Holiday Survival Guide: 5 Tips

The Holidays can be a challenging time spiritually. The temptation of the flesh are strong during the Holiday seasons. There are the temptations for Teens and kids to be self focused and lazy and there are temptations for adults to be stressed and anxious with all the work and preparations that go into this time. However, the holidays also presents an amazing opportunity to have life slow down a bit, get some time off of work, and really connect with God. It is very important to make sure that we don’t lose our connection with God during this time.

³¹ So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ ³² For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. ³³ But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.

Matthew 6:31-33

Here are 5 practical ways to stay connected to God over the Holiday season (not in any particular order):

1. Celebrate the intention of the Holiday – Thanksgiving can be celebrated by actually giving thanks for people in your life and making some phone calls or sending text messages to people you are grateful for. You can also make a list of things you are thankful to God for in your Quiet Times. Christmas is about the birth of Jesus (right?) we can celebrate and reflect on the amazing day our savior came into the world!
2. Find a way to serve – The temptation in the holiday season is to get self focused. A way to fight this is to find a food pantry or some place you and your family can go to serve for a couple hours. Many people suffer greatly during the Holiday season. There are also many people who have a much harder time during the Holiday season because of lost loved ones, this is a great opportunity to make them feel special and that they are not forgotten.
3. Have a great Book or Devotional series- Pick out a great book to read or some sort of Quiet time series to go through during the Holiday season. Chose a book maybe you read before or the sort of book that really inspires you and fires you up! With the extra time off from work enjoy longer times with God and some Hot Chocolate! I would recommend starting the book before you get into the thick of the Holiday season.
4. Stay connected with members of the Body – We might not be able to get together physically, but let’s call each other to pray, to ask how we are doing, and to hold each other accountable during this time so we come back from the Holidays spiritually renewed and stronger than ever! Call and catch back up with old friends who maybe you haven’t had time to reach out to in a while
5. Give yourself permission to recharge – Being connected to God is not about more work! It is about allowing yourself to be filled up with God! Take the time off, recharge, and don’t feel guilty about it. The more you take care of your spiritual well-being the more you will be able to do in Gods kingdom.

I hope this helps!