Christmas is Over, Now It's Your Turn

You just helped deliver one of your church's biggest productions of the year--Christmas. Christ was proclaimed. Lives were touched and restored. Now what? It's time to stop, reflect and prepare.

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While most normal people have been busy shopping and partying with family and friends you were working overtime to produce one of the biggest services of the year. Christmas. This is the service that we have all been waiting for.

For years I struggled to truly enjoy Christmas because I was running full speed the entire season. There was so much to be done that it was hard to actually stop and appreciate the beauty of this time of the year.

But now, it's over. You did it. Maybe there was a bump here or there. Maybe everything wasn't as flawless as you hoped it would be. But you can now sigh that deep sigh of relief that it's all behind you. Christ was proclaimed. Hearts were touched. Lives were restored. And you got to play a part in that. That is a reason to celebrate!

If you imagine your life as a cell phone, you realize that you need to plug into the Power from time to time, otherwise it will run on empty and eventually crash.

Now, this is your time. Time to stop and reflect on the wonder of an Almighty God who sent his only Son to this earth to be born of a virgin and who was destined to save all mankind from sin and shame. This is a chance to remember that God came to us rather than requiring us to somehow find our way to Him.

It's normal for tech directors to forget to experience Christmas for themselves. You have been focused on the church and your productions for so long. But Jesus didn't just come for them. He also came for you.

This is a chance to remember that God came to us rather than requiring us to somehow find our way to Him.

Now is a perfect time for you to spend the next few days recharging your own soul and preparing for the future. If you imagine your life as a cell phone, you realize that you need to plug into the Power from time to time, otherwise it will run on empty and eventually crash. It is important for you to take the time to recharge and focus on your own well-being.

Here are a few ideas and exercises that may help you to decompress, get your focus on Jesus and prepare for the tasks before you in the coming year.

Spend time in Scripture

Many families find it meaningful to read the Christmas story during their holiday. This is a great tradition that helps to remind people of the true meaning of the season. You could take this a step further by reading the account not just in Luke, but also in Matthew and John. Pay attention to the different perspectives in each of them.

This is also a good time to start a new Bible reading plan. The YouVersion app has many that are geared towards the holidays and other areas of interest in your life. Another advantage of the using the Bible app is that they have “streaks” which count how many days in a row you have read Scripture. This subtle counter can often be just the motivation that you need to not miss a day in God's Word.

Spend time in prayer

When you saw that title what was your initial reaction? Maybe you rolled your eyes and thought, “Yeah, of course I know I need to pray.” Or maybe the thought sounded like the driest thing you could spend your time doing.

Before you just skip over this section, consider what I am actually suggesting.

Prayer is nothing more than communicating with God and spending time with him. All too often, we treat prayer as a rub on the lamp of some magical genie. I do not think this is the kind of relationship that God wants to have with us.

Relationships consist of communication and time spent together. So, this holiday season, set aside some time to spend with God. Not just talking the whole time. But also listening. Most people find it challenging to actually listen for God's voice for even five minutes. But I believe that God wants to speak to you.

For God speaks again and again, though people do not recognize it. Job 33:14

Personally, I find it hard to hear God's voice with all of the noise and activity that tends to surround me daily. So maybe consider taking a walk. Or spending time in God's Creation near a brook or wandering in the woods. Just make sure you don't get lost!

You may find that you are able to quiet the voices in your life enough to actually hear God's “still small voice” speaking to you.

Spend time with friends and family

This may seem obvious, but some of us may have spent so much time around people in these past few weeks that we just want to hide in a corner.

Throughout Scripture, we see the value of relationships and doing life together. So be intentional about it and get a group of people together and just enjoy being around other people. Even if you tend to be introverted, I believe that relationships are critical to living out your Christian life.

Spend time preparing

Last, but not least, carve out some time to start planning for the New Year. Our potential usually is not the limiting factor in life, it's our lack of preparation. Maybe take a journal along and write down some dreams and goals that you have, and then break that down into sustainable steps to actually help you to accomplish those things.

I believe that if you use this time wisely it will help to restore your soul and prepare you to do great things for God in the coming year.