A Message for the Hearts Longing for PEACE over PANIC this Holiday

I sent out this message in my email newsletter last week and received such an overwhelmingly positive response, I think it bears sharing with you all here, too.  May it be an encouragement to you in these final days before Christmas.

So, this just happened five minutes ago:

I looked at my calendar and realized Christmas is one week from tomorrow.

Immediately, panic took hold, and my chest tightened up, my breathing quickened, and I scrambled for a paper and pen to make my TO DO list. It was shaping up to be a good mile long.

But then I paused. And I took a step back. And I heard this little internal monologue pipe up:

“Wait a minute. I have a choice here. I can choose to feel panicked or I can choose something else. I can choose peace.”

And by golly, that sounded good. But is it practical? Hmmm…let’s ponder this for a moment.

What does choosing peace look like?

Honestly, friend? I think it might look like a lot of imperfection. Like a lot. Which for a perfectionist like myself, isn’t easy.

• It might look like no ornaments on our tree this Christmas and celebrating the beauty of the bare branches. Letting that be enough.
• It might look like scaling back on our commitments these next eight days, saying NO a lot, so we can create a little more margin for things like breathing, resting, and downtime with loved ones.
• It might look like giving gifts of our presence in lieu of presents. A date night coupon. A scavenger hunt. An offer to babysit. And being okay with that.

But if I really believe that Christmas is about the celebration of a tiny baby who entered our broken world in order to rescue us from the need for perfection, then I can wholeheartedly choose peace.

I’m sure the panic will rise up again. I’ve got years and years of perfectionistic tendencies to shake. The process is slow.

But here are three activities I’m working into my life right now to stave off the panic. May they help you out, too.

3 actions to take right now to promote peace this holiday:

• Christmas Music Playlist. I’m a Christmas music fiend. And filling our house with music that warms the heart with festive beats and joyous lyrics–well, it’s a kind of therapy for me. And I just can’t get enough. Here’s my Indie Christmas Playlist with some beautiful tracks I know you’ll enjoy.
• Post-It Pep Talks. I just grabbed a post-it pad and sharpie and wrote some peace-filled affirmations and then posted them all over our house. On the microwave. On the bathroom mirror. On the inside of our front door. They say things like, “Choose peace,” “Pause and soak up this beautiful moment,” “Deep breath. You’ve got this. And even if you don’t, who cares?” Speak the words to yourself that YOU need to hear. And they’ll certainly rub off on your family, houseguests…even your cat.
• Put a life-giving activity on the calendar. Now, you may look at your calendar and see no space for anything new. So, this one might require a family meeting to see what you can eliminate in order to create space. But it’ll be worth it. Because you can then choose to enjoy a life-giving activity together that will fill you up and power you through the days ahead. It might be a family movie night. It might be reading the Christmas story together around a fire, followed by s’mores roasting. It might be crafting for the sake of crafting (and not gifting). Choose something that refuels you and work it in. Even if for just 30 minutes. They may become the most precious 30 minutes of your entire holiday season. I believe that.

I know this was a different kind of email than I usually write–I mean, no pictures?–but it was on my heart, and I just followed my typing fingers’ lead. (Sometimes, the gut instinct knows best.)

Peace, peace, and more peace to you and yours.

Your imperfect perfectionist of a pal,

P.S. If you’ve got a hankering for more peace and less panic, you can read Thinking Outside the Gift Box right away in PDF form or in just a few days in paperback form with color pages.  Yay!

P.P.S. Did you enjoy this message?  Be sure to subscribe to receive inspiration in your inbox from yours truly!  Just sign up using the form below or by clicking HERE.