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. I would like to express my gratitude to YOU, Caralyn, for all your kindness and support.

    (Have linked your blog in a post (“Blogstars!”): which I hope is OK?
    Since you are a true blogstar, I thought it would be especially apt to include you!)

    Best wishes from Ken 🙂

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      1. Thank you Caralyn!
        It is always a pleasure to see you (and your lovely icon) drop by my site.
        Hope your Christmas is wonderful. 🎅🏻
        Wishing you a HAPPY NEW YEAR! 🎉

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  2. Merry Christmas Caralyn!! May the joy and hope of Christmas be your true constant, and may the new year bring you your soul mate, and may your blog-ministry go to a huge other level. 😘❤️🙏

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  4. Merry Christmas Caralyn!
    That all sounds wonderful and so up your ally because you are so versatile and full of energy anyway! I got a call from one of my sisters early this morning after leaving her a message much earlier as I tend to wake before the roosters crow! She said she had so many things to try and get done and couldn’t talk much this time and I said no problem I just wanted to check in with you and make sure you are getting your rest and ask how work was yesterday. We hardly got into it when she said “I love you brother but I really can’t do this now I have to jump in the shower but I’m heading over to BJ’s Wholesale Club to pick up a few things,” and because I mentioned I might want to go there at the beginning of the week she was seeing if I was still interested. So, I said I haven’t even had a shower or had my breakfast but I can be out there in 20 minutes if I get cranking now and so I’ll see you there. Well, my point is once we met and did our shopping she started on about how she has so many places to be and things to get finished even a gift she needs to go buy at another store so she was getting herself kinda worked up or in a frenzy even when I said, whoa just relax and strop scrambling things up no need for it all you need is to set a list of priorities and what can get done will mostly likely get done but some things I bet you are not that pressing and other arrangements can be made. So then, I hear you both the holidays can really be demanding and get to be too much pressure and that isn’t right, because then it becomes too much of a chore and after its over you need to have a vacation or recuperate! I wish people could slow down more it is too hectic at times, ya think?
    But, allow me to just repeat what you said here and reflect on how beautiful and true it is; how this is the crux of it and we all need to really focus on this truth you explained so well!
    “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.”
    This is so beautiful Caralyn my friend and you know what I’m doing right after I sign off here? Yup, I’m calling my sister to say these words to her so you had a great domino effect and focused on what I was trying to say to my sister about stop scrambling everything up and set the priorities, I mean even if a few less urgent things have to slide we really should put the emphasis on what Christmas is all about like you said here! Thanks Friend and Sister in Christ Jesus!
    MERRY CHRISTMAS!
    Lawrence

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  10. First of all, you get bonus points for using both “accoutrements” and “Christmassy” in the same post. I am an overthinker and a dweller, and my mind has been racing the last couple of days, and will continue to do so until about the middle of January (ha ha.) As a freelance writer and amateur songwriter, I find it helps to try and invent new ideas during this season, to keep my mind away from thinking about the past. Oh, I have the coolest story for you. Yesterday I had a nice conversation on Facebook with a guy that won “The Great Christmas Light Fight” in 2017. Also, the movie “Deck the Halls” is about him and his family. They have a big display in Scottsdale each year, and you can see it on Facebook and Youtube. He even sent me a Facebook friend request. Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, and Seasons Greetings from Yorktown, Virginia!

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    1. Aw, thank you so much John! hahaha I do love a good random word 🙂 Oh how interesting! That’s awesome! I hope you have a very merry christmas! hugs xo

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      2. Haha sounds like the perfect day! I’m sorry about that – just think – next year could be totally different 🙂

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      3. Yes, I turn 57 in January. Maybe I will be more adventurous next year and go mountain climbing. I am so set in my ways. My daughter will be here in a few minutes with her kids. The Christmas tree is loaded with gifts under it.

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  16. It’s true there is nothing like the true Christmas spirit. There is something beyond special about the sacrificial love of Jesus Christ. When we look for happiness here and now we have lost the perspective of eternity. It was for eternity that Christ died. Lord bless during this Christmas season.

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  19. I hope you had the best Christmas, ever, and wish you all the best throughout the New Year and beyond. That you know the true meaning of Christmas is all that really matters. From there, everything else will, quite naturally and automatically, all fall into place.

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  22. Caralyn: My wife, Donna, and I appreciate so much your following PRN Pastor and liking numerous of my sermons. We enjoyed reading, “Finding the Joy of Christmas”. Joy truly is all around us just waiting to be found. God bless you as this year draws to a close and a new one begins. Pastor Keith

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  23. That gratitude can be an elusive mindset when we get racing. I have been meditating on a quote from Julian of Norwich this season which has helped. ‘My, how busy we become when we lose sight of how God loves us.”
    Julian of Norwich

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  26. Love this post! The meaning of Christmas has lost it for me too. It doesn’t have to be picture perfect or filled with presents. I think we as a society has lost the true meaning

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