It is all too easy to have a pity party, especially when life is busy, kids are sick, or you feel like every little thing is working against you, not for you. It’s easy to dwell on the list of things not going right in life, what’s not going as planned, stuff that’s just “unfair.”
I don’t think this sentiment is unique to me. Our human nature tends to focus on the negatives and the “if onlys.” When things are not going well it’s much easier to be drawn into a downward spiral of negativity than to find blessing in the broken.
Years ago, shortly after my daughter was diagnosed with cancer, I realized my heart naturally wanted to dwell in my own personal pity party: if anyone had earned the right to be upset, angry, whine, or complain, it was me.
It was about this time six years ago that I forced myself to start making lists.
Lists of blessings.
Lists of all of the ways God's grace has touched me, my family, my children, her.
Lists of small things that make me happy.
Lists of tiny wins no one else saw.
Lists of big wins that were public.
I found when I had lists of blessings staring back at me, it was pretty much impossible to grumble and be discontent about life.
Long past the time she finished her cancer treatment, I’ve kept making lists of blessings: big and small, anything that brings my heart joy.
Christmas can be a tricky time.
For me, that Christmas six years ago was painful. Nothing went as planned. Not a single Christmas Eve tradition could be followed. I left church early during our candlelight service with all my kids in tow because she was feeling sick. I was too frazzled to cook our traditional meal that year. There was yelling as we opened our gifts. It was far from the “happy Christmas” that every mother envisions for their family and it was topped off with chemo pills on Christmas morning.
There was plenty of sad and negative things I could have dwelled on that year.
I chose instead to make lists in this little prayer journal following my morning devotion.
Lists of blessings sent from my Heavenly Father: each as a kiss of grace from him to help ease my painful burden.
If you are feeling that heaviness this time of year, or feeling frazzled, unloved, under valued, or stretched too thin… I would encourage you to make your own list. Just start writing things that brought you joy today; nothing is too small to be added to your list. You might be surprised with the kisses of grace that stare back at you.
What's one of your blessings today? I would love to add it to my list, to remember and rejoice with you in your blessings and in your kisses of grace.
Cozy holiday candles December Mix
Every year around this time, delicious and pretty candles would find their way into my shopping cart weekly. With it's large jar and three wicks to burn, Yankee Candle was my absolute favorite. I loved the cozy glow of a flickering candle and the festive holiday scents in my home. I honestly didn’t think much about it until I got my diffuser and I realized I could make my own scents.
That first fall with my diffuser was also the first fall that I felt well. Prior to that I always thought that the stomach ache and itchy eyes that I would get was just part of the season. I never made the connection that those scented candles were causing me and other people in my home to sneeze, cough, and get headaches. When the candles were absent from my home, it finally clicked that candles were what was causing me and my family to feel the way we did. On top of that, I loved that my diffuser was able to put all of us into a good mood–something a candle had never been able to do!
When it comes to picking what to diffuse for the holidays, I tend to find a combination that I love, keep those oils right next to my diffuser and then diffuse the same combination for basically the entire month. Kind of like a good playlist. This month I’ve been diffusing Candy Cane, Winter Spa, and Pink Champagne (my favorite) on repeat - they are all in the new Winter Simplified Collection!
This collection was designed specifically to replace candles so these are pre-blended and ready to use - you just drop 3 drops in your diffuser. I love that it's a pre-made festive blend that I can just drop into the diffuser. It really is the easy button for holiday scents!
During the month of December, if you are a new member and order this set, I'll send you a free diffuser!
Snippet from my week
Last weekend I was supposed to be in Death Valley camping with my family. We had planned our trip over six months ago, but last month my brother told all of his siblings that he was going to propose the same weekend. He told us her biggest wish was to celebrate with family and friends. When the invitation to be in Chicago for the proposal fell on the same weekend as camping, Caleb told me to go because I would regret it if I didn't. They all still went camping and I spent the weekend in Chicago with my siblings and parents welcoming a new sister into our family. It was a full heart weekend.
Thanks for reading! What's a blessing that you're thankful for today? Just hit reply if you'd like to respond. (When you hit reply, your message goes directly to my email. It’s a private conversation between just us.) I read all your messages and try to respond, but not always in a timely manner. Sorry! And if you enjoyed this email, you’d be doing me a favor by forwarding it to someone else who might like it.