Tell Me the Stories of Jesus
Posted by Catherine A. | August 23, 2012 | 21 Comments
Last week I took my mom to lunch to celebrate her 65th birthday. We marked her birthday with the usual gifts and cards, but instead of counting candles, we counted miracles. My Mom is unexplainably beating her second brain tumor. Four summers ago she was re-diagnosed with the same kind of cancer she battled when she was forty-seven. Over the last two decades she has had four brain surgeries, countless MRIs, and rounds of radiation and chemo. Now, her tumor is lying listless. It is taking up space, but for the most part, she is asymptomatic. Each year, each day she is with us, is a reason to celebrate.
While we rejoice, she feels responsibility. She wonders what she is meant to do with this gift of time. She prays about it often, wants to do God’s will with her extended life. But she’s a changed person. Cancer has stolen a bit of her capacities, her energy, her vim for taking on big things. Mostly she feels the need to say yes to her daughters when they ask if they can drop their children off for an hour or two, let her daughter-in-law stay for months at a time in between international moves, simply be there for her family.
Last Christmas, however, she took on a pretty big project. She spent hours putting together a book for each of her children. Not a genealogical history or a scrapbook of her life. No. It was a collection of the stories of Jesus.
Unable to find a children’s book that met her standard for text and image, she decided she would make her own. She began with Jesus’ birth in the manger and concluded with his appearance in the Sacred Grove. She selected artwork from her favorite painters and next to that art, retold each depicted story in her own words, quoting verses and and listing a complete harmony of references at the bottom. I can’t imagine the time she must have spent gathering the right pictures and piecing together the right words.
In a letter to her children and grandchildren that acts as a foreword to the book, she quoted Elder Neil A. Anderson:
“The stories of Jesus can be like a rushing wind across the embers of faith in the hearts of our children. The stories of Jesus shared over and over bring faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and strength to the foundation of testimony… Can you think of a more valuable gift for our children?”
So we’ve been reading my Mom’s book. Each day at lunchtime I pull out the binder and share a story with my children. It’s become such a habit, if I get distracted and forget, one of my children will dutifully remember. “It’s time for scripture story, Mom!”
I know these stories. But I am coming to love them in new ways as I read my Mom’s paragraphs, glean her insights and perspective. The other day I was telling my children that just as Jesus calmed the storm on the sea, he can calm the storm in our hearts – the worry, the anger, our most heavy concerns. And when I repeated His command, “Peace, Be Still,” I realized the stories of Jesus are as much for me as they are for my children.
My Mother and I shared hummus and pita, halved our sandwiches with each other, laughed over this and that, and talked about what kind of journeys might be ahead of her with this new bout of time she’s been afforded. As I dropped her off I said, “Oh Mom! I’ve been meaning to tell you. We’ve been reading your book. Every day we read a story. And my kids are loving it. It’s been very special to us. Thank you.”
She swallowed hard and I saw water in her eyes. “That means a lot to me Cath. I’m so glad you told me.” Up to that point, none of her six children (myself included) had mentioned to her we’d been using her book. She figured it was sitting somewhere, closed on a shelf, gathering dust in a drawer. What a shame that would be. Her book is a treasure of treasures.
In the later years of her life, it has helped me see what really matters to her. It’s not her photography club, her gardening, or cooking the perfect family meal. More than anything, she wants her children and grandchildren to know the stories of Jesus and have a relationship with Him.
She knows our lives are happiest when we are tethered to Him. She knows the scriptures can help us access His divine strength and peace. And I know, when we hear or tell His stories, the Spirit does act like a rushing wind across our embers of faith, confirming to us that Christ’s life was no fictitious legend, but a true display of the most elevated love.
How have/are the stories of Jesus blessing your life, or your family’s life?
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21 Responses to “Tell Me the Stories of Jesus”
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August 23rd, 2012 @ 5:34 am
What a beautiful gift! I love the example your mom has set. I want one of those books.
I need to refocus on sharing the simple stories of Jesus with my kids. We have been readin the Book of Mormon, but I think sharing pictures will help my 2 youngest.
Knowing who the Savior is begins with these simple times at our mother’s side or in her lap hearing her voice share his life and love. My mother gave me that and I needed this reminder to pass it on.
Thanks!
August 23rd, 2012 @ 5:36 am
I wish you could share that book. I would love to have something like that for my girls. We have the LDS picture scriptures, but I still can’t get my 2yo to sit and focus if I try to pull that out.
August 23rd, 2012 @ 6:21 am
Love.
And what a thick binder it is!
August 23rd, 2012 @ 8:13 am
Sage and Peyton – I’ve told my Mom we ought to work on getting her book published. I think it would be a wonderful tool for families. Maybe?
Sage – I agree: knowing the Savior can begin with simple times at our mother’s side. Beautiful.
Peyton – What are LDS picture scriptures? Is it similar to the Gospel Art Kit? My (barely) 3 year old boys can’t sit still for long either. Eating lunch seems to work well b/c they’re strapped into booster seats! lol.
August 23rd, 2012 @ 8:23 am
My mother has done books like this before when she wants to share something with her grandchildren, but she can’t find the right book to buy. Love it.
I love to read the stories of Jesus’ interaction with women.
August 23rd, 2012 @ 8:38 am
Catherine: Thanks for writing this up and sharing the pictures. I feel such warmth and happiness seeing three generations connect through the textual artifact of the book. Tradition, faith, legacy, love, literacy, etc. The connections go up and down the tree: grandma to mom to kids, but it also helps the siblings connect, too. Binding the generations with shared values through a tactile object. You were very wise and kind to report the book’s use to your mom.
August 23rd, 2012 @ 8:46 am
I love this so much.
And I’m so glad you told your mom about it. I hope she sees this post–the pictures are priceless.
August 23rd, 2012 @ 9:02 am
I love this idea so much. My wish for my grandkids is to really know their grand parents and their faith. I will be remembering this for a long time. Thanks for sharing.
August 23rd, 2012 @ 9:10 am
i LOVE this idea. we’ve been using the gospel image library (the church has it available in a printed/spiral bound form) and the nursery manual to guide our scripture study with our little girls because they have a hard time focusing on much more than a single picture for a few minutes and i have a hard time with the book of mormon reader. but i usually just wing it when i’m talking about the stories and i would love to have a more thought out script to follow, especially with the words of my mother. it sounds like your mom has left her family a great legacy.
August 23rd, 2012 @ 10:30 am
Not sure why, but this post really pulled my heartstrings … tears are flowing
I think all of your readers are dreaming of getting their hands on such a treasure. If it ever is published, be sure to let us know! And thanks for the beautiful insights. This was a lovely post.
August 23rd, 2012 @ 1:37 pm
I know what it feels like to work on something for my children or grandchildren and then to have no one mention it. So I’m certain you made your Mom so very happy to have told her you are daily enjoying the book she made for your family. What a great idea she had, and how wonderful she carried it through. Hopefully it will be passed down for generations.
August 23rd, 2012 @ 10:09 pm
This is absolutely beautiful.
August 23rd, 2012 @ 11:20 pm
Amira – I too love the Lord’s attention to women in the NT.
KDA – loved your take on this, of connections up and down the family tree. I hadn’t considered it from some of those angles. Just beautiful. Thank you.
Melissa – got your email as well. Thank you so much for your words. I’ll be your biggest cheerleader if you pull something together to submit again. xo
Debra – is the gospel image library the same as the gospel art kit? I’m curious as to other resources available. And the nursery manual for three and under is a wonderful idea!
Emily – it would be such a great teaching tool, to have something like this widely available. I will definitely let you know!
Grandma Honey – appreciated your perspective here – of being on the giving side. I hope her book is passed on and on too. Blessings friend.
Anyone else that would like to speak to the stories of Jesus touching their life?
August 24th, 2012 @ 1:04 am
Cath…thanks for sharing this. Your Mom has motivated me to do the same. I’m not sure I have it in me to do it all at once…maybe one story year…so by the time the kids are all grown up they’ll have their own personal volume of stories of Jesus share from their own Mother. What a priceless and wonderful gift. Your post also reminding me of the need to thank my parents more often for all that they do for me and my family.
August 24th, 2012 @ 3:58 am
http://store.lds.org/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/Product3_715839595_10557_21008_-1__195747
They have editions for each of the general works. And they’re nice, but still aimed more at a 4-6yo level, I think. It also seems when I was young (so, 20+ years ago) that there was a video edition; basically just a slideshow of the pictures–a lot of which are from the gospel art kit, I think, or vice versa–while someone read the stories. I might see if they’ve released that on DVD for my kids’ Christmas stockings or next year’s Easter baskets.
August 24th, 2012 @ 10:08 am
Catherine: This is a beautiful idea. I am an adult convert, however “Tell Me the Stories of Jesus” was one of my favorite songs that we sang in the church I grew up in. This is such a wonderful idea and I want to plan a book like this for my children. Thank you for the inspiration the entire story and the comments have brought tears to my eyes.
While I can see great value in having your mom publish this book I believe the greater value is in her personal inspiration in her writings that are for her own grandchildren.
I am sure that one reason (besides being “strapped” LOL) that your children can focus on these stories is that they know they came from their grandmother. This tradition that you have begun touches on the things that KDA and Debbiemom mentioned in their comments.
I love the idea of you passing this down to future generations. If your mom does not publish this through a publishing house you might consider self publishing on a place like create space or lulu. That way it can be preserved for future generations. Hope she also has a digital copy (such as a .pdf format) that can be saved for future generations.
Thank you so much for sharing this!
It has enriched my life and hopefully will enrich my family’s life. 
August 24th, 2012 @ 7:50 pm
catherine – i just checked and the official title is “gospel art book.”
speaking to your question of how the stories of jesus have affected my life: one of the things that i’ve been overwhelmed by as i tell my children the stories of jesus is that the overarching themes are simple ones of love and service to all of god’s children – both through stories of miracles performed, as well as the atonement.
August 26th, 2012 @ 12:16 am
Cheree – what wisdom to express gratitude to your/our parents. And I love your motivation (as well as your realistic goals) of putting together a book for your own children. Blessings to you!
Peyton – thank you!! Easter baskets – an excellent idea. I so appreciate you sleuthing that out.
Janis – “While I can see great value in having your mom publish this book I believe the greater value is in her personal inspiration in her writings that are for her own grandchildren.” How right you are. I love that you were already familiar with the children’s song, “Tell Me…” and self-publishing is probably the perfect solution here. Thank you!
Debra – thank you. I plan on looking into all the resources listed here. Beautiful thoughts about love, service, and miracles. Yes, we learn so much from Jesus’ interactions with others, including the Father.
August 26th, 2012 @ 3:01 am
The older I get, the more of life I see, the more I realize that nothing matters more than the Atonement. This post has made me, however, want to engage the specific stories of Jesus with more deliberateness to see what they have to teach me. And it’s made me also want to be more deliberate about recording my testimony for my children.
Thank you for this post.
September 3rd, 2012 @ 9:35 pm
I love to share the stories of the scriptures with my children. I love to hear them make connections and find context and a frame of reference for their experiences. I love when they surprise me with comments about “being a Laman and Lemuel brother instead of a Nephi brother” or about making a choice that was “in the great and spacious building instead of on the straight and narrow path”. I love hearing them apply and liken those things to themselves. This post makes me want to be sure to put proper emphasis on the stories of Christ’s life specifically. His personal ministry! Of all the great scripture stories to teach and repeat, I want to be sure the life of Christ is as familiar as possible to these little minds and hearts so that their life can find pattern in that most important context. Thank you to your sweet mother for the reminder!
September 18th, 2012 @ 10:53 pm
Thank you for your touching post! I only have a 9-month old and I am already wanting to do this for MY grandchildren. Ha!