What I learned this week:  Ok guys - I am way behind getting Christmas going so that has me really thinking.  Can I have the Christmas spirit without all the decorations.  If I didn't put my tree up and all of the stockings and Nativities what would I have left.  I really liked thinking about this as it helped me refocus my mind as dig deep.  

There are so many things that we sometimes think that we have to do and get done and I think this week I have been trying to refocus and think about why we are all celebrating.  And according to the first article that I mentioned in the podcast, Rediscovering the True meaning of Christmas - beyond the decor and festivities, that  it is all about love.  It is fun to think that I could do nothing and still be grateful for God's love that he sent his son.  I could also love to find ways to share that love with others through gifts.  Here is a quote from the article, “The true meaning of Christmas is LOVE. Christmas reminds us of Jesus Christ who loves us. Therefore, we must try to give up thinking only about ourselves and bring happiness to those around us. Christmas is when we should spend quality time with our loved ones.”

I also loved that article also shared the reason we gather together, and I love this,  “Families and close friends come together to pray and give thanks to our Creator for sending His only son to save us. This is the time to forgive those you’ve had misunderstandings with and make peace with them.”  Do we really think about forgiving our family members each Christmas?  I don't think I ever really understood that as a reason we got together.  But if everyone was willing to do that how would that one simple thing change the world.  Really, to let go of hard feelings.   I mentioned Allie Duzette, and how she mentions in her book, Magnetic Feminitity, that she says to think about forgiving specific instances instead of trying to blaket forgive someone.  So maybe you can begin with forgiving some certain small instances and let that go and continue you on until you can let go of all of your bad feelings towards a family member.  

I also love that we try to bring more peace into our gatherings.  How can we do that at Christmas?  That doesn't take any money but also can be quite difficult sometimes. 

Then I also share this quote by Rachel Hauck, a Christian author who I get emails from which said, “Christmas Day is God fulfilling His word! Christmas Day reminds us God is faithful. He keeps His promises.”   Maybe that thought isn't going to help us get all of our things done but we can trust that God is aware of us and that He does fulfill his promises.  

I share also two stories of missionaries experience being away from home on Christmas.  Those stories are below.   I also included a few extra that I didn't mention in the podcast. 

It really was such fun to think about the real meaning of Christmas and helped me refocus my mind to what really is important.