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30
Nov

The December Paradox: 3 Ways to Keep December Joy

It’s December, the “best time of the year”.  It’s the time of our Savior’s birth.  But it’s also a time of concerts, presents, parties and travel.  It’s a time laden with meaning and a chance for renewed perspective, but a time that can be exhausting both physically and emotionally.

A musician friend once said to me, “We don’t do holiday parties.  December is a blizzard of music opportunities and our biggest time of year.  We end it exhausted.”

And another friend said, “We are out four nights during the week, and twice on the weekend in December.  It’s a riot of fun, so January looks pretty stark in comparison.”

A mom added, “With all the production I have to do for Christmas, in addition to my day job, I am depleted by year-end.”

How’s your month shaping up?

Celebration activities can be joyfully done, and the magazines are full of ways to streamline.  But how do you prioritize the spiritual into the season?  Here’s three ways to consider.

  1. Choose just one Christmas devotional book or focus.  So many have offered a take on the season.  Choosing just one to follow provides sanity, focus and a clear track to spiritual engagement, thought and meaningful prayer.
  2. Schedule ten minutes a day to pray, review the devotional book and meditate. That’s right—just ten minutes, consistently done, pays off as an investment.
  3. Take a day off from work early in the month. Spend half the day finalizing gifts—and then spend a time reading the Christmas story through from start to finish.  Taking a day before the end of year two-week big vacation can provide joy in the December journey.

It’s Christmas, and no matter how many you’ve been blessed with, it’s a season like no other. Take a minute now to plan for a month of meaning.

 

Jan Shober is a media analyst, blogger and Vice-president for Strategy for Finney Media, specializing in helping you create experiences that cause your audience to come back for more.

Jan began her media journey as a ten-year old with a neighborhood newspaper—and continued shadowing her love of words to work in radio. She spent time in South America working in international media and about twenty years with Focus on the Family first in creative for audio then in distributing media.

Her big reason for her work?  Her life mission to help more people grow in Jesus. See more about Jan’s journey at: http://finneymedia.com/about/our-team/ or on Instagram at nowcelebratetoday

 

 

 

 

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