Morton Family Christmas Prayer - 2023

Dear Heavenly Father, on this joyous occasion of celebrating the birth of your son, we come together as a family bound by love and gratitude. In the spirit of Christmas, I find myself reflecting upon the words of Winston Churchill, who aptly said, “We make a living by what we get, we make a life by what we give.”

We stand here today, deeply thankful for the precious gift of time and presence that each person in this room has generously given. In the midst of the holiday hustle, let us truly be present, cherishing the company of our loved ones and embracing the magic of this festive season.

As we gather, we are grateful for the mothers and fathers, both young and old, who have given their lives to the growth of our magnificent family. Their sacrifices, including I’m sure many sleepless nights, have contributed to the beautiful tapestry of our shared family experiences.

We acknowledge with gratitude the invaluable advice and the shining examples given by the generations that came before us. The unwavering guidance, dear Lord, along with your divine influence, serves as a beacon lighting the way for our younger members, instilling in them the values that shape our family legacy.

Reflecting on the humble beginnings of this event, once held within the walls of Nana and Pop Pop's trailer home, we are reminded of the selfless devotion they poured into creating the foundation of what has now grown into a substantial gathering. Nana and Pop Pop gave their all, living lives that serve as a remarkable example for each of us to emulate. May we strive to follow in their footsteps and lead lives of purpose, love, and generosity.

As we come together in the spirit of Christmas, let our hearts be filled with gratitude, our bonds be strengthened, and our actions be guided by the true meaning of this festive season. In your holy name, we pray. Amen.

Morton Family Christmas Prayer - 2022

Dear Heavenly Father,

Just as love brought Jesus to this Earth, love brings us together to celebrate You and Your blessings. I look across this room and see so many faces who have been blessed by You. You have brought us so many gifts for which we are grateful. Your patience and care has helped us through struggles and sorrows. Thanks to You, we celebrate this wonderful family, including those who are no longer with us. Thank You for letting them touch our lives and bless us with their love.

What used to be Christmas morning at Nana and Pop Pop's house has grown into generations of love and family. What an incredible legacy. I'd like to use this opportunity to read to you a prayer from those days. 40 years ago, in 1982, Grandpa read this prayer to the family on Christmas morning. 

Lord,

Christmas is again a time that brings us all together. A special time of joy and goodwill. A time when we give thanks, share gifts and look to you for guidance. A new generation is beginning, families are growing, styles and needs are changing. Please help us keep the closeness, the love, the respect and all the great things that are so special about our family. Times change, but the hearts and soul of people shouldn't. 

Times indeed change, but 40 years later, this prayer is as relevant today as it was then. It is a testament to the legacy of this family. Thank you, Lord, for letting us all be a part of it. It is one of the greatest blessings of all.

Amen

Morton Family Christmas Prayer - 2021

Covid-19 had other plans for our 2020 Christmas dinner so unfortunately, we had to skip a year, our first missed family dinner in almost six decades. Here's our prayer for 2021:

Dear Lord,

We thank You for bringing us all together here tonight; to honor your son’s birth, to celebrate this wonderful family, and to remember those that paved the way to make this family so special.

For decades, this family has put on this incredible gathering to honor You and all that You have given us in family, fellowship, and friendship. We have incredible gratitude, and we reminisce fondly on all the lovely memories that You have provided us over the years. They become part of us and are a foundation for our lives.

Like the turning of the seasons, we have some new faces here tonight. We have also lost one along the way. Lord, we pray that tonight continues the healing of our grief. We pray that this family continues to comfort, and provide hope, restoration, and strength towards each other. Through second and third generations, you prove again and again that life continues in the spirit of our children and grandchildren. While they may not be here in the flesh, their spirit lives on in the memories and in the values that they instilled to those who they have touched. Help us feel their presence and influence here and forever forward. We are all better for having had them in our lives.

Comfort us as only You can. Provide us the light to show us what’s important, heal us with the love of this family and lend us your voice.

Surprise us with daily goodness and love and open our eyes so that we don’t miss a thing You are doing. Give us Your peace and understanding.

This season is more than just gift giving and the gathering of food. It is about reuniting with loved ones and sharing the memories of the past. After all the hardships we’ve endured over the last two years, we are thankful that You brought us all here together again tonight.

AMEN

Morton Family Christmas Prayer - 2019

Thank you, Lord for this time in which we can be together as a family. We give thanks for this joyful holiday when we can celebrate Jesus and his love for us. Gathered here once more, we are reminded of how fortunate we are to have the opportunity to be here together as a family, celebrating the birth of Your Son. May the energy and love in this room spread to all others around us this holiday season.

The best part about this tradition is the amazing legacy behind it. What started out as a little Christmas celebration at Nana and Pop Pop’s house has grown into an amazing event that fills this entire room. This amazing family keeps growing each year – through marriage and through children, and our love only grows with it. We pray the memories of our past and the memories made today fill our hearts for years to come.

Nana and Pop Pop set an example of love that’s been passed down through generations. Even though they aren’t here with us today, we can feel their love through each and every one of us. May we all be humble in our hearts as they were. May we forgive those who may have hurt us and accept fault if we may have hurt others. With joy and gratitude in our hearts for everything that You have blessed us with, we pray

 Amen

Morton Family Christmas Prayer - 2018

Dear Heavenly Father,

Love brings us together again to celebrate everything important You have given us this year. We are so blessed to have such supportive and loving family and friends that give us strength. In a year filed with so much local heartache and tragedy, we thank you for the protection You have given us, the ability to help our fellow man- and we pray for the families who have not been so fortunate as we have.

This family you have gifted us is truly wonderful and each of us are so grateful to be a part of it. There are so many individuals in this room who give us a foundation to feel safe and to teach us how to love. They are our roots. They provide the fertile soil for us to grow as children and blossom into something special as adults. They literally form the central heartbeat of our lives. We are so blessed to have each other as a foundation, and we thank our Lord so much for it.

Simultaneously to being our roots, those in this room also gives us the love and support to give us the ability to fly. They provide the strength to become the best we can be. You have taught this family to believe in each other, to lift each other up- sometimes when no one else will. And here, you provide this remarkable Christmas dinner going on nearly eight decades long where we are reminded of the love we share for each other once more.

With grateful hearts, we thank You for all the blessings you have given us. Through You, this family provides the roots for us to feel safe and loved, while at the same time giving us wings to fly. May you continue to guide us and remind us daily that we are loved and supported. Thank you for these amazing opportunities.

Amen

Morton Family Christmas Prayer - 2017

Dear Lord,

How can we possibly share how grateful we are to have been placed in this room with a family so rich in love. Family is so important to us because it allows us to feel Your love through the love in our family.

In great families like our own, no matter individual roles or circumstances, all members help each other to succeed. In John chapter 13, verse 34, Jesus tells us, “As I have loved you, so you must love one another.” Appreciation for Him is actively showing love and gratitude for family members. And for that, we are eternally grateful for the support we have in this room.

We’ve been shown by example that those who believe and follow the family-first model are firmly committed to helping their family succeed. In good and bad times, which all families have, we’ve faithfully remained loyal to each other. Family members look towards our familial strength for love, support, and answers to our problems. We work together to resolve emotional, economic, and spiritual challenges. Family members strengthen each other when we follow God’s teachings and the example of Jesus Christ. We treasure this time we get to spend together as a result.

Strong families provide the necessities of life such as food, water, clothing, and shelter. But more important, in strong families we learn how to both give and accept love, be effective communicators, and be responsible citizens. We learn the values of honesty, integrity, sincerity, humility, and hard work.

Lord, thank you for this blessing of bringing each of us into this family. In some cases, blood brought us together. For others, it was the bonds of marriage or friendship. Together, we are all stronger and richer than being apart… and for that we are eternally grateful.

AMEN

Morton Family Christmas Prayer - 2016

Dear Lord,

Thank you so much for bringing us together again to celebrate both the birth of your son and to celebrate our incredible family for yet another year. You’ve blessed each one of us with so much to be thankful for, and this year I’d like to thank you for the love you’ve given to us. Love carries us through the highs and lows. It brings us together and gives us strength. The love we have for this family is what keeps this amazing Christmas tradition going year after year. This year, I’ve selected a passage from The Bible that explains how much your gift of love means to us.

In Corinthians Thirteen: 4 through 7 it states, “Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is proud.” We are proud to be part of our wonderful family. We are so lucky and blessed to have each other for support. The love that Nana and Pop Pop had for each other and this family has been carried down through generations of this family.

The next passage says, “It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs.” Christmas is the season of forgiveness and tradition and love. It is during this time where we rediscover what means the most to us during a time that feels as if it gets busier and more stressful each year.

Next it writes, “Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth.” The love in our incredible family guides each of us to be successful and true to our morals and our family values.

Finally, Corinthians states, “It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.” Nothing could be more true about the love in this family. As time progresses, we only get closer to one another. This family has so much growth for the future, and we can learn so much from our past. Your gift of love has molded us into who we are today and it will continue to shape us as a family for a long time to come. For that, we are so very thankful.

Amen

Morton Family Christmas Prayer - 2015

Dear Lord,

Here we are in a new location to celebrate the same Christmas tradition that has been going strong for so many years. Although it may be new change from the past, this family’s love and values run deeper than ever. And this simple evolution highlights something that I think should be considered: the significance of our family’s new beginnings and old traditions.

This amazing family in which we are so very grateful for is together once again to celebrate the love we have for one another. We are so lucky to be this close, and this Christmas tradition truly reflects that. So although we may have moved, this change is only a testament to the family members that have paved the road ahead of us. We are extraordinarily thankful to be able to spend each and every Christmas season together as a family.

This year we have been blessed again with an ever expanding family. New faces have been added to the family tree this year and with it, we are reminded of the two whose legacy is the reason why we are all gathered here today. Their love for us formed the basic frame by which we all stand upon today. Their values are present in all of us, from the youngest to the oldest, and these values will continue to be passed down for generations to come.

What hasn’t changed is that this evening remains as a tribute to our Heavenly Father and a sacrifice so great, it’s hardly fathomable. Our Lord’s hands bless this family with care, direction, protection, the principles of what is right and wrong, how to love and care for one another, and much, much more. This family has followed His guidance for seven decades now, and this Christmas tradition is a celebration of our love and gratitude for Him.

Our lives are filled with new beginnings—tonight being one of them. Let tonight’s new beginning help you appreciate just how special this Christmas tradition really is. The love that this family has for one another is amazing, and for that, we are extremely thankful.

Amen

Morton Family Christmas Prayer - 2014

Dear Lord,

Legacies. With the loss that this family has endured this year, it’s a word that means a little something more this holiday season. I believe it to mean what you leave behind. With some it might be wealth. For some, it might be grand ideas. With your Son, it was salvation. For some, it is family… with a set of values that provide a sense of doing what’s right, standing by your convictions and providing an example for everyone on every branch of the family tree to model.

Lord, some people might think of a legacy as something only extremely wealthy or extremely influential or extremely saintly people can hope to leave. That’s unfortunate, as I think everyone leaves a legacy of one kind or another and it’s up to us to decide what we want it to be and whether we want to ask from guidance from above for direction.

Lord, guide us in shaping our own spiritual legacy. We all have a spiritual impact on our family, our community, and, through service or giving or prayer, on people around the world and in future generations. Our Nana was a shining star example.

I think the best spiritual legacy we might leave is living in the moment. And how we might let God to work through us if He chooses.

We know that God alone can change the course of actions here on earth– and we pray today for the salvation of people around the world, for social ills…and moral decline… we pray that God will hear us tonight and answer our prayers in ways only He can do.

But I also pray that you may provide a path of light so that we may travel down a path of making positive change in this world ourselves. I wish tonight for us all to use the example of those that have come before us and consciously design legacies of our own… legacies that include the betterment of the physical, mental and spiritual well-being of our family, friends, acquaintances and beyond. If God chooses for His own reasons to work through the prayers of His people, as the Bible says He does, then may we pray tonight that our spiritual legacies provide a living and breathing example of all that is good and right while we are here on earth.

Let us showcase the love that we have for one-another, go out of our way to lend a helpful hand, make decisions that are the right ones, (even thought they might not be the popular ones), have mercy and forgiveness, give your time, share your faith and most importantly, open your heart. Let us think about our impact around others often and help us provide a myriad of ways we can all have spiritual impact and leave that impactful spiritual legacy. Each of us is uniquely situated to do the specific work God has ordained for us. While we long for those that are missing here tonight, isn’t it amazing that a single lifetime can exude such an amazing loving legacy that will continue to leave and breathe inside each of us in our lifetimes and beyond?

THAT is an amazing spiritual legacy. What will yours be?

Amen

A Video Interview With Nana and Pop Pop Morton

This Christmas, my sister Wendy and her husband Rob gave the Morton family a treasure: a previously unknown video interview of my grandparents talking about how they met, how they fell in love and their history together. Favorite part: when my Pop Pop says, "I really didn't live before I met her." Together 70 years and now again in heaven.

Nana's Memorial Speech- A Family's Matriarch Passes Away

Charlotte Morton, the undeniable matriarch of the Morton Family, passed away this year after more than 90 years on this earth. While this wasn't a Christmas prayer specific to the family, I felt it important to include it as her passing and service left an undeniable mark on the family that will be felt for decades. This was the speech that I gave at her service.

Nana’s Memorial Speech

With each, “I’m sorry to hear about your grandmother,“ that’s been passed along sincerely to my family and I over the past week, it’s given me great pause and reflection to come up with something short and meaningful to properly reflect the importance of role that she played in this family. How do you possibly say in a sentence or two the impact that she had on nearly every person in this room? How can a simple sentence like, “She had a long and full life,” even properly give her justice? Short of sitting down and sharing her story, how do you allude to a love that provided an indelible and permanent mark on us forever and forged a family wide in size and deep in kinship? Three children, ten grandchildren, dozens of great-grandchildren- and recently, a great-great grandchild- all looked to her as the matriarch of the Morton Family.

Nana wasn’t complicated by any means. She had an incredibly strong navigational moral compass and the world was black and white without much gray. Her common-sense meter was as strong as any person I’ve met and if it failed that test, well, she would probably let you know. Bluntly. There wasn’t time for beating around the bush. She told you like it was. And more times than not, that’s how it really was. She was fiercely independent and embodied that great 1920’s stubborn work ethic that anything good in this world was worth whatever hard work that came along with it. Nana was tough as nails. There was nothing she couldn’t build, take apart, drive, put together, create or do. Can’t wasn’t in her vocabulary. Do you remember the famous World War II-era Rosie the Riveter poster that has a lady flexing her muscle and saying “We Can Do It?” Nana might have been the model for that.

It’s hard to separate memories between Nana and my Pop Pop. For nearly 70 years, the two of them were nearly inseparable and she doted on my grandfather with the patience of a saint. Pop Pop called her "Babe" for as far back as I can remember. It was the highest of high compliments that he could pay her. She cared for him as well as anyone could ever hope for through a myriad of life-long illnesses and would just smile and humor him when Pop Pop would spend endless hours chroming and pimping out his Ford Escort or search endless hours through every tackle and bait store in Northern California and beyond for that elusive magic fishing lure. Through sickness and health wasn’t just words in a ceremony, they were a vow she kept for seven decades. Pop Pop was a lucky man and he knew it.

You also can’t separate the thought of Nana and the images of past Christmas mornings. My earliest memories are there in her trailer on Whispering Palms Drive, Nana making the most delicious breakfast spread. I would sit there on a footstool in front of the mail slot at the sliding glass front door, taking in the smells and listening to the family stories that occurred before me. That was also right in front of the hole that an errant Pop Pop-thrown bowling ball that had been carefully covered by one of Nana’s perfectly sized framed cross-stitches. As the family expanded with marriages and new babies, we outgrew her home and moved across the street to the park clubhouse. Remember, I mentioned lots of grandkids and great-grandkids? Eventually, we moved away from Nana’s but only in physicality. It was always Nana’s show. A couple years back, she gave me copies of all of the family Christmas prayers that had been read by Pop Pop, my Dad and then I over the last four decades. They make up one of my most prized possessions. And those Christmas-gift quilts. They’re hard to even fathom the amount of hours of love that went into each one. They’re another possession that each of us lucky enough to receive one know that they’re irreplaceable.

Nana’s passion for travel and the outdoors was another hand-me-down memory. I remember vividly memories of sitting in her Pace Arrow motorhome dining room table. Under the glass was a map of the United States where she or Pop Pop had drawn in ink over every highway and city they had visited in that stylish olive green set of wheels. There was lines drawn in what looked like every state. On every highway. Nana would sit there and share her travels with us with the tip of her finger as her guide, sharing visions of National Parks, roadside attractions and historic stops to any wide-eyed kids that would listen. And while on the surface it might have looked like it was Pop Pop’s thing, Nana shared a passion for fishing as well. And could that lady fish. I remember once her taking Jennifer and I out on the Delta for catfish. She launched the boat, drove the boat, carefully took time helping Jen learn how to bait her tackle (okay, maybe she baited Jen’s tackle), and promptly caught somewhere around 30 fish in a few hours’ time. When we got back into the marina, she took Jen over to the fish cleaning station to show her how to clean and filet the fish. Jen admits to not helping much that early afternoon, but she did see Nana wield a knife with a faster skill than most master sushi makers- an astonishment Jen still talks about today.

I for one, will remember her most for what she left behind. A family that adored her. A model and example of an almost-impossibly long model of a marriage that we can all point to as an example. A passion for travel and the outdoors. And these keepsakes. These irreplaceable and priceless quilts and blankets and dollhouses are just some of them. But the memories of making jam and smoking salmon and fishing are just as equal keepsakes that we’ll hold just as dear. I love you Nana. We’ll miss you Babe.


The Morton Family at the conclusion of Nana Morton's service

Morton Family Prayer - 2013

Dear Heavenly Father,

This year, I’d like to propose that we make Christmas last the whole year long. No, we won’t find a magic time machine and hold time still in December. What I wish for is for us to practice year-round all the things that we see and do during the season of Christmas. Wouldn’t it be wonderful if we would take the themes and promises of Christmas with us all the way through the New Year before us? We are all blessed to have roofs over our heads and an incredible extended family for love and support, but couldn’t we all benefit if we took our values of love and trust from the home, and use those values to better our community?

It is at home where we don’t just talk about “peace & good will to men” but where we learn to live it. Our parents lead by example and then we, a second generation, will go out into the world as ambassadors of change. Home is the place where we are molded, in addition to preparing us each day for the world tomorrow. Home teaches each and every one of us how to fashion our world so that we make it a better place for all.

Wouldn’t it be magical if every of us took the message of Christmas and made it a permanent part of our lives, and we put it into practice all year long? Jesus in our lives is the one thing that makes all the difference - that gives us a solid foundation, the strength to endure, & even to overcome. So the real work of Christmas is only beginning. The Christmas season isn’t nearly over. In fact, it’s just starting. It’s the spark for us to use this celebration of Christ’s birth to find the lost, to heal the broken, to feed the hungry, to renew lost relationships, to rebuild the nation, to bring peace among brothers & sisters, and to make music in the heart. This is the real work of Christmas!

Yes, we’ll take down our Christmas trees & put the decorations back in storage for another year. All the presents will have been unwrapped, the suspense will have ended. But this year, I wish for us to make the music linger. May the songs of peace & good stay forever in our hearts. May our homes be filled with the fragrances, sounds, & excitement of Christmas forever. It will be the sounds of our family members laughing, our close friends sharing, the discovery of new opportunities made possible by God’s hand. May we take its message with us so that the entire world might be touched by it… as we have been touched by it.

This evening is God’s invitation to you- to all be celebrating Christmas in July.

Amen