It's A Wonderful Life

Tuesday, December 23, 2014

Merry Christmas!


Christmas Sunday 
In one of my family's favorite Christmas movies, the main character Charlie Brown is troubled around the Christmas season and asks the probing question, "Isn't there anyone who can tell me what Christmas is all about?" His dear friend Linus proceeds to then narrate the Christmas story found in Luke. Charlie Brown's eyes are opened as he learns about the birth of our most precious Savior.

I, like Charile Brown, have had my eyes spiritually opened this Christmas season. This time of year has been different for me than any other Christmas before. I didn't go ice skating, I won't be staying up late on Christmas Eve to watch "A Christmas Story," I won't be in Reno with my family, but this Christmas has already been one of the most memorable Christmases I have experienced. On Sunday as I sat in Church next to one of my ten year old pals, who is autistic, I was so emotional singing the beautiful Christmas songs with him. He looked up at me as we were singing about the Savior and was grinning from ear to ear. I couldn't help but send back the most cheerful smile to this young innocent kid, who saw the importance of Christmas. I always love Christmas Sundays and as a missionary it was even more special then before. I felt pure joy and although I thought the holidays were going to be hard as a missionary, they have been some of the neatest moments of my mission. We have been running around town like crazy playing "secret sister" which has been so much fun, we have also gone caroling and have helped others to see what Christmas is all about.
We had a mission tour in the last week and Elder Perkins of the First quorum of the 70 came. Randomly he choose 6 missionaries from our mission to interview, and guess who was chosen? Getting a call from the AP's the night before saying Elder Perkins wanted to interview me was slightly intimidating to say the least. However, it was so neat to be able to meet with a general authority, to feel of his love and the love the Prophet sends. I was able to tell him about my family and a little bit about my experiences as a missionary. I loved that experience!

Recently I read a talk called "The Prince Of Glory." It might be my favorite talk of all time. If you haven't read it I strongly recommend you go read it. In this talk the author makes reference to the story the Prince and the Pauper. If you have read that book you know that the Prince and the Pauper end up switching roles. The pauper is left to reign in the kingdom as the prince, while the prince is found wandering the streets experiencing poverty and hardship. In the end the prince ends up learning a great deal because of the hard walk he was forced to take. Elder Perkins made a parallel and said, "We too have a prince who became a pauper. The Prince of Peace, the Prince of Glory, the Lord Jesus Christ came down to live among His people and share in their poverty and suffering so that He might be a more compassionate king. As the Apostle Paul said, “Though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, that ye through his poverty might be rich.” I am so grateful for our Savior who reigned as king of kings yet came to earth in the most humble of circumstances. I love Him. I love knowing that He lives. I love studying His teachings and doing everything in my power to emulate His character. He is the most beautiful gift. He is the greatest gift of love, "God be thanked for the matchless gift of His divine son."

Merry Merry Christmas. I love you all deeply!
Sister Daines and I matched at the Christmas Devotional

Selfie with President and Sister Daines

Posted by Lauren Mathis at 10:22 PM 2 comments:

Monday, December 15, 2014

Oh Come Let Us Adore Him


Do The glasses make us look smarter?
Christmas cheer
from Sister Hays



Christmas brings a new
companion: Sister Chadburn from Orem



What an amazing week it has been. I absolutely love this beautiful holiday season and I love being a missionary at this time. I am learning a whole new meaning of Christmas. It is not about me at all. It is completely focused on the Savior and becoming more like Him. It is about helping my brothers and my sisters learn more about Him.

We had the humbling opportunity to go to a Christmas party with foster care children and their foster parents. With a member in our ward, we made close to 200 gingerbread men and had the privilege of hand delivering them to these beautiful children. The simple excitement that came across their faces from one single cookie was amazing. They were beaming. The spirit of Christmas is about serving. It is about giving even if we may not feel like it is much, I promise you that any simple act of kindness can go a long way. It is little experiences like that, that I would not trade for the world. 

We are singing the song "Guard Him Joseph" in our ward choir and as we practiced yesterday, I could stop the emotions coming thinking of the words to the song.

1. Guard Him, Joseph, as He slumbers
There behind the stable doors.
Let no errant sound distress Him;
Tread thou softly on the floor.
Linger watchful round the manger;
Hush thy voice and still the beasts,
For thou hast within thy keeping
Christ, the infant Prince of Peace.
2. Guard Him, Joseph, through the darkness,
Watching o’er Him till the dawn.
Bid the shepherds enter meekly,
Stand in wonder, gaze in awe.
Trim thy lamp and shield thy candle;
See they burn all through the night,
For thou hast within thy keeping
Christ, the everlasting Light.
3. Guard Him, Joseph, from all danger;
Keep thy vigil nigh His bed.
Let no harm nor grief befall Him;
Stand thou in a father’s stead.
When His mother’s arms be weary,
Hold Him gently as thine own,
For thou hast within thy keeping
God’s own well-beloved Son.

I think of the role Joseph had to play as a father figure to the Son of God. I imagine how scared he must have been knowing the responsibility that lay ahead. I picture this sweet and innocent baby sleeping in a manger and Mary and Joseph looking over Him with adorning eyes. What a tender scene the nativity provides. I love my Savior, I love He left the comforts of His Heavenly home where he reigned as king of kings and entered the world in the most humble of circumstances.

We have seen miracles this week with some of the families we are working with. Your prayers are so needed. I cannot express the amount of gratitude for the love and the support you show me, and the people here. I love you guys! He is the gift. He is the greatest gift. Oh come let us adore Him-- Christ the Lord!
our friend Michelle
Posted by Lauren Mathis at 8:33 PM No comments:

Monday, December 8, 2014

Tis the Season to Just Do It!


Hello you amazing people you!

What another great week it was here in the Great Ohio Columbus Mission. I hope you all had a chance to watch the video "He Is The Gift." It has been so neat to be able to share that video with others and to pass out cards so they can go home and find access to it. I tell you the church is genius. We had our ward Christmas party on Saturday night and we had the privilege of watching the video with the whole ward and with our investigator. The video started and if you have seen it, it begins with the commercialism of Christmas. People were talking and kids were bouncing off the walls, but when the tone of the movie switched to the birth of our Savior there was a reverenced awe throughout the whole building. There was complete silence and the spirit came into the room so strong. No one could deny the special spirit that the short clip brought. The children were silent, and I firmly believe everyone who was in attendance felt the warmth of the spirit.

A couple of non-spiritual items. Let's just put it out there on the record that when I was a freshman or maybe a sophomore in high school I was madly obsessed as were all the other young women with David Archuleta. Well, I grew older and was over that obsession, but recently as a returned missionary he came out with a new song cover called Glorious. As a missionary your musical selection is very limited so we were so excited to hear this new song. My companion and I listen to it on average about 5 times a day. I think that obsession is coming back. My heart is absolutely locked but you cannot deny the voice of an angel. He must have inspired me to become a better singer because as a missionary I have sung at more things than I ever have in my whole life put together. That's one thing I love about a mission. It forces you to go out of your comfort zone and try new things. As many of you know my family is pretty musically talented...I must have skipped out on that gene, but I am working to grow that talent. I loved before my mission working at Nike because the saying at Nike is to "just do it." That is the same saying I use as a missionary, sometimes I may be scared, I may feel inadequate, I may be tired, the list can go on and on but we just have to go and do it! The Lord has such high expectations for us, and we cannot let Him down! No task is to great, or too challenging when you have the help of the Lord.
Awkward Family Photo
I love this work. I have such a love for my Savior. He is the gift that we are to discover, embrace, and share this Christmas season. This week I have been studying more of the role of Mary. She is an incredibly strong woman. How scared she must have been when the angel appeared to her and relayed the message that she was to be the mother of the Son of God. How humbled she must have been by the responsibility of  protecting and nurturing the baby Jesus. She truly understood what is meant to discover, embrace, and ultimately share her precious and beloved gift. I love this time of year and as I have been thinking about Mary I often think of the song "Mary Did You Know." One of my favorite lines in that song expresses "Mary did you know, the child that you delivered will soon deliver you?"

With Sister Wagstaff


" I testify that the Savior and His atonement has the enabling power to deliver us all. He lives. I know He lives, how grateful I am to share Him with others especially this Christmas season.

#Heisthegift

I love you all so very very much! Sister Mathis 

 

Posted by Lauren Mathis at 10:59 PM 1 comment:

Monday, December 1, 2014

Merry Christmas! He is the Gift!


Christmas Lights
Hope everyone had a tremendous Thanksgiving and had time to reflect on the many blessings our Heavenly Father  bestows upon each and everyone of us daily. I love the Holiday season and I am so grateful we are now in the blessed month of December! If you haven't already heard the church has come out with a new incredible video. If you remember around the Easter season there was a video that the church put out called "Because of Him." For this Christmas season the church has taken a bold stance and has created such a beautiful video called "He is the Gift." I have seen the video three times and every time I watch it, the spirit touches my heart and I get the chills. I would highly recommend that you go and watch it. There are three parts to the video, the first is to discover. Discover the video, discover how the spirit speaks to you, discover the true meaning of Christmas. The second step is to embrace what Christmas is all about. Strive to become a little bit more like Jesus Christ, emulate His character, and follow His example. The final step is to share. Share what brings you the most joy! What brings me true and eternal joy is the gospel. Joy comes through knowing I have a Father in Heaven and Savior who love me. When you discover the joy and the love you have for your Savior and His atonement you will want to share that with others. I testify that our Savior is the gift, He is the best gift. He is the way, the truth, and the light. I am forever grateful for Him.
Live Nativity Scene





We had a neat miracle this last week. We went over to have dinner with a part-member family. The mother is a member, the father is not. He has had lots of contact with missionaries and had pushed away from missionaries in the past. After we finished eating my companion and I had discussed prior that we would share the message of the restoration. We began by going over the point that God is our loving Heavenly Father and because He is our loving Heavenly Father He has given us Families, scriptures, and prophets to help us grow on our mortal journey. When we had reached the point where we were to recite the first vision the spirit was incredibly strong. The Father who had looked straight down the entire lesson looked up and made direct contact as I emotionally recited in Joseph Smith's own words an account of what he saw that day after He prayed. I know he felt something. I know the spirit has the power to touch the heart of anyone. I am grateful for the knowledge we have that Christ's church has been restored. I am grateful to have the Priesthood back on the earth in full force, as well as a prophet who is an incredible mouthpiece for our Heavenly Father. The message of the restoration can touch the hearts of many. What a divine gift we have to share what we know, and help others to come to that knowledge.





Baking pies with Michelle

We survived 4 rather large thanksgiving dinners. I loved having a thanksgiving as a missionary. I missed my family and friends, but I was grateful to spend that day with those that have become my family here in the great Ohio. My companion and I ran in the Turkey trot which was a blast. It snowed the whole race and our hair turned into icicles by the end. My time wasn't great, but it wasn't too bad for not having any training! Ohio State beat Michigan. Everyone here was pretty pumped up for the game. Lets just say we didn't go knocking any doors during that time. 
The Turkey Trot




I love being a missionary. I love this work. Everything of worth in this life is going to take work on our part. I love all of you!!

If you want to send me your Christmas cards you can send them to
Sister Lauren Mathis
19 Clairedan Dr.
Powell, OH
43065

If you want a Christmas card from me email me your address!!

Here is a link to the video
http://www.mormon.org/Christmas

#Heisthegift
#embracethespiritoftheseason
Posted by Lauren Mathis at 9:15 PM No comments:
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Contact Sister Mathis

lauren.mathis@myldsmail.net
Sister Lauren Jane Mathis
504 Lake Edge Way
Pickerington, OH 43147

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