Month: December 2020

What Is A Gift They Would Really Like?

When have you wanted to give someone who had no wish list a gift, but questioned what is a gift they would really like?

Has there ever been someone for whom you wanted to buy a gift, for any special occasion—birthday, valentines, anniversary, Christmas, etc. that did not come right out and express what they wanted nor share a wish list with you when asked directly, leaving you stuck with no idea what to get them and wondering what is a gift they would really like?

I have…. and just recently….until I focused on their from time to time, subtle communications in reference to specific gifts they would really like.  

I love Christmas and the magic of Christmas and the excitement on Christmas day of seeing loved ones open up the thoughtful gifts I personally select for them indicating that I see them and know them. 

This year was a lot more challenging as I struggled not only to find items for those who provided me with a wish list, but even more so when a list was not given. Nonetheless, I was up for the challenge. I just hoped I would figure it out before Christmas. To which I did. The weeks leading up to that anticipated day, my ears were honed into dialogues with whom I did not receive a list and I reflected on prior conversations I’ve had with them. Before too long, I had a number of ideas of what gifts to get for them between what I picked up on through observation for what they may appreciate getting to what I recollected they had in passing nonchalantly expressed they would really like.

Going from not having any idea to knowing a couple handful of gifts I could get for them was super exciting, though, I kept that knowledge and enthusiasm to myself. I did not want to give away that even though they didn’t come right out and tell me, I knew exactly what they wanted as well as what they may appreciate getting. I was looking so forward to Christmas day to see their reaction. 

One by one, it was a tender mercy that after hours of going in and out of many different stores all throughout the holiday season, I found each item. I was so happy and most especially giddy about one in particular. It was one they had seen on TV that was described to me with great interest when I returned home one evening from being out. 

Just three days before Christmas, as this particular gift item had been on the back of my mind, but I had not gotten around to researching about it, it was a tender mercy that in only going off of the description shared as I had not seen it myself, the exact product they had seen on TV came up right away when I google searched it. I saw that the item was carried in several stores near me which was a relief as my preference is in-store shopping and I was up against the wire, but each store I called was completely out of that item. 

When I returned to the product information online, there was another store I had missed and upon my calling them, it was a tender mercy there was one of that product remaining on their shelf. The employee offered to go get it and hold it for me. Oh, my excitement! I responded with an absolute and delighted yes! Within a 1/2 hour I was in the store picking it up. I marveled and felt such joy and gratitude I had this last minute and most important gift, that wrapped up my gift buying purchases, in my hand. Christmas was a success! Each gift was well-received and appreciated!

When have you wanted to give someone who had no wish list a gift, but questioned what is a gift they would really like and in paying close attention to their subtle mention here and there of ideas, you knew just what to get them?

tendermercym❤️ments~jld

“How have you noticed Heavenly Father’s awareness and mindfulness of you today?”

*If you would like to receive an email when new posts are published which includes an audio version of the posts as well, please send your name and email address to tendermercymoments@gmail.com.

Best-Laid Plans Even More So Improved Upon

And, when my best-laid plans are even more so improved upon, I am overjoyed!

Strategizing and coordinating events in the most optimal and efficient way as possible from setting up large group rotation schedules to planning out the best routes to travel when running errands to multiple places all over town is something I thoroughly enjoy. And, when my best-laid plans are even more so improved upon, I am overjoyed! 

With Christmas only a week away and it being the last day of school for our kids before the winter break, I was concerned about not catching those I wanted to deliver gifts to prior to their possibly leaving town for the holidays. I connected with each via a text message asking if they would be around prior to a specific late afternoon time, allowing a cushion for me to pick up our newly spayed puppy from the veterinary clinic within the designated final two hours before they closed. Ideally, I hoped to arrive within the first hour as I was anxious to get to her as soon as possible and spend the rest of the evening providing her comfort and my undivided love and attention as she began the two week incision healing and recovery process.

As almost everyone, except for a couple, one-by-one, quickly responded to my message, the majority of them shared the same approximate time for me to come by. Their places of residence were in several different neighborhoods stretched out in my community. Strategizing the coordination of how to get to each home within the short available window was a fun, albeit bit tricky challenge for me. When delays transpired that extended the time longer to get from one place to another, I revamped my plan a few times to best optimize the distance I needed to travel and keep within the allotted timeframe. Along the way, when I knew I would arrive later than the originally planned time, I reached out to adjust the time. It was a tender mercy each one kindly obliged to the alteration and indicated they would still be home. 

My plan though well laid out, even so, with a couple homes left to go, it was a tender mercy an unexpected call I received from someone I thought was in a pinch and needed my help further refined my best-laid plan. Immediately, I rerouted and headed their way to assist them and learned just before reaching their place that they did not need my help. As a result of rerouting, I happened to pass a home I was going to deliver to last and saw that they were outside. It was a tender mercy I was able to drop off their gift lickety-split and from there able to deliver the remaining gift and pick up our puppy thirty minutes sooner than I had anticipated.

When have your best-laid plans been further refined and even more efficient and optimal than you had well-devised?

tendermercym❤️ments~jld

“How have you noticed Heavenly Father’s awareness and mindfulness of you today?”

*If you would like to receive an email when new posts are published which includes an audio version of the posts as well, please send your name and email address to 

tendermercymoments@gmail.com.

A Light In The Darkness

When have you been provided a light in the darkness during a time you could not see and needed the light?

Twice this evening, practically back to back, I and another person were separately provided a light in the darkness.  

While traveling in our teenage drivers’ older car to drop off one of my children at a school basketball game, upon our arrival, after parking in a stall to wait and observe their safe entrance into the gym, my hands felt sticky and dirty. As I looked in the middle console of the car for hand wipes, to which there was none, I spotted a flashlight. I was drawn to what was wrapped around the exterior of the flashlight. It was a message that read, “Be Different, Stand Out, Be A Light”.

Once my child was safely inside the gym, as I was about to leave and go back home, I observed a man parked a few stalls away from me to my left, with no cars between us, changing his flat tire. I felt impressed to roll down my window and share with him what a tender mercy that he was able to make it off the nearby highway and into the gym parking lot to change the tire in a safe place rather than being stuck changing it on the highway. He was very appreciative of the wonderful blessing. After that brief interaction, upon my departure, I recognized another tender mercy. As dusk was fast approaching, I noticed that he would have a light in the darkness while he changed his tire as he was parked in a location right under a parking lot light. 

On my way back home, just before I arrived, I heard something fall to the floor near or around the front passenger seat. At this point, the sun had completely set. After I reached our driveway, parked, and turned off the car, I looked for it, but I couldn’t see what it was or where it had fallen. It was a tender mercy that where my light on my phone did not work, I was fortunately aware of the flashlight in the middle console and I had a light in the darkness to find and pick up the object as well as see to gather all my belongings prior to my exit out of the car. 

When have you been provided a light in the darkness during a time you could not see and needed the light? 

tendermercym❤️ments~jld

“How have you noticed Heavenly Father’s awareness and mindfulness of you today?”

*If you would like to receive an email when new posts are published which includes an audio version of the posts as well, please send your name and email address to tendermercymoments@gmail.com.

What To Do? What To Do?

What To Do? What To Do? Each evening, we have enjoyed well spent, quality hours of fun together eating a Christmas treat and playing a game.

What To Do? What To Do?

As my children are getting older, I still want Christmas to be a magical time of year. I LOVE Christmas. It is magical for me and I don’t ever want that to go away. With the Christmas season upon us, I so wanted to come up with activities our two kids still at home would enjoy doing all together as a family during the days leading up to Christmas day. The question was “What To Do? What To Do?” I spent a lot of time thinking about what to do without any answer coming to me, until the answer came through a series of events and then I could barely contain my excitement and giddiness to share the idea, first with my husband and then our kids. 

A couple of days prior to the first of December while on a drive with one of my children, I asked them about our Christmas traditions and which ones they liked and would like to continue to carry on this upcoming Christmas season. As I went down the list, the activities our family has done in year’s past did not so much interest them any longer, except for one, ice skating. Desiring to come up with more than just that one activity our children, who are not so little anymore and will be leaving home all too soon, would enjoy was a challenge. 

During our dialogue, it was a tender mercy I was prompted to ask them if they like games to which they said yes in a casual kind of way and it was expressed again what they, as of late, had brought up several times before of a game we did not have that they were interested in playing. Traditionally, every year for Christmas our family has unwrapped a new game. Of the number of games we have, most have only been played once or not at all as we gravitate to our favorite top go-to games—Ticket To Ride, Settlers of Catan, Boggle, Apples To Apples, Rook, and Phase 10. 

Though following our conversation I was still unsure what to do that would engage our children to enjoy the spirit of the holiday all season long up through Christmas day and my prayers to know what to do continued, the prompting kickstarted what became a fully formed idea that began on December 1. 

On this mid morning Tuesday, it was a tender mercy I felt impressed to reopen an email I had received from our women’s Relief Society organization at church about an upcoming homeless care kit collection service activity. Even though I would be unable to attend the activity, I wanted to help out. Upon my also going to our Relief Society Facebook page to see if there was a list of what was needed to then gather what items our family had on hand to donate to the cause and deliver them to the Relief Society President that afternoon, the first thing I saw as I opened up Facebook was a friend share on their Facebook stories the #LightTheWorld calendar. Not realizing as the day began that it was December 1st nor was I at all aware the #LightTheWorld countdown would be happening again this year, grateful to not miss the opportunity to start with day 1, it was a tender mercy I saw the post when I did and the first day of the countdown was about donating to a charity to which it so happened I was in the process of doing.  

From there, it was a tender mercy I was prompted to open up another email from our ward Bishop regarding an Angel Tree to which I wanted to help out in that way as well. As I began taking an inventory of what gifts for what ages I already had on hand from purchases I have made over the years and saved specifically to give for birthdays and Christmas, I discovered an unexpired sealed box of cordial cherry chocolates from last Christmas.  

While in route the few minutes away from my place to drop off the items for the homeless service project with plans of returning home right after, it was a tender mercy that per the series of events above, a spontaneous, on the spot, impression as to what activity to do that would suit our family well dawned on me. It was to do a 25 day Christmas countdown in which each day one family member would secretly wrap a Christmas treat of their choosing and a second family member would likewise secretly wrap a game of their choosing from our current selection of games or the purchase of a new game and then a third family member would unwrap the treat and the fourth family member would unwrap the game and we would spend the evening eating the treat and playing the game. Every day after, up through Christmas day, we would rotate who did what. I was super ecstatic about this splendid idea and could not wait to share it with our family. 

After delivering the items, I straightaway drove to a store nearest me to purchase the very game my child had most recently, here and there, requested. Originally, I was going to drive to a store further away because it was where I had seen the game days earlier, yet it was a tender mercy that I felt impressed to go to the store just up the street from me and being that they too had the game, I saved a lot of time not sitting in rush hour traffic and money for gas had I traveled 4x the distance to the other store.  

Once home, I couldn’t wait to gather our family together to share the idea with them. With giddiness and enthusiasm, I began by asking them what day it was. One of our children responded with December 1. They then asked if we were doing the #LightTheWorld countdown. It was remarkable this child remembered it from the Christmas past and I happily shared that we, without initially being aware, participated in Day 1 and then I proceeded to excitedly present the activity idea that had come to me. 

It was a tender mercy that everyone was on board and where I had hoped that one day we would take the time to play our other games, now was that opportunity. Also, it was a tender mercy that the 25 day countdown idea came on December 1. As we began the countdown that evening, the child wanting the new game was pleased when they opened up the first wrapped gift to see the game of their choosing and that it would be the first one we played, and our other child opened up the wrapped cordial cherry chocolates.

It has been an incredible Christmas season thus far. Our 25 day Christmas countdown has been a daily event everyone has looked forward to with joy. When I asked my children, “If we didn’t have any gifts on Christmas day and this is all we did, would they be ok with that?” They said yes. Each evening, we have enjoyed well spent, quality hours of fun together eating a Christmas treat and playing a game. 

When has an answer to a prayer in which you desired to know “What to do? What to do?” come by way of a series of events? 

tendermercym❤️ments~jld

“How have you noticed Heavenly Father’s awareness and mindfulness of you today?”

*If you would like to receive an email when new posts are published which includes an audio version of the posts as well, please send your name and email address to tendermercymoments@gmail.com.