What is your Mission for Christmas

Let's work on making your Christmas less stressful. That doesn't happen without being purposeful in how you approach the season.  We can't do everything this season has to offer and still stay sane.  So, what will have to go?

First let's decide what your MISSION FOR CHRISTMAS is and then we can take things from there. Usually people approach Christmas in terms of three different areas: 

• Family
• The Season of Giving
• The Birth of Jesus.  

None of these are mutually exclusive but one is your MAIN focus. I was raised with the focus on family and as a mom I have chosen to be intentional about using this occasion to teach my children what the Bible says about Jesus. We also use this time for giving opportunities.  So what is most important to me? What is my MISSION? It's teaching about Jesus; the rest is just bonus.  Your mission may be different. I'm here to help you hone in on that mission and make Christmas work for you.

How does having a mission create less stress?

• It trims down your to-do list
• It gives you margin in your schedule
• It cuts costs because less things to do means less money spent
• It allows for more quality time spent on the things that are most important to you

For example, our family loves going to see the Nutcracker every year but this year I'm in a musical production of Singin' in the Rain and my weekends are booked with shows.  Trying to fit the Nutcracker in was getting to be stressful so I had to ask myself, "Is it THAT important? Does it support my mission for Christmas?" The answer is no.  My heart starts with the, "But it's a TRADITION!" Ya, so is cutting down the tree, viewing Christmas lights, traveling 2.5 hours to have dinner with my parents..... There are plenty of other things that are traditions.  If we have more time next year, we'll pick up the Nutcracker again.  In the meantime, that just freed up $130 in our Christmas budget. More money equals less stress. It's a win-win.

So, what will your main focus be this year? Do you want to instill family traditions that will create more time together and stronger bonds? Do you want to focus on teaching your children that this is the season of giving? Do you want to make sure your children see through the festivities and learn the “why” that Christmas is celebrating a change in the world’s history? Once you have your MAIN focus we can get to work on simplifying your to-do list and I'll even help you with tradition ideas that you can use to support your mission.

Post in the comments your thoughts on what your mission for this Christmas.....