we had an interesting lesson in relief society today if i had to give it a title it would have been "more family for your buck this holiday season." it was actually really good. there were some funny stories shared and good ideas given. we have a tongan woman by the name of sela fenga in our ward and she rules (she bought three board games from me at the garage sale, i told her to give me a couple bucks and she made me take a $10, she rules). really though, she is so cool. she is one of those ladies who when she speaks i always want to listen. she has had so many cool life experiences, her stories always hit me the right way. we were talking about how christmas these days revolves around money, yadda, yadda, yadda, and she commented. i listened. then i decided that i want to jump plane and go to an island and live simply. i feel like my life is pretty simple, but i could get down to just the basics and be ever so happy. she told of how when she was growing up she and her siblings went to school, then came home and did chores. when their work was done they would run to the beach. "to run in the sand, to jump in the water and swim, this was our fun." then she spoke of christmas- how the didn't even know what money looked like, how all they looked forward to was their cousins coming to visit, how her dad would hang big bunches of bananas from their avocado tree and on christmas day they would sit under the tree and eat bananas with their family and that was their treat.
sign me up.
thank you sela, i want to be even more like you when i am old and tongan. i can see why luke's parents loved living there so much. and luke, why didn't you do for dual citizenship? we could get some land, an avocado tree and some bananas and live happily ever after.
8 comments:
cool.
i need to be way better about simplifing christmas.
i had a way long dream about you last night- kind of weird!!! but i woke up totally feeling like we just spent the day together and i had to keep reminding myself we didin't really.
maybe one day???? :)
this is a very good thing for me to read right now. i could do this kind of christmas- sign the robertsons up. :)
amen, amen, and amen.
i always think about this. how we really don't need TVs, highchairs, iPods, etc. etc. etc. i would LOVE to live in tonga, or fiji, or somewhere like that.
sign me up.
First of all, I love your Sunday nap tradition! Enjoy that as long as it lasts :) Mine don't nap anymore!
Second, I love that lesson. Christmas should be simple and more about spending time with family and thinking about the Savior. LOVE IT! I miss Hawaii for that reason. Things seemed simpler, or maybe I just didn't have kids yet!
that lesson was so great if for no other reason than SELA FEINGA. she's amazing. i loved how she is so funny when she tells her stories too. ashley, you know you're missing laie already.
I would love to switch into that mode of Christmas...then maybe the "true meaning of Christmas" would really fill my holiday season. Take my family to an island, give us some bananas, and I think I'd be happy. Christmas is WAY commericalized, which is sad. For instance, that Walmart employee who died after getting run over by a large group of customers looking to get that great deal on a TV...SERIOUSLY, what's Christmas about?
That is a really good lesson for everyone to hear right now I'm sure. Being at the beach would be good enough for a few Christmas' to come. I can't wait until I'm old and tongan too...
Would you mind if we inhabited your island with you guys? I promise we would be as basic as possible! Why is it so easy to forget to be simple?? It's like we spend our lives wanting things to be more simple, when they aren't because we make it that way! Hmmm... I need to fix this problem. Step #1- back to da kine.
Hope all the moving prep is going good!
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