Two for Tuesday – Christmas Blessings

I don’t know about you but there have been so many years I begin to feel stressed, anxious and sometimes even a little depressed when the holidays roll around.  Often I begin to get so caught up in the hustle and bustle of finding the perfect gift I forget I have already received it.  Assuming I am not alone in this, I thought today I would let you know about two ways you might take your holidays to the next level and help yourself and your family focus on the true blessing of Christmas.  

My friend Kim at Hunt &Host {her blog is a gift in itself} has invited everyone to join in an artistic advent.  She has scheduled the reading (which began today but I still think there is time to order the book and get started) centered around Ann Voskamp’s book The Greatest Gift.  What could be more fun than reading about the gift of Jesus and participating in a fun craft each week?  Be sure to visit Kim’s post here and sign up for her weekly email.

Let’s defy the hustle and bustle, all the commercial chaos the world tells us that Christmas is and have hearts that shine like radiant beacons, beckoning others to join in our peace. To know our Jesus. – Kim Jones of Hunt & Host

{Light ‘Em Up 2015}

I’m sure most of you have heard of Courtney DeFeo but I had not until my friend Holly started raving about her.   Well from my perspective, now that I know about Courtney, I would have to say she and my friend Holly may be long lost sisters.  Holly loves list and she loves to show kindness to others so it’s a match made in heaven.  This year she watched this video and took it a step further by creating a Facebook group for our Brazos Valley friends to join in the fun.

I will tell you the first year Holly participated in this I was so intimidated.  Every day I felt like a total loser if I couldn’t think of anything to do or if I didn’t plan well and ran out of time.  That is not what this is about and it is totally a personal choice how much or how little you do.  The biggest thing is that you intentionally keep focused on being kind to others and showing love during this magnificent season.  I often think the biggest problem for me was feeling like I was just “copying” someone else’s idea and not being creative.  I mean come on…that’s kind of like cheating right?  Heck no!  Courtney has an amazing list of things to do and instagram and search for #LightEmUpActs to see what other families are doing.  Find more here.

I hope you watch this video and it speaks to your heart.  There are so many people out there just needing a little extra love, encouragement and appreciation.  Be the light this Christmas season!

And don’t forget to stop back by and join Holly & I as we round up the last week of the Attitude of Gratitude linkup on Thursday.  We have been sharing what it means to us each week to have an attitude of gratitude all focused around this bible verse.  Check out Week 1, Week 2, and Week 3.

Join me linking up with some many amazing bloggers here.