Dear Sisters,

 

“By small and simple things are great things brought to pass.” (Alma 37:6)

 What an inspired passage – it causes us to think.  In the New Testament, the Jewish community is praying to be delivered from the hands of bondage.  They are promised a Messiah.  They expected a loud, clashing, war-like deliverance with much shedding of blood and a vindication.  And so they waited. 

 And while they waited, a baby was born under the humblest of circumstances, born in a stable.  Some people looked heavenward for a sign of His birth and saw a Star, but most of the world was unaware of His birth.  He was raised in a home of modest means and worked side-by-side with his earthly father learning the craft of carpentry.  When he became of age, he left his home and quietly preached his Heavenly Father’s words – words of love, forgiveness and meekness. 

 And the Jewish community continued to wait for their Messiah.  While listening for thunder, they missed the whispered words that delivered us all from bondage.  A small and simple thing.

 In our own lives, we have been touched by and participated in small and simple things.   It is likely that we do not know the outcome of most of the small acts of kindness.  Elder Jeffrey R. Holland (October 2008) said, “When we speak of those who are instruments in the hand of God, we are reminded that not all angels are from the other side of the veil.  Some of them we walk and talk with here, now, every day.  Some of them reside in our own neighborhoods.  Indeed heaven never seems closer than when we see the love of God manifested in the kinds of devotion of people so good and so pure that angelic is the only word that comes to mind.”

 President Monson refers to Charles Dicken’s immortal “Christmas Carol,” in which Ebenezer Scrooge is visited by his former partner, Marley, on the Eve of Christmas.  Marley sadly bemoans opportunities lost, “Why did I walk through crowds of fellow-beings with my eyes turned down, and never raise them to that blessed Star which led the Wise Men to a poor abode? Were there no poor homes to which its light would have conducted me!”

 As we enter the holiday season, our thoughts also turn to the angels among us that have touched us deeply through small and simple things.  Although, we may not know the outcome of some of our acts, we should remember those to which we are the beneficiary.  We have arrived at the conclusion that to be ungrateful is to be blind to happiness.  Let us take heed of Marley’s lament and turn our eyes upward, to raise them “to that blessed Star which led Wise Men.”  Let us listen to our Savior’s soft voice so that we can remain in his service – and by small and simple means, achieve great things.

 Has your life been touched by another sister?  Has someone acted as an angel in your life through a small act, perhaps without even knowing it.

 For our Christmas activity, we are asking each of you to share a memory of a way that other sisters have touched your life.  If an experience doesn’t come to your mind, share a Christmas tradition that has affected your life or a Christmas recipe. Please write in a letter format. If you wish to remain anonymous, please leave your name off.  Please email your letter to Nachelle Edgington, by no later than December 1^st, nachelle.edgington@gmail.com.

 

Thank you!  “By small and simple things are great things brought to pass

Love,

Relief Society Activities Board

November Preparedness Newsletter

Download Newsletter HERE

Oat Recipes

Homemade Instant Oatmeal
5 cups quick oats
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup of non-dairy creamer or powdered milk

Place 7 cups of quick oats into a large bowl. Puree the remaining 3 cups in a blender or food processor. Stir the pureed oatmeal into non-pureed quick oats. Stir in the brown sugar & non dairy coffee creamer or powdered milk. Package in resealable plastic bags with 1/2 cup of instant oatmeal mix in each one -OR- store the entire mix in an airtight container, scooping out 1/2 cup of mix each time you would like to make a bowl of oatmeal.

To prepare oatmeal: Mix 1/2 cup of oatmeal mix with 3/4 cup of water. Microwave for 1-2 minutes, depending on your microwave.

Apple Crisp
5-6 apples
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 cup uncooked oatmeal
1/3 cup butter
3/4 cup brown sugar
cinnamon
1/2 cup flour
white sugar

Slice apples in baking dish (peeled or unpeeled).  Sprinkle cinnamon and white sugar over apples.  Mix remaining ingredients with a fork and sprinkle on apples.  Bake at 350 degrees for 35 minutes.


Granola
2 cups oats (regular, not quick cooking)
1 1/2 cup nuts/seeds of your choice
1/3 cup oil 
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
pinch of nutmeg
pinch of ginger
1/3 cup honey or maple syrup
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 cup dried fruit
anything else you like

In a bowl combine the oats and nuts/seeds. Pour in oil and honey (or maple syrup) and stir to combine. Add in seasonings and vanilla and mix well. Spread out on a baking sheet covered in parchment paper and bake at 350 F for 25-30 minutes, stirring every 10 to make sure all pieces bake evenly. Add in dried fruit during the last 10 minutes of baking.  Store in an airtight container.

No Bake Cookies
2 cups white sugar
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup margarine
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
pinch of salt
1/2 cup peanut butter
3 cups quick oats

In a saucepan over medium heat, combine the sugar, cocoa, milk, and margarine.  Bring to a boil, stirring occasionally.  Boil for 1 minute, then remove from heat and stir in vanilla, salt, peanut butter and oats.
Drop by rounded spoonfuls onto waxed paper.  Allow cookies to cool for at least 1 hour.  Store in airtight container.  

*Note:  The 1 minute cooking time is important.  If cookies to not set, they were not boiled enough.  If cookies are dry and crumble, they were boiled too much.  

Oatmeal Cookies
1 cup butter
1 cup white sugar
1 cup brown packed sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
3 cups quick oats

 In a medium bowl, cream together butter, white sugar, and brown sugar.  Beat in eggs one at a time, then stir in vanilla.  Combine flour, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon;  stir into creamed mixture.  Mix in oats.  Cover, and chill dough for at least one hour.  Preheat oven to 375.  Grease cookie sheets. Drop walnut-sized balls of dough 2 inches apart on cookie sheets.  Flatten each cookie with a large fork dipped in sugar.  Bake 8-10 minutes in preheated oven.  Allow cookies to cool on baking sheet for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.