10 Ways to Add More Christ to Your Christmas

I didn't blog yesterday because I was too busy finishing my FINALS!!!!

WOOHOO!! Totally done!!!





I got onto LDS.org and found this really cool post about 10 things we can do to bring Christ into our Christmas this year, and every year for that matter!



 

“Finding the real joy of Christmas comes not in the hurrying and the scurrying to get more done, nor is it found in the purchasing of gifts. We find real joy when we make the Savior the focus of the season,” taught President Thomas S. Monson (“Christmas Is Love,” 2012 First Presidency Christmas Devotional).

The Church provides many online resources to inspire and focus members' attention on the Savior. Here are just a few free and easy things you can do to make Christmas this year less about what you purchase, give, or receive and more about the Savior Jesus Christ.

 1. Watch the First Presidency’s Christmas Devotional with seasonal music and inspiring messages.

2. Watch the “He Is the Gift” video and share it on social media with a personal message (#ShareTheGift, #ShareGoodness).
3. Watch the Bible Video “The Nativity.”
4. Scroll through the Church History Museum’s online gallery to see inspiring paintings relating to the Birth of Christ.
5. Listen to commercial-free Christmas music online on the Mormon Channel.
6. Listen to the 24/7 stream of Mormon Tabernacle Choir Christmas music and be sure to download five free Christmas songs.
7. Do the “Seek the Star” activity in the December 2014 New Era for a Christmas family home evening. Find more ideas for teaching children about Christmas from the Friend.
8. Browse the LDS.org Media Library for Christmas images and Christmas videos you can download, use, and share to bring the Spirit of Christ into your life and home.
9. Read how you can follow the Savior  through service.
10. Read 5 Gift Ideas That Bring Christ into Christmas for more ideas on giving Christ-centered gifts.




MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE!!!

Gift of Music

day 17

I think it is a miraculous thing- music that is.




When I think of music, I always think back to my musical career, playing in high school and college and then serving a mission where everything I did revolved around music.

I am sensitive to the spirit whenever music is involved. It is a way that the spirit can speak to me and help me feel the love that my Savior has for me.

He knows that I LOVE music. He has given me the talent of playing/performing music and I used it for good, to help others come unto the Him and partake of His love.

I LOVE THIS GOSPEL SO MUCH AND I KNOW IT IS TRUE!!!!!!!!!







#sharethegift #sharegoodness

gift of obedience

day 16







“Because our Savior was obedient, He atoned for our sins, making possible our resurrection and preparing the way for us to return to our Heavenly Father, who knew we would make mistakes as we learned obedience in mortality. When we obey, we accept His sacrifice, for we believe that through the Atonement of Jesus Christ, all mankind may be saved, by obedience to the laws, ordinances, and commandments given in the gospel.”
Robert D Hales


I love the idea that the more we obey the commandments that are so generously given to us, we can feel the love that the Savior has for us more readily.

The commandments were given to us to help us grow and learn while we are in this mortal life. They are the foundational principles for happiness and a continuing relationship with our Savior. When we obey, we are blessed.
It's literally that simple.

I remember while serving in Nauvoo, one of my main focuses as a missionary trying to improve herself, I kept the idea of obedience with exactness a main part of my experience.
When I would make my study time more about obedience and how I could obey the mission rules/commandments, I would find the blessings in my life more abundantly. I was kept healthy the entire time, I was given to strength to overcome certain obstacles and then I was able to help others follow that same pattern of exact obedience.

 

I am thankful for a Father in Heaven who has blessed me with commandments that are designed to help me stay on the path of happiness. I am also thankful that He has blessed us with the gift of agency so that we can make decisions on our own.

When we walk down a path and find a fork in the road, we can choose which one we want to go down. There will always be one that will benefit us the most, but we are not forced to take a certain one.

As hard as it may be at times, I am so grateful for this blessing.



#sharethegift #heisthegift

Gift of Life

day 15

 

 

 

 

 

I woke up yesterday to this:

and then this picture came through and I died a little of happiness.

 

 

What a gift to the Jex family. This beautiful baby boy has answered so many prayers and is a representation of PURE LOVE!

 

 

I can only imagine the Savior, laying in a manger on that night, surrounded by people and animals who loved Him dearly, knowing that He would save them all. His gift to us is His life, His example, and His Atonement. It's hard to think that this child would one day take all the sins of the world upon Him and then die for all mankind.

 

Luke 2:15-21

 

15 And it came to pass, as the angels were gone away from them into heaven, the shepherds said one to another, Let us now go even unto Bethlehem, and see this thing which is come to pass, which the Lord hath made known unto us.

 16 And they came with haste, and found Mary, and Joseph, and the babe lying in a manger.

 17 And when they had seen it, they made known abroad the saying which was told them concerning this child.

 18 And all they that heard it wondered at those things which were told them by the shepherds.

 19 But Mary kept all these things, and pondered them in her heart.

 20 And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things that they had heard and seen, as it was told unto them.

 21 And when eight days were accomplished for the circumcising of the child, his name was called Jesus, which was so named of the angel before he was conceived in the womb.

 

 

He loves us so completely and unconditionally- this little baby who grew up to be about His Father's business.

 

 

The gift of the season and our reason for living.

 



Jackson Steiner Jex
12-14-14
8:17am
9lbs 8oz
22 1/2 in





#sharethegift  #sharegoodness

Trust the Gift

day 10

 

 

 

We have all heard before that we need to be patient, and things will all work out. Trust in the Lord's timing and things will happen when they need to happen.

I testify that when we trust in the Lord's plan for us, we will find the greatest happiness.

Waiting is hard and sometimes unfair (see previous post regarding "unfair") but the Lord has the most wonderful blessings waiting for us if we can hold out a little longer.




#sharethegift #heisthegift #sharegoodness

Love the Gift

day 9




I went to my cousins house last night for FHE and had a blast make Candy Trains. Because who makes gingerbread houses anymore.
(observe picture below of my "train wreck")

Pretty legit, right?

And yes, the snowmen have fallen over the railroad track, awaiting their death. Somewhat morbid, I know.

 

Anyway, on my drive home, I turned off my music and listened to the heater blow warm air on my face and hands. I allowed my thoughts and feelings to come to the front of my mind.

 

I thought about how blessed I am.

I thought about how scared I am for finals.

I thought about Matt and Greta and their adorable baby boy, who will be arriving in this world SOON!

I thought about my sister and her wonderful life and how much I miss her.

I thought about my mom. I LOVE HER.

I thought about my inadequacies and my strengths.

I thought about my friends.

I thought about the difficulties and hardships I am facing.

 

It is so easy to go from happy and wholesome thoughts, to hard and depressing thoughts. I got trapped in an array of emotions that caused me to feel as though I was less than the dust of the Earth. I started to feel that the experiences I am going through are not FAIR.

 

Why am I the one stuck with hard roommates year after year? Why do I have to be the one who is verbally attacked and talked about behind my back? What have I done that has caused this to happen to me?

 

Look at all I've done. I've been so good lately and yet, I am still suffering.

 

Then today, at work, I found this glorious quote.

The Atonement of Jesus Christ is the precise power that we need to overcome our natural man tendencies. We may feel that the world is against us and we are the target of people's jokes. We may feel bullied and unloved. That is not fair.

The Atonement takes away all those feelings of "fair" and "unfair". The Atonement fill us with all those happy feelings that we are missing.

 

When I read this, I was filled with LOVE because that is what I needed. I needed to feel LOVED by someone. I was seeking the love from the people around me and I wasn't getting it. I needed to go to the one and only person who understands what I am going through and can perfectly love me in the exact way I need.

 

What can we fear, when filled with such love. 

 

I know that the Lord is there  is fill us with the kind of love and happiness that we need. I know that when we go to Him, we will find the strongest and most powerful love we can ever imagine.

 

 

#sharethegift #heisthegift