Each day during The PURSE-onality Challenge: "A Holiday-Ready Heart" in October, Untangling Christmas by Karen Ehman and LeAnn Rice, will be our give-away prize!
Day 14: TRUST (+ How Each PURSE-onality Can Get Day Overwhelmed)
Day 15: PATIENT (+ Practicing Now for Patience Then)
Day 16: NO RECORD (+ How to Have Grudge-Free Holidays)
Day 17: TRUTH (Each PURSE-onality's Take on Truth)
Day 18: PERSEVERE (+2 Cures for Procrastination)
Day 19: BLESS (Your Feelings Can Help You Choose)
Day 20: BUILDING (20+ Ways to Build with Words)
Day 21: HOLD (Hold Back, Let Go, and Step Up)
Day 22: FRUIT (I Didn't Think...I Was a People-Pleaser!)
Both cars need major servicing (the kind that requires us both to drive to the dealership, leave one car, drive back home, wait a day or two, and then drive back again, leave the other car...you get the picture!)
Time for a Change
Day 15: PATIENT (+ Practicing Now for Patience Then)
Day 16: NO RECORD (+ How to Have Grudge-Free Holidays)
Day 17: TRUTH (Each PURSE-onality's Take on Truth)
Day 18: PERSEVERE (+2 Cures for Procrastination)
Day 19: BLESS (Your Feelings Can Help You Choose)
Day 20: BUILDING (20+ Ways to Build with Words)
Day 21: HOLD (Hold Back, Let Go, and Step Up)
Day 22: FRUIT (I Didn't Think...I Was a People-Pleaser!)
The Way It’s Always Been
Teachers get important things done three times a year: summer, Christmas, and spring vacations.
Once the school year starts, anything that doesn’t involve teaching, lesson planning, grading, parenting, wifing, and basic survival gets shoved until Christmas vacation.
Which usually starts somewhere around December 21.
No wonder I’ve never felt ready for Christmas: I haven’t been!
Not by a long shot!
In fact, not only have I not been ready, I’ve been behind. Way behind.
My “To Get Done During” Christmas List
All four of us need teeth cleaning appointments.
The animals need to go to the vet.
Both cars need major servicing (the kind that requires us both to drive to the dealership, leave one car, drive back home, wait a day or two, and then drive back again, leave the other car...you get the picture!)
The freezer needs to be emptied, defrosted, and re-organized.
Last year’s pair of boots need to be replaced because there are holes in both soles.
The house needs to be cleaned from top to bottom.
But before it can be cleaned, it really needs to be de-cluttered. (Anything we don’t quite know what to do with pretty much gets left wherever it lands August - December.)
And so on.
And so forth.
And -- oh yeah -- Merry Christmas!
Time for a Change
If I’m going to have a holiday-ready heart mid-November, I’ve got to change my what-gets-done-when habits.
Starting with the clutter.
If we confess our sins
He is faithful and just
to forgive us our sins and
cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
1 John 1:9 (NIV)
If God can cleanse my innermost heart of sin and unrighteousness, then surely I can put some effort toward cleaning my outer environment!
As non-visual as I am, I have to admit that my outer life has a far greater impact on my inner life than I used to realize.
If I'm going to have a holiday-ready heart, I need to start now to have a holiday-ready home.
Waiting until my next major vacation is a huge set-up for failure...and continued holiday hatred.
20 Minutes a Day
For the next nine days, October 22 through October 31, I'm going to spend 20 minutes focusing on one key area of my home:
- 0-5: Pick up obvious items that need to go or can go.
- 6-10: Make a list of things that need to be cleaned, repaired, replaced, etc.
- 11-15: Take one small step (i.e. toss all the throw blankets in the wash)
- 16-20: Assess the room’s needs, especially in light of the holidays (i.e. wood for the fireplace.)
I'll be dividing the days up according to these areas:
- Day 1: Living Room
- Day 2: Kitchen
- Day 3: Master Bedroom
- Day 4: Guest Bathroom
- Day 5: Kids’ Rooms
- Day 6: Guest Room / My Study
- Day 7: Garage & Vehicles
- Day 8: Back Yard & Pets
- Day 9: Front Porch & People
Obviously, I'm not aiming for any sort of perfection during these next nine days.
All I want to do is
Doing this will break old habits.
And it'll move me closer to having a holiday-ready home to match my holiday-ready heart!
All I want to do is
- get started,
- make a small difference, and
- make a do-able plan.
Doing this will break old habits.
And it'll move me closer to having a holiday-ready home to match my holiday-ready heart!
Your Turn:
- Do you tend to put off home-related tasks until you can get it all done at once? Or do you consistently chip away at them?
- Do you enjoy preparing your house for the holidays or do you find it stressful? Either way, why?
- Anything else on your heart!
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