Thanksgiving is upon us and with it brings the hope of Christmas. Yes, the commercial side of Christmas has been on display in stores for about a month now and although I used to be a little annoyed by the early displays and music, I’m finding that I’m actually enjoying it this year. I’m truly excited about the holidays instead of dreading the stress it used to create in my life.

What’s different you may ask? It’s the way I’m looking at it. I’m viewing it all from the place of abundance instead of lack and am finding so much joy in my new perspective.  Today, I want to share with you my thoughts on creating a new way to look at the holidays and how we celebrate them.  

First, let’s talk about the word abundance. Abundance is a word that is used a lot these days. If you google it, you will find there are 288 million results. It means a very large quantity of something, so you could say there is an abundance of information on abundance, I guess.  

There is a whole movement based on living in abundance and having an abundant mindset. You can hire coaches to train you on how to do just that. I’m not going to dive into a lesson on abundance here. I would, however, like to suggest that we look at it from the abundance of grace and mercy and not the things all the merchandisers want us to see, especially this time of year. 

As it is with so many things we see in the world today, abundance is a biblical term that has been embraced by the secular community. You can find the word approximately 70 times in the Bible depending on which version you use. I find it particularly relevant in today’s discussion because Jesus said, “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.”

Wait a minute? What does the thief have to do with our living in abundance? Everything. You see, Satan would love it if we got so stressed out and so wrapped up in the things of Christmas we would lose sight of the REASON for Christmas.  Truly, when we pause to think about it, what is so bad about celebrating Christmas a little longer? In fact, since we are commemorating the birth of Jesus, shouldn’t we be doing that all year long and not just a few weeks in December? 

Granted, I’m not in favor of seeing Santa in the mall in August, but why have I always been so protective of keeping Christmas from spilling over a few weeks longer? If we’re giving thanks, what should we be more thankful for than the gift of salvation? 

When God sent His son to earth to redeem us for our sins, He gave so much and we are asked to give Him thanks and gratitude for that gift and for all that we have. But I think it extends beyond the words we say over the feast we prepare on Thanksgiving Day. It’s not only saying a prayer of thanks every day or writing in our gratitude journal every morning.  It’s showing our gratitude every day by loving and serving the people God places in our lives. 

It’s living out our thanks by our actions. When I say that I’m guessing your thoughts went to the things we typically do when we are asked to serve, like being kind to strangers. By offering to drive the carpool even when it isn’t our turn. By shoveling the sidewalk or preparing a meal for a neighbor in need. But it goes much beyond that. It’s what we do as a part of our lives with the people we live and work with every day. It’s being patient and kind and loving and gentle. It’s humbling ourselves to admit when we are wrong and being the first to say we’re sorry. It’s being grateful in all things, all the time. Not just the good things, but everything. And not just during the holiday season. 

Think about it, when we focus on the true meaning of Christmas we are glorifying God. When we get wrapped up in all the trappings, we are glorifying the things of this world. When we focus on true abundance we focus on God first and he will provide all that we need. When we truly trust in Him, He will take care of the details.  If we have to work extra jobs and stay up all hours of the night to prepare, we may not be focusing on Godly things first. 

It reminds me of one of my favorite Christmas cards I sent out years ago. It was a Hallmark card titled A Prayer for Surviving the Holidays, and it goes like this:

Be with us at the holidays, and guide us, Lord, we pray—

Through crowded stores at busy malls, please help us find our way. 

When Christmas trees won’t stand up straight, please keep us calm and steady,

And help us not to get too “wrapped up” in getting presents ready.

Deliver us from all the fuss of too much cookie baking, and give us time for savoring

Sweet memories in the making.

In all we do may we keep Christ in Christmastime somehow- 

And may we know a little of your peace on earth right now!

From a practical perspective, to eliminate the stress from the holidays, I do the important things first. Think about it like the example of the professor with the glass jars, the rocks, the pebbles, and the sand. If you start with the sand, you won’t have room for the rocks.  It works that way for the holidays, too. 

If it’s something that is important to you, make sure you do it first. For example, I love writing my Christmas letter each year. It feels good to me to make that meaningful connection at least once a year with the people in my life.  I do it right away after Thanksgiving, particularly if I’m ordering a card because that can take a while.  

I then decorate the house because it gets me in the mood for all the rest. Along the way, I’ve created my list of who I need to buy for and what I think I might like to purchase for each of them. As I purchase gifts, I store them in one place and then when it’s time to wrap gifts, my husband and wrap them together.  I always do my baking last so if I get to the place where I don’t have time to bake, that can be a good thing. I just do a few favorites and forget the rest.

I know everyone’s priorities are different, and the beauty of it is you get to decide the order and amount of time you will spend on each thing.  I know a lot of people who shop throughout the year, so that piece is essentially done.  Good for them, that just has never been a part of my thing. 

I always try to make time for holiday gatherings and Christmas concerts that I enjoy.  For the most part, this system has worked for me for years and I haven’t stayed up late preparing or stressed out over-preparing for so long, I don’t even remember the things I used to do that caused me all the stress.  

As I said, those things are the functional part of my preparations, but for me what is important are the tips I offer to help live in true abundance this holiday season. The Who you are being during this time of year. As a coach, I find that these tips are the ones that really make an impact on people’s lives.  

1. Be aware of who you are being as you go about your preparations.  Be kind as you may be the bright spot in that person behind the counter’s day who as dealt with cranky customers all day long. Also, be patient, everyone is feeling the edge this time of year. It’s ironic that we do all these things to make the holidays perfect, but while doing so we get stressed out and snap at our spouse or children.  Slow down, enjoy the moments together. And let the process be a part of the gift. 
2. Be happy! Smile. Share the joy that is in your heart and let people want what you have. Remember, as we go about our business of preparing, we if we shine the light of Christ’s love, others will be drawn to that. And that is what it’s really all about, isn’t it?
3. Be present. Instead of working extra hours at home or your job to create the perfect holiday, step back and spend quality time with your loved ones and yourself.  Sit and read a book, watch the fire in the fireplace, play a game of checkers with your kids.  Simply enjoy the peace and quiet at least a few minutes each day. The gift of time is precious to us and we waste it on things that don’t matter way too often.  Your presence is the best present you can give those you love…young and old alike. 
4. Be still and feel God’s presence in your life.  Listen to Him and let Him guide you to where He wants you to be, not where you think you should be. I know it’s a busy time, but don’t use that as an excuse to skip your time in scripture or reading your devotions. The few minutes you spend there can set the tone for the whole day, so make it a priority. 
5. Look for the positives in the situation. Don’t complain when things don’t turn out the way you thought they should. When the gift you ordered doesn’t show, doesn’t fit, or worse, it wasn’t received the way you thought it would be, find the lesson in what went wrong and see if you can see how God intended it for good. Remember, although you want things to be just right, so many of the things that can go wrong really don’t matter anyway.  
6. Relax and enjoy what is.  When lines are long either strike up a conversation with the people around you or leave and come back to that store later. Is your peace of mind really worth the $10, $20, or even $50 you might save on the item? Probably not! So don’t stress out over those little things and go to the place of least resistance. Focus on spending your time and resources on things that bring you joy.  If it stresses you out, don’t do it. Find an alternative that brings you peace instead.  This goes along with where you shop and where you spend money.  Are you ordering online with a store where you don’t respect their values or would you feel better about buying from your neighbor who supports your kids’ soccer team or needs your business in order to survive? Again, do a few dollars extra make that big of a difference and if so, maybe you’re extending yourself too far. 
7. Be grateful for what you already have. I’ve already mentioned this earlier, but it is worth repeating. We are so abundantly blessed that we sometimes take the greatest gifts for granted; our faith, our family, our friends. The things that really make our lives richer. Remember to give thanks to God for those things that truly create abundance in our lives and then spend the time with them so they KNOW how much you love them.   
8. Be open to the possibilities. God is always giving us opportunities to live in his abundance. Keep your mind and heart open for those chances to serve and share his gifts with others. He can provide for us in ways we cannot imagine. But when we make it all about us and forget or don’t take the time to serve others, we miss out on living our true purpose. I encourage you to explore the ways you can share in your excess or serve others. 
9. And please, please take care of yourself.  Get enough sleep. Drink plenty of water (more if you are drinking alcohol), eat foods that nourish your body and give you energy.  And slow down and savor the food you eat. Breathe deeply before a meal so you can be calm and digest the food properly. And stop eating when you are full.  Remember, if you are living an abundance mentality, you know there will be more opportunities to enjoy that food later, so don’t gorge yourself.  You’ll be grateful in a few when you don’t have to lose weight after the holidays. 
10. Lastly, don’t judge yourself when you don’t live up to your expectations.  Let go of all the rules and give yourself the grace to be less than perfect and simply enjoy the moment and the gifts you have. 

So there you have it, my quick and dirty suggestions on how to celebrate the holidays in a new way.  I could have gone on for a lot longer, but you get the idea.

Your time is precious and I appreciate you stopping by today.  I pray you have a blessed Thanksgiving and will incorporate some of these ideas into your weeks ahead.  Actually, you will do well to incorporate these things into your day to day life in the new year as well.  

I have some coaching spots opening up in January and would love it if you’d like to learn more about the benefits of working with me on a regular basis.  It can really be a game-changer to have someone who can see your vision for the future and hold that space for you until you can make the changes you need to get there.  I have some special bonus for people who act quickly so reach out soon if you’d like to hop on a call and learn more about that. You can find me at vonajohnson.com.

Thank you again for stopping by.  Go, be blessed, and Live Your More!