Christmexpectations

 I'm not sure which request set me over the edge this week.  Maybe it was the Sunday night email that we would be having ten days of Holiday Spirit days at school (this is Day 4, by the way), and we hardly had any of the clothing on the list.  Perhaps it was another email for another Christmas event, or maybe it was just the pile of gifts that apparently weren't going to wrap themselves.  Whatever the last straw may be, I've been wound up tighter than the ball of  yarn I cut into pieces to make 80 Christmas trees at next week's holiday party at school.  By Wednesday, if one more person asked me for one more thing, I was fairly certain I would lose my mind.

It seems like the Christmexpectations have  been piling up and are threatening to take over our entire lives.  Each and every request is, in and of itself, a good thing.  School events, family parties, cookie baking, decorating contests, white elephant gifts, church activities, and concerts, to name a few. But as they keep adding up, even the good events can seem like too much. 

And we are not anti-Christmas.  My gosh, our house is so lit up our neighbors have to put up special window coverings in December to avoid the glare. We love gifts and parties and crafts and special holiday shirts.  I love our giant Christmas tree more than you can imagine, and sending carefully planned Christmas cards is the highlight of my year.    

But my goodness, all the Christmexpectations can be exhausting!  And I can't imagine how stressful all these expectations are for single parents and working parents.  I'm at home all day and I can barely manage to keep up.  Perhaps our standards are getting just a bit too high.  

We are trying to balance the craziness with a healthy dose of Jesus each and every day.  Some of our favorites are all the Christmas reading plans on the You Version Bible App. The only key to managing the crazy is focusing on the Holy.  May this special season be a time of great joy and peace for each of you, and may you always remember the true reason for the Christmas season.  

Colossians 3:2
Set your minds on things above, 
not on earthly things.