Prepping for Christmas – Mentally & Spiritually

Southeast Texas Christmas Inspiration

“Prepping for Christmas, Mentally and Spiritually“

Contributed by: Pamela Sheffield, Spurger TX

Christmas has always been my favorite Holiday. Southeast Texas is a great place to be a Christian woman. We have so many great Southeast Texas churches, and there are so many opportunities to spend time with family and other Christians over the holiday season.

I enjoy the decorations, music, lights and special food, the Christmas tree and, of course, presents.

Christmas requires a lot of preparation. Creative adjustments must be made to to schedules and money must be budgeted to make it all happen.

Where do I get more time? How can I manage to juggle all the activities ( while remaining joyful)? What should Christmas cost? When considering the cost of Christmas I not only consider the monetary cost, but also the cost of time and emotional/spiritual cost.

SETX Church Guide Note: I’m sure many Southeast Texas Christians face the same kinds of challenges and concerns. While Christmas is a wonderful and special time for our Southeast Texas churches, many of our fellow church members are quietly stressed over Christmas bills, figuring out how they will get decorating and cooking done in time, and all of the issues that come with family visiting- or not visiting.

After many years of struggling through Christmas, trying to buy the “right”gift, have the house looking like a magazine cover and baking and decorating cookies, Christmas plays and cantatas …. ( and working) I was exhausted, grumpy and had definitely lost the Christmas spirit.

Oh my, I had become a Martha… Why wasn’t anyone helping me? Couldn’t they see all the work I was doing? Why are they being like Mary….just sitting there watching Christmas movies, listening to Christmas music and talking to their friends?

Later as I sat relaxing in my favorite recliner the Holy Spirit spoke to me about being busy, too busy to talk to the Lord about the things that were upsetting and worrying me, too busy to ask Him what would give Him glory in celebrating His birth.

It wasn’t that what I was doing was wrong, but these busy tasks were taking me away from my quiet time with God, real quality time with my family, and it was costing me peace: spiritual peace, family peace, and financial peace .

Once I rearranged my schedule to include time to spend listening and talking to the Lord, discussing Christmas with my family and cutting out some the activities that were not important (but costly in time, stress, or financially) I realized how much I enjoyed Christmas (again).

Remember the reason you celebrate the season and let the Holy Spirit guide you and your family in your Christmas celebration. Merry Christmas from our heart to yours!

SETX Church Guide Note: Christmas is a time when many Southeast Texas families stress and struggle. Like our guest columnist, it can be a perfect time to sit down by yourself or with your spouse (and family?) and talk about what Christmas is all about to you. Maybe that means a few less presents so that mom and dad don’t have to work so much overtime. Perhaps it means one or two less dishes on Christmas day so mom’s stress level lowers. You may find that the kids want to go caroling or to drive around and look at Christmas lights. One of your kids may have it on their hearts to help out with an Angel Tree kid or Operation Blue Santa. Your Southeast Texas Churches can help by offering Christian counseling, assisting you in finding a needy person or family to assist, or giving you a place to worship and talk to God about what your family’s Christmas should be like in the future.

Author Notes: Pamela Sheffield is a Southeast Texas mother and grandmother who helps create wonderful memories for her two grandsons.

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