Showing posts with label Pray-paring for Christmas. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Pray-paring for Christmas. Show all posts

Day 30: JOY (The Freedoms of Joy)


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!  

Enter via the Rafflecopter at the end of the blog post or click here to enter!

...weeping may last through the night,
but joy comes with the morning.
Psalm 30:5 (NIV)
Trying Too Hard

In Christmases past, I've wasted so much time trying too hard to manufacture the "right conditions" to produce the "right responses":
  • decorating the house just right so that my guests will admire me.
  • buying the just right gifts so that their recipients will be grateful.
  • cooking all the right foods so that those who eat it will be happy.
  • planning the right family time so that we'll all feel connected.
But things always managed to go wrong.
  • The carrot noses disappeared from all my hand-crafted snow-people, ruining my decorating scheme. 
  • Certain people refused to even open their gifts or, if they did, insisted they didn't need what I'd so carefully selected.
  • Some item of food always sets of the smoke alarm and the meal was never ready on time.
  • At any given moment, someone was grouchy and someone was tired and someone was mad at someone and it could not possibly have been more obvious that we are four very different PURSE-onalities!
Joy is a Gift
Grieving, I'm finding, is a rebirth process that invites joy to flourish in the present.

When I'm not burdened by anxiety for the future or regrets from the past, I'm freed to live in the here and now.

I can receive each present moment as a gift.

I love the verb tense of the Christmas carol lyrics "Joy to the world the Lord is come."

It's in the present tense.  

The Lord is come!
Joy is a Choice

I used to try too hard so that other people would react the way I needed them to so that I could experience holiday joy.

But my experience of joy is not dependent on any other person.

I experience joy because Jesus is come. 

As I choose to focus on Jesus, I choose joy.
The Freedoms of Joy

When I choose Joy, I'm freed from trying too hard so that... Instead,
  • I can decorate my home because doing so is an outward expression of inner celebration ... whether or not the carrot noses are ever found. 
  • I can give gifts because of how much I've been given ... whether or not they're opened or appreciated "properly."
  • I can fix food because it's one way we celebrate the many ways God has provided ... regardless of whether the hot foods are hot or cold foods cold when served.
  • I can hang out with family because -- regardless of our moods -- we are recipients of and expressions of God's unfathomable love. 

No matter what the issues I've struggled with in holidays past, this year I am free to choose joy.

Instead of struggling so that..., I will celebrate because

The Lord is come!


Your Turn:
  • What does "joy" mean to you? How is it different from happiness? What causes you to experience joy? 
  • What types of "trying so hard so that..." has blocked your holiday joy in the past?  
  • Anything else on your heart!


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    Day 24: REJOICE (We Share the Same Heart Rate)

    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!  

    Enter via the Rafflecopter at the end of the blog post or click here to enter!



    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!)
    Day 23: CLEANSE (A Holiday-Ready Home)


    Today's blog comes to you as a vlog (below) or blog (scroll past vlog)!

    (Can't view the video directly?  Click here to watch "We Share the Same Heart Rate" on YouTube!)




    The Comparison Game

    This summer, while traveling, I made a point to get up every morning and spend time on the elliptical in the hotel exercise room.

    I was really feeling pretty good about myself. I had trained for a couple of races -- nothing big, but not bad for me! So I wanted to maintain my momentum, keep my body fit, and take good care of my heart.

    One morning, I got up at 5:30 and was the only person in the exercise room. I was working away on the elliptical, with some good music on my iPod, feeling good about myself, thinking, Nothing’s going to stop me!  It’s going to be a great day!

    Then the door opened, and another woman came in. She looked to be about my age and got on the elliptical next to me. 

    I thought Oh, how nice! This is great -- some companionship!

    Yeah.  

    Until she got going.

    Twice my speed!

    And it was effortless for her.

    I’d been in there for twenty or thirty minutes and was soaked with sweat.  (I am not one of those dainty women who “glistens”!) I did not look attractive.

    She had her hair up in a ponytail; I’ve not had enough hair for a ponytail since high school.

    Clearly, I was deep into playing the comparison game.

    I started thinking, Well, at least I’ve gone farther than she has!

    Which lasted for another ten minutes, at which point she lapped me.

    At that point, I had no need to stay in the room with someone who made me look bad and feel bad!


    Focusing on Heart Rate

    I started slowing down to stop, when my eyes fell once more on the digital display on her elliptical.

    And I realized that the number on her heart rate monitor matched the number on mine.

    So even though she was going faster, and she was going farther than I was, we had the same heart rate.

    I thought, Wow. That’s what really matters. Our heart rates. We’re both getting a good workout.

    We had different body types. And clearly she was in better shape that I was. But I was still pushing my body within the perimeters of my recommended heart rate.

    So I didn’t need to feel bad: she was doing what she needed to get her heart up to that rate, and I was doing what I needed.


    Compare or Rejoice

    Rejoice in the Lord always. 
    I will say it again: 
    Rejoice!
    Philippians 4:4 (NIV)

    It’s so tempting to compare ourselves to each other.

    We women do this all the time!

    Especially at the holidays. We look to see how others are decorating, what kinds of events they’re doing, how they’re dressing…

    You name it, we compare it!

    Problem is, comparison destroys my ability to rejoice.

    I’d been feeling really good on the elliptical. And even when the woman walked in, it wasn’t her presence that bothered me, it was looking at the numbers on her elliptical that caused me to go from feeling really good to feeling bad about myself.


    Heart Rate = Price Paid

    Then I got to thinking about “heart rate” in a different way:

    We all have the same heart rate.

    The rate that has been paid for our hearts is the same.

    Jesus paid the ultimate price for my heart, and he paid the ultimate price for your heart.

    We all have the same heart rate...and it’s already been paid.

    That’s the entire reason we can rejoice all year long!

    And especially at the holiday season.


    Your Turn:

    • In what areas of life do you find yourself playing the "comparison game"?
    • How might remembering that "we all have the same heart rate" help you navigate difficult relationships this holiday season? 
    • Anything else on your heart!
    This Really Got Me Link-up at Rethinking My Thinking

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    Day 23: CLEANSE (A Holiday-Ready Home)


    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!  

    Enter via the Rafflecopter at the end of the blog post or click here to enter!

    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!)



    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

    • 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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