss the transforming revelations of the Holy Spirit and thereby miss the only way to receive a certain testimony of Jesus Christ.

This is a season of rejoicing! A season of celebration! A wonderful time when we acknowledge that our Almighty God sent His Only Begotten Son, Jesus Christ, to redeem the world! To redeem us!

It is a season of charitable acts of kindness and brotherly love. It is a season of being more reflective about our own lives and about the many blessings that are ours. It is a season of forgiving and being forgiven.

But perhaps most of all, let it be a season of seeking the Lamb of God, the King of Glory, the Everlasting Light of the World, the Great Hope of Mankind, the Savior and Redeemer of our souls.

I promise that if we unclutter our lives a little bit and in sincerity and humility seek the pure and gentle Christ with our hearts, we will see Him, we will find Him—on Christmas and throughout the year.

President Thomas S. Monson

My brothers and sisters, finding the real joy of the season comes not in the hurrying and the scurrying to get more done or in the purchasing of obligatory gifts. Real joy comes as we show the love and compassion inspired by the Savior of the World, who said, “Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these ... ye have done it unto me.”³

At this joyous season, may personal discords be forgotten and animosities healed. May enjoyment of the season include remembrance of the needy and afflicted. May our forgiveness reach out to those who have wronged us, even as we hope to be forgiven. May goodness abound in our hearts and love prevail in our homes.

As we contemplate how we’re going to spend our money to buy gifts this holiday season, let us plan also for how we will spend our time in order to help bring the true spirit of Christmas into the lives of others.

The Savior gave freely to all, and His gifts were of value beyond measure. Throughout His ministry, He blessed the sick, restored sight to the blind, made the deaf to hear, and the halt and lame to walk. He gave cleanliness to the unclean. He restored breath to the lifeless. He gave hope to the despairing and bestowed light in the darkness.

He gave us His love, His service, and His life.

What is the spirit we feel at Christmastime? It is His spirit—the Spirit of Christ.

How silently, how silently the wondrous gift is giv’n!
So God imparts to human hearts the blessings of his heav’n.
No ear may hear his coming; but in this world of sin,
Where meek souls will receive him, still the dear Christ enters in.⁴

With the pure love of Christ, let us walk in His footsteps as we approach the season celebrating His birth. As we do so, let us remember that He still lives and continues to be the Light of the World, who promised, “He that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.”⁵

President Eyring

We can choose this Christmas and every day to create a small part of the Christmas story in our own lives. We can accept the invitation of living prophets to help those who are lost along the pathway, and have wandered, to come back to it. We can offer the gospel, which is the only way home, to all we meet along the way. We can lift up those who are tired and hungry and lonely, as the Savior did and now invites us to do with Him. As we do, they can feel how much the Savior loves them and wants to lead them on the way to the God He loves.

In the stories of Christ’s birth, we can see and feel who He was and who He is. That lightens our load along the way. And it will lead us to forget ourselves and to lighten the load for others. That can make every day feel like the best of our Christmases past.

You can watch it and hear the beautiful Christmas music from the motab at www.lds.org

Sheri Dew quotes

I just came across a bunch of quotes from Sherie Dew. Her book "No Doubt About It" is one of my favorites. I need to read "God Wants a Powerful People". I'm sure it's a good one.


"There is one thing the power of God and the power of Satan have in common: Neither can influence us unless we allow them to."
— Sheri L. Dew (God Wants a Powerful People)


"We no longer have the luxury of spending our energy on anything that does not lead us and our families to Christ."
— Sheri L. Dew

"Everything that's important - you can take with you."
— Sheri L. Dew (God Wants a Powerful People)

Great Quote

I have this quote on my fridge. I love it, so I thought I'd share it.

"YOU WILL COME TO KNOW THAT WITHOUT HIS HELP YOU ARE INDEED WEAK AND SIMPLE, BUT THAT WITH HIS HELP YOU CAN ACCOMPLISH MIRACLES."
-GORDON B. HINCKLEY

Great Quote

General Conference was great (www.lds.org). I just love feeling spiritually rejuvenated. General Conference always come at the perfect time for me--when I'm slacking on my spirituality and when I don't seem to have my priorities in line. I want to write more of my thoughts when I have more time, but I just wanted to share a great quote. It's by Mother Teresa and says

"We can not do great things, only small things with great love."

LOVE that! Ok, that's all. I'll write more later. And I'll post some new pics of the rugrat, since that's what all of you want to see anyway! ;) I can't believe she's nearly 8 months old. She's doing great--especially now that's she's better. She had a rough week (which meant we all had a rough week) with a nasty virus, broke out in hives and had an ear infection. My baby girl did not smile for 2 days straight. It was so sad! The only good thing about it was how cuddly she was. Now, if I could just get better, the Dixon's would be in great shape! Stay tuned...

The Hiding Place

For those of you who haven't read it, the Hiding Place, by Corrie Tenboom is an incredible book. I read it ages ago (like maybe in High school?) but didn't remember too much about it. We read it for my neighborhood book club this month and I am so glad that we did. It's written by a Holicaust survivor, so obviously, it is filled with much sadness and grief. Yet somehow amidst the sorrow, there is light, hope, gratitude and faith. I read most of it while we were on our flight back from California, so I had Sienna asleep in one arm and had the book in the other, so I couldn't take notes or mark any pages, but I will tell you that this book has the most amazing quotes--the kind that if you could really understand them and apply them in your life, it would completely life-altering. So, if you haven't read it, you need to. Seriously, you'll love it. Here are some of my favorite quotes from the book.

I don't know...But if God has shown us bad times ahead, it's enough for me that He knows about them. That's why He sometimes shows us things, you know--to tell us that this too is in His hands.

Every experience God gives us, every person He puts in our path, is the perfect preparation for a future only He can see.

Any concern too small to be turned into a prayer is too small to be made into a burden.

When a train goes through a tunnel and it gets dark, you don’t throw away the ticket and jump off. You sit still and trust the engineer.

Worry does not empty tomorrow of its sorrow; it empties today of its strength

Faith sees the invisible, believes the unbelievable, and receives the impossible.

Never be afraid to trust an unknown future to an known God.

The first step on the way to victory is to recognize the enemy.

If God has called you, do not spend time looking over your shoulder to see who is following.