Christmas Eve holds a unique weight for those in ministry.

While the world is slowing down, ministry often feels like it’s speeding up. Services to prepare for. People to care for. Expectations—spoken and unspoken—pressing in from every direction. And somewhere in the middle of it all, you’re trying to hold space for the meaning of Christmas while holding everything else together.

Yet here’s a quiet truth we often forget:

This week doesn’t become peaceful because life gets lighter.
It becomes peaceful when we choose with intention what we allow to lead our thoughts.

The schedule may stay full. The responsibilities may remain. The needs may not pause.
But your experience of this week can change—based not on circumstances, but on perspective.

The Power of Our Thoughts

The thoughts we rehearse shape how we feel, how we show up, and how we experience the sacred moments right in front of us. They produce a lens that we experience all life through! On Christmas Eve, when emotions run high and exhaustion runs deep, it’s easy to slip into thought patterns that increase stress and overwhelm.

Here are a few thoughts that quietly drain peace:

Thoughts that produce stress and overwhelm:

• “I have to hold everything together.”

• “There’s no room for my needs right now.”

• “I’ll rest after Christmas… again.”

These thoughts often feel responsible. Even spiritual. But they carry a heavy burden—one God never asked you to carry alone. This burden often leaves us wishing we could enjoy a Christmas like everyone else WITHOUT ministry pressures, and that will rob you of the blessing of GETTING to partner with God in impacting lives! 

Now consider another option.

Choosing Thoughts That Lead to Peace and Purpose

Peace doesn’t come from doing less perfectly.
It comes from thinking more truthfully. More aligned with God's Word. 

When we choose thoughts rooted in grace, presence, and truth, our internal experience shifts—even if our external circumstances don’t.

Thoughts that empower, calm, and restore:

• “I don’t have to perform to be worthy.”

• “Jesus is present with me, not waiting on me.”

• “I’m allowed to experience Christmas, not just manage it.”

These thoughts invite you to step out of survival mode and into sacred presence. They remind you that Christmas isn’t something you produce—it’s something you’re invited into.

A Gentle Invitation for This Week

Every day, this Christmas week, take 5 minutes to just BREATHE in Jesus's presence, and ask Him to renew your mind on thoughts that are life-giving.

Not perfection.
Not pressure.
Not proving your strength or faithfulness.
Not resenting ministry and the extra burden you carry for others to experience Jesus on Christmas. 

Just presence. 
Just Emmanuel—God with you, right where you are.

May you give yourself permission to receive Christmas, not just carry it for everyone else.
And may your heart be led by peace, not pressure.