Alleviate Christmas Pressure

Does preparing for Christmas resemble a Hallmark movie or a horror flick?

Years ago a TV commercial showed a frantic woman scrambling to simultaneously deal with a ringing phone, screaming children, barking dog, and a delivery person at her door.    

Finally in desperation she throws her hands up and cries, "Calgon, take me away!" Immediately she's luxuriating in her bathroom tub, discreetly covered in Calgon bubbles from the neck down.

Evidently, behind the scenes in Happy Commercial Land, the dog stops barking to answer the phone, the delivery person baby-sits the children, and Betty Crocker and the Keebler Elves get dinner under control.

How about you? Do you feel overwhelmed? Could you use a Calgon moment? I'm pretty sure the Fed-Ex man and Marie Callender won't show up to help any time soon, but there's some good news.

There's a God who loves you. He wants to help you.

Here's what He says:

           "And call for help when you’re in trouble—

               I’ll help you, and you’ll honor me.” Psalm 50:15 The Message

We can go nuts with Christmas tasks: shopping, baking, cleaning ... Or we can focus on Jesus, who truly is the reason for celebrating Christmas.  

"For God loved the world so much that he gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life." John 3:16 NLT
 

So when Christmas preparations start to bury us under a multi-tasking avalanche, we don't have to crumble under it. Let's call to God for help. He's available 24/7.

Betty Crocker and the Keebler Elves are already busy in my kitchen.

Photos courtesy of stockimages @ http://www.freedigitalphotos.net

Christmas Countdown Help

It's three days until Christmas. Are we delighted or debilitated?

Try these five easy tips to make next year's holiday season more joyful than Tiny Tim on Christmas morning.


courtesy of stockimages @freedigitalphotos.net

5) Prep for next year. Get in the habit of post-Christmas and other clearance shopping. 

Watch for new-in-package items at garage sales and thrift shops. 

Keep the gifts in a tote, and you'll have a head start for next Christmas. 
Try it for birthdays and baby showers too. 

4) Limit spending. Set a gift budget and stick with it, even when those mounted singing reindeer heads beckon. 

Re-gifting is great, especially if you've received a mounted singing reindeer head.
When you get a potential re-gifting item, tape a note on it. 
Include the date and who it's from to keep from giving it back to the original giver.

3) Break Tradition. If you always cook a feast for your extended family, ask each member to bring along a side-dish instead. 

You'll save time and money. Plus it assures your guests of one dish they'll enjoy--their own. 

Create new traditions, like taking a special family outing in lieu of gifts. Seriously, how many Xbox games do your children need?  

2) Under-commit. It's OK to say no. "Sorry, I can't host the ... cook the... head up the ..."  No need to explain why. 
A simple, "I'm sorry, I can't." suffices. 

You might need to repeat it several times, or threaten them with a mounted singing reindeer head, but it will work.



courtesy of digidreamgrafix @ freedigitalphoto.net

1) Remember why we celebrate Christmas in the first place. Focus on the joy of Jesus birth. Let cooking, cleaning, and shopping take a back seat to the great news found in Luke 2:11:

"The Savior--yes, the Messiah, the Lord--has been born today in Bethlehem, the city of David!"

5 Tips to De-stress (Next) Christmas

Christmas is almost here. Are you delighted or debilitated?

Use these 5 tips to make next year's holiday season more joyful than Tiny Tim on Christmas morning. 



courtesy of stockimages @freedigitalphotos.net

5) Prep for next year. Get in the habit of post Christmas and other clearance shopping. Watch for new-in-package items at garage sales and thrift shops. Keep the gifts in a tote, and you'll have a head start for next Christmas. Works great for birthdays and baby showers too. 

4)  Limit spending. Fix a gift budget and stick with it. Last year my sister-in-law, Murph, gave me a gorgeous plaque she'd found at a thrift store. It was in perfect shape, and fit my décor wonderfully.
Re-gifting is great. When you receive a potential re-gifting item, tape a note on it. Include the date and who it's from to keep from giving it back to the original giver.

3) Break Tradition. If you always cook a feast for your extended family, ask each member to bring along a side-dish instead. You'll save time and money. Plus it assures your guests of one dish they'll enjoy-their own.
Create new traditions, like taking a special family outing in lieu of gifts. Seriously, how many gifts do your children need?  

2) Under-commit. It's OK to say no. "Sorry, I can't host the ... cook the... head up the ..."  No need to explain why. A simple, "I'm sorry, I can't." suffices. You might need to repeat it several times, but it will work. That goes for parties too.




courtesy of digidreamgrafix @ freedigitalphoto.net

1) Remember why we celebrate Christmas in the first place. Focus on the joy of Jesus birth. Let cooking, cleaning, and shopping take a back seat to the great news found in Luke 2:11:

"The Savior--yes, the Messiah, the Lord--has been born today in Bethlehem, the city of David!"

Intruder Alert!

Bright morning sunlight streamed through our living room window. I ran the vacuum over the carpet, preoccupied with today's to-do list.

Do the drapes need cleaning? I wondered. I glanced toward them and froze.
                                                      

     

A dark haired man crouched in the bushes directly beneath the first-floor picture window. I left the vacuum running and flattened myself against the closest wall.

Earlier that morning our local police department had reported an upswing in the number of daytime break-ins in our area.

Calm down Jeanie, I told myself, It's probably the electric company guy coming to read the meter.

I crept back to the window for another look.
Definitely not the electric guy.
I hid in the drapes and peeked again.

The man was still there, motionless. Worse, I noticed another person in the same crouched position, wearing a white head covering. They both faced the street.

                     I can't believe burglars are here.
                           In the suburbs.
                                In my bushes.
I slithered from the safety of the drapes, and slunk along the wall toward the phone to call 911.
The people outside hadn't moved. They held utterly still, facing away from me.
I looked closer. There was something familiar about the pair.
                A dark haired man. A woman with a white veil.
Sheepishly I turned off the vacuum and set the phone down.

I'd almost called in an intruder alert on the plastic figures from our nativity scene.

The nearly life-sized Joseph and Mary were bowing, focused on plastic baby Jesus.

As my heart slowed its frenzied conga beat, a thought struck me:

Will I make Jesus my focal point this Christmas, or put him on "intruder alert" status?

Will this holiday season be so filled with my to-do lists that I neglect faith, family, and friends?

"Sorry, I don't have time to spend with you; I'm too busy doing things for you."
What's on our to-do lists this season? Shopping, baking, parties? I love it all!

But are we so caught up in Christmas busyness that we neglect the reason for it all?            

The reason for Christmas is this:

"For the Son of Man (Jesus) came to seek and to save the lost." Luke 19:10.

Who's lost? All of us without Jesus.

Instead of putting him on intruder alert, we can invite him in.

It's simple.

"Jesus, please forgive my sins, and be my Savior."

If we do that, we'll get the most amazing gift ever-a new life!
 

And as for our to-do lists? Let's put those on "intruder alert" status.

Photos courtesy of chanpipat at FreeDigitalPhotos.net

and imagerymajestic at FreeDigitalPhotos.net.