084 - Start Now to Finish Strong
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Show Notes:
This episode is the gentle reminder that Halloween is in two weeks, Thanksgiving is coming, and Christmas is on its way. The shopping, the planning, the decorating, the end of year celebrations, and parties, and whirlwinds, all of it is right around the corner.
Often times, this is the time of year where we go a little off the rails with our eating, our spending, with our planning. We just do too much of all of it.
So, my encouragement to you today is that if you want to finish this year strong, you have to start now.
For the full episode, hit play above or read through it below!
Okay, get ready because we are going to plan some playfulness and joy into our lives. From now until the end of the year, we are going to center our focus on generosity, family memories, and slowing down.
We're going to set some traditions, maybe cut some traditions.
2020 has definitely been a hard year, but guess what? There is still so much to celebrate. Family, health, the miracle that Jesus came as an actual baby to save us, our kids, delicious food, the opportunity to work, freedom to express our faith.
2020 doesn't get the final say on the year, you and I do. So let's plan it well.
What we're going to do is we're going to start from December and work backwards, and I'm doing this right along with you.
Let's start.
New Year's Eve
I'm going to ask you a few questions.
Do you want to do anything special to celebrate the end of 2020? I mean, that can be a celebration, am I right? If so, what do you want to do?
Start thinking about that. You could get away with your husband, you could throw a massive feast for just you and your family, you could worship your way into the new year. You could be so chill and low key, and go ahead and decision now, go to bed early. And then, you could wake up at five AM on New Year's Day, to listen to the Lord and journal about 2020 and the year to come. Beth Moore does that, by the way, and I love that.
Okay, just think about that. New Year's Eve, moving from 2020 to 2021, kind of hard to wrap your mind around. Or I don't know, maybe you've already been dreaming about this day. It's just good to think about. Let's make it fun, let's make it exciting. Why not?
Okay, let's move onto Christmas.
Christmas
If you're listening to this episode at the time of its release, Christmas is officially 10 weeks away.
So, what do you want Christmas to look like and feel like in your home this year?
Have you made a Christmas budget yet?
What do you want to spend?
Because I can guarantee, if you don't go ahead and set that in place now, you are going to overspend. Make a list of everyone that you want to buy a gift for, and then start thinking of things to buy now, so you can be ready to go when Black Friday weekend comes around, Cyber Monday, all that, you can get the deals, get the things, plan ahead so that you're not as stressed out with last minute Christmas shopping.
All right, how can you simplify your Christmas this year?
I want you to think about the parties you go to. I want you to think about your decorating.
What are the things that you just need to put in a big bag and throw them away, or donate them? Because you just don't need them, they're complicating your life.
How can you simplify Christmas?
And, what are the things you really want to keep in your calendar?
What do you want the whole month of December to look like, to feel like?
Obviously, we don't want it to feel so busy and frantic, we want it to feel calm, and peaceful, and joyful. But, that takes intentionality now, thinking through that now, planning things now, eliminating things now, so that December doesn't come and just take over. Because it's done that for me, and I know it's probably done that for you, but we can make it different this year.
I want you to make a list, even get out your phone right now and make a little note, or just jot it down. As long as you're not driving, don't do that while you're driving. You could do that when you get to wherever you are. But, make an actual list of your favorite Christmas movies that you want to watch, your favorite traditions that you maybe missed last year. Or, that you'd like to do, maybe something that you want to do where you can give intentionally as a family, and schedule them into your calendar.
When do you want to decorate your tree, when do you want to do these things?
Are there any important birthdays or weddings the month of December?
What days do you need to block off for that?
We have two December birthdays in our family. Mine is December 31st and my son, Beaufort's. I want to go big for him this year, because bless his heart, last year we were all so sick he did not get a birthday party on his first birthday. So it takes time to think about those things, to plan for those things in advance.
All right, moving back, let's talk about Thanksgiving.
Thanksgiving
Where will your Thanksgiving be this year?
What are your responsibilities for Thanksgiving, or for dinner, or gathering together?
How can you initiate and cultivate gratefulness in your heart, gratitude in your heart and the hearts of your family's and your kids this year?
If you want a fun idea for a new Thanksgiving tradition, go back and listen to Episode 033, which is our favorite Thanksgiving tradition. You can do this anywhere, you can do this on the road, it's very simple, but it is so good and I think that you'll love to adopt it as part of your family tradition.
How do you want your home to feel this Thanksgiving?
What fun, cool fall weather activities do you want to be sure to incorporate into your November?
How can you plan to be generous this year, as a family?
Is there anywhere that comes to your mind, right now, that you feel like you could volunteer or give to financially?
Are there any hikes that you want to take, adventures that you want to include into your schedules?
Go ahead, pencil those things in. Choose the days that you want to go to a pumpkin patch, if you haven't yet. Or, just plan a morning coffee date with your husband, get a babysitter. And again, think, are there any birthdays or weddings, or plans that you need to account for this month?
And now, we find ourselves here in October. See how quickly that's all going to happen? It's crazy. So, questions for you about October.
How would you like to change the setting of your home, the décor, your plans, in the last few weeks that you have?
Do you have your kids' outfits done for Halloween?
Do you have your outfit done, if you celebrate Halloween?
Here's a question. What eating plan do you have for the remainder of the year? Do you have one?
Are there any guidelines that you need to put in place now, so that you can really enjoy Thanksgiving and Christmas?
I know I like to tighten up, be a little more healthy in October, November, so that I can feel like I can feast more at Thanksgiving and Christmas. But, it takes intentionality and planning to do that. Otherwise, I can tell you I'm just going to go off the rails and eat whatever I want, because everything is extra delicious this time of year.
Okay, 2020.
Listen, it's been a heck of a year.
It has taken a lot of normalcy away from us.
It has been hard.
What I love about the end of the year, and the end of this year in particular, and why I have so much hope and joy is that because it's all about family. It's about your home, and it's about celebrating God's goodness in your life. Redirecting our minds and our hearts to how good God has been, the miracles that he has done, and how he's been faithful to you, even in the darkest of moments. We don't have to have a normal year to do that, we don't have to have schools back in session, and the economy back, everything's opened up again, we don't have to have any of that. You know what? All of this takes place in the walls of your home, which is where we've been all year, and we have the privilege and honor of setting that tone in our families.
We can acknowledge how hard it's been, and choose to be grateful for all the good that we have. But, I'm going to tell you what. If we don't want to be frustrated with our spending, with our weight gain, with the overwhelming amount of parties and clutter, and all the things, we have to start now. We have to start today. So, get your pen, get your calendar, write down your vision for the season.
Create a Christmas budget now.
Plan your family events now.
Start brainstorming ways to be generous as a family.
Go to a restaurant and pay for someone else's meal secretly, let that be your new tradition. Or, set a giving goal for a ministry, or somewhere that you can give to locally, and you save for as a family, involve the kids in that.
If you need some extra help on how to catch a vision for this season, for the season that you're in, go back and listen to Episode 075 and I'll ask you some questions to help you do that.
Start now, and finish strong.
Work and Play cornerstore
Now, it's time for the Work and Play Cornerstore, which is where I share a book I'm loving and a thing I'm loving. I'll get a small commission for anything bought through these links, which help me to continue to bring this podcast to you every week. But the price is normal for you, so it's a win-win.
Today, I'm going to be adding the book Welcome Home: A Cozy Minimalist's Guide to Decorating and Hosting All Year Round, as well as my favorite new scrunchie to the Cornerstore.
All right, first let me tell you about the book. I'm going to be upfront and honest, I usually only put books in here that I have read from cover to cover. That is not the case with this book, I have just started it. But, it was so perfect for this episode, and I'm a few chapters in and I'm loving it so much, because it just came out, just came out. The first section is all about decorating for fall and hosting others, and then it goes into winter, and how to decorate for winter, and host people in winter.
Listen, I love her writing style, her decorating philosophy. It's so approachable, and just helpful. I just don't feel like decorating comes naturally to me, and I feel like this book is really timely for me, and a mindset shift that I need to have with decorating before the holidays descend upon me.
So, a friend sent it to me as a gift. I am so glad she did. I wish I could send one to every one of you, right before the holidays. It's really good. Maybe just put it on your Christmas list, if you can't get it before Christmas. Really, really good.
Okay, the next thing I have been loving is this scrunchie by Anthropologie, it's called the Arden Scrunchie. It kind of makes me feel like I'm in the '80s again. I am a child of the '80s so I'm totally embracing it. But, it's this huge scrunchie that I wear on my wrist or in my hair, and I love it. It's kind of silky, so it makes me feel a little bit fancy, even when I'm wearing a t-shirt and I just throw my hair up in a messy bun. But, I bought two of them, in pink and black. It's a dusty pink. I'm just obsessed with them, I wear them all the time. I wish that I had grabbed the three pack, because I didn't know this but they sell them online for a pack of three. It would have been cheaper. Anyway, you might hate scrunchies, that's okay. These just feel like extra special, so I just had to share them and you can find a link for those in the show notes.
Warren Buffet said,
"Someone's sitting in the shade today because someone planted a tree a long time ago."
Let's let that be the quote we remember as we plant and plan for the upcoming holidays and season that we see. Let's plant a tree so that our kids and our family can sit under the shade, and be thankful for our forethought, our planning, and the joyful, calm atmosphere that we've created in the season to come.
Thanks for listening, and I'll see you next time.
