How do you show love in every day life?  How do you show love at Christmas time?.  At Christmas we can rush around wanting to show our love for our family and friends.  However, this time of the year which combines Christmas time with endings, beginnings and transitions that occur at the end of the year, can often be a stressful time among families.  We often find our frustration tolerance low and and our ability to show our love through kindness and patience can be tested.

There are a number of ways you can create Christmas Calm in  your house, and the following is a reminder to keep our eyes on what is important at Christmas.

1 Corinthians 13 is often used in wedding ceremonies as it is a wonderful illustration of love. The link below will take you to a paralled text of 1 Corinthians 13 that reminds us of the meaning of Christmas: www.appleseeds.org/1_Cor_13_Xmas.htm

If I decorate my house perfectly with plaid bows, strands of twinkling lights and shiny balls,
but do not show love to my family, I'm just another decorator.

If I slave away in the kitchen, baking dozens of Christmas cookies, preparing gourmet meals
and arranging a beautifully adorned table at mealtime, but do not show love to my family, I'm just another cook.

If I work at the soup kitchen, carol in the nursing home and give all that I have to charity, but do not show love to my family, it profits me nothing..

Are you looking for easy ways to connect with other people at Christmas?  Sure there is giving gifts, but what about looking beyond traditional gift giving?

Feeling connected is important for your mental health.  There are links between loneliness and depression; social connectedness and feeling happier.  

But where do you start?  Working on how you view social situations to reduce your feelings of loneliness is very important, but here are 7 easy and practical strategies you can do to reach out to others.