Just a Manger

 

 

I didn't bring a Christmas tree out here. Some people gasp when I tell them that. I knew we would be going home for Christmas and given the choice to cram more clothes in our Uhaul or a tree I chose the clothes. Maybe that's bad but I don't think it is because even though I didn't bring out a tree I brought something that means so much more than a tree. It's actually made from a tree. It's our manger.

I’ve always loved mangers. I remember being very young and standing up in Primary singing time at church to practice for our Christmas program. As I sang the words to “Away in a Manger” I distinctly remember tears welling up in my eyes as I thought of the “Little Lord Jesus lay(ing) down His sweet head.”

 

Growing up, my mom always had a manger underneath our Christmas tree to remind us of the most important gift we were ever given: our Savior Jesus Christ.

 

After Jaden and I got married my cute brother Bridger made us our very own manger to go under our tree and gave it to me for my birthday. That same manger that was given to us made it's way out here and is the most poignant reminder to me of what Christmas is really about: the baby that once laid there and later grew up to become our Savior.

It was fitting as I looked at our manger in our living room and pondered my thoughts and feelings this past week that when church rolled around we sang Away in a Manger as the opening hymn. I felt prompted to share my thoughts about the manger and testimony of Christ in fast and testimony meeting. I shared about our family tradition of the manger and also an experience I had with one of our nephews last year. We had Hunter and Crew over for a Christmas sleepover and Crew saw the manger under our tree and asked me why the manger was empty. Maybe it was a nudge to why we hadn't had a baby of our own to put in the manger;) but we talked about how it was empty because Jesus grew up and wasn’t a baby anymore and that He lived and died for us and was resurrected. We concluded the manger is empty so that we remember that He was born to save us from our sins, our hardships and death itself and to show us the way home. 

 

 

 

 

 

One of my favorite books to read around Christmastime is by Brad Wilcox and it's titled "Because of the Messiah in a Manger." One of my favorite passages in his opening remarks says:

 

“Because of the Messiah in a manger, we can welcome light, grace, immortality, and eternal life. We can know God. Because of the Messiah in a manger, we have a Good Shepherd who cares for us and allows us to help Him care for others... Christmas matters. Happiness and joy matter. Our choices matter. Our motives matter. We matter — all because of the Messiah in a manger.” 

So yes there's no tree this year. Just a manger. But it isn't just a manger.

Peaches

• Got the last of my holiday shopping completed on cyber Monday
• Jaden's flag football team won two out of three of the playoff games
• Meeting the girlfriend of one of Jaden's buddies that plays on the team with whose name is also McKenzie and her family are all big hunters so we had plenty to talk about
• Making football shaped molasses cookies for the game (the embarrassing momness continues... they all love me I even made them take a team pic after the games)
  
• Light the world challenges
• Good friends 
• Amazing coworkers
• Yummy steak and potatoes dinner
• Surprise package in the mail from mom with a Harry Potter lego advent calendar in it, best part is she cut out the days 19-24 because we'll be home to open those. Classic
• We got a skiff of snow
• Planning activities to do with the nieces and nephews when we come home
• Our elf on the shelf Reginald found us out in Pittsburgh
  
• Expanded our Christmas book collection when I bought one of Jaden's Christmas gifts. I let him open it early so we could read it before we go home for Christmas. It's the Tale of the Three Trees book and then I also got The Mitten that I remember reading all the time at my grandma Moyle's house. Cozied up by the fire with her polar bear family stuffed animals she always got out at Christmas reading The Mitten. Good memories. And then I found a cute Twas' the Night Before Christmas In Pittsburgh rendition that will be fun to have and look back on 
• Planned my first lesson
• Utes won the PAC-12 Championship Game! Jaden was on cloud nine the whole weekend
  
• Had an awesome setting apart blessing. Strengthened my testimony yet again of the priesthood power because I had never met the guy that gave me the blessing until five minutes before he gave me the blessing so he and Jaden and I small chatted for a few minutes and he got to know us and then he set me apart as a Relief Society class instructor and there were things he told me in the blessing that he really couldn't have known I was concerned about, only God could have known. So so cool. 
• The First Presidency Christmas devotional was awesome
  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Pits

• Saying no even when it's hard
• Not feeling like I really understand football, it's been embarrassing for me for years but there is so much I don't know or understand about football. I finally talked to Jaden about it and that I genuinely want to learn so I can more fully enjoy watching games with him and will know what's going on if our future boys ever play it. Jaden is going to spend some of his winter break putting together a little football course for me guess it'll prep me for my upcoming school. Hopefully I pass his class, more details to come
• Jaden requested homemade rice krispies and I seriously went to two stores and neither had rice krispies so I was so bugged and grabbed a thing of rice chex and we improvised with rice chexies. What a weird thing to be out of but I guess that's just the times we're living in, random shortages everywhere.
  
• People park scooters EVERYWHERE it's so annoying. There was one I barely saw as I was pulling out of our driveway and thankfully didn't hit

 

Lessons Learned 

• The baby in the manger was real and grew up to be our Savior. Both the manger and the tomb are empty because He lived, died and lived again for you and for me. I love Him.
• Admitting you don't know something can be hard but also freeing because it gives you an opportunity to be taught and to learn if you decide to take it.
  
• Look both ways for parked scooters