True Christmas Spirit

Today I wanted to write a post about the true meaning of Christmas and why it's important to me. Some of the fun aspects of Christmas are shopping, giving/receiving gifts, making/eating Christmas goodies, holiday parties and get-togethers, Christmas trees and decorations, snow, Christmas cards, hot chocolate, etc. The list could go on and on.

But what is the true meaning of Christmas and how does it apply to us? A lot of people might be thinking, "Duh, that's a no-brainer" however, there are a lot of people in the world who either don't believe in God and His son Jesus Christ, or don't know who Jesus Christ is or why He is so very important to all of us.

Jesus Christ is the son of God, and he lived 2000 years ago. He lived a perfect life, but He made the selfless choice to suffer for our sins in the Garden of Gethsemane and ultimately be put to death on the cross. That ultimate sacrifice was for each and every one of us (collectively AND individually). I'm so glad I KNOW this because let's face it, the world's a scary enough place on a good day and it would truly be a dark abyss without the knowledge that Jesus Christ is our Savior and Redeemer.

During the Christmas devotional last night, my church unveiled a really neat website that you can access by clicking here. There are some extremely well-made videos about the birth and life of Jesus Christ that are definitely worth your time! Here's a sampling:

Setting the Mood

Last night was the Christmas devotional that my church puts on each year. For as long as I can remember this devotional has always taken place on the first Sunday in December (in the evening). The devotional is held in Salt Lake City, Utah, (where the headquarters of my church is located) but it's also broadcast throughout the world and can be viewed in our different church buildings, or can even be watched at home on the TV or over the internet. (Isn't modern technology amazing?!)

This year's devotional was amazing, just as it is every year. It never disappoints! It's always the perfect way to kick off the Christmas season and it always fills me with the Christmas spirit. In this day and age the commercialization of Christmas is something that unfortunately happens all too often as the true meaning of Christmas gets swallowed up in secular traditions* and holiday chaos. Of course this isn't always the case, but I know from my own personal experience that it IS easy to get "sucked in" to the commercial side of Christmas since it's so prevalent in our society. That's why I personally have to make a conscious effort to remind myself to pause and reflect on what the true meaning of Christmas it is – celebrating the birth of our Savior and Redeemer, Jesus Christ. I'll write more about this tomorrow since it's really late.

*Please don't think that I find anything wrong with secular Christmas traditions, because I definitely don't! I love partaking in presents, shopping, partying, making AND consuming Christmas goodies, Santa, etc., as much as your Average Joe, but I DO try to strike a definite/deliberate balance between my secular/religious festivities.

New Wheels

My new wheelchair that I ordered back in August arrived today! I've had my wheelchair for nearly 8 years, so it was starting to get worn out. I prefer a manual chair (as opposed to a power chair that I'd be able to drive myself with mouth controls). Some people in my situation would always opt for a power chair so that they could have as much independence as possible, but I'm perfectly content going the manual route. My new wheelchair is a lot nicer than the old one and has better features and a better fit overall. I only sat in my chair for a little while this afternoon, so I hope it still feels comfortable when I take it out for its "maiden voyage" on Sunday.

"Cherry" is a beautiful shade of red and I'm glad I decided to go with "candy red" for the color. I'm very thankful for good insurance so that I'm able to have the medical supplies I need at a minimal cost to myself.

Thanksgiving in Arkansas

Have you missed me?! I've missed being able to blog, so I'm glad to be back. My mom, younger sister Chandra and I went to Arkansas for Thanksgiving to spend the holiday with my sister Annette and her family. The drive wasn't too bad (except for the bumpy roads) and it took less than seven hours to get there.

My brother-in-law Joseph made a big fire and although it wasn't all that cold, I was chilly and I enjoyed sitting in front of the crackling fire.

Our Thanksgiving meal was really yummy. Check out these great pics that my sister Chandra took!

The best part about the trip was seeing my niece and nephew. I think my nieces and nephews get more fun the older yet. My niece Rebecah is almost 2 and she's so cute! She is downright terrified of me, though, and she won't come near me for a hugs and kisses. However, she must like me at least a little bit because she would walk around the house saying, "Hever, Hever, Hever!" My sister told me that since we left on Saturday morning Rebecah has been asking about me, so I think there's hope for the future! Here are some more fun pictures from the weekend:

We went to the lake on Friday and we were hoping to be able to take some pictures of Annette and her family, but it was extremely windy by the lake. We tried again later that afternoon and the pictures turned out pretty well.

Film Projectors: Out with the Old

When I went to the movies last weekend I found out that the movie theater I go to had just switched over to digital movie projectors. Do you know what that means? No more filmstrip! It's mind-boggling to think of movies without filmstrip, but it seems as if the filmstrip days are quickly coming to a close.

It's kind of sad, isn't it? I think so! I don't blame movie theaters for keeping up with current technology and switching to the next big thing, especially since digital movies are far superior in their sharpness and clarity, not to mention the fact that it's a lot easier (you literally just push "play"), but I think it's sad that projecting movies through film is quickly becoming a lost art.

When I first started my job at the movie theater in 2000, I was amazed when I went to the projection booth on the second floor of the movie theater and saw just what a process goes into movie projection. It's quite a production! I wish I had a video to show you of everything it entails because it's definitely something to behold. Wait a sec, let me check YouTube to see if I can find a video showing how a film projector works. Okay, I found one. The film projector in this video is very similar to the ones that were used at the movie theater I worked at. (Go ahead and skip to one minute in to the video, to the part that shows "lacing up.") It's pretty fascinating, isn't it?! Now you know why I think it's sad that film projectors are becoming a dying breed.