God Jul
Kjære familie og venner,
God Jul! Merry Christmas!
How can we make this the best Christmas ever? I'll tell you how! When we align our priorities with JOY, we will make it truly "the most wonderful time of the year".
J Jesus Christ
O Others
Y Yourself
When we put God first in our lives, we show Him how much we love Him! We do this by keeping His commandments (John 14:15).
Focus outward on others. When we truly love our Savior Jesus Christ and understand what He's done for us, we'll in turn "feed His sheep".
We also need to take time be holy and fill our own buckets. We're not to "run faster than we have strength" (Mosiah 4:27). We can do that by taking still moments to recognize and express gratitude for the tender mercies Heavenly Father sends us. It's important to enjoy life!
Before the foundation of the world, Heavenly Father presented His plan and Jesus Christ volunteered to be our Savior. Our Father gave us the gift to choose for ourselves, and we chose to come to earth and gain a mortal experience. Our first parents, Adam and Eve, fell from the presence of God and became mortal. We live in a fallen world, prone to sin and death. That is why we need a Savior. Jesus Christ overcame mortality through His death and resurrection. Because of Him, everyone - no matter who we are or what we've been through - will be resurrected too. Through following the gospel of Jesus Christ, His grace makes it possible that we can return to the presence of God, and one day, receive Eternal Life with our families.
Jesus Christ is our Creator, Savior, Redeemer, Friend, and Advocate with the Father. Through repentance and obedience, He truly cleanses and refines us. What a beautiful time of year when we show Him how much we love and adore Him. I love Him!
Merry Christmas!
Søster Jessica Brimhall
Pictures:
1. Pretending we're snowmen while eating lunch at a bus stop.
2-7. Hiking/city center in Drammen. Skikkelig norsk wool sweater!
8. One of the people we're teaching, Arkeen, is from the Philippines and gave us ingredients to make pancit, a traditional Filipino dish. I've eaten it a lot, especially with all the Filipino members in Haugesund and with Arkeen in Asker. We made it this week and it was so good!
9-10. Street stand. We gave out wrapped copies of the Book of Mormon at the street stand on Saturday outside the Sandvika train station. We gave out at least 60 copies between us four missionaries!
11. We got a car again in our area. We picked it up - brand new - from the dealership. Don't worry - eyes are always on the road. :)
https://photos.app.goo.gl/Yy3LbavDBzhMsEJm9
Two of my favorite Norwegian Christmas songs!
1. Den nordnorske julesalmen. The Northern Norway Christmas Hymn.
2. Deilig er jorden. This is a hymn in our Church's Norwegian hymn book to the tune of "Beautiful Savior".
