Christmas Reflections || The Holy Mess
Take some time to pause and reflect on the real meaning of the holiday season.
Day 5 - Christmas Reflections || The Holy Mess
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Day 5 – Christmas Messes
Verse: For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
(Isaiah 9:6)
A couple years ago, our family had what was absolutely our most messy Christmas ever.
In the 48 hours before Christmas Eve, almost the entire family caught a stomach bug. There are 7 people in our family, plus we had foster baby twins living with us at the time, so that is a whole lot of mess to clean up.
I LOVE holidays, and I really love Christmas. I was so disappointed I had to spend our holiday time cleaning up yucky messes that year. To make matters more complicated, my husband is the pastor of our church and he got better just in time to rush to the church and deliver the Christmas Eve sermon to close to 1,000 people.
That is a Christmas our family won’t forget!
There’s another Christmas that was messy, and that’s the first Christmas. Jesus was not born into pretty, pleasant conditions. He was born in a stable surrounded by animals to a young mom who was away from the support of her family. His first bed was a feeding trough.
Talk about messy.
This Christmas, worry less about your flub-ups, hassles, and drama. Be thankful you have a Savior who is willing to step right into the middle of your mess to save you for all eternity.
Prayer: Dear God, My Christmas holidays are messy sometimes. They are not always the picture-perfect holiday I have planned in my mind. Help me to remember the first Christmas. You came into a messy world in order to give me the ultimate Christmas gift – salvation for all eternity. Thank you. In Jesus' precious name I pray, Amen.
For further reflection about holiday messes, click here: If Your Holidays are Messy, You Aren’t Alone
For Discussion:
1. In what ways do you let the messy parts of life get in the way of remembering the meaning of Christmas?
2. Say a prayer thanking God for coming to you right in the middle of your mess. Share about it in the comments below.
We look forward to your comments and questions below!
If you want to share this Bible reading plan with friends and family, here is the link:
https://backtothebible.app/library/the-holy-mess/christmas-reflections
Verse: For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
(Isaiah 9:6)
A couple years ago, our family had what was absolutely our most messy Christmas ever.
In the 48 hours before Christmas Eve, almost the entire family caught a stomach bug. There are 7 people in our family, plus we had foster baby twins living with us at the time, so that is a whole lot of mess to clean up.
I LOVE holidays, and I really love Christmas. I was so disappointed I had to spend our holiday time cleaning up yucky messes that year. To make matters more complicated, my husband is the pastor of our church and he got better just in time to rush to the church and deliver the Christmas Eve sermon to close to 1,000 people.
That is a Christmas our family won’t forget!
There’s another Christmas that was messy, and that’s the first Christmas. Jesus was not born into pretty, pleasant conditions. He was born in a stable surrounded by animals to a young mom who was away from the support of her family. His first bed was a feeding trough.
Talk about messy.
This Christmas, worry less about your flub-ups, hassles, and drama. Be thankful you have a Savior who is willing to step right into the middle of your mess to save you for all eternity.
Prayer: Dear God, My Christmas holidays are messy sometimes. They are not always the picture-perfect holiday I have planned in my mind. Help me to remember the first Christmas. You came into a messy world in order to give me the ultimate Christmas gift – salvation for all eternity. Thank you. In Jesus' precious name I pray, Amen.
For further reflection about holiday messes, click here: If Your Holidays are Messy, You Aren’t Alone
For Discussion:
1. In what ways do you let the messy parts of life get in the way of remembering the meaning of Christmas?
2. Say a prayer thanking God for coming to you right in the middle of your mess. Share about it in the comments below.
We look forward to your comments and questions below!
If you want to share this Bible reading plan with friends and family, here is the link:
https://backtothebible.app/library/the-holy-mess/christmas-reflections
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I tend to be a perfectionist and want everything perfect or as close as it get to perfection. When I can’t do my very best, I feel like a failure. I tend to let that get in the way of just focusing on Jesus and why he came. Since I have become disabled, I have had no choice but to let many things be good enough. I am learning to embrace that so I can focus on Jesus. Sometimes it is still hard to do that, but I am trying, with the Lord’s help.
I love to be in control of all sorts of things, including Christmas, so when I don't feel in control, I'm tempted to focus on getting back in control, instead of focusing on Jesus. Finding joy in the mess, the sadness, the failures can be tough - but because of Jesus, there is always something to give thanks for.
I asked God to help me make good plans for Christmas, but to hold them in open hands. I thanked him that He is in control and asked Him to help me find real joy in Jesus this Christmas.
I asked God to help me make good plans for Christmas, but to hold them in open hands. I thanked him that He is in control and asked Him to help me find real joy in Jesus this Christmas.
I let messy parts of my life get in the way when I want things to be perfect whether Christmas, other Holidays, my birthday, weight loss, a project I'm working on, and work when I worked. This is Satan lying to us that it really matters. God is in Control of the situation and we need to look to Him to get past this messy part and He will forgive us if it's not perfect. I honestly don't think He cares whether it's perfect as long as we do the best we can and do what's in our heart. The only person that God created perfect is Jesus and we need to remember that when we feel like we've messed something up. God loves us no matter what.
I often get upset when things don’t go as planned. I want to spend more time with my adult children, but they have other plans. I pray that God gives me the strength to overlook “the mess” and be thankful for the true gift of Christmas, his Son.