My son-in-law David Schwep sent me this photo he secretly took right before I came out on tour. It melted my heart!š When I'm with my grandkids, Iām in pure Heaven! Even playing on the floor!!šā¤ļø Looking at this photo made me think, āIs this how God looks down over all of us?ā After all, we are His children, His familyā¦ This made me feel so blessed as a parent to have such a wonderful family. My kids are the bestā¦.I love them so muchā¦ and my grandkidsā¦ well, thereās NOTHING better in life!!!!!!!!
These moments remind me always to count my blessings. I feel blessed to have been raised in a wonderful family with loving parents and sooooo many brothers! ššš And now, while on tour, I also feel incredibly blessed to feel that sense of family from my incredible band and crew. My shows couldnāt possibly happen without them! Family is everything to me. So, when I see all of you in the audience, I also feel amazingly blessed because, through the years, you have become my extended family!
Family is designed to be a nurturing environment and a place to learn eternal principles. Our Father could have sent us to earth in any setting, but He chose families where we could be loved in safe places. Families are institutions where qualities like loyalty, integrity, hard work, etc., are nurtured and love is felt unconditionally. Not everyone is blessed to come to these types of homes but I believe if you live by the motto āthe past does not define our futures,ā this attitude causes miracles to occur. I have many amazing friends who have soared out of their tough childhoods. My father was one of those whose example of strength has helped me to be strong. They are wonderful examples because they have chosen to change their pasts and chose to take different paths for their own lives and families.
God has provided us templates through His inspired words on how to accomplish these eternal principles of creating the best environment possible in our homes. I know my parents prioritized and instilled these ideals for us to learn as we grew upāalways remembering that family meant loyalty to each other and this was absolutely non-negotiable. These principles, I believe, also apply to Godās family. We are His children, so of course, as our Father in Heaven, He desires us to have each otherās backsā¦ all the time.
This similar principle of love for familyā¦wellā¦I also feel it on stage for all of you. I canāt help it; itās in my DNA.šš during my shows, as I look into some of your eyes, I feel that you are dealing with some real challenges and I pray that you might forget your problems for a few hours. I know music is healing and can be a way for the spirit to influence our lives. Itās a form of prayer to me, and I try to bring that unique feeling to the stage to my extended āfamily.ā Itās truly why I continue to still do a few showsāI love you guys!š„°
I also love reading your recent comments on my social media posts about the Christmas tour. They are what inspired this Sunday message today. š„° Iām so glad you have been enjoying them!ā¤ļø These holiday shows allow me the opportunity to share my feelings about the Savior, His birth, and His love for all of us through music. Other artists do this too. From Country to Classical, Jazz to Rap, Christian to Pop artists, they all sing praises about Jesus Christ! When else does that happen, except at this magical time of year? I donāt want to miss a single moment of it!
So I was thinking, let's not just feel our Savior's love; letās enjoy it ALL the moreā¦ everything that is integral to Christmas, the tree, the cookies, the visits, the songs, the funny sweaters, everything! Letās love all of it more. Take tons of picturesāespecially of the things that touch your heart!
I am going to ask you to do something I just committed to doing myself. I hope thatās ok? As I go through all the things of this holiday season, Iāve committed to remembering all the good I feel this month. Join me and write these moments down so you remember how you felt when you took cookies to a friend or when your neighbor blew the snow off your driveway. Remember the grace that so easily came to you as you let someone go in front of you or when you helped someone put their groceries in their car. Letās remember how we felt when we sang carols in church or looked into the faces of children as they took in the wonder of Christmas. And please remember Christmas doesnāt have to come just once a year! The Spirit of Christmas is available to us every single day. Each day we can choose to be kind, to ask Heavenly Father for His Spirit to be with us. Each day we really can make a difference, and those differences happen when we connectā¦one on one. Itās magical!š„° We may need special strength to do this at times, but I promise He knows what we need. And He will never leave us alone ā¦(see John 14:18). He will come to us; we just need to ask.
I pray that God will keep you safe. May these Holidays be our gift of love and kindness to each other. We need it more than ever these days and I know it will please Him above.
As we strive even more to keep His commandments and implement His characteristics, especially those of love and kindness into our lives, may we be the vehicles to spread His light into the world. As we do this, Godās promise back to us is that we will see His mighty hand in our lives. I know His gifts and blessings are many!!!š
I love you all. š„°
#Sundaymessage
#LightTheWorld