#sharethegift

I was ready to head to bed the other night when I walked by our little white board and saw this message that my youngest (now a teenager) had written. It warmed my heart.

She shared with me today how she is trying to remind herself what Christmas is really about. Life is busy and crazy and it can be hard to remember the real Reason for the Season.

What are you doing to remember Him in it all?

Here are some of the things that are helping us.

We watched the Christmas Devotional together. My husband and I were particularly moved by Elder Christofferson’s talk, and the music from the Mormon Tabernacle Choir and Orchestra on Temple Square was sublime.

We also watched an amazing documentary on Handel’s Messiah. The message of the making of the song is the message of the wonder of who the Messiah is — lifting broken, lonely, rejected, weak mortals and infusing grace into our lives.

My daughter is watching this video over and over again (the largest live nativity on record, with music that she can’t get enough of).

The other night, when I couldn’t sleep for the racing thoughts in my mind, I tried to imagine the Savior sitting next to me trying to help calm my mind. It helped.

Last night, we attended a musical evening, where each of the choirs in the nine local congregations sing a Christmas song. There was also a children’s choir and a youth choir. I could have sat there for another hour absorbing the spirit of it all. This is a tradition in our area…and we always end by singing the Hallelujah Chorus from Handel’s Messiah (accompanied by a small orchestra of youth and adults). Perfect.

(Two of my children’s friends had never heard/sung the Messiah live. I wish I could have captured the look of wonder on their faces.)

Tonight, for our family scripture study, we enjoyed several Christmas videos/song recordings together. (We love music around here.) We plan to do more of that this week. I hope to share a few of them here.

What are you doing to remember the Savior this holiday season? What are you doing to #sharethegift?