The Eternal Christmas Gift Of Forgiveness

The greatest gift we have been given is not the gift of forgiveness but the gift to forgive. God sent his only begotten son to make it possible that we not live with the guilt of being a victim. When we forgive others it is not releasing the offender from responsibility, but releasing us from the offender so that we can be healed. As we celebrate this Christmas let us not forget that the greatest gift given was not wrapped in fancy paper and laid under a tree, but was wrapped in swaddling clothes and laid in a manger. The master gift giver is Our Father, whose gift was and is eternally ours.

Life Is About Struggles

Everyone of us comes into life bearing the responsibility to struggle. Each of us has our own struggles we deal with, the struggles we have always look much harder to us than anyone else. Some of us have to deal with the struggle of poverty, other of us have to deal with the struggle of wealth. Each are different struggles but each in the end are a struggle. Neither the rich man nor the poor man will be able to overcome their struggles, until they recognize the need to struggle both will be poor. The lame man has his struggles and the whole man has his struggles. Until they look beyond their own struggles they will both be handicapped.
Struggles are an integral part of growth. The butterfly that does not struggle out of it's cocoon will either die inside or it will be crippled, for it gets its strength from struggling into this world. As we face our challenges in life we have to ask ourselves if we are looking too closely at our struggles instead of  looking past them.
The freedom to succeed requires a struggle. Life is hard, it is whether we are willing to struggle or not that will determine whether we have the strength to become who we are intended to become.
To let a weed grow requires no struggle, but their is no pleasing fruit either. That which we plant and struggle to grow bares fruit that is worthy enough to give us nourishment.

Christmas Trees

When I think of Christmas, presents are not always the things I remember the most. Yeah, I remember the time we snook into one of my siblings rooms and played with our Pfisher Price Barn and Airport. I remember sneaking into mom and dads room to discover their hiding places, but when it comes to the real spirit of Christmas I remember when we would hunt for the perfect Christmas tree. A couple of years we got a permit and cut our own tree down. Oh yes, the hot cocoa and chili, tying the tree to the top of the van, smell of pine sap on our hands, left a lasting impression upon my mind.
We would take the tree home and decorate it with ornaments, usually the glass balls of varying colors. It was exciting and it was my dad's way of ushering in the Christmas Season. He was not much of a present buyer, I suppose I grew up to be like him in that way.
I don't remember what we did on my mission for a tree. We spent most of our Christmases at members homes and talking to family as they celebrated at home. It was good.
Getting married was a new adventure in Christmas. Our first Christmas tree was a sad little house plant that made Charlie Brown's tree look majestic. We wrapped garland around it and tried putting ornaments on its branches, but it would have none of that. The next few years we had no money for trees, so we waited until a couple of days before Christmas when the tree lots would abandon their lots leaving trees behind. We were so happy to have what ever we got, it was so much fun.
 A few years later we could afford a tree so we bought them, but the prices seemed to be going up so we would search all across the valley to find the best cheapest tree we could find, and we brought it home. I think the funnest part of the Christmas tree was hunting for one. Then one year after discussing the price of trees we decided to commit a near unpardonable sin...we bought an artificial tree. it looked real enough when we bought it but it certainly did not smell real and I kinda ached inside whenever we brought it out, but really did not detract from the season too much so we used it
Then one year my reminiscing of Christmas tree permits brought about the desire to go for a live tree again, this time instead of putting money into the tree lot we would buy a permit and spend the money on a new adventure. So, for the past four years we have gone back to the real Christmas trees, and the adventures in mountains for trees.
Christmas trees have always been apart of our Christmas celebration and I will always remember them for the memories we have created along the way. Someday when the children are grown I hope they will take with them those memories that will lead them to honor the tradition of the Christmas tree.

Family A Christmas Gift

God intends us to be happy eternally. We often times think of the challenges we have in this life as cruel and unusually, as God's punishment for our bad behavior.
 I do not believe that God seeks to punish us. He loves us. He wants us to succeed. Our agency is our greatest asset to perfection as well as our greatest obstacle to perfection. We can not reach our full potential without the full potential to fail.
The greatest potential source of happiness comes from our family. Is it any wonder that such a source of happiness might also be such a source of equal pain and heartache. Is it any wonder that as a reward God would extend that happiness eternally? Our marriage need not end at death, but may continue on through the sealing power of God's priesthood. It only makes sense that as we are a child of God we would grow up to be like him.
This is just one more Christmas gift, made possible through the atonement of Christ.

Poverty Is A Bad Habit

Poverty is not just the lack of finances it is a mentality. There are many who have money, but they don't know how to use it. They spend more than they make, on things that they do not need. There is nothing wrong with buying that which you want, so long as you take care of your needs first. There are also those who have no money but they have hope, and they are truly rich.
At this time of Year we often feel sorry for ourselves when we do not have money to buy our children the things they want, so we over extend ourselves and we go into debt. Sometimes we spend because it helps us feel hopeful, but it is a false sense of hope. Poverty comes when the reality of that false sense of hope reveals itself to us. Just as any other bad habit poverty becomes a cycle. We do it to feel strong, like we are in control, but in reality each time we spend it begins to control us more and more. Learning how to do with, reuse, or do without is a principle that your children will be blessed to understand. However, we must walk them through why we are doing it or they are likely to return to our own cycle of hopeless spending.
Have a truly Merry Christmas this Season.
Remember the real gift that Santa Gives.... http://thegiftthatsantagives.blogspot.com/