Let’s Have a Hot Cocoa Conversation

I’ll have my cocoa with whip but no marshmallows, please. How about you?

We have our Christmas jam playlist going and are trying to suck all the Christmas fun out of this season, but some days it just feels hard and I find myself not having that wonderful Christmas feeling. I work on giving myself grace and understanding I might not always feel like celebrating, but moving forward with the traditions really does help set the stage for that merry feeling to hopefully show up.

Below are some things I’ve been wanting to share with you.

For the outdoor lover on your Christmas list, I thought this was a great site.

If you are struggling with relationship issues, Peace Pursuit is a great model for Biblical Peacemaking. They have a quick start guide that can help you today. My sister, who is a Marriage and Family Therapist, told me about it.

This and this are on my Christmas list. I’d love to hear something on yours.

This Ann Voskamp post about How to Not let Loss or Grief or Division Steal Your Merry Christmas This Year was very encouraging. l especially liked this quote, “Merry Christmas in its original language means all wrongness is happily being made right because of Christ.”

I recently discovered this cookbook. It’s focused on using real food (non-processed) with simple recipes that are budget-friendly. We made the apple pie french toast. Yum!

Since I read Rebecca last year, I’ve been waiting to watch the movie. Brent and I watched it. We were still talking about it days later. Have you seen it?

My dear friend, Emily, and the team at Kindred Mom have published a book titled, Strong, Brave and Beautiful. It’s a book about hope for moms in the weeds. If you or a mom you know is in need of a dose of authentic encouragement this is the book! They also have a podcast you can check out here.

One of my neighbors trimmed their holly trees so I grabbed some branches to use for decorations. I just love having holly around at Christmas.

Our small group from church has organized a serving opportunity to make freezer meals for the Baptist Children’s Home in Brentwood, TN. I’m thankful for an opportunity to serve and for our boys to see the grounds and be introduced to this type of ministry.

Today is National Cookie Day! We are planning to bake my mother-in-law’s M&M cookie recipe.

I’ve been looking forward to Ben Rector’s new Christmas album. Take a listen here and have yourself a merry little Christmas now.

What are you most looking forward to this season?

You may also like last Christmas with my dad or how to plan for children’s Christmas gifts without stress.

If you purchase from a link on this blog a small percentage of the sale may come back to me. You are never charged more for the product. It’s a way to keep this site going and I’m very selective about the things I list. It’s mostly things we already own and love or things I think you would enjoy. Thank you for reading it means so much to me!