Small Things with Great Love

"Not all of us can do great things. But we can do small things with great love."

~Mother Teresa

Making a Life

We make a living by what we get

we make a life by what we give. 

 ~Winston Churchill

The Greatest Investment

You will come to know that what appears today to be a sacrifice will prove instead to be the greatest investment that you will ever make.

~Gordon B. Hinckley

Christmas, Giving & Sacrifice

"Christmas means giving. The Father gave his Son, and the Son gave His life. Without giving there is no true Christmas, and without sacrifice there is no true worship." 

 ~Gordon B. Hinckley~

Giving

"No-one has ever become poor by giving."

~Anne Frank

Free printable of this HERE for download

Answering Prayer

‎"By becoming the answer to someone's prayer, we often find the answers to our own." 

 Dieter F. Uchtdorf

How to be Happy!

Generally speaking, the most miserable people I know are those who are obsessed with themselves; the happiest people I know are those who lose themselves in the service of others... By and large, I have come to see that if we complain about life, it is because we are thinking only of ourselves.” 
~Gordon B. Hinckley~

Peanut Butter Smudges and All

Marjorie Pay Hinckley:

"I don't want to drive up to the pearly gates in a shiny sports car, wearing beautifully, tailored clothes, my hair expertly coiffed, and with long, perfectly manicured fingernails. I want to drive up in a station wagon that has mud on the wheels from taking kids to scout camp. I want to be there with a smudge of peanut butter on my shirt from making sandwiches for a sick neighbors children. I want to be there with a little dirt under my fingernails from helping to weed someone's garden. I want to be there with children's sticky kisses on my cheeks and the tears of a friend on my shoulder. I want the Lord to know I was really here and that I really lived." 

Flecks of Gold Video

I loved this analogy from last General Conference, from Elder Ballards talks on 'Finding Joy Through Loving Service, so was pleased to find this video on it:)

Service & Christ

‎"No service, No Christ. 

Know Service, Know Christ." 

- Unknown-

Enjoy the Little Things

I heard this quote in RS today, and I LOVE LOVE LOVED it!

“Enjoy the little things, for one day you make look back and realize they were the big things.” 

~Robert Brault

There is No Such Thing as Done

“We need to thoughtfully allocate our resources of time, income, and energy. I would like to let you in on a little secret. Some of you have already learned it. If you haven’t, it’s time you knew. No matter what your family needs are or your responsibilities in the Church, there is no such thing as “done.” There will always be more we can do. There is always another family matter that needs attention, another lesson to prepare, another interview to conduct, another meeting to attend. We just need to be wise in protecting our health and in following the counsel that President Hinckley has given often to just do the best that we can.


“The key, it seems to me, is to know and understand your own capabilities and limitations and then to pace yourself, allocating and prioritizing your time, your attention, and your resources to wisely help others, including your family, in their quest for eternal life.”

M. Russell Ballard, “O Be Wise,” Ensign, Nov 2006, 17–20

Respect for Ourselves and Others

“Ask yourself these questions: Am I an example of respect in my home by the way I treat those I love the most? What is my demeanor during a sports event? If my child has a disagreement with a teacher, coach, or peer, do I listen to both sides of the issue? Do I show respect for the property of others as well as take care of my own? How do I respond to others with whom I disagree in matters of religion, lifestyle, or politics?


“As parents and leaders exemplify and teach respect for others, we confirm in the hearts of our children that each of us is truly a child of God and all are brothers and sisters through eternity. We will focus on the things we have in common—on the qualities of heart that bind the family of God together, rather than on our differences.”

Margaret S. Lifferth, “Respect and Reverence,” Ensign, May 2009, 11

Service = Love, Love = Service

"We then that are strong ought to bear the infirmities of the weak, and not to please ourselves. Let every one of us please his neighbour for his good edification".
(Romans 15:1-2)

President Heber J. Grant once said, “The real secret of happiness in life . . . is service” (Teachings of Presidents of the Church: Heber J. Grant, 15).

Happiness, really is a by-product of helping others. We have been taught that no one ever finds happiness by thinking of his or herself.
A woman came to Elder S. Dilworth Young at a time he was caring for his invalid wife. The woman said, “I am coming to your house every Friday night from six until ten. You can count on it, so plan to . . . find relief for those four hours.” She didn’t say, “What can I do to help you?” because she knew President Young would say, “I’m handling everything just fine.” But rather, she decided what would be helpful and took action. President Young later commented about this experience: “How blessed she was to me. How good! She blessed both me and my wife with new cheer, new smiles, and new ideas”
(The Love That Never Faileth, Barbara B. Smith,p. 21).
Lastly, Shakespeare wrote: “He does not love, who does not show his love”. Let us look after and love one another.

Do Something Appropriate

"When a friend is in trouble, don't annoy him by asking if there is anything you can do. Think up something appropriate —and do it." 

— Edgar Watson Howe

Gold Flecks

“Great things are wrought through simple and small things. Like the small flecks of gold that accumulate over time into a large treasure, our small and simple acts of kindness and service will accumulate into a life filled with love..."

~M. Russell Ballard~

Lioness at the Gate

"I have said lately that women are like lionesses at the gate of the home. Whatever happens in that home and family happens because she cares about it and it matters to her. She guards that gate, and things matter to that family if they matter to her. For example, if the lioness at the gate believes in the law of tithing, tithing will be paid in that family. If that family has a humble little portion of ten pesos coming in, that lioness will safeguard the one peso if tithing is important to her. If that lioness at the gate knows about renewing her baptismal covenants with God, she will be in sacrament meeting on Sunday, and she will prepare her children to be there. They will be washed, cleaned, combed, and taught about that meeting and what happens there. It isn’t a casual event, but it is serious to her, and it will be serious to them. The lioness at the gate ensures that temple worship is taken care of in the family. She encourages that participation. She cares about seeking after her ancestors. If the lioness at the gate knows about and understands missions, missionaries, and the mission of the house of Israel, she will prepare future missionaries to go out from that home. It is very difficult to get a lion cub away from a lioness who doesn’t believe in missions, but if the lioness believes in a mission, she will devote her life to preparing the cub to go out and serve the Lord. That’s how important she is. Service happens if she cares about it.

"Sisters, you are each like the lioness at the gate."

Julie B. Beck, Address Given at BYU Women's Conference, Thursday, April 29, 2010.

Re-posted from here

A Perfume

"Remember that there is no happiness in having or in getting. Reach out. Share. Smile. hug. happiness is a perfume you cannot pour on others without getting a few drops on yourself...." 

- Og Mandino

Accept Every Opportunity

Gordon B. Hinckley:
“The Church will ask you to do many things. It will ask you to serve in various capacities. We do not have a professional ministry. You become the ministry of this Church, and whenever you are called upon to serve may I urge you to respond, and as you do so your faith will strengthen and increase. Faith is like the muscle of my arm. If I use it, if I nurture it, it grows strong; it will do many things. But if I put it in a sling and do nothing with it, it will grow weak and useless, and so will it be with you. If you accept every opportunity, if you accept every calling, the Lord will make it possible for you to perform it. The Church will not ask you to do anything which you cannot do with the help of the Lord. God bless you to do everything that you are called upon to do”.
(meeting, Praia, São Tiago, Cape Verde, 22 Feb. 1998)

Mass to the Mansion

Carlos E. Asay:

“Love is that inner feeling that sparks the desire to do someone good; service-selfless service-is that outward expression of love that blesses the receiver and the giver. So, each heartbeat in behalf of others adds mass to the mansion, strength to the structure, and beauty to the building we call home.”
(from Family Pecan Trees: Planting a Legacy of Faith at Home)

“Wherefore, my beloved brethren, pray unto the Father with all the energy of heart, that ye may be filled with this love, which he hath bestowed upon all who are true followers of his Son, Jesus Christ; that ye may become the sons of God; that when he shall appear we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is; that we may have this hope; that we may be purified even as he is pure. Amen.”
(Moroni 7:48)