Welcome to the Refresh Podcast! This podcast is a place for us to discover freedom in Christ and to engage in our unique role in the Kingdom work God has called us to. Today we’re going to be talking about 3 ways I’m preparing for Christmas. At our church we have three christmas eve services and our first couple of years I did not prepare myself well! I was totally spent after our services and had nothing left to give my family. I actually even got sick. So last year I decided to prepare differently so that didn’t happen and it worked! This year, I’m doing it again and I thought I’d share with you what I’m doing.
Let’s start with a quick announcement. This is my last episode for this year and for this season. I just fell into this podcast and it just happened and it has been such a fun experience for me! So first thanks for listening. Thanks for coming along and I am so blessed by you. Second, this will be our last episode for 2023 and in January we’ll launch into season 2. I am really excited about what 2024 has in store for me here in my coaching business and this podcast is a part of that.
Now let’s transition back to the topic at hand. Preparing for Christmas. I’d like to start with the back story of where this episode came from.
We moved here to the capital region of New York in 2020. I’m sure you remember your Christmas in 2020 but for me it was our first Christmas at our new church and we have Christmas Eve services. I didn’t grow up doing Christmas Eve services so it felt a little new. That first year and then that next year, 2021, it totally kicked my butt. I was really stressed and overwhelmed with making our christmas at home with the kids magical and then adding into that pot was serving at our church all day Christmas Eve. I totally crashed both years and it was not good. I literally got sick in 2020 and then in 2021 I was just spent. I felt terrible and had so much shame and guilt that I ruined my family’s christmas! It was awful.
In 2022, which was last year, I decided that I wasn’t going to do that again. I spent a lot of time figuring out why I was carrying that much weight and stress and what I could do about it. I prepared ahead of time and I watched myself throughout the day and made sure I was doing ok. It was much much better! We came home and I felt so excited to have a special evening with the kids. We ended up getting presents from a family at our church and so we got to open those presents and watch christmas movies and it was just magical.
As I started thinking about this year, I wanted to lean in even further and really define what worked about last year and what didn’t about the previous 2. I found 3 ways that I was being intentional and I want to share them with you. Even if you aren’t serving in any way this Christmas there are still stressors, expectations, or triggers that could make the holiday hard for you. So I’m going to lay out my 3 ways to prepare and hopefully it’ll be encouraging to you. Let’s go!
One, I use the script: I can ask for help. I can ask for help. There are parts of this year that carry a certain amount of stress and rather than isolating and trying to just handle it, I can ask for help. I have a speaking part in our christmas eve service and the talk was making me feel anxious. So I asked Isaac for help. I asked him to look over my script and see what he thought. We worked through it and I feel so much better about it. I was feeling stress about planning and buying groceries for all the holiday meals we have this weekend. I can ask for help and see what the kids actually want and let them help me make my lists.
If you aren’t speaking or you don’t have kids, there are areas you could ask for help. Maybe you’ll be alone for part of the holiday and you could ask for help from a friend. Ask them to pray for you during that time. Ask them to get together during that time. Ask a friend or neighbor if they need help during that time and be generous with what you have to offer: availability.
Maybe you’ll be with family or friends that are hard for you emotionally. Ask for help from a safe person to help you write a script and prepare ahead of time what you’re going to say or what you’re going to do when topics get brought up or comments start flying.
Maybe you are having a dry holiday season and you are stressed about staying away from alcohol. Ask for help from Pinterest and prepare a mocktail! My friend Christy is a sobriety coach and she has tons of helpful information on her social media pages.
Whatever your situation is, you do not need to go alone.
Two: I use another script and I remind myself: I’m not the hero of the story, Jesus is. I’m not the hero, this isn’t about me. My talk isn’t about my presentation skills and fancy words it’s about Jesus. My desire to create magic for my kids during Christmas is not about me or even about their childhood, it’s about Jesus. It’s about them seeing the magic and wonder of Jesus during this holiday. Whatever burden you are carrying I’d challenge you to remember it’s not about you. All the pressure of performing or looking a certain way or handling the judgment of others, its all off. Shame and pressure are off. If you want, it might be helpful to picture all the things that are stressing you out about this coming holiday, picture putting them in a basket. Comments about your body or your parenting choices, expectations of others about what you’re wearing or drinking or not drinking, pressure to show up, loneliness and shame about how Christmas looks this year compared to last year…all of that picture putting it in a basket. Then picture handing that basket to Jesus. Whenever I do this silly exercise I literally see Jesus smile. I feel him tenderly and gently taking my basket of junk and carrying it. There is peace and abundance available if we keep our focus on Jesus and his glory.
Three: the last way I’m preparing for Christmas is to take care of my body. This might sound obvious but when I get busy I forget to take care of my body. I forget to drink water and I end up snacking all day on whatever is sitting on the counter. So I’m making sure I have my water bottle with me so I can keep an eye on how much water I’m drinking. I’m stocking up on particular granola bars so that I have snacks that won’t hurt my stomach or give me a reaction I don’t want to deal with. I’m watching how much coffee I drink because too much caffeine isn’t good. It might sound like more work, and maybe for you it is. But for me, the benefits outweigh the effort for sure. I need my body to be able to last all day and this is how I can do that. There are days I am for sure going to enjoy my christmas cookies but Christmas Eve is not that day! I can have self control and I can choose the better things over the impulsive desires.
That’s it! That’s all I have for you. I’m being very intentional with my scripts. I talk about scripts a lot, phrases that I prepare beforehand and then have ready to pull out on the spot when I need them. I’m asking for help when I need it and when I can. I’m going to be humble and admit there are things I can’t handle or carry right now. I’m remembering that Jesus is the hero of this story. I’m keeping my focus and eyes on Jesus and walking towards him. And I’m taking care of my body. I’m drinking water and watching what and when I’m eating.
I am on your team friend and if you’d like to reach out I’d love to pray for you this weekend! Whether you’re serving at your church or in your community, whether you’re home with family or with just Jesus I want to cheer you on. Send me a message or email or whatever and let’s do this together. God is mighty in you and I am so proud of you!
Links mentioned in the podcast:
My friend Christy, sobriety coach: https://www.instagram.com/lovelifesoberwithchristy/
A wallpaper gift for you: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1-s4TILb87s9lTR11DnHlsF8uNBR5nE3F/view?usp=drive_link
Abigail Denton 