Talking in Church . . .

I am confident I have never been excited to speak in church before, but I am feeling sooo excited to speak in church this coming Sunday. Initially I rolled my eyes and took a deep breath and thought, well, we're new in the ward, yada-yada, but I've totally changed my mind. My topic is "Charity" and it is so much fun!! I have been reading story after story of wonderful examples of charity. Why do I love these stories? Because I feel the Spirit of the Lord each time I read them-- it touches my heart, brings tears to my eyes, sends a shiver down my spine, and warms me up. The ward who helped a mom give her 3 year old disabled daughter physical therapy and she finally learned to crawl, the missionary who sent money to a friend to send back to his own mission companion to help where the boy's family couldn't, the girl scout who visited a nursing home as a challenge and made a wonderful friend, the teenager who let a stranded family into his home during a snowstorm, the boy who decided to use his college savings to give his family a christmas during the depression, and there are so many other wonderful stories!!

What a wonderful topic to be assigned!! I have no idea how I'm going to narrow everything down to 10 minutes!! A list of all I've read follows, but these stories are everywhere this time of year so they shouldn't be hard to find!!

Scriptures:
1 Corithians 13
Moroni 7:44-48 (For the full effect I like to start reading at about verse 37)
TG Charity; Love; Family, Love Within

Books:
Secret Santa by Anne Osborn Poelman
No Room in the Inn by Katherine Paterson
Shepherds, Why This Jubilee? by Jeffrey R. Holland
A Christmas Treasury for Latter-Day Saint Families by Lloyd and Karmel Newell
Night Tree by Eve Bunting
Merry Christmas, Big Hungry Bear! by Don and Audrey Wood,
Sunshine for the Latter-Day Saint Missionary Soul and so on . . .)

Ensign Talks: Search "Charity" at lds.org Gospel Library for lots more!!
"The Great Commandment" by Joseph B Wirthlin (Nov 2007 Ensign)--NOT just because of his message, which is fabulous, but it also reminds me of the conference [was it the same one? I think it was] when he was giving his talk, and was physically shaking and having a hard time standing at the pulpit, and Elder Nelson came and stood with him so he could finish his talk, brings tears to my eyes just thinking about it!!
Other great articles: Feed my Sheep by Silvia H. Allred (Nov 207 Ensign)
That Their Burdens May be Light (Sept 2007 Ensign)
Charity: One Family, One Home at a Time by Anne Pingree and You Are All Heaven Sent by James E. Faust (Nov 2002 Ensign)
Becoming Insturments in the Hands of God by Don R. Clarke and all talks in the General Relief Society meeting (Nov 2006 Ensign)