BB Ep 89: Reflect on God's Faithfulness with This Christmas Tradition

12/23/19 • 13 min

Get Your Hopes Up with Christy Wright

Reflect on God's Faithfulness with This Christmas Tradition

0:53 My Favorite Christmas Tradition

Resources

2020 Business Boutique Goal Planner

Get going on your goals and make 2020 your best year yet! Order the new Business Boutique 2020 Goal Planner at BusinessBoutique.com/Planner and use the code BBPLANNER to receive Christy’s Setting Goals video that you can watch right now!

If you have a success story you would like to share with the Business Boutique community, email me at [email protected].

New podcast episodes are available every other week.

Merry Christmas, y’all!

A million years ago, before I was married and had kids, and before life got so busy, my mother encouraged me to try a new Christmas tradition—one she’d been doing most of her life.

Even before she had me, every year my mom would sit down and write a letter when she was packing up her ornaments after Christmas. In the letter, she would write about all the major things that happened in her life that year. She’d write about the highs, the lows, and everything in between. When she was done, she’d fold up the letter, pack it up in her box of ornaments, and put it away in the attic, not to be seen again until the following year.

A year later, when it was time to bring out all her Christmas decorations from the attic, she would open that letter and read it. She loved this tradition because it amazed her to see how much could happen in just a single year.

Well, I loved this idea so much that I also started doing it in 2006. Now, I'll tell you, it wasn't very sophisticated. I would sit down with a couple pieces of printer paper and just write down all my thoughts—in true Christy fashion, I rambled on and on and was very honest.

For example, in my letter from 2006, there's a line that says, “Dear God, please let me go on at least one date next year.” Well, bless my heart. Apparently, that was a tough year in the love department . . .

But you know what's so amazing? Year after year, as I've written these letters and then faithfully put them away to open the following year, I’ve always been blown away at not only how much can happen in a single year, but also how faithful God continues to be.

I start every letter by talking about what happened that year, and I end every letter by writing out prayers, dreams and hopes for the next year. When I read the letter from the year before, I feel like I’m living in the fulfillment of God's promises that I had prayed for (and forgotten about).

I remember, in December of 2014, sitting on my couch, reading my Christmas letter from 2013. One of my prayers that year was that Matt and I could start a family. And y’all, I was holding that letter over a giant belly—my son Carter was due the very next month!

Of course, every year isn't like this. My letter from 2016 had prayers that Matt's grandfather, grandmother, and our 11-year-old dog Jackson would get better. But all three of those loved ones passed away that year. Tears streamed down my face as I read those heartfelt prayers. That was hard to read.

But you know what? Even in the despair, even in the grief, and even when it seemed like God didn't fulfill that promise or answer those prayers, I was still able to see God's faithfulness in how those events played out.

Writing this letter has looked differently since marrying Matt because—I’ll be honest—he writes them reluctantly.

But we’ve gotten into a rhythm. Here's how we do it: Every single Christmas, I'll sit down with our notebook (we upgraded from printer paper!) and write my Christmas letter for the year. And then I’ll give the notebook to Matt so that he can write his letter. And the following year, I read my letter aloud to Matt, and Matt reads his letter aloud to me.

I’d like to point out that my letters are typically around 10 pages while Matt’s are usually around 10 words.

Allow me to read you a little excerpt from Matt’s letter in 2017: “As I sit down to write this, Christy is reciting all of the rules regarding the Christmas letter. They are numerous and overbear...

Reflect on God's Faithfulness with This Christmas Tradition

0:53 My Favorite Christmas Tradition

Resources

2020 Business Boutique Goal Planner

If you have a success story you would like to share with the Business Boutique community, email me at [email protected].

New podcast episodes are available every other week.

Merry Christmas, y’all!

A million years ago, before I was married and had kids, and before life got so busy, my mother encouraged me to try a new Christmas tradition—one she’d been doing most of her life.

Writing this letter has looked differently since marrying Matt because—I’ll be honest—he writes them reluctantly.

I’d like to point out that my letters are typically around 10 pages while Matt’s are usually around 10 words.

Previous Episode

BB Ep 89: Reflect on God's Faithfulness with This Christmas Tradition

Reflect on God's Faithfulness with This Christmas Tradition 0:53 My Favorite Christmas Tradition Resources 2020 Business Boutique Goal Planner Get going on your goals and make 2020 your best year yet! Order the new Business Boutique 2020 Goal Planner at BusinessBoutique.com/Planner and use the code BBPLANNER to receive Christy's Setting Goals video that you can watch right now! If you have a success story you would like to share with the Business Boutique community, email me at [email protected]. New podcast episodes are available every other week. Merry Christmas, y'all! A million years ago, before I was married and had kids, and before life got so busy, my mother encouraged me to try a new Christmas tradition-one she'd been doing most of her life. Even before she had me, every year my mom would sit down and write a letter when she was packing up her ornaments after Christmas. In the letter, she would write about all the major things that happened in her life that year. She'd write about the highs, the lows, and everything in between. When she was done, she'd fold up the letter, pack it up in her box of ornaments, and put it away in the attic, not to be seen again until the following year. Related: What People Want the Most From You This Christmas A year later, when it was time to bring out all her Christmas decorations from the attic, she would open that letter and read it. She loved this tradition because it amazed her to see how much could happen in just a single year. Well, I loved this idea so much that I also started doing it in 2006. Now, I'll tell you, it wasn't very sophisticated. I would sit down with a couple pieces of printer paper and just write down all my thoughts-in true Christy fashion, I rambled on and on and was very honest. For example, in my letter from 2006, there's a line that says, "Dear God, please let me go on at least one date next year." Well, bless my heart. Apparently, that was a tough year in the love department . . . But you know what's so amazing? Year after year, as I've written these letters and then faithfully put them away to open the following year, I've always been blown away at not only how much can happen in a single year, but also how faithful God continues to be. I start every letter by talking about what happened that year, and I end every letter by writing out prayers, dreams and hopes for the next year. When I read the letter from the year before, I feel like I'm living in the fulfillment of God's promises that I had prayed for (and forgotten about). I remember, in December of 2014, sitting on my couch, reading my Christmas letter from 2013. One of my prayers that year was that Matt and I could start a family. And y'all, I was holding that letter over a giant belly-my son Carter was due the very next month! Of course, every year isn't like this. My letter from 2016 had prayers that Matt's grandfather, grandmother, and our 11-year-old dog Jackson would get better. But all three of those loved ones passed away that year. Tears streamed down my face as I read those heartfelt prayers. That was hard to read. Related: Ep 70: How to Be Content in Every Situation But you know what? Even in the despair, even in the grief, and even when it seemed like God didn't fulfill that promise or answer those prayers, I was still able to see God's faithfulness in how those events played out. Writing this letter has looked differently since marrying Matt because-I'll be honest-he writes them reluctantly. But we've gotten into a rhythm. Here's how we do it: Every single Christmas, I'll sit down with our notebook (we upgraded from printer paper!) and write my Christmas letter for the year. And then I'll give the notebook to Matt so that he can write his letter. And the following year, I read my letter aloud to Matt, and Matt reads his letter aloud to me. I'd like to point out that my...

Next Episode

BB Ep 90: How to Set New Year's Goals That Will Transform Your Year with Rachel Hollis

How to Set New Year's Goals That Will Transform Your Year 1:29 The Difference Between New Year's Resolutions and New Year's Goals 8:48 The 3 Qualities You Need to Set Smart New Year's Goals 17:13 New Year Goal Setting with Rachel Hollis 28:31 Challenge: How to Love the Enthusiasts in Your Life Resources 2020 Business Boutique Goal Planner Get going on your goals and make 2020 your best year yet! Order the new Business Boutique 2020 Goal Planner at BusinessBoutique.com/Planner and use the code BBPLANNER to receive Christy's Setting Goals video that you can watch right now! If you have a success story you would like to share with the Business Boutique community, email me at [email protected]. New podcast episodes are available every other week. Forget about New Year's resolutions this year. They're a waste of time. Instead, set smart New Year's goals you'll actually accomplish. Believe it or not, they're not the same thing! The Difference Between New Year's Resolutions and New Year's Goals Resolutions might as well be considered a wish. It's an idea of something you want to try that year. Sure, it's fun and inspiring. But the truth is: We fall off the wagon by February. It's the reason why you can't find an empty treadmill at the gym in January. But by February, you can walk right into the gym and start running. Goals are different from resolutions because goals are action oriented. Zig Ziglar made goal setting popular with something he called the Wheel of Life. We talked about this in a recent podcast episode so if you haven't listened to that already, go back and hear me deep dive into the Wheel of Life in episode 88. To give you a quick recap, there are seven areas in your life you should prioritize and set goals in (especially New Year's goals!): Career (or business) Finances Spiritual growth Physical health Intellectual growth Family Social Today, I want to help you start 2020 on the right foot by setting New Year's goals in each of these areas. Because your ability to set goals will completely affect not just how you start the year, but also how you end it. The 3 Qualities You Need to Set Smart New Year's Goals Every goal you set should have these three qualities: 1. Specific A New Year's resolution like, "I want to run more," doesn't work because it's not specific. And when you're not specific, you can't track your progress or even know if you've accomplished it or not. For example, if you told me you wanted to run more, I'd ask you, "Well, how? Do you want to do long-distance running? Sprints? Do you want to run on the treadmill or outside? Do you want to do trail runs on your own or join a running group?" There's a lot of different ways for you to run more, so get specific. 2. Measurable Then, I'd tell you to make the goal measurable by asking, "How much more?" Maybe you can run one mile right now without stopping and you'd like to work your way up to running five miles. Or maybe you want to sign up for a race and run a 5K or a half marathon. What is the measurable distance you want to be able to run in order to know that you've actually achieved this goal? 3. Have a time limit Finally, I'd tell you to give your goal a time limit by asking, "By when?" If your goal doesn't have a time limit, you won't be able to measure whether you actually reached it or not. Related: How to Write Smart Goals Incorporating those three qualities into your New Year's goal of running more would turn it into something like: I want to do more long-distance running and complete a half marathon by March 30th. Now, that's a goal! You'll know exactly what you're working on and working toward. And of course, because you have these different ways to measure your progress, you'll know if you achieved it or not, which is great accountability. Set Even Stronger New Year's Goals Let's take this one step further. If you really want to...