The Christ Child

The last of the seven traditions in Emily Freeman's book A Christ Centered Christmas is the Christ Child. Is Christ the focus of your Christmas? Christ should be the center and focus of our Christmas belief, the reason for the season. We need to give as Christ gives and live as he would have us live.
In her book she shares this poem by Howard Thurman:

The Work Of Christmas

When the song of the angels is stilled,

When the star in the sky is gone,

When the kings and princes are home,

When the Shepherds are back with the flock,

The work of Christmas begins:

To find the lost, 

to heal the broken,

To feed the hungry, 

To release the prisoner,

To rebuild the nations, 

To bring peace among brothers, 

To make music in the heart.

This year consider giving a gift to Christ. Right down something you want to work on this year that will bring you closer to Christ. Put the paper in the envelope and seal it. The next year at Christmas you can open it and see how well you have done. Ponder how your life has been blessed by the birth of the Christ Child. 

"The Christ Child

reminds us to offer to the Lord this Christmas season:

A gift based on the true work of Christmas,

one that will allow us to focus on Christ all year long."

Emily Freeman A Christ Centered Christmas

The Lamb

I guess I always just figured the Lamb was there because it had come with the Shepherds, I had never really thought about what the Lamb could mean to me. In the Bible Dictionary it states this "Shepherds still, as in old, go before the sheep, and the sheep follow, being...attached to their masters, whose voice the instantly recognize." These sheep follow their Shepherd because he takes care of them. Jesus is often referred to as the Good Shepherd. Are we like the Lamb, do we know Jesus and instantly recognize his voice and follow him. Also it is pointed out that the sheep follow their Shepherd because of the gratitude that they feel to the Shepherd for taking care of them. The Christmas story is all about gratitude in many ways. Emily Freeman points out two verbs that go with gratitude when looked up in a thesaurus "fall to your knees" and "never forget". These two phrases go with following Christ.
She then talks about two people mentioned in Luke 2 (Luke 2:25-38) that never get mentioned but play a big part. Emily Freeman talks about Simeon and Anna. These are stories that I don't know a lot about. Both were very devote people who spent a lot of time serving in the temple and both has wished to see Jesus before they died. Both were prompted to be at the temple the day that Mary and Joseph brought their baby to the temple. From them we can learn to seek Jesus, serve in the temple often, and give gratitude instantly.
 
This year take some time to read some scriptures about the tender mercies of the Lord. Some are 1 Nephi 1:20, 2 Corinthians 1:3, Psalm 145:9, Psalm 119:77, 156, Psalm 69:16, and Ether 6:12. After reading them take time to right down the tender mercies that have been in your life. Then take time to give thanks for the tender mercies in your life.

"The Lamb

reminds us to prepare our hearts to recongnize

the hand of the Lord in our life,

and then, in that instant, to give thanks."

Emily Freeman A Christ Centered Christmas

The Wise Men

Matthew 2:1-12 talks about the Wise Man and their journey to find the baby Jesus. They brought three gifts to Jesus, gold, frankincense, and myrrh. Each of these gifts mean something: Gold was a gift for a King, celebrating the baby's royalty. Myrrh was an incense used for cleaning and burial, given in remembrance of His humanity and to foreshadow the importance of his death.  Frankincense was an incense used in the temple, showing his divinity. From the bible dictionary we learn that these were not ordinary men, "that they were privileged to search out the Son of God and give him gifts, and that they were spiritually sensitive and knowledgeable, suggests that they were actually prophets on a divine errand." (Bible Dictionary," Wise Men of the East," 789)
We learn from them search out the Savior and the importance of understanding prophecies and scriptures. We need to watch for signs of the Savior and continue to seek Him.
We also learn to journey another way. After they found the Christ as a child they traveled home a different way to avoid Herrod. At this time of year there is a lot going on and we may feel that we are too busy. We too must journey a different way through our Christmas season to find Christ in our season. We must make an effort to travel a different way to come closer to Christ.
This year find a different way to celebrate, a new tradition that will bring your family closer to Christ. Find a different way through your celebrations and focus on the feelings and promptings that come as you find a way to bring Christ into your celebrations.

"The Wise Men

exemplify the journey each if us takes as we seek the Lord.

They remind us that as we draw closer to Him,

we will be led to continue our journey another way."

Emily Freeman A Christ Centered Christmas

The Shepherd

In Luke 2:15-16 we read about the Shepherds. The angel came and told the Shepherds that Jesus had been born and they went now and with haste. What an important thing we can learn from the Shepherds. Do we take time in our Christmas celebrations to seek out Christ. I think that a lot of times we get caught up in the season and what all it brings and forget to see out Christ. Also when we are invited to come unto Christ do we come now and with haste. There are many times in our lives that we have the opportunity to come unto Christ, when these opportunities come we should remember the Shepard's example and Come unto Christ now. I like that they stopped what they were doing and went so as to not miss this experience. Often times I think that we mean to go but we have to finish what we are doing and miss the opportunity that we were given to come unto Christ.
Another thing that we learn from the Shepherds is the type of friend they were. The said to one another to go to see Christ. Do we invited our friends around us to come unto Christ as they invited each other to go see baby Jesus. Also do we have friends that invited us to Christ, so we have people in our lives that encourage us to come unto Christ.
Also after they went to see Jesus they then went out and testified to others what they had seen. We also need to share with others what we know.
Find time to gather with family and take turns sharing your testimony with each other this Christmas. You could make candy cane cookies to remember the Shepherds staff to eat as you share your testimony with each other.

"The Shepherd

symbolizes a testimony within, 

an inner conviction that we have come to know Christ.

The Shepherd is a reminder for us to come closer to the Lord, 

now and with haste, 

and then to share our testimony with others."

Emily Freeman A Christ Centered Christmas

The Angel

The Angels came to the Shepherds that night to share glad tidings and good news. I can feel the anticipation the angels had as the waited to come share the news. I am sure there was an excitement as the prepared. What wonderful news they brought to the Shepherds that night. As we listen to the Christmas Carols that talk of Christ they share the same glad tidings and good news that the angels brought that night.
As we go through this Christmas season may we find time to listen to these songs and ponder on the message they share. Think about what the news meant to those then who were waiting for the Savior to be born. Think about what the news means to you today. Take time to to go caroling with friends to bring the glad tidings and good news to others, or just gather as friends and family and sing carols. Find time one evening to just sit and listen to the songs that talk of Christ.

"The Angel

embodies a heart that runneth over

with the good tidings and great joy of the season.

The angel is a reminder that the anticipation

of good things to come

should fill our hearts with warmth overflowing."

Emily Freeman A Christ Centered Christmas

Joseph

I think that Joseph is someone who is often overlooked when we think about Christmas and that first Christmas but he is very important to the story as well. I can only imagine the feelings that he felt as he took Mary to Bethlehem. As the father and husband of this family he must have felt a deep sense of responsibility to protect them and provide for them. I can only imagine how heavy his heart must of felt as he was turned down time and time again from the inns trying to find a good place for his wife to stay.

Elder Holland explains it so well:

"One impression which has persisted with me is that this is a story of intense poverty. I wonder if Luke did not have some special meaning when he wrote not “there was no room in the inn” but specifically that “there was no room for them in the inn” (Luke 2:7; emphasis added). We cannot be certain, but it is my guess that money could buy influence in those days as well as in our own. I think if Joseph and Mary had been people of importance or wealth, they would have found lodging even at that busy time of year.
I have wondered if the Joseph Smith Translation also was suggesting they did not know any influential people when it says there was no one to give them room in the inns (see JST, Luke 2:7).
I compare those feelings (which I have had with each succeeding child) with what Joseph must have felt as he moved through the streets of a city not his own, with not a friend or kinsman in sight, nor anyone willing to extend a helping hand. In these very last and most painful hours of her “confinement,” Mary had ridden or walked approximately 160 kilometers from Nazareth in Galilee to Bethlehem in Judea. Surely Joseph must have wept at her silent courage. Now, alone and unnoticed, they had to descend from human company to a stable, a grotto full of animals, there to bring forth the Son of God.
I wonder what emotions Joseph might have had as he cleared away the dung and debris. I wonder if he felt the sting of tears as he hurriedly tried to find the cleanest straw and hold the animals back. I wonder if he wondered: “Could there be a more unhealthy, a more disease-ridden, a more despicable circumstance in which a child could be born? Is this a place fit for a king? Should the mother of the Son of God be asked to enter the “valley of the shadow of death” (Ps. 23:4) in such a foul and unfamiliar place as this? Is it wrong to wish her some comfort? Is it right He should be born here?”
But I am certain Joseph did not mutter and Mary did not wail. They knew a great deal and did the best they could.
Perhaps this provides an important distinction we should remember in our own holiday season. Maybe the purchasing and the making and the wrapping and the decorating should be separated, if only slightly, from the more quiet, personal moments when we consider the meaning of the Baby (and his birth) who prompts the giving of such gifts." "Christmas Doesn't Come From A Store" Liahano Dec 1995

This Christmas read Matthew 1:18-25 and Luke 2:1-7 and think about this young man and the role he played at this first Christmas. Find time this Christmas to do secret acts of service both in your family and for others around you. Find to listen to the promptings that come to heart so you may know where you are needed and where you can serve others. Find time to read the story "A Gift From The Heart" By Norman Vincent Peale.

"Joseph

represents the desires of our hearts.

He reminds us of the secret acts of Christmas Kindness

given with sacrafice and love

to the broken, the weary, the lost, or the lonely."

Emily Freeman A Christ Centered Christmas

Mary

. I found this book that is called A Christ Centered Christmas by Emily Freeman. It has seven traditions that you follow leading up to Christmas and they have to do with the figures in the Nativity Scene.
The First Tradition is Mary. Luke 1:26-56 and Luke 2:5-7, 19 talks about the Character of Mary. I have often thought about Mary and what kind of a person would be chosen to be the mother of Jesus. What a tasks. I feel overwhelmed by the responsibility that has been entrusted in me with His children that he has given me to raise. I can not imagine the thoughts that went through her head as she sat in the stable and held that tiny little baby. Luke 2:19 says she pondered all the things in her heart. I can only imagine the things that she pondered as she held that very special baby as I know what goes through my head as I hold my tiny baby. Mary had to have been an amazing person, very righteous, giving, humble and patient. I am sure that she taught with love and never raised her voice to her child. I want to be a mother like Mary, teaching my children the important things with love and not raising my voice and getting frustrated with them. I know that I am not perfect and that it will take a long time for me to gain these skills. I just have to make everyday better than the last day and when I make a mistake not be afraid to admit it and ask my children for forgiveness. I want to raise children that are faithful and have a strong testimony. I love Mary and the person that she was and that everything that she went through. I hope that I can take her example and become a better mother and a better person.
This year as you prepare for Christmas take time to ponder that first Christmas in your heart. Ponder what the Birth of the Savior means to you. Ask yourself if you could be any person there that night who would it be and why. Share your thoughts with others or take some time to write it down. Emily Freeman gives this response of a little boy gave when asked who he would be, he respond the cow because the cow shared his bed and house with baby Jesus, basically the cow gave everything he had for the Savior. I just love that response, something that I wouldn't have thought on my own but a very profound thought. Anyway remember Mary and the first Christmas and what it means to you.

"Mary

reminds us that we need to find a moment

to ponder the events of that sacred night in Bethlehem.

In that moment we celebrate the miracle of Christ's birth, 

and the gift that Heaven gave."

Emily Freeman