• Home
    • Resources
    • The Gospel
    • Statement of Faith
    • Church Finder
    • Homemaking Courses
    • Privacy Policy
  • About
    • About Me
    • My Church Home
    • The Bar Podcast Network
  • Start Here
  • Free Library
    • Sign Up for Access
    • Enter Library (password required)
    • Meal Planning PDF
  • Favorite Books
  • Shop TH Merch
  • Courses
    • Email
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • Twitter
    • YouTube

Thankful Homemaker

Gospel-Driven Encouragement for Homemakers

  • Blog
  • Podcast
  • Homemaking
    • Menu Planning Made Easy Course
  • Marriage
    • Marriage Series
  • Motherhood
  • Christian Living
    • Spiritual Disciplines Series
    • Sermon on the Mount
  • Homemaking Courses
  •  

Thoughts to Ponder as You Celebrate Christmas

by Marci Ferrell
Holidays

75shares
  • Facebook 40
  • Twitter

I’d love to help you simplify your meal planning. Check out my new menu planning course here.

I am praying I will ponder in my heart the wonder of Christmas as Mary did (Luke 2:19).  @mferrell

 

As I'm writing this post I am in the midst of the busyness this season seems to bring about.  Baking, cooking, and wrapping.  I continue to pray to the Lord to remind me to have the heart of Mary and not get caught up in the attitude of Martha in all that needs to be done.

I am praying I will ponder in my heart the wonder of Christmas as Mary did (Luke 2:19).  My hope is to have a calm spirit and attitude in the midst of all the little things that need to be taken care of and to be able to let go and not worry about those that didn't.

I am praying I will ponder in my heart the wonder of Christmas as Mary did (Luke 2:19).Click to Tweet

There are many things that did get taken care of as planned but also many that didn't.  I didn't get my neighbor gifts out.  I wanted to bake some cookies and take them to our local police and fire departments and that hasn't happened yet.  The reality is I can still do those things after Christmas and still share the Gospel message because the Good News of Jesus Christ isn't just a seasonal message but it is the best news I have to share with anyone every day of the year.

So this Christmas you will find us enjoying quiet moments together as a family.  We spend Christmas Eve with my daughter and her family, my father-in-law and we usually have an extra guest or two.  Even though everyone lives close our family still spends the night so we can wake up together and enjoy Christmas morning breakfast together as a family.   We always delight in all the cooking and planning for some fun traditional meals we all look forward to this time of year.  We do gifts pretty minimally now as there isn't really anything we truly need.

My favorite gift to my husband and now my son this year is to give the gift of time for every month of the year in 2015 (see Neat Gift Idea for Your Husband)  I plan various activities from coffee dates, dinner at home, game nights etc. to be intentional in the time we spend together.  I did shorter versions for my father-in-law this year too.

Again, the end of the year always has me being reminded of how thankful am I to the Lord for His abundant goodness to me – a sinner – who He has saved by His grace.  As my husband reminds me, if Jesus isn't enough nothing will ever be.

So this Christmas season ponder the truth of Jesus – Immanuel – God with Us – an amazing thought!  The God and Creator of the whole universe took on human flesh to live and walk among us as one of us so He could take our sins upon Himself and die for us – an undeserving, wretched people.  We have much to ponder!

 

Let me leave you with some thoughts to ponder as you celebrate the season with loved ones:

 
– Enjoy every moment and take the time to give family and friends your undivided attention.  When your husband comes up to hug you and you're in the middle of a mess in the kitchen – stop and enjoy that moment.  Get down on the floor and look those little ones in the eyes when you're talking to them. Be generous with hugs and love and attention.  
– Be thankful in and through all things.  Memorize Philippians 2:14 – no complaining.
 
– Get some quiet time away from the busyness to pray and be alone with the Lord.  Read and re-read the Christmas passages in scripture alone in your quiet moments and together with family.  (Matthew 1, Luke 2, Isaiah 7 & 9, Micah 5)
 
-Pray for opportunities to witness to lost family and friends.  (The Most Difficult People to Witness to: Your Family & Friends and Mud is Muddy: How to Annoy Your Unbelieving Family Less This Christmas)
 
– Be generous with finances and time.  Is there a family in need?  Missionaries?  Your church?  Maybe this is the year you sponsor a child with Compassion – there are many children and families in need of Christians letting them know they care and to share the Good News of Jesus with them.  (see 14 Simple Outreach Ideas with an Eternal Focus).

– Take a moment to read How to Preach the Gospel to Yourself today.

 

In Closing:

I am grateful for so much this past year.  Too much to list but I am thankful for the encouragement from you, my readers and friends.  I have grown to know so many of you over these several years of blogging.  I do wish I could hug every one of you and meet you personally and the joyous thought is if you are in Christ – we will get to meet one day in heaven. 

 
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 
 
 
1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was in the beginning with God. 3 All things were made through him, and without him was not anything made that was made. 4 In him was life, and the life was the light of men. 5 The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.
9 The true light, which gives light to everyone, was coming into the world.
~ John 1:1-5, 9
 
 
Related Links:
The Gospel

SaveSave

SaveSave

Related posts:

  1. EP 9: Christ-Focused Christmas Celebration Ideas
  2. Christ Focused Christmas Gift Guide 2017
  3. How to Avoid the Comparison Trap this Christmas
  4. Christmas Love – 1 Corinthians 13 Style


Free Resource Library

Get more posts like this in your inbox!

And while you’re at it, you’ll receive access to our FREE library of resources to help you in your homemaking!.

(I will not spam you. Read my privacy policy.)

« Cinnamon & Raw Honey Cold Fighter Recipe
Defining Real Foods & What Foods To Avoid – Baby Steps to Healthy Living Series »

Comments

  1. Jacqueline says

    at

    “I am grateful for so much this past year. Too much to list but I am thankful for the encouragement from you, my readers and friends. I have grown to know so many of you over these several years of blogging. I do wish I could hug everyone of you and meet you personally and the joyous thought is if you are in Christ – we will get to meet one day in heaven.”
    When I read this, I had to *grin*! I feel the same way, so I send you a great big hug and a “Thank You, Lord, for Marci as a friend!” Have a wonderful and restful continued holidays with your sweet family. So thankful for our Lord Jesus!

  2. The Mayo Family says

    at

    Thank you so much for sharing! We were so blessed by this, Mrs. Ferrell, that we shared it to our blog! 🙂
    May God richly bless you and yours this wonderful season!
    Blessings~
    Maggie for our family

    http://www.mayos4him.blogspot.com

Welcome to Thankful Homemaker

So thankful you’ve stopped by for a visit. Please grab a cup of coffee or tea and sit a bit. I hope to remind you that contentment in our role as homemakers begins with finding our satisfaction in Christ.

read more…

Categories

  • Bible Study
  • Christian Living
  • Holidays
  • Homemaking
  • Marriage
  • Menu Planning
  • Motherhood
  • Podcast
  • Time Management

thankfulhomemaker

Marci Ferrell
Contentment in our walk as believers is learned, j Contentment in our walk as believers is learned, just as Paul learned it, so do we as we walk this walk with the Lord. It does not come naturally to us. We know deep down the secret to contentment is to keep our eyes on the Lord in every situation. ⁣
⁣
Come listen in to Our Need for Contentment at the link in my profile @thankfulhomemaker (click on the link under the blue arrows and then this image).
"Rather than mourning over sin, the world redefine "Rather than mourning over sin, the world redefines it, or worse, celebrates it."⁣
~ John MacArthur
There is no heart God cannot conquer.⁣ There is There is no heart God cannot conquer.⁣
There is no life He cannot change.⁣
There is no past He cannot forgive.⁣
~ Steve Lawson
What does it look like to live a fruitful life in What does it look like to live a fruitful life in the empty nest years?  What do I do now? What does my day-to-day life look like? Am I needed anymore? These are questions that raced through my mind as the empty nest season approached and was quickly upon me.⁣
⁣
Come listen in to Fruitful Living in the Empty Nest Years at the link in my profile @thankfulhomemaker (click on the link under the blue arrows and then this image).
"A Christian home should be a place of peace, and "A Christian home should be a place of peace, and there can be no peace where there is no self-denial."⁣
~ Elisabeth Elliot⁣
⁣
Quote is taken from EP 102: Blessed are the Peacemakers - link to listen is in my profile @thankfulhomemaker (click on the link under the blue arrows and then this image).
"How much misery we would avoid if we permitted “the peace of Christ” to umpire in our hearts. How many words we would hold back if he were the arbitrator in our lives. How many sleepless nights we would forego if we did that. How the Church needs this too, “since as members of one body you were called to peace.”⁣
~ R. Kent Hughes⁣
⁣
The above quote is taken from EP 102: Blessed are the Peacemakers - link to the episode is in my profile @thankfulhomemaker (click on the link under the blue arrows and then this image). ⁣
⁣
⁣
#sermononthemount #martynlloydjones #matthew5:9 #peacemakers  #Mathew 5-7
I’m so thankful to get to be part of this most e I’m so thankful to get to be part of this most excellent conference this year 😍. Please head over and follow @openheartsinaclosedworld to keep updated on all the details of this free online conference for Christian women 🥰
Posted @withregram • @openheartsinaclosedworld “Open Hearts in a Closed World” is an online conference that exists to bring glory to God and proclaim Christ crucified through teaching the word of God to women. 

We are a reformed and biblical ministry that strengthens women to live out the truths of Scripture in their lives.This year’s theme is “Reverence in Radical Times”. 

Will you be attending? Leave us a comment and make sure you tell  your friends to follow us here.

💗y’all Open Hearts Gals!
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
. #openheartsinaclosedworldconference 
#openheartsinaclosedworld #womenintheword #deeplyrooted #reformedtheology #goodnewsfeed #truthinlove #solideogloria #wordbeforetheworld #graceupongrace #womenofgod #christfollowers #christianwomensconference #freeconference #ohcw2021 
#reverenceinradicaltimes
Next episode up in the Sermon on the Mount Series: Next episode up in the Sermon on the Mount Series:⁣
⁣
Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.⁣
~ Matthew 5:9⁣
⁣
To be a peacemaker we need to be at peace with God. It starts here. We must no longer be God's enemy. God is the supreme peacemaker and now as his children, we should resemble our Father and be peacemakers.⁣
⁣
Come listen in to the episode at the link in my profile @thankfulhomemaker (click on the link under the blue arrows and then this image)⁣
⁣
#sermononthemount #martynlloydjones #matthew5:9 #peacemakers  #Mathew 5-7
Maturity and wisdom are not guaranteed as you get Maturity and wisdom are not guaranteed as you get older. They are contingent on a humble and teachable heart. ⁣
~ @costiwhinn
Load More... Follow on Instagram

Access the FREE Library!

Copyright © 2021 Thankful Homemaker · All Rights Reserved · Privacy Policy & Disclosure

Copyright © 2021 · Divine Theme on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Pinterest
  • Email