Recently I reread “the pout pout fish” (for probably the millionth time!) to my 3 year old after a particular grumpy morning. One line struck me “how about a little joy, a little hope?” It was a perfect way to gently remind myself that hope and joy are often a personal choice.
I think sometimes we get lost in bad moods because we forget to speak out the good moods/words to counter it! “Words are dead until they’re spoken”. But for some reason bad moods have lots of power, so I think we have to intentionally speak out the good mood words. And what better time than the holidays? So I have a few holiday words to inspire hope and joy to you and yours.
My first suggestion is to start out with defining the traditional words for advent season, which begins on the fourth Sunday of November. I really like this free printable from Muscadine Press.
hope—hope is looking forward to something wonderful!
peace—peace is the end of hostility and fighting.
joy—joy is feeling happy inside and out.
love—love is when you care more about others than yourself.
adore—to adore is to give honor and worship.
Learn & sing a holiday hymn. My favorite for sparking joy is none other than “Joyful Joyful We Adore Thee” by Henry Van Dyke.
Memorize a holiday poem. We memorized “Christmas bells” by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow last year. It was written during the civil war and it speaks to the divisions of that time in history. But given much of the current social and political divides I think it’s very apropos and can give you hope for this holiday season.
But always remember,
Hope is the thing with feathers
That perches in the soul, And sings the tune without the words, And never stops at all
…
I’ve heard it in the chillest land, And on the strangest sea; Yet, never, in extremity, It asked a crumb of me
—Emily Dickinson
Share your hopeful holiday words with me @livvyroberts
