My husband and I both grew up in families that had the tradition of re-enacting the nativity on Christmas Eve. This has become a treasured memory for both of us, and we look forward to it every year. As we have attended these devotionals over the years, I have noticed some things that have made these re-enactments more meaningful. A Script. We usually read directly from the Bible, and I’ve found that the most engaging re-enactments happened when everyone…
“Blessed is the season which engages the whole world in a conspiracy of love.” — Hamilton Wright Mabie The holidays can be a stressful time for any of us. We want to make it as special as possible for our loved ones and sometimes we run ourselves ragged doing so. It doesn’t help that media tends to overwhelm us with images of a “perfect” holiday – happy families, lush houses dripping with a richness of decorations, expensive gifts.…
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In Christmas - Simplify The Season
Drop the Expectations this Holiday Season and Treasure the Reason for the Season
On Thanksgiving we sit around a table with family and friends, eat way too much delicious food, and think about all the blessings in our lives. It’s honestly one of my favorite holidays, because we slow down enough to truly enjoy what’s around us, to recognize all the good things in our lives. And then we wake up the next day, in a Christmas-minded frenzy that continues until December 25th. Black Friday shopping sales. Perfecting cookie recipes for that upcoming…
Holiday pageants, office parties, buying a tree, decorating said tree, shopping for presents, wrapping those presents, baking cookies… The Holiday to do list goes on and on. When it comes to the Holiday season it is easy to get overwhelmed and miss out on enjoying the little things. Simple things like baking cookies for your co-workers can very quickly turn into a chore instead of a nice gesture. This can leave you unmotivated and filled with resentment when half of…
5 Simple Ways to Celebrate Baby’s First Christmas This year is my son Isaac’s first Christmas! Christmas has always been my favorite holiday so I am thrilled to share with him all of my favorite things about the season. Since it is his first Christmas, I am planning on doing a few special things to celebrate! He will be 10 months old so I think these five simple activities will be so fun for him. He may not remember…
My favorite time of the year is the Christmas season. There is so much promise, joy and good tidings rooted in the meaning of Christmas. But if I’m really honest, I would confess that the meaning of Christmas is easy to lose in all the hustle and bustle. One area in particular that I struggle with is gifts. Gifts can be a cool way to show love to the important people in our lives. Gifts are also a very real…
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In Christmas - Simplify The Season
How I Simplified The Season With A Pay It Forward/Holiday Traditions Advent Calendar
Advent calendars. I grew up with them, and they quickly became a holiday tradition that I kept even after I moved out of the house. Back in my college days I would buy the $0.99 ones from Target and enjoy the chocolate each day. Once it became my husband (Mr. Blographer) and me, the candy tradition went out the window due to a soy and dairy allergy (which is a story for another time, but it is hard to find…
Hi y’all, I’m Lynn from Back to the South and I’m so excited to be sharing six ways to help you simplify decorating your home for the holidays! I can’t believe it’s already the holiday season. It seems as if we were just celebrating 2017 and here we are close to saying goodbye to it! This is one of my favorite times of the year, but it can also be very stressful. The six tips I’m sharing with you today…
The holiday season has a weird way of stressing us out. There’s so much involved, and sometimes it can be overwhelming to conquer our to-do lists. Whether it’s the traditions we want to carry on or new ideas and self expectations, the load is a heavy one. And of all the heavy loads, holiday feasts might be the greatest. When you think of the holiday season, food is at the center. From Thanksgiving to holiday parties to Christmas Eve and…
Christmas! The trees, the lights, the smells, the surprises, the food and the family get togethers, there’s a feeling in the air that something miraculously wonderful is about to happen. The birth of Jesus is miraculous because he is the one who sacrificed himself for us and gave us eternal life. But this season can also be one of the most stressful time of the year. It’s easy to forget why we are celebrating Christmas and focus on the parties,…