Tag Archives: Christmas

Faith

Christmas is the Most Wonderful Time of the Year…or is it?

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Christmas is meant to be “the most wonderful time of the year”, or so the song says. I wonder if Andy Williams was in the real world when he sung that song. “Kids jingle belling”? More like kids jingle yelling! Who’s with me on that one? 

It is meant to be a time of celebration, whether you believe in what Christmas is about or not. It’s not just about exchanging gifts, although I know it can seem nice, but that does cause a lot of pressure. Christmas is not about the food we eat or the amount of drink we have, although I am enjoying indulging a little, even if my waistline isn’t. 

This Christmas has not been an easy one. Circumstances beyond my control have made me re-think what Christmas means to me. I wrote quite vulnerably in a previous post wondering where God is in the midst of my mess. So with this in mind, trying to focus on what Christmas is about has been quite a challenge.

Christmas candlelight

A new way of seeing

We are in a season where, despite the darkness, there is plenty of light around us: The lights we put around the house; the decorations on the tree; the candles we light. However, when you feel the light is not enough, trying to find a new way of seeing things is hard when you feel you are surrounded by the darkness. I certainly struggled to “be of good cheer” at “the most wonderful time of the year”.

In the lead-up to Christmas, I was focussing on what was missing around me. Then it clicked. I needed to shift my focus. I needed to look towards what I had, and not worry about what, or who, was missing.

Earlier, I mentioned that Christmas is not about the exchanging of gifts. However, maybe Christmas is about a type of ‘present’. Not the gifts we give, but about how we can be present with each other. Christmas is about focussing on the people we have around us and coming together to help each other. 

Christmas is about focussing on the people we have around us and coming together to help each other.  Click To Tweet

Once I realised this, I started to look inward instead of outward. My heart then began to glow because I became more present with the loved ones I had near. I saw in my children the joy they bring, and in my husband the love I needed so much. Christmas, to me, then became a little more wonderful again. 

Faith, Five Minute Friday

Rushing Doesn’t Solve Anything

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Today’s Five Minute Friday prompt is quite apt for me. Rush. This is what I always seem to be doing lately. 

Rushing here…

Rushing there…

I’m rushing everywhere!

Getting into a new routine with five children and being back at work part time is taking a little longer than I anticipated. Ok, so maybe my goal of getting it right on the first day was a little overstretched. 

A mother can dream though, hey?

This morning was just a prime example of everything coming together at once and having no time to sift through it all to see where I am. 

The result? 

I locked myself out of the house! I have NEVER done this before in my entire life. (First time for everything, hey?) 

Three guesses where I left my keys. Pretty much where I always leave them. The funny thing was (and I can laugh about it now…just) I looked there first! I could swear they weren’t in there before. 

How many of us go through life rushing around and don’t see what is there right in front of us? We’re constantly seeking something to fulfil our lives and looking for quick fixes. I do this a lot, but then I miss out on a lot too. 

This is a great reminder to me about the current season we are in. 

Advent. 

Advent is a time when we stop for a minute and think about the One who is coming. The One who will provide the answer to everything we are looking for. The One who we don’t have to search very far for. Because guess what? He is right here folks. He has been right here all along. 

This morning I was rushing around and suffered the consequences. I didn’t even give myself two minutes to stop and pray for help. The result? A very frustrated mummy! I prayed when I got back and lo and behold I quickly found my keys.  

With a little bit of time and a whole heap of slowing down, we may save a lot of time in the long run with not rushing around and missing the point. Don’t miss the point of this season with all the rushing taking place. Take time to think and reflect. You never know what time you would save later on. 

I am trying to intentionally slow down this season, in the midst of my hectic life. I need to reflect on what is important. One of the ways I am taking stock is reading through a series by Shelly Miller.

Shelly has thought provokingly written a series for her Sabbath Society called Slow Christmas. She is providing some focus for keeping Christmas slow and intentional rather than rushed and busy. 

If you feel you need a little help in slowing down this season so you don’t miss the point of it, I’d like to encourage you to join the Sabbath Society. You will then quietly receive an e-mail each Friday where Shelly shares how we can breath and exhale, creating a sense of calm and peace.

Now, who doesn’t need that in this busy season? Click on this link and it will take you to where you need to join.

Faith, Five Minute Friday

Stress doesn’t have to be a familiar friend at Christmas

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It’s come to the time of time of year where we start to think about the different traditions we do when celebrating Christmas. Something which is familiar to us that we have always done. Maybe it is a particular decoration that is hung in a certain place in the home, or the type of food we eat.

I love to go to the midnight service with my husband at our church on Christmas Eve, something we do every year and is now very familiar to us. This is always then followed by the mad dash of getting the remainder of the Christmas presents wrapped before we go to bed, with a glass (or two) of sherry on the side for help. This is something else that is very familiar, but we try and change it each year (and I’m referring to wrapping the presents really late – not the sherry drinking!)

~oOo STOP oOo~

Let’s put Jesus at the centre of our hearts.

Familiarity brings about a sense of security. It’s about knowing who we are and where we have come from. It’s comforting. When people lose familiarity, they sometimes also lose a sense of identity and control.

When people lose familiarity, they sometimes also lose a sense of identity and control. Click To Tweet

I struggle with this time of year because of the familiar stress Christmas brings (and I’ve gone and done it big time this year with extra EXTRA things going on). I am finding that the familiar stress that Christmas brings is what causes me to lose my identity and control.

However, over the last year or so I’ve had a longing to make things different. Something special. I have needed something to focus on to slow me down in this hectic period to get me focused on what is the most familiar reason for this season.

Maybe you feel this too?

Let us knock on the door to The One that matters most!

So, to overcome this familiar stress, I am creating a new familiarity to be intentional about focusing on the real reason for this Season. After all, Christmas wouldn’t be Christmas if it wasn’t for One person…Jesus!

Somehow, this kind of gets forgotten in all the hustle and bustle of organising and preparing for the big day. I’ll admit that myself too, that I am too busy wondering what presents I need to buy and who am I going to send cards to. I forget, momentarily, that we celebrate Jesus coming to this world.

I want to change that.

Angels sound the trumpets at the arrival of the Messiah!

I’m still going to buy the presents and write those cards, but what I need to prepare most is my heart.

To slow myself down and create a new familiarity – one that will prepare my heart – I am going to be reading “Come, Lord Jesus” by Kris Camealy. This is a very timely book that is much needed for anyone who is in a “waiting” period, and also for anyone who wants to prepare their hearts over the advent period.

And what is better still, Kris is hosting a book club for her book where we can gather together with other like minded people who want to be intentional about preparing for Christmas.

Why not come and join me?

“Come, Lord Jesus: The Weight of Waiting” is available to buy at Amazon.

I wrote this post as a response to the Five Minute Friday word prompt “familiar“. Click here to see what other people wrote when they were prompted with this word.