Merry Christmas! I wanted to wind down our pre-Christmas week here at Dressed for My Day with something a little more meaningful. So I thought we’d just have our monthly coffee a little early and catch up with one another. Welcome to a Christmas Coffee with Kay.
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Our Holiday Plans
If everything has gone as planned, I am actually spending the day with my mom and dad, taking care of last minute details as they prepare to host most of our family for a Christmas Eve brunch tomorrow. Undoubtedly we will begin our day drinking coffee together and maybe even having something yummy for breakfast. Maybe my dad will even make us waffles.
We are so blessed that my parents have indeed experienced very good health and continue to enjoy a long and adventurous retirement from their professions as educators. So I am very glad that we are able to join them for Christmas this year. James and I will actually be staying with my daughter and son-in-law during our visit because we have other family members staying at Mom and Dad’s. But Abigail and Andrew will be spending much of Christmas with his parents, so James and I will be with Mom and Dad every wakeful moment. That was probably more than you wanted to know. Ha!
My son and daughter-in-law will not be able to join us this year due to her work schedule as a pediatrician. But we have put their gifts in the mail and plan to Facetime with them a bit sometime during the weekend. We all do what we can during the holidays, don’t we?
I’m Taking a Real Holiday
Besides going to visit family, I’m also taking a real “holiday” from work. We all need to take a bit of a sabbatical occasionally and allow our hearts to soften, our minds to recalibrate and our bodies to rest. So you’ll see blog posts going up next week – and they’re GOOD ONES! – but I won’t be working. And I won’t be responding to comments, although I welcome you to leave them. I just need some time to step away completely from the blog, the YouTube channel and social media. I know you understand and love you for it.
How I’ve Prepared for Christmas
Despite the fact that I’m feeling a little bruised and battered from work lately, I really feel like I’ve prepared my heart and soul for Christmas quite well. In fact, that’s probably what has kept me going these past few weeks.
I like to be able to share helpful resources with you ahead of time, but I didn’t get Ruth Chou Simons’ Emmanuel: An Invitation to Prepare Him Room at Christmas and Always until December 4th myself. I read a couple of entries each day to catch up, but really each of the 25 entries has been so worthy of contemplation that I should have just finished after Christmas day instead. It’s a beautiful book, created entirely by Simons, who is both author and illustrator. And it has really spoken to me as I read it each morning and then listened to the suggested Christmas carol.
So if you are one to purchase a Christmas devotional ahead of time, I highly recommend Emmanuel. And it would make a beautiful gift for another woman, too. Simons offers deep and very biblical insights. In fact, she offers a lot of scripture in the book. I always like that. And the gentle voice in which she writes truly has helped me to slow down and meditate thoughtfully on the scriptures and Christmas hymns.
I’ve recently ordered and just received Simons’ Gracelaced devotional, too. I haven’t really had time to sit and look at the book very long, but I think it’s one that I will read from occasionally, not daily. And of course it looks just as beautiful and inviting as the Christmas devotional book.
Preparing for the New Year
Of course you may have already read my recent blog post about Tools You Need Now for a Transformative 2023. But that post was genuine. I really have been spending time in the past few weeks thinking about next year. I’ve got my planner and have already begun logging entries and planning next month.
And a couple of days ago I got my business dealings more organized with my new file folders. I’m determined to be more organized moving forward.
My Life Principles Daily Bible is already in the morning room ready for me to begin reading on January 1. And I have a 4×6 photo album with new index cards ready to begin memorizing and meditating on new scriptures in January, too.
If you’d like to memorize scripture with me…
Don’t worry. Dressed for My Day is and will continue to be a style and beauty blog for women over 50. But I have had several readers who have asked about memorizing scripture with me this year. So if you’d like to do that, you simply need to do one thing. Respond to one of my emails this next week with “I’d like to memorize scripture with you” and I’ll “tag” your email subscription. That way I can send you a separate email each month so we can keep each other accountable. I’d love for you to memorize 24 scriptures (of your choosing) with me in 2023, but it will all be through email correspondence, not here on the blog.
Wrapping up for Christmas
Before I hop off of here and give you the floor, I want to tell you how much I appreciate you. I am very grateful for my readers here at the blog and my viewers at the YouTube channel. I consider you to be friends, and your interaction is meaningful and important to me. I love hearing from you, and I get great joy from knowing that you’ve visited and enjoyed what I’ve written or presented.
I want to wish all of you a beautiful and meaningful Christmas. Whether it is picture perfect or a little lacking, it can still be a blessing to you if you’ll just pause to be grateful and worship Emmanuel, God with us. So I do hope that you will take a moment to do that this weekend.
I would love to hear from you in the comments below. Just click on JOIN THE CONVERSATION to open the comment section. Like I said, I won’t be responding, but I will be reading. Let me know how you’re spending Christmas.
So now it’s your turn to spill the beans. Blessings galore to you all!
Blessed for My Day
Every year millions of people go to great lengths to plan the perfect Christmas celebration. Whether they are especially spiritually minded or not, people like to try to have that picture perfect Christmas. We decorate and bake and send out cards and attend worship services and dress accordingly. We gather family and friends and pets around us. And we volunteer and serve and give and greet and sing. But most of us will still have moments during these holidays when we feel a little unraveled, a little less than completely prepared. And if we take some time to scroll through Facebook or Instagram we’ll undoubtedly spot other families and individuals who seem to be “doing it better” than we are.
Let’s not fall into that trap. Remember, if anyone’s Christmas has ever been less than perfect it was Mary and Joseph’s. And yet that quiet night in Bethlehem was also perfect. The time had come. The baby was born. God was with us. And in the end that’s all that mattered. So let’s do what they did. Breathe in the mystery of it all, breathe out a surrendered sigh and enjoy Emmanuel…God with us. Hallelujah.
While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no guest room available for them. ~ Luke 2:6-7
Hi Kay. As always, you are so lovely and gracious thank you so much! For me, it has been a very busy season. I directed a 90 minute holiday show on December 3, and I have over 50 active members in my community choir! It was a lot of work, but the choir and the audience really enjoyed it. Then I sang in our church Christmas cantata. Lots of singing this season, so it’s a good thing I love to sing. Now it’s time to relax and celebrate the reason for the season, the birth of our Lord Jesus Christ. Merry Christmas to you and your lovely family. Looking forward to hearing from you next year!
I’ve been doing a daily devotional, especially written for the Advent season. It’s been a good way to prepare for Christmas. Our family is small and scattered now. This year my husband and I will celebrate with our lovely local daughter and her Golden Retriever in our home. We’ll Facetime with our CA daughter and her family. We will call my sister and her family plus a few other relatives and friends. I am thankful for my faith, family, and friends. And, I’m ready to enjoy life and meet challenges in 2023. I appreciate this blog!
I would like to join scripture memorization.
Thank you for the reminder of the perfect Christmas was not perfect.
Another wonderful Christmas devotional is The Greatest Gift by Ann Voskamp.
Merry Christmas!
Thank you for the time and the care you put in to everything that you do.
It has made a difference for me many, many times. You inspire me to be better!
God Bless you always!
Denise
Love your blog-read it first thing every morning. We have 3 children who are married to wonderful spouses and figuring out the best way to handle the holidays with so many is difficult. We’ve landed on one year there with us for Christmas and the next year we celebrate Christmas at Thanksgiving – this is our off year, which is always a bit difficult. But I try to focus on how blessed we are that our children are married to such amazing spouses😊
Enjoy your well-deserved time off with your family and have a very Merry Christmas! Safe travels to you as well.
Merry Christmas to you Kay! Thank you for working so diligently to create such interesting and useful content. You are one of my favorites! I also live in Ohio so I can always relate to the weather conditions and your tips and daily outfits. I just wanted you to know how much I truly appreciate you. Have a safe and fabulous holiday!
Thanks for the reminder about Christmas not having to be perfect! After a crazy week of prepping for our kids & grandkids to arrive for our big day which was to be today (Friday) we found out yesterday my husband has covid. Apply the breaks! Everything came to a screeching hault. This morning i realized that it was probably a blessing since here in Northern Ohio the weather has brought everything to a hault this morning. So glad our kids dont have to drive an hour and can stay home SAFELY in their homes. Merry Christmas and thank you for all you provide for us!
I hope your Christmas is perfect. Safe travels and enjoy a blessed and restful time off.
Merry Christmas to you and your family and bountiful blessings in the new year.
Emanuel
Merry Christmas Kay! I look forward every day to reading your post. Thank you for for keeping us fashionably on track, and most of all to help us feel good about ourselves. Thank you for sharing your faith with us. Merry Christmas to you and your family and may God keep you all safe, healthy and happy through the new year.
Merry Christmas Kay. Hope you have a blessed holiday season. Im looking forward to the 2023 season with DFMD.
Blessings, Kaye Ratliff
I’d love to memorize scripture with you this coming year.
Have a blessed Christmas.
Good morning, Kay. I always enjoy your posts on fashion and your faith. Your sweet spirit comes through the writings and videos.
We are going to our oldest granddaughter and her husband’s home for Christmas day, I will be attending Christmas Eve services and on Sun. going to Christmas services.
I love everything you share in you posts, I feel how strong your faith is and am encouraged by that. Wishing you a very meaningful Merry Christmas
Merry Christmas, Kay! I have not missed any of your emails but don’t post very often. I would like to join memorizing scripture by email.
Enjoy your time off.
Enjoyed reading this today. Very lovely picture of you with the flowers.
Wishing you and your family a wonderful Christmas and blessed New Year.
I would like to memorize scripture with you!
Thank you and Merry Christmas,
Joan
Merry Christmas Kay and James! Thank you for everything you do for you blog. It truly is my favorite to follow. I learn so much from you. We have cancelled our travel plans for Christmas as we live in South Dakota and are in a blizzard with extreme cold temps. But we will get out to church a few times and enjoys some good food here at home. Enjoy your time off.
I’d like to memorize scripture with you
Enjoy your blog! It really helps in this world of few in-person shopping choices. Much appreciated! Merry Christmas to you and your family
Hi Kay!
Hoping you and James have a wonderful Christmas with your family. My husband, James and I will be with my parents who are both 88 and still live independently, though with support every day. James and I have 7 children and 8 grandchildren between us but will not be with any of them on Christmas Day as they are visiting in-laws and in other countries. This makes me a little sad but thankful that we have them all.
I was out picking up little bits and pieces from the supermarket, and as I was wandering the isles, I thought how much food we all eat at Christmas. My mind then took me to the great feast the Lord has waiting for us with Him. Taste and see the Lord is good!
Emmanuel. Xxx
Kay, your posts and videos just keep getting better and better. Each week I truly look forward to reading your thoughtful posts and watching your informative videos on various topics. I love hearing from “my dear friend “ every. single. time.
This Christmas is shaping up to be a very joyful one in which I’ve not had for several years, some because of circumstances and some because of mine own mindset. It’s such a blessing how God helps us to change the way we think about what we do and don’t have. Learning to focus again on what I DO have has definitely been a game changer for me this Christmas holiday.
Enjoy your time with your loved ones. It’s so wonderful that your parents are still with you and able to celebrate with family and friends. Cherish these sweet moments.
MERRY CHRISTMAS!
Michelle Hamric
I’d like to memorize scripture with you!
Merry Christmas!
I would like to memorize scripture
I have thoroughly enjoyed your posts this year but mostly because of YOU! You have a gentle and kind way of communicating with your audience despite the fact that we are virtual! Such a skill cannot go without mention so please take all the time you need to recoup, recover and then reimagine how you want 2023 to manifest for you. We will all be out here to cheer you on. Sending you Christmas blessings from a very snowy and cold Canada 🇨🇦
For some reason, my post didn’t go through. Do you have time yet today to retype it. Anyway have a blessed Christmas holiday with family.
First, I want to memorize scripture with you.
Second, Thank you for doing what you do on a daily basis. I, and many others, are grateful for the opportunity to meet and interact with a stylish, real, Christian woman.
Last, but by no means least, Merry Christmas yo you and your entire family.
Merry Christmas to you and your beautiful family, Kay! I am so happy that you are taking some time off to “recharge your batteries.” Just know how very much you are appreciated by so many people!
Thank you as always Kay, for your encouraging and meaningful thoughts that you share with all of us.
May you and your family enjoy every precious moment of the Holiday. Even the moments that are way less than perfect!
Merry and joyous Christmas!
Hi Kay You have a real gift for connecting with people. I look forward each day not only to your fashion advice but also spending time with you. You’re fun, down to earth and non-judgmental and yes, someone I would love to have coffee with! Ha.. Wishing you a joyous Christmas with family in person and online and a fruitful, productive but also peaceful New Year.
Merry Christmas Kay! My husband and I are alone for the holiday. Our daughters are a thousand miles away in opposite directions. Our oldest daughter’s family was here at Thanksgiving and I prepared a large meal and saved the leftovers for our Christmas. Just plan to make a few sides and dessert. Please take all the time you need (and deserve) to recoup your energy and mindset for the new year. Wishing you and your family a joyous season of our saviour’s birth.
Thank you, Kay, for telling us about Ruth Chou Simmons and her books. I have ordered the Christmas one and purchased two others on Kindle. (The new Christmas book is not available on Kindle, darn.) So many thanks for the tip, she looks to be a good resource and author.–Beth Olmsted
Hi Kay!
Your blog and videos are my go-to’s for fashion, style and beauty. A special shout out to your James for his photography and guy-input. And for good coffee practices, a must for us caffeine snobs!
We’re near San Francisco. We saw the San Francisco Ballet’s Nutcracker and the Broadway show, Frozen, for our 34th wedding anniversary 12/10. Last weekend we attended a New Orleans Jazzy Christmas concert in our local town put on annually by a local trumpeter.
My hunny and I enjoy fun traditions:cooking Christmas Eve seafood and Christmas Day rack of lamb, served on Spode Christmas tree dishes with my mom’s silverware and beautiful vintage holiday linens. I leave a plate of cookies and a glass of eggnog out before bed every Christmas Eve and Santa enjoys his snack. We play a recording of the German cathedral bells ringing to herald Christmas morning because my husband is half German and his family did that growing up. It’s fun! We walk Annie our dog after we help her open presents from her stocking. (She’s our kiddo). We do Advent readings and the Advent ring is this years centerpiece. I’ve listened to daily Advent music by Andrea Bocelli on the app, Hallow and it’s really put me in the right heart space to “Prepare Him Room”! Merry Christmas!
I highly recommend Emmanuel. Also Prepare Him Room by Susie Larson. These devotionals helped me to put my focus first on Christ this Advent season. Both are very inspirational and I will continue to use them throughout the year.
Thank you, Kay for this year’s delightful posts and guidance with fashions. I’d like to memorize scripture with you. I’m in a Bible Study Fellowship class, learning about the minor prophets. Lots of possible verses.
I recently purchased planner calendars for my daughter, granddaughter and me. I love to sit and plan the new year between Christmas and New Years.
Hey Jacki —- fellow BSF’er! I was glancing through the comments and that caught my eye!! Don’t you just love BSF! This is probably my 10th or 11th year! We live in East TN and I teach in the student program (homeschooled high schoolers)! They are such a blessing and it truly does seem like such a crucial time to be reaching “that next generation”!
Merry CHRISTmas!
PS…. Kay, please add me to scripture memorization!
Dear Kay,
Wishing you and your entire family a very Merry Christmas and the best 2023 New Year. Enjoy being with your mom & dad (I don’t have mine any longer). Family is one of the greatest blessings in this life. My two daughters live on opposite sides of the USA and I am not able to be with either of them this year (I’ll be spending Christmas alone) but I’m sure we’ll face time. No matter the circumstances, Jesus is the reason for the season and I’m blessed to have a personal relationship with Him. As you get away, I hope this is a time of refreshing, you are a bright light in my day. Thank you for all you do.
Hugs, Bonnie
I would like to memorize Scripture with you!
Hi Kay, so appreciate you sharing great info to keep me current. Would like to be included in memorizing scripture. Merry Christmas to you and all your family. Rebecca
Wonderful post. A very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
Thank you Dear Kay for your blog, your videos. I consider you a friend. I wish you a merry Christmas with your family.
I am in France but I know that in the USA a cold storm is expected. Good luck and be careful.
Your post today was so wonderful and heartwarming. Have a Merry Christmas!
Our daughters spend Christmas Eve and Christmas Day at their homes and with in-laws (they all live closer to them than to us) then they travel to spend the week between Christmas and New years with us – daughters and sons in law, cousins, dogs…it’s chaos in the best possible way! . Hubby and I will attend a Christmas Eve and Sunday morning service service and have some quiet time at home. The last photo of you – the close-up holding the poinsettia – is so good, your eyes, your smile! Safe travels and have a blessed holiday!
Merry Christmas and all of God’s blessings in 2023! Take time for yourself Kay and family and feel no reluctance about that, they deserve all of you and you deserve special time with them.
Thanks for your devotion to all you do! You are a friend indeed!
Fondly, Mary Ann
Merry Christmas to you and your family Kay. Enjoy the holidays and your well deserved time off!
Merry Christmas, Kay! I have enjoyed your posts – they are about so much more than getting dressed for my day, although I enjoy that part, too. I appreciate all the other aspects of life that you share. May you have a wonderful time with your family, and safe travels. Being with family and celebrating the birth of Christ are the important things.
Love your blog, and I would like to join scripture memorization.
Thank‘s and Merry Christmas to you!
Hi Kay
I live in Adelaide, South Australia, Australia and found your YouTube channel about a year ago and have been a dedicated viewer ever since. I retired 12 months ago and have been enjoying the slower pace of life. I am a Christian and am grateful to you for the little snippets you add to your blogs or emails which tell of God’s love. I am also interested in fashion and beauty and find your channel an inspiration. I have just bought products from City Lips using your latest code! I wish we had all those wonderful stores like Talbots, Nordstroms etc that you talk about as the clothes look lovely. Thankyou for doing what you do, I appreciate you and wish you a blessed Christmas with your family.
Jill
Have a wonderful and blessed holiday. Everyone needs to take a break from work and enjoy family and friends. I’m looking forward to more of dressed for my day in 2023. Safe travels as well.
Hope you have a wonderful holiday with your family and get plenty of rest and have lots of fun. It is so cold here in Minnesota 13 Below Zero when I got up this morning right now there’s 25 mile an hour winds. And baby it’s cold outside. Lol
My husband son’s are coming for Christmas Eve. Will go to Christmas Eve service out to eat and then back home for pie and visiting.
My daughter, Amanda’s, and her family are coming for Christmas day. My son, Terry, and his family are staying in Denver, Colorado where they live. Hoping to do FaceTime with them sometime on Christmas day though. We just couldn’t all get together on the same day this year. God bless you and yours.
I would like to join your scripture memorization. I love your blog and your style.
I also would like to join the scripture memorization. Thank for the suggested books. Merry Chistma!
Well, like so many, many of us across the upper portion of the U.S., we are celebrating Christmas with a blizzard!!!! Hope your travel from Ohio to Georgia was trouble free!!! As there are travel bans and likely everyone will be unable to visit friends and family on Christmas Day, it still is a great time to reflect on the meaning of this day and while we do “oh, come, let us adore Him, Christ, the Lord”. Merry Christmas, Kay, and Happy Holidays to everyone!!!
Hi Kay,
I would like to join the scripture memorization. I purchased The Daily Devotional Bible and plan to use it daily as a start to my day. I have enjoyed your blog and posts so much as I feel I can relate to you on a personal level. Our bodies, stature and taste in clothing are very similar although I am significantly older than you. I am particularly enjoying your strength and positive attitude toward life and am inspired by your forward thinking about your life and daily goals. I am taking a lesson from you and am making a plan to use the next year to the best of my ability instead of letting days pass. Have a blessed and safe Holiday Season with your family and friends.
I would like to join you in memorizing scripture.
I’d like to memorize scripture with you
Kay, Merry, merry Christmas to you and your beautiful family! Thank you for all you do every day to inspire us whether it’s fashion, beauty or spiritual. My favorite part of the blog is BFMD.
I want to join you in memorizing scripture.
Looking forward to walking through 2023 with you.
“I would love to memorize Scriptures with you”. Kay I hope you and all your family have had a Beautiful and Meaningful and Fun Christmas . All the Best for a Happy and Healthy 2023.
I’d like to memorize scripture with you Thank you.
Hello Kay,
I appreciate all your time and effort to assist us in so many areas of life. I look forward to reading your blogs and gleaning from them.
I would like to be added to your email list for scripture memorization.
Continue to enjoy your time off and time with your family.
Blessings to you!
I would like to memorize scripture with you in 2023.
Good morning Kay,
I would like to memorize scripture with you in 2023.
I hope you had a wonderful Christmas with your family and wish you safe travels home.
I would like to memorize scripture with you.
Hi Kay,
Thank you for your wonderful post. I am sorry that you are feeling tired and bruised these last weeks. You are a blessing both through your spiritual contributions and your practical contributions to enabling me to maximize my style in my wardrobe. As a professional (but nearing 70), I want to age gracefully in all the ways I can.
I would like to join you and others in memorizing scripture! What a wonderful idea.
Have a Blessed New Year for you, your colleagues, and especially your family!
Sandy Allerheiligen
Hi Sandy, Join us here.
I’d like to try memorizing scripture with you this year. 🙂
I had planned to get to see my whole family on Christmas Day with a big dinner at my house. Not to be! My SIL works for an energy company and they think she needs to be in the office (in another city) during the freeze etc. Yuck!
I’ll end up going to Christmas Eve service at a church I’ve never been to before (probably for the best so I won’t cry about missing my Mom) and then dinner with my DH’s brother’s family. Then on Christmas day it will just be my family, and my sister’s family. Still a good bunch, but with some loved ones missing. We’ve already planned to have a family Christmas on New Year’s Day. So that’s something to look forward to. I hope you enjoy(ed) your parents!