A gift that keeps giving.

We spend so much time preparing everything around us—
the house, the menu, the errands, the gifts, the schedules, the moments we hope will feel meaningful.
We pour our energy into creating the right atmosphere for the people we love…
and somehow forget to prepare the one thing that shapes every relationship the most:
our hearts.

Because you can have the clean house, the perfect plan, the thoughtful gifts, the well-set table—
and still feel empty, irritated, rushed, or stretched so thin you can’t actually be with the people you’re trying so hard to love.

It’s not because you’re failing.
It’s because your soul was never meant to run on decoration, performance, or preparation alone.
It was made to run on the presence of God.

And a heart that hasn’t been with Him will always feel drained, no matter how beautiful the moment looks on the outside.
But a heart that has been with Him?
It carries something that shifts everything—
peace that steadies, wisdom that softens, patience that stretches, love that remembers what truly matters.

Even five quiet minutes with Him can reorient you before you ever step into the room.
His presence nourishes what has thinned out, restores what’s been depleted, and realigns what’s quietly gotten out of rhythm.
And from that place… it overflows.
Onto your people.
Into your home.
Through words, reactions, and moments you never could’ve scripted.

So if you’re longing to give more kindness, more patience, more joy this Christmas, don’t start with the place—
start with your heart.
Sit with Him.
Open His Word.
Let Him shape you before you show up for anyone else.

What if we made this our heart’s cry? Communion with Jesus as our first + most necessary preparation before every interaction, gathering, event or living at all.
I believe we would see how often we’ve been living malnourished.

Because the best present you could ever give others is a heart that’s been in the presence of God.
And that gift keeps giving long after the season ends. 🤍