NOTE: I ACTUALLY WROTE THIS BLOG ENTRY MONTHS AGO BUT DIDN'T PUBLISH IT BECAUSE I WANTED TO ADD SOME PICTURES I HAD TAKEN OF THE DISPLAYS. WELL, WINDOWS 10 PRESENTS BIG PROBLEMS TO ME BECAUSE THE WHOLE PROCESS IS SO DIFFERENT THAN WHAT I WAS USED TO WHEN I WROTE THE NEWSLETTER. PICTURES TO A FILE AND THEN DRAG THEM WHERE I WANTED WAS NO PROBLEM. NOW I AM AT A LOSS.
I AM ON A LONG LAYOVER IN TULSA TODAY AND THOUGHT TO MYSELF "WHY NOT JUST PUBLISH WHAT I HAD WRITTEN. IF I EVER RETIRE--HAHAHA!--I CAN ALWAYS ADD THE PICTURES LATER." THE PICTURES ARE WORTH SEEING AS A TESTAMENT TO THE WONDERFUL EFFECT THE WHOLE CHRISTMAS EVENT WAS AS A VISUAL. SO, I HOPE YOU ENJOY READING ABOUT THIS UNIQUE CHRISITMAS EXPERIENCE FOR ME.
I wasn't sure I was going to display all the Nativities I have collected over the years for Christmas 2015. Because it is a tremendous amount of work, but with a tremendous reward for doing so, I couldn't make up my mind whether or not I was going to be up to it.
However, when I thought of the great Christmas spirit it brings to me now that my kids are grown and gone and there is no more excitement connected to planning for this wonderful holiday and preparing small gifts for them in fun and thoughtful ways, I remembered how much the Young Women of the ward have enjoyed their YW hour here while I gave a little lesson about the particulars of Mary and Joseph and then I shared my personal conversion to a Christ-centered Christmas. And...I still had a few vacation days left plus three days of funeral leave after Louis' brother Barry died. I figured those few days would be enough to pull the whole thing off.
Boy, did I totally UNDERestimate what was involved! But by working literally 15 hours a day for about six days in a row, I was finally ready at midnight on December 12th. The YW were scheduled to arrive at 11am the next day for their Sunday meeting hour. I made it! And STILL added a couple of things at the last minute before they came.
Some of those days I hadn't even walked out of the house I was so driven to set up the Nativity sets and stage them so they were displayed in a pleasing way. I think I succeeded. The displays were better than last time, though some could still use more tweaking with additional time to do that. But with some changes I made from the original set up years ago, along with using the additional space above the kitchen cabinets, the whole scene was literally breath-taking.
Scented pine cones in a low oven made the whole house smell like cinnamon. And the Sugarplum spray from Pier One Imports added just the right spice to make it smell like Christmas. Low background music of the Tabernacle Choir's best Christmas carols set the mood for a very spiritual event. Outside lights, inside lights--they all enhanced almost 300 manger scenes, including those on the two decorated trees.
This Nativity Festival in Johnstown at Sweetbriar the last few years was my attempt at missionary work in my own neighborhood. I have a lot of opportunities to share my testimony about Christ and other gospel priniciples at work as a flight attendant, but I haven't been so good about reaching out to my neighbors with an invitation to find Christ. This seemed like a perfect way for me to do that. Some years at my Nativity open house I have handed out the DVD about Christ's birth that the Church produced a few years ago. Always there is a basket of Nativity related puzzles or DIY manger scenes or pencils or simple Nativity ornaments which the kids can pick from to take home.
This last Christmas was my best effort so far. Just about 150 people came for the three Sundays in December I held the open house and also times by appointment for other families in response to the invitaiton to call me for a different time if those Sunday afternoons didn't work. I said six pm for a close to each week's open house, but every Sunday there were people there long after that visiting and just enjoying the wonderful Spirit of Christmas which enveloped the whole house. One family had come on Christmas Eve day two years ago as part of their FHE, and made a visit to our Nativity Festival part of their Christmas celebration again--this year seeking the sheep--for their Family Home Evening. The last guests came on January 10th because the dad is now the bishop in the Severence Ward--tithing settlement, etc--and they had taken their family on a vacation right after Christmas. It was okay. I had no plans to take the whole thing down immediately. I was too tired still from putting it all on display!
Some of our non-member neighbors actually came. But the one group which made my heart the most glad was a non-member neighbor a couple of streets over who had come two years before with her two teen age sons and had brought a recently widowed friend with her 12 year old step-daughter. Sandy told me later her friend had told her she had felt such a spirit of peace when she had been there.
So, this year a few days before the first open house, Sandy called me to see if she could come on Saturday, not Sunday, because her recently widowed aunt was there visiting and she wanted her to see the beautiful display. Unfortunately, it was our ward Christmas party that Saturday with it's attendant assignments. So, I had to decline. But Sandy and her two teen age sons--now much taller--were the first to ring the doorbell on Sunday. And there was Sandy's aunt with them. Sandy had encouraged her to stay a day longer and come with them. I was so happy for the spiritual impact that had made such an impression ppreviously.
Though it was the end of January before all lthe Christmas stuff got to the basement, and another month before I was able to pack everything away and reorganize the basement (the Christmas corner has now spilled over into the next section of basement!) the whole event was soooo worth the trouble and effort it took.
I think the Lord was pleased with my offering to keep "Christ in Christsmas"!
Why don't you plan to bring your family and come and celebrate with me in 2017? Surely I will be be retired by then, and we can enjoy this Christmas event together.
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