DECEMBER DAILY: Day 5

The kids and I had a pretty mellow day. It was fast Sunday, so we did not have breakfast. We put on Harry Potter movies which were being shown all weekend on ABC Family while we waited for 11:00 am to arrive so we could leave for church. The lesson in Relief Society was quite moving. Jenn Hays led the lesson and shared a few memories of Christmases past. Then she had invited other sisters in the ward to share their memories with us. It was so moving. The spirit was definitely palpable in that room. Sacrament meeting was also fabulous. After we received the sacrament, the testimony meeting began. Zack was the 1st one to go up to the podium. He bore his testimony. It amazes me sometimes that I am raising this young man. His testimony is so much stronger and purer than anything I have ever experienced. I learn so much from him about what "faith" looks like. There was also another cute testimony. A little boy in our ward got up and bore his testimony about tithing. He stated a "truth" that is found in the scriptures, but said it so a matter of factly, I think it surprised many adults and we all giggled. I guess he was quite embarrassed that people had laughed at him. I feel horrible about that. I wish their was a way to convey to him that I am grateful that he shared that with us. It inspired Becky to base her Family Home Evening lesson on what he said and it was a great lesson. Not sure our lesson would have been so good if he had not been brave enough to bear his testimony and share his faith with us...thank you Jakob.

After a pretty simple supper when Steve got home, I retired to my scrap room and tried to finish up the ornaments for the exchange party I was invited to. While I worked, I turned on the First Presidencies Christmas Devotional. Last year we had been luck enough to have tickets to watch it live, this year, not so much. I did enjoy being in my jammies and crafting while I listened to the messages that were given. I have to admit, I just ADORE President Dieter F. Uchtdorf . His style of speaking, is so easy for me to understand. His talk began by telling us that there are quotes that we hear during this time of the year and he quoted scriptural references to the birth of the Savior and then moved on and quoted the GRINCH. I loved it. He talked about how we get wrapped up the hustle and bustle of the season and can become "grinch-like". That it is important to remember the true meaning of the spirit. You can hear his entire talk through the link above.
The meeting ended with the message from our Prophet Thomas S. Monson . Which is always wonderful to listen to. He talked about what he reads: The Mansion by Thomas Van Dyke, A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens and 2 Luke in the New Testament. Then he related a story about a man that was living in Frankfort Germany during the 1940's...definitely a moving story about the true meaning of Christmas.

I have enjoyed, in the past few years, this first Sunday and listening to the leaders of the church share the messages of the season with us. I hope we got the opportunity to attend it live again some day.