Keep Christ In Christmas

This Christmas is a very special one for our family this year. We have a very good reason to be counting our blessings around the Christmas tree today. Yesterday, after 6 months of being shuffled in and out of the hospital with surgical complications, worrying how we are going to pay the mortgage while he is on disability, my husband is finally home and on the road to recovery.

Just a few days ago we weren’t sure that he would even be home for Christmas, but yesterday he walked in the front door of our holiday decked out home with his own two feet and we are grateful beyond words. But most important of all, this experience has opened our eyes to the true meaning of Christmas

Now this is not a post to garner sympathy; on the contrary, it is a post to declare that we are one of the lucky ones at this time of year. After so much time surrounded by other individuals that are alone and in pain in the hospital, we consider ourselves blessed beyond belief. It brings tears to our eyes when we see that so many people had no one to visit them in their pain, especially with the holidays approaching.

My husband, a man who was always been the tough guy in the group, the one that would jump fists first into a fight, never shying from a challenge, that same man now tears up when he talks about the man in the hospital room next to his in CCU having a triple bypass, while his blind wife is at home alone with no one to care for her and their credit cards maxed out. That is someone who truly needs all the blessings and prayers we can offer.

My man has walked through hell and come out the other side with a renewed spirit and a softer heart. We are the lucky ones this Christmas. He believes he has been given a second chance so that he can help those others more unfortunate than we are. To think, only seven months ago we were complaining about the high cost of this, that and the other thing during this recession and now are just happy that we are all still together as a family.

We have resolved that this year we are going to make more of an effort to keep Christ in Christmas. There is nothing wrong with the frivolity and joy we get from decorating a tree and our home, with buying gifts for the children and friends, or even in receiving them, just as long as we stop, look around and see that we are blessed and that the reason for the season is Jesus Christ. We need to recognize that what He wants from us this holiday season is to do whatever we can as Christians to ease the sufferings of others even as we celebrate.

I have taken an ornament off the giving tree at church and will make a donation to someone less fortunate than us, and that is a start.

What are your December Goals ~ Personal & Professional?

I have been thinking a lot lately about the phrase “ We don’t plan to fail, we just fail to plan.”

As I went thru Cyber Monday yesterday without a single sale in my Etsy shop, it became painfully obvious that I had no one else to blame but myself for this lost opportunity. I had failed to plan for one of the biggest shopping weekends of the year by not having an abundance of enticing new stock in my shop, I should have begun to create what I would need much earlier in the year.

I HAD planned to plan, if that makes any sense, but somewhere between school starting in September and Thanksgiving, I dropped the ball.

Today as I was contemplating this whole scenario, I read today’s blog post at Modish Biz Tips on setting and achieving goals. It spoke to me and I have committed to joining the meet-up by making a list of goals that will help me thru both my personal and my business lives.

My list of Goals for December:

1) Decide what the focus of my business REALLY is. I am all over the place right now.

2) Finish up a large commission that needs to be delivered soon!

3) Create enough art to list new items in my Etsy shop 3 to 5 times a week.

4) Write a new post for my blog at least twice a week.

5) Look into spring Craft Fairs in my area and what I would need to do to if I decide to purchase a booth. Will I have the time??

6) Spend more quality time with my husband and son. See #5 above.

7) Get my bookkeeping in order.

8) Have my art made into prints for my Etsy shop.