Making Holidays Less Stressful, and More Restful!

Every holiday season, about this time of year, we start seeing posts all over social media about how busy it is, and how unprepared we all are. Many times, we post these ourselves, in the moment we are feeling overwhelmed. In fact, I'm already seeing many posts like that, so I thought it would be great to discuss a few things we can do to take those last minute stressors out of our holiday schedules.

First off, let's list some of those last minute stressors we might experience this coming week:

• Cleaning House 
• Preparing Meals
• Finding Recipes 
• Making Shopping Lists
• Shopping
• Decorating 
• Auto Service 
• Hosting Family
• Traveling
• Christmas Shopping
• Black Friday

ENOUGH ALREADY...I'm worn out just thinking about it all.

So, I have a few choices I can make.

1. I can quit thinking about it so that I can "rest" while having a lazy Saturday waiting for my Oklahoma State Cowboys to play tonight.
2. I can make a list of stuff for my wife to do to prepare us for the upcoming week.
3. Or, I can take charge of my own actions by:
• Spending a few minutes planning all that needs to be done
• Actually doing those things that can/should be done
• Scheduling time to do the things I can't do this weekend, or the things I don't want to do

So, what is my decision, you ask?  Well, "resting" today, is not the wisest choice for me, because I will feel bad while resting, because I'm not preparing for the coming week. Therefore it would be a wasted "rest' day because I would end up feeling worse that I didn't do something. As far as ethe second option goes, anybody who's married knows it's not a good idea to make a list for your spouse of all the things that you should be doing, so here's my plan to make Thanksgiving week a little less stressful and little more restful. 

My wife and I have spent a little time this morning, and the last week or so, planning out what we are preparing for the different Thanksgiving celebrations we are part of; Her family's holiday meal; My family's holiday meal; The holiday meal we are hosting at our house for students from the university we both work at. As well as our "To-Do Lists" for each of those celebrations.

• We know what recipes we're using
• We have a few shopping lists
• I've done all the grocery shopping this morning
• We're going to do the rest of the shopping before lunch today
• We know what dishes we're using to prepare the different foods
• This way we don't have to worry about whether we need to buy foil pans, or anything else to prepare our food in
• We know when we are traveling, how we are traveling and what we have to do to prepare the car for travel
• I will take care of getting the car serviced on Monday or Tuesday, as well as filling it up with gas so that we can wake up on Wednesday morning, pack the car and hit the road
• We cleaned the house last week
• We only have to spot clean this coming week
• I pulled/sorted all the Christmas decorations, tested them, and prepared them for installation
• I know which lights go where, that they work, and where the replacement bulbs and fuses are for all of them in case something goes wrong during installation
• I will install those decorations this week if the rain/ice/snow stops, or stays away and if not, I'll install them on Black Friday, reducing my stress by staying out of stores and out of traffic.
• We don't shop on Black Friday, unless it's online, or in the evening after everyone else is worn out and gone home
• We buy very few gifts for people, not because we don't love them, but because we don't want to value people by what we give them, but instead by how we treat them and love them throughout the year...plus, we just don't have the extra money!
• We also buy very few gifts for each other.  If we need something throughout the year, we usually find a way to buy it.  Why wait until Christ's birthday to buy each other gifts?

These are just a few of the things we do in order to make our holidays less stressful and more restful.  How do you prepare for the holidays, and how will you reflect and rest during this time? 

Stillness...

The last three months or so have been a blur for me! Not in a bad way either. It's probably been one of the most enjoyable times in my life. I have been the Small Groups Coordinator at Grace Pointe Church for almost a year now, and about four months ago, I also took over responsibility for our Growth Track series. You can read more about that in a future post.

Although the last four to six weeks have been the most fulfilling time in my life, I've also noticed God speaking to me about balance. You see, I'm a Lion, or some of you may know me as a D through the D.I.S.C. assessment. And although my primary personality flip-flops between Lion and Otter (aka, I in D.I.S.C), I can very quickly become task-oriented, and let my "big dreams" get me to a point of being overwhelmed, because I don't feel like I can sort it all out and get it all done in my timing. I know...right about now you're saying, that's where God comes in, silly boy! I agree...remember a few sentences back I said I noted God speaking to me about balance? Well, He's been speaking to me about a lot more than just balance, of course, however part of balance for me needs to be learning to quiet my mind and my ambitions and my dreams in order just to be.

I need to make sure I'm being and becoming more Christ-like, and not let my "big dreams" become my idol. I've been there, done that, and my excuse usually was that "I'm doing this for God, of course, I'm close to Him...of course, my relationship is where it needs to be, how could it not be if I'm willing to do all of this for Him." You get my drift. I know some of you have been in that same place. We seem to get there unknowingly sometimes, and with very good intentions, but that is not where God wants me, or you, or any of us. He just wants us to seek Him, period! Wholeheartedly, sincerely, seek Him!

Before you get all self-righteous on me, I know there is more to our walk than just seeking Him, but I'm believing more and more that ultimately, my part in the bigger story of God can only be exactly what He wants it to be, if I'm close to Him. I can do great things in His name, and still not know Him, or be known my Him (Mt 7:21-23).

So, let me get back on track, this is about Stillness...Clarity...Tuning In...Quieting the Voices...Calming the Storm...ok, you get it! So, with all the great things that are happening in my life, as fulfilled as I am, becoming closer to Christ than I think I ever have been, I also know that I'm prone to get off track with my "doing". The last few days specifically, I felt like God's been wanting me to learn to be still, both physically and mentally. I've been thinking about ways to learn how to be still, and what the best approach might be for me, when this morning, God supplied a way! When I awoke to my inbox this morning, I had an e-mail from twitter highlighting some of the trending posts from people I follow. One of the people I follow, and have notifications turned on for (meaning, I want to see every update he gives), is Michael Hyatt. This was his post from Twitter:

You and I weren't made for constant, never-ending noise. We need silence and stillness. http://t.co/BXxzXXxcU4

— Michael Hyatt (@MichaelHyatt) October 6, 2013

As soon as I read the post, I knew I had found the way to start pursuing stillness. I knew this was a God-moment. I read his blog post (which happened to be over a year old, although newly posted on Twitter, thankfully). I immediately put into practice what he suggested. I set my phone alarm for 15 minutes, opened the blinds wide so that I could watch the sun rise through the trees across the street, and observed...

for about 20 seconds! Then one of my dogs wanted in my lap so I had to reposition. He then didn't want to jump into my lap, so I spent another 20 seconds trying to convince him to jump, then I spent another 20 seconds adjusting everything, including my second dog, that was already laying at my feet. I then picked up my coffee cup, and proceeded to stare out the window at the sunshine coming through the trees, the squirrels running over the branches, the leaves falling softly to the ground. I quieted my thoughts, stilled my body! Hang on, I wasn't comfy, why was my back hurting, I put a pillow behind me, got comfy again, settled in, quieted my thoughts, stilled my body...resumed practice of stillness.

Ok, enough play-by-play. You get the picture of how difficult it was for me to do this. It seemed like every minute or two, I would have a new thought, and start down that path for what seemed like 20 to 30 seconds before I realized I was doing it. Once I realized it I refocused and resumed my stillness. Although it was a battle, I can honestly tell you that it was getting a little easier by the time the alarm chirped that my time was over. Even this morning, the little quietness and stillness that I did have recharged me and helped me refocus. It's going to be a hard practice to institute, but I see the value in it. There are going to be distractions and interruptions, but I know God is also going to bless that time! What's got you so busy that you can't quiet your mind? What are you doing to change that? What's something that brings you peace, in the midst of a chaotic schedule?