This week definitely ushers us into the full swing of the holiday season!

For our home, there will be family get-togethers, concerts for the kids, gift shopping, cookie making and Advent celebrating.  The season has potential to raise our stress levels, but we can probably control just how much we choose to do.

Today’s encouragement is to focus on simplifying your expectations, especially if your life is in any kind of flux, transition or change!

Be incredibly gracious to yourself and your family, and nurture your ‘no’ response.

Of course, if decorating the house, making or shopping for gifts for everyone, and all of the ‘tinsel’ of the season is life-giving to your days – by all means, enjoy the process!

But even if we love these projects, our expectations for just how perfect everything should or could be needs to stay in check.  Remind yourself of contentment, and to stop tweaking things to make them better!

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Action Plan:  Take a honest look at your calendar for this holiday season — should there be changes?  Is anyone (including you) in the family going to experience unnecessary stress due to the plans?  If so, adjust where you can!

More to Read:  Serenity for Little Ones, the holiday version