“May God, the source of hope, fill you with all joy and peace by means of your faith in him, so that your hope will continue to grow by the power of the Holy Spirit.”—Romans 15:13 (GNT)

One of my favorite scriptures that has been on both my knit gift tags and included on many of my Christmas cards throughout the years is, Romans 15:13 “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.”

It will also be my phone screen saver this month. Each time I pick up my phone I will be reminded to put my trust in God and to be filled with joy and peace so the Holy Spirit will flow out of me to those around me. It isn’t easy to spend quiet moments in God’s presence with so many things distracting us.

A small thing I am doing to accomplish this is by taking my time decorating for Christmas. As I am writing the post, I am looking at a partially decorated home. In the past, all my decorating is up the day after Thanksgiving. I have my husband move every one of the bins inside the house and I don’t stop until each one of them has been emptied.

In all honestly, it was not just stressful to put that undue pressure on myself, but I also would get short with my husband when he would make an innocent comment, still working on the decorations?” My response to that question usually not one of my finer moments.

We got a new tree this year. It had been in a box near our front door for over a month. Since we were hosting Thanksgiving, we could either move it to the garage or at least unbox it and put it up in the living room.

Last Wednesday, I came back from running errands to see my husband had it up with all the branches fixed. He said it took him over an hour to fluff up the tree. What a gift for him to have that done for me.

Maybe this is why I haven’t been in a rush to decorate the house. I have had a pre-lit tree to enjoy without the stress of looking at a stack of Rubbermaid bins throughout my house.

This year I had him leave the bins in the garage. I empty a few, then knit for a little bit. Here it is 4 days after Thanksgiving and not one room is finished. And you know what? It is okay.

For the first time, I am enjoying doing it at a slower pace. In fact, it has been fun to reminisce over items that were given to me as gifts. Fondly remembering who gave it to me…some no longer with me.

Saturday, my husband wanted to go to the movie. The old me would have told him, (probably not in a sweet tone) no, I need to finish. However, since everything is in the garage, I had no problem agreeing to go.

Then yesterday we were invited to a get together with some friends. In the past, had I not finished my decorating, I would have told my husband to go without me. My attitude this year has been, when it gets done, it gets done. There are more important things to do. One of which is having fellowship with friends.

The reality is; having a perfectly decorated house or a house decorated in a timely matter isn’t what matters in the kingdom of God. Spending time with my husband, friends, making extra knit gifts to give away and writing this post is how I share the spirit of Christmas and what Christ has done for each of us.

Father God,

Forgive me when I forget Jesus is the reason for the Season. Thank You for slowing me down to enjoy this Christmas. May You fill my heart with gratitude as I take in the sights and sounds of this special holiday. Use me to be a light to those who don’t know You. I lift those up to You who are getting lost in the hustle and bustle of the world’s view of Christmas. Slow them down to enjoy peace in Your presence. I pray these things in the name of Your Precious Son, Jesus. Amen.

 December Verse

“And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us; and we saw His glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.”—John 1:14 (NASB)

If you are knitting or crocheting gifts to give away, please make sure you tweet @KnitPrayShare or share your projects on the Knit, Pray, Share Facebook page or Instagram using the hashtag #KnitPrayShare. Be sure to attach a tag to whatever gift you make.