Overwhelming Abundant Good Peaceful Contented Sweet - I could come up with a pageful of adjectives to express my prayers for this sacred season. Each year I feel a more intense pull to the holiness of this set-apart time -- that is, if we can permit it to be a "set-apart" time. What I mean is, a time to pull away, not into the swirl of busyness and stress. Oh thanks, Marie, how do we do that at Christmas? I think, for me, it's by concentrating on my inner life, by looking within. I may have more demands and pressures put on me than ever, but my mind is fixed on the words, "Peace I give you, not as the world gives..." and "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me..." (that includes being happy).

Christmas and Chanukah and all holidays ask a little more of us than everyday life. And they can be difficult to navigate through. If it's not stress, it's depression. That's why it's important to focus within.

We need to see ourselves as beautiful and cherished by God Almighty. We need to rest in that knowledge even while buzzing about doing our stuff. Money is always an issue, no matter how much we have or don't have. I go through some pretty lean sacred seasons and I handle the situation exactly as I handle all issues of my sacred life-- by proclaiming His Word into my spirit. I choose to "seek first the Kingdom of God," which means I live by faith, not by sight; which means I put on the "full armour," which means I take life to the full, Abundant, Good, Peaceful and Sweet. I suffer NO lack because I'm filled with His Spirit, all things working together for good, always prospering, always bearing fabulous fruit, always strengthened and chosen to prove Him and His glory.

Just like you!
Have a sweet Jesus Christmas and Chanukah -- know how loved you are!