7ToF: Christmas Edition, so really there's only one thing.

1. The miracle of Christmas is that God chooses to dwell among us. There are myriad ways to interpret that statement, even among my small group of readers. So maybe I will just stop there. That truth has struck me to the point of tears today (Christmas Eve). Whatever joy and meaning you take from the light that always returns--even in the midst of great darkness--I hope you have a lovely holiday.

The people dwelling in darkness have seen a great light
Isaiah 9:2

self-care, part 2

Karen pointed out in the comments to that self-care post that there is some overlap between self-care and self-indulgence when you've been through a difficult or stressful time, which is an excellent point. Since I know some of you read this on RSS where you can't see the comments, I'll copy a slightly edited version of my reply below (since I don't seem to have anything else to say today).

I don't think I'll be posting on a regular schedule until after the new year. I'm feeling singularly uninspired. I don't seem to be able to find the middle ground between writing what I hope are thought-provoking posts but make me sound like I'm preaching at you, and the posts where I'm more honest about my bad days, which no one wants to read. At least, I wouldn't want to read them if I were you! Advice and/or feedback welcome. Have a great week, and I hope you are finding ways to enjoy the holiday rush.

7ToF: Christmas preparations and a hat trick of faults

1. I've had a really bad attitude about Christmas the past couple of years. It wasn't always that way--I used to look forward to Christmas all year. I have more boxes of Christmas decorations than I am willing to admit, and I'm more sentimentally attached to most of them than I am to many items that decorate our house all year long.

Then the kids grew up and I got grumpier and Christmas took a left turn into something that was more obligation than joy. But for some reason this year I'm looking forward to it again. I voluntarily put Christmas music on a couple of days ago. Ding a ling.

re-thinking self-care

I've been thinking quite a bit the past few weeks about what it means to take care of myself. As I explained in this post, I'm convinced that self-care is not the same thing as self-indulgence. But I'm still figuring out exactly how it works.