I just finished watching the First Presidency Christmas Devotional live over the internet on BYU-TV. What a blessing! I am so thankful for the Lord's servants setting the tone for the Christmas season the first Sunday in December each year. James and Elizabeth snuck out while Amelia and I were taking a late nap and went to the chapel to set up the broadcast there. So it was very peaceful, sitting in the half-darkness holding a sleeping baby, and indexing as I listened.
I came away with a strong desire to increase my efforts to ensure that my children enjoy all of the richest blessings of their LDS heritage, especially during the Christmas season. I love the fact that acting out the nativity was such a big part of my childhood (and beyond) memories. Christmas Eve also meant caroling to the people (especially widows) my parents visit a
nd home taught, usually bringing some kind of baked good. I'll never forget the year we went caroling in Biblical grab! Here in the Monahans Branch the Young Women do a canned food drive and the Branch as a whole goes caroling together the last Wednesday night before Christmas.What traditions/practices highlight the true meaning of Christmas in your life?
4 comments:
I also loved the nativity, and I carried that on last year with the cousins. I remember doing the 12 days of Christmas many times to our neighbors. Our wards here have both done Angel Trees and it is really nice to take Colin to pick out a gift for another child, althought this year it was all gift cards that were requested, which is, of course, more practical, but less of a teaching moment for Colin.
Chad and I got to watch the broadcast last night while curled up in bed and eating pudding. Chad said that when he was on his mission, the Christmas Devotional meant so much to him. We are going to watch some "highlights" tonight for FHE.
The kids were always too young to start and have them understand some Christmas traditions that I wanted to get into. And then last year Christmas was just wild with having a new baby. This year I want to do the angel tree with them and really teach them about service. I also want to make giant cookies for all my neighbors and make that a yearly thing. Also, the nativity thing was fun last year! Katie-- Nolan still has his costume :wink wink:! I also had a lot of traditions in Williamsburg that involved my extended family, so now that we have Charlotte Jeppsons we can start some Christmas traditions that involve all our families doing some a few things together, like Katie's hens! I also read the kids all the traditional Christmas stories and talk to them about the nativity. I want to get a toy one they can play with and set up themselves... my poor shepherd already needs to be glued back together! Great question Christie! It really got me thinking about some of the things I want to get started doing now that Nolan & Lettie are getting older!
Your mom, Aaron and Jamie, Di and Rich went to the devotional. I told mom to bring a blow horn and blow it so that the camera would turn to her & we could see her on TV. She didn't do it.
Ahh, I was just telling Chad that it would be so nice to go to the devotional live.
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