Scripture reading:  Luke 2:1-7

 Introduction:  In the account of Jesus' birth, Mary and Joseph had all of the ingredients of holiday stress.  She was tired and worn out from the journey to Bethlehem, and added to this was the impending birth of her first child.  No room was reserved for them in the town and no welcoming committee eased their anxiety about being in a strange place for this event. ...

1.  Having it All Together:  We think that others have it "all together" and wonder why we don't.  We feel the stresss of always coming up short and are sure that this is "just me" feeling that way.  Our frustrations mount when we see friends who "seem very calm and collected" during a season of inevitable overload.  We make it that much harder on ourselves by setting ourselves up for failutre by creating impossiblely high standards of achievement and condemning ourselves when we can't pull it off.  We end the day feeling very old and very tired.  Our shoulders sag and we feel the cares of life caving in....

2.  Updating Traditions:  Our stress mounts when we try to carry out traditions that are no longer meaninful to our families.  Instead of becoming a joy to us, it becomes a dread.  We say, "I dread to....

3.  Unrealistic Expectatons:  Unrealistic expectations for the perfect holidays can intensify our stress.  Magazine pictures, and store displays too often guide our thoughts of how things should be. ...

4.  Approval:  Trying to gain the approval of others and the approval of God in order to validate our own worth adds to holiday stress. 

What's the answer?  We need to know who we are in Christ; and knowing this, we no longer have to try to work so hard for God's approval.

This is a brief summary of my new book of 15 Advent and Christmas sermons just listed on Amazon.com

entitled Adventures into Advent.  Won't you check out this link?  https://www.createspace.com/3405315

Copyright2009by Marilyn Murphree