I loved the simplicity of our day today. While the rest of the world probably stayed up way too late last night wrapping presents and stressing about their Christmas day plans, Tim and I went to bed on time without a care in the world. I woke up this morning a little before seven to make the coffee cake. Mya woke soon after, and we both ran to wake Tim from his sleepy slumber. We grabbed V from her crib, put the cake in the oven and let Mya open all the presents.
Like every prior Christmas, we tried to be very thoughtful with our gifts focusing on our needs rather than our wants. Tim bought me slippers, a vegetable scrubber, a couple of books, two boxes of multi-grain cheerios (he knows they are my favorite) and some trinkets for my stocking. I gifted him with a yoga mat, a water bottle, a picture frame for his desk at work and a couple of sweaters to keep him warm while he stands outside talking to me during his lunch hour. The girls would've been happy with just candy canes and wrapping paper but were blessed by family to receive a princess castle, books, princess dresses and ornaments. Simple, yet perfect.
As I put all the gifts in their proper place this afternoon, I started thinking about what I could give Jesus this year since we are celebrating His birthday. Last year, I promised to give Him time. I wrote in my journal, "To you, my dearest and closest friend, I will give time. At least 10-15 minutes of uninterrupted time each day." I didn't really want to define how I would give my time to Him each day because I knew there would be days I would forget to pray and read my scriptures (and there were days), but I wanted to at least give myself a goal. In retrospect, I have been true to my gift. And I am grateful for those few quiet moments I spent with Him each day.
This year, I will give Him the gift of service. I believe I can serve Him a little each day by serving those around me a little better. I just finished reading the Book of Mormon (more on this another day), and I came across this scripture: "For behold, if a man being evil giveth a gift, he doeth it grudgingly; wherefore it is counted unto him the same as if he had retained the gift" (Moroni: 7:8). There are times when I sigh with frustration because my kids interrupt "my" time or because I have to start dinner and all I want to do is stay wrapped in my blankets or because I know I should clean the house but decide to blog instead. So my gift to Jesus this year is to do service with a smile and a good attitude. I've been doing much better at it lately, so I'll count the last month as a practice round and will really focus on doing this daily next year.
What will your gift be?
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"Be kind and considerate with your criticism... It's just as hard to write a bad book as it is to write a good book." Malcolm Cowley