Christmas Encouragement for You Gals
Oh, sweet busy women,
How I love you, and how my heart desires peace for you today and this week. I know some of you are fatigued beyond measure just trying to have the perfect Christmas. How do I know? I have been there. And I work so hard to not go there anymore.
Some of you probably won’t even read this until after Christmas! That’s okay. But I just want to give you permission to make some tough decisions:
· to NOT make that extra traditional dessert you usually have on Christmas eve,
· to use gift bags instead of wrapping everything,
· to go buy frozen rolls like I do (they are amazing—read here),
· to skip a tradition that is making life too difficult for you,
· to snuggle with your husband instead of running that last errand (you both need it to stay connected), and
· enjoy moments.
Don’t get caught up in if something goes wrong or isn’t perfect, then Christmas was a failure. No! Kick that “all-or-nothing” mentality. Keep control of your mind and thoughts and keep saying this phrase to yourself, “Oh, well. It’s still okay.”
Keep your eyes on Jesus instead.
I want to share this excerpt from my friend Liz Curtis Higgs book The Women of Christmas to help you re-focus your hearts on what is important:
Luke 2:19 But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in heart.
Mary focused on caring for her baby while she stored all she’d seen and done “like a secret treasure in her heart” (NIV). Some women like to talk their way through experiences; others prefer the Mary approach: “weighing and pondering” (AMP), “mulling them over” (CJB), and “trying to understand them” (ERV).
Sometimes the Lord does such a profound work in us and through us that sharing it with others would sound like bragging. Even if we say, “Look what God has done,” others may perceive it as “Look what I’ve done” or “Look how special I am!”
God, as always know best. The shepherds were noisy, yet the mother of Jesus was quiet. Others would take his story far and wide, encircling the earth with his truth. Mary was called to be his mother—no more and no less. To nurture him, to feed and clothe him, to teach him all she knew of his heavenly Father.
As to these things she had treasured up, “holding them dear, deep within herself” (MSG), Gabriel had given her quite a list of attributes for this child, starting with “He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High.” Whenever she held her baby boy, those angelic words surely ran through her mind. He didn’t look like a monarch, but one day he would be called “Lord of lords and King of kings.” He didn’t have the strength to hold up his head, let alone stand on his feet, yet he is the One “who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you before his glorious presence without fault and with great joy.”
Just as Mary “committed these things to memory” (CEB), we can do the same—not only at Christmastime, but all through the year—thinking about who Jesus is and why he came to earth as a babe wrapped in swaddling clothes.
He came for those he loves.
He came for you.[1]
“This very day in David’s town your Savior was born.”
Yes, he was. Your Savior and mine. All because one woman said yes to God.[2]
Here is my link to Christmas helps and shortcuts:
http://www.deniseharlow.com/blog/four-days-left-dont-panic
http://www.deniseharlow.com/blog/recipes-do-ahead
Have a very blessed and merry birthday celebration of Jesus, our Savior,
Devoted to Jesus & Determined Denise
[1] Higgs, Liz Curtis, The Women of Christmas, (WaterBrook Press, Colorado Springs, CO, 2013), p. 136-7.
[2] Ibid, p. 138.