Center Down

The snow is gently swirling down outside my window this morning and I’m a little mesmerized by the magic of it.

The weather outside tells me that Thanksgiving and Christmas are fast approaching and I couldn’t be more excited. I really do love the holiday season, but I admit that sometimes it can get a little busy and even chaotic.

If you tend to stress out a little more in the holiday season, whether it’s because of all the activities on the calendar or because of family drama (or both), keep reading for a few ideas on how to actually enjoy the holidays instead of merely enduring them.

My first idea is to create a “Thankful Trivet.” I made mine a few years ago out of a simple round cork trivet from IKEA (3 to a pack), some river stones from the dollar store, a few metallic pens and some glue.

It was a fun craft to do with family members as we wrote down one thing we were thankful for on each stone. Then we laid out the stones on each of our trivets and glued them in place. Each year I bring it out, set it on the table and re-read what I wrote on the stones. Watch my video above if you’d like to see what it looks like.

The Thankful Trivet was an inexpensive project but brings value year after year.

My second idea for a way that we can be radiant in the midst of the holiday chaos is to acknowledge not just what we are thankful for, but to Whom we are thankful.

If you read Psalms 107 and 118, you’ll see the phrase “give thanks to the Lord,” which helps us remember that God is the source of everything for which we are thankful.

One way to cultivate this attitude of gratitude is to make a Thankful Tree on your wall. I used some brown packing paper I’d received in a package last month. After scrunching it up, I attached it to the wall to create a trunk and branches. Then, using some fall-colored construction paper, I cut out some leaves.

Each day, I ask my family things for which they can thank the Lord. We’ve had some especially interesting answers from our 4-year-old, which include, chocolate (he is my son 🙂 ), pizza, and even slime. Lol.

However, he said he was also thankful that Jesus died on the cross and rose again. I think that means we are doing something right as parents! When it was just the slime and the pizza I was beginning to wonder. Lol.

I write the things for which we are thankful on the leaves and put them on the tree. It’s a wonderful, daily, visual reminder of all that the Lord has done for us and to Whom we are grateful.

My third idea comes from Brennan Manning’s book, The Signature of Jesus. He writes, “The Spirit of Jesus provides a way for us to live on the surface and out of the depths at the same time. On the surface we can think, dialogue, plan, and be fully present to the demands of the daily routine. Simultaneously and deeply within, we can be in prayer, adoration, thanksgiving, and attentiveness to the Spirit.”

He goes on to say, “The secret places of the heart become a sanctuary of praise in the noisy playpen of the marketplace.” I changed that in my mind to say, “…in the playpen of my house.” 🙂

“What masters of the interior life recommend is the discipline of ‘centering down’ throughout the day–a quiet, persistent turning to God while driving, cooking, conversing, writing, and so on.”

I love this idea! Brother Lawrence called it the “practice of the presence of God.”

It is so helpful in the midst of the crazy, the chaotic, the loud, the dysfunctional, to re-focus yourself and your mind on Jesus. It helps us re-frame and re-center–to center down.

If you are dreading the family drama this holiday season, or you just want to constantly keep your thoughts on Jesus, then center-down my friend, center-down.

I believe that practice, that disciple, will also help us stay radiant.

I would love to hear your comments on this idea or on how you cultivate an attitude of gratitude. Please share below.

In the meantime, I wish you a very Happy Thanksgiving!

Let us go be radiant this week!