The Season of Giving

I had the pleasure of attending Delta Gamma's Lectureship in Ethics and Values at the University of Oklahoma this past Friday evening. I enjoyed meeting Leigh Anne Tuohy, the woman that inspired the book and movie, "The Blind Side". I must say that the casting director for the movie did a great job, as they nailed it on the head with casting Sandra Bullock for Leigh Anne. Sandra played her character so well. It was so fun to hear all about Mrs. Tuohy's experiences as Michael became part of the family. There were two things that struck me hard that Leigh Anne said.

Leigh Anne said that ever since she made the decision to turn the car around on a dark, cold, misty night to pick Michael up, every day is Christmas for the Tuohy family. That is how blessed they are to have Michael in their lives. All because Leigh Anne decided to turn the car around because of her motherly instincts.

What I really left Mrs. Tuohy's presentation with was this: "Do something today that you didn't do yesterday". I couldn't stop thinking about this. What was I going to do? How could I make a difference? Many of my friends are doing great things in the community. I have four friends (and sisters) who just walked the Susan G. Komen 3 Day for the Cure, I have dear friends that go to City Rescue Mission every week and spend their time pouring out their love for underpriveledged children, One of my dear friends and roommates for next semester spends hours beyond hours volunteering at a child's daycare through a program at OU, and so on....

I got to thinking... What have I done? What can I do?

I currently serve as a Co-Philanthropy chair in the Energy Management Student Association at OU. This semester, my Co-chairs and I have been blessed with the opportunity to plan community service activities for our organization to participate in. Most recently, we kicked off a canned food drive for Norman Salvation Army. In one night, we reached over 250 cans. Today we got together to deliver the first collection of cans to the Salvation Army.

I did something today that I did not do yesterday. My heart melted the instant that we arrived with our 7 or 8 large boxes of canned goods. We had men and women pouring out of the office to help us unload with smiles bigger than you can imagine. They knew they would be able to provide dinner for their family tonight. As I was taking pictures with these gracious people to show to our organization, I had to fight back tears. The pantry was oddly bare seeming as how this is right around the holidays... Thanksgiving only a mere week away, so the amount of food we brought today from just one night seemed like a fortune to these people. I then realized, I have made a difference.

What can you do today that you did not do yesterday? If you are on the fence on what you can do.. Take a box of canned goods to the Salvation Army. Volunteer to to ring the bells for the Salvation Army the weeks leading up to Christmas. Say a prayer for all the people in need. Say a prayer giving thanks for all of the things that you have that the Lord has blessed you with.

"A generous man will himself be blessed, for he shares his food with the poor"

Proverbs 22:9

Traditions: Old and New

With midterm exams and all of the usual busy distractions of the Fall semester at school, the fact that the Holiday Season has finally rolled around completely slipped my mind! I absolutely love the Holidays, especially Thanksgiving. I love seeing my family and catching up with those that I do not get to see often and most of all giving thanks for all of the wonderful blessings in my life that have been given to me by my Savior! The feeling of being surrounded by the people that I love gives me the most comfort and joy.

This morning, as I was trying to hold in my excitement for my trip home for Thanksgiving- as I still have quite a few projects and exams standing in my way before I head South, I was admiring all of the beautiful Christmas decorations that have been set up in my sorority house. The garland on our big staircase is my favorite. It is so beautiful and the lights sparkle, especially at night. As I was looking at all of the decorations, I was thinking to myself, "Isn't it too early to have Christmas decorations up? It is only November 7th. It's not even Thanksgiving yet!" 

The Johnson family does not decorate for Christmas until after Thanksgiving- it is our tradition! I then started to think about traditions. What does the word tradition mean to you? Do you have any traditions? My family has had many traditions throughout the years. Ever since I can remember, I have always enjoyed having traditions and sharing them with my beloved family. The earliest tradition I can think of is going to the Shrine Circus with my Nana and Grandy every year. Though I was terrified of the clowns, I loved to ride the elephants, get my face painted and of course, get spoiled by Grandy. Here are some other traditions I can remember:

Spending Thanksgiving at the Circle Bar Ranch

         This was taken last Thanksgiving at the Circle Bar Ranch

-Easter Egg hunts at the Farm in Wills Point

-Decorating turkey cookies with Nana 

-Matching Christmas dresses with my sister, Abigail (and sometimes Mom, too- embarrassing, I know)

-Sitting at the "kids" table with all of my cousins at family get-togethers at Grandmommie and Granddaddy's house

-Baking pumpkin bread for all of our teachers (usually around 10pm the night before school let out for the Holiday break)

-Going back to school shopping with Nana before each year in High School 

-Looking at the Christmas lights on Lake Worth with Nana and Grandy

As you can tell, not only was I spoiled by my grandparents growing up, I was used to many traditions, especially around the Holidays. When looking back on these great memories of these traditions that I grew up knowing, I realized that it wasn't really about what we were doing, it was about the people that I shared those moments with. 

This was a great realization to have, as I have been pretty disappointed about not spending Thanksgiving at the Ranch this year for the first time in many years. My Grandaddy (Dad's father) just turned 87 years old this week, and unfortunately has suffered a stroke. After the loss of his wife, my Grandmommie, things have been increasingly difficult for him. We decided as a family to stay in Fort Worth and celebrate Thanksgiving there this year, where Granddaddy can comfortably attend. I'm not going to lie, I have been totally bummed about not going to the Ranch--- it was breaking tradition! But after thinking today, all of those traditions would be meaningless without the people I spent them with. So though we are breaking a tradition this year with Thanksgiving, I still have the incredible blessing of spending the holiday with my amazing family. This gives me a complete new outlook on traditions. I cannot wait to see the family in Fort Worth and celebrate Thanksgiving at home and create a NEW tradition. 

             This is Me, Grandaddy and my Dad this past Christmas

What family Holiday traditions do you have? Think about all of the wonderful people that you share those traditions with. This Thanksgiving, give thanks for those special people. Thank the Lord for all of the blessings that have been in your life. 

"For every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights." James 1:17