Who needs a jumpstart this holiday season? Do the holidays have you feeling more grateful or a bit glum from the heaviness of the year?
Most of us have had a few code blue moments this year. However, if you are reading this then you have survived. Maybe you feel like you missed the thriving part of 2020, but "perspective determines whether you are stressed or blessed." Craig Groeschel
So let's remember the true reason for the season and master the ABC's of real life.
Here are ten ways to let mindfulness and gratitude jumpstart your holiday season and have you gathering around the table this Thanksgiving with a heaping dose of thanks!
1. To live or die? That is the question.
For those who are new to my blog, let me take a minute to introduce myself.
I was a cardiac nurse for the first few years of nursing and I loved working with open-heart patients. I have found success and strength in everyday life using my nursing mindset.
It does not mean I master each day that comes my way, but it sure does help me critically think and prioritize. Life is hard but I love helping others stay the course and keep those hearts beating for good!
Most of you are familiar with an EKG strip of the heart. As you can see below, the ups and downs are welcome signs of life. However, the flat line... *gulp
If fear and anxiety this year has you numb, stuck, and stationary take heart. You must remember to embrace the highs and lows, they are signs of life!
2. Use gratitude as your defibrillator.
Before you flat line, add some life breathing gratitude to your day. Whether you believe it or not, you have to be mindful and deliberate about this habit. No one wakes up each day ready to meet the ugly challenges that await. However, a quick 15 minutes diving into a devotion, opening your gratitude journal, or organizing and prioritizing your day's challenges will make the difference in life versus death.
Check your crash cart. Make sure it is well stocked, the defibrillator has been charged with thanks, and that your team is ready. We cannot do life alone and God intentionally places people in your path for when the codes of life occur.
Put those sticky pads on, attach them to the right gratitude defibrillator, and let love send the charge!
3. Be thankful for each up and down.
From the mountain top to the valley, each segment represents life. We can't stay in the valley or the mountain top too long. It is not what makes our heart continue to beat.
The coronavirus has been a test of our limits. It has forced us to evaluate "normal" and it has brought some of us stumbling down the mountain at record-breaking speed. Possessions and success in the world's terms are no longer the means to achieve an easy climb to that perfect mountain top view. Instead, it is what is within us that settles you into that new shack in the valley snug as a bug with your favorite family and friends.
Be thankful for the pain and each high and low that signal life.
Your praise will reach the mountaintop and it will echo through the valley as you remember that your heart requires the highs and lows to keep on beating.
4. Don't forget to take your daily meds and adjust the doses as needed.
It is pretty near impossible to finish the marathon when you have spent the last decade sitting on the couch, developing poor dietary and exercise habits, and deciding that you do not need any daily meds or prevention strategies. It is then in the moment of panic when your health and world crash that you barrel yourself headfirst looking for immediate help and demanding answers now.
Thank you, frontline workers, for your dedication to health on the mountaintop and in the valley. You've shown the world that while they continue to panic with the ups and downs and when their life begins to flatline, that you instead have practiced, studied, and chosen this calling without a second thought.
Remember your daily doses of gratitude, practice those prevention building hope sessions, and keep the habit of heart-healthy living as your daily routine.
5. Schedule the cardiac catheterization with the ultimate Cardiologist.
It's now time to look at what's really going on inside your heart. For most, this point alone has you squirming in your seat. In real life, this is a scary test for many. It often determines the outcome and prognosis of your heart disease. However, with proper care and treatment, most people leave better than when they came.
Make an appointment with the ultimate Cardiologist today. The one who knows your innermost being and the depths of your heart. He is the one who leaves no one as they came. He will bypass the shameful parts, he will heal those deep hurts, and he will establish a new everlasting blood supply for all your days.
6. Connect to the right oxygen source.
The air you breathe, the oxygen you take in every second reaches your blood supply and supplies your heart with the needed ingredients to beat. Busyness hurries your pace and decreases your oxygen supply. Embrace stillness. It quiets your breathing, clears your mind, and oxygenates your body.
Mindful stillness is not idle time. Instead, it requires you to be present and aware of each breath. Connect to the right oxygen source, get in the Word, and allow it to saturate your innermost parts. You will then find that it rises to the surface and gives you the much-needed dose of oxygen you need for today.
7. Squash the disputes.
Petty disagreements kill the oxygen source and cause your heart to skip a few much-needed beats. This holiday season, silence the differences and let gratitude saturate you. Let it be the air you breathe, the charge your heart needs, and the love your family needs to feel while seated at the table.
The peace that follows will be the icing on the cake, the dressing to go with your turkey, and the splash of hope that fills your cup.
8. Get a new Pacemaker and let peace be your pace.
Be thankful that time moves in one direction - forward. Stop trying to create your own pace in life and connect to the right Pacemaker.
Let go of your past and show others you see them for their today. Shame and guilt ruin moments that really matter. Ask God to be the head of the table this Thanksgiving and to usher in forgiveness, love, and a pace that ushers in peace.
"A heart at peace gives life to the body." Proverbs 14:30
9. Stock up for the future.
If there is one thing that the pandemic taught me, it is to stock the cabinets. I undervalued the necessity of keeping all your cabinets and gauges on full. I was definitely running through life at such a busy pace that I never noticed the bare shelves and the empty parts of my life.
As you gather around the table this Thanksgiving, stock up on moments with your family and friends. Overindulge in laughing, reminiscing, listening, and showing love to all those who take a seat at your table.
10. Memorize your ABC's of life and keep them on replay.
A: Attentive, Aware, Accountable
B: Bonded with Christ
C: Connection, Compassion, and Care for the Cure
Be attentive and aware always. Your today matters. Pray for mindfulness each day and stay accountable for your all.
Stay bonded to Christ. Pray for a meek, humble, and kind spirit - one that models a life surrendered to Christ.
Compassion and care really do cure it all. Compassion and care bridge the gaps, medicate the hurts and heal the broken. Keep your supply line securely connected.
Finish well.
When my life on earth here ends,
I envision my life with these new bends.
Hearts and love that will forever abound,
as I find my steps are now on true ground.
May we gather together this holiday,
full of love and hope, we forever will pray.
Thankful hearts and hands we join today, as we sit at the table forever full of His Praise.
Put the heart in someone's today, it may very well be the jump-start they need to complete their day.
My heart belongs to Him - always,
P.S. Don't miss out. Join me here!
Welcome to Absolutely Amyable. Here you will find your calm cushion in life's chaos.
I have renewed resolve to use my story to help shape your story. To pass on to the next generation the power of meaningful connection and care for others.
May each of us who swore by oaths in our professions recite them daily and vow to uphold them. May each of us help guide others to find and fulfill their inner calling.
But You're ___________ *insert your name here.
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