Modern Nativity

My family has had the same nativity set for as long as I remember. However, this year was the first year we didn't set it up.

It could have something to do with several personages missing ceramic limbs. Therefore, my mother decided to get creative.

I didn't notice the new nativity right away because it was put together with sculptures that are usual decor in our household.

But, when I first notice it, and I mean took it in both artistically and spiritually, one title came to mind:

Modern Nativity.

Modern being in this day and age.

Most of you have probably seen the famous Willow Tree sculptures. Well,  my mother started a mini-collection a while back.

I remember when I left for college, my mother gave me my very own Willow Tree as a gift. It was this girl showing the sign for love in sign language. That girl accompanied me throughout four years of joy, struggle, and adventure.

My sister got one also. Her girl firmly has her hands shot up in the air declaring her courage.

My brother just recently got one, it's of a little boy kneeling and listening.

My Mother has one and the subtitle of it is, "Mi casa es su casa," that should be descriptive enough to why that describes my mother.

Our family has added on throughout the years. We have an angel of hope. We have an an angel caring for a bird. We have one of two sisters side to side that represents my sister and I. We have one with a mom and a son which represents my brother and mother.

Well, why is this important? Well, I bet you can guess what my mother made her nativity out of...

MODERN NATIVITY

  "SIGN FOR LOVE" 

~ I LOVE YOU~  

"For God so loved the world... " John 3:16

"COURAGE" 

~ BRINGING A TRIUMPHANT SPIRIT, INSPIRATION AND COURAGE~

“I sculpted the first Angel of Courage in 2001 to celebrate the triumphant spirit, inspiration and courage we call upon to face challenges in our lives — whether they be our health or the well-being of our loved ones... I hope this figure can be a reminder of people in our lives who inspire us with their strength and courage every day.” Susan Lordi

"INQUISITIVE CHILD"
~ ...NURTURED BY YOUR LOVING CARE~

Always wonder! Always look! Always search for truth!

"MI CASA" 

~ MI CASA ES SU CASA (MY HOUSE IS YOUR HOUSE)~

Christ should be the center of our homes.

"ANGEL OF HOPE"

~SHARING THE LIGHT OF HOPE AND COURAGE~

We are called to proclaim to all the earth of Christ! 

"ANGEL OF HEALING" 

~ FOR THOSE WHO GIVE COMFORT WITH CARING AND TENDERNESS~

"[The sculpture] came about intuitively, and so it was natural that the result ended up being very open to interpretation. The bird can be protection, comfort or healing. When I created it, I was thinking about the idea of fragility and how we sometimes need to heal our inside — our soul. A bird is so fragile and vulnerable … a metaphor for our inner feelings...” Susan Lordi

Christ is the Healer of our souls!

"TWO ALIKE" 

~CELEBRATING A UNIQUE HARMONY~

Front

“...close sisters, while they may share many qualities, still have differences that make each unique. This piece could also apply to best friends or cousins who are so close that they are essentially ‘sisters’.” Susan Lordi

"MOTHER AND SON"

~ CELEBRATING THE BOND OF LOVE BETWEEN MOTHERS AND SONS ~

Back

“I was thinking about the relationship between a mother and a son of about nine or ten — that certain age when boys start fiercely asserting their independence — and resisting hugs and kisses from their mothers. And yet, at the same time, secretly needing and wanting them. I wanted this sculpture to express that push and pull. Liking the touch but at the same time, pulling away.” Susan Lordi

THE STAR

"When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceeding great joy." Matthew 2:10

"THE HOLY FAMILY"

~A CHILD IS BORN~

"The expressive gestures of Mary and Joseph reveal their humanity, and portray their overwhelming emotion of love and protection for their newborn child." Susan Lordi

"For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord." Luke 2:11

My mother made us, her family, a part of the nativity. As followers of Christ, we testify that he was born although we were not there to see it. However, we feel it. We will continue to be part of the nativity for eternity. 

"For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life." 
John 3:16

Friday Food Day

Today I made two dishes because I am picky and don't like one of the two.

Watch the video it will explain. 

Sunday: A Story of Christ

A great hope on Sunday morning. There are two accounts about what could have happened on that day. One is found in Matthew and one is found in John. If you want to read the version written by Matthew it is found in Matthew 28. It is a bit different than this account. I am going to retell the version of John. 

Days after they gently put him in the tomb. Mary Magdalene went to visit Christ. When she got there the tomb was empty. Her first initial thought was probably that their Savior's body had been stolen.  She quickly left to share the news with the disciples.

Then Simon Peter and John raced toward the tomb. There is a great painting by Lemon Liz Swindle called Hope. It portrays Simon and John running. In the painting you see John a bit ahead of Peter but in there faces the same mix of emotions: anxiety, doubt, worry, hope. If you look close enough you'll see tears streaming down their cheeks.

"What did they think as they ran? Were they simply curious to see for themselves? Did they fear, like Mary, that their enemies had stolen the body? Or did they remember His promise, "Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up?" -Lemon Liz Swindle

Well John got to the tomb first and others followed they saw he wasn’t there. The only thing they beheld was the linen neatly folded. They went off to talk.

Mary stayed and wept. She later saw angels. They asked her:

"Woman, why weepest thou?"

Then she saw a man behind her and he asked her the same question.

                                                          "Woman, why weepest thou?"

She told him that they had taken her Lord and she didn't not know where. She begged him to tell her where they had taken him. Then Jesus called her by name and she turned around and said:

Rabboni "Master"

He instructed her not to touch him because he still had not gone to his Father. He told her to tell the disciples. Later that evening he appears to them. He shows them the prints on his hands and sides.

The scriptures describes that THEY WERE GLAD when they saw HIM (John 20:20)

Can you Imagine?

Christ closest followers , friends, confidants, and even brothers seeing their Savior! Knowing that he kept his promise that HE would come back to them. IT IS A FEELING I LONG FOR!

Christ told them to have peace. A few days later he came back. Thomas had been doubting and then when he saw Christ, he believed. He instructed them and shared things that weren't written in the book.

However for this reason the accounts were written:

But these are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through his name (John 20:31) 

So I ask you what Lemon Liz Swindle states at the end of her description of her painting. 

“The decision that faced Peter and John that Sunday

morning is the same decision that faces each one of us today.

Will we doubt? Will we hope? Or will we [just simply] know

that He lives?”

Sunday- A day of hope. Sunday- A day of joy. 

Sunday- He is Risen.

Saturday: A Story of Christ

Imagine living in the time of Christ. You were a firm follower of him. You loved him. You believed in him. Then imagine people killing your Savior. He died on a Friday. How would you feel that night? How would you feel on Saturday?

Saturday was the first full day without Christ. Personally, I would feel sad. I would be in a mourning. What did the people do that day? How did they feel? They were probably filled with sorrow. Yet some of them probably held on to hope.

There isn't much written about the events of Saturday. However, we probably assume that they visited the tomb not hoping for a miracle but to show their love and devotion.

Through modern revelation we know what Christ accomplished in the three days his body was in the tomb.

We learn that his voice proclaimed through the American Continent. He warned the people of the destruction of the wicked. He proclaimed his divinity and told them that the law of Moses was fulfilled (3 Nephi 9).

We also learn that he went and visited with the spirits that had already died (John 5:25). While on the cross he told the person hung next to him:

“… Verily I say unto thee, To day shalt thou be with me in paradise.” (Luke 23:43.)

Peter even tells us that Christ went to "Preach unto the spirits in prison" (Peter 3:19)

Christ accomplished that which he had promised and he went forth to the people in the Americas. He also set up the divine work in the spirit world. For that, I am grateful.

The people in Jerusalem and the Americas were most likely scared, grieving, but hopeful. 

I have never met Christ but I know him. I am glad that he brought the fulness of the gospel to the Americans by voice and then, once he was resurrected, he came himself. I am grateful that he instructed the spirit world to teach and proclaim his word. With this, came growth. 

Saturday was a day of mourning. Saturday was a day to hope. 

Saturday was a day of work. 

Friday: A Story of Christ

Today is a sacred day. It is the beginning of what it is know as the holy weekend. Today commemorates the death of Christ. In English, it is called "Good Friday." Why is it considered Good? There is actually two different theories:

Theory one: In the oxford dictionary, it states that historically good means holy. Therefore, the actually meaning of the name is "Holy Friday." It is also seen in all romance languages as just that. For example, in Spanish, it is "Viernes Santo."

Theory two: It is good because Christians believe there is something good about it. It is the start of our Savior's mission. The same mission that save us from sin and gives us constant relief. The Huffington Post states it in a perfect way,"That terrible Friday has been called Good Friday because it led to the Resurrection of Jesus and his victory over death and son and the celebration of Easter the very pinnacle of Christian celebrations."

I think that this day is, in fact, a day of sorrow. However,  I learned from an early age that the thing that is important to focus on is that it was his mission. It had to happen. Everything about it is good, is holy. Everything about it was for you and I.

Friday. Friday I asume would have been a hard day for Christ. The night before he administered the sacrament, he suffered in Gethsemane, he got betrayed by one of his own, and he then was taken prisoner.

On Friday, when morning came, he was tried before the chief priests and elders. Then he was taken to Pilate. Judas repented and took the silver and told the priests and elders that he had condemned an innocent man. Judas, then, takes his life. The chief priests and elder decide they can't put that money back in the treasury because they state, "with that money was paid to kill a man." Instead, the words of Jeremy the Prophet were realized. The men bought a field in which they would use to bury foreigners.

When Christ was before pilate, he asked him a series of questions (Matthew 27 & John 18).

"Are you the King of the Jews?"

"Those are your words"

"Don't you hear the crimes that you are condemned for?"

The chief priests accuse him.

Christ says nothing.

"What have you done?"

"My kingdom is not of the world: if my kingdom were of this world, then would my servants fight, that I should not be delivered to the Jews: but now is my kingdom not from hence."

"Are you a King?"

"Thou sayest that I am a king. To this end was I born, and for this cause came I into the world, that I should bear witness unto the truth. Everyone that is of the truth heareth my voice"

"What is the truth?"

Pilate turned to the crowd,

"I find in him no fault at all."

My heart turns ever time I read that part in the scriptures. Pilate announced that Christ was not guilty of anything. However his usual custom was to set someone free. Therefore, his ask the crowd wether it be Barabbas or Christ. They screamed, yelled in a cry of destruction, "Let him [Christ] be crucified." Pilate perplexed asked, "Why? What evil has he done?" The crowd ignored and cried louder than ever, "Crucify him!"Pilate gave in and explained to the multitude that he would have nothing to do with this innocent man's death and it was them, and only them, condemning him. The multitude told him, "let his blood be on us and our families."

Christ was then sentenced to death.

He was taken by the soldiers. They made fun at him. Dress him up in a scarlet robe and a crown of thorns. They mocked him. They spit on him. They beat him.

Then started the long road to Calvary.

Christ carried the cross on his back. A man named Simon took it and carried the cross for a while. Then, Christ took it again. Jesus was given a strong drink to ease the pain, but he refused to take it. 

Christ reached that hill. The Jews nailed him on the cross and hung him there in Calvary. Above his head it read:

זה ישו מלך היהודים]

Ἰησοῦς ὁ Ναζωραῖος ὁ Bασιλεὺς τῶν Ἰουδαίων

Iēsus Nazarēnus, Rēx Iūdaeōrum

Jesus of Nazareth the King of the Jews

The people demanded of him "If you have saved so many, save yourself. If you are truly a king."

We know that God had the power to save him at any moment. However, he did not. His mission was much bigger. 

Christ said to his mother, nearby, that she would be in the care of one of his disciples. 

He then was in excruciating pain. The Holy Ghost left him. Then he gasped,

"Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani"

"My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?"

_________________________________________________________________________________

"Nevertheless, that the supreme sacrifice of His Son might be as complete as it was voluntary and solitary, 

the Father briefly withdrew from Jesus the comfort of His Spirit, 

the support of His personal presence. It was required, indeed it was central to the significance of the Atonement, that this perfect Son who had never spoken ill nor done wrong nor touched an unclean thing had to know how the rest of humankind—us, all of us—would feel when we did commit such sins. 

For His Atonement to be

infinite and eternal 

He had to feel what it was like to die not only physically but spiritually,

 to sense what it was like to have the divine Spirit withdraw,

leaving one feeling totally, abjectly, hopelessly alone."

-Jeffery R. Holland

None Were with Him 

April 2009

_________________________________________________________________________________

Once he did all he was sent for, he gave himself to God. 

He was taken down and sent to Pilate. Joseph, a disciple, begged for the body and it was given to him. They wrapped him gently in clean linen cloth and put him in the tomb. Pilate was told that he had to put guards in front of the tomb in case Christ's disciples wanted to steal the body and then falsely say that he was "risen." The guards stayed watch for three days. 

Friday was a painful day for Christ. I am grateful he had the will to accomplish such agony and suffering for me, for the whole world.

Friday was truly a hard day. Friday- a day of pain. Friday- a day of suffering. Friday- a day of tears. Friday- a day of fear. Friday- a day of accomplishment. Friday- a day of fulfilling. 

Friday- a day so holy.

Realization

People are scared of themselves. We often freak ourselves out so much that we stop trying to do what we want/need to do.

School:

• School is a prime example. You try to achieve so much and your success is based on how much you accomplish. WRONG. It should be based on how well we accomplish that you try. That all depends on us and our determination, attitude, and perseverance. However, people focus on the "how much" part and they base their failure or success off that. If we do that, of course, we are going to freak out and stop doing what we want/need.

Love:

• Oh love! The ultimate example. It is going too slow, it is going too fast, or it's not going at all. As The White Stripes put it, "Every single one's got a story to tell..." We psych ourselves out of love faster than anything we know or do. Why is that? I can think of two reasons: We don't wanna get hurt or we don't wanna hurt someone. Hurt: to cause physical pain or injury to. We are scared to cause physical pain or an injury to one muscle: our heart. Jim Rohn put it like this, "The worst thing one can do is not to try, to be aware of what one wants and not give in to it, to spend years in silent hurt wondering if something could have materialized - never knowing." Why live in silent hurt wondering if something could have been, if something could have become factual? We often back down on love before we even give it a chance, whether it is because we don't know the outcome, time is an issue, or simply because we are scared. What happened to faith in all this? We are asked to have faith always, yet it is the most absent thing when dealing with love. Our minds take control and we lose the really sight of what our heart is try to show us. Yes, their will most likely be pain, maybe even distress, anger, frustration, but isn't that worth loving or feeling loved, even if it is for a fragment of a second. Love is the ultimate feeling everyone should get a chance to breath it in and let it over take, even if it is for a fragment of a second, because that second will be the greatest second ever lived.

Image:

• STOP worrying so much about who you want to become and focus on who you are being, because who you are currently being will determine who you will be become. Be silly, foolish, ridiculous, be all the things that you are embarrassed to be. Frank Sinatra did say, "Dare to wear the foolish clown face." If it's you, be it. Don't hide behind someone you will regret being, just be yourself.

Time:

• One thing to say... Be open to whatever comes next. If we are scared of time, it will pass by and then we will realize that we had nothing to be scared of because it is gone. Live in the moment and make every minute count because who knows when time will stop. Be the type of person that doesn't know what will come next and you love it.

Work:

• "Never get so busy making a living that you forget to make a life." You can do any work that you put your mind to...

Don't be scared, instead learn, love, be you, trust time, and work! If scares you do it anyways! "Do one thing everyday that scares you" -Eleanor Roosevelt