“This year I am going to have a simple and easy Christmas.” How many times have you said that? How many times have you actually followed through? If you’re like me that would be never… except this year. But really that is only because:
1. I don’t have room for a tree and decorations.
2. I am setting up a studio so I don’t have a choice because I will be lucky to get that done!

Don’t get me wrong, I wouldn’t change this time setting up the studio for anything in the world; however, I am on a time constraint and circumstances have come that are beyond my control. Fixing the floors has drastically slowed things down. They will not be done for another week!! When I realized how long it would be my first reaction was to scream and yell and panic. I was able to hold that in but the number of things on my to-do list were accumulating in my head one after another like an elf’s list of toys to make… How on earth will it get done? Yep, just like any other holiday season, I was:

“MAKING ā LIST AND CHECKING IT TWICE…”

Lucky for me the topic at church today was “Restlessness: Peace of Mind.” Our Pastor, Will, spoke about stress and worry, especially during the holidays. I talk about serendipity often, and this was definitely one of those moments for me. Opening a studio brings on more worry and stress than I have ever had to experience at one time. It was truly a gift from God to come in to church this morning and be given explicit instructions on how to cope with this huge obstacle I have come to. Will gave us 3 steps to handling stress:

1. Give all of your worries and cares to God. Trust that He will guide you. (If you do this, believe me you will automatically feel all of the weight lifted from your shoulders).

2. Pray about it. Truly ask Him for guidance. Simply giving your worries to Him won’t make them go away. You have to pray about how to overcome them, or how to handle them.

3. Make the right choices. The times when we feel the most stress are typically caused by making bad decisions. Making the right choices now means less stress in the future.

Because starting a business has such ambiguity, it often causes more anxiety than the average job. The past few months have been an amazing yet anxious journey. I have done everything I can to take as much of that worry and place it in front of God. I have prayed and prayed and honestly believe that is the sole reason I have gotten to where I am so far. However, there is one more thing, a fourth step, I believe should be added to the 3 above:

4. Don’t be too proud to accept a little assistance from others. I am normally one of those people who don’t ask for help. I think I can do everything on my own because I don’t want to bother people. I have quickly learned better though. The studio is too big of a task in too short a time to take on my own. Besides, often people truly do want to help in a time of need.

Saturday I brainstormed and got color advice from Whitney. Then today Mandy helped me take on a good deal of painting. I was able to bounce ideas off of both of them and they each gave me some great creative ideas I wouldn’t have thought of on my own. My sister has been helping this whole time “behind the scenes” making phone calls, emailing and ordering equipment.  Without Holt I couldn’t have gotten to where I am with my website, blog and (soon) advertising. Of course Mike has quite the tasks ahead of him with the mirrors, barre, and stage. So the list goes on: mom, my brother, Jeff, Dave… Needless to say I have been able to check things off of my “to-do” list that I could not have accomplished yet.

I honestly believe I have some of the greatest most supportive friends and family in the world. With lots of prayers and help I don’t have to “worry” that I won’t be able to “check my list” off by December 31st!

Keep those 4 Steps in mind this holiday season and I promise it will be one you can truly enjoy!