Last week I blogged on holiday stress and gave you a three-step plan of attack to deal with it. This week, I came across a study released by Mayo Clinic and authored by Amit Sood, a Mayo stress-reduction expert.

Sometimes the world gets it right. This study was just raw science with a bit of pop psychology thrown in. It’s been referred to in news programs and other articles as a help for people to enjoy the holidays.

Sood claims that, from his research data, there are specific attitudes that alleviate stress and give you genuine joy during a time of year when holiday stress and seasonal depression tend to gang up.

The trees are up, lights are lit…Christmas season is here! It’s supposed to be a wonderful time of the year. So how come you are so stressed?

You can be at peace this Christmas and you can find that peace now, so that you actually enjoy Christmas this year. And it’s not complicated.

I’ve got three simple steps for you.

I completed my fifth Bridge tour to Israel ten days ago. Every time I go, I find deep meaning revisiting both Old and New Testament sites. Seeing where Jesus lived and taught is very meaningful.

It’s interesting how every time I go, I learn something new.

There was a reason for our Hoist the Sail theme verse: “For from Him and through Him and to Him are all things. To Him be glory forever” (Romans 11:36).

We know intuitively that everything we do as a church is to be pointed at God’s glory.

But is that true of your life in general?

Linda and I were in Wisconsin a few weeks ago, and we drove by the building of the church we established over 35 years ago. It feels good to drive by the building and know that all that work paid off…that there is still a strong and growing congregation there.

I took a class in seminary called Theology of Prayer. It was beneficial to explore every passage in Scripture about prayer throughout the semester. One of the projects for that class involved completing a week of thanksgiving and writing a report on that week. The project was pretty easy but remarkably valuable.