It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year!

Thanksgiving is over and it's beginning to look a lot like Christmas! There are lights going up everywhere and trees in the windows. We just need some snow and we will look like a Thomas Kincaid picture.

But what does it look like inside your four walls? What's the atmosphere? Are you fighting? Are you giving one another the silent treatment? What's it like inside your marriage picture? Is your picture one that you would proudly put up on the wall for everyone to see or is it one you would rather hide in the closet?

Here are a few tips to help you in your marriage picture during this season.

• Don't have unrealistic expectations - easier said than done. The commercials, the pictures, the movies, they all set us up for unrealistic expectations. You may not have the funds to completely redecorate the entire house with Christmas decorations. Your family may have a limited budget for gifts and food - here's the solution - make the best of what you have and enjoy the people you are with. No one's Christmas is perfect. You have family dynamics that will not necessarily change for this one week of time. So, don't expect your grumpy, critical in-law to all of a sudden be another person for Christmas dinner - accept them for who they are and don't get caught in unrealistic expectations.
• Manage Your Time - there are still only 24 hours in a day during the Christmas season. While there will seem that there is more to do - it is really that there are different things to do. Don't get that confused. If you have three hours in the evening after work before the Christmas holidays, you will still have 3 hours after work during the Christmas holidays - how you use that time is what changes. Decide what you want to do - and do it. The word "no" is completely acceptable.
• Enjoy Your Family - Enjoy the holidays with your family. Your family and my family may look different. Your family may be your neighbors or friends - either way, enjoy the time. Determine within your heart that this time will be enjoyable! Don't be miserable.
• Keep Christ the Focus of this Christmas - It is hard for some people to realize that the whole purpose of this holiday is because God sent his one and only son to be born so that we could live. Celebrate the way He would want to celebrate. Give the way He gave. Remember that it really isn't about us - it is about Him. When we focus on Him, He will make it the best holiday ever for us!

So, remember everyone has a picture - you decide what it looks like! Merry Christmas!!!!!

Go on your December Date! Visit www.bmky.org then click on the MarriedLife page!