Finding the Joy of Christmas

Posted on by beautybeyondbones

I’m currently elbow deep in icing and ginger bread house accoutrements.

Yep – I’m back in Ohio doing all the Christmassy things with my nieces. The kitchen is in full prep mode for tomorrow night, Alexa is crooning away with Bing Crosby Christmas classics.

And I am searching high and low to find the Christmas spirit.

Now, before you write me off as the Grinch, let me just say — I’m in the Christmas spirit according to society’s standards: I’ve got a tree, been to the concerts, wrapped the gifts, and am relishing in the togetherness with my family.

But the real Christmas — the true meaning of Christmas — that is something I’ve been yearning to feel.

And as a Christian woman, that’s a vulnerable thing to admit. I think there can be a lot of pressure to have that picture perfect Christmas, where — yes you perfectly wrap the gifts and have gifts for all the neighbors, perfectly crafted and timely delivered Christmas cards, a house that looks straight off a Pinterest board, and all the while, keeping the focus on Christ’s birth and the “reason for the season.”

And frankly, that is an exhausting and impossible standard to live up to.

And as a result, the Christmas burnout or the numbing of joy I think is a lot more common than people care to admit.

This afternoon, I was in my head, stressing about all the things I still had to do for Christmas. And as I found myself mentally elsewhere while my nieces were trying to play with their out-of-town aunt they never get to see, I realized I was going about Christmas all wrong.

That Christmas spirit I was yearning for — it was right in front of me, and I was missing it, wrapped up in the bustle of it all.

Gratitude.

That’s the name of the game for Christmas.

Starting with the Child in the manger, and stretching to the people all around me.

Jesus is in the manger, yes — but He is also in the hearts of my nieces, and all my loved ones around me. And I am grateful for that love: Love that came down on Christmas in the form of a child, and love that lives on in everyone we meet.

That’s what Christmas is all about: remembering that important truth, and then living in gratitude for it. Because when we embrace and live from gratitude, it results in the joy that comes from a full heart.

That’s what I was missing this Christmas.

And that’s what I wish for you, dear friends, this Christmas. I hope that wherever you are, you feel His love — in the manger, in those around you — and experience the joy that comes from a grateful heart.

Merry Christmas to you and yours. Grateful for YOU!

xoxo
Caralyn

“This is what the Lord says to these bones: I will make breath enter you, and you will come to life.” Ez 37:5

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179 thoughts on “Finding the Joy of Christmas”

  1. So very well done, and very true. Earlier today, I sent my three granddaughters home after a rather full 48-hour visit, and as I type this and miss them, I can vouch for a Christmas truth: presents are irrelevant; presence is everything. Hugs and love from west Kentucky– Mike

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    1. Thanks so much Mike. I’m so glad to hear you had a nice visit with your granddaughters. How special!!! Merry Christmas! Hugs and love xox

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  2. You have it right as always. Thanks and let the joy of knowing that at just the right time, God sent his son into the world for you, let that joy fill you to overflowing. That will be noticed by all around you. Thanks for all you do. Have a blessed Christmas. John

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  5. 💖💖💖
    So glad I found you this year. You’re an inspiration. Have a lovely Christmas with your family. 🎄🎄🎄

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    1. Awww Paula I am so glad about that too!! Thanks for such a kind affirmation. Have a very merry Christmas!! Hugs and love xox

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  8. Hi, yet again another wonderful testimony. One of my blogs covered the fact that not everyone recognise’s that Jesus is the reason for the season! Have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New year 😀

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    1. Thank you Kenneth 🙂 Amen to that! That the important thing to remember! have a very merry christmas my friend! hugs xox

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  11. Well Caralyn, that is the secret of Christmas, and all other times too, is that ability to ‘let go’ all those expectations from others as well as ourselves and love the one person we have been skipping over most of our lives…us ❤️
    You deserve that love, especially after all you have striven to achieve. You have done the hard yards, the mountain climbs and the emotional tidal waves…and have achieved what no other thing can…to believe in, and just be you. Now accept her, give her a hug, and tell her ‘I love you’ with a gratitude for all that went before so that you could make this discovery ❤️
    Merry Christmas kind lady, may that love and gratitude always be a part of you ❤️

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    1. You’re absolutely right Mark — at ALL other times too! and yes! letting go is key. gosh what a kind thing to say, my heart is warm after this! merry christmas my friend! hugs xox

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  12. Wonderful testimony. Thank you and Merry Christmas!
    We Christians have an other-worldly Christmas joy. It really is only fulfilled with Christ’s passion, death, and resurrection. Christmas is the light in the depth of darkness and remains so through his death on the cross. He is the fulfillment of all we have hoped for. Peace to you Caralyn. And joy!

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    1. Thank you so much Tim! an other worldly Christmas joy — i love that so much! and yes!! fulfillment of all we have hoped for! big hugs to you xox

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    1. Hi Natalie! oh my gosh a year! what a special milestone! i can’t tell you how much that means 🙂 I’m so glad our paths crossed and that I had a chance to get to know you!! merry merry christmas my friend 🙂 xoxo

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  14. What a beautiful message there 🙂 I too think that Jesus is in the hearts of many whether they are hurting or not.

    I also wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year 🙂 Anyway, keep up the great work as always 🙂

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  18. I liked your title “Finding the Joy of Christmas.” It’s a very important necessity as a recognition that the Joy of Christmas came to this earth just to find, get to know the human race more intimately and redeem us. We owe Him our grateful recognition don’t we? Isn’t it sad that given the power to choose or not to choose Him those who choose the latter choose eventual self imposed destruction. What a tragic foolish decision.

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    1. Thanks Ian! I think you’re right about that – He came to get to know us and redeem us. What an incredible truth! Hugs and love xox

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  19. I see a lady who wants to celebrate the day the way it is to be celebrated. I wish you a very Merry Christmas to a veru erry lady who has a very merry heart that truly glows.

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      3. 😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊

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  22. It wouldn’t be Christmas without family. May you have plenty of luck with getting a special Christmas roaring once again. I am happy to know, as I am sure others are, that you enjoyed a powerful year.

    All the best in 2020!

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  24. What a beautiful and uplifting post! It definitely spreads joy knowing that although a person may not have a lot or have a Christmas glow or feeling, being grateful grants the key to having everything. I’m so proud that you’ve posted this. It is very uplifting!

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    1. Aw thank you 🙂 I’m so glad you thought so! Amen to that – gratitude is the foundation for a full heart and full life. Merry Christmas my friend. Hugs and love xox

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  28. Yes! So true! I have been experiencing some of that hustle-and-bustle stress today myself. Such an excellent reminder! May your Christmas be a blessed one and your new year bright! ☺

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  29. It was refreshing reading your piece, taking the pressure off – the storybook Christmas and finding the love of Jesus in your heart and in the hearts of your family members. For me – am recovering from Oral Surgery so for the most part I have been alone eating mushy foods and lounging about. Friends have been delivering pies. And with each delivery and meeting I feel the love of the season. That love, Jesus’s love is so special and wonderful. Thanks for sharing. My heart was warmed.

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    1. Thank you so much Kai! Yes! A pressure-off Christmas. Simple and focused. 🙂 hope you have a very merry Christmas my friend. Hugs and love xox

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  32. Dear Caralyn
    You are exactly right. It all starts with God’s love for us. Everything else comes from that.
    May you and your family feel the blessing of that love throughout your lives, and especially at this Christmas.
    With love
    Penny xx

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    1. Hi Penny! Oh my goodness thank you for this beautiful note. Amen – it all starts with His love! Merry merry Christmas! Hugs and love xox

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  38. My most hated billboard back in Toledo was for a mega-church. It’s simple and horribly wrong message was “Feel Your Faith!!”

    I wanted to burn it down. Faith is about…faith. Believing. Without feelings. Depending on emotion for faith is like depending on emotion to sustain a marriage; it doesn’t work. True love is a choice, a conscious decision not to kill my spouse when she squeezes the toothpaste from the middle of the tube. Or maybe some minor offense.

    Ah, gratitude. Well, I think you’ve hit it. The focus is the manger and not the trappings. We know what to be grateful for! I’m so grateful for all your hard work and emotional effort to come here and be so effective. Grateful that God worked so strongly through you. Thank you!

    Once again, we have neither decorated nor bought gifts. I sent out a very few cards. We’ll go to church. Keeping it simple and focused. No building pressure and no let down. Just…the manger. And gratitude.

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    1. You’re so right – wow Jeff. What a powerful reminder. Thank you for this. Amen – faith is a choice. Just like love. You choose to do it even when you might not feel it. That’s why it’s hard. Btw you made me chuckle with the toothpaste line 🙂 simple and focused – that is the best way to do it. Just the manger. Thanks for this heartfelt response Jeff. I hope you and your family have a beautiful and blessed Christmas! Grateful for you 🙂 hugs to you and yours xox

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  44. Exactly! Gratitude is a life saver. You are so right when you say that God is within those surrounding you. I think it is natural to feel out of touch with the holiday spirit and admitting that is amazing because you help others feel less alone in the hurt/void they may be experiencing. Such a beautiful attitude to have 🙂 Blessings and Merry Christmas!

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    1. Thanks friend! You’re so right – gratitude really is such a beautiful attitude to have this time of year, and every day! thanks for stopping by! merry christmas!! hugs xo

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  49. I hope that you are OK with being in my thoughts on Christmas? You are fortunate to have a time and place to be with your family at this time. Have a Very Merry Christmas. 😍😘👍

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    1. hi Tony! oh thank you so much 🙂 gosh you’re kind to say that. i hope you have a very merry christmas! hugs xox

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