Christmas Legacy

So I went digging around in my memory box again today. New Years Eve tends to have that effect on me. There are so many cool moments in my box that I want to share with you, I kind of hope 2012 isn't the end of it. That's selfish, sorry.

I shared with you my apprehension for Christmas this year and the encouragement I preached to myself to maintain the gospel-centricity of Christmas over the return to old feelings and memories of what Christmas used to be. Well it happened (Christmas) and I just wanted to touch base with you on the other side of it.

Jenna made the rounds waking everyone up, even Gabby who Murphy's Law would have it was actually sleeping in (my Christmas present). We crawled out of bed and watched Jenna and Mindy open Gabby's Christmas presents.

Here are a few favorites:











I'm growing up. That should probably be the correct title of this blog. I'm reminded by that as I pull out photographs of a childhood Christmas from my memory box.





I think I'm six years old here and I remember this Christmas well. Mom and Dad did their very best to make Christmas special for us every year and succeeded. They didn't always spend tons of money, but what they gave us was always full of thought. Here I'm opening a set of tools and a tool box. I still have this tool box, it's sitting in my closet holding some music gear. I still have the saw, hammer and a few clamps from this tool set. Each one has come in handy in the last twenty years, building my little house, helping friends with projects.

I think about the term legacy often these days. I've been given a tremendous responsibility and gift from my Heavenly Father to raise and impact some precious souls in my life. Gabby is probably too young to remember this Christmas, but I'm looking forward to next. I'm looking forward to getting to know her and our little son who's name I still don't know. I want to know them well enough to equip them and give them the tools they need for their future the way my parents did for me.

My parents didn't just give me tools, they gave me insight into how a young man grows and develops. I'm thankful for the moments as a parent when I feel equipped, they don't come often and when they do I relish them, just like I relish this Christmas.