Not Last Minute... Yet! 

In last month’s blog, Sammy revealed how her planning for Christmas begins long in advance. I haven’t been working with Sammy long, reveals Becky May, but I’m finding her very easy to work with. We have a lot in common, and slot together very well, but on this one issue, at least, we couldn’t be any more different! Whilst I’m pretty sure Sammy will have all her Christmas presents bought, wrapped and ready to go under the tree, my Christmas preparations so far this year extend to the purchase of four Terry’s Chocolate Oranges!
 
My best (or worst, depending on how you look at it) ever Christmas preparation record was the year the sewing machine came out at 10pm on Christmas Eve (and I still had all the present wrapping and vegetable prepping to do!)
 
I do try to get organised, honestly! Last year, I downloaded a Christmas planning app which started in the first week of September. The problem was, the very first tasks involved finding out when my children’s school nativity dates were, and since they hadn’t been set yet, I fell at the first hurdle.
 
Generally speaking, I manage to muddle through and it all comes together in the end, but here’s the thing I have learned, and the reason I perhaps need to take a leaf or two out of Sammy’s book; when you do leave everything to the last minute, things can go wrong and you don’t always get to make the most of every opportunity.

 

I don’t know how things are where you live, but round here Santa Claus appointments are already in short-supply, and it won’t be long before the Pantos and Christmas Dinner Dates are also fully booked. There is a risk, if we don’t get prepared in time, rather like the five foolish virgins in Matthew 25, that we will miss the opportunity that is given to us. We need to have the wisdom to think ahead, to plan and prepare and to be ready not for an appointment with the bearded man in the red suit, but more importantly to serve the King of kings.
 
The second lesson I’ve learnt is that rather counterintuitively, sometimes the more we plan and prepare, the more we are able to be spontaneous! When my house is tidy, I can confidently invite the caller to my door in for a cup of coffee and when we’ve saved up for the summer holidays, we can go for that extra ice-cream without worrying, for instance.

At the Playtime Conference in September, Sammy and I met a lady who had recently been on holiday to Australia. She took a handful of Hope magazines with her in her hand luggage and had numerous opportunities to strike up conversations, and bless people she met along her journey.
 
  
 
So perhaps this year will be the year I nail it? Probably not. But if I can’t get it all ready ahead of schedule, perhaps I need to work out what steps I need to take to ensure ‘my lamp doesn’t run out of oil,’ and perhaps you want to give it some thought now too.
 
Perhaps we could all follow the lead of our Australian adventurer, and carry some Hope magazines in our bag, ready for those impromptu opportunities. This year we have a feature on JB Gill from the boyband JLS (currently on a new UK tour). He also hosts Songs of Praise and the CBeebies programme ‘On the Farm’. Alongside JB Gill, we have a feature on Bridgerton star Adjoa Andoh (Lady Banbury) and how her faith influences her acting roles. With other articles on Disney, Warm Spaces, and football there’s something for everyone, and all for 20p per copy from the Hope shop, available now! https://www.hopetogether.org.uk/Shop/Categories/20171/Category/Magazines.aspx
 
 
Or perhaps we want to think a little more deliberately about the opportunities available to us and how we will meet them. How can we point the way to the King of kings?
 

 
Countdown to Christmas Hope takes people on a daily, interactive Advent journey. Through things to read, think about, make, do, watch, and listen to (via QR codes) and is great to give to non-Christian friends you are already having conversations with who are already asking questions about faith. It’s linked to a Facebook group where people can post responses to some of the questions, craft and other challenges; and it signposts people to their local church. Countdown to Christmas Hope is a ‘hand to hand’ resource and it’s great value too at only 50p per copy plus p&p. https://www.hopetogether.org.uk/Shop/Products/501761/Product/Books/Countdown_to_Christmas.aspx
 
We’d love to see it get into as many hands as possible so if you want to order in bulk, talk to us and we’ll see what we can do!
 

 
If like me, you need the reminder, the last date for second class posting is the 18th December, and the last date for first class is 20th December! So what are you posting this year? we have designed a Hope card to send to neighbours and friends, to point them to the light in the darkness. Using an image from the artist Sara Sherwood  www.sarasherwood.co.uk called ‘Trust, Follow the Star,’ it invites people to follow the star in the Christmas story and journey with the wise men to find the light of the world and light in our darkness. Available now at £4.00 for 10 cards (with discounts for higher volumes) these are a great way to reach every home this Christmas with a message of light and hope. https://www.hopetogether.org.uk/Shop/Products/502385/Product/Cards/Christmas_Card_Packs.aspx
 

 
Christians and churches are invited this year to ‘shine your light’ as part of a cross denomination and organisation Christmas community outreach during the weekend of the 16th and 17th December. Once you’ve done ‘door to door’ with magazines and cards and ‘hand to hand’ with Countdown to Christmas Hope perhaps there’s a local community Christmas event you can invite people to?
 
www.shineyourlight.org.uk