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Take a DEEP Breath...It Is, Indeed, December

It sounds so cliche to say something along the lines of, "Can you believe how quickly this year has flown by?" or "How can it be December already?"  And yet here I am wondering how on earth the year 2013 could possibly be drawing to a close.

Maybe because we have temperatures in the 50s today here in Kansas, or perhaps because Thanksgiving fell later on the calender than it usually does (leaving fewer days before Christmas), or maybe it's just that I'm in my forties and I life moves faster than it used to. Whatever the reason, I feel like this Christmas season could come and go before I even have a chance to worship the Lord who was born in order that He might die for us. I do not want that to happen. So I'm doing things a bit differently this year.

We do not have our tree up yet. Or our outdoor decorations. That's kind of a rarity for our house. But we traded the time we would have normally spent decorating for time spent with our entire family while our two oldest were home from college for Thanksgiving. And that was a smart trade. In fact, I am pretty sure we will utilize that smart trade all month long. We're putting up fewer decorations inside, kind of keeping things simple this year. And we're choosing how we'll spend our time carefully.

One difference in our homeschool this December stands out, because it's really not normal for me at all. I usually have a plan for this month's homeschooling ~ either we work ridiculously hard and try to get a whole lot done up until a few days before Christmas and then we break until after the New Year; or we work hard through November so we can take it slower during December, and then we hit the ground running in January. But this year I'm not applying either of those methods. I'm simply enjoying the pace of life that the Lord sets for me each week...each day. And you know what? I really, really like it.

Who knows, maybe my high-strung self has flown the coop and the "new me" is here to stay. Life is too short, time with family too precious, keeping a focus on my Lord too vital, for me to be anything but fully relaxed, fully trusting and fully yielded to His will for me and my family.

Yup, it's December. Inhale deeply, exhale slowly...and choose not to panic but instead to rest in Him and let Him be your delight.

Lord bless you this Christmas!

Day 287 done :)

Jan L. Burt

author of The Homeschooling Mothers Bible Study

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