December my foot! Are you serious?!?

(Sorry I have been remiss in posting Steph's letters - I will repent. Steph's Dad.)

Happy December!

Can you believe today is December 1? I’m seriously weirded out by it. I cannot believe that 2008 is almost over. I just got to Ohio—seriously!We had a really good Thanksgiving. We ate with a less active family and it was delicious. They are really great and we want them to get back to church! We’re going eat with them again this week and I look forward to being in their home. The spirit is there and we just need to get them back into the habit of full activity.I was reading over some conference talks this morning and was really impressed (again) by the talk given by Elder Lawrence C. Corbridge of the seventy in this last General Conference. He talked about how the way of the gospel is simple and requires, as Elder Oaks put it, “the steady dedication of a lifetime.” We don’t need to fret or worry—we just need to have faith. I am amazed at how often I neglect or forget this simple principle. Especially in the turmoil that’s all around us, we need to get back to the basics and trust in the Lord. It’s then that everything will work out and work for your good.I also heard another good quote yesterday. It was this: “I don’t do everything; I do what’s important.” I find that so often we let the good things get in the way of the better or best things, and it’s easy to become distracted. Several months ago Jake wrote me an email saying that Satan doesn’t have to get missionaries to be disobedient; he just has to get them to be distracted and not do the work in the Lord’s way. The same goes for our day-to-day lives as well. We must not become distracted by things that are just things; we have to do what’s really important. I love being a missionary because it helps me to recognize that there is a lot of time in each day to accomplish the things we need to do. We’ve just got to be efficient! Oh dear, I’m starting to sound like Dad! jk,jk…really, it’s a good thing.Last year in the Tallmadge ward Sister Corbridge and I decided to do a little referral thingy where we would wrap a copy of the DVD “Joy to the World” and then hand-deliver it to ward members’ friends and neighbors. Sister Van Meter and I decided that we’d do it this year too and presented it to the ward council yesterday morning. They loved it! I’m really excited because this year we’re just more prepared to do it and we’re starting to advertise it earlier that we did last year. I loved doing it last year because we were able to get into homes where I don’t think we could have gone in to otherwise. It’s a great way to share the gospel in a non-threatening way. This year we’re also providing the option of giving them Mr. Kruger’s Christmas if they want too! I’ll let you know how it goes.Thanks again for all that you do for me and for the Lord. I feel so incredibly blessed to have been reared in a Christ-centered home where love, fun, and respect resided. Thanks for helping me become the best person I can be and I pray that my service here is sending blessings your way! I pray for you continually and think that you’re the best. Sewiouswy.Love love love,Sister Cannariatop.s. Here’s a good quote to think about. It’s from Elder Holland: “Every experience can be a redemptive experience if we remain bonded to our Father in Heaven through that difficulty. These difficult lessons teach us that man’s extremity is God’s opportunity. And if we will be humble and faithful—if we will not curse God for our problems—He can turn the unfair, and the inhumane, and the debilitating prisons of our life into temples, or at least into a circumstance that can bring comfort and revelation.”