Keeping The Christ In Christmas
This is my favorite time of year. Although, I've realized that as I've gotten older, the holidays are becoming more and more bittersweet. The holidays are a time of reflection and deep rooted memories of celebrations who you celebrated with and we are constantly reminded of the people who are no longer around.
There are certain Christmas carols I used to love to hear but I've since realized they make me a little sad. This is the side of the holidays no one likes to discuss but it's real. Behind the magic, there are people feeling serious loss and pain that they feel most during the holidays.
Here are some tips to keep Christ in Christmas:
1. Be neighborly
Find someone who may not be surrounded by loved ones and befriend them. Show them some love. Invite them out for coffee or if you are comfortable with them, invite them over for dinner. I used to get stressed out about inviting people over because I wanted perfection. But I realized that's not what people really want, they want fellowship and friendship.
2. Get the Kids Involved
What better way to show love is to help kids learn to give. For the crafty parents out there, how about creating a gift and using it as a way to give more meaningful gifts that might not cost you much. Need ideas? Check out this link.
3. Forgive
Some of the baggage we carry around comes from not forgiving others for things that have happened to you. We might think that we have forgiven, but have we really? I find the true test of forgiveness is when you can see the person and you wish good for them. Only you can assess if forgiveness have taken place.
4. Be Grateful
Practicing a spirit of gratefulness helps us not focus on what we don't have. This may be a bit hard as we are bombarded at times with a lot of images of other amazing lives throughout social media, but we have to be mindful that it's just a snapshot of a small segment of people's lives.
5. Have Fun
I mean this one! Pump up the music and have a freeze dance tournament before dinner. Play one-on-one basketball with your child. Watch a funny holiday movie like Elf.
Christine
There are certain Christmas carols I used to love to hear but I've since realized they make me a little sad. This is the side of the holidays no one likes to discuss but it's real. Behind the magic, there are people feeling serious loss and pain that they feel most during the holidays.
Here are some tips to keep Christ in Christmas:
1. Be neighborly
Find someone who may not be surrounded by loved ones and befriend them. Show them some love. Invite them out for coffee or if you are comfortable with them, invite them over for dinner. I used to get stressed out about inviting people over because I wanted perfection. But I realized that's not what people really want, they want fellowship and friendship.
2. Get the Kids Involved
What better way to show love is to help kids learn to give. For the crafty parents out there, how about creating a gift and using it as a way to give more meaningful gifts that might not cost you much. Need ideas? Check out this link.
3. Forgive
Some of the baggage we carry around comes from not forgiving others for things that have happened to you. We might think that we have forgiven, but have we really? I find the true test of forgiveness is when you can see the person and you wish good for them. Only you can assess if forgiveness have taken place.
4. Be Grateful
Practicing a spirit of gratefulness helps us not focus on what we don't have. This may be a bit hard as we are bombarded at times with a lot of images of other amazing lives throughout social media, but we have to be mindful that it's just a snapshot of a small segment of people's lives.
5. Have Fun
I mean this one! Pump up the music and have a freeze dance tournament before dinner. Play one-on-one basketball with your child. Watch a funny holiday movie like Elf.
Christine
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