”Tis the Season to be Jolly….Tra La La La La La!”

But some honesty here… sometimes Christmas seems to almost run us over in a giant snowball of stress and too much to do! Perhaps you haven’t even been able to take a deep breath of festive air yet or take a moment to smell the pine or sip a wassail while staring into a crackling fire. You may be walking through deep trials or grief or you’re simply wearied by the common stressors of our modern rush-rush. The carols are robotically playing but you haven’t had a chance to truly listen with the ears of your soul.

The THM lifestyle has arms wide open to people of all creeds, religions and beliefs. We’ve never wanted to be preachy or tried to thump you on the head with our own Christian beliefs but do you mind if we take a minute to let you in on how we truly feel at this time?

One of us (Pearl) just lost her home and everything in it to a fire last week (incredibly blessed and thankful that all lives were saved) so we’re sorta in reflective mode.

Christmas is Emmanuel… God with us. We celebrate the Saviour of the world, born to die for us and restore peace on earth. We know you’ve heard them before, hundreds of times, but consider these words for a minute:

“Long lay the world in sin and error pining, till He appeared and the soul felt its worth. The thrill of hope, the weary world rejoices, for yonder breaks a new and glorious morn.”

This very moment might find you weary and bowed down under the anxieties of life but there really is a new and glorious morn. Born to all of us in that manger was the Restorer of our brokenness. He is the God of impossibilities who came in the most unexpected way.

You might still be struggling with bills this Christmas or be estranged from loved ones (or perhaps your house burned down… insert shaky smile) but Emmanuel can gift us all peace this during this season that is deeper and more anchored than any perfect Christmas card scenario.

The first Christmas wasn’t picture perfect either when you think about the cold stinky animal barn where Mary labored through the night to birth the Saviour. The manger was probably a bed of bacteria and filth.

This “Night Divine” that we sing about was far from a perfect scenario, yet God chose it to bring His love and salvation to the whole world.

So no matter what you are walking through this year, no matter how far from perfect your circumstances… let the Christmas bells ring truer than ever. If we really listen, really look… we’ll find the sound of hope… the sound of mercy…. the sound of healing and the sound of laughter.

This laughter is not the empty chuckle from surface conversation over mixed nuts at a party but the deep joy that springs from a source that is higher than our own. It is the truest and deepest source from the heart of God who humbled Himself to be born of man and suffer the indescribable trauma of the bloody cross to allow a real smile crack through our lips this Christmas.

So bring on the Trim Healthy yummies and the THM chocolate chips. Lick that Gentle Sweet cookie dough batter with delight! It truly is the season to be jolly even though there are still traffic jams, challenging relationships to work on and oh, yes… house fires that burn up all your underwear and warm clothing.

The greatest gifts are not things anyway – those all pass away, but His love never does. And that love came to earth as a baby to take all our brokenness and replace it with comfort and joy.

So time to get your THM feast on and be merry! As a gift to you… please enjoy all the many wonderful Christmas and holiday recipes that we have put together for you in this edition of the Trim Healthy Living eZine. Each recipe included has a link for you to download and print the recipe for you to use for years to come! If you are unable to print the recipe out right now, no worries! This Holiday Recipe collection is yours for free and will be able to be accessed year after year… and we’ll keep adding even more favorites as time goes on!