I have a lot to do in the next few days.
How about you??
I love entertaining and hosting Christmas gatherings in our home each year. It’s one of my favorite things, and I look forward to it every Christmas.
But, as I make my lists and check them twice, I can get a little overwhelmed. I’m doing all I can to not do that this year.
Friend, don’t you get overwhelmed with what you have to do either.
That’s not what Christmas is about. Right??
Our first Christmas celebration in our home is next Tuesday evening.
The second is here Wednesday evening, Christmas Eve.
The third is here Thursday, Christmas Day.
My birthday is Friday.
And the final Christmas celebration we have is next Saturday, but not at our home.
I’ve made my grocery list(s), and they are long. I still need to make time to get what’s on the list(s).
And for good measure, just to make everything a little more interesting, my last day at my current job is tomorrow, and I begin the new one on Friday.
I am not allowing myself to get overwhelmed.
What do you do when you begin to feel overwhelmed?
When your list(s) are long and your time is short? When you feel you should be cleaning and baking and cooking and writing, but you change schedules in the middle of it all and you don’t know what you should do first? (Okay, maybe I’m the only crazy lady doing that this season.)
Seriously though, what do you do?
I pray. And I sit with my Bible on my lap.
I take my concerns, my stresses, my lists, my schedule, my everything to the Lord in prayer.
The world will tell me I don’t have time to sit, to read God’s Word, to pray. I’ve got too much to do!
Friend, nothing could be farther from the truth. Spending time in prayer is the most important thing we can do. Especially when we’ve got too much to do.
My son began to get overwhelmed earlier this week with finals, his work schedule, show choir, everything in his 17-year old life. In the middle of it all, we stopped what we were doing, and I prayed with him.
In a matter of minutes, the panicked feelings left, hope was restored, and life got back on track. I pray taking everything to the Lord in prayer becomes a habit for him in the days and years to come.
Friend, if you’re feeling overwhelmed, take your concerns to the Lord quickly. Don’t wait one more minute. He’s waiting for you to turn to Him. He’ll give you a calm and a peace and will restore your hope.
And life will get back on track.
May we live life non-overwhelmed these next few days. May we find joy in everything, and may we continue to experience the beauty of this blessed season.
Bless you, friend!
Julie
It’s a blessing to link this post with friends Meredith for Woman2Woman and Holley for Coffee For Your Heart.
Happy upcoming birthday! Mine’s on the 30th. I’ll be 29, an age at which I’ve been oddly stuck for a few years…
Life here goes on pretty much consistently through the holidays. No parties, no gatherings. My wife may get an invitation, but I’m not well enough.
Having 26 dogs…22 who sleep in the house…makes having guests a trifle difficult. Shooing a Pit Bull off the sofa so one can sit down is something that leaves most people a bit unsure.
Shooing FIVE of them off a sofa…most guests will just sit on the floor instead.
And then there’s Rufus, the Jack Russell who has an hors d’ouevers “collection method” – he nips the ankle, and when the target screams and drops the food…voila! Rufus finds success.
Happy early birthday too! Your home sounds active. Praying you have a blessed Christmas and birthday.
Well Julie, I read your post last night and thought, “Yep, my list is similar.” How did I respond? I did nothing! I could not even bring myself to respond, because it was another “something” to do. But, after a good nights rest and morning Bible/prayer time, feeling more centered. Grounded. Focused. Now, I want to respond.
So…Husbands birthday is today and we will have his parents over tomorrow night to celebrate. My parents come for 9 days visit Sat. My hubby and I have a party to attend that evening. Our youth group Christmas party is Sun after church and I am one of the leaders. Kids semi-annual dental appt. is Mon. Christmas Eve is celebration with husbands family at in-laws. Christmas Day we host my family. Dec. 28 is daughters birthday. Next day she has annual physical for school sports. We have a wedding to attend Jan. 3.
2 ways I generally respond when feeling overwhelmed:
1. I plan a “go absolutely no where day”. That was yesterday. I went for a 5 mile run, made Christmas gifts while watching a couple of Hallmark Christmas movies, worked on Christmas cards, planned the meals and grocery list for next many days. This “down time” (no people or socialization) fills me back up.
2. I mentally say, one day/thing at a time. Today I plan on _____. (Which will be the major grocery shopping trip I keep putting off.) And my to do list keeps getting cut. What is necessary is what will get done. The bathrooms will get cleaned but I may not make a single Christmas cookie. And that is ok! (What, with 2 birthdays, we are not running short on sweets!)
Thank you for the reality connection that we are not alone in feeling like this. Others are too. And that if we turn to Christ, he is with us in it all as well.
Kim, I’m glad we’re in this together. Great ideas on how to respond when feeling overwhelmed. So helpful and hopeful! I appreciate you sharing some of your life here. Hope your husband had a happy birthday, and that the days ahead are filled with much joy and peace! I’ll be praying for us all. Merry Christmas!
I take a nap. 🙂 Ok, seriously if I can take nap, really I will. I’m also learning what good deep breaths look like because anxiety is something I’ve dealt a lot with after recent traumas. I literally have to find a room alone (even a bathroom) at times to breathe so that I can pray & refocus.
I love that you stopped & prayed with your son. Those moments are such a treasure. May they speak loudly in his heart & mind about the God we serve & the kind of mother he’s blessed to have.
I so get you with the overwhelming plans and activities. I’m not in a really busy season right now but I lived there for the last couple of decades. Our last season was so over the top busy and intense that I don’t know that I could ever do it again at this point.
But hey, if you’d like to have me over for dinner I’d be all up for that! Sure, we could do it here too but I’m a pretty laid back hostess. You might get fixins for tacos & water. 😉 And coffee. Always coffee.
Yes, Jolene! Always coffee! That’s a staple in this house. Glad we have that in common, friend. I love your ideas here. Breathe. Yes, breathe. I need to do that better. I appreciate the joy and hope you share. You always seem to bless me with your words. I appreciate you, friend! Merry Christmas!
Oh yes prayer is the most important! I get way more stressed out than I should, but this year I had to drop things.
Happy birthday! 🙂
Sometimes the best thing next to prayer is to drop things. Good for you, Sarah. Thanks for helping me realize it’s okay to do that. Blessings!