DECEMBER 15th

Thought/story: "Dear Savior ... Merry Christmas"

Scripture: Matt. 6:9-13
Event: The Lord's prayer.
Jesus Christ taught how to pray

Recipe: Mini cheesecakes (these are really easy to make and good for parties, baby
showers, etc.)
Ingredients: 12 vanilla wafers, (2) 8 oz. Pkgs. Cream cheese, 1/2 c. sugar, 1 tsp
vanilla, 2 eggs.
Instructions: Line muffin tin with liners. Place one vanilla wafer in each line. Mix
cream cheese, vanilla and sugar on med. Speed until well blended. Add eggs. Mix
well. Pour over wafers, filing 3/4 full. Bake at 325 degrees for 24 min. Remove from
pan when cool. Top with your favorite topping.

Tradition: If you're really brave (and not too sleep deprived) you might want to try
starting a tradition where you're whole family can sleep under (or around) the
Christmas tree for one night. The kids definitely won't let you forget about this one
next year!

Small gift idea: (Good for people you visit teach, etc.) A regular dishtowel with the
message:
At first glance, one looks at a kitchen towel and thinks, "Wow, a towel ... I needed a new one. The old ones are getting stained and worn." But have we ever stopped to think that for years, even thousands of years, the towel has not just been used in the kitchen, but for a variety of reasons?
Take, for example, the mother who wipes the tears of a little child to soothe the physical and emotional hurt; the physician who binds the wound of a bleeding patient; the woman in her home wiping her hands as she moves from task to task; the weary traveler who wipes his sweated brow. The manager of a boxer even "throws in the towel" to save the life of his protege, and the young man wipes the grease off his hands on this towel as he fixes the old jalopy.
Notwithstanding all the above examples, perhaps the most significant use of the towel was about 2000 years ago when our loving Brother took an ordinary towel in his hands and dried the feet of the disciples only hours before his crucifixion. Sure, the towel is a handy item with a myriad of uses, but it also has a deep symbolic meaning when seen in the hands of the Savior doing work of kindness for his fellowmen.
So take this towel, knowing it is given with love, and do works of goodness with it, as the Savior worked goodness with his so many years ago.

DEAR SAVIOR: MERRY CHRISTMAS
By Jack Weyland

During Mackenzie's 1:00 class, she spotted a tattered notebook in a vacant desk across the aisle. As she began to look through it, she realized it was a personal journal. I shouldn't read this, she thought as she thumbed through pages trying to find who it belonged to. But she couldn't help herself.

October 10
Went to general priesthood meeting with Dad. Afterwards we went out for pizza. Had a good time. We played video games while we waited. Dad's no good at it but at least he tried.

October 17
Took Tamra to homecoming. Had a good time. I wish she didn't live so far away.

October 20
Sometimes being the only member of the church in school is hard. All of my
friends from junior high are drinking now. I'm the only one who isn't.

November 5
A rainy day. Started watching a movie on TV tonight but it had too much sex so I went running. There was nobody else out in the rain. I got wet but it was okay. One thing about running in the rain, if you get thirsty, all you have to do is stick out your tongue.

Who is this guy, Mackenzie thought, who walks away from a TV show because
it's got what all the other guys I've ever known want to watch.
The bell rang and everyone began to leave. Mackenzie knew that she should
turn in the notebook to the teacher, but she didn't. She put it in her book bag
just as Darren showed up to take her home.
"Guess what!" Darren said. "I got a phone call today from the football coach
from Michigan! Can you believe that? He said if I played for them, he wouldn't be surprised if I ended up winning the Heisman Trophy."
"That's really great, Darren."
"Whataya say we go celebrate? We could go up in the hills for a couple of
hours."
"Some other time, okay?" Mackenzie
said.
"What's the problem?"
"I just don't feel like it today, that's
all."
After supper she sat down to watch
her favorite TV show. But after a few
minutes she realized that the guy
.whose notebook she had wouldn't be
watching it. She turned off the TV,
went into the kitchen and grabbed an
orange, and headed for her room to
read some more from his journal.

December 4
The missionaries came by and asked us if we could find someone who they could teach in our home. They said Christmas is a hard time for them to find people because everyone is so busy. They asked me if I knew anyone in school who might want to know
about the church. I told them I didn't. I wish there was someone, though. We told them we'd try.

December 6
In priesthood today we talked about what Christmas really means. The bishop asked us to write a Christmas card to the Savior. I guess I'll try it.

Dear Savior,
Merry Christmas. How are you? I am fine. I hope you're having a good year.
That was a dumb thing to say, wasn't it? Sorry. This is hard to do. I guess I'll
just write whatever comes to mind.
What was it like being born in a manger? I think it would be a good thing because you got to hear the sound of the animals, and also, I've always liked the smell of straw.
Did the shepherds really come to see you? They must have been so happy. If you had been born in a fancy inn, they wouldn't have been able to get past the man at the desk, so I guess it all worked out for the best after all, didn't it? When you were a boy, did your mother and Joseph ever take you back to the stable where you were born? The reason I ask is because I was born in Provo, Utah, while my parents were at
BYU. But I guess you know that already, right? Well anyway, whenever we go to Provo, like when we took Jared to the MTC, we drive past the hospital and my mother tells me that's where I was born. So I was just wondering if that ever happened to you. I
guess it's not that important but I'd like to know anyway.

I think it's great that angels told shepherds about you being born, and not the mayor or the town council or anybody else. Just the shepherds. And that even though there were like ten thousand angels, I think that one of the angels must have said, let me talk to them first so they won't be scared. So the first thing that first angel said to the shepherds was, Fear not. And then after the shepherds got so they weren't scared, then the whole group showed, up and sang. If you ask me it was a
good idea to just start with one angel.

Were there any baby animals in the stable that night? I think it would be neat if there were, you know, like a lamb, just born a few days before. A baby lamb and the lamb of God.

Sometimes I think a lot about you. Okay, maybe not as much as I should but sometimes I do. I think about what it must have been like for you when you were crucified. That must have been like the low point of your whole life. Everyone either hated you or else felt that you'd failed at what you were trying to do. I bet you could see it in their eyes. There wasn't anybody who knew that this was one of the main reasons
you came to earth.
I just wanted to thank you for everything you've done for me. You took my sins upon you, didn't you? That helps to know that. Sometimes when I think of all the dumb things I've done, it's good to know I can be forgiven. I mess up every day, not in big ways, but, still, there's something every day. It's nice to know that as long as I keep trying, you'll help me out.

They say you love everyone in the world. Is it hard to do that? And do you ever get mixed up with all the names? Like how many Jennifers "are there in the world? Quite a few I bet. There's three in my English class alone.

Sometimes I think about what it means to take upon me your name. I think it means that I try to treat other people the way you would treat them, and not look down on anybody, or think I'm better than anybody. Some days I do okay on it but other days I
don't. I just wanted you to know that I'm trying. I don't know if you can help me or
not but sometimes, like in school, I feel totally alone. There's nobody I can talk
to. Oh sure, there's people I say hi to and people I do homework with, but nobody I can talk to about what's really important to me. I wish there was somebody like that in my life.

Other than that though, things are going okay. Thank you for being my Savior.
Merry Christmas.
I love you.
Jason

Tears were streaming down Mackenzie's cheeks. She went through her high school yearbook from last year making a list of all the guys with the first name of Jason. As she was working on that, the phone rang. It was Darren.
"0klahoma wants me too! They just phoned!"
"That's great, Darren."
"What a day, right? I'll be over in a minute and we'll go up in the hills and
celebrate."
"I already told you-not tonight."
"This is the biggest day of my life and you're trashing it. What's gotten into you lately? It can't be someone else."
"Why not?"
"I'm more man than anybody you'll ever meet."
"I know you think that, but I'm not sure it's true."
"Forget it then, I'll find somebody else for tonight."

The next morning Mackenzie decided to look for the boy who had written in the notebook. During first period she got permission to leave class for a few
minutes. She walked by the room again. There was a guy sitting at the
desk where she'd found the notebook.
Somehow she knew he was the one she
was looking for.

She couldn't remember seeing him around. He had dark brown hair, cut short, and pretty ordinary clothes and mannerisms. She could see why it might be possible for him to go through school overlooked by people like Darren.

She stood by the door and stared at him while his class took a test. He'll never be like Darren, she thought. If I ever go with him to a dance, no other girl will tell me how lucky 1am, like they do when I'm with Darren. He doesn't have the confidience Darren has when the team is behind and it's the fourth quarter and he goes out there and throws a thirty-yard touchdown pass and they win the game. The most that could ever happen with this guy is that we'd end up being friends. At least if I were spending time with him he'd never try and get me to go up in the hills with him like
Darren does.

Jason must have been aware that someone was staring at him, because he looked up from his exam and glanced over at her. She pointed to the notebook in her hand. Is this yours? she mouthed the words. He smiled and nodded his head yes. I'll wait for you, she mouthed.
He finished his exam early and came out to see her. The halls were still empty and they were alone.
"I found this," she said. "I would have turned it in to Lost and Found but I saw it was a diary and I knew you probably didn't want people reading it."
"Thanks."
"No problem." She gave him the notebook. "My name is Mackenzie."
"I know. Everybody knows you. I'm Jason Simon. Thanks for returning
this."
"Sure, no problem." She paused. "I've got a confession to make. I shouldn't have, but I read it."
"All of it?" .
"Yes. Once I got started I couldn't' stop."
His face turned red. "When I was writing it, I didn't expect anyone else would read it."
"I know. It was wrong of me to do that. Sorry."
"I guess you know me a lot better than I know you."
"I guess so." She cleared her throat.
"Can I ask you a question? You actually wrote Jesus a letter for Christmas?"
His gaze dropped to the floor and his face turned red, as if he expected her to
make fun of him. She realized she had ventured into a part of him that he seldom
revealed to others, especially strangers.
He looked up. "I'm not ashamed of what I wrote."
"I know that. I could tell you really meant it. Do you think he'll ever read
it?"
"I don't know."
"Do you think about him much?" she asked.
"More now than I used to."
"Do you wish I didn't know so much about you?"
"You had no right to read what I
wrote."
"I know. I'm really sorry now. Do you think we could ever be friends?"
He looked at her strangely and then said, "You read about that too, didn't
you?"
"Yes, in your letter you asked for Jesus to give you a friend. I might like
being your friend."
"Why?"
"I've never known anyone like you before."

The bell rang; students rushed out of classrooms into the hall. Jason looked at
the clock. "I have another class." She could see that he didn't know what to do. She was used to guys like Darren who pushed their way into relatonships. Jason wasn't like that. She would have to take charge for a while. She knew what it would take. "Is there some way I can learn more about what your church teaches about Jesus?"
They set up a time for her to go to his house and meet with the missionaries.
And then he left.
Afterwards she wasn't sure why she'd done it, didn't know what she was getting herself into, couldn't guarantee she wouldn't go back to her old way of life. But for now it was Christmas and she had met a boy who had written a Christmas letter to Jesus. She had to find out what made him so different.
She began to imagine a Christmas letter she might write. Dear Savior, she
thought, what can you do for a person like me? You don't have to give me an answer
right away. I can wait.
Strangely enough, for the first time in her life, she felt that the answer was
just about to come.


Jack Weyland is the author of a number of best-seIling
novels-including Brenda at the Prom, Charly,
Sara, Whenever I Hear Your Name, Michelle and
Debra, and Kimberly-as well as three collections of
shari stories, including A Small Light in the Dark.
ness.