Miracle Maker: A Christmas Tale

How many of you love Christmas movies? I try to add a new favorite to my library each year and I have one to recommend this year. Miracle Maker is a story about how a complete stranger can change the entire dynamic of a town. By working small acts of love and service, hearts are healed, forgiveness forged and happiness returns to the residents of Woodhaven.

 

John Lyde and Sally Meyer once again combine their talents as director and screenwriter. The two have previously collaborated on popular films Christmas for a Dollar, Christmas Oranges, He Knows My Name, Abide with Me, Minor Details, , and You’re So Cupid. “It’s my hope that after watching Miracle Maker, families will understand that you can make your own miracles,” Lyde says. “Our message to audiences is that if you need a change in your life, you can create the change yourself.”

 

Taken from Deseret Book's website:

 

~~~"The Miracle Maker is coming!" If any town is in need of a miracle, it’s Woodhaven, a tiny town hanging on the edge of the American frontier. It’s nearly Christmas, but it’s hardly a season of celebration. Work is scarce, money is tight, love is lagging, and spirits are down. Maybe the Miracle Maker can turn things around. The town anxiously waits for someone magnificent who can change their lives. But the ragged traveller who appears isn’t what anyone expects—except for one small silent boy and a precocious little girl. It seems this man can barely take care of himself, let alone fulfill the dreams of others. But miracles can come in all shapes and sizes—and sometimes from unexpected places. Your entire family will love this Christmas tale of hope, love, and miracles. ~~~

 

My neighbor and I both loved watching this movie. And I love it when I find a clean, wholesome, family friendly show that teaches values that seem to be lacking in today's society. I strongly recommend this movie. It would make a great gift to your family, friends and neighbors. You can purchase it at DESERET BOOK, AMAZON, COSTCO or wherever LDS products are sold. This movie teaches Christian values but is not an LDS film.

 

 

 

 

Celebrating A Christ-Centered Christmas

Don't you love it when you are able to make special memories with your family that lead you closer to Christ during the Christmas Holiday. Over the past several years I have incorporated a few new holiday traditions that have helped my family focus on the true reason for the season. I love to share new ideas when I come across them and I have one for you today.

This new book Celebrating A Christ-Centered Christmas by Emily Belle Freeman is a wonderful tool to help you utilize Christmas Decorations that you most likely already have, and turn them into a sacred teaching opportunity for your children.

I love collecting Nativity sets and talking to my children about the special significance of each figure. In Emily's book she takes it a step further and quite effectively explains the symbolism in each figure of the Nativity. She also uses stories, Scriptures and songs to deepen the Christmas spirit and help you create 7 small devotionals you can deliver to your family over the holiday season.

In her book Emily shares with her readers something that her daughter said to her on a car-ride one day from the back seat..."Mom, I believe in  Santa Claus and you believe in Jesus Christ."

Like Emily, if I heard this come out of my child's mouth I would feel quite shocked. But I think that this feeling would be quite common among our children if we were to take a poll. It's hard not to focus on Santa, presents, and "magic" in our society today. Even I find myself getting lost in the twinkle, shimmer and shine of the season. But it isn't hard to curb that Santa appeal and even make the season more incredible as we slow down and focus our thoughts, activities and Family Home Evenings on our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

I echo the words of Lynn G. Robbins from our most recent General Conference , "Which Way Do You Face?" Have you already lost yourself in your Christmas lists, or are you turning towards the Savior this holiday season?

The GOOD NEWS is that it isn't too late. We can always turn our focus to the Savior and this new book is a great recourse to help you get back on track and do it! Make this your most meaningful Christmas ever!

This book is available for $10.99 at Deseret Book and would make a great gift.

Visit the Blog Tour for this book >>>HERE

EMILY BELLE FREEMAN is a coach’s wife, a mother to four children and a few others who have found refuge in her home, author of several bestselling books, and sought-after inspirational speaker. Her days are spent watching over teenagers, her flock of pampered chickens, and a rabbit that she adores. She finds great joy in studying the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. Her deep love of the scriptures comes from a desire to find their application in everyday life. For a few minutes every day Emily forgets about the laundry, leaves the dishes in the sink, and writes. She coauthors a blog that is a stopping place for hearts seeking all that is good: www. multiplygoodness.com

Merry Christmas From the Peterson's!

Merry Christmas from our family to yours!!!

We have had a great year and a wonderful holiday season so far.

We have been trying to slow down.

Way down.

And focus on what is important.

Like Basketball.

Just kidding.

We have been trying to make this Christmas centered around Christ.

It has felt peaceful, calm, and wonderful.

I'm surprised at how well our kids have responded to WAY less talk of Santa and Reindeer,

and WAY more talk of Christ and his life and mission.

One of my favorite new traditions that we implemented was sharing stories of the life of Christ every night. We have used our Roku and watched Bible Video's from Mormon.org which has really helped the little kids pay attention and learn. We have also started using two new sets of ornaments.

The first is a DIY kit that I won in a giveaway and it is brilliant.

Not only did the kids get to paint and help create these ornaments, they come with

a great devotional book to help you apply meaning to each of the ornaments as you

place one each night on the tree.

The kids have loved this.

It is called

The 25 Days Of Christ

You can purchase your own set here.

The other new set that we love is this one.

The Biblical Names of Christ.
You can purchase a set at Deseret Book.

These ornaments are inexpensive and come without hooks.

So we used some cute red baker's twine to complete them.

I love reading all of these names.

I can't help but start singing Amy Grant Christmas songs when I look at them.



We hope that you are having a wonderful Season.
We hope that the spirit of Christ is in your heart and home.

Merry Christmas to you all!

Love, The Peterson's

12 Gifts For Christ

Well, we are 7 days into December and so far the holiday is feeling wonderful. I'm trying really hard to focus on Christ this year with my family. We have started some new traditions and focused less on some old ones. I'm finding lots of great ideas from the blogosphere and a few that just sort of fell into my lap.

This book is one of those tools that has helped me refocus my vision of Christmas and what I want it to be for my family.

About a month ago my friend wrote on Facebook that she was already dreading Christmas and the stress and the hoopla.

Dreading Christmas???

Wow. Just typing those words make me fee scrooge-ish.

I wanted to make sure that I didn't dread Christmas this year so I evaluated some of the things that make the season seem stressful to me.

I checked *Send Christmas Cards right off my list. This seems to stress me out each year and I always procrastinate it anyway.

I decided instead to focus on 25 people that have helped me feel closer to Christ this year, and to send them personal letters or notes. Immediately I got excited about this idea. Really excited, and I felt warm and happy just at the thought of it.

So, no I ask you, how are you feeling about Christmas this year?
Are you stressing yourself out?
Taking on too much?
Worried about finances and affording the purchase of gifts?
Over-scheduling?

Maybe you need to stop and check some things off your list. What are you doing to focus on the Savior?

I think we all mean to stop and focus on Christ, but it is hard with the society that we live in to really skip the commercial Christmas and create our own Christ-Centered, meaningful one.

Without giving too much of this book away I will tell you that it really inspired me to stop and THINK about what gifts I was going to give to my family and what gifts I was going to give to Christ.

Last year I gave away my love of television. As we sat around the Christmas Tree, each member of my little family picked something that they would give or do for Christ. I can't remember what everyone said but I do know that Kate chose to be modest always, and I chose to give up Television. Yes Television.  It did come after some previous promptings (as I already shared with you in this post) and some encouragement from my dear husband...but I did it.

It has now been a year since I have watched anything questionable, inappropriate, with foul language, or that makes fun of sacred things or gospel principles. It was really hard at first. I was raised on TV. I loved it. (well I thought I did).

But I did it. And I'm still amazed.

And because of this small sacrifice on my part, I have been blessed in so many ways.

I've felt the spirit speak to me more often than ever. It is easy to turn off movies that are also questionable. I've simplified my life. I've felt the Savior close by.  And I can honestly feel the difference that no TV has made. It is measurable.

So, going into this season I am thinking about the gifts that I can give to Christ.

This book focuses on 12 gifts that we can give him.

The Gift of Personal knowledge.
The Gift of Gratitude
The Gift of Remembrance
The Gift of Repentance
The Gift of Obedience
The Gift of Emulation
The Gift of Charity
The Gift of Forgiveness
The Gift of Faithfulness
The Gift of Love
The Gift of Healing Balm
The Gift of Joy

Each of the twelve chapters contains a personal devotional with suggestions for application to everyday life. Merrilee Boyack's goal is to find ways for each family to personally enjoy more than the material blessings of Christmas by giving more to the Savior during the season and throughout the year.

This book came as an answer to my hearts Christmas wishes.

You can purchase 12 GIFTS FOR CHRIST here.

I hope you will find time to read it.

Merry Christmas Season!!!

And now your chance to have your own copy!!!!


a Rafflecopter giveaway

Wise Men Still Seek Him by Gentri Lee

(This is a guest post written by {Gentri Lee}. Make sure to visit her blog. You will be glad you did!)

It's funny that we have to "find" Christ in Christmas. Why did we lose Him?

Without Him- there would be no Christmas.

We get so caught up in the gift giving that we forget the most important gift that was ever given- His life, for ours. I am a Mormon- a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. We believe in the Bible, but we also believe in The Book of Mormon. It is ANOTHER testament of Jesus Christ- another witness that He did indeed live.

Have you ever wondered what it was like in other parts of the world? In the Book of Mormon we learn from Nephi, an ancient American Prophet, what the first Christmas was like in the Americas. Christs birth had been prophesied by many Prophets. In the 3rd book of Nephi, we learn of one- Samuel the Lamanite, who told of Christs birth 5 years before His coming. He stood on a wall and preached the words God had commanded him. He told of how on the night of Christs birth it would be as if it were day and that a new star would rise. As he stood on the wall and spoke these words men cast arrows at him- but they could not hit him.

  Heleman 14: 2-3 &5  2. And behold, he said unto them: Behold, I give unto you a sign; for five years more cometh, and behold, then cometh the Son of God to redeem all those who shall believe on His name. 3. And behold, this will I give unto you for a sign at the time of His coming, for behold, there shall be great lights in heaven, insomuch that in the night before He cometh there shall be no darkness, insomuch that it shall appear unto man as if it was day. 5. And behold, there shall a new star arise, such an one as ye never have beheld; and this also shall be a sign unto you."

5 years had almost passed and those unbelievers began to rejoice. They set apart a day where all those who believed Samuels words should be put to death- lest the signs should come. The believers were steadfast, and Nephi began to pray to the Lord in behalf of his people, and the Lord answered him...

  3rd Nephi 1:13-15 & 21  13. Lift up your head and be of good cheer; for behold, the time is at hand, and on this night shall the sign be given, and on the morrow come I unto the world, to show unto the world that I will fulfill all that which I have caused to be spoken by the mouth of my holy prophets. 14.... And behold the time is at hand, and this night shall the sign be given. 15. And it came to pass that the words which came unto Nephi were fulfilled, according as they had been spoken; for behold at the going down of the sun there was no darkness; and the people began to be astonished because there was no darkness when the night came. 21. And it came to pass also that a new star did appear, according to the word.

 Christmas was celebrated all over the world then, and is celebrated all over the world now. Let us remember WHY we celebrate. It is because our Lord, Savior, and Redeemer came to earth to redeem us from our sins. To show us how to live, and to die so that we could live with Him forever. 

 Let us be like the Wise men of old- and seek Him out this Christmas season, and always. 

For "wise men still seek Him."

Love, Gentri

Applying The Atonement by Mara of A Blog About Love

(This is a guest post written by Mara of A Blog About Love. Mara blogs about infertility, marriage, divorce, living in New York City, Faith, Fashion and so much more. Her blog is spoken in such honesty. I adore her and I know you will too.)

Breathe, breathe, breathe.......

Is anyone feeling the holidays caving in on them?

Parties.  What to wear.  Last minute gifts.  Events to fit in.  Babysitters to find.  Crafts to complete.  Treats to make & deliver.  House guests to plan for.  Meals to prepare.  Luggage to pack.  Flights to take with babies.  And making sure that all your loved ones feel loved.

I actually felt a smidget of this holiday stress myself tonight.  I sure did.  

So how do I keep Christ in Christmas?

I do it the same way I try to remember Christ every single day of the year....

I try to turn around all negative emotions.  And I'm talking about the ones in my heart.  Cause those are the ones that matter......such as.....

-Fear of never getting pregnant.

-Anxiety about justifying not working full-time right now.

-Stress that creeps in when I don't accomplish all that I want to do in one day.

-Feeling bad because I haven't really even decorated for Christmas this year. :)

-Wondering if I can pull off a big party at my house this weekend.

Every thought or feeling in our heart either blocks the oneness with Christ or allows us to vibrate with His same light.  I finally decided to start practicing turning all my negative thoughts around into love, hope, faith & charity....and I've done it.  If you think hard enough, you can do it, too...doesn't matter how great the trial.  And it's through the Atonement of Christ that we even have the opportunity to turn things around again and again and again.  By some miracle, a few years ago at the lowest point in my life, I figured this out.  I consciously started applying the Atonement and I haven't stopped since.  Doing this has helped me to face 7 years of ongoing infertility, an unexpected divorce, the ups and downs of starting HARVEY FAIRCLOTH, and very challenging & unique circumstances associated with living & working in New York City.  I now know how to tap into the peace available to me at any given moment.  And every time I do so, I have the privilege of feeling more & more at one with Christ.  It has led to more happiness than I can even describe.  And one of the best side effects ever:  being in a place to meet & marry the most loving man I could imagine.

So during this Christmas season, when stress can be at an all-time high, I remind myself that the Atonement applies to this silly stress, too.  Ugh.  How ridiculous that we actually need to apply the Atonement because we are stressed out about celebrating His birth.  Ha!  :)  But, that is how beautiful the Atonement is.  It applies to everything.  It applies to all our weaknesses.  And by choosing to apply it, we can keep Christ in Christmas.....and in e-v-e-r-y-t-h-i-n-g that we do.

Merry Christmas to one & all!

Mara

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Make sure to visit Mara over at

A Blog About Love

Here With Us by Sara of August Fields

(This guest post was written by Sara over at {August Fields}. Sara has documented her beautiful home being built and decorated from the ground up. Her beautiful style blows my mind. She is a DIYer and she also Home Schools her 5 children. Just wait until you see her School Room just off her kitchen. Make sure to stop by and visit her blog.)

Celebrating the birth of Jesus Christ was always emphasized as the true meaning of Christmas during my childhood.

I grew up in a Christian home and in 7th grade, gave my life to the Lord.  Believing that I am saved by grace alone, sets me apart from many world religions.  Knowing that Jesus IS my savior, that He pursued ME is at times beyond comprehensible.

We would put up a tree, exchange beautifully wrapped presents, play Christmas music and many other traditional traditions. (which we still do!) Yet, that was all in addition to, and layered around the Celebration of the Birth of Jesus Christ.

Today, my relationship with Jesus has continued to strengthen and my children too know and love to celebrate Jesus at Christmas. We spend time doing advent devotions, setting up our nativity.

This truth, that GOD came DOWN, for you and for me, is astounding, revealing and remarkable.

The words of this song, sung by Joy Williams, speaks clearly to the significance of Christmas.  I challenge you to read these words carefully and allow them to penetrate your soul.  I've also included a youtube video to hear the recording.

Here With Us:

It's still a mystery to me 
That the hands of God could be so small, 
How tiny fingers reaching in the night 
Were the very hands that measured the sky 

Hallelujah, hallelujah 
Heaven's love reaching down to save the world 
Hallelujah, hallelujah 
Son of God, Servant King, 
You're here with us 
You're here with us 

It's still a mystery to me, oh, 
How His infant eyes have seen the dawn of time 
How His ears have heard an angel's symphony, 
But still Mary had to rock her Savior to sleep 

Hallelujah, hallelujah 
Heaven's love reaching down to save the world 
Hallelujah, hallelujah 
Son of God, Servant King 
Here with us 
You're here with us 
(Ohh, mmm, here with us) 

Jesus the Christ, born in Bethlehem 
A baby born to save, to save the souls of man 

Hallelujah, hallelujah 
Heaven's love reaching down to save the world 
Hallelujah, hallelujah 
Son of God, Servant King 
You're here with us 
You're here with us 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Please visit Sara at

{August Fields}

Post-Op Thoughts...Lot's and Lot's

• Waking up from surgery and seeing Scott and my parents huddled in the corner with tears in their eyes was a moment in time I will never forget. Oh the blessed state of being alive!!!
• It is such a relief to have the surgery behind me. I will be very grateful to never have to stay in the hospital again. Ever. Never. Ever.
• It is funny realizing that the surgery has been way less painful than I thought it would be.
• I am also realizing that it is going to be a much longer recovery than I anticipated. When they said I wouldn't be lifting anything for 6 weeks they weren't kidding. I have two babies people. How am I going to make it?

• I tried so hard to read, sleep, watch movies, and blog, but I was a  total zombie. I couldn't do anything. My mind was a wasteland. The whole thing so far is one big blur.
• I was so grateful for visitors while I was in the hospital. I wish I would have had more visits. I can't believe how much it helped having people stop by.
• The surgery ended up taking 5 hours and I feel so bad for Scott who had to wait and wait and wait with no word from the Doctors.
• Dr. Cahoon explained the entire surgery to me in great detail after I woke up from the Anesthesia and I have no recollection of this whatsoever.
• Getting poked by nurses who can't find your veins is really annoying. And painful.

• This Bair Paws Machine is AMAZING and I wish I had one at home. It blows warm air out of a hose and I put it under my blankets and it kept me super comfortable and warm. Where was this machine when I had spinal meningitis?
• This was my first hospital visit ever where all the buttons on my bed worked. The TV remote worked, the lights worked, and even the rolling table worked with no problems. Luxury I tell you.
• If I had to say one bad thing about my stay it would be the food. They didn't have a menu. I really like when I get to plan what I eat instead of mystery meals just being brought in.

• This picture is Ashley. She is like a sister to me and she works at the hospital. After her shift she came in and helped me change, walk around my room for the first time. She was a great blessing to me and I love her so much. She was made to be a nurse. 

• Can you tell how stoned I am in this picture. My eyes were barely able to stay open, I couldn't focus on anything and I felt like I was flying. Those are strong drugs my friends. Strong.
• I had two catheters after the surgery and one drainage tube. I still have one catheter and it comes out of my stomach and it is really freaky. I have to carry it around with me and Sawyer calls it my "ewe, yukky poop bag". This makes me feel really loved. There is nothing worse than carrying around your own pee bag. EXCEPT for carrying around your own pee bag that isn't working. (Like last time. That was super painful.)

• Come one. Tell me how bad you wish you could carry around your own urine? When was the last time you told your bladder how much your loved it? Bladders are awesome. Bags of pee are not.
• My biggest worry was being able to go #2. I have had success. Nough' Said.

• I love Michael Buble. Love him. Not as much as my friend Laurel loves him, but he is most excellent. I rocked to his Christmas tunes while I was in the hospital. It helped.

• I have a beautiful 7 inch long incision that starts at by belly button and goes down, down, down. It is lovely. NOT.

• And seroiusly, NOTHING has made me feel better than having my sister JENNA put on these eyelash extensions. I love them. They make me feel feminine and girly, and a little bit less like an ugly jigsaw puzzle. BEST CHRISTMAS GIFT EVER JENNA. I LOVE YOU.

• The only complication that I have had is an allergic reaction to the glue and tape they used on my incision. It is completely scabbed over with blisters and such. It hurts and itches and looks terrible. 
• I've been taking Benedryl for the allergies and I have slept for the past three days straight. I have slept all day and all night. LITERALLY. 
• My Mother-in-law Shawna has taken over the care of everything at my house. EVERYTHING. Remember I told you that I have been sleeping for 3 days straight. She is remarkable.
• My friends and neighbors have taken care of all the food and meals so far. They are the best people in the world and I can't believe that I lucked out getting to live next to them.

Well, I am making it through this. It hasn't been easy. I will be happy when the catheter is taken out on Tuesday. For now I have given up all Christmas goals and ideas and projects. They just aren't going to happen. It is okay. I feel closer to my Savior than ever before. More aware of his mighty power and love for his children. More aware of his love for me, and his willingness to bear my afflictions.

I am so blessed. I am so humbled. I am so grateful.

I am alive. I am ticking.

And pretty soon I will be back to normal. And I will have to try a lot harder to remember where I have been, and what I have been through. But I am determined to remember these lessons, these little nuggets of wisdom, the gratitude for life that I have been given.

I am most likely not making sense, I am on drugs, remember?

But I am so blessed.

Remember that.

Love to  you all!!!!

PS. I've missed you. How are you all doing?

Joy To The World by Christina Felt

fantastic holiday card via The Wheatfield

As far as Christmas hymns go, Joy to the World has become one of my favorites. I can’t sing it without hearing a full choir and orchestra in my head, I can’t sing it without feeling like I’m proclaiming the greatest truths of the gospel to the world, and I can’t sing it without tearing up as my heart is full with the joy I feel knowing that my Savior HAS come and the He WILL come again. 


In the first verse of Joy to the World, one phrase that always hits me is “let every heart prepare him room.” I've thought a lot about what that means. It’s significant to me because although there were no inns with room for the Savior, we all have the opportunity to make room for Him in our hearts, always, but especially at the Christmas season. 


Several years ago I had a light-bulb moment regarding how the holiday season works together to testify of Christ- I become grateful and my heart is softened at Thanksgiving, my heart turns to my Savior at Christmas and I long to become more like Him which prepares me to make goals at the New Year to repent and improve. I then realized that I didn't want to wait until the New Year to improve (although I’m sure I’ll take stock then and set goals once again), but I wanted to give my own gift to the Savior throughout the Christmas season. I wanted to prepare my heart to have room for Him. As I have made room in my heart for Christ, I have become aware of changes I need to make so that He can have room to dwell there and be comfortable in doing so. It's been a humbling process, but one that has brought me great joy. I loved the following excerpt from these remarks by Henry B. Eyring. It's changed my perspective greatly.

"Jesus gave his gift freely, willingly to us all. He said, “Therefore doth my Father love me, because I lay down my life, that I might take it again. “No man taketh it from me, but I lay it down of myself” (John 10:17–18). I bear testimony that as we accept that gift, given through infinite sacrifice, it brings joy to the giver. Jesus taught, “I say unto you, that likewise joy shall be in heaven over one sinner that repenteth, more than over ninety and nine just persons, which need no repentance” (Luke 15:7).  If that warms you as it does me, you may well want to give a gift to the Savior. But he seems to have everything, doesn’t he? Well, not quite. He doesn’t have all of us with him again, forever—not yet. I hope we are touched enough by the feelings of his heart to sense how much he wants to know each of us is coming home to him. We can’t give that gift to him in one day or in one Christmas. But we could show him today that we are on the way.  If we have already done that, there is still something left to give. All around us are people he loves, and he wants to help them—through us. One of the sure signs of a person who has accepted the gift of the Savior’s atonement is a willingness to give. The process of cleansing our lives seems to make us more sensitive, more generous, more pleased to share what means so much to us. I suppose that’s why the Savior used an example of gift-giving in describing who would finally come home to him: “Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: “For I was an hungered, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in: “Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me. … “Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me” (Matt. 25:34–36, 40).  And that, I suppose, is the nicest effect of receiving great gifts: it makes us want to give and give well. I’ve been blessed all my life by such gifts. I acknowledge that. Many of those gifts were given long ago... And so what shall we do to appreciate and to give a merry Christmas? “Freely ye have received, freely give” (Matt. 10:8). I pray that we will freely give. I pray that we will be touched by the feelings of others, that we will give without feelings of compulsion or expectation of gain, and that we will know that sacrifice is made sweet to us when we treasure the joy it brings to another heart."

This year as a family we've discussed together the gifts we want to give to our Savior this season.  We have been working hard to sacrifice and to fulfill those promises.  It has brought us closer to each other with that common goal, but more importantly it has brought us closer to Christ as we celebrate Him.  ----

Christina is a wife, mother, daughter, sister, and friend who loves to be inspired and is always working to become a better person.   She has been blogging since 2007, but earlier this year she changed venues.  Christina now blogs at Bee a Little Better where she shares her journey of self-improvement as well as lessons learned caring for her dad when he suffered a massive stroke days after the birth of her third child.        

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Spirit Of Service by Aarean

{This post was written by my new friend Aarean. Find her {here}!

I absolutely, positively love this time of year. The food, the decorations, the family getting together...the music, the colorful trees and ornaments... It's all so wonderful! How easy it is to forget (and yes we hear this phrase so often...) "the true meaning of Christmas". When Erin asked if I would share some ways that I try to remember Christ during the hustle and bustle of the holiday season, I was thrilled. For the mere fact that amongst the gift wrapping, the shopping, or blogging about my latest Christmas projects, etc...it forced me to take a step back and re-prioritize.

Of course, one of my favorite things to do, especially during Christmas, is to read the story of Christ's birth (found in Luke). But, my favorite thing about this time of year is the spirit of service that radiates through so many. I am a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, and service is a huge part of what we believe. Like our Savior said, "Verily, I say unto you inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brothers, ye have done it unto me."

During this this time of year, the greatest thing I can do in remembering Christ is to be of Service. Making Christmas cookies for my neighbors. Cooking a holiday meal for a friend. Helping out at a food drive, or simply donating goods to a local charity. All of these things are simple ways to serve, and it is a true reminder to me of what this season is all about. There is so much joy and satisfaction is service, when we forget ourselves and focus on others...there is no better way to remember our Savior then by serving. I truly, truly believe that!

Merry Christmas to you all...may you find service to be a beautiful reminder of Christ during this special time of year!

xoxo

Aarean

editor of Color Issue

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Aarean is an incredible designer and shares her knowledge of color on her blog

{Color Issue}

You really DO NOT want to pass up her blog.

You just don't.

Hop over there and be inspired.

A No List Christmas Wish by Krista Smith

This post is written by Krista Smith who blogs over at{Saturated Canary}

Christmas makes me feel very much like a kid again.  My mom and dad always made it so special for the four of us kids.  We had so many fun traditions…little things that added up to make a truly wonderful, exciting month.  We lived right next to a Christmas tree farm, so cutting our own tree down was a blast. Some years my dad was working, and my mom and us kids would go over and choose one ourselves.  Always too big to fit into our little house.  It would pop all the ceiling tiles out…pine needles would be through the whole place…and we ended up drenched in sweat and sap trying to get the tree to stand upright in the tree stand.  Still, I love those memories…all the family pieces that still make my heart skip a beat when December rolls around.

I grew up in a Christian home, so our Christmas holidays were always centered around Jesus' birth.  We still did the whole Santa thing…and I still do for my children (who are both avid Santa believers:), but the Reason we celebrate is forefront in our hearts and minds.  

I understand that some families choose not to include the Santa aspect in their Christmas celebrations.  I totally respect that.  For my husband and myself, we love the building excitement through the month, the cookies set out on Christmas Eve, and little notes the kids write to Santa…I save them all.  (I can't pull them out without getting all sappy:).  I follow my parents example in how to include the holiday festivities without loosing focus on Christ.  There were never any Christmas lists.  No handing Santa a ranked toy wish-list for him to check off on Christmas morning.  We were only allowed to ask for one thing.

My kids know they can choose one thing each year.  There is never an argument or question.  They don't even blink an eye when other kiddies talk about their lists.  For them, it has always been one thing.  They know it cannot be very, very expensive (because that gives Santa the impression they are taking advantage:).  They know it cannot be real (we don't do puppies in boxes.  hubby would have a fit:).  They both pick one reasonable toy each year. I love how the limiting of their requests makes the one they choose that much more special.  

We have had Santa's ask, Is that all??  And my kiddos simply reply, yes.  (It is funny to see a puzzled look on Santa's face.)  The One-Wish rule keeps our children grounded and keeps the One Gift that we received in Bethlehem forefront in their little minds.    It is a nice reminder and reality check, that Christmas is about so much more than the number of gifts and stacks of toys.  Santa is a sweet guy, and he always brings them a couple extras:).  We have a few special gifts for our children as well.  But everything on Christmas morning is appreciated and received with thankful hands.  I think overwhelming children with toys, especially as Christians, floods their ability to value and appreciate each present.  And it removes time and space in their hearts for remembering Christ that day.  

So we choose to keep the presents reasonable.

  To believe in Santa.  

To keep Christ first. 

 To show our children that Christmas

 is about giving.  

About being thankful for traditions and memories.  

And to allow them one wish.  

Which is a nice conversation starter about 

the One Gift we received on 

Christmas all those years ago.

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You can check on Krista over here at the


{Saturated Canary}

Again, I just want to thank you all so much for your participation and enthusiasm for 

Finding Christ in Christmas.