Here Comes Christmas

We bake, cook, decorate, plan, buy presents and get excited…or not. 

Maybe you’re worried about how you’re going to afford gifts for others. Maybe you feel pressure to meet others’ expectations. So you go through the motions, counting the days until January 1^st, missing the whole point of it all. 

Last week, as we prepared for Thanksgiving, I promised to make my own gratitude list after I encouraged you to. After all, how can I suggest you do something if I don’t do it too? Right? So I'm sharing a portion of it at the end of this post.

If you missed last week, simply scroll down below today's post to catch up.

So how’s your list coming? What kind of things were you surprised by as you began jotting down what you’re thankful for?

Or did you tell yourself it was a nice idea, but it wouldn’t change anything?

While that might be true, that your circumstances won’t change right away, what will happen is, you begin to change. The peaceful contentment you long for rises up in the midst of being grateful.

This time of year will always bring mixed emotions for me. And I know I’m not alone.

I’ve found that when I focus on the real reason I’m baking,  planning get-togethers, buying gifts or making them, I’m less vulnerable to disappointment or sadness. 

What is the real reason? The real reason is all because of Jesus Christ. He's all the reason. It's to Him I give thanks and to Him I celebrate His birth at Christmas. 

Apart from that, all the activities I'm doing become pointless and empty.

Not to negate cherishing the time with family and friends, wishing peace on earth, and good will toward all men. But if these are all we're hoping for, we're headed for disappointment and depression at the end of the year, rather than peaceful contentment that only Jesus brings.

Throughout the holidays and beyond, I try to focus on all God has given me; done for me and continues doing in my life. Not what I think He should do or give me or work out on my behalf on my time table. 

Comparing my life with others isn't allowed either. I wasted a lot of years doing that and believe me when I tell you, it DOES NOT help.

I’ve come to love Christmas again because, while I bake, decorate and buy a few gifts for loved ones, it’s Jesus I’m celebrating! 

The lights, music, time with family and friends are all part of it. Joy and peace are mine as I make it all about Him. 

Despite extreme commercialism and the skirmishes over saying Merry Christmas versus Happy Holidays, it's a joyous occasion. Like it or not, it's Jesus Christ we celebrate; nothing else. 

Will you, with me, not get sucked up in the societal hype of this season? Will you give yourself permission to enjoy celebrating Him with each dish you pull out of the oven, present you wrap or get-together you plan?

Will you join me in thankfully preparing for Christmas and allow yourself to enjoy every single part of it? 

Now, for my gratitude list. I tried to focus on less material things and zoom in on God’s everyday blessings that I take for granted. I’m not listing loved ones here, but they are on my extensive written list. 

So here goes:

• Pansies (it amazes me how they endure harsh weather)
• Front porch
• The two colorful maple trees in the front yard
• A crisp blue sky against fall trees
• My Bible
• The owl that lives nearby. He calls out at night and dawn. It’s soothing.
• Geese in a stagnant pond below our house. They leave every morning, but always come back at sunset.
• God’s unceasing pursuit of me, despite me.
• Forgiveness
• Hot coffee
• Prayer
• God’s unchanging love
• The upstairs room
• 93.3 Joy FM
• Celebrate Recovery
• Hope. There’s always hope where God is concerned
• Written words

I shared mine, so now I invite you to share in the comments below, some of the simple things that you’re grateful for.

Feel free to also share how you handle the Christmas season without getting sucked in to the commercialism. I could always use some fresh suggestions.

Staying the course during the holidays and beyond,

Terri

When Being Thankful is Difficult

Being thankful during this time of year can be difficult for some. Especially if you’re newly single, divorced or simply longing for a special person to share the holidays with.

Hardships are magnified. When it’s all you can do to keep the bills paid, buying a Thanksgiving turkey with all the trimmings can be burdensome, knowing that budgeting for Christmas is just around the corner.

Family conflicts can also suck the joy out of holiday gatherings.

As Thanksgiving approaches this coming week, for some of you it might be a reminder of some things lost, rather than things to be thankful for.

This season marks a lot of losses for me. Dating back to November of 1988, my divorce was final, just days before Thanksgiving.

Several years later before the holidays, my house was foreclosed on and we had to move.

As a single mom, money was already tight, but the holidays added extra financial pressure.

I remember another time when my kids and I had to move right before Christmas because the house we rented was sold right after Thanksgiving.

Two years ago, my mother-in-law passed away two weeks before Thanksgiving. That same year I had my last Thanksgiving meal with my Mom, as she passed away 12 days before Christmas.

What does this time of year mean for you? Do you have mixed emotions of nostalgia and sadness or does it mean all things cozy and wonderful?

Are you full of thanksgiving and gratitude or are you having a difficult time finding something to be thankful for?

As I mentioned above, some of the hardest times of my life were during the holidays, beginning with Thanksgiving. 

But as sure as I sit here today, I remember those were the times when God leaned in close and intimate, meeting me in the midst of my mess, filling me with gratitude that could only come from Him.

The Lord would always allow me to see someone else whose difficulties were worse than mine. I never had to look far to see someone whose struggles and hardships were far worse.

I read somewhere that making a gratitude list could have a thankful-snowball effect.

So I tried it.

I started with one simple thing. It snowballed from there. A sunny day. A roof over our heads. My kids. My job. Good friends and church family. Coffee. (Yes, coffee too)

You might feel like the things you should be thankful for, you're not. Don't pretend. Move on to that one simple thing for which you are grateful. 

Once I began my list I discovered I could keep going till the cows came home. (a southern expression)

This list was a mighty focus changer. All these little things I was thankful for I realized were provided by God. My greatest and most humble of all things I was thankful for was my salvation in Jesus Christ and personal relationship with Him.

Out of that would flow peace and comfort during the most difficult times. I’d end up awestruck at the goodness of God in my life no matter what my temporary circumstances were.

So what about you? Whether things are on the upside or you’re in a dark time, today is a great time to begin your list. Start with the simplest of things and go from there.

I'm going to start a new list. I really am. 

So grab a pen and a notebook and let’s get started.

May you discover the joy of a thankful heart. I pray God’s comfort and compassion overwhelm you as He turns your desert into a garden. And I pray joy and gladness are yours this coming Thanksgiving and beyond.

The Lord will surely comfort Zion and will look 

with compassion on all her ruins; he will make her deserts 

like Eden, her wastelands like the garden of the Lord. 

Joy and gladness will be found in her, 

thanksgiving and the sound of singing.

Isaiah 51:3

Staying the course with a thankful heart,

Terri