I'm trying a new tactic this year to keep myself from being all stressed out during the holidays. It's pretty simple - just a perspective change. I thought of it while I was preparing for a talk I gave last week at my church's women's Christmas dinner. One of the Bible verses that reminds me of the very 'essence' or point of Christmas is John 10:10, where Jesus says He has come to earth to give us a full and abundant life. In the past, I have looked at many activities as events that interrupt my holiday preparations. But this year, I've been thinking that all of these things are not
really interruptions, but signs that I indeed have been given an abundance of blessings. We
get to do amazing things for our job, like visit students in El Salvador and bring them suitcases full of goodies from home. We
get to watch our son play soccer games and even captain the defense. I
get to spend a fantastic day shopping with my amazing daughter and enjoying a lunch at the one-and-only Madonna Inn. I
get to have my farmgirl friends over for food, chatter, and a craft project to make empty jars look like beautiful sea glass. These are the things that make my life full and abundant. They are amazing and wonderful things, and in the midst of card-writing and present-wrapping, I feel incredibly blessed, not overly-stressed (honestly I was not trying to make that rhyme; that is so cheesy!).
I'm trying a new tactic this year to keep myself from being all stressed out during the holidays. It's pretty simple - just a perspective change. I thought of it while I was preparing for a talk I gave last week at my church's women's Christmas dinner. One of the Bible verses that reminds me of the very 'essence' or point of Christmas is John 10:10, where Jesus says He has come to earth to give us a full and abundant life. In the past, I have looked at many activities as events that interrupt my holiday preparations. But this year, I've been thinking that all of these things are not really interruptions, but signs that I indeed have been given an abundance of blessings. We get to do amazing things for our job, like visit students in El Salvador and bring them suitcases full of goodies from home. We get to watch our son play soccer games and even captain the defense. I get to spend a fantastic day shopping with my amazing daughter and enjoying a lunch at the one-and-only Madonna Inn. I get to have my farmgirl friends over for food, chatter, and a craft project to make empty jars look like beautiful sea glass. These are the things that make my life full and abundant. They are amazing and wonderful things, and in the midst of card-writing and present-wrapping, I feel incredibly blessed, not overly-stressed (honestly I was not trying to make that rhyme; that is so cheesy!).
