Happy Holy Days

“It is good to praise the Lord and make music to your name, O Most High, proclaiming your love in the morning and your faithfulness at night.” Psalm 92:1-2

“The best and most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen or even touched. They must be felt with the heart.” Helen Keller

  • It’s time to meet with your precious Savior! He is the Light of the World, the Lamb of God who loves you more than you could ever comprehend!
  • Read Psalm 92:1-15. Write verses one and two in your journal. Give thanks to God for His unfailing love and faithfulness to you and your family. Ask Him to help you focus on Christ this Christmas and not on what the world says is important. Pray for the Holy Spirit to fill you with love and kindness.

Happy Holy Days

With the Lord’s help, we can keep the holy days that are upon us from being just holidays.

The word “holiday” originally meant “holy day.” Sadly, the term “holidays” now simply means the period from November to New Year’s. It has become a materialistic call to celebrate that has blurred the true meaning of the holidays. While there is nothing wrong with making our homes festive and cheerful, we must be careful not to exhaust our time, resources, and energy on less important things.

Proverbs 17:1 says, “Better a dry crust with peace and quiet than a house full of feasting with strife.” Many Christmases ago, my wonderful brother visited my family during an unusually busy season. In the month of December alone, my husband and I traveled out of town, our youngest son got married, and we hosted many family and friends in our home. Needless to say, there was much stress and busyness!

There was one particular incident that stands out in my mind that I would like to share with you. My brother was helping me around the house and asked me where to put various items in an effort to help me tidy up. (I have a great brother!) I was feeling unusually burdened with my workload, and I snapped at my dear, sweet brother. I felt terrible! I realized later that I had allowed myself to become overwhelmed with tasks I wanted to accomplish rather than loving my family.

Have you ever been inside a perfectly decorated home that was lovely to look at, but the fruit of the Spirit was not in it? Showing love and being like Jesus to our loved ones is much more important than having “House Beautiful!” Your family cares more about having a happy mom than they do about having a perfect house. This Christmas, while the magazines and catalogs call upon us to do everything perfectly, may we decide in our hearts to do fewer and simpler things with love and kindness.

As Jesus said to Martha, “You are worried about so many things, but Mary has chosen the better part.” May we all choose the better part by resting in the love of Jesus this Holy Day season!

Blessings and Love,

Mary and the Help Club for Moms Team

Questions to Ponder

  • What do I need to give up to the Lord to be fully present for my family during the holidays? In what areas am I tempted to overdo and shortchange my family’s spiritual benefit?
  • What spiritual components can I provide to my holiday celebrations to make them truly Holy days that draw my children to the Lord?

Faith-Filled Ideas

Keep Thanksgiving from being squeezed out. Put up Christmas decorations after Thanksgiving to keep its message a separate priority.

This Thanksgiving, let everyone around your table have an opportunity to express something they are thankful for before or after saying grace. This will help them be participants rather than spectators. Some families do this by dropping a kernel of corn into a basket and mentioning something they are thankful for.

When Thanksgiving is over, let the first Christmas decoration you bring out be the nativity scene, emphasizing Jesus’ birth as the reason for the Christmas season.

 

This devotional comes from our book “Holidays with the Help Club.” You can find it HERE!

Mary Frieg
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