Christmas Preparation – Episode 511

Last-minute Christmas preparation consists of more than hosting a gathering, buying presents, or decorating. It consists of getting your heart in the right place to enjoy the best Christmas ever!

I have created many podcasts in the history of Vintage Homeschool Moms that deal with meal prep and party prep, and so I decided that I was going to include those links in the show notes so that if that is what you need, some last-minute, ideas on how to prepare for a meal or you know whatever that is, you can quickly take a peek at those show, notes or listen to the episode.

Christmas Preparation Podcasts:

• Best Christmas Ever
  
• Christmas Memories
  
• Last Minute Christmas Prep
  
• Christmas Countdown
  
• Gifts Under Ten Dollars
  
• Top Ten Chrismas Movies
  
• Christmas Final Touches
  

Today, I’d like to discuss getting our minds and our hearts ready for Christmas, and as a bonus, we will gain peace, love, and joy! I realized as I was preparing for my thirty-one guests, I became anxious and worried that I was going to forget something. I also realized that I was super busy but not accomplishing much! I have hosted Christmas celebrations for over twenty years. You would think I’d have it down by this time.

But as I was preparing my home, I realized that my heart wasn’t in the right place. I wasn’t stopping to smell the pine of the fresh Christmas tree as I have in years past or enjoy the cinnamon-scented pine cones. I purchased a tree angel for the kids to find each morning (which my daughter is doing with the children), it catches them being good. Our family celebrates the days counting down to Christmas with an Advent wreath and candles, and we pray each special scripture verse each evening.

Yet, I still felt something was lacking. I needed a dose of joy and an attitude check!

I was missing the real reason for the season, which is the celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ, who humbled himself to come into this world as a baby. I wasn’t making the Lord my focus, and I realized this after a recent occurrence. It made me seek more, a deeper connection and happiness that I was missing.

I know many of you have little ones or school-age children, and the thought of adding one more thing to your lives may be overwhelming, but I am going to break this down and make it very simple. Basically, our lives are prayer. If you’re not a Christian, this may be a weird idea, but it’s really not. It is simple.

Each day, you can prepare your heart for receiving the fullness of faith by just saying, Lord, I dedicate my day to you. That’s it! It’s that simple, and I love the Jesus prayer, and that is one word: Jesus. You can add, “Jesus, I trust in you.” or “Jesus, I love you.” Or anything else that comes to mind.

I know when I start my day in this way everything goes more smoothly. One thing I realized early on as a homeschool mom was that I couldn’t do it on my own strength. So I prayed daily and often. Things like Lord help me. Or Lord, you gave me these blessings so please help me to deal with them!

How can we get that joy back into our lives? It isn’t by having more time, although my prayer, “Lord, increase my time,” is something that I do pray. It is by focusing on the things that really matter. Sure, we still need to keep up the house, clean, and cook; if we are schooling, we teach! But having joy is a decision, a state of mind.

1. Joy is a state of mind. It is a decision. I choose to be joyful.
   
2. Prayer is the focal point of my day. I dedicate my day to the Lord.
   
3. Preparation means making time for the things that are important.
   

Doing these things helps me to keep calmer, and if I have peace in my heart, I can have joy and then hope that everything is going to fall into place. Even if something burns, guests show up late, or we have to deal with some other type of mini-crisis, the goal is to have peace during the day. Preparing my heart and attitude for Christmas also means realizing my faith, the joy that Christmas brings, and the joy of being together with family is enough.

What makes you happiest? Probably the same thing that makes me happy, and that is having everyone home and celebrating together. Whether you host an event or visit others, the feeling is the same.

If your children are little and everyone is still home, please enjoy these days. I know everyone says it goes so fast, but truthfully they do. Your infant turns eighteen before you know it! I am blessed to have three of my five children live in the same town; one lives 2 1/2 hours away, and one lives a very long airplane ride away. But the joy in my heart of knowing that we are connected as a family is phenomenal. The two children who live out of town also celebrate Advent, and on the first Sunday, we did a face-time call so they could light their wreaths and follow along in their books as we prayed all together.

So I pray That you have a wonderful Christmas; remember Christmas joy can be felt every day. The Miracle of Christmas lasts more than one day, and preparing our hearts to celebrate is one of the best things we can do to be ready.

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