Tag Archive | Christmas Countdown

To Anyone Stressed & Busy This Christmas Season

Dec21

Christmas week is a madhouse.

There are busy grocery stores…hurrying to get everything just perfect…unending To-Do lists…panic setting in.

Just a gentle reminder for every stressed out and busy heart:

  1. It’s ok to buy cut & bake Christmas cookies in the refrigerated section vs homemade. Enjoying cookies together is the sweetest.
  2. It’s ok if your home looks lived in. It doesn’t have to be perfectly decorated. It matters that people feel like Home & are treasured.
  3. Homemade hot cocoa (with homemade whipped cream & marshmallows) is ideal…but Swiss Miss with spray can whipped cream & JetPuff marshmallows is also special. It matters that family & friends (& you) feel warm in their heart.
  4. You don’t have to gift wrap with perfect bows…gift bags are convenient and carry gifts out too ftw.
  5. It’s ok to buy Bob Evans mashed potatoes and other prepared foods. Gathering with the people you love best is what’s most important.
  6. Relationships don’t have to be perfect to put aside differences for the day to create good memories. I’m not talking about abuse…that should never be excused or tolerated. We each are unique in our thoughts/beliefs, how we process life, and how we love. Celebrating the best in each other daily…making lasting memories…intentionally making time for each other…supporting one another…loving to our best ability…that creates a beautiful family — and life.
  7. It’s okay to do a fun dinner with non-traditional foods. I know someone who does enchiladas every Christmas. Another who does take-out Chinese, someone else who does pizza, and another who grills shrimp. It matters getting together and enjoying each other’s company.
  8. It’s ok to not buy a bazillion gifts and focus on giving meaningful gifts instead.
  9. Take time out to deeply care for your loved ones…and your own heart. It’s highly beneficial to simply spend time with loved ones, have good and enjoyable conversations, do fun activities like watching Christmas movies, listen to soft Christmas music, go on a relaxing walk, get a warm cozy holiday coffee or hot chocolate and look at lights, relax by the tree. Hug the hearts around you..and hug your own heart too!
  10. Remember the Reason for the Season. The first Christmas was pretty simple, meaningful, & full of love. It’s a valuable, beautiful blueprint worth honoring.

At the heart of every holiday…especially Christmas…you can stress yourself out so much by putting too much on yourself & others.

Breathe…
Relax…
Put God & people first…
Seek peacefulness…
Love & treasure everyone around you…
Look for the beauty in everyone & everything…
Savor and treasure every memory made.

🎄🩷🎄

~ Kim

©2025 Grief Bites. All rights reserved.

❤️If you were encouraged by this post, please feel free to share it to encourage others!

⭐️For more encouragement:

❤️Making peace with God: http://www.peacewithgod.net

❤️Getting Your Breath Back After Life Knocks It Out of You (Kim’s book): https://www.christianbook.com/getting-knocks-transparent-journey-seeking-through/k-b-h-niles/

❤️Connect on Facebook by “liking” page: https://www.facebook.com/GettingYourBreathBackAfterGrief

❤️Kim’s blog: https://www.griefbites.com

❤️FREE YouVersion reading plans:

  1.  The True Treasure of Christmas:  https://www.bible.com/en/reading-plans/28852
  2. Grief Bites: Hope For The Holidays: https://www.bible.com/reading-plans/1964-grief-bites-hope-for-the-holidays
  3. Experiencing Holidays With Jesus: Christmas: http://bible.com/r/3V5
  4. ⭐️NEW!⭐️ Lord, How Am I Ever Going to Get Through This?: https://www.bible.com/en/reading-plans/48271
  5. Grief Bites: Finding Treasure In Hardships: https://www.bible.com/reading-plans/912-grief-bites-finding-treasure-in-hardships
  6. Grief Bites: Doubt Revealed: https://www.bible.com/reading-plans/954-grief-bites-doubt-revealed
  7. Grief Bites: A New Approach To Growing Through Grief https://www.bible.com/reading-plans/862-grief-bites
  8. Experiencing Holidays With Jesus: Happy New Year!: http://bible.com/r/3Zv
  9. Valentine’s Day: Experiencing Holidays With Jesus: https://www.bible.com/reading-plans/14059-valentines-day-experiencing-holidays-with-jesus

⭐️All content on the Grief Bites blog and website is copyright protected material. Please ask for permission to copy, use, or print. 

⭐️⭐️All content on the Grief Bites blog and website is for encouragement purposes only and is not in any way to be construed as medical, emotional, mental, relational, or psychological advice. We hope to serve as a bridge to encourage others by sharing our personal grief and life experiences. Please contact a qualified healthcare professional, mental health professional, or qualified pastor for guidance and advice.

🎄Christmas Countdown ~ December 8🎄

Dec8

🎄❤️🎄Good evening!
Today, we’re on Day 8 of our Christmas Countdown. Hope all of you are safe & well and are having a blessed week!

🎄🦌🎄❤️🎄🦌🎄 Day 8🎄🦌🎄❤️🎄🦌🎄

Have you ever celebrated Advent as a family, by yourself, with your church family, or with friends?

As a young parent, I always looked forward to this extra special time, as I looked for ways to bring Christmas to life!

My favorite advent book to follow has always been ‘Christ in Christmas: A Family Advent Celebration.’ It clearly explains Advent and it’s history. It has wonderful writings by Charles Swindoll, James Dobson, R.C. Sproul, and James Montgomery Boice, and has a great layout for building up to the joy of Christmas Day.

Advent is a time of great expectation, waiting, and preparation of the celebration of Christ’s birth and the nativity, and the second coming of Christ when He returns.

Participating in Advent truly prepares our heart to keep Jesus the main focus, the true Reason for the season. As we focus on Christ and celebrate Advent, we keep an Advent calendar, do a special daily devotional, pray, sing carols, read Scripture together, and build a Christmas wreath with special candles.

The anticipation of waiting for Christ’s birthday to arrive – so we can fully celebrate Him – is a very special time!

Consider celebrating Advent this Christmas season. It will surely bring you closer to God’s amazing heart!

🙏🏻Prayer: “Father God, thank You so much for Your perfect plan in bringing Jesus to earth. We love and adore Your precious Son and we are so grateful that through Him, we have the opportunity to have eternal life! What a most precious, extravagant, and treasured gift! Father, I pray we will clearly see Jesus throughout this entire Christmas season. May we continually ponder, treasure, be sincerely grateful for, and enjoy the true Reason for the season – oh, come let us adore Him! We love and absolutely adore You! In Jesus name we pray, Amen!”

⭐️Activity: find a good Advent book, or look for free Advent resources through your church, and enjoy celebrating Jesus and Advent throughout the season! If you’re reading this after Advent has already started, no worries, you can always double or triple up the days.

❤️Read: Mark 1:1-3

This devotional © 2018 by Kim Niles/Grief Bites. All rights reserved. Used by permission.

🦌🎄❤️🦌🎄❤️🦌🎄❤️🦌🎄❤️🦌🎄❤️🦌🎄❤️🦌🎄❤️

©2020 Grief Bites. All rights reserved.

❤️If you were encouraged by this post, please feel free to share it with others!

⭐️For more encouragement:

❤️Making peace with God: http://www.peacewithgod.net

❤️Getting Your Breath Back After Life Knocks It Out of You (Kim’s book): https://www.christianbook.com/getting-knocks-transparent-journey-seeking-through/k-b-h-niles/

❤️Connect on Facebook by “liking” page: https://www.facebook.com/GettingYourBreathBackAfterGrief

❤️Kim’s blog: https://www.griefbites.com

❤️FREE YouVersion reading plans:

1. Grief Bites: Finding Treasure In Hardships: https://www.bible.com/reading-plans/912-grief-bites-finding-treasure-in-hardships

2. Grief Bites: Doubt Revealed: https://www.bible.com/reading-plans/954-grief-bites-doubt-revealed

3. Grief Bites: A New Approach To Growing Through Grief https://www.bible.com/reading-plans/862-grief-bites

4. Grief Bites: Hope For The Holidays: https://www.bible.com/reading-plans/1964-grief-bites-hope-for-the-holidays

5. Experiencing Holidays With Jesus: Christmas: http://bible.com/r/3V5

6. Experiencing Holidays With Jesus: Happy New Year!: http://bible.com/r/3Zv

7. Valentine’s Day: Experiencing Holidays With Jesus: https://www.bible.com/reading-plans/14059-valentines-day-experiencing-holidays-with-jesus

⭐️All content on the Grief Bites blog and website is copyright protected material. Please ask for permission to copy, use, or print.

⭐️⭐️All content on the Grief Bites blog and website is for encouragement purposes only and is not in any way to be construed as medical, emotional, mental, relational, or psychological advice. We hope to serve as a bridge to encourage others by sharing our personal grief and life experiences. Please contact a qualified healthcare professional, mental health professional, or qualified pastor for guidance and advice.

🎄Christmas Countdown ~ December 5🎄

Dec5

🎄❤️🎄Good evening, everybody!
Today, we’re on Day 5 of our Christmas Countdown. Today’s Countdown shares one of my absolute favorite Christmas traditions.
I hope all of you are safe & well and are having a peaceful weekend.

(For those who are just joining us, each day, I’ll be daily posting from one of our YouVersion Christmas reading plans throughout December. I hope this helps each of you to feel less discouraged or alone…especially with the pandemic…and like you have a friend encouraging your heart during this very tough time of year.)

🎄🦌🎄❤️🎄🦌🎄 Day 5🎄🦌🎄❤️🎄🦌🎄

Christmas is filled with wonderful traditions.

One of my favorite traditions is when my family wears Christmas pajamas and we drive around to see Christmas lights on homes. We’ve done this every year as a family for a few decades now.

The pajamas are warm and comfy, and the Christmas music and hot chocolate are great…but the lights are the main event.

If you think about it, lights have a special way of drawing people in. They’re brilliant, beautiful, and filled with warmth – just like the Light of the world!

The true Light of Christmas has the awesome power and ability of shining truth and love into the most broken, grief-stricken, or hardened of hearts.
Jesus truly illuminates all that His love touches!

Do you feel discouraged or broken this Christmas season? I encourage you to seek Jesus with all your heart. Ask Jesus for His comfort and help. Even in our brokenness – especially through our brokenness – God’s light can shine through. In fact, God has an extra special place in His heart for the brokenhearted (Ps. 34:18).
As we allow God to bring His help, encouragement, comfort, and healing into our hearts, He then can use us to be a brilliant light…a true treasure..to others (2 Corinthians 1:3-5).

This Christmas season, ask Jesus to show you who needs to know and hear about His love and light!

Jesus is the Light of the World. What an incredible privilege to have 24/7 access to a close friendship with Him…and to show His beautiful light to others.

Ask Jesus to make you a bright light for His glory, and to light your path and guide your life. Jesus is faithful to shine through us…as we love others this Christmas season…and to show us His perfect will for us, too!

This Christmas season, let’s allow Christ’s light to draw us in and captivate us each and every day!

🙏🏻Prayer: “Jesus, thank You for being the Light of the World and shining Your brilliant light into our hearts! Thank You for making a way for each of us to know You intimately and for being our very best and most treasured Friend! This Christmas season, I pray You would show us opportunities to share Your life, love, and Light with others. Make our hearts sensitive and compassionate towards those around us who are hurting, and those who are in darkness, so we can shine Your light of hope into their life! We thank You for all You have done (and all You will do) in our lives and our loved ones’ lives this special Christmas season! We love and adore You! In Your precious name we pray, Amen!”

⭐️Activity: Invite your family or a loved one to wear Christmas pajamas and look at Christmas lights together. Talk about how Christ has changed your heart and life…share ways He has brought Light into your life! Also share with each other what Jesus is currently doing in your heart and life. Don’t forget the Christmas music (also be extra careful if driving and looking at lights😊). After you get back, watch a Christmas movie together.

Read: Psalms 34:18, John 8:12, James 1:17, John 1:9, Matthew 5:14-16, Psalms 36:9, 2 Corinthians 1:3-5

This devotional © 2018 by Kim Niles/Grief Bites. All rights reserved. Used by permission.

🦌🎄❤️🦌🎄❤️🦌🎄❤️🦌🎄❤️🦌🎄❤️🦌🎄❤️🦌🎄❤️

©2020 Grief Bites. All rights reserved.

❤️If you were encouraged by this post, please feel free to share it to encourage others!

⭐️For more encouragement:

❤️Making peace with God: http://www.peacewithgod.net

❤️Getting Your Breath Back After Life Knocks It Out of You (Kim’s book): https://www.christianbook.com/getting-knocks-transparent-journey-seeking-through/k-b-h-niles/

❤️Connect on Facebook by “liking” page: https://www.facebook.com/GettingYourBreathBackAfterGrief

❤️Kim’s blog: https://www.griefbites.com

❤️FREE YouVersion reading plans:

1. Grief Bites: Finding Treasure In Hardships: https://www.bible.com/reading-plans/912-grief-bites-finding-treasure-in-hardships

2. Grief Bites: Doubt Revealed: https://www.bible.com/reading-plans/954-grief-bites-doubt-revealed

3. Grief Bites: A New Approach To Growing Through Grief https://www.bible.com/reading-plans/862-grief-bites

4. Grief Bites: Hope For The Holidays: https://www.bible.com/reading-plans/1964-grief-bites-hope-for-the-holidays

5. Experiencing Holidays With Jesus: Christmas: http://bible.com/r/3V5

6. Experiencing Holidays With Jesus: Happy New Year!: http://bible.com/r/3Zv

7. Valentine’s Day: Experiencing Holidays With Jesus: https://www.bible.com/reading-plans/14059-valentines-day-experiencing-holidays-with-jesus

⭐️All content on the Grief Bites blog and website is copyright protected material. Please ask for permission to copy, use, or print.

⭐️⭐️All content on the Grief Bites blog and website is for encouragement purposes only and is not in any way to be construed as medical, emotional, mental, relational, or psychological advice. We hope to serve as a bridge to encourage others by sharing our personal grief and life experiences. Please contact a qualified healthcare professional, mental health professional, or qualified pastor for guidance and advice.