Church Talk: Kick Off to Christmas

President Uchtdorf described Christmas: Sometimes it seems that our efforts to have a perfect Christmas season are like a game of Jenga—As we try to increase the height of the tower, we pull out one wooden block before we can place it on top of the delicate structure.

Each of those little wooden blocks is a symbol of the perfect Christmas events we so desperately want to have. We have in our minds a picture of how everything should be—the perfect tree, the perfect lights, the perfect gifts, and the perfect family events. 

Sooner or later, something unpleasant occurs—the wooden blocks tumble, the drapes catch fire, the turkey burns, the sweater is the wrong size, the toys are missing batteries, the children quarrel, the pressure rises—and the picture-perfect Christmas we had imagined, the magic we had intended to create, shatters around us. As a result, the Christmas season is often a time of stress, anxiety, frustration, and perhaps even disappointment. 

Let me tell you a story about a 'Jenga Christmas' Ben and I had when we were first married. Click here to see the story!

In the end we were just so excited to be home and be with family on that special day that the many things that went wrong didn't seem as important.  As President Uchtdorf said, "If we are only willing to open our hearts and minds to the spirit of Christmas, we will recognize wonderful things happening around us... and we see that Christmas, in its essence, is much more sturdy and enduring than the many minor things of life we too often use to adorn it."

As you might have gleened, today I have been asked to give a 'Kick off to Christmas.'  And this weekend we all experienced the world's 'Kick off to Christmas'-  BLACK FRIDAY.

  I am not a big fan of black Friday shopping.  I really treasure my sleep and don't like the idea of getting up early or staying up really late to shop.  I am also not very aggressive or competitive which makes getting to any item a challenge.  But this year I went with Ben and some of my family to a couple stores.  It is always so shocking to me that so many people go out to shop on that crazy day.  And why?  For the deal and for the 'perfect gift.'

In our day the spirit of giving gifts plays a large role in commemorating the Christmas season. I wonder if, during the rush of this new holiday if we might profit by stopping and asking ourselves, What gifts would the Lord have me give to Him or to others at this precious season of the year?

President Henry B. Eyring mentions a few when he says, " The spirit of Christmas... puts in our hearts a desire to give joy to other people. We feel a spirit of giving and gratitude for what we have been given. The celebration of Christmas helps us keep our promise to always remember Him and His gifts to us. And that remembrance creates a desire in us to give gifts to Him.

One of these gifts he mentions is the desire to give joy to other people.

President David O. McKay declared: “True happiness comes only by making others happy—the practical application of the Savior’s doctrine of losing one’s life to gain it. In short, the Christmas spirit is the Christ spirit, that makes our hearts glow in brotherly love and friendship and prompts us to kind deeds of service." 

Most of you will know the familiar holiday show, Mr Krueger's Christmas.  This story is about a man Willy Krueger, a lonely and aging widower,  who lives in a basement apartment with only his cat George for company.  There are many things that happen to Mr Krueger on that Christmas Eve night.

At one point in the story he finds some carollers outside his window, he beckons them to visit him offering hot chocolate, but they leave after only one song but one of the carollers accidently leaves her mittens. 

At the end the carollers returning for the mittens, and decide that they really need a bass voice to fill-out their singing before finishing the evening with a turkey dinner.

 So Mr Krueger, who was alone, was invited to sing and join this group of carollers who did not even know hi,.  This act of including him brought him joy and happiness.  Like Mr Krueger was brought happiness by the simple act of strangers including him, we can also bring happiness to those around us- family, friends and strangers.

We can also give joy to others through selfless service. Which brings me to another gift we can give to find the true essence of christmas is to find the spirit of service and gratitude.

President Gordon B. Hinckley said, “When you walk with gratitude, you do not walk with arrogance and conceit and egotism, you walk with a spirit of thanksgiving that is becoming to you and will bless your lives.”

This month we have all been thinking about the many things that we are thankful for.  My family always makes a 'Thankful turkey' and we fill the many feathers with thanks, facebook has been overwhelmed with peoples thanks and people seem more willing to sit and ponder the wonderful blessings that they have- but why stop when November ends? 

We can take this spirit of thanksgiving with us through the holiday season and continue to be mindful of our blessings. But we must not just be grateful for the services and blessings given to us but remember also to be grateful for the opportunity to serve others.

I like this well known christmas story about a wife's quest to bring service into her husbands holiday. She says,

It all began because my husband Mike hated Christmas... oh, not the true meaning of Christmas, but the commercial aspects - the 'Jenga'

Knowing he felt this way, I decided one year to bypass the usual shirts, sweater, ties and so forth.  I reached for something special just for Mike.  The inspiration came in an unusual way.  Our son, Kevin, who was 12 that year, was wrestling at the junior level at the school he attended, and shortly before Christmas, there was a non league match against a team sponsored by the inner-city. These youngsters, dressed in sneakers so ragged that the shoestrings seemed to be the only thing holding them together, presented a sharp contrast to our boys in their spiffy blue and gold uniforms and sparkling new wrestling shoes. As the match began, I was alarmed to see the other team was wrestling without headgear, a kind of light helmet designed to protect a wrestler's ears.  It was a luxury the ragtag team obviously could not afford.  Well, we ended up walloping them.

Mike, seated beside me, shook his head sadly, "I wish just one of them could have won," he said. "They have a lot of potential, but losing like this could take the heart right out of them."

That's when the idea for his present came. That afternoon, I went to a local sporting goods store and bought an assortment of wrestling headgear and shoes and sent them anonymously to the inner-city church.  On Christmas Eve, I placed the envelope on the tree, the note inside telling Mike what I had done and that this was his Christmas gift from me.  His smile was the brightest thing about Christmas that year and in succeeding years.

For each Christmas, I followed the tradition; one year sending a group of mentally handicapped youngsters to a hockey game, another year a check to a pair of elderly brothers whose home had burned to the ground the week before Christmas, and on and on.

The envelope became the highlight of our Christmas.  It was always the last thing opened on Christmas morning and our children, ignoring their new toys, would stand with wide-eyed anticipation as their dad lifted the envelope from the tree to reveal its contents.

As the children grew, the toys gave way to more practical presents, but the envelope never lost its allure. 

This family found a way to fill their home and holidays with the spirit of service. I know that there are plenty of wonderful opportunities for us to give this holiday season; from a meal at a food bank or a simple smile at a stranger, we can all give of ourselves in some self-less way.

President Eyring described the gift of service and giving in an interesting way, he said," You can give (Christ) the gift of doing for others what He would do for them... Those are gifts ... that we can offer to others FOR Him. We do that by remembering Him and trying with all our hearts to do what He would do and love as He loves." This idea is described in Matthew 25:35- 40

35 For I was an ^ahungred, and ye ^bgave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a ^cstranger, and ye took me in:

 36 Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye ^avisited me: I was in ^bprison, and ye came unto me.

 37 Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink?

 38 When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee?

 39 Or when saw we thee ^asick, or in prison, and came unto thee?

 40 And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have ^adone it unto one of the ^bleast of these my ^cbrethren, ye have done it unto me.

Through this holiday season we can give to those we meet and in so doing give the gift of dedication and love to our Savior. 

This brings me to the ultimate gift and 'reason' for the season, and that is our Savior Jesus Christ. President Monson said, "When we keep the spirit of Christmas, we keep the Spirit of Christ, for the Christmas spirit is the Christ Spirit. ..There is no better time than now, this very Christmas season, for all of us to rededicate ourselves to the principles taught by Jesus Christ."

President Jeffrey R Holland said, " As my wife and children can testify, no one gets more giddy about the giving and receiving of presents than I do.

But for that very reason, I, like you, need to remember the very plain scene, even the poverty, of a night devoid of tinsel or wrapping or goods of this world. Only when we see that sacred, unadorned child of our devotion—the Babe of Bethlehem—will we know why “tis the season to be jolly” and why the giving of gifts is so appropriate."

The prophet Isaiah declared: “For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given...and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.”¹

As a bratty teenager I often thought, "So this babe was born in a lowly manger... so what?" Why is that night and that moment so important in the history of the world and to Christians everywhere?

I am pretty sure I knew the answer then and I know for certain now that  it was not the birth of a babe that was impactful but it was the birth of our SAVIOR. It is impossible to speak of the importance of that event without looking years in the future at another simple moment in a garden where that same babe, now grown, atoned for the sins of the world.

This little child, born in a stable and cradled in a manger, was a gift from our loving Heavenly Father. He was the promised Redeemer of the world, the Savior of mankind, the Son of the living God.

President Eyring said," He (HF) gave us the gift of a Savior, His perfect Son, the Lamb without blemish. Jesus Christ was crucified and resurrected that we may live again, that we may be purified and cleansed from sin, prepared for the glory of eternal life."

When speaking of the Savior and his gifts in last years Christmas Devotional, President Uchtdorf commented, " This may be the most one-sided gift exchange in the history of the universe. The Savior’s gifts to us are breathtaking."

He goes on to say , "Let us begin with immortality. Because the Savior overcame death, all men and women—both the just and the unjust—will live forever. ²

Then, forgiveness—even though our sins and imperfections be as scarlet, they can become white as snow because of Him. ³

And finally, eternal life—the greatest gift of all. ⁴ Because of the Atonement of Christ, not only are we guaranteed an infinite quantity of life, but He offers the possibility of an unimaginable quality of life as well. ⁵

... But He extends many gifts and His grace to us every day. He promises to be with us, to come to us when we need comfort, ⁶ to lift us when we stumble, to carry us if needed, to mourn and rejoice with us. Every day He offers to take us by the hand and help transform ordinary life into extraordinary spiritual experiences."

These gifts we receive from the Savior are priceless. Of course, we do not need a Christmas holiday or Christmas traditions to remember Jesus Christ, our Savior. But the celebrations of Christmas can HELP remind us of Him.

President Monson said: "As we seek Christ, as we find Him, as we follow Him, we shall have the Christmas spirit, not for one fleeting day each year, but as a companion always. We shall learn to forget ourselves. We shall turn our thoughts to the greater benefit of others."¹

 I want to end with a well known passage from How the Grinch Stole Christmas by Dr Suess:

"And the Grinch, with his Grinch-feet ice cold in the snow, stood puzzling and puzzling, how could it be so? It came without ribbons. It came without tags. It came without packages, boxes or bags. And he puzzled and puzzled 'till his puzzler was sore. Then the Grinch thought of something he hadn't before. What if Christmas, he thought, doesn't come from a store. What if Christmas, perhaps, means a little bit more."

 I hope that through this holiday season we can all stop and think of what it is in our lives that 'means a little bit more.'  I hope that while we buy our packages and bake our goodies that we can remember to  find the spirit of service and gratitude and strive to bring joy into the lives of others.  But most importantly  I hope we call all remember our Savior Jesus Christ and strive to live as he would have us live.

I agree with President Monson that, "Christmas is what we make of it. Despite all the distractions, we can see to it that Christ is at the center of our celebration."    As this wonderful season is beginning, we can establish Christmas traditions for ourselves and for our families which will help us capture and keep the spirit of Christmas.

I know that Jesus Christ is my Savior.  I love the Christmas season and the reminder it brings for me to think of Christ often and rededicate my life, for the upcoming year, to live as he would have me live.