• Home
    • Resources
    • The Gospel
    • Statement of Faith
    • Church Finder
    • Homemaking Courses
    • Privacy Policy
  • About
    • About Me
    • My Church Home
    • The Bar Podcast Network
    • My Favorite Blogging & Podcast Tools
  • Start Here
  • Free Library
    • Sign Up for Access
    • Enter Library (password required)
    • Meal Planning PDF
  • Resources
    • All Resources
    • Homemaking Courses
    • TH Gear
    • Amazon Shop (Books, Home Items & More!)
    • Journals & Notebooks
    • Free Library
  • Top 10 Book List
    • 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

85 shares
  • Facebook40
  • 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

WEEKLY HOME CLEANING SCHEDULE SIDEBAR AD

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…

MENU PLANNING MADE EASY SIDEBAR AD

Categories

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

thankfulhomemaker

Marci Ferrell
By affliction, Christ . . .⁣ shows us our empti By affliction, Christ . . .⁣
 shows us our emptiness and weakness,⁣
 draws us to the throne of grace,⁣
 purifies our affections,⁣
 weans us from the world,⁣
 and makes us long for Heaven.⁣
~ J.C Ryle
This simple free eight-page guide is meant to help This simple free eight-page guide is meant to help you think through your summertime schedule for your family. As you walk through it you'll determine what your family loves to do, leave room for spontaneity, and put together a simple daily routine to help your days run a bit smoother. ⁣
⁣
There are some summertime meal planning tips and a printable with ideas to put on your family's bucket list for summer and maybe spark new ones of your own! ⁣
⁣
Come download your free 8-page summertime guide here and get access to our whole library of printables when you do.
Such a good conversation with Dale Partridge from Such a good conversation with Dale Partridge from @relearnhq about his new Gospel Project called MailtheGospel.org. You can get the gospel to anyone anywhere.
So appreciate @reagantrose (I do recommend you fol So appreciate @reagantrose (I do recommend you follow friends if you don’t yet!)- link to the podcast episode we talked about Homemaking to the Glory of God in my profile @thankfulhomemaker 

Repost from @reagantrose 
Godliness > Your Plans⁠
The Church is not a gallery for the exhibition of The Church is not a gallery for the exhibition of eminent Christians, but a school for the education of imperfect ones.⁣
~ Henry Ward Beecher⁣
⁣
Come listen to EP 32: Preparing Our Families for Sunday Morning Worship at the link in my profile @thankfulhomemaker (click on the link under the blue arrows and then this image)
How many times does Sunday morning roll around and How many times does Sunday morning roll around and you find your heart in a state of chaos instead of calm to worship the Lord?  How many Sundays do you arrive at church and realize you haven’t taken the time all week to pray for your pastor or your church family? ⁣
⁣
I want to share with you some simple steps we can take to prepare our hearts and the hearts of our families for Sunday morning worship to the Lord. ⁣
⁣
The hope today is to get you to understand the purpose and the mission of the local church and then to move on toward how we can proceed with some simple steps to prepare our hearts and the hearts of our families for Sunday morning worship to the Lord.⁣
⁣
Come listen to EP 32: Preparing Our Families for Sunday Morning Worship at the link in my profile @thankfulhomemaker (click on the link under the blue arrows and then this image)
"Home is the true wife's kingdom. ⁣ ⁣ Very lar "Home is the true wife's kingdom. ⁣
⁣
Very largely does the wife hold in her ⁣
hands, as a sacred trust, the happiness ⁣
and the highest good of the hearts that ⁣
nestle there. In the last analysis, home ⁣
happiness depends on the wife. ⁣
⁣
Her spirit gives the home its atmosphere. ⁣
⁣
Her hands fashion its beauty. ⁣
⁣
Her heart makes its love. ⁣
⁣
And the end is so worthy, so noble, so divine, ⁣
that no woman who has been called to be a wife, ⁣
and has listened to the call, should consider any⁣
price too great to pay, to be . . .⁣
 the light,⁣
 the joy,⁣
 the blessing,⁣
 the inspiration, ⁣
of a home. ⁣
⁣
The woman who makes a sweet, beautiful home, ⁣
filling it with love and prayer and purity, is doing ⁣
something better than anything else her hands ⁣
could find to do beneath the skies.⁣
⁣
A true mother is one of the holiest secrets of ⁣
home happiness. God sends many beautiful things ⁣
to this world, many noble gifts; but no blessing is ⁣
richer than that which He bestows in a mother who ⁣
has learned love's lessons well, and has realized ⁣
something of the meaning of her sacred calling."⁣
⁣
~ J. R. Miller, "Secrets of Happy Home Life"
Friends 😊 - I'm so excited to share a conversat Friends 😊 - I'm so excited to share a conversation all about the Gospel with Dale Partridge from @relearnhq⁣
⁣
Please join us on IG live tomorrow (June 21st) at 5:30 PM CST/ 3:30 PST and learn about Dale's new project to help equip us to share the Gospel with anyone, anywhere!⁣
⁣
Please join us!
Summer is a natural time for me to get off my rout Summer is a natural time for me to get off my routine of menu planning. In the winter, we're more apt to stick to a schedule, but summer brings about a more flexible and changing calendar. ⁣
⁣
I'm sharing some simple tips that have been a help to me and hopefully, they'll help you in planning your summertime meals. Menu planning is a time and money saver, and I don't know about you, but I would sure like to have more time to enjoy my summer months.⁣
⁣
Come listen to EP 77: Simple Summertime Meal Planning Tips at the link in my profile @thankfulhomemaker (click on the link under the blue arrows and then this image)
Load More... Follow on Instagram

Access the FREE Library!

Privacy Policy

Copyright © 2022 Thankful Homemaker · All Rights Reserved · Privacy Policy & Disclosure

Copyright © 2022 · Divine Theme on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Pinterest
  • Email