• All Sites:
  • Pastors
  • Leadership
  • Kids Ministry
  • Student Ministry
  • Groups Ministry
  • Women's Ministry
  • Worship Ministry
LifeWay

Ministry to Women

Resources for Women’s Ministry Leaders

  • Home
  • About
  • Resources
  • Events
  • Shop
Leading Young Women, Ministering to Moms, Reaching Women
November 27, 2015

Help Moms Refocus This Christmas

By Deb Douglas

A Note from Chris Adams: Although I am not a Black Friday shopper, I know many thrive on the tension of getting the best deal on that one day! Sometimes our focus during this special season of Thanksgiving and the celebration of Christ’s birth shifts from the reason we should celebrate. I love the suggestions Dr. Deb Douglas, First Baptist Church, Bossier City, LA, gives us for helping moms redirect their focus to the most important aspect of this season. 

Black Friday. The official start of the Christmas season. It’s as if the starter’s gun has gone off. The flag has dropped. The race has begun. Moms, start your engines. And we’re off.

Actually, we are way off. Off from the reverence of the Christmas season. Off from the quiet understanding that God sent His only begotten Son. We have eaten our Thanksgiving turkey and have been swept away into the Christmas race.

The insanity of Black Friday—women fighting for parking places and racing to get the best deal on things that will probably be returned after Christmas. Women are focused on finding the perfect gifts for people they feel obligated to buy something, only to come home, look at the receipts, and worry about how the charge cards will be paid. No joy is found, just exhaustion and the dread of another year of paying for Christmas.

It’s Black Friday, women’s ministry leaders. What are we going to do? Are we going to stand by and watch another Christmas get drowned in false expectations and disappointments? It’s Black Friday, a day filled with the highs of shopping followed by exhaustion and fear of another season of expectations. Another year when that picture perfect Christmas gets torn apart by busy schedules, arguing families, and financial worries.

This Christmas, let’s change things for moms in little ways that will shift the focus from being perfect to being a mom who enjoys time with her children. A word from a women’s ministry leader has the possibility of changing Christmas for moms. Moms are desperate for someone to help them leave the insanity of Christmas perfection. They need a helping hand to pull them from the madness of the race of Christmas expectations.

How can we do this? Text. Email. Post. Tweet. Every day between now and Christmas. What do we say?

  • A Scripture verse
  • A story about the sweetest Christmas moment you’ve experienced
  • A simple encouragement to take time to sit and ponder the Christmas story
  • A short burst of wisdom, like, “Children will not remember what gifts were received, but they will remember mom telling the Christmas story on Christmas Eve while cuddled up and drinking hot chocolate”
  • A reminder to subtract one thing from the Christmas schedule
  • A witness of Jesus’ story

It will take some thought and prayer, but these simple daily reminders about the meaning of Christmas will change Christmas for moms. The Christmas story is so easily lost in the hectic race of the season. Make an effort not to let moms loose the story.

There’s another Black Friday on our calendar—a day of reverence that we call Good Friday. The day the world went dark in mourning for Jesus. The death of our Savior is linked to the story of His birth. It is the rest of the Christmas story. We cannot have salvation without Christmas and Good Friday. Christmas is a celebration of Jesus’ willing sacrifice for salvation just as Easter is. This Black Friday, let’s turn the attention of moms in our influence to joyfulness of the entire Christmas story.


Deb Douglas 2014Dr. Deb Douglas has served in women’s ministry for over 37 years. Now she spends her time working with Purchased Ministry, a ministry to women in the sex trade industry. Deb is also the Director of Biblical Counseling at First Baptist Church, Bossier City, LA. She was the first to graduate from New Orleans Baptist Theological seminary with a Masters degree focusing on women’s ministry and has earned a Doctor of Education in Ministry degree from NOBTS. She is “Pearl” to 3 sweet grand babies, “Mom” to Jared Douglas and Katie Chavis, and wife/sweetheart to Paul Douglas.

You may also like -

  • Lessons Behind the BlogLessons Behind the Blog
  • Rhythms of Work and RestRhythms of Work and Rest
  • The Secret Sauce in MinistryThe Secret Sauce in Ministry

Filed Under: Leading Young Women, Ministering to Moms, Reaching Women November 27, 2015

WE’RE GLAD YOU’RE HERE

Thanks for stopping by! You’ll find helpful articles for your leadership journey, whether it’s leading women in the local church, in your community, or in the marketplace.

EMAIL NEWSLETTER

  • Ready to join in and receive monthly content specifically for women in ministry? Enter your email address and click "Sign Up." It's that easy!

You Lead

RSS On the LifeWay Women blog

  • How Scripture Notebooks Can Draw You Deeper Into God’s Word + A Giveaway January 15, 2021
  • Book Notes | How You Live January 14, 2021
  • Parenting Teens Through Important Life Decisions January 13, 2021
  • 3 Tips for Kicking off Small Groups This Year January 12, 2021
Load More...Follow on Instagram

Subscribe to Blog via Email

Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

All Ministry Sites

Pastors
Leadership
Kids Ministry
Student Ministry
Groups Ministry
Women’s Ministry
Worship Ministry

Digital Resources

Ministry Grid
LifeWay Worship
Digital Church
KidEvent Pro
MyCurriculum Manager
Simulcast Manager
LifeWay Reader eBooks
Generosity
WORDsearch
SmallGroup.com

LifeWay Network

LifeWay Research
B&H
Ridgecrest

Copyright © 2021 · LifeWay Christian Resources · All Rights Reserved