HE DID IT FOR ME

     Christ died for me. This is my testimony. He gave me the greatest gift of all, forgiveness and eternal life.

     Last November and December, my husband gave me a gift too. I had always wanted him to grow a beard and “play” Santa to my “Mrs. Claus” but he wouldn’t do it. He was a Princeton graduate, a serious scholar and he just didn’t do “Play.” For the first years of our marriage he wore his shirt and tie at home after work. It took moving to Kwajalein in the Marshall Islands for his job to get him to dress casual, and he never went back to formal. Last year when his health declined at age 81, about November he became too weak to stand in front of the mirror to shave. I suggested that he might grow a beard. After all, his beard was white, it would be great to have him with a full beard in time for Christmas photos with grandchildren. HE DID IT FOR ME!

This small act of kindness brought me such joy. This is what the Christmas season is all about.

BEE IN THE DESERT

     Before I present a list of ideas on how to keep Christ in Christmas, I want to relate to you how moved I was during General Conference by a talk given by an apostle of the Lord. He gave such wise counsel, but it seemed he was talking about me. In his talk, “Be Anxiously Engaged,” Elder M. Russell Ballard spoke on how “Honeybees are driven to pollinate, gather nectar, and condense the nectar into honey. It is their magnificent obsession imprinted into their genetic makeup by our Creator.” I too, as BEE have been obsessed to write this blog to share the pollen I have picked up over the years. He tells us how the individual bee only produces 1/12 teaspoon of honey during its short life. It takes the entire hive of 20,000 to 60,000 bees to make a pound of honey. The bees depend on each other, each faithfully doing their part.

     The beehive has always been an important symbol of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. It was used to inspire the cooperative energy necessary among the pioneers to transform the barren desert wasteland into the fertile valleys we have today. I am a BEE (those were the initials of my maiden name) in the desert (of Tucson, Arizona) and am trying to do my 1/12^th teaspoon, contributing to the building up of the kingdom of God upon the earth, preparing for the Lord’s second coming. Thus this blog.

     “The beehive symbol is found in both the interiors and exteriors of many of our temples.” I love the temple and search for my ancestors so that I might give them  the opportunities and blessings they did not have when they lived here upon the earth. The Lord loves all of his children and he will give them all of the same opportunities that have come to members of his church in these latter days. Our leaders recently taught us at Stake Conference that, “Through us shall all nations of the earth be blessed,” both the living and the dead.
     Elder Ballard continues, “All of this symbolism attests to the fact great things are brought about and burdens are lightened through the efforts of many hands “anxiously engaged in a good cause.” (D & C 58:27). Imagine what the millions of Latter-day Saints could accomplish in the world if we functioned like a beehive in our focused, concentrated commitment to the teachings of the Lord Jesus Christ.”

He quotes Matthew 22:37, 39-40 that teaches that the first and great commandment is:

“Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all they mind….

“And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.

“On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.”

     Elder Ballard goes on to explain, “The Savior’s words are simple, yet their meaning is profound and deeply significant. We are to love God and to love and care for our neighbors as ourselves. Imagine what good we can do in the world if we all join together, united as followers of Christ, anxiously and busily responding to the needs of others and serving those around us- our families, our friends, our neighbors, our fellow citizens.”

A LIST OF 32 IDEAS TO KEEP CHRIST IN CHRISTMAS

     Because we have been given the gift of an extra week to focus on the Christmas season, I've listed one idea for every day. Of course, some will take more than a day to accomplish, but you will find much food for thought as you read through these ideas:

1.  Pray each morning to recognize the opportunity to serve another person

2.  Keep a daily journal of your spiritual insights, service given and joy felt

3.  Plan 25 Days of Christmas "an act of service each day"

4. Decorate your home together with all the family, reviewing the memories behind each ornament, wreath or Christmas stocking

5. Sing in the choir

6.  Find an ancestor to take to the temple

7.  Tell the story of Jesus' birth by use of book, film, scripture reading

8.  Set up a nativity and teach the children the meaning of each piece in it

9.  Contribute to a local food bank or toy drive; serve meals to the homeless

10. Wrap little "gifts" including a bit of money if possible, to give out to beggars or the homeless that you encounter (keep a bag of these in the car)

11. Go Christmas caroling with a group

12. Make treats (cookies, candy, little homemade jars of jam) to give to friends

13. Share your testimony of Christ with another person

14. Share your testimony with a family member, especially your child or grandchild

15. Continue throughout each day with a heart full of faith and love, looking for someone to help

16. Organize your family with clear, simple family rules and expectations during the holiday season and its different "look" in your home; keep safety foremost

17. Develop wholesome family traditions and rituals

18. Discuss "family economics" where children have household responsibilities and can earn allowances

19. Help children/grandchildren learn to budget, save and pay tithing on the money they earn

20. Pan an extra offering either for fast Sunday, or other project near and dear to your heart that is noted on the tithing slip

21. Attend tithing settlement as a family

22. Take a little gift you've made to the Bishop and other beloved church leaders, teachers within your ward, stake or school

23. Actually write and send some Christmas Cards to special friends and family; they'll appreciate the time you took to write instead of emailing

24. Find a person in your circle of acquaintances to send the ward missionaries to visit; this is a gift to the missionaries as well as the friend

25. Give a Book of Mormon, inscribed with a message from your family, to friend, an acquaintance, or even, if prompted, to a stranger

26. Take a family photo portrait in Christmas attire

27. Help focus on the Christlike example of Santa Claus, rather than on "What'll he bring me," on being nice rather than naughty little boys and girls

28. When selecting an overarching theme for your holiday celebrations, as yourself, "Would this please the Christ child?"

29. Attend the ward Christmas party

30. Support and attend uplifting community events such as plays, musicals, Messiah performances, parades

31. Become a secret Santa to a widow or family less fortunate that you know about

32. Gather into the care and go see neighborhoods where they have decorated their years with holiday lights; have cocoa and cookies afterwards

I am sure you can add more ideas to this list, so so write to me and share them for inclusion on another blog. Next time I will talk about budgeting and list some things  that you might want to remember. Over the years I've made many lists...and this is the accumulation of those lists.