Christmas Goals

I have a few goals for this week. Our family usually does Christmas ALL OUT. We have a traditions advent calendar where we do one of our favorite things to celebrate Christmas per day. This year we have accomplished 3 things. It is the 21st of December. That means there were 18 days where we didn’t do any of them and only 4 days left until Christmas. It’s just not all going to happen. We’ve had so much going on at church and at the girls’ schools, that we’ve had to put quite a few things we love on the shelf. There are some times that are just that way. The things we’ve been doing have been wonderful, just very busy.

This week, before we celebrate Christ’s birth, I have a couple of goals for myself:

Throw perfectionism out of the window. No, we haven’t done all of the things. And that’s ok! We will get to what we can. We get all messed up when we allow competition and comparison to motivate us. Then we feel like we failed at Christmas… The good news is that you and I can’t fail at Christmas because it is not about us.
Intentionally rest and enjoy my people. We will be in our jammies, eating all the food, wearing no makeup, watching all the movies, staying up late, and sleeping in. I love that Christmas is right at the end of the year. It’s like the pause button to look back at all you’ve been through and accomplished throughout the year. We get to take a deep breath and celebrate.
Keep Christ at the center – where He belongs. I know we know this. In fact, we tell other people this. But, we let it slip our minds easily. Christmas is about our King, Savior, Messiah, Emmanuel. He chose to come in the most humble way, so that He could grow up and die the most humiliating death. He deserves our attention and devotion. The definition of advent is, “the arrival of a notable person, thing, or event.” It’s all about Jesus.

“That night there were shepherds staying in the fields nearby, guarding their flocks of sheep. Suddenly, an angel of the Lord appeared among them, and the radiance of the Lord’s glory surrounded them. They were terrified,but the angel reassured them. “Don’t be afraid!” he said. “I bring you good news that will bring great joy to all people.The Savior—yes, the Messiah, the Lord—has been born today in Bethlehem, the city of David!And you will recognize him by this sign: You will find a baby wrapped snugly in strips of cloth, lying in a manger.” Suddenly, the angel was joined by a vast host of others—the armies of heaven—praising God and saying,“Glory to God in highest heaven, and peace on earth to those with whom God is pleased,” (Luke 2:8-14 NLT).

That’s really all I wanted to say this week. Please slow down and rest. Take inventory of all that you have and let your heart be filled with gratitude. God has provided so much for us.