Making the Holidays Memorable While Moving

I love tradition and the holidays! October through December is my favorite time of year. From hayrides and pumpkin patches, to my mom's stuffing and football, to breakfast with Santa and the twinkle of the Christmas tree -- I love it all. But this year, I am struggling with how to honor traditions and make the holidays memorable while we are in the middle of a move.

As I mentioned here, we are moving back to the neighborhood I grew up in, just two streets over from my parent's home. In addition, we are downsizing. We are moving from a two story traditional with a garage, overhead attic, walk-in attic space over the garage and a basement, to a split-level with a carport, no attic and no basement. We have to go through everything we own and assess if we really need/want it in our new life. Does it have a use? A place?

The Red Sox fan and I are sick of the clutter and junk that seems to appear as soon as we pick up. We want a home that is neat and tidy, where the kids have enough toys to entertain them, but know where they go when the play ends and actually put them there. (Am I dreaming?) I want my crew to build good organization habits and know where their coats, bags and shoes go when they come home. This takes weeding out, packing purposefully, and strategically setting up our new space.

So, how to do all that and still recognize the season? This weekend we are having a garage sale and will hopefully get rid of a lot of stuff which will make further sorting and packing easier. But, next week is Thanksgiving. Aside from my Publix iconic salt & pepper shakers, there is no evidence of the holiday in our home. Plus, we have no time to do all the cute Thanksgiving crafts on Pinterest. Thankfully, we will be going to Grammy and Pop's for the day, so I guess I can take that pressure off, but what about Christmas?

Our move-in day is uncertain because work is being done on our new home. So, as soon as we get past the garage sale, we will be packing and sorting to be ready to move when we get the go ahead. It seems silly to get out any Christmas decor, but we may be moving in the weekend before Christmas - will we have a tree?

Thankfully, Christmas is so much more than the decorations and in the midst of all the mess of packing, we will honor the season in other simple ways, such as:

• Going to church and observing Advent
• Going to holiday parties
• Participating in the annual Tour of Homes I go on with my mom each year
• Baking cookies at my mom's house with the cousins
• Helping others like donating to Angel Tree and packing a box for Operation Christmas Child
• And get the kid's picture with Santa

What do you think? Do you have any other suggestions for celebrating the season while preparing for a move?

He Who Meets Our Needs

“And my God will meet all your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus.” —Philippians 4:19 (NIV)

How has God met your needs in a seemingly hopeless situation?

For me it has been so many ways! A gift card that arrived just in time to get gas on my way home from work when I was almost out. A hug, a kiss and a "mommy you are so beautiful" from my daughter when I was feeling not so much. A job in an economy where jobs come few and far between. Our God has used friends, circumstances and people to meet my needs and even in my own time of need, he asks me to do the same. That is why this Christmas, we are supporting a ministry I have represented professionally for many years, Prison Fellowship's Angel Tree.

Families who have an incarcerated parent are often strapped financially and cannot afford food, clothing or Christmas gifts. Children often have behavior and performance problems at school and experience social stigma and shame. Prison Fellowship's Angel Tree, the only nationwide, year-round effort that reaches out exclusively to children who have a parent in prison, has served some 9 million children since 1982. This Christmas, Prison Fellowship seeks to meet the needs of some 475,000 children and they need our help!

Angel Tree needs churches and individuals across the counrty to sign up to bring a gift to a child this Christmas on behalf of their incarcerated parent. These parents are longing to connect with their children and have signed them up for Angel Tree in an effort to make a lasting connection and heal wounds caused by their imprisonment.

How Can You Help? 

• Share about Angel Tree on your social networks.
• Volunteer to coordinate Angel Tree in your church this Christmas. Angel Tree provides everything you need!
• Get your small group involved to sponsor a group of children in your own community.
• Take a tag and buy a gift if there’s already an Angel Tree program in your congregation or at a nearby church. Call (800) 552-6435 or email angel_tree@pfm.org to find a participating church in their community.
• Donate online at AngelTree.org to provide a gift and the Gospel to a child in a state where there’s no church to help.