“A merry heart does good like medicine” Proverbs 17:22

Hey there, friend. I’ve really been feeling this on my heart as we enter the month of December. Our to-do lists are EXTRA long and full. Things that were already filling our plate are still there, we’re just adding more. I think about our Thanksgiving dinner plate as the month of December. Normal dinner plates we fill up to fill the circle, not usually more, just the right about- that’s normal life. But the month of December is our Thanksgiving plate, filled to the brim and almost overflowing.

Now when you’re a mom it’s hard to take things off. I get it. You can’t not go Christmas shopping and a lot of the things you WANT to do. I WANT to make Christmas cookies with my kid and go see lights and do all the fun traditions that get us in the Christmas spirit. So how the heck do we survive this season without stressing and feeling overwhelmed?

I’ve come up with a few things that we can TOGETHER work on to protect our peace this season and hopefully enjoy it. We are the moms and, annoyingly, that means everyone else’s moods depend on ours. I want us all to enjoy this month and make it fun and memorable. I know you do too.

1. Start your day with the Lord: I know you’ve heard this a million times, but it really does set your heart up for the day. I recently read “word before the world” and it really stuck with me. It’s how our hearts were made. We need our hearts filled with Him before we start scrolling or reading emails or fixing breakfasts. There are a ton of different advent devotions on the bible reading app. You can also get ones sent to your email every morning from She Reads Truth and Proverbs 31 Ministries. I’m listening to the book of Luke through the Dwell app this month. It doesn’t really matter how you do it, just do it.
2. Create a Visible Family Calendar: Get out your month of December calendar and if you don’t have one, print on out. This is your FAMILY calendar. It needs to be out in the open so everyone can see. Fill in the things that have to happen for your family, then sit down with your family and figure out your important traditions and put them on the calendar. Carving out time is super important so you can create the space in your schedule for it. Sounds simple, and it is, but doing it is the hard part.
3. Focus on ONE tradition a week. Yikes. I know. Just one! Guess what mama, you can’t do it all. And when you’re working and your kids are going to school, you’re not going to be able to add in all these extra things. Make a list of your favorite traditions and pick one a week until Christmas so you can prioritize your favorites AND enjoy them.
4. DELEGATE some of your normal things. I think this is hard for any of us to do because we are spending a lot of extra money this month, so it’s hard to justify spending money on things we could do ourselves, but we are protecting our peace here!! Choosing what’s most important. Here are some things you can delegate: using a laundry service, ordering a meal service, getting a cleaning lady, paying a teen to wrap your presents, get a babysitter a few times, and ordering your groceries.
5. Keep a Google Sheets list of your Christmas lists: This will help you keep track of who you still need to buy for, what you’re getting everyone, how much you’re spending, and if it needs to be wrapped. Lists in google sheets are key because they don’t get lost. They’re always at your fingertips in your phone.

Let’s give our families the gift of a peaceful mama. This month is supposed to be filled with JOY. Be good medicine.