Put The Watch Away And Enjoy Christmas

This morning I went to the temple here in Billings. It was nice to walk in to that beautiful white building on a cool crisp December morning. In the temple they have lockers where you can store your belongings while in the temple. It is one of my favorite things to do to take off my watch and set it in the locker. To me it's very symbolic. The watch, in my eyes, represents time, and often the constrains it can place on our lives. So for me to take that watch off, put it in a locker, and lock it up while in the temple helps me realize that I need to forget about time and focus on the reasons I am there and the things that I can learn.

    As I did this today it also made me think of this busy Christmas season. As all of us find ourselves in the hustle and bustle of decorating, baking, singing, and Christmas programs galore let us essentially take the watch of time off and put it away. Even for just a night let us forget about worldly Christmas time and focus on family Christmas time. May I suggest a reading out of Luke chapter 2, or watching a video about Christ's birth off of biblevideos.lds.org. I can promise as you do this you will grow closer to your family, you will remember the Savior more, and will find an increase of Christmas spirit in your home and in your life. This is a wondrous time of year, let's not let it go to waste.

  For some family Christmas ideas Click Here!

My Christmas with The Mormon Tabernacle Choir

One of my favorite Christmas traditions has to be listening to Christmas music. Growing up in Utah we had the privileged of going to The Mormon Tabernacle Choir's yearly Christmas concert. Most kids my age probably would have found listening to a choir sing for two hours a bore, but for me it was the perfect way to kick off the Christmas season! As I sat there in amazement listening to this angelic choir sing praises of Joy to the World, Angels We Have Heard on High, and Hark! The Harold Angels sing I felt something inside of me. As I continued to pay more attention to this feeling I realized what it was....It was the Spirit! I'm sure there were other times in my life when I had felt the Spirit but it was these concerts that provided me the first opportunity to recognize what the Spirit really felt like.
   Each year I look forward to this, the Christmas season, for the opportunity to, through music, relive this spiritual experience. I'm grateful for what I call "God's Choir" and their heavenly songs who's tunes and lyrics are now ingrained into my mind and heart.  This time of year is truly a great one as I am able to reflect on the Saviors birth and, with my voice, join in singing praises to Him.