Thanksgiving Encouragement for MomsShembull

Happy Holy Days

by Mary Frieg

With the Lord’s help, we can keep the holy days that are upon us from being just holidays. 

The word “holiday” originally meant “holy day.” Sadly, the term “holidays” now simply means the period from November to New Year’s, and has become a blur of the materialistic call to “celebrate the holidays.” While there is nothing wrong with making our homes festive and cheerful, we must be careful not to exhaust our time, resources, and energy on less important things.

Proverbs 17:1 says, “Better a dry crust with peace and quiet than a house full of feasting with strife.” Last Christmas, my wonderful brother visited my family during an unusually busy season. In the month of December alone, my husband and I traveled out of town, our youngest son got married, and we hosted many family members and friends staying in our home. Needless to say, there was much stress and busyness!

There was one particular incident that stands out in my mind that I would like to share with you. My brother was helping me around the house and asked me where to put various items in an effort to help me tidy up. (I have a great brother!) I was feeling unusually burdened with my workload, and I snapped at my dear, sweet brother. I felt terrible! I realized later that I had allowed myself to become overwhelmed with tasks I wanted to accomplish, rather than loving my family. 

Have you ever been inside a perfectly decorated home that was lovely to look at, but the fruit of the Spirit was not in it? Showing love and being like Jesus to our loved ones is much more important than having “House Beautiful!” Your family cares more about having a happy mom than they do about having a perfect house. This Christmas, while the magazines and catalogs call upon us to try to do everything perfectly, may we do fewer and simpler things, with love and kindness. As Jesus said to Martha, “You are worried about so many things, but Mary has chosen the better part.” May we all choose the better part by resting in the love of Jesus this Holy-day season!


“The best and most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen or even touched. They must be felt with the heart.” ~ Helen Keller