Feeling Stressed or Blessed?

It's that wonderful time of the year or is it? Are you feeling the "HO-HO-HO" of the season or the NO-NO-NO to 4 am holiday shopping? This year, I resolved to set my intentions to bring joy, reverence and serenity back into our family's celebration of the holidays, and yes, that includes the "C" holiday. Which was commonly known as Christmas before it became a subset of the "Happy Holidays" category. So far, I think I am doing pretty well and here's my proof:


1) I am enjoying nightly dreams of sugar-plums all because I resolved to remain snug in my bed and only shop while fully awake during normal business hours.

2) The song "I'll Be Home for Christmas" brings tears to my eyes. Not because I'm envisioning hostile airport security guards, flight attendants, possibly the pilots and for sure, some of my relatives (insert deep breathing here). No, these tears are in anticipation of precious time I'll have with family members I wish I saw more often.

3) I issued not one single suggestion to my husband and son who put up the lights this year - not even when half of them didn't work.

4) When the tree began to seriously lean to the left, I calmly ran for fishing line to stabilize it, without a single muttered curse.

5) I thought that when the huge, fragile and ornamented wreath came crashing down, bouncing twice on the mantle before hitting the hearth, this was the moment when only the strong survive. However, I did not blame or shame; but just quietly reclaimed the detached berries and ornaments and hunted down the coolest invention ever, the glue gun.

6) I am actually considering playing "Frosty the Snowman" at the piano recital where I am five times the age of my fellow pianists. I hear the cookies and cocoa are worth the public humiliation.

7) When my daughter placed the Baby Jesus into the manger, 23 days too soon, my dismay turned to amazement as I stopped to marvel at His blessed birth.

So, this intention setting strategy seems to be working pretty well. Through life's little challenges, I find myself blessed with not only feelings of peace and patience but with moments of real and anticipated joy. However, where do I find the reverence in all of this? Right there in our manger with the premature Baby Jesus laying there to remind me that sacred moments are found in the blessings waiting to be discovered each day.

So, are you feeling stressed or blessed? If your dog eats the entire pan of freshly baked gingerbread cookies or the neighbors short ciruit the entire neighborhood with their Chevy Chase "Griswald" light display, and you laugh, consider yourself blessed.