Christmas Gifts

The past two weeks of church have been interesting. Last week we weren't able to attend church as we were snowbound due to the nearly two feet of snow that fell in about 24 hours. This week we got to go, but were visiting a different ward. It was a nice break from the usual routine of taking care of a bunch of 2-3 year olds. Usually, we don't get to attend sunday school with the rest of the adults.

Today we had a great lesson about the gifts that Heavenly Father has given us. We talked about how He has given us the opportunity to obtain eternal life through the gift of His Son Jesus Christ.

For ^aGod so ^bloved the ^cworld, that he ^dgave his ^eonly begotten ^fSon, that whosoever ^gbelieveth in him should not perish, but have ^heverlasting ⁱlife. John 3:16

Our teacher spoke also of the gifts that Jesus Christ has given us. Through His Atonement, we can choose to repent, and He can cleanse us of our sins. Thanks to Him, we will be resurrected and overcome death.

My family has a tradition of having a "birthday party" for Jesus on Christmas Eve. The idea was to help the kids in the family, especially the little ones, understand that Christmas is more than Santa and reindeer and presents we get to unwrap. We read the story of Christmas from Luke 2 and then instead of thinking of what we can get, we each come up with something that we can give Jesus in the coming year.

I heard a variation of that tradition today that I liked. The idea was to decide what you can give to Jesus during the coming year, but to write it down and keep it in a present that you keep around all year in a place where you will see it and be reminded of what you have decided to give Him.

I have decided what my gift will be. I hope that you will give Him one too. Merry Christmas!