Live It Articles Delightful

The Christmas holidays delight me. I love the music, the activities, the shopping, wrapping and family times. I hear some people grumble because Christmas has become too commercialized. I think it is great that the Christmas trees are already decorated in the stores and I hear Christmas music at the grocery store. It seems to me that people seem to be a little nicer at Christmas time and I would love to experience that all year.

The Christmas holidays can present a challenge to our faithfulness to First Place. I would like to offer a suggestion that I think would be helpful in each of the four areas of First Place.

• Physical—Christmas activities can often make exercise and healthy eating a challenge. I have found the real key to success is to “chill out” if you have been invited to eat at someone’s home and there doesn’t seem to be any good choices. Eat very little and don’t make it a big deal. A success week in First Place does not center on any “one” meal; it is the overall picture of 21 meals. I have found I can still cook all my family favorites with just a few alterations in some of the ingredients. For instance, the cornbread dressing I used to prepare had butter and turkey drippings added. I now use a combination of turkey drippings (with all the fat removed) and canned chicken broth. No one has noticed the difference. Even if you don’t have family members who are overweight, many of them have health problems and the healthy changes you make that still presents a wonderful meal is a great testimony that healthy food can taste good. 
  
  Finding time to exercise can be a real challenge. The real truth is being faithful to your daily exercise and the very thing that will give you the energy to get through the holidays. Do the simple things, like park as far away from the door as possible when you go shopping. Plan a walk through the neighborhood with the family to look at Christmas decorations.
• Emotional—Don’t allow food to be the main focus of each Christmas gathering. Focus on the people. Use each gathering as a time to enjoy the fellowship of family and friends. Pray before each Christmas event that God will give you the strength to eat proper amounts and to not feel deprived if you choose to say “no” to some treats.
• Mental—Planning ahead is so beneficial to our success in First Place, but maybe even more crucial during the holidays. Plan menus, take your CR and plan your exercise ahead of time. Make a decision about what you will or will not eat before you arrive at an event.
• Spiritual—Finding time to spend with God can be a special challenge during the holiday rush. My First Place class is using the new Healthy Holidays and it is wonderful. It is packed with great recipes, and tips for the holidays. It is a six-week devotional book with two weeks each devoted to Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year’s. Following the devotion is a journaling page, which I have used to write prayers, and also to use like a diary to help me acknowledge God’s participation in my holiday season.

May God Bless Each of You This Holiday Season,

Kay Smith

Blessings,

Kay Smith
First Place Associate Director


Kay is the associate national director of First Place and has been on the First Place staff since 1987.

Kay is a popular speaker at retreats, seminars, Conferences, FOCUS Weeks and Workshops across the country. Kay is the First Place food exchange expert and writes a monthly article in the First Place E-Newsletter on nutrition. She also was a contributing writer to the Today Is the First Day devotional book. Her delightful personality and love for people endears her to everyone she meets, and they quickly become her new best friend.

Kay and her husband, Joe, live in Roscoe, TX. They have two children and five grandchildren. Two of the young grandchildren are making a name for themselves on the golf circuit. Two of the young grandchildren are making a name for themselves on the golf circuit, and the three oldest grandsons are all involved in numerous sporting events, which Kay and Joe attend as often as possible.