Fred Abaroa

This Sunday I present one of the Christmas sermons at my church. (My 15 year old daughter gives the other) The subject I was given is "Living The True Meaning Of Christmas All Year Round". I gave this same sermon a few years ago. Watching what has happened in Marketing over the last few years has changed my opinion on how this should be presented. Thomas Monson, president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints stated in his Christmas Devotional, "Real joy comes as we show the love and compassion inspired by the Savior of the World, who said, “Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these ... ye have done it unto me.”". Now here comes his magical words that pertain to marketing, "As we contemplate how we’re going to spend our money to buy gifts this holiday season, let us plan also for how we will spend our time in order to help bring the true spirit of Christmas into the lives of others.

The Savior gave freely to all, and His gifts were of value beyond measure. Throughout His ministry, He blessed the sick, restored sight to the blind, made the deaf to hear, and the halt and lame to walk. He gave cleanliness to the unclean. He restored breath to the lifeless. He gave hope to the despairing and bestowed light in the darkness.

He gave us His love, His service, and His life.

What is the spirit we feel at Christmastime? It is His spirit—the Spirit of Christ.

How silently, how silently the wondrous gift is giv’n!
So God imparts to human hearts the blessings of his heav’n.
No ear may hear his coming; but in this world of sin,
Where meek souls will receive him, still the dear Christ enters in.

With the pure love of Christ, let us walk in His footsteps as we approach the season celebrating His birth. As we do so, let us remember that He still lives and continues to be the Light of the World, who promised, “He that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.”

To each of you, my brothers and sisters, I extend my love and blessing.  May you have a wonderful Christmas. May there be love and kindness and peace within your hearts and homes. May even those whose hearts are heavy rise with the healing which comes alone from Him who comforts and assures.

With the Spirit of Christ in our lives, we will have goodwill and love toward all mankind, not only during this season, but throughout the year as well. ".

The keywords here are "Let us plan","Give Freely to all","Love","Service","Kindness","Peace". The need to plan campaigns that show these attributes will take us in a new direction. Our products will become more than a money making venture. Our clients, customers will become those we want to serve and they will know it.

I recently was looking at a product comparison online. I immediately didn't trust the company and wondered why. So I read it again, rather than pointing out their strong points they pointed out the weak points of the competition. I believe the positive route would increase their sales, maybe even double it. Let us experiment by bringing the true meaning of Christmas into our campaigns in 2010.

Need help call on me,

Fred Abaroa aka “CostaVidaFred”
The Marketing Imagineer

fred [@]costavidafred.com

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