My Paper Mache Nativity and thoughts on the Savior

Several years back, I realized that everything I made, and nearly everything I decorated with during this holiday season were based on the commercial side of Christmas. Now, don't get me long, I still adore Santa Claus, but I wanted my children to see that celebrating the birth of our Savior was what mattered most to me. I knew that I had to throw my heart into a project that would reflect that so I nervously started a nativity scene out of air drying clay and paper mache. Little by little it came to life until it now is my very favorite sculpted project yet. Even though it still isn't finished, whenever I take the time to stop and look at it, I am reminded of all of the feelings that I felt while I worked on it several years ago and the stress of the day melts away.

While I sculpted, I listened to one of my favorite Christmas songs, Mary's Boy Child (a song by Jester Hairston but performed by The Brothers Four). The lyrics, "Trumpets sound and angels sing, listen to what they say, That man will live forever more, Because of Christmas day" were so powerful to me while I worked on my little version of the Christ Child. How grateful I am to him for coming to earth in that humble setting so that someday he could redeem us all and give us reason to hope. Because of him, we have someone to turn to when we are hurting physically or emotionally and can be healed. And only because of him we can pick ourselves up from our mistakes and experience joy in this life and in the next. What a beautiful peace that brings to me! That peace, I imagine, was felt by all who witnessed that little baby in that stable setting on that sacred night of his birth.

"For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder; and his name shall be called, Wonderful, Counselor, The Mighty God, The Everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace."

~Isaiah 9: 6

I hope that you have a wonderful Christmas season and that you feel that same peace and joy that our Savior offers to all who will listen.

Love, Malinda

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I think I am going to do some sort of gold trip on some of the edges of their clothing, but should I change the colors?

As a mother of three sons, Christmas has taken an even deeper meaning to me and an even greater respect for that strong and trusting mother, Mary. This time of year reminds me that I want to be more like her as I mother my little men. 

****Here and here are links to what this project looked like when I was first starting on it.

Linked to: Skip to My Lou, Sew Much Ado, Southern Lovely