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.

 

 

 

 

 

Creating a Memorable Christmas

     What a wonderful time of the year it is. And we've been giving a unique set of circumstances to create a truly memorable Christmas for our families. As I write, millions of people are participating in the shopping phenomenon known as Black Friday, but it isn't even Friday yet. So is it Black Thanksgiving? What a contradiction in terms. That's what life is today. A contradiction in terms.
     Yes, we are thankful for our blessings that allow us to sit at the heavy laden table to feast with loved ones; thankful for the jobs that we have that allow us to buy such things as a 20 lb turkey with all the trimmings, including green bean casserole, stuffing and pumpkin pie; thankful we are alive and have survived a year of tornadoes, hurricanes, a presidential election with its accompanying avalanche of negative political ads and a slumping economy. We are all wondering what's next? What's 'gonna come next? We may even be holding our breaths.
     Now, as "Daughters in Zion" we must make some quite giant decisions about this upcoming holiday season. Are we going to indulge in the frantic shopping that begins tonight at many stores that are requiring their employees to work on a day, when in past years it was sacrosanct as a day off to be with family, OR are we going to be sensible, sane, spiritual and to walk in the light?
The Special Gift We've Been Given this Year
     I won't beat around the bush and keep you in the dark one more moment. The gift we've been given is an extra week! 
     So, if you made a bad decision and realize you've got caught up in the materialistic world of Black Friday, you can repent. Isaiah tells us in Chapter 1: 18

"Come now, and let us reason together, saith the Lord: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though the be red like crimson, they shall be as wool."

The next verses tell us, "If ye be willing and obedient, ye shall eat the good of the land; But if you refuse and rebel, ye shall be devoured with the sword."

BE WILLING AND OBEDIENT
    How do we translate this into a MEMORABLE CHRISTMAS? As Michael Jackson would say let's, "Look at the man in the mirror, and ask him to change his ways." CHANGE. Let's together, change, and the results will amaze you.  Are we WILLING to take a stand for our family's sake and make this a truly remarkable and spiritual Christmas? What have we got to lose? Indeed we have much to gain. For God says, "I will turn (in Hebrew this means return; i.e. repeatedly chastise) my hand upon thee, and purely purge away thy dross, and take away all thy tin; And I will restore thy judges as at first, and thy counsellors as at the beginning: afterward thou shalt be called, the city of righteousness, the faithful city. Zion shall be redeemed,,,"
     Let's be OBEDIENT. Let's do what all the prophets, ancient and modern, have told us to do. Keep the commandments!
     The Lord told us at the beginning of this, "Come now, let us reason together." So let's you and I reason out how we might use our gift of an extra week, and plan out how to make this a Christmas our families will never forget.

PRAY FIRST FOR THE SPIRIT TO BE WITH YOU

     GOD is behind us in our efforts and he will inspire us exactly how to begin organizing or creating a memorable holiday period.  We have a full 32 days to do it.  Begin each day with a prayer that you may remember HIM, Jesus Christ in all of you plans, and that the Holy Spirit will direct your thoughts and actions.
     "Relieve the oppressed, judge the fatherless, plead for the widow." In other words, each day do small act of kindness and teach your children that they, too should do this. It will make the season truly Christlike.
     Elder D. Todd Christofferson said, "Service will be your solution against selfishness and sense of entitlement that more and more afflict societies around the world...Your service will bless others, but it will also perfect you."
PLANNING A MEMORABLE CHRISTMAS
     Keeping in mind the things I've just spoken about, let's follow Christ's example when He created this wonderful earth. Step by step I will lead you through a process that will help you create a memorable Christmas. God had a PLAN. It started long before the physical world was built in six creative periods.
To create a plan ask yourself the following basic questions:
How important is Christmas to me?
How important is Christmas to my family?
Why do I want to celebrate Christmas? Some reasons might include, tradition, your children or grandchildren, an annual social event, to win a neighborhood prize or recognition, your religious convictions, fond childhood memories, to feel good or joyful, or to learn new skills,  to teach/share skills with others, etc.
     You now, after thoughtful consideration and prayer, at least know WHY you are WILLING to spend time and energy to reach your goals of a successful Christmas celebration. You have a choice of how much time and money will be spent on the various phases of this plan. Hopefully you have not overspent on Black Friday because the step three includes a budget. But even this is not fatal; I have suggestions on how to reverse those impulsive actions including returning some of the gifts you bought when they don't fit into your plan.
Keep Reading My Blog
Tomorrow I will list all of things you may wish to review before you set a budget in Step 3.
I am thankful to all my family and friends who so enrich my life. This blog is an opportunity to give back and share some of the things that I've learned over the past 40 years. Christmas was always special to me. My mother helped show me how to creatively celebrate. Long before my daughter was born on Christmas day, I came to love and revere this season of joy.
May God bless you