For most people, the Christmas season is one of the busiest of the year. If you’re like me, you spend a large amount of time shopping for gifts, planning meals, scheduling events with family, and lots else besides.

It’s beautiful, and hectic, and special; and yet, - it’s tempting to lose yourself in all the rush. When you finally come up for air, the Christmas season is over and you’re taking down those decorations, blinking in disbelief, and wondering “where the time got to.”

The reality is, there’s no better time than the Christmas season to learn how to slow your life down enough to value the things that truly matter. Remember how simple, exciting, and precious the Christmas season was as a child? It still can be that way! The question is, how do we restore that childlike spirit in this day and age of consumerism and fast-paced living? Everything happens so quickly. Isn’t the best answer to run as fast as you can to keep up?

We have some suggestions on how you can live a full life without feeling like you’re running a rat race to do it. Here are three easy suggestions to savor life instead of wasting it.

SIMPLIFY

Never has there been a time so unnecessarily complicated. It seems there’s always countless activities, events, and just general STUFF that demands our constant attention.

How often do we stop to ask ourselves this question - do these activities actually feed my soul? Am I only doing these things out of a strange sense of obligation or because “everyone else is doing it?” If so, these are the activities that NEED TO GO.

Some examples might be to cut back on all the extracurricular activities that are taking away family and/or creative time. You might be surprised to find out that your high schooler doesn’t actually want to play every ball game in existence or be involved in every after-school activity.

The purpose of creating a freer schedule isn’t just to have empty time to twiddle our thumbs. But it helps us to slow down and delight in the little everyday things that we otherwise would miss with all our rushing.

INTENTIONALITY

Imagine if we cut back on all the craziness of life and whittled down our daily lives to just the essentials. Think of what we could do with that extra time. The key would be to make the time count. That’s where intentionality comes in.

Once you have simplified your life, pick life-giving activities that not only you enjoy but also give back to your family, friends, and community.

For me, a personal choice I have made is to try to cook as many things by hand as I can instead of eating out (a challenging feat sometimes with a five month old and a husband with celiac disease - I relish the challenge though). Not only does it make for fun family time in the kitchen, but we also eat better food.

PRIORITIZE

Ok, so now you’ve got a new list of activities you actually want to do and maybe a little more time in your schedule for reflection. How do you keep from slipping back into old habits? Prioritization is the key.

Sometimes, we take for granted basic needs that really need to be scheduled into our routine. Selfcare like quality sleep, good food, time to create, and space to nurture relationships are often set to the back burner and not treated as essential.

Break down your new goals into actionable steps, so you are not tackling too much at once and make sure you prioritize those basic needs first!

That could look like committing to getting up an hour before the kids, so you have some quiet reading time (making sure to get to bed a little early in addition). It could look like regular family meal times that don’t shift for ANYTHING.

Make your priorities your own! They are as customizable as your schedule, but MAKE THEM!

We hope these suggestions help you during this busy season. Don’t forget to breathe and appreciate everything God has placed in your life. From all of us here at Rooted for Good, have a blessed Advent and Merry Christmas!

Learning and Growing Together,

Anna Ketterling

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