Fighting My Inner Scrooge

How are you? 

Has Christmas' approach found you stressed out and frazzled and maybe a teensy bit discouraged? Are you struggling to find joy and peace and the holly jolly, HoHoHo-ness of the season? ASK ME HOW I KNOW. 

Sometimes the end of the year drains me, too. I'm running around trying to find last minute gifts and shipping delays are giving me tension headaches and so help me- IF I FORGET TO MOVE THAT ELF ONE MORE TIME...

It's easy for me to slip into the Spiritual Doldrums when things get overwhelming. I've got an overflowing plate of responsibilities. I wake up with my mind automatically ticking around items on my To Do List. Taking 20 minutes to sit at His feet, to read His Word and to ask Him to order my day feels impossible. 

But I do it anyway. 

I may grumble to myself and rub my burning eyes as I pour my coffee, but as I grab a blanket and a pen and open my Bible- His peace restores me. I read through scripture and it's like a calm settles in my spirit. (I can't say it lasts forever- especially when the kids wake up and find that the elf hasn't moved. Again.) But even for a brief window of my day- things are right. And I can hold onto that as I refresh my email tracking packages or when I'm calculating exactly how many more Math lessons we need to get through before Christmas or when the tears are shed over sharing the last homemade sugar cookie. 

I read Romans 6 this morning. IT WAS THE MOST ENCOURAGING CHAPTER. If you're fighting the urge to dramatically throw your cup of eggnog against the wall in a fit of Seasonal Affective Angst- listen to Paul's words. I'm sure they'll be as uplifting to you as they were to me. 

Merry Christmas, y'all!

And thanks for stopping by~ Katie. 

Hymn To A Worthy Woman: Proverbs 31

Last month, I blogged along with y'all as we studied one chapter of Proverbs each day for the month. It was such a good exercise for me to sit down and write each day about what God was using His Word to teach me. 

But there are only 30 days in November. That leaves us one chapter short of finishing Proverbs. Well, that ain't gonna happen. Proverbs 31 is SOLID GOLD so let's do this. 

"Give her the product of her hands, 

And let her works praise her in the gates."

Proverbs 31:31

Ok, so BUT FOR REAL- this last verse of the last chapter of Proverbs both excites and petrifies me because y'all- it is 100% fact. In my life, the things I focus on, the time and effort I put into things, the areas I give highest priority are going to be my fruit bearers. For better or worse, for elation or embarrassment, whatever I have chosen to devote my time and energy and entertainment to- PEOPLE ARE GOING TO SEE IT AND KNOW WHAT IS UP IN MY LIFE. 

If I've let my kids slack off in the Discipline Department, I'm going to have some wild oats to harvest in the grocery store or at church or when I'm trying to stand in line at the post office. Bleurg. My works will be "praising me in the gates" while I shop IN THE MALL, WITH MY KIDS, LESS THAN THREE WEEKS UNTIL CHRISTMAS if I haven't been striving to refine my heart and focus on humility or having more self control. My neck vein will start bulging, I'll get that classic TMJ jaw-clench going and before I know it, I'll have a tension headache and will have unknowingly inhaled an entire Great American Cookie Company shelf in an attempt to self medicate. Not good, bless my heart. 

But on the other hand, if I HAVE been working to point our hearts toward Him- you'll be able to see that, too. You'll see my kids reaching out, talking with some of our elderly church members and bringing them notes and cards they've drawn. You'll watch them play nicely with their friends and siblings while maybe only one tear is shed instead of seventeen. You'll see me roll with the punches when my To Do list is taller than I am and every check out line is stretching to the back of the store. I MAY EVEN HAVE A SMILE ON MY FACE. It will be shocking. 

Our hearts will put out what we put into them. This verse encourages me to fuel it with Him. 

Have a Christ-filled day, y'all! And thanks for stopping by for one last chapter~ Katie.