Things have been crazy busy this holiday season which is why I haven’t blogged in a while. I love Christmas! It is by far my favorite time of the year. I’m grateful that we have a date set apart for the purpose of celebrating the birth of our Savior and that it’s a federal holiday so I don’t have to work. J I’m also grateful for the time off because it gives me the ability to spend time with family. I love Christmas music and how it constantly reminds me of why we celebrate Christmas. I also love the tradition of gift giving. We are celebrating the Savior’s birth and when you celebrate someone’s birthday you generally give them gifts. However, we can’t just show up at Jesus’ house and give him gifts and that’s not really what he wants anyway. He is happiest when we are serving others in His name. And that’s what we do at Christmastime. We give gifts to those we love and we serve those in need –all in the name of Christ.
I’m so very grateful that my Heavenly Father created a wonderful plan for us all to come to earth to learn and grow and that He sent His Son to die for us so we can overcome physical death and suffer for our sins so we can overcome spiritual death if we accept His Atoning Sacrifice. I’m grateful that because of the Savior’s sacrifice that we can eventually become like Him and live with our Heavenly Father and our families for eternity, if we follow His teachings. I’m also immensely grateful that the Savior also suffered our afflictions and temptations of every kind in addition to suffering for our sins. Because He did that I know that He understands everything I go through. I can always turn to Him and He will know how to help me.
I’m also grateful for the freedoms we have in this great country. I’m grateful that I have the right to believe in the Savior and follow His teachings if that’s what I choose. I’m also grateful that others have the right to believe something entirely different if they so choose. Christ doesn’t want to force anyone to follow Him –it has to be their choice.
I also love celebrating the New Year. I think it goes right along with Christmas. As I celebrate Christmas I think of Christ which leads to pondering His teachings as well. I’m imperfect just like everyone else so as I ponder His teachings I become very aware of things that I’ve done or failed to do in the last year that I would like to change in order to become more like the Savior. The New Year is a perfect time to do this. It’s a chance to start over. The hardest part is deciding what to change since I can’t possibly change everything. My next blog entry will be about my new goals. Stay tuned if you’re interested! J