I’m looking at my calendar and it’s packed. I have some mornings blocked off to regroup and tend to my house and people, but the weekends are full and plenty of weekdays are too. I’ve said no to the things I just can’t invest in right now and said yes to what is important to us.

And here we are, busy.

But I want to continue into the busy holidays with a perspective that holds truth up front, right where I can see it. I want to remember God is God and he’s got this whole world – and my little life – in his hands.

I want to choose joy & be overwhelmed by God’s goodness, not my calendar.

{Tweet that.}

I want to love this season like I loved this past weekend. In the midst of daily life, plans that have brought people to our house the past three weeks and will bring more in the coming weeks. But this past weekend our best friends gathered at our house for our eighth annual Thanksgiving. I wish we had a clever name for it, like the Friendsgiving I saw online recently. But we don’t.

But we have each other.

The first year we planned it, my family didn’t even go because we had a 26-hour-old baby boy. We’ve hosted many other years though. One year we even used our china for the first – and still only time – in the 14 1/2 years Greg and I have been married.

This year we used paper plates.

And I don’t think anybody cared.

One of the four families moved away last year so they stayed at our house the whole weekend. We ate chowder out of paper bowls one night before sharing a store-bought ice cream cake to celebrate our two close-in-age boys who were the foundation of two moms becoming friends. We kept a stack of paper plates close for the four adults and seven kids. Another family spent a good portion of the weekend at our house because they’re friends who are more like family.

We cooked mashed potatoes and apple dumplins together, filled in the gaps of our texting conversations, and did ordinary life together while our kids make messes and memories throughout the house. Then the fourth family joined us, bringing a fresh dose of laughter and jalapeño corn.

I didn’t even put on shoes Saturday. I needed a day like that. I needed to stay.

Being surrounded by my favorites filled up my soul. Sure, it’s busy right now. But winter is coming. And this is the life for which I’m thankful.

*****

And speaking of holidays, I am giving away a sweet children’s book that would be a wonderful addition to your Christmas collection. Be sure to enter that giveaway before Saturday.

*****