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At The Picket Fence with Vanessa Hunt

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December 4, 2017

It’s Just One Month

I don’t know about you but, for me, December is a month of mixed emotions, ranging from joy-filled moments to ones that have me wanting to pull my hair out.

There are so many expectations and we put so much pressure on ourselves to create magical memories. And for years I have felt the added weight of wanting to make sure my family had opportunities throughout the month to grow in their relationship with Christ.

We celebrate advent and read all of the appropriate Baby Jesus books and encourage a spirit of generosity and heavily emphasize the real reason for the season.

But sweet friends, I want to remind you today that one month out of the year does not a strong relationship with the Lord make. December doesn’t define our faith in Christ.

For our kids or for us.

There are 11 other months in the year. 11 other months to live out our faith in front of our children. 11 other months to pray with them. 11 other months to help them wrestle through their questions and add depth to their walk with the Lord. 11 other months to encourage them to have generous spirits.

Let’s stop putting so much pressure on this one month out of the year. Let’s be surprised at the ways we might be able to celebrate the baby in the manger without a dozen countdown calendars. Let’s give our kids some grace when they are focused more on gifts because…well…they’re kids after all.

And while we’re at it, let’s give ourselves some grace too.

Grace when we think we should feel all the warm fuzzy feelings about Christmas but we really just want to take a nap.

Grace that reminds us that this month will soon be over and we will have a brand new year ahead of us.

A new year filled with big moments and little moments and everything in between.

A new year to draw even closer to our Savior.

My hope for you is that, as you head into this season, you will be given fresh perspective and that you will give yourself (and your family) permission to just ‘be’.

Thank you for meeting me at the fence today,

11 Comments Filed Under: Devotionals, Faith, Good Thoughts Tagged With: devotional, Faith, God

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Comments

  1. Donna says

    December 4, 2017 at 2:39 PM

    This post is spot on! It reminds me of the food drives right before Thanksgiving. What happens to those folks the rest of the year? Faith and caring for others is an ongoing process, not devoted to a specific time of year.

    Reply
  2. Julia says

    December 4, 2017 at 3:38 PM

    Thank you!

    Reply
  3. Stephanie Wethington says

    December 4, 2017 at 3:39 PM

    Well said!!! As I was listening to the Christian radio station I listen to today they were talking about feeding the homeless during the Christmas season. I must say what went through my mind is that we need to do this year round not just in November or December. People should celebrate Christmas with their families but we don’t need to forget the needs in our communities all of the time. I do hope you and your family will have a very Merry Christmas and nothing but the best in the New Year!!

    Reply
  4. Norma Rolader says

    December 4, 2017 at 5:20 PM

    Great post and thank you

    Reply
  5. Michele says

    December 4, 2017 at 8:09 PM

    Well written – and a very good reminder to do just that. Enjoy the season, be kind all year, be generous and savor each moment our Lord gives us to breathe.

    And perhaps the grace I (hopefully) manage to give to myself will not beating myself up if I have more than just a few Christmas cookies. Oh, gracious, the guilt, the guilt! : – )

    Hugs. God bless.

    Reply
    • At The Picket Fence says

      December 5, 2017 at 7:48 AM

      Thank you Michele!! And definitely grace for that extra cookie (or 2!). LOL!!

      Reply
  6. Kay says

    December 5, 2017 at 3:34 AM

    I love this post!!!!

    Reply
    • At The Picket Fence says

      December 5, 2017 at 7:48 AM

      Thank you so much Kay!

      Reply
  7. Teresa P says

    December 5, 2017 at 4:43 AM

    This reminded me of a song I know. Why can’t Christmas just be Christmas with its sweet simple song. Why can’t Christmas just be Christmas, in our hearts all year long!

    Reply
    • At The Picket Fence says

      December 5, 2017 at 7:48 AM

      I’ve heard that song too Teresa! Love it!

      Reply
  8. Rhonda says

    December 6, 2017 at 4:08 AM

    Thank you for the reminder. Just last Sunday we had are gift tree at church and most all the tags were for products that were to refill our food bank that runs all year long, it was a reminder to all that we had not been doing are share this year to help the needy in our parish. thank you

    Reply

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Yesterday on the way home from school I had the ra Yesterday on the way home from school I had the radio tuned to my daughter's favorite station and a song that was playing had a line in it that really stood out to me. It made reference to a 'season of the sticks' which I think its safe to say must mean winter. I thought that was such an accurate, albeiet kind of depressing, picture of this time of the year.

While we definitely have more than our fair share of evergreen trees here in Oregon, we also have plenty of trees and bushes that are reduced to sticks during the cold months. But, this morning as I looked out my kitchen window, greedily sipping from my mug of coffee, I marveled at the beauty of the winter sunrise. The sky was all pinks and oranges with frost on the rooftops and a little bit of fog. And, I realized that part of why it was so amazing is because I could see it more clearly through the sticks. The bare branches allowed me a view that I wouldn't be able to see if those same branches were covered in leaves. Being stripped down to almost nothing revealed something magnificent.

We have seasons of the sticks in our lives too, don't we? Times when we feel as though we've been stripped bare and left exposed. It's easy to think that this is a place where all is ugly and dark. And yet, just like the winter sunrise was more visible because of the bare branches, the vulnerability we feel in the winter season of our souls allows us to get a glimpse of beauty that we wouldn't see otherwise. In the lush, warm seasons it's so easy to become comfortable. But in the bare, cold seasons we recognize just how much we need to rely on the One who placed the stars in the heavens and is sovereign over all.

If you feel like your soul has been stripped bare and you've been left exposed and vulnerable, may I encourage you today to ask the Lord to help you to see the beauty in this 'season of the sticks'.

“Answer me quickly, O Lord! My spirit fails! Hide not your face from me, lest I be like those who go down to the pit. Let me hear in the morning of your steadfast love, for in you I trust. Make me know the way I should go, for to you I lift up my soul." Psalm 143:7
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And I’m choosing gratefulness. 

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Here’s to beginnings. Happy new year friends! May you experience the majesty and sovereignty of the Lord in 2023 like never before! ✨
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