Right now I’m launching into my official Thanksgiving preparations. Imagine all the family driving in. Imagine the rooms to arrange, the week of activities to plan, the house to clean, the meals to prepare.
There’s a way to go about this with flair.
Lately, I’ve been reading and hearing a lot about how to handle Thanksgiving stress. At the same time, I’m reading article after article about how to “Have a Thanksgiving to Impress!”
Does Thanksgiving stress come from what I stress? If I emphasize wanting to impress my guests, my Thanksgiving becomes a performance to evaluate rather than a holiday to enjoy.
I don’t want family members to remember how impressive I was; I want them to remember how loved they felt.
So I’m cleaning my home to make others feel comfortable, not impressed. We’re planning a menu to nourish and celebrate, not impress.
Living with flair means I make preparations in order to love–not impress–those around my table. Suddenly, it doesn’t matter about this old rented house, this tight budget, this simple meal. We’ll hold hands around a thrift-store table and thank God for all we have. You will feel loved, not impressed.
And that will impress you.
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I love your question, “does Thanksgiving stress come from what I stress?” I tend to start stressing from now through Christmas. 🙂 Praying that we'll stress the right things & that your Thanksgiving festivities will show love and thankfulness to all you come in contact with during this time.
I like your stress! Have a happy day.
A great way to re-frame what could otherwise be tiresome and full of drudgery. A good thing to remember, thank you.
We will never impress anyone in our very small house.+
But the Baker house always impresses me with the love of all the sweet children! I'm so impressed with the Baker family!
amen