Think it’s too soon to start thinking about Christmas?  No way!  Check out this site that helps you stay ahead of the holiday stress.  Visit on the 25th of every month and make your list, and check it…well, you know!

http://organizedchristmas.com/rudolph-club

While you’re there, check out the neat resources for Christmas planning, $$$ saving, and more!

Went to lunch at Dewey’s Pizza in Kirkwood, and caught Happy XMas/War is Over on the sound system.  Great reminder that it’s not too early to start blogging again here at GreatChristmasBook.com!  Stay tuned!

During the 2008 holiday season, Americans sought ways to simplify-that is, spend less money.  As we begin a New Year, our nation’s economic uncertainty continues.  Thousands of American families are not only tightening their belts but learning new spending and saving strategies.  Families are no longer able or willing to rely on credit, so they are reprioritizing expenses and rediscovering the charms of home.

The eXtension Foundation, an educational partnership of 74 universities in the United States, offers advice for families that is both practical and personal.  “Studies have found that many families do not adjust their lifestyle for about six months after their income is reduced,” reports eXtension.  “That six months of ignoring the situation can bring disaster. When you take charge of your financial situation immediately, you are making a positive contribution to your family’s well-being now and in the future.”  Some suggestions:

•  Make a list of the family’s most important expenses while you have less income. (This means things you must have or do.)
• Make a family spending plan to determine where your money will go. Develop a family budget you can use to cope with your income situation.
• Decide where you will spend your money. Stick to your spending plan. With less income, each spending decision is critical.

Cutting back on spending doesn’t mean cutting back on the fun.  In fact, having less money to spend on entertainment creates more opportunities for quality time with those you love.  During the holidays, many moms were secretly grateful for the excuse to simplify because it made family time more meaningful.  Here are eXtention’s ideas to carry that spirit into the New Year:

Take advantage of local public resources:

• Spend time together at the park or local community festival.
• Go for hikes or bike rides.
• Go for a family picnic.
• Go swimming at the local pool, lake, ocean, or springs.
• Take advantage of free programs offered by the library, museums, and community bands or orchestras, or other free community events.
• Check out books, music, and videos for free from the library.

Find cheaper entertainment at home:

• Have a family game night.
• Rent or borrow movies, pop some popcorn, and have a family movie night at home.
• Bake or cook together as a family.
• Read stories to one another.
• Go on evening walks together.

Help your children learn new skills and ideas:

• Teach children how to garden.
• Teach children craft skills you enjoy and spend time doing these together.
• Teach children about issues that are important, such as politics, news, the environment, or others. Are there opportunities in the community to volunteer as a family for a cause you all believe in?

(Visit http://www.extension.org/ online for more resources and ideas on coping in tough economic times.)

Above all, it’s important to look for the possibilities in the situation and not focus solely on what we’re doing without.  The way parents respond to economic challenges sets an important example for children that will help them in the future.   Make the best of the situation and be grateful for the people and the material goods in your life!

Today in Prepare Your Heart for a Great Christmas we read: 

Finally, beloved, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is pleasing, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, and if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. Philippians 4:8

Think about good things. Too often, our thoughts drift to recounting our transgressions or replaying scenes of conflict, searching for the perfect retort—the “I wish I would have said …” comment that influence our opponents.

Or we live waiting for the proverbial “other shoe” to drop. Recently, I remarked to an acquaintance about the weather on a particularly beautiful day. He responded, “Yeah, if only it’d stay this way.”  As soon as good things happen, we brace ourselves for the next bad thing to come along.

St. Paul proposes a different mindset. Instead of focusing on what isn’t working, waiting for the next bad thing to happen, he suggests we turn our attention to what is working. What is working is evidence of the kingdom in our midst. Paul describes a vision of heaven, and it’s exciting to realize there’s proof positive of it in our world.

For today, pay attention to your thoughts. When they slip to the negative, or you find yourself replaying a difficult scene in your mind, stop. Turn your attention to something good or worthwhile in the situation, and focus on that. Be sure to pray for those you’re in conflict with; it is remarkable how God’s grace will release the tension when you do. 

Every year, I wait for the Christmas song that I hear as if for the first time.  It was officially past Christmas day when I heard this year’s. 

At church I picked up the hymnal and randomly opened to It Came Upon a Midnight Clear.  Reading the full text of the song, I realized I’d never heard all four verses:

It came upon the midnight clear,
That glorious song of old,
From angels bending near the earth,
To touch their harps of gold:
“Peace on the earth, goodwill to men
From heavens all gracious King!”
The world in solemn stillness lay
To hear the angels sing.

Still through the cloven skies they come,
With peaceful wings unfurled;
And still their heavenly music floats
O’er all the weary world:
Above its sad and lowly plains
They bend on hovering wing,
And ever o’er its Babel sounds
The blessed angels sing.

O ye beneath life’s crushing load,
Whose forms are bending low,
Who toil along the climbing way
With painful steps and slow;
Look now, for glad and golden hours
Come swiftly on the wing;
Oh rest beside the weary road
And hear the angels sing.

For lo! the days are hastening on,
By prophets seen of old,
When with the ever-circling years
Shall come the time foretold,
When the new heaven and earth shall own
The Prince of Peace, their King,
And the whole world send back the song
Which now the angels sing.

The song spoke to me on many levels, and the one most profoundly was the last verse’s vision of the days to come when a new earth and heaven will proclaim the song the angels sing to us this day. 

A little web research revealed that It Came Upon a Midnight Clear was written by Edmund Hamilton Sears in 1849. The carol started life as a poem written by its author who was a minister living in Massachusetts at the time. The music for It Came Upon A Midnight Clear was composed by American musician Richard Storrs Willis in 1859 who was inspired by the words of the poem.
 

Ladies!

Get ready, get set and go for a great 2009 with the Joy of Goals workshop!  I attended two years ago and got so much out of it.  You can, too!

Joy of Goals is a system designed to help you Celebrate, Dream, Design, Connect and Visualize your goals. The system is presented in a workshop format and is available to individuals, small business owners and large corporations to help their employees set and achieve their goals. 

Hi, Friends!

I took the last few days off from blogging to devote time to my family and our Christmas celebration.  I have so much to be thankful for.  We had a wonderful Christmas day with our little family in the morning and then my extended family in the afternoon and evening.  Today and tomorrow will include time with Steve’s family.

I was delighted to hear Christmas tunes continuing on the radio!  In years past, the songs have stopped on the 26th.  Prepare Your Heart for a Great Christmas doesn’t stop on the 25th, either.  There are wonderful reflections to continue throughout the holidays and some great visioning and planning suggestions to get you started on a great 2009.

Stay tuned as I add to my Hidden Christmas Tracks list and continue to podcast.  To listen to today’s or past podcasts, scroll down the left side of the website to find a green box, click “play” and there you are!  Click “posts” to see a list of past podcasts.

Thanks and Happy Christmas-ing!

Prepare Your Heart for a Great Christmas helps remind us to be grateful everyday for the beauty around us.  Children know how to do this instinctively!
Last Friday night we took a break from holiday preparations and cuddled on the couch with our youngest daughter.  With her head on my lap and her feet on her dad’s, she was the picture of contentment. 
As she gazed at our Christmas tree, she sighed, “Sometimes, I just want to hug the tree.  It is so beautiful!” 
The warmth and love I felt in that moment has carried me for several days now.  I am so grateful for daughters and the delightful Christmas Moments we’ve shared this season.

May your days be merry and bright, and may all your Christmases be…light! 

Kari Joys of Journey to Light-Heartedness has Seven Tips for Managing Holiday Stress:

Holidays can be very stressful! There are so many things to get done, so much pressure and so many expectations. Often we forget to take care of ourselves in the process and that’s when the stress becomes overwhelming.
Here are some tips to keep you emotionally balanced during the holidays:
1. Breathe deeply throughout the day. Breathing helps you stay in the moment and release any stress that’s accumulated.
2. Stay in touch with what you are feeling and cry when you need to cry. Remember that no one is to blame for your feelings; crying just helps you release anything that is painful.
3. Use positive self-talk to counteract anxiety and stress, for example, you could say, “This doesn’t have to be perfect — it’s the love that matters!”
4. Ask a friend to share a listening half hour with you. One of you listens while the other talks for 15 minutes each; and the listener says only “Thank-you for sharing.” By doing this, you will both feel more loved and supported. (Remember not to give unasked-for advice.)
5. Take time to go for a walk in nature. While you’re walking, say positive affirmations to yourself or focus on what you are thankful for in your life.
6. Make a list of what needs to be done and cross things off your list when they’re completed. Congratulate yourself for everything that gets done, even if it doesn’t go the way you planned!
7. Keep your sense of humor. When things don’t work out perfectly, look at the funny side of it all! Ask yourself, in ten years when you look back, what will you be laughing about?

In Prepare Your Heart for a Great Christmas we read:

What are the miracles you’ve experienced in your life?  How did they change you?  Is your heart open for a miracle this season?

My husband and I are reviewing the miracles in our life together lately, and just last night committed to ramping up our gratitude practice by sharing our individual lists every evening.  We’re facing a lot of unknowns this season, and by expressing gratitude for the blessings we have received we’ll be more open to the miracles that are undoubtedly on the way.  You see, we’ve experienced miracles before, so we trust that they’ll continue our way.  We don’t know how it will all work out, but we know it will.  That, for now, is enough.