Latest / The Wholehearted Enneagram Podcast / The Art of Celebration | a conversation with Katye Riselli and Amy Wicks

Transcript

The Art of Celebration | a conversation with Katye Riselli and Amy Wicks · The Wholehearted Enneagram Podcast

• 0:06
  SPEAKER_00: Hi friends! Merry Christmas to you all, and welcome back to the Simply Wholehearted Podcast.
• 0:12
  SPEAKER_00: It means so much to have you choose to take our conversation along with you today.
• 0:17
  SPEAKER_00: Here at Simply Wholehearted, we provide perspective to define your purpose and create a plan to live a wholehearted, intentional life.
• 0:25
  SPEAKER_00: Like you, we desire to love the Lord with all of our heart, soul, mind, and strength.
• 0:30
  SPEAKER_00: So when you feel like you're surrounded by a world of half-heartedness, you're welcome to join us as we share inspiring stories and simple ideas from our friends as they pursue life on purpose, aren't the plans for making the ordinary life extraordinary.
• 0:45
  SPEAKER_00: I want to give a special mention of thanks to Christine Knuckles and her team for allowing us to use this amazing music you're hearing in the background.
• 0:52
  SPEAKER_00: Her words and music have been in my earbuds for over 20 years now.
• 0:56
  SPEAKER_00: And if you've been a listener for a while, you know I've talked about her podcast and the last couple of albums, which have been our morning soundtrack.
• 1:04
  SPEAKER_00: Now, really, if you do not have this Christmas album, The Thrill of Hope, you must go download it now.
• 1:10
  SPEAKER_00: I find myself worshiping and celebrating a lot, and I have yet to tire of its beauty.
• 1:15
  SPEAKER_00: Oh, and this is track number seven.
• 1:17
  SPEAKER_00: It's still my favorite, and yes, you can see me bouncing along as I edit the show and listen again and again.
• 1:24
  SPEAKER_00: Today we'll be talking about the Adam season, and stay tuned as I'll be sharing the final insight about a wholehearted gift-giving guide for each Amy Gram type.
• 1:33
  SPEAKER_00: If you've been tuning into the Simply Wholehearted podcast since the summer, then you have met Katie Roselli on episode number 59 for our Independence Day special.
• 1:41
  SPEAKER_00: Not only is her resume impressive, because she actually worked in the White House and other prominent positions on Capitol Hill, but also because she has a spiritual depth and perspective I personally greatly esteem.
• 1:54
  SPEAKER_00: Katie has been a steady voice behind the Simply Wholehearted scenes.
• 1:58
  SPEAKER_00: She has helped me sort out the direction, the content, and many dreams that we have for the future of Simply Wholehearted.
• 2:04
  SPEAKER_00: Her friendship is such a gift to me, as well as her wholehearted support in shaping what the Lord is doing in this one.
• 2:11
  SPEAKER_00: We wanted to share perspective today to help shape your celebration this month of December.
• 2:17
  SPEAKER_00: We also talk about how the story of Mary and Martha has taught me something unexpectedly different, and the biblical invitation to celebrate wholeheartedly, regardless of how so many elements of life interrupt our holiday intentions.
• 2:30
  SPEAKER_00: I'm guessing you're relate to our conversation about how we all feel the squeeze in our time, energy, and emotions.
• 2:38
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, I think the holidays.
• 2:40
  SPEAKER_01: The holidays probably, for a lot of people, they're triggers.
• 2:43
  SPEAKER_01: It's a trigger for something.
• 2:45
  SPEAKER_01: Is it a trigger for a bad memory?
• 2:46
  SPEAKER_01: Is it a trigger for depression because of a bad memory?
• 2:50
  SPEAKER_01: Is it a trigger for good memories that aren't a reality today?
• 2:54
  SPEAKER_01: And so then you're unhappy all of a sudden.
• 3:00
  SPEAKER_01: You are doing just fine surviving coasting and something didn't go the way you expect it, and what you know, your emotional response to something completely inane actually reveals like underlying this underlying tension.
• 3:19
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 3:20
  SPEAKER_00: But do you think it has something to do with the fact we get so maxed out?
• 3:24
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, yeah.
• 3:25
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, today, even at our Bible study, one of the other group leaders was like, she's like, hey, you know, I just expect people to be stressed this time of year.
• 3:34
  SPEAKER_01: And she's like, I just she's like, we just have to extend a lot of grace because that's we say yes to everything because it all looks shiny and sparkly and fun and wonderful.
• 3:44
  SPEAKER_01: And she said, and we, you know, we say yes or we ex overextend ourselves.
• 3:52
  SPEAKER_01: She's like, so I just give a lot of grace.
• 3:54
  SPEAKER_01: And I was thinking, well, that's great.
• 3:55
  SPEAKER_01: I'm really glad you do that.
• 3:58
  SPEAKER_00: That you extend it.
• 4:00
  SPEAKER_01: And realizing I'm going, gosh, why do we keep living like that?
• 4:06
  SPEAKER_01: Right?
• 4:06
  SPEAKER_01: Like, why do we cram it all in?
• 4:11
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and why do we like just basically throw out all the rules that made us sane and healthy all year long?
• 4:19
  SPEAKER_01: Um and just say, oh, well, we're gonna splurge.
• 4:24
  SPEAKER_01: Right.
• 4:25
  SPEAKER_01: Because too much of anything is too much.
• 4:29
  SPEAKER_00: It's so true.
• 4:31
  SPEAKER_00: It's kind of like vacation, right?
• 4:33
  SPEAKER_00: People who are super disciplined and go on vacation and suddenly lose all self-control and like blow the budget.
• 4:40
  SPEAKER_00: Kind of the same philosophy.
• 4:42
  SPEAKER_00: Blow the diet, blow the budget.
• 4:46
  SPEAKER_01: Or we just excuse certain behavior during certain periods of time.
• 4:51
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, that's true.
• 4:52
  SPEAKER_01: You know, and so the underlying thing is that we've missed the we've missed it, right?
• 4:57
  SPEAKER_01: Like we use this as a license to indulge.
• 5:01
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 5:02
  SPEAKER_01: Rather than an opportunity to celebrate or say no.
• 5:09
  SPEAKER_01: Right.
• 5:10
  SPEAKER_01: Like my whole concept of saying no was born out of a Christmas that was too much.
• 5:16
  SPEAKER_00: Really?
• 5:17
  SPEAKER_00: I didn't realize that.
• 5:18
  SPEAKER_01: Oh, yeah.
• 5:19
  SPEAKER_01: Just say no, January came from a December that was maxed out, and everybody around us was going, you just have to get to January.
• 5:28
  SPEAKER_01: You just have to get to January.
• 5:31
  SPEAKER_01: And like if you're sprinting through December to get to January, you've missed the goodness because it's all transactional.
• 5:40
  SPEAKER_01: Yes, right.
• 5:41
  SPEAKER_01: Right?
• 5:42
  SPEAKER_01: Like totally I need to make six dozen cookies this week.
• 5:46
  SPEAKER_01: I'm having coffee with these three people, and I'm saying yes now because it's the holidays.
• 5:51
  SPEAKER_01: So of course I should do this.
• 5:53
  SPEAKER_01: I can't say no during the holidays.
• 6:00
  SPEAKER_01: I should do all of the things and say yes to all of the things because this is the season.
• 6:05
  SPEAKER_01: Tis the season for stress, but like, should it really be?
• 6:08
  SPEAKER_00: No, it really shouldn't.
• 6:10
  SPEAKER_00: Maybe we've mixed up finishing well with finishing out the year at a breakneck pace.
• 6:19
  SPEAKER_00: Pace.
• 6:20
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 6:21
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 6:21
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, because there's all four finishing well, but like there's a difference between finishing and finishing well.
• 6:27
  SPEAKER_01: Like we I've I've run like four half marathons, give or take.
• 6:33
  SPEAKER_01: And when you train really well, you finish well.
• 6:38
  SPEAKER_01: But when you mail in your training, like I may have once, I absolutely finished.
• 6:44
  SPEAKER_01: I got it done.
• 6:44
  SPEAKER_01: And in fact, it wasn't my slowest.
• 6:47
  SPEAKER_01: But I made on average two of the four training runs for the whole training period.
• 6:51
  SPEAKER_01: But I was like, well, I've done this before, I can do it.
• 6:54
  SPEAKER_01: I'm gonna mail it in.
• 6:57
  SPEAKER_01: Crossing the finish line was nothing short of a miracle, and it was not enjoyable because I was just I mailed it in that whole training period.
• 7:08
  SPEAKER_01: And so when I got to the actual event, I mailed it in.
• 7:13
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 7:15
  SPEAKER_00: I think too, I mean, I was thinking about this this morning because I, you know, sent out our Simply Wholehearted letter kind of for the month.
• 7:23
  SPEAKER_00: And I I used to be able to do them every week, and it's just been, you know, a month because that's realistic for me in this season.
• 7:30
  SPEAKER_00: But I was just saying that because even when I spoke the other day to mom's group, I was like, man, how many of you are you know just feeling the craziness about this month and everything?
• 7:40
  SPEAKER_00: But January is on the horizon.
• 7:44
  SPEAKER_00: And for me, I'm like, okay, I know like the end of school, these things are wrapping up, you know, things are finishing up.
• 7:51
  SPEAKER_00: Um, but I think I set myself up for failure every year because I think, or all the time, this is me, all the time.
• 8:00
  SPEAKER_00: I think I'm gonna finally celebrate once I arrive to that end goal, whatever that end goal is, but I don't, because there's always something else, or there's something still undone.
• 8:14
  SPEAKER_00: It's like Sabbath my whole problem with Christmas and my birthday, even because if something's still not done or perfectly wrapped up, then I can't celebrate yet.
• 8:28
  SPEAKER_00: I have to get that done.
• 8:29
  SPEAKER_01: You haven't checked it off your list, right?
• 8:33
  SPEAKER_01: Because we because somewhere along the way you shifted from experiencing the season, yeah, to living transactionally through the season, to getting it done, or even like arriving, like even in the idea of like I just need to get through these last couple weeks of school, right, and then I'll have a break, or we just gotta get to January and I'll be able to celebrate.
• 9:01
  SPEAKER_01: And I'm gonna say yes to all of the Christmas things between now and then.
• 9:05
  SPEAKER_00: Right.
• 9:06
  SPEAKER_01: And won't I have made all these wonderful memories?
• 9:10
  SPEAKER_01: Well, you won't be able to do that.
• 9:11
  SPEAKER_01: All of them, not if I'm in the middle of it going, and what am I making for Sunday?
• 9:17
  SPEAKER_00: Right.
• 9:18
  unknown: Right.
• 9:19
  SPEAKER_01: We're gonna get through this to get to that, and it's transactional.
• 9:22
  SPEAKER_01: And I kind of, I don't know, you were talking about like, well, and I've got to wrap it up with a perfect go.
• 9:27
  SPEAKER_01: And gosh man, isn't that the metaphor of being born in a barn where there's no room?
• 9:34
  SPEAKER_01: Yes.
• 9:38
  SPEAKER_01: I would really like it if the gospel of Luke, um, you know, like uh in the before Luke 1, somewhere it talks about the fact, what does Mary really do?
• 9:50
  SPEAKER_01: Like we know she was really far along, but was she like 36 weeks?
• 9:56
  SPEAKER_01: Was she 39 weeks?
• 9:59
  SPEAKER_01: Did she think she had time to make this trek to Bethlehem and get home and and nest?
• 10:07
  SPEAKER_00: That's not true, right?
• 10:09
  SPEAKER_01: Right?
• 10:09
  SPEAKER_01: Like we have a I have a girlfriend here who's due, like the 20, I don't know, I have a girlfriend due on the 20th, and one's due on the 27th, and one's due on the 24th.
• 10:20
  SPEAKER_01: And um, one of them said the other day that it was like, yeah, I mean, they're all guaranteed to have Christmas babies.
• 10:26
  SPEAKER_01: Right, right.
• 10:27
  SPEAKER_01: So it's just a matter of when.
• 10:30
  SPEAKER_01: Before, during, after.
• 10:32
  SPEAKER_01: But like, so like was Mary like, I just gotta do this one last thing.
• 10:37
  SPEAKER_00: Right.
• 10:38
  SPEAKER_01: We're gonna go to Bethlehem and do the census, and then I'm gonna get home to where I'm ready to give birth.
• 10:45
  SPEAKER_01: And oh, by the way, you're gonna give birth in a stable.
• 10:51
  SPEAKER_01: Wow, I never even thought of it that way before.
• 10:53
  SPEAKER_01: I really didn't either until just now.
• 10:59
  SPEAKER_00: It puts a whole new spin on it because I mean, surely that's true.
• 11:03
  SPEAKER_00: Because what what would any like wise woman do?
• 11:06
  SPEAKER_00: And she had midwives who knew something about childbirth.
• 11:11
  SPEAKER_01: So maybe I mean what we get to know is that she was really far along, and thanks to artists, we know that she looked like she was really far along.
• 11:22
  SPEAKER_00: That's true, right?
• 11:23
  SPEAKER_01: Like she was painfully uncomfortable on a donkey.
• 11:26
  SPEAKER_00: And and those of us who've been pregnant can, you know, painfully relate.
• 11:30
  SPEAKER_01: Or man, I mean, even if you love being pregnant, you're not comfortable on a donkey at seven plus months pregnant.
• 11:39
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, yeah.
• 11:41
  SPEAKER_00: Oh, well, it's so interesting.
• 11:43
  SPEAKER_00: Okay, so that if tying this into some other things that I've been mulling over, um one in particular been mulling over the last couple years, and that's the story of Mary and Martha.
• 11:54
  SPEAKER_00: We're all familiar with it.
• 11:56
  SPEAKER_00: We hear it ad nauseum.
• 11:58
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, they always want you always hear, are you Mary or are you Martha?
• 12:01
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, yeah.
• 12:02
  SPEAKER_01: Maybe you're both.
• 12:03
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I think we're both.
• 12:04
  SPEAKER_00: I think we are supposed to, I think we are both.
• 12:06
  SPEAKER_00: And I think maybe um we all have to, no, I know we don't all have to, we all have to battle against one or the other extreme, right?
• 12:15
  SPEAKER_01: The unhealthy depending on the season.
• 12:17
  SPEAKER_01: We may do one extreme at some point and another extreme at another point.
• 12:21
  SPEAKER_00: Yes, totally.
• 12:22
  SPEAKER_00: So my some of my revelation, and I think this is where it can where it sort of ties in, one of my revelations about celebrating was that that Martha had other options in order to be able to do what was being asked of her.
• 12:41
  SPEAKER_00: Because she was asked to host Jesus, which wasn't any small deal.
• 12:44
  SPEAKER_00: Like that was a big deal.
• 12:45
  SPEAKER_00: There's probably a lot of people that came along with it that she had to feed.
• 12:50
  SPEAKER_00: Um there was probably days and days of stuff, but there was, you know, there was a lot to do.
• 12:56
  SPEAKER_00: She let her scarcity mindset tell her that she didn't have enough and that there was too much, which cost her and led her to be distracted.
• 13:05
  SPEAKER_00: Because that's what I really battle against in this season, right?
• 13:08
  SPEAKER_00: Because all the things caused me to be distracted from the real thing or the the first thing, right?
• 13:14
  SPEAKER_00: Most important thing of Christmas, which is Christ's coming in my life, the celebration of that and his return to be expectant and hopeful about.
• 13:25
  SPEAKER_00: So, you know, she could have probably actually was probably a woman of some reasonable resources that she had, they weren't poppers, they weren't beggars, they had enough to be able to host, and she probably could have hired extra help, but she didn't.
• 13:43
  SPEAKER_00: And that and I I just felt like there was this revelation of that her scarcity mindset caused her to not get help when she could have, that it also caused her to maybe not, I mean, this is theoretic, you know, for me, I will not buy the pre-made muffins because to buy enough would cost eight dollars, but I know I can buy a box that I can make for four dollars or three dollars, right?
• 14:08
  SPEAKER_00: And so what do I do?
• 14:10
  SPEAKER_00: I buy the box because it's cheaper.
• 14:12
  SPEAKER_00: When because but I didn't need to.
• 14:15
  SPEAKER_00: My budget actually says I could buy the eight dollar muffins this time around and have like way less stress in my life.
• 14:22
  SPEAKER_00: But create a little bit of margin, create a ton of margin to really be prepared and ready for the guests and put my heart in a good posture that doesn't like make me cranky, crabby mom and wife.
• 14:35
  SPEAKER_00: But then she also, even if she didn't have the means to afford the pre-made muffins, she at least had community around her and she could have reached out to others to make their award-winning pie or their casserole dish that everyone loves.
• 14:50
  SPEAKER_01: Surely someone said, What can I bring?
• 14:53
  SPEAKER_01: Yes, totally.
• 14:55
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, people ask me that all the time, and usually I'm inclined when I'm not doing five events, I'm inclined to I got it, I got it.
• 15:02
  SPEAKER_01: Yes, but then suddenly I'm doing five events, and I'm like, you can bring whatever you want.
• 15:07
  SPEAKER_00: Yes, because how much would uh those other women loved to serve Jesus?
• 15:14
  SPEAKER_00: Like gotten the opportunity to bring something to Jesus that's gonna be.
• 15:19
  SPEAKER_01: Or even the meaning, like the invitation to participate in hosting?
• 15:24
  SPEAKER_01: Yes, like that's a gift, it is a gift, you know.
• 15:28
  SPEAKER_01: So in a moment where we're talking about it, you and I are the first to say, yes, let's extend that, let's see how other people can be part of setting the table for this community fellowship.
• 15:40
  SPEAKER_01: But in the moment, how many of us are like, I got it, I got it, because of whatever tendency, right?
• 15:47
  SPEAKER_01: Like mine is I have in this, I have in my mind this is how it's gonna be.
• 15:52
  SPEAKER_00: Yep.
• 15:52
  SPEAKER_01: And because I trend towards like black and white, this is it, yeah, I don't look out.
• 15:58
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 16:00
  SPEAKER_01: Just a teeny bit.
• 16:02
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, but um, but I don't look up and look around.
• 16:06
  SPEAKER_01: Or I'm I because it takes a lot of trust to say, okay, I'm gonna give you this piece of it, right?
• 16:14
  SPEAKER_01: But I'm afraid of this or I'm afraid of that, or for whatever anybody is, you know?
• 16:19
  SPEAKER_00: Yep, totally.
• 16:21
  SPEAKER_00: For each one of us, there's a scarcity, um, a fear of letting others in, um, letting go of control, all of that plays into willing to let go of our currency to seek help, willing to let go of some of our control and invite others in.
• 16:41
  SPEAKER_00: And then the other thing I thought too is that just because Jesus asked her to host, he wasn't asking her to do all the things that that was required of hosting.
• 16:52
  SPEAKER_00: Like he did ask her to host, he invited himself in.
• 16:56
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, he uh received the invitation.
• 16:58
  SPEAKER_00: He said, I'm coming to your house.
• 16:59
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, exactly.
• 17:00
  SPEAKER_00: Exactly.
• 17:00
  SPEAKER_00: So it he laid out that expectation.
• 17:02
  SPEAKER_00: And so just as Christ opens up opportunities and things for me to do, it doesn't entail that I do all the things or that he expects the five-course meal when he was just looking for some bread and water.
• 17:17
  SPEAKER_00: Like he was just looking for enough sustenance.
• 17:19
  SPEAKER_00: Instead, I made it this big elaborate deal that got way out of control and totally maxed out my capacity when he only asked us to do with what capacity he's given us to do with it.
• 17:32
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 17:32
  SPEAKER_00: So I don't know.
• 17:33
  SPEAKER_00: Anyway, I just have like really So what does that look like?
• 17:37
  SPEAKER_01: Like, what is that shift?
• 17:38
  SPEAKER_01: Like as you mull it over and like what does that look like this year at Christmas?
• 17:44
  SPEAKER_01: Going, I'm gonna not have a scarcity mindset, or I'm not going to, like, what is what does that change this year?
• 17:52
  SPEAKER_00: Friends, I'm interrupting this beautiful conversation to tell you quickly about something I think you'll find so helpful because we are less than two weeks from the new year.
• 18:01
  SPEAKER_00: If you follow Simply Wholehearted on Instagram, you may have seen my story about getting my brilliant life planner in the mail, so you know I kick out over anything that will help me get everything in my mind and heart down on paper and get it done this year.
• 18:15
  SPEAKER_00: The Brilliant Life Planner is not just an ordinary calendar, it's a book of inspiration to get things done and lots of empty space to help you grow your side hustle, your work-from-home job, or it's simply to help you be more intentional with your time.
• 18:30
  SPEAKER_00: I've mentioned one of my many dreams is to create my own planner for Simply Wholehearted.
• 18:34
  SPEAKER_00: But in the meantime, order your 2019 Brilliant Life Planner before the new year begins.
• 18:40
  SPEAKER_00: Check it out for yourself at the link in your show notes.
• 18:42
  SPEAKER_00: And if you order, Simply Wholehearted will get a portion of the sales, which helps produce this podcast.
• 18:48
  SPEAKER_00: Thanks so much for your support.
• 18:50
  SPEAKER_00: But a couple years ago, I realized that my, you know, like almost 40 years of life I've spent, well, not really, because I don't remember my earlier years, but I spent a lot of those December depressed.
• 19:03
  SPEAKER_00: And it's my birthday month and it's Christmas, and I would just have this like in the back of my mind, just kind of despair and heavy heart about it.
• 19:11
  SPEAKER_00: And I couldn't articulate it.
• 19:13
  SPEAKER_00: Um, as I've gotten older, there's been things I've been able to unpack and understand of you know, the timing of things that happened that join up with this month, and but ultimately, especially as I got older, um, the scarcity mindset plagued me into it.
• 19:32
  SPEAKER_00: And so I've I had I really was able to get some language and understanding a couple years ago.
• 19:38
  SPEAKER_00: And last year I went I approached December in a position of like, I want to find victory.
• 19:47
  SPEAKER_00: Like I really went to prayer and to the Lord and sought out last year, Lord, help me find victory in this area.
• 19:53
  SPEAKER_00: Now I understand it, let's not repeat it, let's find victory.
• 19:57
  SPEAKER_00: And I I really, I really felt I did, and this is because there was that revelation about Mary and Martha.
• 20:03
  SPEAKER_00: And then um, so I so a couple of things.
• 20:07
  SPEAKER_00: One is that uh we totally changed how we did our Christmas traveling.
• 20:12
  SPEAKER_00: Uh we have family in different states and you know, all different places, and at the same time we were trying to establish our own traditions for our own kids here in Kansas City, and so part of that was like just you know, saying asking for help to make that happen.
• 20:32
  SPEAKER_00: That was asking the family permission to celebrate a certain way and for it to look a different way.
• 20:38
  SPEAKER_00: And that was kind of like the first step in that.
• 20:40
  SPEAKER_00: And that was a really hard, that was a hard ask.
• 20:43
  SPEAKER_00: And we knew that we would hurt some feelings and we knew we would let people down, and we knew that it would disappoint.
• 20:48
  SPEAKER_00: But um, that that like m took a huge load off because we're celebrating three birthdays, three Christmases, you know, you're always like you're fighting sickness during this year.
• 20:58
  SPEAKER_00: You know, we've had like lice and the stomach bug that wouldn't go away, and you know, colds.
• 21:04
  SPEAKER_01: You're just moving, like yeah, just you're not there's no stillness.
• 21:09
  SPEAKER_00: Yes.
• 21:10
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, any military family who has tried to figure out how to do that will get there's nothing calm about Christmases on the move.
• 21:21
  SPEAKER_01: No, no, when you're bouncing from family to family and trying to check all the boxes, yeah, and create meaning in your new place.
• 21:30
  SPEAKER_00: Oh, yeah, in your temporary place.
• 21:32
  SPEAKER_00: Memories.
• 21:33
  SPEAKER_00: We're creating memories, right, right, exactly.
• 21:36
  SPEAKER_01: Meaningful memories on the move.
• 21:39
  unknown: Ooh, I like that.
• 21:41
  SPEAKER_00: And then we've what did we miss?
• 21:43
  SPEAKER_00: Yes, right, because there's well, there's always going to be something.
• 21:46
  SPEAKER_00: So that that was one of the things.
• 21:48
  SPEAKER_00: The other things is I stopped doing some silly things because I had started, I had started them when the kids were young, and I thought this has to like stay tradition when it really didn't.
• 21:59
  SPEAKER_00: And I Part of that was asking my kids, they could all articulate what's what was special to you about past Christmases, what do you want to make sure you do again?
• 22:08
  SPEAKER_00: All the things they said really had nothing to do with I what was creating a huge, you know, time sucker for my life and stress on me.
• 22:17
  SPEAKER_00: I just realized it wasn't that important to them.
• 22:19
  SPEAKER_00: So I let them go.
• 22:20
  SPEAKER_00: And there were some things along the way that the kids would like, well, what about this?
• 22:24
  SPEAKER_00: You know, we used to do this, or what about that?
• 22:26
  SPEAKER_00: And be like, you know what, we're choosing to do these other things that we talked about that were really important.
• 22:30
  SPEAKER_00: But if you remember next year when we talk about what we want to do during the advent season, you know, then we know it's important and we'll do it.
• 22:39
  SPEAKER_00: So that was my other thing.
• 22:40
  SPEAKER_00: And along those lines, what was so funny is that a friend came over to my house, and I don't know what Aneagram number she is, but she saw something that was like really kind of just like a, you know, like a cheap plastic thing that was associated with Christmas.
• 22:56
  SPEAKER_00: And she's like, and why do you keep this?
• 22:59
  SPEAKER_00: And I looked at it all of a sudden with this like fresh eyes and perspective that she had of like, this is trash.
• 23:05
  SPEAKER_00: Like, why are you keeping this?
• 23:06
  SPEAKER_00: And it was just like, well, I don't know.
• 23:08
  SPEAKER_00: I've just had this forever.
• 23:10
  SPEAKER_00: Since I was like 10.
• 23:12
  SPEAKER_00: Like, what am I doing with this?
• 23:13
  SPEAKER_00: Like, why is this now still part of my Christmas trot?
• 23:16
  SPEAKER_00: Because it really wasn't like it wasn't a meaningful, important, you know, priceless, you know, thing.
• 23:23
  SPEAKER_00: And I was like, I it didn't even take me a second, and I went and put it in the trash and I was thank you, Becca.
• 23:28
  SPEAKER_00: But it was just one of those, because like, don't we do that?
• 23:30
  SPEAKER_00: There's like things we have just hung around, you know, hang around or we do or we keep or whatever it is because that's what we've done.
• 23:37
  SPEAKER_00: Um, yeah, but I think there's the invitation is to real value, re-evaluate.
• 23:41
  SPEAKER_00: And I think, you know, we we talked about that too, is that because it's also a birthday month, and you know, for me too, like people want to do stuff and I let's get coffee for your birthday.
• 23:53
  SPEAKER_01: Yes, let's uh we want to do something for your birthday.
• 23:56
  SPEAKER_01: Uh let's all go out and it's like yes, yes, but that's this time period, it's just one more thing.
• 24:05
  SPEAKER_00: It is one more thing, yeah.
• 24:06
  SPEAKER_00: And and you know, it's it is really hard because the reality, especially for those who are in the ministry, there are just a ton of things, like there there is no escaping it.
• 24:15
  SPEAKER_00: But because the there are a ton of things, then we need to each one of us personally evaluate because of these other things that might mean if we say yes to these, we need to say no to these.
• 24:26
  SPEAKER_00: And I know you're the queen of that.
• 24:28
  SPEAKER_00: Like the queen of like saying yes to to where is our first priority.
• 24:35
  SPEAKER_00: Um, and it sometimes means we miss out, but in the long run, yeah, we're you know, our heart is fully present with you know, first things first and exactly where we need to be.
• 24:48
  SPEAKER_00: And so I have gone into this, you know, time as well, knowing, okay, we were wrapping up small groups, you know, we're wrapping up even the podcast year and in like the business year, we're wrapping up school and all those things.
• 25:00
  SPEAKER_00: And that just means some of these other things, because those are not things I can say no to, then I'm gonna say yes to those, knowing that it's a season and it's for this year, and I'm gonna say yes to them with all my heart, and then um, and then you know, maybe next year it looks different, and that's okay.
• 25:19
  SPEAKER_01: Um which is which is really there's so much freedom in that, right?
• 25:23
  SPEAKER_01: Like yes.
• 25:24
  SPEAKER_01: There's there's two way to ways to look at that at Advent at December at this at the season of leading up to Christmas through Christmas and into the new year.
• 25:34
  SPEAKER_01: One is we say yes to everything because it's Christmas, right?
• 25:37
  SPEAKER_01: Like we we indulge, right, and we sort of like suspend the normal boundaries or um we squeeze in.
• 25:47
  SPEAKER_01: We we even if we know we need eight hours of sleep, we're willing to go with that, right?
• 25:53
  SPEAKER_01: It's like exams during college, right?
• 25:55
  SPEAKER_01: Like you pull a few all-nighters and it's okay.
• 25:58
  SPEAKER_01: But exams are like two weeks, right?
• 26:01
  SPEAKER_01: So and then you're done.
• 26:03
  SPEAKER_00: Christmas, like December is the month.
• 26:06
  SPEAKER_00: It's like it's six weeks now.
• 26:08
  SPEAKER_00: I think it's like six weeks.
• 26:09
  SPEAKER_00: It starts right before Thanksgiving.
• 26:12
  SPEAKER_01: Well, yeah, I mean, when do they put the Christmas?
• 26:14
  SPEAKER_01: But all that aside, like, but the problem is is that in the amount of time you've created habits.
• 26:22
  SPEAKER_01: Yes, right, because it takes 21 days to make a habit or break a habit.
• 26:27
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, so we've we've indulged, we've said yes, we've added everything instead of thoughtfully saying what deserves time and space, my attention, my time, the time on my calendar, my family for this season.
• 26:48
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 26:48
  SPEAKER_01: And then come out of it.
• 26:51
  SPEAKER_01: And and so that's one thing, you know, you're we're probably gonna talk about this next week, but looking at it in chunks of time, you know, purposefully spending time looking at what does my Christmas season look like, even if I've only got five days from now until Christmas, and then I've got it, I've got like 10 days till a new year.
• 27:18
  SPEAKER_01: Like, let me think about this time stretch.
• 27:21
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, right.
• 27:22
  SPEAKER_01: And start looking at my time and my calendar and my to-do list, kind of in blocks of time, yeah, you know, and because if you break it down and it's not, you know, like you said, it's not, I'm not gonna commit to every single tradition every year.
• 27:41
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and if Miles wants to bring something back that didn't happen this year, you can do that next year.
• 27:47
  SPEAKER_01: Right.
• 27:47
  SPEAKER_01: Because there's freedom to do that because you've you've you've kind of hit pause on the transaction of like do do do check, check, check, check, I got it done.
• 27:59
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and said, what do I really want to be purposeful about?
• 28:03
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and if if my little people want to make cookies every year, multiple times a year, you know, in that season, like then let's find time for it, but let's let's talk about it.
• 28:16
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, you know, yeah.
• 28:17
  SPEAKER_01: Let's not sacrifice our margin.
• 28:20
  SPEAKER_01: Yes, yes.
• 28:21
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and in the process miss, you know, the the bulk of of what we're really looking for.
• 28:28
  SPEAKER_00: I think there's something so valuable about teaching your kids that we don't these sort of things that you really cherish and you want to do with family, it doesn't just have to happen in this window of time.
• 28:40
  SPEAKER_00: Like we have the rest of the year.
• 28:43
  SPEAKER_00: And like to be mindful of that as we're because I think we have probably instilled in them this habit, or for generations it's been still instilled to us that you can only do these things in this time, like you can only celebrate in this time, you can only enjoy cooking together, making Christmas cookies.
• 29:00
  SPEAKER_00: Well, goodness gracious, we could cook all year together.
• 29:04
  SPEAKER_00: Like it we don't have to just sure maybe we want a certain kind of baked good during this time, but we can bake goods the rest of the year.
• 29:13
  SPEAKER_00: And Valentine's Dayers, yeah.
• 29:16
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, you don't have you don't even have to give me a holiday, I'll bake cookies and eat them unless I'm fasting.
• 29:24
  SPEAKER_00: Right.
• 29:24
  SPEAKER_00: And then I dream about it.
• 29:26
  SPEAKER_00: But you know, like there's so there's something there's something to be said with that too.
• 29:30
  SPEAKER_00: Of like, I think we do feel this pressure to cram all these things when actually for our kids' benefit, our family's benefit, and for like for them as moms someday, because I think about I like I don't want them to feel this pressure.
• 29:40
  SPEAKER_00: How can I change the narrative, the conversation, the expectation for them to have freedom to really celebrate in a healthy way this time of year and here on after?
• 29:51
  SPEAKER_00: And that is only if I model this and have that conversation with them.
• 29:55
  SPEAKER_00: Well, I know you really wanted to do that thing, but it doesn't happen just once a year.
• 29:59
  SPEAKER_00: We can actually, you know, in January, we could do that too when we have way more time and freedom to do it and we don't have all these other distractions.
• 30:09
  SPEAKER_00: So I think the other thing I think kind of tying into you know currency and capacity and um community, um, one of them is just the practically we've learned currency-wise, we plan all year for December.
• 30:27
  SPEAKER_00: We know it's like no surprise.
• 30:29
  SPEAKER_00: We're gonna have three birthdays.
• 30:30
  SPEAKER_00: And actually, we have five birthdays um with extended family and an anniversary and um the three trips and the three Christmases.
• 30:38
  SPEAKER_00: We know that's coming.
• 30:40
  SPEAKER_00: And so we plan all year for that.
• 30:42
  SPEAKER_00: We we budget and save in our category, gift category all year long.
• 30:48
  SPEAKER_00: And of course, we use some of that along the way because you know, gifts throughout the year for birthdays or whatever.
• 30:53
  SPEAKER_00: But um, but that helps me go in with this like way, like, because other otherwise I get fearful and I think, oh, I can't buy this gift, I can't be generous, or you know, I've got to get the best deal.
• 31:08
  SPEAKER_00: And like sometimes those seasons are real and like you have just a little bit to work with.
• 31:14
  SPEAKER_00: Um but I think when we when we plan well and then we also do with what we have, knowing that I don't think Jesus wants us to get in debt for Christmas.
• 31:24
  SPEAKER_00: Like, I just don't see.
• 31:25
  SPEAKER_00: Like, I mean, there are other reasons maybe we can justify getting in debt, but I don't think those are equivalent to celebrating his birthday.
• 31:32
  SPEAKER_00: That's not his jam.
• 31:34
  SPEAKER_00: So I think I think that has been a huge, you know, piece of like, and then remembering, and then I have to, I do have to retrain myself thinking and reminding myself, hey, no, we've prepared for this, enjoy this, take a deep breath and celebrate um that you, you know, you can be generous this time of year.
• 31:53
  SPEAKER_01: And I think some of it too is you know, you've let go of, right?
• 31:58
  SPEAKER_01: Like, how do you really approach celebrating from a different mindset?
• 32:04
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 32:05
  SPEAKER_01: How do you do that?
• 32:07
  SPEAKER_01: This very special time of year that's an opportunity to do it differently, you know, and some of it is realizing is not going to be perfect, yeah.
• 32:19
  SPEAKER_01: And you can let go of that, yeah.
• 32:22
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and if it if it doesn't look exactly right or feel like last year that seemed like the most perfect year or five years ago, yeah, um, that that's okay.
• 32:38
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 32:38
  SPEAKER_01: Uh because it's not, you know, we don't celebrate because we got it all done.
• 32:44
  SPEAKER_01: Right.
• 32:45
  SPEAKER_01: We don't celebrate because we checked it all off the list.
• 32:48
  SPEAKER_01: Even if Santa checks his list twice, like checking my list a million times isn't gonna make it a better celebration.
• 32:56
  SPEAKER_00: Right.
• 32:56
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 32:57
  SPEAKER_01: Uh because the the thing, I don't know, the thing I've been struck by this year is that Advent isn't about, yes, it's that Jesus came to earth, but he didn't he didn't arrive, and that wasn't the solution.
• 33:15
  SPEAKER_00: Right.
• 33:16
  SPEAKER_01: It was the beginning.
• 33:17
  SPEAKER_01: Right.
• 33:20
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and so it it isn't wrapped up in a neat little bow and check it's done.
• 33:28
  SPEAKER_00: And that's just the beginning of the story.
• 33:31
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, and for Christ's arrival, it was actually a breakthrough in the silence.
• 33:36
  SPEAKER_00: It was it was a it was a marked moment where because of his birth, because of his of John the Baptist's, you know, conception and the word told to Zachariah and Elizabeth, and like that broke these hundreds of years of silence, and Jesus marked that where he you know broke through um in that.
• 33:58
  SPEAKER_00: And you know, we talked a little bit about that last week with Michelle, and I I just love her story of restoration and you know how Scott is building, but also we just touched on the fact that her house is not done, it's not completed.
• 34:14
  SPEAKER_00: There's still like potentially years more of work, but she is not waiting to celebrate or decorate or host people until that job is done.
• 34:26
  SPEAKER_00: And I think I think that's you know, and even to tie it back on to like kind of your revelation of like Mary probably didn't plan to have Jesus while she was on this trip.
• 34:35
  SPEAKER_00: Like she probably fully thought she would go back home and all of that, but that didn't stop his arrival, like it it happened anyway, which was this great moment of celebration for all of us.
• 34:48
  SPEAKER_00: I think too, and that kind of like this I other alluded to this a little bit is that then this year I studied um Nehemiah and just kind of went through kind of a a study that went like line by line, verse by verse, you know, like taking out these names and you know, all the things that we kind of glossed through because there's just so many like genealogy records and names you can't pronounce and all this sort of stuff.
• 35:10
  SPEAKER_00: But as I was separating out scripture, there was a ton of revelation, and one of the the things that really stood out to me that are gave me language for the celebration concept is that uh the Israelites had not fully completed restoration of the wall.
• 35:26
  SPEAKER_00: Um, they had done most of it, but they were actually in the middle of still defending and protecting.
• 35:32
  SPEAKER_00: Like there was it wasn't a time of peace.
• 35:35
  SPEAKER_00: But as they as they were rebuilding and they were coming out of exile and congregating again, um, Ezra and Nehemiah um uh were compelled to read the book of the law again.
• 35:47
  SPEAKER_00: And so it was, you know, the Torah, the you know, the writings of Moses, it was all of these things that had kind of gotten lost and been forsaken for these years while they were in captivity.
• 35:58
  SPEAKER_00: And they brought it out.
• 35:59
  SPEAKER_00: And in the process, the people hearing the word of the Lord were convicted, they were moved, uh, moved by the Spirit really to mourn, to confess and repent of their sins.
• 36:13
  SPEAKER_00: And I think what's really beautiful, the other piece of it is they were reminded of all the celebrations that the Lord had already established in their history and for their culture.
• 36:23
  SPEAKER_00: And it wasn't, they didn't let them mourn for that long.
• 36:26
  SPEAKER_00: Like Ezra and Nehemiah and the priests and the Levites, all of them led them very quickly from mourning to celebration with a commandment to worship before the Lord and to go into, I think it was the festival of tabernacles they were about to celebrate.
• 36:41
  SPEAKER_00: And which is this whole um or no festival of tents.
• 36:46
  SPEAKER_00: And so they actually like they leave their home dwellings, which they would have been in the middle of completing, and they moved into these like temporary dwelling places.
• 36:54
  SPEAKER_00: And I don't know the full understanding about the celebration, but that's what they were commanded to do, and they did it joyfully, and they were excited to do this, and they put a pause on everything else, they didn't do anything else, but they would they would pause to celebrate, and they were actually commanded to eat sweets and fat, like that was the command to celebrate, and it went for days and days, which is like a fascinating thing.
• 37:18
  SPEAKER_00: But for me, someone who wants to wait till it's all done, or wait till I have it all figured out, or wait till I have these like perfect moments to celebrate.
• 37:30
  SPEAKER_00: I was convicted.
• 37:31
  SPEAKER_00: Well, one, that's never really gonna happen here on earth, but two, the Lord has actually invited us and given us this invitation through command and through his word to celebrate.
• 37:43
  SPEAKER_00: And there's no sin in that, there's nothing wrong with that, and said and it's actually incredibly holy, and it's it's something that he desires for us to do, which is a really powerful word when you think about it.
• 37:58
  SPEAKER_01: Like it's okay to stop what you're doing, to stop the work, your ordinary work, yeah, for an extraordinary time, yeah, and celebrate.
• 38:12
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 38:13
  SPEAKER_01: Like more they they probably celebrated, and then what did they do?
• 38:18
  SPEAKER_01: They went back to the work they were doing.
• 38:19
  SPEAKER_01: They did.
• 38:20
  SPEAKER_01: They went back to defending right.
• 38:21
  SPEAKER_01: So right there, there's a picture of of Sabbath of rest in celebration.
• 38:28
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 38:28
  SPEAKER_01: Um, without saying without feeling like you've forsaken the work that you're called to do, you know?
• 38:34
  SPEAKER_00: Exactly.
• 38:35
  SPEAKER_00: Exactly.
• 38:36
  SPEAKER_00: Just because you turn and celebrate doesn't mean you're letting it go or you're not going to return to it, and that's so good.
• 38:42
  SPEAKER_00: Because I think that I think some somewhere along the way, I believe that if I stop and celebrate, then I've forsaken the work in some measure.
• 38:49
  SPEAKER_00: Or maybe I'm just secretly fearful that I won't get back to it.
• 38:53
  SPEAKER_00: Or you'll miss something.
• 38:54
  SPEAKER_01: Yes, I do.
• 38:55
  SPEAKER_00: That's totally it.
• 38:56
  SPEAKER_01: Probably for for a lot of different personalities, it's it's a different something.
• 39:01
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 39:02
  SPEAKER_01: But there's a we can explain how we got there, you know.
• 39:08
  SPEAKER_01: Like I could explain that I'm tend towards perfectionism.
• 39:12
  SPEAKER_01: So therefore, that explains, but it doesn't excuse it, just explains it.
• 39:17
  SPEAKER_01: Right.
• 39:18
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and so whatever that explanation is, you know, God has an answer for that.
• 39:23
  SPEAKER_01: Yep.
• 39:24
  SPEAKER_01: Okay, Katie.
• 39:25
  SPEAKER_01: What are you doing?
• 39:26
  SPEAKER_01: We're celebrating.
• 39:27
  SPEAKER_01: What are we doing to do differently?
• 39:29
  SPEAKER_01: We're just at our house, we're carving out time, you know.
• 39:33
  SPEAKER_01: We've uh we were watching Christmas movies.
• 39:36
  SPEAKER_01: Oh.
• 39:37
  SPEAKER_01: Or we're getting Christmas books.
• 39:39
  SPEAKER_01: Uh this is when I, you know, we have a lot of events.
• 39:42
  SPEAKER_01: We we do we have a stretch where we had a lot.
• 39:45
  SPEAKER_01: And then um I know, you know.
• 39:46
  SPEAKER_01: You know, and we it's crazy.
• 39:48
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, you know, I told you this this whole that my whole concept of saying no in January, um, that ended up lasting an entire year, um, um, was born from a December where I just felt like I couldn't catch my breath and I was resentful of my circumstances because I felt like it was just too much to do and too many places to go, and it wasn't what I wanted.
• 40:15
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and so I think I think last year, but definitely this year, we we all of us in our house, but also especially me, I just started looking at it differently.
• 40:25
  SPEAKER_01: Like this is not that I have to do this, this, and this.
• 40:29
  SPEAKER_01: It's that I get to do, you know, I have the opportunity um to celebrate.
• 40:35
  SPEAKER_01: And these are real, you know, this is a time period where yes, you know, everyone wants to go have coffee or have a party or do one more thing.
• 40:43
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and that's a great opportunity to build a relationship.
• 40:48
  SPEAKER_01: Yep.
• 40:49
  SPEAKER_01: Yep.
• 40:50
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and so see it as this one-time good deal where I might say yes more often than I say no.
• 40:57
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, unto building relationship.
• 41:00
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, because come January, you better believe I'm gonna just say no, January.
• 41:06
  SPEAKER_00: Just say no, January.
• 41:09
  SPEAKER_00: I love it.
• 41:10
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, we're just a few days before Christmas.
• 41:13
  SPEAKER_00: You know, what how can we approach these five days before Christmas and even the week after?
• 41:19
  SPEAKER_00: Because just because Christmas Day is over, that that is a space of time that can be really sweet and special if we allow it to be.
• 41:27
  SPEAKER_00: And allow, I mean, really, the 12 days of Christmas is after Christmas.
• 41:31
  SPEAKER_00: And you know, leading to the day of Epiphany, right?
• 41:34
  SPEAKER_00: Do I have that right?
• 41:35
  SPEAKER_00: Anyway, yeah, so you know, I think that actually there's an invitation, okay.
• 41:40
  SPEAKER_00: You got a lot of those things done.
• 41:41
  SPEAKER_00: People are out of town, they're traveling to kind of take things right back to where they need to be.
• 41:47
  SPEAKER_00: Just because Christmas is coming gone does not mean if we didn't get our avent plan that we can't go back and read some things that center our heart and set a tone for the next year.
• 41:56
  SPEAKER_00: Just because we didn't read some of the books or watch the movies doesn't mean we can't create that those memories now or fix those cookies at this point in time.
• 42:05
  SPEAKER_00: We still have it available to us.
• 42:07
  SPEAKER_00: We just need to maybe frame it, you know, differently and realize why we're doing it unto building relationship and seeing how Christ takes the first place in all of this.
• 42:21
  SPEAKER_01: It's a great time of year to that that week afterwards, I think.
• 42:25
  SPEAKER_01: You know, just to start preparing for, you know, what does what does 2019 hold?
• 42:32
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 42:32
  SPEAKER_01: But what does it hold because Jesus came?
• 42:35
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, he showed up in a stable that wasn't ready and it wasn't perfect.
• 42:41
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and so our lives don't have to be, you know, you don't have to be perfect when you start a new year.
• 42:47
  SPEAKER_00: Praise the Lord.
• 42:51
  SPEAKER_00: All right, we're gonna talk next time more about 2019, planning your best year yet.
• 42:58
  SPEAKER_00: Yes.
• 42:59
  SPEAKER_00: I get so excited about it.
• 43:01
  SPEAKER_00: Yes.
• 43:02
  SPEAKER_00: It's gonna be really fun.
• 43:04
  SPEAKER_00: I I did put power sheets on my Christmas wish list.
• 43:08
  SPEAKER_00: I'm hoping someone gets them for me.
• 43:11
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, man.
• 43:11
  SPEAKER_01: Let's we're gonna have to talk about goal setting.
• 43:13
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, we're gonna move, we're gonna move me from just say no to how do you do it, how do you say yes smartly?
• 43:24
  SPEAKER_00: Yes.
• 43:24
  SPEAKER_00: How do you give your best yes to steal Lisa Turkers?
• 43:28
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, she just said it so well.
• 43:30
  SPEAKER_00: Best yes.
• 43:30
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, man.
• 43:31
  SPEAKER_01: Best yes about that lady.
• 43:33
  SPEAKER_00: It might take a few no's.
• 43:35
  SPEAKER_00: It's going to take a few no's, for sure.
• 43:38
  SPEAKER_00: It's going to take a few no's, but it's gonna take some really good yeses, too.
• 43:43
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 43:44
  SPEAKER_00: So that's what I'm excited about.
• 43:46
  SPEAKER_00: All right, all right, I'll talk to you later.
• 43:48
  SPEAKER_00: Merry Christmas!
• 43:49
  SPEAKER_01: Merry Christmas!
• 43:52
  SPEAKER_00: Are you ready to celebrate?
• 43:55
  SPEAKER_00: Katie and I are so grateful to be able to share some of the pieces, the biblical insight which have led us.
• 44:00
  SPEAKER_00: Both to true freedom to celebrate this season.
• 44:03
  SPEAKER_00: This time of year is still full of challenges, but I can honestly say I'm walking out a sustaining joy this Christmas, which I have desired for many years.
• 44:12
  SPEAKER_00: You may have caught on to the fact that Katie and I will be back next week for a bonus conversation just in time for the new year as we focus on practical tips and inspiration for taking your time back in 2019.
• 44:24
  SPEAKER_00: We want you to begin telling your calendar what you should be focusing on instead of your calendar dictating your time.
• 44:32
  SPEAKER_00: Today's meaningful minute is a challenge to walk out your freedom to celebrate.
• 44:37
  SPEAKER_00: First of all, what often distracts you from being fully present with the people you love, just like Martha, right?
• 44:44
  SPEAKER_00: Is that the fear of lack of your currency, community, or capacity.
• 44:49
  SPEAKER_00: Name it, identify it, and then how can you adjust and ask for help or free up resources to make Christmas a little less stressful?
• 44:59
  SPEAKER_00: I know the list could be long, but if you just name one thing, that'll help you really get on your way to a little bit less stress.
• 45:08
  SPEAKER_00: And the third idea I have for you today is ask your family which traditions are the most meaningful to them and just focus on making those happen this year.
• 45:16
  SPEAKER_00: Now I have to ask, how many of you are still stressed about giving the right gift to the important people in your life?
• 45:22
  SPEAKER_00: Well, you might find our wholehearted gift giving guide, which uses the knowledge of the Aneagram, to help you determine what gifts your loved ones would find more meaningful this year.
• 45:32
  SPEAKER_00: I love the feedback I've gotten about this list, as several have found this as a way to confirm or narrow down their Anneagram type.
• 45:40
  SPEAKER_00: You might find this resource doubles as a helpful Aneagram conversation starter with family and friends this holiday season.
• 45:46
  SPEAKER_00: Today I'll be giving you ideas for the Aneagram Nines in your life, but over the last couple weeks I've covered Aneagram types 1 through 8.
• 45:54
  SPEAKER_00: So if you want ideas for all the Aneagram numbers right now, you can download our wholehearted gift giving guide by clicking on the link in our show notes.
• 46:02
  SPEAKER_00: Alright, for the 9s in your life, well they want a lot of things, but honestly, they shy away from being completely truthful with their entire list or their top choices.
• 46:12
  SPEAKER_00: They might feel guilty to ask for all of their ones, but they really do want more items than they feel at liberty to request.
• 46:19
  SPEAKER_00: Or they are hoping you remember that thing they really wanted that they mentioned a while back.
• 46:24
  SPEAKER_00: For nines, quality is important, but they will compromise for quality.
• 46:29
  SPEAKER_00: Tangible wins over intangible experiences.
• 46:33
  SPEAKER_00: Gift cards are a little bit difficult for nines to actually use and spin in a timely fashion.
• 46:38
  SPEAKER_00: So ask for their list several times, because they might hesitate, but eventually they'll share what they really wanted.
• 46:45
  SPEAKER_00: And for nines, big surprises really aren't always the best idea.
• 46:50
  SPEAKER_00: But the great thing about nines is they'll make you feel like a great gift giver, no matter what.
• 46:56
  SPEAKER_00: There's nothing like getting to the end of the year and reflecting on all the blessings it's held.
• 47:00
  SPEAKER_00: This podcast and the simply wholehearted community is sure one of them for me.
• 47:05
  SPEAKER_00: I'm so grateful for each person who tunes in, and it thrills me to hear or see it when you share our episodes with your friends and family.
• 47:12
  SPEAKER_00: If I could give each of you a special gift, I would.
• 47:16
  SPEAKER_00: It would mean so much to me to have you take a few minutes and leave a rating on your favorite podcast app for this podcast.
• 47:23
  SPEAKER_00: It's the little things like that which really help others find us and know they are welcome to join us as we finish this year well and begin again in 2019 with more amazing inspiration.
• 47:34
  SPEAKER_00: So, until next week, be sure to join us on the socials as we continue to pursue perspective, purpose, and plans for a simply wholehearted life.