Long ago there were two villages in a far-off land. One was in a valley, and one was on a mountain top. The people in the mountain village wanted to give each person in the valley a Christmas gift. So the mountain townspeople formed a committee to think of something special. Money was limited, and each gift had to be of equal value to each person. After much time and discussion a decision was finally reached. The town’s candy maker, an elderly gentleman who had loved Jesus for many years, came up with an idea – the candy cane. Now, you may be thinking, what is so special about a candy cane – and how can it ever be tied in with the real meaning of Christmas? Well, here is how – and why...
1. The candy cane is in the shape of a shepherd’s staff. Jesus is our Shepherd, and we are His flock. A sheep follows his own shepherd, knows his voice, trusts him and knows that he is totally safe with him. The sheep will follow no other shepherd than their own. In the same way, if we belong to Jesus, we are to follow only Him. (John 10:11; Psalm 23:1; Isaiah 40:11)
2. Turned over, the candy cane is a “J,” the first letter of Jesus’ name. (Luke 1:31) It is made of hard candy to remind us that Christ is the “rock” of our salvation.
3. The wide red stripes on the candy cane represent the blood Jesus shed on the cross for each one of us so that we can have eternal life through Him. He restores us and cleans us with His shed blood – the only thing that can wash away our sin. (Luke 22:20)
4. The white stripes on the candy cane represent Jesus’ virgin birth and His pure, sinless life. He is the only human being ever who never committed a single sin, even though He was tempted just as we are. (1 Peter 2:22)
5. The narrow red stripes on candy canes symbolize Jesus’ stripes, or scars, which He got when He was arrested and whipped. The Bible says we are healed (of sin) because He took those wounds. (Isaiah 53:5; 1 Peter 2:24)
6. The flavoring in the candy cane is peppermint, which is similar to hyssop. Hyssop is of the mint family and was used in Old Testament times for purification and sacrifice. (John 19:29; Psalm 51:7)
7. When we break our candy cane, it reminds us that Jesus’ body was broken for us. When we have communion, it is a reminder of what He did for us. (1 Corinthians 11:24)
8. AND, if we share our candy cane and give some to someone else because we love that person, we are sharing the love of Jesus. (1 John 4:7,8) God gave Himself to us when He sent Jesus to earth to save us. He loves us so much that He wants us to spend eternity with Him. We are assured of that when we accept Jesus into our hearts as our Savior. (John 1:12; John 3:3,16)
Wednesday, December 1, 2010
Tale of the Three Trees
The Tale of the Three Trees
Nicholas Oldziey
Long ago in the far away land of Palestine, three trees stood on a hillside overlooking a seaport town.
Each three had great hopes and dreams of what it would be when fully grown. The first tree boasted that it's lumber would be used to make a great and beautiful treasure chest. The chest would be decorated with bright golden hinges and polished to a fine and shiny finish. Inside it would hold great riches, jewels which were the colors of the rainbow and gold and silver coins.
The second tree claimed that it would be fashioned into a fine sailing ship. The ship would sail the high seas and travel to far and exotic places. The passengers would be kings and soldiers and statesmen who would marvel at the beauty of such a wonderful ship and the smooth and safe voyages it gave them.
The third tree declared that it would not be cut down and used by man for any of his needs. This tree would be left standing because of its beauty and strength. People would look at the reach of this tree's branches and would think of God and all His glory as they gazed upward to the sky.
Then one day three men with axes came to the hill where the trees stood tall and full. As each tree stood in anticipation of their fate, the first man approached the first tree. He examined it and decided it was a good tree for his uses and so he cut it down. The second man looked at the second tree and assessing its sturdiness and good quality proceeded to chop it down. The third man stood looking at the third tree who reached its branches ever upward, hoping he would leave the tree alone to live its days on that hill. However, the third man judged the tree to be perfect for his needs, and cut it down.
Now the first tree that had dreamed of being a beautiful treasure chest was instead made into a manger. It was sold to a farmer who used it in his cave where he kept and fed his animals. From this manger the animals of the farm ate the hay that lay in it. Until one night a young woman and her husband came to the cave looking for shelter for themselves and their newborn baby. In that manger, they laid their infant son. It was at that moment that the tree knew that it held the greatest treasure in the world, God's gift to mankind. And as the child lay sleeping in the manger, the angels sang and the stars shown brightly in the sky.
Sometime later, the second tree was made into a small fishing boat. Its dreams of becoming a great sailing ship were gone. Now it carried fishermen and the quantities of fish that they caught each day from a small sea. Suddenly a great storm arose and waves rocked the boat back and forth as it tried to steady itself to keep from being wrecked. The man who led the others had no fear. He admonished His friends for being frightened and having so little faith. Then He stood in the boat and raised his hand saying, "Peace." As suddenly as the storm had come up, it went away and all was calm around them. At that moment the second tree knew that it carried a man greater than any worldly king, soldier or statesman and that it sailed a greater adventure than it could ever have dreamed of.
The third tree spent many years in a lumber yard until one Friday morning it was yanked out of the pile of lumber it had lain in. It was made into a crucifix and put on the shoulders of a tired man who had been badly beaten. The man was forced to carry the crucifix to a mountain top and there it was planted into the ground. The man was then put upon the cross and his hands and feet were nailed to it. The tree shuddered with fear and sorrow as it felt the man's pain. The tree was filled with shame at what it had become a part of. Then as the man died upon the cross a great storm descended from heaven and the earth shook. At that moment the tree felt the power of God radiating through it.
Two days later, on Sunday morning the sun rose and joy and warmth filled the air as God's love changed all that had gone before.
God's love made the first tree beautiful.
It made the second tree strong.
And each time people looked upon the third tree they thought of God.
Nicholas Oldziey
Long ago in the far away land of Palestine, three trees stood on a hillside overlooking a seaport town.
Each three had great hopes and dreams of what it would be when fully grown. The first tree boasted that it's lumber would be used to make a great and beautiful treasure chest. The chest would be decorated with bright golden hinges and polished to a fine and shiny finish. Inside it would hold great riches, jewels which were the colors of the rainbow and gold and silver coins.
The second tree claimed that it would be fashioned into a fine sailing ship. The ship would sail the high seas and travel to far and exotic places. The passengers would be kings and soldiers and statesmen who would marvel at the beauty of such a wonderful ship and the smooth and safe voyages it gave them.
The third tree declared that it would not be cut down and used by man for any of his needs. This tree would be left standing because of its beauty and strength. People would look at the reach of this tree's branches and would think of God and all His glory as they gazed upward to the sky.
Then one day three men with axes came to the hill where the trees stood tall and full. As each tree stood in anticipation of their fate, the first man approached the first tree. He examined it and decided it was a good tree for his uses and so he cut it down. The second man looked at the second tree and assessing its sturdiness and good quality proceeded to chop it down. The third man stood looking at the third tree who reached its branches ever upward, hoping he would leave the tree alone to live its days on that hill. However, the third man judged the tree to be perfect for his needs, and cut it down.
Now the first tree that had dreamed of being a beautiful treasure chest was instead made into a manger. It was sold to a farmer who used it in his cave where he kept and fed his animals. From this manger the animals of the farm ate the hay that lay in it. Until one night a young woman and her husband came to the cave looking for shelter for themselves and their newborn baby. In that manger, they laid their infant son. It was at that moment that the tree knew that it held the greatest treasure in the world, God's gift to mankind. And as the child lay sleeping in the manger, the angels sang and the stars shown brightly in the sky.
Sometime later, the second tree was made into a small fishing boat. Its dreams of becoming a great sailing ship were gone. Now it carried fishermen and the quantities of fish that they caught each day from a small sea. Suddenly a great storm arose and waves rocked the boat back and forth as it tried to steady itself to keep from being wrecked. The man who led the others had no fear. He admonished His friends for being frightened and having so little faith. Then He stood in the boat and raised his hand saying, "Peace." As suddenly as the storm had come up, it went away and all was calm around them. At that moment the second tree knew that it carried a man greater than any worldly king, soldier or statesman and that it sailed a greater adventure than it could ever have dreamed of.
The third tree spent many years in a lumber yard until one Friday morning it was yanked out of the pile of lumber it had lain in. It was made into a crucifix and put on the shoulders of a tired man who had been badly beaten. The man was forced to carry the crucifix to a mountain top and there it was planted into the ground. The man was then put upon the cross and his hands and feet were nailed to it. The tree shuddered with fear and sorrow as it felt the man's pain. The tree was filled with shame at what it had become a part of. Then as the man died upon the cross a great storm descended from heaven and the earth shook. At that moment the tree felt the power of God radiating through it.
Two days later, on Sunday morning the sun rose and joy and warmth filled the air as God's love changed all that had gone before.
God's love made the first tree beautiful.
It made the second tree strong.
And each time people looked upon the third tree they thought of God.
Wednesday, November 3, 2010
Charmin Charlie needs to come to Utah!
This past summer while I was living in Texas, I fell in love with a store called Charming Charlie! It was such a beautiful store! If I had millions of dollars I would probably buy everything in the store! When you walk into the store you are hit with a rainbow of colors, everything is color coded. you have all the whites in a section and all the blues and so forth. they put every white thing together, from tops to jewelry to purses and shoes. I'm telling you, we need to get a Charming Charlie in Salt Lake City, Pronto! Maybe not pronto but it would be nice if it were soon.
Thursday, October 14, 2010
Grandpa Zamudio
My dear Sweet Grandpa Zamudio past away this past Tuesday the 12th of October. He was such a wonderful man, I have learned so much for him. he taught me to be kind, loving and a better person. I never had a great desire to go to college but he was the one to convince me how important it is and he helped me get started. I owe so much to him, I am so eternally grateful for him and his presence in my life. I hope I can live up to his greatness. I love you grandpa, until we meet again.
Friday, August 27, 2010
Best site for making your headers just right!
My new favorite site is fotoflexer.com!!! It is the bomb! It is how I made my sweet header, you should check it out. :)
Wednesday, June 30, 2010
A Different Path
A Different Path
by Brian Emerson
It's time to go, to leave this place
A shadowy voice does cry.
But the voice belongs to me alone,
And still I wonder why.
The time is here upon me now
Like a weight, heavy pounding.
Or has it Lifted? Hard to tell
The Questions keep arising.
The unknown awaits, as it does
For foolish few who dare.
Is it foolishness?
Curiosity perhaps?
Or something I'm not aware.
For I am scared and poignant now
More than ever at present.
Tears cloud my eyes as pen meets paper,
And I hope for my ascent.
I leave behind what I comprehend
And even with all communication.
I know for now without doubt,
I drift, en route a new location.
But who's to say what shall pass
And what still lies ahead.
I only know that were I'm at,
I'll yearn 'till forever dead.
Yet for now the flame still burns inside
However daily dying.
To light the path less traveled by
In haste I'm already striding.
But am I running from that I cannot?
Escape from oneself is ever brief.
Before we are again confronted,
Hunting for relief.
Yet still I follow my perilous path
To wherever it might be leading.
And well it may, onto something new,
And strangely more inviting.
Or perhaps not . . .
But who's to know, not I as yet
The fate of anyone on this Earth,
I wouldn't like to bet.
For life can lead in many ways
Often now undesired.
Fate can deal a cruel hand sometimes,
But we play on, cold and tired.
And art is born of life
Hard, dejected and trodden.
Hence emerges exquisite beauty,
And some direction from the coffin.
Finding it is a difficult thing
Sometimes left without thought.
But time it ticks, and years they fly,
I'm sure it can't be bought.
So we search, as do I
For things that bring on the 'morrow.
The weak are those who don't pursue,
And languish in their sorrow.
Happiness is that I chase
And hope to find someday.
I'll count the means again I'm sure,
There is always another way . . .
by Brian Emerson
It's time to go, to leave this place
A shadowy voice does cry.
But the voice belongs to me alone,
And still I wonder why.
The time is here upon me now
Like a weight, heavy pounding.
Or has it Lifted? Hard to tell
The Questions keep arising.
The unknown awaits, as it does
For foolish few who dare.
Is it foolishness?
Curiosity perhaps?
Or something I'm not aware.
For I am scared and poignant now
More than ever at present.
Tears cloud my eyes as pen meets paper,
And I hope for my ascent.
I leave behind what I comprehend
And even with all communication.
I know for now without doubt,
I drift, en route a new location.
But who's to say what shall pass
And what still lies ahead.
I only know that were I'm at,
I'll yearn 'till forever dead.
Yet for now the flame still burns inside
However daily dying.
To light the path less traveled by
In haste I'm already striding.
But am I running from that I cannot?
Escape from oneself is ever brief.
Before we are again confronted,
Hunting for relief.
Yet still I follow my perilous path
To wherever it might be leading.
And well it may, onto something new,
And strangely more inviting.
Or perhaps not . . .
But who's to know, not I as yet
The fate of anyone on this Earth,
I wouldn't like to bet.
For life can lead in many ways
Often now undesired.
Fate can deal a cruel hand sometimes,
But we play on, cold and tired.
And art is born of life
Hard, dejected and trodden.
Hence emerges exquisite beauty,
And some direction from the coffin.
Finding it is a difficult thing
Sometimes left without thought.
But time it ticks, and years they fly,
I'm sure it can't be bought.
So we search, as do I
For things that bring on the 'morrow.
The weak are those who don't pursue,
And languish in their sorrow.
Happiness is that I chase
And hope to find someday.
I'll count the means again I'm sure,
There is always another way . . .
Monday, June 14, 2010
Adventures to Lumberton!
So this last Sunday Chad and I went to his old mission area where he served for 6 months. On our way to Lumberton, as we were about 10 miles to the lds ward house we were going to go to, our car started to over heat and we had to stop. We were totally in the middle of nowhere! Luckily, someone pulled over and gave us a ride to church. So we left our car and went to church and I was able to meet a lot of people that chad taught and got close too. After church we had a family take us to our car and helped us make do with our car until we got home. It took us 3 hours to fix the car, the family that helped us were so amazing and the most Christ like family ever! I'm so grateful for all their kindness. After we got our car working again we went to Sister Rogers house who was Chads mother on the mission. She made us the best tacos and dirty rice I have ever had! She was such an amazing women! I hope I can be that great and loving. After our time at Sister Rogers house we headed for home, as we were about an hour away from our apartments our car over heats again! So we were stranded again in the middle of nowhere! This time we had no way of fixing it so we had to call AAA. We are so grateful for my mom and dad for giving that to us for Christmas!!! We waited for two hours for AAA to come pick us up. We got picked up at around 9:30 at night, we asked our driver how much it would cost if we didn't have AAA and he said it would have cost us $300.00 if we didn't have AAA! We were so lucky and blessed that day because it really could have turned out a lot worse. I thank my Heavenly Father so much for his love. We saw it everywhere that day! Everything about that day made Chad and I so grateful for everything we have. Thank you all that helped us that day!
Friday, June 11, 2010
Best BBQ ever!!!
Seriously! Everyone in Texas has to go to Pappas BBQ! it was the best tasting BBQ i have ever eaten! Chad and I had a blast as you can see from the pictures.
Tuesday, June 8, 2010
I'm a dork
So i changed my url thinking it wouldn't do anything, but yeah i lost all my contacts! i'm an idiot!
Thursday, June 3, 2010
Update from Houston
Yet again it has taken me forever to update my blog! haha! Chad and I are here in Houston Texas and we are loving this beautiful state! It has been a great experience to be in a big office and to have Tyler Mickelsen as our manager. We are learning tons and having fun getting to know all the people here! It has been an interesting summer with being where Chad served his mission and seeing where he knocked and reliving Chads mission stories. Also Chads sweet grandmother passed away this last weekend and it has been a hard time for chad. We will miss her greatly! I remember my first time meeting her and how accepting and loving she was to me. Chad will be flying home for the funeral tomorrow. It truly has been a interesting summer. I'm not going to lie that this summer I have been a lot more home sick but I get to go home in a couple of weeks and I'm so excited! I am going home because my sweet friend is getting married and my niece is turning one on June 8th! I will try to be better on updating, but I won't make any promises. ;)
P.S. pictures soon to come.
P.S. pictures soon to come.
Friday, April 9, 2010
The Lone Star State
We're off to Texas in a few weeks and we're so excited! Chad served his mission in Texas and we are going to go see people from his mission. I'm always excited to go somewhere new but it is hard to want to leave your family and all the fun they will be having. I always get this way right before we leave but I know I will have a blast in Texas. This year we will be flying which will be so much easier and it will save our cars some milage. I'll try to post lots of pics this summer to keep everyone up to date.
Tuesday, February 9, 2010
My Beautiful Puppy!!!
Chad and I's first puppy!!! His Name is Chewy!!!! He is so dang cute!!! We got him in November!!!
Saturday, January 9, 2010
DISNEYLAND!!!!
I don't know how many people would know this, but Chad and I are die hard Disney fans! we were lucky enough to go this last December with Chads siblings and it was a fantastic trip. We started off by going to Sea World, which I haven't done since I was a baby so that was fun to see all the fish and bigger animals. I had my first experience of feeding sea lions which was so much fun. Also on this trip we were able to go to the ocean and play around, the waves were to big so we couldn't really play in the ocean, I take that back, Chad played in the ocean and I was to scared. Disneyland was so much fun! it was Chad and I's first time and it was just so much fun! I just want to go back so bad! we went for two days during the middle of the week which was perfect crowd wise, nobody was there. we were able to ride all the little kids ride in an hour. Another cool part about going in October was seeing all the Halloween decorations and the villains. The firework show was all about Halloween, the music that they had timed with the fireworks was perfect. they had most the songs from night before Christmas and most of all the villain songs from all the Disney movies. so for anyone wanting to go to Disneyland soon, i advise to go during Halloween.
Chad and I's time in Washington DC while Chad did extension for his work
We had a blast in DC! It was amazing to see our nations capital and to see all the history. Every Sunday we would go see the sights, we didn't have a car so we would borrow a car or go with other people. The Mall was probably one of the coolest things to see. We went to the Mall every Sunday for a month and a half and we didn't even come close to seeing everything there. We will defiantly be going back so we can fully enjoy DC. The DC temple was so beautiful! My dad served in DC for his mission so I called him out side the temple and described everything to him. It was such a great bonding experience for my dad and I to talk about his mission, I just wish he could have been there with us. If you ever want to see something cool, just go to DC for one but then drive to the temple, and on the drive you are looking for the temple through all the trees and then all of a sudden the temple just jumps out at you. It was perfectly place so that you can't miss it when you are on the freeway. We truly loved living in DC, we will never forget those days.
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