Let me start by saying that I was a liberal arts major and marketing minor. Science ain’t my thing, but there is one scientific law that has practical implications in my right-now life:

“An object in motion stays in motion with the same speed and in the same direction unless acted upon by an unbalanced force.” (Newton’s Law of Inertia)

Here’s how I read this law as a try-hard girl: “A woman in motion stays in motion, going at the same crazy speed and in the same confusing direction unless she decides to handle her schedule with intentionality and focus.”

You know what I’m talking about, right?

Our schedules are already nuts, so when we add all the pomp, circumstance, tradition, tinsel, and sugar of the holidays, the pace whirls faster.

So what do we do? Is it even possible to slow our pace? What if we can’t? Are we doomed for season after season of busyness, exhaustion, and hustle?

 

Friends, the beautiful (and little-known) truth is that we have control over our schedules before the crazy and during it.

Your December calendar may look like this: the not-at-all-optional company Christmas party, your son’s holiday band concert, and volunteering for the PTA Santa Shoppe.

Oh, and you’ll go to work too… you know, that thing you squeeze in between all of these obligations.

Thankfully, there’s help for us before the obligations and the crazy schedule starts.

Before we plunge into the fast-moving river that is Christmas, let’s take a minute to think intentionally through our schedules. Let’s evaluate what’s important to us, develop a strategy, and determine what our decisions will cost us.

Here’s a printout that will help you do just that.

And once the ball gets rolling, there’s help for us during the craziness too.

Let’s be honest—sometimes we can’t opt out of the Christmas craziness because we’re in charge of an event or we’ve already committed to certain activities. But even for those of us who are in the thick of the schedule that feels like a game of Tetris, there’s still hope.

Do not throw your hands up in defeat believing that there’s nothing you can do about the pace. And shockingly, don’t opt-out and raise the white flag either. Common-sense grace says to do something entirely different…

Try-hard girl, this is your time to fight.

Fight for a renewed mind.

Our actions start with our thoughts. Paul knew this when he wrote in Romans 12:2 that a renewed mind leads to a transformed life. We don’t have to slog through our days, play catch up, or finish the to-do list.

Fight the belief that says you’re not enough, or that you have to do more and try harder this season. Instead, believe that Christ is with us always and we are fully known and fully loved. Let’s renew our minds and know that we are sufficient in Christ.

With a renewed mind, we’re changed even when the busyness stays the same.

Fight to stay present.

I am the queen of “nexting,” or thinking about whatever is next. As I bake cookies, I think about what I’ll make for dinner. As I make dinner, I think about wrapping the gift. I’m rarely “here” because I’m already onto what’s “next.”

Fight the belief that says that all the things will only get done when we ignore what’s right in front of us. Lean into the truth that Christ is the God of Right Now. Let’s commit ourselves to this time, to be fully aware and notice the details of what’s happening here and now.

With our minds focused on the present, our perspective changes and we can appreciate all that we have.

Fight to lift up your work to God.

When the schedule and pace seem too busy and I feel overwhelmed, I devolve into snippiness, distraction, blurry forgetfulness, and a lack of purpose. I rarely look for the sacred in the midst of the swarm.

Fight the belief that says we can’t experience joy until the to-do list is completed. Lean into the truth that your body is a temple, and our temples may take the form of a baker, a chauffeur, or a party attender. Let’s commit ourselves to look for the sanctified among the commonplace. To taste heaven in the cookies we’re baking. To make the car our cathedral. To let the work of our hands become the worship of our hearts.

With hearts offering sacred work, our daily chores become an act of worship.

Friends, the beautiful (and little-known) truth is that we have control over our schedules before the crazy and during it.

We are a people who will stay in motion, moving at the same speed, going in the same crazy direction unless there’s intervention. And Christ Himself intervened when He told us to come to Him and to learn His ways.

His ways are for the tired and burned out. His pace is not fast or ill-suited. The way of Jesus is the way of freedom and lightness. (Matthew 11:28–30 MSG)

Let’s cease to be objects in motion that stay in motion. Let’s plan with intentionality before that hyper-drive holiday pace kicks in. Try-hard friends, it’s time to fight for a renewed mind, to stay present, and to lift our work up to God.

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