I've been considering recently the idea behind my joy for Christmas. I always have it when September hits, and it stays with me until January. I can't really explain it, as I know for a fact that I would have this joy without presents, snow, cookies, meals, and everything else that went along with the Christmas Season. When it comes down to it, I choose to be joyful. I mean, I could simply claim that it's because of the birth of Jesus, but that doesn't really mean much for joy. You see in scripture versus about joy, or how the joy of the Lord will be our strength, and so on. But if it was that simple, we would always be at peace. But we're not. We choose to ignore to peace that He brings, as well as His joy. So as much as it is Jesus the reason for my joy, it's not.
Christmas is a choice. Your joy and excitement is something that you choose over something that just happens to come your way. Now I'm not saying saying all of your days will be good days upon choosing to be joyful over Christmas, but you will find that you can handle the joy-killers a whole lot better when you make an effort to be joyful for Christmas.
But a good question to ask is how one stays joyful, or helps enforce their choice to be joyful! I find a few ways ways that may or may not help. Music is a big part of Christmas. There are plenty of songs that I could easily recommend for you to give a listen to to help you jump start your joy. Elton John - Step Into Christmas is a good starting point. It's upbeat, positive, and may put a little more into your joy about Christmas. Phil Wickham - Christmas Time is another, as it helps paint a good picture of Christmas. Brandi Carlile - The Heartache Can Wait is a great one for those who just feel down in the dumps around Christmas time. There is also Faith Hill - Where Are You Christmas for those whom just need a good vent song. Leigh Nash - Maybe This Christmas is a song of mine that I absolutely love when I feel down in the dumps and apprehensive about my future. And the final one is Relient K - I Celebrate The Day, as it puts Christmas as a whole into full perspective!
Either way, I think that by someone giving those short list of songs a listen could easily find themselves in a better joyful mood about Christmas! So go and listen to the six songs I suggested, and you might start feeling a hope of joy rise up within you!
Monday, September 30, 2013
Thursday, September 26, 2013
90 Days of Christmas: Day 90, Let Go
Okay, so with so many people recently letting me know that they feel disenchanted with Christmas, or that they somehow lost the spirit and magic of the season, I feel like it's my sole duty to know jump start this blog to keep the spirit of Christmas alive within those who may have lost it. Now as a side note, I also know that my ability to maintain this daily will be hard, so it's going to be sporadic in posts.
So as I begin, I'm starting off with a simple one, let go! Too many times as we get older, we tend to focus upon the stress that comes with Christmas, and the chaotic lifestyle that wraps itself around this time. As we grow older, life does tend to hand us more stress in our daily lives, and with the coming of Christmas, this does increase. And sometimes I hear that its easier to let go of this stress when you have kids, which gives more reasons to get into the spirit. But anyone who has kids, or works with them can most likely tell you that stress is almost doubled when kids are apart of your Christmas life. (More money spent, more baking, more work all around.) But I will give some credit here to kids. When you have them or work with them, they do help you get into the Christmas spirit easier through a sheer fact of their own excitement of it! Kids are not without stress, and while it's no where near your level, but to them, it's the entire world has been dumped upon them! Think back to how you thought when you were their age, getting ready for a test before Christmas break could have been the most terrifying and stressful thing you've have ever encountered in your short life!
So now that we've cleared that up just a bit, we need to come to a point of understanding that the spirit of Christmas isn't bound to your stress levels, or your circumstances. It's bound within you! It comes down to what you you choose to let take center stage during this time. So choose to let go of the stress that comes with Christmas and instead focus upon the simple nature of what Christmas really is.
I am going to try to leave a different song for you to seek out and listen to at the end of each post. A song a day to help you get closer into the mood. This week for day 90, Loreena McKennitt - The Bells of Christmas. Search it up and give it a listen.
So as I begin, I'm starting off with a simple one, let go! Too many times as we get older, we tend to focus upon the stress that comes with Christmas, and the chaotic lifestyle that wraps itself around this time. As we grow older, life does tend to hand us more stress in our daily lives, and with the coming of Christmas, this does increase. And sometimes I hear that its easier to let go of this stress when you have kids, which gives more reasons to get into the spirit. But anyone who has kids, or works with them can most likely tell you that stress is almost doubled when kids are apart of your Christmas life. (More money spent, more baking, more work all around.) But I will give some credit here to kids. When you have them or work with them, they do help you get into the Christmas spirit easier through a sheer fact of their own excitement of it! Kids are not without stress, and while it's no where near your level, but to them, it's the entire world has been dumped upon them! Think back to how you thought when you were their age, getting ready for a test before Christmas break could have been the most terrifying and stressful thing you've have ever encountered in your short life!
So now that we've cleared that up just a bit, we need to come to a point of understanding that the spirit of Christmas isn't bound to your stress levels, or your circumstances. It's bound within you! It comes down to what you you choose to let take center stage during this time. So choose to let go of the stress that comes with Christmas and instead focus upon the simple nature of what Christmas really is.
I am going to try to leave a different song for you to seek out and listen to at the end of each post. A song a day to help you get closer into the mood. This week for day 90, Loreena McKennitt - The Bells of Christmas. Search it up and give it a listen.
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