The Christmas Season is a time for joy! Yet, this can be a most difficult time of the year for many. Stress, pressure, loneliness, expectations, depression, hurts and financial burdens rob many of the joy of the season.

With Christmas seeming to come earlier each year (ornaments on sale in July!) and the mad rush of traffic and the scramble to buy the ‘perfect’ gifts, the “Happy Holidays” often turn out to be anything other than joyful or happy!

It has been said that “we are in danger of losing Christmas.” This is even true for those who are faith-based who, in the rush of things, lose that “glad feeling of happiness and delight” that should be at the center of the holidays.

The challenge is that in order to handle the unique pressure and stresses that accompany this time of year, we need to maintain a ‘balanced life.”

Problems that occur in our desire to experience joy are when our “whole being” is out of balance.

Let’s take a quick look at some very practical steps that we can take towards putting the joy back into Christmas:

1) Prepare Your Physical Self for the Holidays

~ Eat wisely – importance of healthful, nourishing foods (although a very hard time to diet!)

~ Rest appropriately – set boundaries on shopping, visiting and decorating – give your body time to refresh itself!

~ Exercise – “not something you spend time doing, but rather something you invest time in”

~ Strive for ‘Stress-Free’ living – Give yourself permission to slow down and enjoy yourself; practice positive self-talk; avoid comparing yourself to others; see yourself as a valuable child of God; give yourself permission to take risks

2. Evaluate Your Soul (Your emotional/relational self)

~ Evaluate your expectations and give them up to God – “idealized holidays” can set us up for unfulfilled expectations (false TV and social media images); continually check out your expectations and let them go

~ Set priorities for the holidays – Ask yourself, “What is REALLY important?”; Learn to say “No”; Build your own holiday traditions (make then uniquely YOURS!)

~ Keep things in financial perspective – Develop a reasonable spending plan and stick to it; Communicate limitations to your children (align their expectations with reality); avoid the ease of buying on credit (which discourages creativity and planning and can lead to financial bondage)

~ Decide to resolve hurtful feelings – examine and resolve any lack of forgiveness towards others; forgive yourself (let go of unresolved guilt & shame); recognize and work on pain from the past (hurts and losses)

~ Experience the childlike joy of Christmas – be yourself; be spontaneous; rid yourself of perfectionism; develop the eyes, ears and mouth of a child – look at Christmas differently … listen with new ears … be silly … have fun!

3. Focus on the Miracle of Christmas

~ Don’t neglect your spiritual needs; plan to make the holidays a time of spiritual and emotional growth; real joy, especially as a faith-based person, comes from the realization of what Christmas is really all about and from knowing the one whose birth we celebrate, as Paul in scripture wrote so many years ago, “Thanks be to God for His indescribable gift!”

During this Holiday season I encourage you to:

~ Prepare yourself physically

~ Evaluate the expectations you have for the Season

~ Set realistic priorities

~ Evaluate your emotional and relational life

~ Set your inner child free to fully enjoy the season!

~ Focus on the Miracle of Christmas