Christmas Time!

I just want to mention a couple of my favorite things about Christmas Time.

First of all, the happiness. I love how the Spirit helps to make people so happy! I love seeing people walking around with a smile on their face because they've tried a little harder to keep their thoughts focused on the Savior and on helping others. I wish people would always stay so focused so that happiness could always be so thick in the air.

I love the lights. Christmas lights are so wonderful and beautiful. They help to remind me of the Savior, and that He is a light for us; that looking toward Him will help us to be happy and help us to see through the darkness.

The music. Songs about Jesus Christ that are sounded all across the nation, gladdening hearts everywhere and bringing the spirit into many lives. Music that can soften the heart and turn people to look selflessly outward.

People. People everywhere, with thoughts on their minds of giving instead of getting. People who are focused on others are so beautiful to see, to talk to, to watch, to hear. It is so wonderful to see people with a smile on their lips as they walk with a close friend or family member, eager to see their face when they unveil the wonderful surprise they have for them. People laughing, skipping, running, smiling, singing, holding hands, handing off presents, presenting surprises, surprising each other with acts of kindness. Adventuring. People who get that it doesn't matter where you go, what you do, what you gift, what you get, as long as you are focused on other people and the savior. People who would sing even if the Grinch took all their presents and fancy decorations because they can feel the Savior's love and they have each other.

Laughter. Hearing people laugh, seeing people smile. It just shows that people are happy, and it makes others happy as well! Laughing is literally a way to share your happiness!!

Food. Food is good. And candy. And Chocolate. Oh, and pie; we mustn't forget pie.

The cold. I'm not sure why, but around Christmas Time, I love the fact that it's cold outside! The chill in the air is so refreshing! And it helps people to be grateful for their warm cozy houses and their delicious hot chocolate. It gives one another reason to be close to loved ones. It helps one remember the humble circumstances of Christ's birth.

The stories. Stories are so beautiful. I love to hear touching tales of the lives of people; a time where somebody made another's Christmas though selfless service and charity. I love to hear reminders of the true meaning of Christmas. I love to get to know people better through tales of their lives.

The love. To see a general shift from people being grumpy to people being grateful. For people expressing their love for the Savior, for each other, for Christmas, for friends, for family, for food. I love hearing that people love stuff!!! It's far too easy to dislike something; and around Christmas Time, we realize that liking that very same thing leads to much happiness! It's too easy to say, "This song is dumb. It's cheesy, and it has nothing to do with what Christmas is really about." But it's far for enjoyable to let it make you smile, and to dance about to it, and say it's cute, and then remember what Christmas is about anyway!! Why would you let yourself be unhappy in such a time of love? People love things for a reason, and if you can figure out how to love the things they love, you come to love them more as well. That's what Christmas is about. Learning to love as Jesus loved.

Folks, I love Christmas.

John Oldroyd just loves happy days. For him, today was a happy day. It started out with a churchball game, in which his team obviously dominated, due to their incredible skill level, and was quickly followed up by a fantastic breakfast at the Summers twins' abode. After that, the entire team went and played more basketball, since the first game was too easy.
Following those shenanigans (that's a fun word) John headed off to Timpview where he sat watching strange children from a little high school up north put on a production in his auditorium. After that, he had to fix the stage to back how it was supposed to be, and even got to drop the keys off the catwalk in the process. (Yes, he did do it on purpose, and yes, he got permission.)
After work, Johann hat zu Shelby's haus gefahrt und hangt mit Karli und Shelby aus. It was very nice. They made milkshakes.

Tidbits

I want to design an ACT question for the English section that goes something like this:

I cannot buy the duck because I have no change.


A. NO CHANGE
B. No Change.
C. no, change.
D. no change





Here's a riddle for you:

Imagine that all of the twos are threes:

2^2 = ?

Now, you may have said, "easy, that's 3^3, which equals 27!"
And you may have figured out that if ALL the twos are threes, then so is the one in your answer, meaning it equals 37!

But, either way you're wrong. No matter how hard you imagine, 2^2 will always equal 4.




Here's a real riddle for you. This one has no trickery or stupid answers, it's just hard to figure out.

If the three below statements are all true, what does 33+121 equal?

11+31 = 32
34+42 = 132
13 X 31 = 133

Yes, I designed this riddle myself. It's pretty brilliant.






This is completely unrelated to my riddle, but my riddle reminded me of this.
Find the next number in the sequence:
313, 331, 367... ?


Answer: 379
It's a sequence of happy primes.
Any number that reduces to one when you take the sum of the square of its digits and continue iterating until it yields one is a happy number; any number that doesn't, isn't. A happy prime is a number that is both happy and prime.