Merry Christmas

It's that time of year...! Once you've stopped running all over the place, getting this and getting that, wrapping up your last business meeting of the week, or putting your final touches on that proposal that had to go out today, relax. Catch your breath. Shake off the rush of it all. And as you prepare to gather with family and friends this holiday season may I encourage you to not put all of your thought into what you don't have, or what you weren't able to buy, or who has left your life since last Christmas. Consider, if you will, all that you do have. Consider giving more of yourself in place of a gift. Consider the people you still have in your life who love you and enjoy your company. Consider only the present moment and all that it is saturated with.

And if are intending to spend the holiday alone because you live away from family, or you are stuck in sadness, or you're grieving the loss of something or someone, may I encourage you to pick up the phone (don't send a text), pick up the phone, be courageous, and ask for someone's love. Yup. Call someone and say, "I am not in a good place right now and although the sad me wants to be alone, I know being alone is not what's best." Better still, accept the invitation you previously declined. If you're single, call a girlfriend over for an improptu sistergirl holiday celebration for two. Think of a fun thing you've wanted to do; do that. If someone significant to you has transitioned since last Christmas, which can be really hard to deal with, instead of crying all day, do something that honors their life. If they believed in serving, go feed the homeless. If they got fulfillment out of cooking, try to duplicate their favorite dish. If they took all the pictures, go to family dinner, take all the pictures, and create a beautiful scrap book. In other words, cancel the pity party.

Like so many, I, too, work to rise above my emotional stuff every holiday. And every holiday God gets me through with a smile on my face and joy in my heart.

Be blessed and remember His goodness. I love you.....

(I'll be in your inbox next week for my last blog of 2017.)

Oh, earlier this month I had a blast speaking with a group of girls in Philly. See the gallery here.