How to Have Peace and Joy This Holiday Season

It’s the most wonderful time of the year,
With the kids jingle belling,
And everyone telling you be of good cheer,
It’s the most wonderful time of the year.”

(Songwriters: Edward Pola and George Wyle)

Anybody else hear this song and think, “Uh, the holidays are the most wonderful time of the year?” How about…

The most sickly time of the year?

The most crazy busy time of the year?

The most stressful time of the year?

The most expensive time of the year?

We are bombarded constantly from Thanksgiving through the end of the year. Our schedules are packed with family visits, parties, shopping, cooking food, eating food, and eating more food. There is no shortage of things to do and people to be with.

If you’re like me, you love all of the wonderful things that this season brings. I love the extra time with my family-mine and my husband’s. I love celebrating by going to different holiday parties. And of course, I love the food-especially the “special” dishes that you only eat this time of year.

I really do love the holidays.

But if I’m being honest, the busyness and the constant go, go, go, stresses me out. It wears on me physically which in turn affects my emotional and mental health.

And yet, the words of “Silent Night” paint a very different picture in my mind of what Christmas is really all about:

Silent night, holy night,
All is calm, all is bright,
Round yon Virgin, Mother and Child,
Holy infant so tender and mild,
Sleep in heavenly peace,
Sleep in heavenly peace.”

(Songwriters: Franz Xaver Gruber and Joseph Mohr)

Silent. Holy. Calm. Bright. Tender. Mild. Heavenly.

Soak in those words for a minute. Let them linger in your heart. You have time. Don’t rush it. Take in a deep breath and feel the peace seeping into every part of your soul.

My spirit is already quieting down. Is yours?

Why do I let the stress and busyness of this time of year rob me of the peace and joy found in remembering that very first Christmas?

Why do I focus on all of the things swirling in my mind instead of focusing my mind on the manger?

It’s so frustratingly easy to do-to let all of the things distract me from the Messiah, wrapped in swaddling cloths, and lying in a manger. The King of kings and Lord of lords being gently held by his momma and rocked to sleep. The angels praising and glorifying God and telling lowly shepherds nearby of the birth of the Savior.

So how do we stay focused? How do we have peace and joy?

The Daily Rhythm of Time with God

When was the last time you spent alone time with God? I’m not talking about church service on Sunday though that is most definitely good for the soul. I’m talking about time reading the Bible and time spent in prayer.

Was it this morning? Yesterday morning? Last week? Last month?

It’s okay, I’m not judging you. I’m finally out of a spiritually dry season myself so I am the last person to judge someone for struggling with this.

But I do want to encourage you as your sister in Christ, to not neglect time with the Lord because you have so many things to do all the time.

I love this quote from Martin Luther:

I have so much to do today that I’m going to need to spend three hours in prayer in order to be able to get it all done.”
— Martin Luther, Cyclopedia of religious anecdotes

I’m not saying you have to spend three hours in prayer. I’ve never even come close to that. But I do want to exhort you to prioritize time with the Lord, even, and perhaps especially, if you have a lot of things on your schedule and to-do list.

It seems like an unwise use of your time; after all, those gifts won’t buy themselves and those cookies won’t bake themselves. And hear me when I say that I believed that lie far too many times over the years. But, as I’ve seen over and over again, the Lord has a powerful way of multiplying our time when we’ve been faithful to steward it well.

If you’re not sure what time with the Lord should look like, there are any number of resources and plans that you can look into until you find one that you want to try. At its most basic level time with the Lord should consist of prayer and reading Scripture. Because there are different prayer models, different Bible reading plans, and different Bible study methods, it can be overwhelming if you don’t know where to start.

Cue my awesome husband, Mace. He wrote an excellent, practical step-by-step guide to studying the Bible that is definitely worth checking out. If you have any questions about studying the Bible, I highly recommend you check out his blog here.

Maybe you’ve heard of using a journal during your quiet time but you don’t have one yet. Or maybe you’ve used a journal for a long time, and you just want something fresh to use.

If you’re interested in using a journal as part of your quiet time, I absolutely love this journal by The Daily Grace Co. I’ve got another post coming soon all about how I’ve been using this journal to enrich and structure my time with the Lord the past month and what a HUGE difference it has made in how I spend my time with God each day.

No matter what method or plan you use, taking time to spend with God will give your mind, body, and soul the rest and refreshment it needs during the busy holiday season.

Is 5, 10, 15, or 30 minutes worth your soul and sanity, your peace and joy?

Absolutely.

So what are you waiting for? Open up your Bible. Open up your soul. And sit with the Lord. You’ll be blessed with peace and joy as you spend time with Him.

Pressing on in faith, Jennifer

This post contains an affiliate link. I absolutely love The Daily Grace Co. so I am an affiliate of their company. This just means that I receive a small commission when you make a purchase through their website at no extra cost to you!