Friday Faith Foundations - Prepare Our Hearts for Jesus

<h2>The real meaning of Christmas does not increase stress. The Christmas season is a time to prepare our hearts for Jesus and the gift of grace, which is freeing.</h2> <p>Yesterday morning I emailed a list of gift ideas for business owners and shared a few of our family traditions. As I was typing the list, it made me realize how much focus we, as a society, have on gift-giving, pleasing others, and focusing on things that don't represent the true meaning of Christmas. It made me re-think the real meaning of the season, to prepare our hearts for Jesus.</p> <h3>Why should we prepare our hearts for Jesus?</h3> <p>Oftentimes, especially for business owners and entrepreneurs, December is a time of reflection on what goals we met, what goals we didn't meet, how much money we made, and/or how many clients we had. All of this, in addition to purchasing gifts, pleasing others, and even wanting more for ourselves.</p> <p>Christmas is more than all of those things. December is a good month to reflect on more than goals, revenue, and gifts. It's a time to prepare our hearts for Jesus and receive His grace, the true meaning of the season.</p> <h3>Evaluate before you celebrate</h3> <p>I always encourage my clients to evaluate what they do. What worked, what didn't work, what went well, what could be done differently to be better next time.</p> <p>Preparing our hearts for Jesus is similar, but way more powerful.</p> <p>Throughout the year we make many decisions, some good, some not so good. Because we are human, we sin and do things that may have hurt someone else, or ourselves. It's easy to hold onto guilt and shame when we focus on what went wrong instead of what went right. But 1 John 1:9 reminds us that if we confess our sins, we are forgiven. We don't have to hold on to the past, or the shame and guilt of past decisions, experiences, or mistakes.</p> <p>Christmas is a beautiful time to not only reflect on what's been good or bad but to prepare our hearts to receive the gift of Jesus. Imagine the sacrifice God made to sen