a holiday feast

inspired by jandee, i embarked on a (hopefully) new tradition for the holiday season. as thanksgiving approached i was watching the commercials and hype of the holidays. and as much as i can scoff and worry about how "everyone" else is celebrating with shopping, giving and going into debt, i thought more about what i really think about for the holidays.

can you guess what it was? at first it was my children and family and what to give them for christmas that they would enjoy. and second, food. yes...food. i thought about making the perfect batch of toffee and grannie's sugar cookie recipe. i dreamt about dove chocolate squares in my stocking and warm hot cocoa and cinnamon rolls at my mom and dad's.

this  year i wanted it to be different. i wanted to focus my holiday celebration on the real reason of the season. the birth and life of the Savior Jesus Christ. starting thanksgiving day i began an accelerated reading of the Book of Mormon.  at about 18 pages a day i can finish on christmas day. i thought this was a crazy undertaking, but from jandee's advice i did it. and although i am early on in the game, only day 6 of 30. i sit down at night after everyone is in bed, turn on the christmas music and read it like a real book. not like "i have to read my scriptures every day" kind of thing. but a "curled up in a warm blanket on the couch devouring the writing" kind of book. i have to write what a difference it already has made in my life. for all the times i've read this book, i've never focused just on the Savior. i can't tell you how much i have already learned about His life, His purpose and His will for us on this earth, and i'm not even to 100 pages yet.

i just want my kids to read this someday and be inspired to do the same thing. it has already filled my heart with joy and purpose in just these few days that i feel as though it might overflow. what a perfect holiday feast.