However, as I'm in this quiet atmosphere, I got reflecting about what it is I like so much about Christmas. I enjoy the music around Christmastime. It's quieter, slower, prettier, with string, flutes, bells and chimes, guitars, etc., not as heavy on the drums. It's usually about God, babies and children and love, slowing down for family time, eating home cooked meals, and appreciating friends and loved ones. I also love the glitter and pizzazz of the season! Snowmen remind me of fun time with young children creating masterpieces in the snow, making snow angels and dressing up snowmen to look like a friend, as "fair weather" as he may be! Oh, and who can forget great baked goods and chocolate delicacies!
I looked out my kitchen window, and saw my neighbor's house, who usually has some great Christmas decorations up. Yes, he was more on the ball than I am, so his are all put away. However, I see family come and go around the holidays and during summer picnics, etc. Those things are really special. Now that it's January, things slow down a bit as compared to the end of November and December. What kinds of things are worth continuing?
Well, for me, I still want my home to be a place of solace and "hominess" (is that a word?), in other words, a place that feels like home and is comfortable and welcoming. I want to make more home cooked meals that smell good throughout the day, such as crock pot cooking. Family game nights are great to schedule every 2-3 months. Music - yes, I need to find more music that calms me the way Christmas music does, that reminds me of those things we cherish. Getting in a routine exercise program is a must, too! Baked goods will have to be a once in a while treat.
Oh, and don't forget to keep the Christ in Christmas as your main focus all year long. Everything in life will make more sense. Go to church, Sunday School, Bible study, fellowships with believers, etc. and find a way to serve in your local church. If possible, even get involved in your community outside of church (because church is a part of your community). Engage yourself with the Lord in all you do, because your spiritual health is even more important than physical health, and it leads to emotional health as a direct result. Now that's a medicine cup dose of truth for you, from this Family Nurse Practitioner, and it's free of charge! :)
May I say one last thing? Husbands and wives, brothers and sisters, parents and children, please treat each other with respect. Love isn't enough, or maybe it's all a part of it, but I hate it when people demand time and devotion and obedience from each other, and yet don't respect the others as human beings with dreams, aspirations, preferences, ambitions, desires, etc. Your children are human beings, and deserve the greatest respect you can possibly muster up. Spouses are not slaves (it goes both ways, I've seen bossy wives and bossy husbands - spouses don't need a boss, they need a partner in life). It's great to have a servant attitude, but that doesn't equate to a slave. You can't force someone to do certain things and make demands all the time, and retain their love for and dedication to you.
Children, by the way, are not slaves, either. It only discourages a person down to their very core when treated like an object, screamed at, constantly nagged at, given persistent negative feedback and expressions of disappointment. That goes for both spouses and children. Use kind terms of endearment like "Honey", "Sweetheart", etc. Take time for each other (that can be harder than it sounds!). Have fun together! Show appreciation for them, doing little things to surprise them and make them happy. Accentuate the positive things about them. Buy a little gift once in a while. Do some chores and projects with a positive attitude.
Communication in a relationship, whether with spouses, children or siblings, can be very shallow, too. It means so much to someone to have a loved one explore what matters to them, what's on their heart, what is the passion of their soul. Be supportive and a part of that! It's exciting!
You're still living and breathing, so if you're in a rut, remember that your time is not up. What are your goals and dreams? What are you passionate about? How can you make the world around you a better place in a hands on, constructive way? Don't complain, be a part of a solution. It takes hard work, but it's so exciting to see dreams become a reality. I know from my own life in the past couple years with writing books and songs. Life is a series of chapters - how are you going to "write" the next one in 2014?
