Although it was seventy seven degrees outside today, some radio stations are playing Christmas music, and the Santas are already at the mall, it doesn’t seem much like Christmas yet. This year, I have proposed a “service Christmas” for our family. I didn’t get much of a response; I think they were all too busy chewing their potatoes to notice.

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I am so full of gratitude right now. (I guess that’s better than plenty of other things I could be full of!) I am grateful for such talented writers who have contributed so much collected wisdom in this magazine. There is enough wise counsel that if followed, it could change all of our lives for the better.

I’m grateful that I have had the chance to read and absorb this counsel already, and it will be preserved in one place for me to use as a reference volume on gratitude.

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This issue of Desert Saints Magazine marks our seventh anniversary of monthly publication. In fact, this setting reminds me of when we put together our first issue. It was an uncertain time, in the immediate aftermath of the September 11th attacks. People were paralyzed with fear. No one seemed to know what to do. Our whole world was turned upside-down.

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I turned a page in my life today. As I write this, it’s the first day of school. I sent three kids off to school this morning, leaving me with only two little ones at home for six hours. This year, I don’t have a kindergartener, tying me to three daily bus schedules. Nor do I have a newborn, tying me to nap schedules and nursing times in between three bus schedules.

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Imperfect and flawed though our families are, it is the deepest desire of every human heart to have a loving family. Some days it’s easy to love my family, and some days it takes a fervent prayer to love them! But we must love one another. The Lord told us, “I say unto you, be one; and if ye are not one ye are not mine” (D&C 38:27). President James E. Faust added to that, “Unity in the Church will always be a reflection of the unity in our homes.”

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