Surviving Christmas

How does the Holiday season make you feel?

For some folks, it’s their absolute favorite time of year, but for others, it’s a sad reminder of lost loved ones, broken households and perhaps even being alone.

So, how do we survive the good, the bad and the ugly of the Christmas season?

There really is a simple answer.

Focus on Jesus.

How do we do that in all the hustle and bustle?

Listening to Christmas music that focuses directly on Him.

Unfortunately, secular Christmas music has even invaded Christian radio stations.

But, traditional Christmas carols and modern songs that celebrate Jesus’ birth really can help us stay focused on why we celebrate this holiday.

How do we survive this family oriented holiday if we’re missing a loved one or our family is broken through divorce?

Finding something each day to thank God for will shift our thinking from loss toward gain.

The enemy wants us to focus on what we don’t have (a loved one, a marriage, a happy home, etc.).

This negative focus will suck us down into the pit of despair, and we will bah humbug everyone around us as we wallow in our pain.

Instead, we must resolve to thank God for something or someone each day, and our mindset will shift from the negative to the positive.

Doing this will enable us to stay cheerful and joyful even though our circumstances are not ideal.

Remember that Satan is the ultimate Grinch who wants to steal our joy.

So, beloved, no matter what life circumstances we’re facing this Christmas, let’s purpose to celebrate Jesus and give thanks to God for something or someone, and then the enemy won’t be able to steal our joy.

I hope this encourages you, and have a Merry Christmas everyone!

Robyn Henning

The Stages of Grief

I’ve had a number of clients going through the grieving process lately, so I wanted to review the different stages of grief.

Remember that God never intended for  us to feel grief, so it’s toxic to our body, soul and spirit.

This is why Isaiah tells us that Messiah is the One who can carry our grief and sorrow.

The first stage of grief is denial, numbness and shock…. “this can’t be happening”…”this is just a bad dream that I’m going to wake up from.”

This stage usually lasts throughout the funeral process or the first few days of the major change in our lives.

Then, we transition to the Regret Stage where we are hit with the “would’ve, could’ve, should’ve” thoughts.

Satan loves this stage where we beat ourselves up with ‘what if’ statements like, “what if I had done this instead… it’s all my fault that….”

As the true extent of our loss sets  in, so can depression which can manifest with sleep and appetite disturbances, low energy and poor concentration, and crying spells.

Satan hammers hard with feelings of loneliness, emptiness, isolation, and self-pity.

His goal is to trap a person in this stage.

Along with depression can come anger as a person feels abandoned, helpless and impotent.

This is when Satan will accuse God of not being loving or trustworthy because He took our loved one away, allowed our spouse to leave or our job status to change.

The sign that we are processing grief by releasing it to God is reaching the Acceptance Stage.

It’s not easy to get there.

For me, what’s helped is purposing to love the person enough to rejoice with them that they are in glory with Jesus.

I can’t be selfish and demand their return.

It has also helped to focus on the glorious reunion that awaits us at the Rapture.

Now, other losses other than death have to be processed too.

Divorce, job loss… all change for that matter, produces a sense of grief.

In each situation, giving over the painful emotions and getting to the point of acceptance are the keys to not getting trapped in regret, depression and anger.

Remember, the only person we can control is ourselves.

So, keeping godly goals and desires in perspective is critical to stabilizing our emotions.

Beloved, allow the Lord Jesus to lead you through the grieving process.

Nothing that occurs in your life ever catches Him by surprise.

He has a plan for you.  It’s a great plan.  He will overcome every evil that Satan launches at us.

Focus on doing the next thing His puts in front of you in His strength and for His glory.

Doing this will keep you mindful of Him and protect you from Satan’s traps.

Blessings,

Robyn