Ep. 21: Reimagining Christmas: Prioritizing Meaning Over Perfection with Macy Dickson

Macy Dickson, a registered nurse who is now a stay-at-home mom, joins Monica on this episode.  Macy has a heart for the Lord and really wants to see moms and, women, in general, glorify the Lord in all they do.  She serves as part of the women's ministry team at her home church in Lubbock, Texas - Indiana Ave Baptist Church where she helps lead a Mom-to-Mom ministry.   In this podcast episode, Macy and Monica discuss the pressure and stress that women often feel during the holiday season. They talk about the desire to create a perfect and magical Christmas for their families, but how this can lead to overwhelm and stress. Macy shares her own experience as a new mom and how she realized that she couldn't do it all and that it was okay. She emphasizes the importance of prioritizing and focusing on what is most important during the holiday season, which is remembering and teaching about Christ. Monica and Macy also discuss practical ways to simplify and take the stress out of holiday planning, such as saying no to certain events, starting small with traditions, and shopping and wrapping gifts early. They also share their own family traditions, including service projects, reading the Christmas story, and participating in Advent. The interview ends with a discussion on reimagining Christmas for young children by focusing on the love, hope, and joy found in Jesus. Monica ends the episode with some ideas for implementing these same principles in the classroom.  Would you be willing to give up some of your "We've always done this" activities to shift the focus of your classroom more toward Jesus?     If you need some really practical ideas for keeping Christ in Christmas in your school, HERE is a downloadable PDF from our website. HERE is the link to Operation Christmas Child in case you want to explore that opportunity for next year. Macy is also a co-host on the Adorned podcast.  You can listen HERE if you're looking for some Christian encouragement for women. As always, we would love to connect with you on Instagram HERE and on Facebook HERE.