Holiday to-do list
I was asked to speak at a Women’s Xmas tea and had so much fun with this revised holiday to-do list. Hopefully, you too can find ways to be more intentional this Christmas season.
(1) Be Present. I need this reminder. To stop going through the motions and actually wake up to the sights, the sounds, & the smells of Christmas. I want to be present to God showing up. Present to family and friends and even our pets 🙂 My dogs will follow me around until I give them my full undivided attention – scratching their ears until their tails wag with complete joy.
What do you need to be present to this holiday season?
(2) Wrap Someone in a Hug. Not a token pat on the back or a casual side hug. I’m talking about a bear hug. Research shows that a 7 second hug releases serotonin – the feel good hormone. Better yet – it has been shown that a 20 second hug reduces stress which further increases levels of the love hormone oxytocin – which is beneficial to your health on so many levels.
Who can you wrap in a 7 second or 20 second hug? Go for it.
(3) Send Peace. How can I send peace if I have none to give? When I lack peace it looks like: worry, stress, my mind and body in perpetual motion, sleepless nights, prone to irritation, feeling overwhelmed, and fear. When I have peace it looks like: untroubled, content, quiet, restful, practicing gratitude and believing it’s going to be ok. I once heard this statement and it has stuck with me: “Jesus had perfect peace with the needs of His followers, because he had perfect confidence in his fathers provision.” Jesus’ followers had real needs – much like our own and He had perfect peace with these needs because He knew His Father could provide. Let’s tell God our needs. Philippians 4:6-7 has made a huge impact on my understanding of peace. “Don’t worry about anything, but instead pray about everything. With thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God, and the peace of God which transcends all understanding will guard your heart and your mind in christ Jesus.” These are some pretty practical action steps that lead to a huge promise.
What aspect of being at peace do you need right now in your life? Let’s try and send some peace to the world around us.
(4) Donate Food. Whenever my kids gets overwhelmed with life I’ve tried to teach them to get outside of themselves. Because I know this to be true for myself. We will focus on sending a note or word of encouragement to a friend, we will make homeless bags to have in our car, volunteer at Catholic Charities or with Faith Family Homeless. There is no shortage of need this time of year. Donate Food.
What can you do this season to get outside of yourself?
(5) Make Love. Everything you do, everything you make, everything you wrap, everything you give – may you do it in love. I have a little experiment for you – go ask your family, your spouse, your kids, your closest friends, “How do you know that I love you? What do I do that makes you know I love you?” I asked my son and after he rolled his eyes he said, “you feed me, you clothe me, you have to you’re my mom.” HA! I said, “No, how do you really know I love you?” What he shared ended up landing in the physical touch / quality time category. Have you ever heard of the 5 Love Languages? They are: Words of Affirmation / Quality Time / Acts of Service / Gifts / & Physical Touch. Once you know the love language of your loved one – spend some time actually loving them in the way they are wired to be loved.
It says in 1 Corin. 13:8 that, “love never fails.” This is a mighty promise. This means that love will never be without an effect – on you or the receiver. Real love, from the heart does something in the spirit. It moves, it’s powerful and the promise is it won’t fail.
What’s your love language?
(6) Be the Light.
Christmas Shopping
O God of words, dear Word made flesh give birth to my thoughts,
change them into words that will help me to Christmas up the lives of those I love, for I am weak and fragile
scared and empty this year and still I feel you very near.
Jesus, I think I hear you coming. I think I hear a sound that says
you’ve cared your way into my life again.
I think I see a light more lasting than the ones we hang on trees
I think I see a world that’s splashed with God again
so gospelled with his presence, so covered with his love
yet, lonely still….
O shoppers, dear shoppers put your carts away.
Please put your carts away and search deep down within your hearts for gifts that will not rust or fade
For where your treasure is there is your heart. (Matthew 6:19-21)
O look into your God-splashed, gospelled hearts and see! See Christmas standing there waiting to be, not bought but given free.
We are Christmas shoppers, Lord
We are shopping for a way to make your coming last
O take the blind in us and hold it close, O teach us how to see
Decorate our lives with your vision, For Christmas, let us see!
O shoppers, dear shoppers hang lights in your hearts
instead of on your trees. For the One we’ve hung our hopes on
has come, and now we’re free but only if we see.
Jesus, we long for Christmas-eyes. Please heal the blind in us
For Christmas, eyes that see!
– by Macrina Wiederkehr
We grab one of my brothers to be our flagger and we head down the pier to our wooden Chris Craft stored in our boat house. As we lower it down into the water I am getting giddy with excitement – every time! Since the lake is crystal clear, we motor out far enough so I cannot see the bottom of the lake – don’t want to see the fish! It takes a good 10 minutes to muster up the courage to jump into this freezing cold mountain lake. It always takes my breath away. But the thrill of water skiing is worth it. It is pure joy to be pulled behind the boat, I don’t know if my smile could get bigger or my heart more full. Such peace and beauty. No one else is crazy enough to jump in that water so we head back to the pier. I had to sit on the dock in the sunshine to warm up and stop shivering. Lazy summer days at the lake! Who would have thought all these years later, my own kids would get to have their own Lake Tahoe water adventures.
