Sparkle without stress
Sparkly Believe on We Heart It
Find the SPARKLE without the STRESS!
Christmas is not my favorite time of year. It stresses me out! Now that Halloween is over the Christmas music has begun (whose idea is that?), and whether you are ready or not your mind is going to start wandering to the biggest holiday of the year.
I used to love this holiday and I still love Christmas as a whole, but when I start to break it down into smaller parts I feel my heart start to race and little beads of sweat forming on my forehead. I wrote a whole blog post about the things that stress me out during the holidays and then I deleted it. As my friend, Holly, reminded me today - I am on a mission to find the sweet moments in life. As she put it, I will "find the SPARKLE without the stress!"
There is something we all dislike about the holidays. Feel pressure to eat the special cookies that everyone raves about even though you don't really like them? Want to hide in the bathroom when you know who shows up at the Christmas party and starts kissing everyone with that bright pink lipstick she wears? Do you look for an alternate entrance to Walmart so you won't have to walk by that guy ringing the bell for the Salvataion Army because you already gave at Target and HyVee? Constantly on the lookout for mistletoe because you don't want to get stuck kissing your cousin? Are you impatient when it comes to hanging delicate ornaments on the prickly pine needles of the Christmas tree? I don't care how cheerful you are I'm willing to bet there is something you hope to avoid every year at Christmas.
Now that the radio stations have started playing songs about reindeer with glowing noses, and the stores have already begun stocking the shelves with wreathes and tree skirts we will constantly be reminded of what lies ahead of us. Here are some of the things I am looking forward to this holiday season...
* people spending money on others * adopt a family programs * an extra day off work * using the fireplace * home baked goodies * the first snow fall * putting bows on presents to make them look pretty * french silk pie * pretending my mom's sweet potato's are still healthy enough to be called a vegetable (lots of sugar in them)* scarves * finally not looking like a fool when I walk around singing Christmas songs * kids standing in line to see Santa * putting the tree up * sharing a blanket * Miracle on 39th Street *
My list could go on and on with all the things I am looking forward to, and so I am choosing to focus on the many happy things rather than the few stressful things. I was actually getting a little jittery stressing myself out about the upcoming holiday season, but when I started creating a list of all the great moments that are still to come I realized that those less than great moments are just that...moments. Moments that are surrounded by many more great things.
I love that tagline "Find the sparkle without the stress". That has become my motto too for this holiday season! It's so much more enjoyable to focus on the good things than the stressful things!
ReplyDeleteWhen I was much much younger I worked downtown at AT&T and would walk (no wonder I my shape was so much better) to the downtown section everyday at lunch and loved Macy's, Jones', Hartzfelds' and Emery Byrd Thayers' windows and decorations. I loved the crowds and the Christmas spirit everywhere. As the years passed I have become a grinch and find it harder to focus on the Sparkle. Thank Goodness, however, my church and my Sunday School kids (grandkids included) bring my focus back to the wonderful birth of Jesus Christ and make me able to focus on the miracles that matter. Thank You Misty for mentioning many of those miracles in your blog. When I look out of myself and at the things that matter then I do sparkle with much less stress!
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