A good old-fashioned Christmas break.

These were the Christmas ornaments I sent out for the 2007 Holiday Ornament Swap. I got some lovely ones in return, so I hope the recipients didn’t find mine too plain – believe it or not, they took ages to paint and glue and varnish!

This will be my last post here for a little while: I’ve decided to take a Christmas break. Today is my last day in the office until January 2, which will be my longest work-free time since I don’t know when. And I’ve decided that it’s going to be blog-free, too. (Sorry, Uncle Ted…no Christmas photos until January.)

The only thing that will keep on movin’ on is my Etsy shop. There won’t be any shipping until January 3, but you can still make a purchase. I’ll be adding a bunch of handprinted cards and starting a special after-Christmas sale on December 26, so stop by then to see if something you want is on sale!

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Do you remember those wonderful days in grade school and college when break came between semesters and you really, honestly had no homework to do? I think that I was woefully unappreciative of the freedom of those times. Not having anything you have to do is a quality that pretty much disappears when you “grow up.” Instead, you have to a) forget, b) ignore, or c) stress about everything that you know you’re not doing. A time of rest becomes something that you have to create, not something that just happens.

I’ve been thinking about this because, as I sit at my desk for the last time until January 2, I can tell that I am not going to have enough time to finish a bunch of projects today and that I’m going to be really amazingly swamped when I get back. And that thought is quite stress-inducing. Potentially so stress-inducing that I won’t really enjoy my break because I’m worrying about what will be waiting for me when I come back.

So I’m going to choose not to think about that. I’m going to walk out the door at 5:15 today, and then I’m going to stop thinking about work. I’m not even going to think about blogs or blog articles.

Instead, I’m going to think about my husband and my family, about Christmas, about giving, about art, about the ocean. About Jesus. About how thankful I am that I have all of these things (I might think about work here for a millisecond so that I can learn to be grateful, but that’s it).

Therefore do not worry about tomorrow,
for tomorrow will worry about itself.

I have learned the secret of being content
in any and every situation,
whether well fed or hungry,
whether living in plenty or in want.
I can do everything through Him who gives me strength.

I hope your Christmas is full of rest, and I look forward to sharing with you again in the new year.

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