“First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people” 1 Timothy 2:1
Some of us have so much to get accomplished during the holidays that sometimes the spirit of the season is plucked right out from under us…we want to help you this year to be more prepared not only physically but mentally and spiritually as well. This week as we focus on prayer and as we begin our planning, let’s pray for others around us that we will impact over the holidays in some way. While making your list of those you need to buy for, cook for, entertain for, etc. PRAY for each one as you write them down. Pray that God would use you this holiday season to bring a special blessing to them. Pray that God would show you their different needs and desires so that you can minister to each of them uniquely. As you name each one, pray that God would give you the extra ouce of patience, love and guidance you will need during this holiday season.
Praying for people in our family or close friends is pretty easy to do and very natural, your CHALLENGE is to cover another family from CrosssPointe with prayer. Ask the Holy Spirit to direct you to pray specifically for them throughout the holiday season. Pray for their family, finances, health, etc. You may choose to let them know what your doing or you may choose to pray without ceasing for them privately. Whatever the case may be, JUST PRAY!!!
IDEA TO SHARE: Are there any scriptures YOU have found that help as you pray for others?
Next week we will be making budgets – for our money, time, and chores. So you will need a place to store everything! After you’ve completed your book, or file, or folder, or whatever you use for organization – snap a picture and send it to jennifer@insidecrosspointe.com. We’ll get them all up on the site! Have fun, and don’t forget about our other challenges – work on those Christmas Card lists and gift lists.
And I would be willing to bet there is not a woman reading this that would not agree with me. Let’s try to unravel this enigma. Why would we feel that way? We are wives, mothers, grandmothers, girlfriends & daughters, employers & employees, chauffeurs & chefs, family organizers, calendar and checkbook keepers. We volunteer as room mothers, charity event planners, and party hostesses. We go to school, to work, to church, to the ballfield and to the park. We rarely have time to stop to use the bathroom or eat a meal sitting down. So how are we expected to find time to spend with our Creator?
This week we are getting ourselves organized for Christmas by printing and creating a Christmas Planner, or at least thinking about it J. Let’s also take time to do something few of us do enough of – pray! When I am going through a trial in my life or have a pressing need, my prayers are sent upwards fast and furious. Even when it is someone else with the urgent need, I am on my knees frequently. But do I seek audience with the King of Kings often enough, especially when all is well in my crazy world? Unfortunately, I do not. We have been given such a tremendous privilege to be able to talk to God, the maker of the entire Universe, the One who sent his son to us on the day we celebrate as Christmas . How often do I pass on that opportunity because life, my favorite TV show, or my e-mail inbox gets in the way?
We are all familiar with these verses: 1 Thessalonians 5:16 “Rejoice always, 17 pray without ceasing, 18 give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.”
Pray without ceasing. How does that look for the woman described above? Maybe it means calling out the names of her loved ones while she washes the dishes. Maybe it means turning off Fox News while she folds clothes, and telling God how much she loves him. Maybe it means spending time in the shower every morning asking for wisdom and grace to get her through the day. Maybe it’s a well placed sticky note on the door of her coffee cup cabinet, reminding her to breathe a prayer for her national & local leaders.
As we look toward another holiday season, let’s also look inward & get our own hearts and families “organized” and ready to truly celebrate the season.
The Challenge: Cover the holiday season w/ prayer for your family. Carve out 10 minutes a day over the next few days & pray specifically for yourself, your family, your friends & coworkers. Ask God how he wants to use you over the next 2 months, and ask for guidance as you plan your season.
Idea to Share: Have you found any creative ways to carve time out of your busy day for God?
Sorry for the sike out yesterday, but we are finally ready to start the first week of our Countdown as we are trying to Take the Crazy out of Christmas. First of all, I realize that many of us are “organizationally challenged” and the idea of planning for Christmas in October is crazy in and of itself.Well ladies, we are going to get a little crazy now to avoid a lot of crazy later!
This week, we begin to build a Holiday planner or notebook. There are many examples of these on-line if you need a little inspiration. This will be a book in which to consolidate & organize all of your papers, lists, calendars and receipts.It will give you a sense of power to be organized this early J , and we can all use a little more order in our lives.Are you ready for a few Challenges to get your juices flowing?
Countdown Week 1 Challenges
□Print out the pages listed below for your planner and start thinking about other things you may want to record.Don’t forget to share your thoughts with the group. A few of the pages are from different sites as you will see but most are from www.organizedchristmas.com – mix and match as you see fit.And if you are really creative & have a little extra time, you can create your own (we’d love to see).
□Pick up a 3-ring binder or notebook to store all of your print-outs in.Addplastic pockets (zippered or sealed for closing) or envelopes as a great place to keep your receipts or that great recipe you tore out of the magazine.
□Start thinking about gifts.In today’s economy, the earlier we plan our gift giving, the easier on our wallets it will be.Start a list of all of the people on your list this year and start brainstorming.Remember to include family, friends, teachers, co-workers, babysitters, etc.Thinking about this early also gives you a chance to start making gifts if that’s in your plan.There is nothing more stressful that making gifts at midnight on Christmas week (trust me, I know).So print out a master gift list form and start listing.
□Get that holiday picture taken!Plan to make an appointment for your family picture or set up your own photo shoot soon. You can stick your family in red & green even though it’s not December yet – I promise we won’t tell.
□Finally, get out your Christmas Card list from last year – or start a new one.Review your electronic lists and make updates as needed.If you use an old-fashioned paper and pen list, you can print one here.
A word on creating your Christmas Planner.For some of us, this seems like a bit of an over-the-top thing to do, but if we really want to enjoy December more, it will truly help. Trust us on this and let’s just dive in together. Again, use what you want to use and don’t worry about the rest. It will be fun.
Some of you are very creative and can craft a masterful notebook with your scrapbooking supplies and holiday patterned paper. And some of you can print off a title page to slip into the front of a 3-ring binder.
Either way, enjoy the process of getting this planner together. There will be more pages added throughout the 6 weeks.
Ideas to share: Share a little about your pre-holiday organization. Do you have things you do each year to get ready for the season? What planning ideas have you found helpful in the past?
A printable copy of the Week 1 Challenges can be found here .
Tomorrow is the day! We will be starting our Countdown as we Take the Crazy out of Christmas. And we want everyone to get involved and get connected. As an extra bonus, a gift will be given out each week! Every time you comment on the blog your name will go in the pot. Then at the end of the week, one name will be drawn and that woman will receive a great gift. (Sorry, but this is limited to local CrossPointe participants only, although we certainly welcome all to join us.)
So come back often and post your comments. I promise it is easy. You don’t even have to have a special account – just a name and e-mail address. All you have to do is click on the word at the bottom of the post that says “comments”. It will direct you to a comment box and there you go! If you are a little intimidated by the blog concept, you are not alone. But this is a great way to step out of your box - among friends and your CrossPointe family.
Join us, have fun, praise God and you may even come away with an early Christmas present.
Doesn’t that sound like a great idea?! The women of CrossPointe are going to take a 6 week journey with the goal of doing just that. We will be addressing a different theme each week, will have tasks to accomplish during that week, and devotions to keep your focus on Christ.
Week 1 of our Countdown to Christmas will begin on Monday, October 27th. It’s Organization Week. Plan to make a plan! Now, you may not be thinking about Christmas yet, and that’s ok. In fact, if you’re like me, you still haven’t even thought about dinner tonight J. This Countdown is still for you – use the parts that apply your life and don’t stress about the rest. The goal is to get through all of the Holidays with minimal stress and maximum joy. And to keep our eyes on the Cross as we do it.
We have changed the look of the blog and are in the process of adding more ways for women to connect. One thing you will notice is that we have started a CrossPointe Recipe page! Some of you who have been around for a while will recognize these recipes from the Through the Year Recipe Book printed in 2006. The goal of this page is to have a place you can frequent for good & easy recipes. Come check it out by clicking the page or link on the side. Enjoy some “Good Eats” and submit a few of your favorite recipes. We’ll be introducing this further during week 4 of our next study (spoiler alert).
Look for more “new stuff” coming soon and a new study in the near future.
