Each Monday on the Pure Purpose blog, I feature This Week’s 7, a simple list about an everyday topic, giving you ideas and encouragement. You might think you know what’s coming with this week’s title, but I’m moving beyond the typical “take care of yourself and keep a healthy balance” advice for December. I hope this week’s list will help you in small ways as you manage the mayhem you might feel bearing down on you and your family.

1. Serve. Yes, that means adding one more thing to your already-tight schedule. The more you get your mind off you, the better your perspective will be. You can compare yourself to people who have more – money, opportunities, family, and so on – than you and feel miserable. You can also find someone you can help and encourage. When approached with the right attitude, you’ll be amazed at how generously God pours into you as you pour into others.
2. Reduce, Reuse, Recycle. Ask yourself: “If I wasn’t able to physically or financially visit the store to solve this dilemma (from creating and wrapping presents to sending greeting cards and making tags for gifts), what would I do?” You might surprise your ingenuity when you look through drawers and closets and creatively use what’s already at your fingertips.
3. Give Away the Right. The holidays can be filled with tension. Conflict occurs – or is skirted around and discussed but never addressed. How much energy do you use thinking about the potential issues or solutions versus the time and energy spent taking action? We often worry most about what we can’t, or think we can’t, fix. Is it more important you prove yourself right and win a battle or find peace and grow relationships? Your family might not be the only ones in a rut.
4. Write Your Gratitude. Be alert to people and situations for which you can be thankful. Keep a bundle of notecards in your purse. When someone comes to mind, write a note of thanks and hand or mail it to the person within 24 hours.
5. Wipe It Clean. Keep a small package of disinfectant wipes in your purse. Keep a larger package in your car and several packages throughout your house. Encourage everyone to clean as they go. The first benefit is keeping the germ count down during a season when people-contact is high and immune systems are down. The secondary benefit is keeping small messes to a minimum. If you can keep up with the small stuff, the big stuff doesn’t seem quite as big.
6. Smile. Whose photo brings a smile to your face? What jokes continues to make you laugh no matter how often you hear it? Find something that represents joy to you and keep it close to you at all times. Place it over your driver’s license. Wrap it around your debit card. Attach it to your keys. Stay joyful with intentionality.
7. Savor a Staycation. Whether it’s your family or a few best friends, gather the people you love most and plan an overnight at home. No “regular” work allowed. Plan together so everyone involved is invested. Camp out in the living room. Rent a silly movie. Try a new recipe. Decorate a gingerbread house to deliver to an assisted-living home. Hum Christmas songs and play “Name That Tune.” Decorate fuzzy socks. Get out the markers, crayons and colored pencils and print off fun coloring pages to decorate the refrigerator or share with family. Keep it simple and inexpensive. Don’t forget to take photos. A small photo album or memory book would be a great gift!