Share the Gift

Christmas is such a wonderful time of the year. I enjoy the decorations and the snow (that seems to be AWOL this year, at least in Provo). I love seeing little children's excitement building as they wait for Santa and presents, but my favorite part about Christmas is the greater emphasis on the Savior and all that he has done for us. There seems to be a greater sense of love and goodwill among everyone. This year, however, I'm not seeing that as much as I'm used to. In the news there are so many messages of hatred and vengeance and anger. It makes me sad that there is so much suffering and hurt in this world, but especially that people cannot find it in themselves to love each other.

Mormon.org is doing a campaign this year called "Share the Gift." The point is to share with others the miracle and joy of Christmas: the gift of the Savior and of his love and atonement for us. They are inviting anyone and everyone to print out their sign and share how they will #sharethegift this holiday season. I would invite everyone to do this, and to consider your way of sharing to be "I will love others, even if they are unkind to me." The Savior said, "Love others as I have loved you." He also asked us to "bless them that curse you, and pray for them which despitefully use you." Regardless of the pain and persecution we may be going through, the Savior expects us to love each other. That is the gift we can give to him this Christmas, as well as to all the world. It is also the only way that we can end this cycle of hatred. If we refuse to seek revenge, if we do our best to have Christlike thoughts and actions, if we reach out in love to those around us, then we can influence the world for good.

Here is my sign. You are welcome to borrow it if you like. If you want to print out your own blank one to fill out, click here.

If you want to know more about the #ShareTheGift campaign, watch the video below or visit christmas.mormon.org

I am so grateful for my Savior; for the sacrifice that he made for me, and for every single person on this Earth. I love him and want so much to be worthy to go back to him. I am grateful for my testimony of his divinity and of his love for me individually. May we all remember to keep the Christ in Christmas.

DIY: 15 Minute Tablet Case

This year for Christmas, Santa got us an iPad mini and we bought ourselves a bluetooth keyboard to go with it. We also wanted to get a case to keep either of them from getting scratched, but they were all pretty expensive for a little envelope of fabric, and none of them fit the iPad once the keyboard was attached. So, I had the thought to just make one! My husband will be using our tablet to take notes in school this semester, so I wanted to make sure it was manly enough that he wouldn't mind carrying it around, but I also wanted to add a little cuteness to it so I chose a largish yellow button to offset the solid gray fleece. This project took me about fifteen minutes, and I'm a pretty slow sew-er.

Here's what you need:

• 1 Button
• Sewing Machine (or Sewing Needle. Or Both!)
• 1/4 yard of Fleece (you can use any another fabric you want, but fleece is pretty durable, very forgiving in the sewing process, and provides a little bit of cushion for your tablet. You may need more or less fabric for your case depending on the size of your tablet.)
• Thread

What to do:

1.  Cut a strip of fabric an inch or two wider than your tablet, and twice as long, plus a few extra inches for the flap (remember, you need it to reach at least half of the depth of your tablet, plus seam allowance on both sides.)

*If you are using a fabric that will fray, fold over and hem both of the short ends so that they have a nice, finished edge.*

2.  Fold fabric, right sides together, so that the tablet has a centimeter or so of space at the fold and the top.

3.  Pin fabric in place and sew the sides together.

4.  Turn the case right-side out. Trim the top flap to the shape you want. I decided to go for asymmetrical.

5.  Decide where you would like your button to go and stitch it to the envelope. I like to do this step by hand. Now cut a button hole in the top flap. (If you are using fray-able fabric, use a sewing machine to stitch around the button hole to reinforce it.)

Hooray, you did it! Your very own custom tablet case is complete.

Happy Crafting!

How to Plan a Christmas Program

**UPDATE** I am so surprised that 8 years later, I am still getting requests to share this program! Though I’m proud of that program, I’ve organized several since then that I feel are much more centered on the Savior, Jesus Christ, and His gospel, so I would like to share the most recent of those with you. Nearly all of the text is taken from the scriptures. You could easily adapt this to be done with one narrator, but I found that by inviting several people to participate we were able to help nearly our whole ward feel known and included. The congregational hymns are taken from the book Hymns, from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I hope that this helps you bring the spirit of Christ to your Christmas celebrations this year. 

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1U6kxZx_BtF-rU-8iX8tTawWfJLjD2wQaJPf7z7FSr2M/edit

Original Post

This year I was in charge of putting together the ward Christmas program. It was a lot more work than I expected and I couldn't have done it without the wonderful people who helped with the readings and music, and of course, the Savior. Overall I think it turned out really well, and I'm excited to keep working on and improving this program.

For anyone looking to write their own Christmas program, let me just say, keep it simple. For text, use the scriptures. For music, look to the hymns before going elsewhere. A pattern that I've noticed in other programs and used for the one I wrote is to have one or two readers reading from the scriptures, with some commentary thrown in if you like, and musical numbers and speakers intermingled throughout as they correspond with the text.

Make sure that you ask people who you would like to participate, especially soloists, well in advance. This way they can have time to practice and feel comfortable with everything, plus it's just polite. Most people can't sightread their way through a complex piece. Give them time to learn it.

If you would like to borrow mine, or use it as a reference, you are more than welcome to! Here it is:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B3PBFcn4jMuMNjBWTWtla0lNcGM/edit?usp=sharing

The text I used comes mostly from the King James Bible. The hymns I used can be found here. "Come, Lord Jesus" is from a program that the LDS church puts on at the Conference Center every year called "Savior of the World," and can be downloaded here.

Have a very merry Christmas!