Visiting Teaching Message & Idea (Dec. '09)

I cannot believe that over a month has passed and I haven't blogged! Where has the time gone? I know I've been busy and not feeling well but, my goodness, over a month? YIKES! I think I only scrapped a couple of LOs for our albums in that time, too! Talk about being a slacker! LOL

I want to share a funny story - I had a couple of Halloween LOs that I didn't sell. So, I decided to put them on eBay to "test the waters." I sold one for $7.99 - my eBay fees were $6.74! So, I sold the LO for $1.25! LOL So much for eBay!

Thanksgiving was lovely. DS & DDIL arrived from Portland and spent the holiday with us. I so enjoy their coming for a visit. I wish we didn't live so far apart. We had a wonderful dinner and no one got sick from my cooking! The turkey was beautiful and tasted yummy. I made four gallons of a turkey vegetable soup, using the carcass, that I shared with friends. It turned out more like a stew because of all the veggies in it!

It's raining tonight. It's supposed to turn to snow overnight. I sure hope so. I so love snow. If I lived where it snowed all the time, I don't think I would appreciate it as I do now. I think I might actually resent it if I had it all the time and had to shovel, clear, and drive in it. Having it once in a while makes it such a special treat!

The Visiting Teaching topic this month is compassion. I really loved this month's messages. We are reminded how we can touch others through compassionate service as well as how to develop and increase our compassionate endeavors. One of the things I felt was extremely important is our abiity to LISTEN. Sometimes, a friend in need just needs someone to listen. In one of the discussions I read regarding the topic of compassion, Sr. JoAnn Jolley states, "...We know that compassion means offering our time, energy, means, and loving concern to those who are in need. But there is another side to the coin of compassion - to receive warmly, graciously, without embarrassment or condescension, expressing thanks without a feeling of obligation. The receiver has the final power to complete or leave unfinished the circle of love..." Isn't that a wonderful statement? I know I find the latter part of that statement very hard to do. It takes work!

I have spent the last few days making goodies for my special ladies. If you would like more information, please don't hesitate to ask!

The first thing I decided to make was a little book filled with five examples of compassionate writings. There is also a recipe for "Friendship Knots." The last thing included, and the focal point of the book, is a sweet story about compassion between two birds who were mates. The story and photographs made me cry. I felt they were so beautiful that I knew I had to include them. The photos, and story behind each photo, was recently sent to me in an e-mail. I couldn't believe the timing! I just knew they had to be included in the lesson in some way. A little book developed with the photos expanded with added quotes.





The second thing I chose to make was a quick tag using a spinner to help select an easy daily compassionate activity. I didn't want to include any ideas that would take too much effort. I wanted the ideas to be "no brainers." That way, the idea wouldn't be something interpreted as a chore. All you do if flick the paper clip and it freely spins around the circle. Where it lands is the suggested compassionate action for the day. It took a bit of tweaking to get the paper clip to spin around without getting snagged, but I figured out how to modify it so that it spins perfectly. I hope they like it. I think it might be a fun way to remind us.



If you are interested in more information, please feel free to contact me.

Here is one LO I did do. DS had just gotten his Teddy Ruxpin and some Thundercats goodies! These are some Christmas morning photos from way back when, LOL.


My Sweet Angel

Thank you for stopping by!

Love to you,

Chris