Dear Ones,
Hope you had a good weekend! That was a great win for the Vikings, and a very exciting game up to the very end in overtime. Looks to be another week of mild weather and we are getting spoiled. How are you coming along in your Christmas preparations?
Devotions from Judy’s heart
Even though we are limited in so many ways because of COVID, I suspect we may still get stressed out over Christmas preparations. The Prince of Peace has come but how do we make room for Him and rest in His peace during this holy holiday time. I read an article in Just Between Us magazine by Tara Furman an Lisa Grimes and they gave some hints of how we can do that. Of course, there are hundreds of suggestions online of fun things to do and things to make, but why not make Christmas time special without wearing ourselves out. We can focus on what needs to be done and keep simple in our decorating and our meal preparations; even store-bought food served in a pretty dish can make it special, or we can choose recipes that have only five ingredients. We don’t have to be elaborate! Why not decorate early and put the manger scene in a prominent place to be reminded often of what Christmas is really about. All the planning ahead and doing things beforehand will save us stress. Shopping for our loved ones can be done throughout the year or online as we listen to what their wishes may be. It helps to have an appetizer or dessert in the freezer so friends can be invited in on the spur of the moment for coffee and fellowship. I like to do my Christmas cards early and it is a wonderful feeling when they are in the mail. But in all of our preparations, let us not short change our time with the Lord. We need time with Him each day and it affects our behavior and how we respond to others around us. We can miss the real meaning of Christmas when we buy into the world’s frantic way of celebrating and buying. Let us not get distracted and stressed but keep our focus on the Lord whose birth changed everything. As it says in II Cor. 4:18 (God’s Word), ” We don’t look for things that can be seen but for things that can’t be seen. Things that can’t be seen last forever.”
Challenge for today: Make a list of things that need to be done and another list of what might be fun, only if there is time.
Blessings on your day and prayers and love, Judy