So I have neglected to post on my blog for the past couple of weeks as I have been very busy with teaching/planning English classes, having my parents come into town, Christmas choir performances, and other work and church related activities. You can read about all those fun activities that my husband and I have been up to here on my husband's blog.With Christmas only 7 days away I wanted to share with you what my husband and I are doing this year for Christmas. First, I should tell you that I gave a talk on Sunday in my church and that really got me thinking this season about why we celebrate Christmas. I focused my talk on how we can have a Christ centered Christmas this year. Most of my words came from a talk given by President Dieter F. Uchdorft's talk "Seeing Christmas through New Eyes" If you have not read this talk, I encourage you to do so today! President Uchdorft is the second counselor to our Prophet, Thomas S. Monson, in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. His words are very powerful!
It is so easy this time of year to get caught up in the hustle and bustle of things. So many things are commercialized, sales are going on, parties are being planned, and presents need to be wrapped. Material things can really get in the way of focusing on the true meaning of Christmas. How can we still enjoy those fun material traditions while focusing our thoughts on the birth of our Savior, Jesus Christ?
This year my husband and I decided that each night we would read out of the scriptures (The Book of Mormon and Bible) passages related to the event of Christ's birth. And then on Christmas day we will read the entire Christmas story out of the Bible. This simple activity has really got me thinking about Christ this year and how powerful and important his birth into this world was. I am so grateful for the sacrifice He made for each one of us, let's show our gratitude to Him this year by pondering and focusing on Him this Christmas season!
We started reading the passages 12 days before Christmas to get us ready for the big day! Here is the outline of our readings if you would like to join us (there is definitely still time to catch up :) ):
Day 1: Luke 1: 26-38
Day 2: 3Nephi 1:4-9
Day 3: Luke 1:39-45
Day 4: 2Nephi 9:19-22
Day 5: Matthew 1:18-25
Day 6: 3Nephi 1:12-21
Day 7: Matthew 2:1-12
Day 8: Helaman 14:2-6
Day 9: Luke 2:1-7
Day 10: Isaiah 9:6-7
Day 11: Luke 2:8-20
Day 12: Isaiah 7:14
Hope you all have a wonderful Christmas season and can spend some time during the busy holidays to focus your attention on Christ and what He has done for each one of us!
It is worth pondering this questions: Why do you celebrate Christmas?
