Kids and Christmas

I've been trying to figure out what I want to do with this blog. I stopped posting, honestly, because everyone else did. But, it doesn't mean that I haven't had Spiritual experiences since September. I've been feeling as though I still need to do something like this, the missionaries even challenge my husband and I to get out there, spiritually, on the web. I told them I used to write weekly on a Spiritual blog and then I realized how much I missed writing my experiences down. Sheesh! Leave it to the missionaries to remind me of a Spiritual purpose! :)

Anywho, I watched this today and it sums up the wonder of the Christmas season. I love this time of year when we can openly discuss the Savior and His role in the Plan of Happiness. I also love the pure, simple testimonies of these children. It's no wonder that we are encouraged to be like a little child.

In Memoriam

As it is Memorial Day, I was thinking about the soldiers and saints that have sacrificed their lives for the freedoms of their families, friends, neighbors, and strangers. I also thought about the example of our Savior Jesus Christ who led the way along that path and still strengthen those who are fighting for righteousness and humanity today.

"And now, my sons, remember, remember that it is upon the rock of our Redeemer, who is Christ, the Son of God, that ye must build your foundation; that when the devil shall send forth his mighty winds, yea, his shafts in the whirlwind, yea, when all his hail and his mighty storm shall beat upon you, it shall have no power over you to drag you down to the gulf of misery and endless wo, because of the rock upon which ye are built, which is a sure foundation, a foundation whereon if men build they cannot fall."--Helaman 5:12

Happy Passover!

To all our Jewish friends out there...

Happy Passover!!

Interestingly enough, our lesson this past Sunday was on the story of Moses! What good timing! The teacher taught us all about the passover and the story of how the children of Israel were delivered out of Egypt. Then we sampled this unleavened bread (called matzo I believe) in tradition of the Jewish Passover.

“Leaven, or yeast, was seen anciently as a symbol of corruption because it so easily spoiled and turned moldy. … For the Israelites, eating the unleavened bread symbolized that they were partaking of the bread which had no corruption or impurity, namely, the Bread of Life, who is Jesus Christ."

Even though we don't celebrate Passover in the LDS religion because of our Christian belief that Jesus Christ fulfilled the Law of Moses, I feel it is quite remarkable that this passover celebration has literally been celebrated by the Jews traditionally ever since the first one. What other holiday has gone on that long? 

Today in our religion, we take bread and water weekly at church (the sacrament) as a way to remember our Savior and the covenants we made at baptism.

• Elder Jeffrey R. Holland asked:
  
• “Do we see [the sacrament] as our passover, remembrance of our safety and deliverance and redemption?
  
• “With so very much at stake, this ordinance commemorating our escape from the angel of darkness should be taken more seriously than it sometimes is. It should be a powerful, reverent, reflective moment. It should encourage spiritual feelings and impressions”

I hope that for the LDS readers of this blog, that they will take more time to ponder over the sacrament. And for the Jewish readers, that they enjoy their Passover.

Two Hearts

There's a Cheri Call song called "Gifts" that has become one of my favorites to listen to during the holiday season. The link will take you to the lyrics and a version you can listen to for yourself, but the part I especially like is the third verse:

I told Him it was broken, but it was all that I had
And He said that it was just what He wanted
And somehow I believed what He said
And it wasn’t gold or Frankincense like they gave Him from the start
It was just my heart; it was just my heart

I think it's a special thing to be reminded that all we can give is ourselves to our Savior. After all, that's what he gave us and THAT was and is the greatest gift of all time.

I've got a secret for all of you. Nate and I learned about a month ago that we are pregnant with our first baby due in July. On Christmas morning, I woke up for the first time and as I was laying in bed I swear I could feel my baby's heartbeat just slightly after mine. I don't know if that's possible, but that was the greatest Christmas gift I have ever received. And I thought of Mary holding her little baby and touching His hands, the hands that would one day be pierced with nails, and smoothing His face, the face that another Mary would see as the resurrected Lord, and I felt grateful for life and sacrifice and what that all means. I wish you all a Happy New Year with a new start in each of your lives and an opportunity for me to prepare to greet a brand new life into my own.

The Reason for the Season

I have been typing away for a while at this computer, and cannot get my thoughts to make sense in the written form, so though I would like to expound much more, I cannot. My thoughts have been regarding Mary the mother of Jesus. After each miracle she experienced or witnessed she held the experience close and pondered it in her heart. Every time I read that it floors me. And this is where I can't make any sense except in my own mind.

So, I would like to share with you instead something a dear friend of mine taught me last night. Malinda (my friend) was getting ready to teach her Gospel Principles class when she came across the question "what does repentance mean to you?" and she began thinking of that. Really, what did it mean to her.

I am not going to go into her experience much (if you would like to read it, go here) but I am going to share her scriptural thought. When the angels appeared the night the Savior was born
they declared they brought good tidings of great joy. She said that the glad tidings is the Gospel of Jesus Christ... the Good News. And the gospel is the Atonement of Christ. It's the fact that we can return to live with Him and our Father. And the Great Joy is Repentance. Because it is only through repentance that we can become clean. What a wonderful thought. A few years back I had the epiphany that the only reason we do celebrate Christmas is because of the Atonement. Without it, nothing would matter. There would be no reason for this season. How grateful I am for that.

And now, I leave you with a wonderful Christmas video Tricia emailed me. We thought that everyone would enjoy it. Merry Christmas and I hope the Spirit of Christ was with you all day, and can continue to be with you throughout your lives.

A Light Unto All

The church has a page all about Christmas; I wish I would have found it earlier in the month, but at least I can potentially use some of the ideas in the next few days and the upcoming years.

Merry Christmas everyone!

The Real Gift of Christmas

I'm posting this video because I thought it went really well with my topic from last week.

Merry Christmas, everyone!

What An AWESOME Week!!!

I have really loved the posts this week. They have truly reflected everything that has touched my Spirit this week. I'll try to keep my thoughts short so you can get back to the Christmas season.

This past week was FINALS WEEK. On top of that, I was majorly sick and I missed the final review before the test and was feeling really down about it. There is an awesome girl in my class named Annie that was my angel this week. She actually tracked me down through the school e-mail system to send me her notes from the review, which made the whole thing much much easier than it would have been otherwise. She earns a place in my "Incredible People Pile."

I love this time of year but not because I think everyone is nicer but because I notice it more. I am more geared to recognize the service I receive. I once attended a Midnight Mass with one of my friends and the priest said in his homily a line a will never forget," Every year we hear the Christmas story and it's always the same, but hopefully something has changed within us in the last year that makes the story mean something different."

Merry Christmas Season Everyone!!!

"Maybe Christmas Doesn't Come From A Store"

I was reading a talk (with the same title as above) by Jeffrey R. Holland, and he pointed out something that I had never thought of before:

Joseph and Mary were poor.

I mean, it makes sense-- the woman gave birth in a stable, but I never really thought about it.

Elder Holland elaborates: I wonder if Luke did not have some special meaning when he wrote not “there was no room in the inn” but specifically that “there was no room for them in the inn.” (Luke 2:7; italics added.) We cannot be certain, but it is my guess that money could talk in those days as well as in our own. I think if Joseph and Mary had been people of influence or means, they would have found lodging even at that busy time of year.

The wise men came later, bearing gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh. By the time they arrived, the Baby Jesus is described as "a young child" and Joseph and Mary were living in a house (see Matthew 2:11).

The gifts we give today to our loved ones are symbols of the gifts given to the Christ-child by the wise men. Elder Holland suggests that perhaps we use the wise men as examples to separate the gift-giving from the true reason for the season-- celebrating the birth of our Savior.

Elder Holland adds:

As happens so often if we are not careful, the symbols can cover that which is symbolized...

I do not feel—or mean this to sound—like a modern-day Scrooge. The gold, frankincense, and myrrh were humbly given and appreciatively received, and so they should be, every year and always. As my wife and children can testify, no one gets more giddy about the giving and receiving of presents than I do.

But for that very reason, I, like you, need to remember the very plain scene, even the poverty, of a night devoid of tinsel or wrapping or goods of this world. Only when we see that single, sacred, unadorned object of our devotion—the Babe of Bethlehem—will we know why “tis the season to be jolly” and why the giving of gifts is so appropriate.

May we each remember the humble scene of the nativity on the night of Christ's birth. Plain and simple, yet full of love. I pray that each of our Christmas celebrations may be the same.

A Gift for Christ

Today I want to share a family tradition from my husband's family. Each year at Christmas they have what is called the "Jesus Stocking." Every person sits down and writes a Christmas letter to Christ, including a gift that they will give to Christ that year for Christmas. Then everyone puts their letter into the stocking on Christmas Eve. It is very similar to a New Year's Resolution, except it is something that we are going to do for Christ through out the next year.

At the Christmas season we shop and search for the perfect gift for our family members, our friends, and our neighbors, but we never stop to think about giving a gift to our Savior. The whole reason we celebrate Christmas is because of Christ. It is important to remember that we are celebrating the birth of the Savior of the World. Without His perfect life and His sacrifice we would have no need to celebrate His birth. What better gift could be given than to serve one another and follow in Christ's footsteps?

So this year I want you all to sit down and think of a gift that you can give to the Savior. After all, we give gifts to those we love and we love Christ! It can be a random act of kindness for a stranger. It can be inviting someone to church. It can be reading more about the Savior's life while he was on the Earth. It can be anything you think a disciple of Christ might do. I know that if you do this you will feel the true spirit of Christmas.

PS: Check out the First Presidency Christmas Devotional that aired tonight. Here's the link.

Christmas Days

One of the traditions my husband and I do in our family is read a scripture and Christmas story each day of December leading up to Christmas. Since our kids are young, we do it as our couple scripture study; this also allows us to expand on the story or scripture. Yesterday this was our scripture:

For behold, the time cometh, and is not far distant, that with power, the ^aLord ^bOmnipotent who ^creigneth, who was, and is from all ^deternity to all eternity, shall come down from heaven among the children of men, and shall dwell in a ^etabernacle of clay, and shall go forth amongst men, working mighty ^fmiracles, such as healing the sick, raising the dead, causing the lame to walk, the ^gblind to receive their sight, and the deaf to hear, and curing all manner of diseases.

And he shall cast out ^adevils, or the ^bevil spirits which dwell in the hearts of the children of men.

And lo, he shall ^asuffer ^btemptations, and pain of body, ^chunger, thirst, and fatigue, even more than man can ^dsuffer, except it be unto death; for behold, ^eblood cometh from every pore, so great shall be his ^fanguish for the wickedness and the abominations of his people.

And he shall be called ^aJesus ^bChrist, the ^cSon of God, the ^dFather of heaven and earth, the ^eCreator of all things from the beginning; and his ^fmother shall be called Mary.

Mosiah 3: 5-8

My thought is simple today: Amidst the hussle and bussle of this time of year, take a step back to remember why we celebrate, our Savior, Jesus Christ. Don't take Christ out of Christmas and He will envelope your whole season making it much more memorable.