How to Have Christmas and Keep Merry – Send Peace

Christmastime is time for family.

Which can be really great and wonderful!!

Or really horrible.

Have you ever seen the movie National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation??? 🙂

Family is always a blessing, but when you put a bunch of sinners under one roof, there are bound to be a few ‘issues’.

If you want to stay joyful throughout the holiday season, decide now to be a PEACEMAKER.

Romans 12:18 says, “Do all that you can to live in peace with everyone.”

Is Aunt Flo making comments about your turkey?  Here is what a peacemaker would say, “Aunt Flo, your turkeys are always so delicious.  What’s your secret?”

Is Grandma feeding the kids too many sweets?  Here is what a peacemaker would say, “Hey mom, I am just going to forward you their dentist bill next month.”  HA!  Just kidding.  A peacemaker would say, “The kids are so happy to spend time with you.”

Is the ‘family friend’ making remarks about your weight or your sibling passive aggressively reminding you of past failures?  A peacemaker would remember who she is in Christ and find ways to love and serve them even more.

This sounds easy when I type it out.  SUPER hard when faced with someone you love and a situation that makes you want to therapy with a carton of peppermint ice cream.

The only answer to doing this well is in seeking Jesus.  Our pursuit of Him should be passionate and unceasing.  When we feel our flesh rising – anger, impatience, jealousy, bitterness – we must run to the Savior and remember that long ago night when Peace Himself came into our broken and corrupt world to offer us a way contrary to our nature.

A better way.

A loving way.

When we know the peace of Christ, then we can’t help but offer it to others.

We won’t do this perfectly, so we must rely on grace.  We can humbly admit our weaknesses and sincerely apologize when we mess it up.  Peacemakers seek to make things right with others.

And peacemakers find ways to be a part of the solution in this world rather than a part of the problem.  We have enough problems out there – let’s choose to make a difference for the GOOD.

Here are a few other ways to send peace to the people in your world (even beyond your family!) this holiday season…

• Bake Christmas cookies and take them to Sunday School teachers, neighbors, mail carriers, etc.
• When driving around to see the Christmas lights, leave candy canes with notes of thanks for the people who have nativity scenes in their yards.
• Bring hot cocoa to the bus driver.
• Visit a few shut-ins and sing Christmas carols.
• Place a Christmas card on someone’s car wishing him/her a blessed season.
• When you are at a friend’s house, sneak an encouraging note into her Christmas stocking.
• At a Christmas party, sneak a new ornament onto the host’s Christmas tree.
• Pray as a family before opening gifts.
• Invite someone to your church’s Christmas Eve services.
• Make dinner for your pastor’s family (this is usually his busiest season!).
• Take Christmas Eve or Christmas Day dinner to someone who works at a 24-hour pharmacy.
• Sing Silent Night over your babies as you rock them to sleep.
• Intentionally choose to do something lovely for the person in your world who is hardest to love.

“Blessed are the peacemakers for they shall be called sons of God.” Matthew 5:9

People will know we are sons and daughters of God when we live lives that reflect His grace and kindness.  When we keep our eyes fixed on the bigger picture of knowing Jesus, we will remain unshaken, undiscouraged, and unruffled by the world – whether that be family, friends, circumstances, or current events – and we will carry on the good work that began long ago by a tiny baby boy on Christmas.

I can’t think of a better gift to give people than that.

– Julie 🙂

*Some of the ideas listed above are excerpted from my eBook – The Kindness Antennae!  Read more about it HERE!

**Grab the above FREE Printable Holiday To-Do List by clicking HERE!