[00:00:00] Speaker A: Well, Merry Christmas. What a wonderful season this is, but it can also be busy. We know that Christmas time can be a little bit crazy for all of us and so we wanted to share with you how to stay connected to the Lord in this busy season. Today we're going to be talking about habits and systems to stay connected to God, to stay connected to each other and to really experience Emmanuel in this season. Can't wait. It's going to be a good one.
[00:00:30] Speaker B: If you're tired of leading others while secretly battling doubt, discouragement and mental warfare.
[00:00:35] Speaker A: And you want practical tools to renew your mind and walk boldly in your.
[00:00:39] Speaker C: Calling as a leader, you're in the right place.
[00:00:41] Speaker B: Welcome to believe and become.
[00:00:43] Speaker A: We're Josh and Carina, your spirit filled coaches, here to help you overcome those limiting beliefs and lead others confidently.
[00:00:50] Speaker B: If you're ready to hear God's voice more clearly, to step into your purpose and find joy and strength in the.
[00:00:55] Speaker A: Everyday, silence those Bible app reminders judging you from your lock screen and let's.
[00:00:59] Speaker C: Jump in.
[00:01:03] Speaker A: Foreign.
[00:01:07] Speaker B: Hey friend, before we get started, we've got a quick invite for you. If you're a spirit filled Christian in leadership who's been caring a lot lately, maybe you're tired, overthinking or wondering how to find your next breakthrough, we'd love to help. Sign up for a free 25 minute transformation session where we'll help you get clarity and create a practical plan to move forward in peace. You'll also learn about our one on one coaching program designed to help you renew your mind and and lead from presence instead of pressure. Just head to joshandkarina.com coaching that's J O S H A n d c o R-I-N a.com coaching to book your session now. Let's dive in.
[00:01:46] Speaker C: All right, welcome back to the podcast. We're so excited to just chat with you today. How to experience Emmanuel in a busy season and share our favorite habits for staying connected to God at Christmas. As we were learning how to do ministry for many years, we served as worship pastors at our church for 13 years. Boy, the Christmas season was our busiest season.
We were always planning special Christmas programs, services.
We had Christmas parties that we were planning, attending. The kids have Christmas programs. I mean you name it. Like it just all stacks up on top of each other plus all of the family stuff that you want to do and we would get to the end of it and just ask ourselves what happened. January would roll around and we would be so wiped out and exhausted over the years We've learned a few things about how to make that better so that it doesn't have to be this crazy whirlwind, but you can actually enjoy the season.
[00:02:46] Speaker A: Yeah. I think it's so important that you have habits, systems that there are things that you're doing to, to ensure that you're not just getting caught up in the commercialization of Christmas or even if it's not that. The busyness of the season, of all of the responsibilities, and especially if you are in ministry, there's a lot that happens at Christmas and so it's easy to kind of dread it sometimes or to sacrifice family things in order to make all of these commitments or maybe even time with Jesus. And so that's what we would like to avoid. And we want to help you avoid that.
[00:03:21] Speaker C: Yeah, it's so important to be intentional. So many times we're just kind of like flying through life.
[00:03:26] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:03:27] Speaker C: Just trying to hang on for dear life. Like Jesus, take the wheel, come on. You know, we're just, we're going to make it through. But if we take a moment to sit and even, you know, ponder with the Lord, ask the Holy Spirit to lead you. How can I be intentional in this season to connect with you, to connect with my family, to prioritize the important but non urgent things that makes such a huge difference and that has made a huge difference in our lives as we have experienced holiday seasons since then. So one of the main things that, that we like to do is to stay connected to each other and to our family. Those key relationships, we want to prioritize those because those actually connect us to the Lord as well.
[00:04:05] Speaker A: Ye.
[00:04:06] Speaker C: As Christians in leadership, our first ministry is always to our family. That's the most important thing. It's easy to be pouring out so much to the people that you're leading, the people in your flock, you know, that you're in charge of and then forget. Oh my gosh, we didn't do any of the fun family stuff that we like to do. And so just being intentional about. Okay, we're going to plan some fun things to do together.
[00:04:28] Speaker A: And it doesn't have to be big things either. I think some of our favorite Christmas memories are spending days on the couch watching Christmas movies and drinking hot chocolate. We like to go look at lights together. We like to bake cookies and build gingerbread houses. And Josh and one of our sons have a tradition of baking a pie every year at Thanksgiving. And they just pick something interesting and bake it. And it's so fun and so it's just these little things, but really just being intentional to make sure those things happen that we're going to, hey, this weekend, Friday night, Saturday night, whatever night we have available, we're gonna all get in our Christmas PJs and we're gonna snuggle under a big blanket and drink, eat some popcorn and watch the Grinch or whatever. And so doing those special things together, I think those are. Those are the things that feel kind of little or maybe feel insignificant in the moment, but those are the things that I think you remember, you know, you remember those times together. And we like to go to special services together. If there's a Christmas tree lighting or a Christmas Eve service or our kids do Christmas programs for their school, we like to go to those together as a family and to experience that just closeness. And then you're also engaging in that spiritual routine as well, that spiritual rhythm. And so I think those things are all really important.
[00:05:46] Speaker C: Yeah. And you want to prioritize those, which means you might have to say no to some other things. Like maybe there's some Christmas parties that you're going to have to say no to and go. Well, actually, we have a family night planned, a movie night or whatever it is, and. And saying no to some things, which can be really hard, but it's important because our kids need us and we need that time together.
[00:06:04] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:06:05] Speaker C: Another thing that we like to do is, as a couple is schedule a date night during the month so that we can stay connected. And so if you're traveling, sometimes you're spending time with family, ask the grandparents to watch the kids for an evening so that you can get out and have some alone time.
[00:06:21] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:06:21] Speaker C: Because that also is another relationship that needs some care and feeding during the holiday season. Yeah.
[00:06:26] Speaker A: And it's fun, too. Even I think when our kids were smaller, we would try to schedule like a date night where we could go Christmas shopping together and so we could go find fun gifts for them. And I think that even something like that, where it's like we're. It's a. It serves a dual purpose. You're connecting, but then you're also on the Christmas hunt, you know, and it makes it fun. And so, yeah, that's something I think that is really important. And you were married before you had kids. You're going to be married after they're. They're gone. And so you want to make your own traditions, do things together that you're going to continue to do for the rest of your life. That's just the two of you, I think that's really important. And then obviously I think this should go without saying, but sometimes when our lives get busy it is hard to fit in our time with the Lord. I don't know why, but it seems to be the first thing that goes. And so be intentional to schedule time with the Lord. If you want to stay connected to Emmanuel God with you in this season, then you have to intentionally spend time with Him. And so make it a priority to schedule in your time with the Lord. And you can look at even just the week ahead. What does this week look like? How much running around am I going to be doing? Do I have a consistent time where I can? Yeah, I'm just going to continue to get up early and I'm going to meet with the Lord at, you know, five six in the morning when everybody else is sleeping. Or is this something that you're going to have to fit in and where can you fit it? Put it in your calendar at 2:30 on Thursday. That's the time that I have to spend with Jesus. I don't think that God minds if we put him in the calendar. I think that's actually precious time to him. And so just being intentional that I am going to spend time with Jesus in this season. That should be all about Him.
[00:08:06] Speaker C: Yeah, that's so good. Life is all about finding time for those important non urgent things. Like God isn't busting down your door to meet with you, but it's the most important thing that we need to do is spend time with Him. And so schedule a meeting with God and say, oh, actually I have time tomorrow at 2:30-3. The kids are taking a nap or whatever it is, they're going to be doing something with their grandparents. I actually have time. I can be quiet and be still with the Lord and just receive from Him. And it doesn't have to be the same thing that you always do. Maybe you just need some time to be quiet and to be still in his presence. I did that yesterday and it was fantastic just to receive from the Lord.
But just make sure that you make it a priority to fit it into your day and you can be flexible with it.
[00:08:50] Speaker A: Yeah, absolutely. I think another thing that's almost equally as important is to remember that your body still needs to be cared for you. Your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit. And so as you take care of yourself, as you take care of your body, as you exercise and eat right and do all the things that are needed to care for this body that the Lord has given you. That is a way that we can honor God. We honor God with our body. We honor him with our choices. And so in this season of cookies and candy and hot cocoa and all the things, it's so important to continue to care for your body in a way that will keep you functioning at your best and able to engage with your family and your friends and to be able to keep up with all the responsibilities that you have.
[00:09:37] Speaker C: So things that you need to prioritize are exercising, make time to go for a walk. You can do that with your spouse or your kids. It doesn't have to be the normal exercise routine that you always do. You can make it look different during this season, but make sure that you're fitting it in because that is so important. If our bodies are healthy, our relationship with the Lord is gonna be much better. If you're getting the rest that you need, make sure that you're keeping a consistent bedtime and wake schedule. Because when you're running full speed, you need to recharge. So make sure you're making time for that. You're getting the rest that you need, you're getting the exercise, you're eating healthy as much as you can. Definitely allow yourself to celebrate and to enjoy all the goodies around the holiday season. You don't wanna deprive yourself, but make sure you're still getting some vegetables in there and you're doing your best to fuel your body because everything in your temple is going to affect your relationship with the Lord and your ability to minister to the people that are you called to minister to.
[00:10:34] Speaker A: Yeah, I think this is important year round, just recognizing that if you take, if you take care of yourself, you're going to be able to lead and to minister and to love people really well. But I think it's really great to say you want to eat healthfully most of the time. And that's something that we try to practice on a regular basis, not just holidays. Like, we travel for almost two straight weeks during Christmas. Our boys get off of school and we're off, and then we get home maybe a couple days before they have to be back. And we're sleeping in different beds, we're on different schedules. And so it's, it's important for us in order to not be grumpy, to be able to celebrate and be excited, we have to continue. Okay, we're gonna go to bed at a relatively decent hour that's fairly consistent over the two weeks. We're gonna take the time to go for walks, to eat In a way that makes us feel good. And then, yeah, if there's cookies everywhere we go, you guys, at holidays, so many cookies, so many cookies, and they're so good. And so it's a matter of, like, I can have a cookie after lunch or a cookie after dinner, but I'm not gonna eat all the cookies, right. I'm not gonna just stand there and eat as many as I can. And so we wanna allow ourselves to indulge. But still remembering, how am I gonna feel tomorrow if I eat a plate full of cookies? Right? It's not gonna be great. And so just trying to continue with that idea that if I'm healthy, if I'm feeding my body and treating it well, then I'm gonna be able to participate at a greater level and I'm gonna enjoy the season more.
[00:12:07] Speaker C: And I love to invite the Holy Spirit into all of these suggestions. Ask him, what, what do I need to do in this season to take care of my body, to make sure I'm prioritizing you to spend time with my family? Invite him into that process and let him lead it.
[00:12:22] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:12:22] Speaker C: The Holy Spirit is our best life coach ever and he wants to speak into those things. So ask him, okay, what's a good plan for me around Christmas? Goodies and treats, like one a day. Or maybe I pick one day where I go crazy and eat all I want and then I don't eat anymore. He'll lead you into what will work for you.
[00:12:38] Speaker A: Yeah, that's so good. And then it's really important to keep some of your rhythms. And this kind of goes along with being intentional to schedule time with the Lord. We're taking care of our bodies. And then you want to keep some of those rhythms that make you feel like you. You want to make sure that you have the quiet time to engage with the Lord privately, to find moments of stillness where you can stop and take a deep breath and say, oh, God, thank you for this season where you can continue to do your declarations, memorize your scripture, meditate on the Word, all of these things that you are fitting into your life on a regular basis. They don't have to take a long time, but be consistent to do some of those things. Just like we said, having that consistent ish bedtime, wake time. It's helpful to your body and to your soul to continue doing the things that you normally do, even in a different environment. And that could look like you have five declarations on a three by five card that you stick in your toiletries bag so that Every time you get ready in the morning or you get ready for bed, you just say those declarations real quick.
Take a few minutes to connect with the Lord and keep the rhythms of the habits that ground you and connect you to Him.
[00:13:49] Speaker C: Yeah. I just feel like the Lord is releasing grace right now to discover with him what's going to work for you in this holiday season. As you explore that with him, he's going to show you. This is what we're going to do for this season. I have something special for you. Something special I want to release over you and speak to you. And it doesn't have to look like what you do the other 11 months of the year. This month can be something really special that God wants to do with you.
[00:14:13] Speaker A: That's so good.
[00:14:14] Speaker C: So another thing is just understanding that we all have a peace tank.
[00:14:19] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:14:19] Speaker C: You know, I know that maybe sounds weird, but we all have a certain amount of peace, and we need to really guard our peace and we have control over it. We can hand that out to other people. As we get upset with them, we allow them to steal our peace. Peace is the presence of the Holy Spirit. He is peace. Peace is a person. It's the person of Jesus Christ living inside of us. And so as we're going about our day, when we get cut off in traffic or somebody takes the last thing on the shelf that you're trying to buy for your kid or whatever it is, we can get upset and allow those things to steal our piece or giving it away to people. And then the end of the day, we're just totally frazzled and fried, or we take a deep breath and go, actually, this is not worth getting upset over. I'm going to guard my peace, and I'm just going to keep my connection with the Lord.
And that is so powerful. That has helped me so much. Especially when we're driving, you know, if you're driving long ways to go see relatives, everybody's kind of in a hurry. Some people don't realize that they're being rude. And so I actually just choose to bless the people that cut me off. And it totally shifts my perspective on it. Instead of getting upset, I'm actually reconnecting with the Lord in that moment. And especially as we're meeting with relatives that we don't see very often, some of them like to. To jab at you or try to, you know, get you to respond.
[00:15:39] Speaker A: There might be difficult conversations that you have to navigate.
[00:15:42] Speaker C: Right. And it's the same thing. You can choose to react to that and get upset and to lose your peace, or you can choose to respond in love and really release the peace of the Holy Spirit. Remember that you are the thermostat, not the thermometer. You don't have to reflect the environment around you. You actually can set the temperature. Yeah, Holy Spirit has given you that ability. And so when, you know, you're going into a situation like that, preparing ahead of time to say, okay, I'm going to actually set the temperature of the room. I'm going to bring Holy Spirit with me. And that is very, very powerful.
[00:16:16] Speaker A: Yeah, there's a store in our city. This isn't Christmas related specifically, but there's a store in our city and it's a health food store. And they have, you know, some kind of like New Agey type stuff there. And when we moved here, and every time I would go there, I would feel so.
[00:16:33] Speaker B: And confused.
[00:16:34] Speaker A: Literally, I would walk in with, you know, the things in mind that I needed. And by the time I got down the second aisle, I would be so turned around, I would feel chaotic. That's the only way to describe it where I was just overwhelmed and felt so chaotic. And I was telling Josh about it and he's like, well, it's probably you're feeling the atmosphere of the store. It's the environment.
So next time just ask the Holy Spirit to protect you. And remember, you're the therm. Thermostat. Thermo.
[00:17:00] Speaker C: Thermostat.
[00:17:01] Speaker A: You're the thermostat, not the thermometer. And I was like, oh, yeah, duh. But you don't. You can't see it yourself. And so the next time I went, before I got out of my car, I just said, holy Spirit, thank you that you ground me and that you protect me. And I just covered myself with the blood of Jesus. And I have never been confused in that story again. I have never felt lost and crazy. And so I think sometimes we can walk into an environment, especially familiar environments where we know the. The way things are going to go, or we think we do, and, and we can just automatically be overwhelmed by whatever is already there, by the fear, by the anger, by confusion. But to choose, we get to choose if we're going to walk in and receive that and step into that, or if we're going to walk in with the peace of Christ, that peace, that is your greatest weapon in spiritual warfare, that you get to walk in with peace, covered by the blood of Jesus. And so right now I just, I see the Lord releasing his peace over you as a protective element. Peace is not passive. Peace is a weapon and I see him protecting you with it, covering you, surrounding you with his peace. And as you walk into different situations, situations this season, the Lord is going to empower you to do it in a different way and it's going to feel like it never has before.
[00:18:15] Speaker C: That's so good. So we hope that these have been helpful. We talked about making sure that you make it a priority to stay connected with your spouse, with your family, your kids during this season, being intentional to schedule time with the Lord. Remember to take care of your body in this season as well, keeping your rhythms going as much as you can, and then to guard your peace. So we hope that these have been helpful for you. So we would love to hear from you if this has been helpful. Tell us if you have a Christmas rhythm or tradition that helps you stay spiritually grounded. We'd love to hear what works for you and try some of them out, so share them with us. Send us an
[email protected] or you can connect with us on our social media. We would love to hear from you. What are Christmas rhythms or traditions that have helped you stay spiritually grounded?
[00:19:10] Speaker A: Hey friend, we hope you enjoyed today's episode. If so, would you take 30 seconds to share this podcast with someone who may need encouragement or practical tools for fighting their battle?
[00:19:20] Speaker B: Then rate and review this podcast. Help us spread the message of transformation far and wide.
[00:19:25] Speaker A: All right, time to walk back into the noise with peace, purpose and maybe a time tiny bit of caffeine.
[00:19:31] Speaker B: We'll meet you back next Thursday for another episode.
[00:19:34] Speaker C: Bye.
