How to Protect Your Peace During the Holidays | Restorative Mindset + Rhythms
Welcome back to The Christian Life Coach Podcast!
In this episode, Shanna helps you prepare for the holiday season with a fresh mindset and a plan for peace.
If you’ve ever felt drained or overwhelmed by the demands of the holidays, this episode will help you reset and refocus — so you can walk into the season rested, ready, and rooted in peace.
You’ll learn:
✨ How to anticipate holiday stressors before they catch you off guard
✨ The power of protecting your non-negotiables — sleep, prayer, and stillness
✨ How to respond from love, not depletion, when relationships feel tense
✨ Simple mindset shifts to finish the year nourished, not burned out
Scriptures Mentioned:
Philippians 4:8 — “Think on these things.”
Romans 12:18 — “As far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone.”
Isaiah 26:3 — “You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on You.”
💜 Key takeaway:
Peace doesn’t come from perfect plans — it comes from a rested mind and a restored heart.
Watch Here:
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Welcome to the Christian Life Coach Podcast. I am Shanna, your Christian life coach.
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Now, I just feel compelled to tell you that.
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I am actually… re-recording this, except that the first time, I did not record it.
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I went through and did the whole shebang. Only to realize that I… did not press record. So… Here we go, take two.
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So, we are continuing on our Rest and Restored series, talking about how to end 2025 well, and begin.
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2026 rested, restored, with some momentum. And starting the new year strong.
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We are talking about how to create space and peace.
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from a place of being rested. We've talked about rest, renewal, clearing the clutter, clearing the clutter in our minds.
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in our homes. in our schedules, and also in our online spaces.
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And this week, as the holiday season is quickly drawing closer and closer.
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I want to talk about entering the holiday season well-rested, restored.
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not burnt out, not reactive, not running on fumes.
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Not just trying to push through to get to the end of the year.
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But… from a place of love and enjoyment.
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and rest. We don't want to… We don't lose our peace.
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from… we don't lose our peace because of… the events, the holidays.
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what happens… it's not about what's coming up that… that lose… that… causes us to lose our peace. We lose our peace because we have expectations.
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of ourselves, of others. of events that… to be honest, our… most of the time unrealistic, right?
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I love the quote that says, something to the effect of.
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Expectation is premeditated resentment. And really, when we set expectations at a certain level, and they don't get met.
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we end up feeling resentful. And so, it's really our own expectations that set ourselves up.
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for resentment. We're the ones that… feel disappointment and resentment, whatever it is, because… we put that expectation on other people, on the situation, or on ourselves.
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We… we don't live up to our expectations, and the holidays don't live up to the expectations that we have for them. They don't end up the way that they should have been.
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So, we experience resentment. We've experienced stress, we are reactive.
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So, I want to encourage you to step into this season.
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in peace, creating and practicing rhythms that restore you.
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creating space to breathe. So that when things aren't going perfectly, and they won't.
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you can stay grounded. You can respond. from a place of peace.
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and joy, and love. Rather than react.
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We don't have to feel depleted. So, one thing that you can do… is anticipate.
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anticipate what. might stress you out. Anticipate what is… what is likely.
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to be a source of stress for you. throughout the holiday season.
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We have… we're… Coming up on the beginning of November.
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Which then leads to December. And there are a lot of opportunities for us to experience stressors. So, look ahead, anticipate.
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What are the things. that I can expect.
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to try to stress me out, to get me out of this peaceful place that I want to exist in.
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It can be family dynamics. Finances, food.
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Travel, expectations of other people, of events, of yourself.
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whatever it is, look for… what could… set you up. Instead of just waiting for the chaos to hit, instead of just walking through blindly.
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and reacting as things happen, anticipate. plan for it.
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Name the thing that… that is likely to cause you to react.
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And anticipate it so that you can plan. to respond, rather, than react.
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So ask yourself, what tends to throw me off during the holiday season?
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what are the things that happen that throw me into a spiral of irritation, of rage, whatever it is?
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that you experience, what are the things that people do, that people don't do.
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that people say or don't say. how things go that may not be what you expected.
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So what are all of those things that. could potentially throw you off, that could cause you to spiral, send you into a rage, or irritation, or whatever it is.
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Over these next two months. what are those expected irritants or stressors?
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then where do you feel the most pressure? And why? Pressure… Maybe to make things perfect, to the… buy the exact right gifts.
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to look a certain way, to make the… just the right meal.
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to keep everybody happy. So where do you feel the pressure most, and why? What creates that pressure?
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What thoughts or expectations make you feel rushed? tense or behind.
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What are you telling yourself that's making you feel rushed, tense, or behind?
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what should I be doing? What do I have to be doing? What do I need to be doing?
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So, hint, anytime you hear those words. should, need, have to.
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Those are going to be clues. You're welcome for that little tip.
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You cannot control what other people do, you cannot control what other people say.
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You cannot control what they do… they don't do, or don't say.
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You can control… how you prepare yourself. You can control.
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how you… what you say, what you do, what you don't say, what you do.
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You can control how you prepare your calendar. how you manage your expectations.
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And so this looking ahead, this anticipating. Not with worry, but with anticipation, with awareness, with wisdom.
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This is going to be so helpful to you.
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On a side note… I just said this to somebody else, too.
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I believe it's Max Locado that says that worry.
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is, like, praying for what you don't want to happen.
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So when you catch yourself worrying, reminding yourself, oh my word, I'm praying for what I don't want to happen.
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So, I don't want to do that, so what can I focus on?
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maybe I could just pray for what I do want to happen.
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So, look ahead, not with worry. But with anticipation. Expect… anticipate what might get in the way, so you're using wisdom. Write it down. Write these things down.
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what could get in the way? what is causing me pressure?
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Um… I can't remember the other one, but they'll all be in the show notes.
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Right? What do you want? pray about it. Ask God, help me. Help… show me.
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the way that you want me to show up in these situations with these people, and decide in advance how you want to feel.
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how you're going to protect your peace. So, decide in advance. How do I want to feel?
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as I go through these situations, no matter where you're at, regardless of what anybody else is doing.
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or sane, how are you? going to protect your own peace.
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Here's a hint. The Bible says in Isaiah 26, I believe it's 26, 3.
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He will keep in perfect peace him whose mind is steadfast because he trusts in you.
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So God will keep in perfect peace the person.
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whose mind is steadfast on God. Because they trust in God.
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So here's your hint about how… to protect your peace.
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Trust God. Focus on Him.
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And when we anticipate this stress from a place of rest.
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It loses its power to control us. stress can tend to overtake us.
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And make it feel like it's controlling us. But if we're entering this season.
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from a place of rest and peace and anticipation, and deciding ahead of time how we're going to handle.
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situations, stress isn't going to be able to touch us.
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what might cause you stress during the holiday season, and how do you want to show up?
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in a peaceful way. Without the stress. So we want to anticipate with awareness, anticipate what is going to get in the way, what's going to try to overtake our peace.
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And we want to protect. are non-negotiables. So, we want to anticipate, we want to look ahead.
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And then, we want to… protect our non-negotiables, or what I like to call our minimum baselines.
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And you can call it whatever you want that feels right for you.
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I… I like minimum baselines, non-negotiable works, too. So, these are foundational practices that we don't let slip away.
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When it's really easy to let things slip away.
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So, these are habits that you want to continue practicing no matter where you're at.
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No matter how busy you get, no matter who's around.
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these are things that I always want to do, even as life gets busy.
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As the holidays get here, it's easy to let these habits slip, and these are.
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the things that you want to remind yourself, I don't let these things slip. If anything else slips, these don't slip.
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And it could be getting enough water in, it could be your sleep.
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It could be having devotion time with God, moving your body, planning meals ahead.
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whatever it is for you. It's easy to let those things slide, so decide now, what are these things that do not slide no matter what?
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I might do them at different times of the day, depending on what's going on, but I do these things every day, no matter what.
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These are your anchors. keep you in a place of being centered, of being intentional.
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and feel more in control.
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So, you want to… really decide what those are.
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And be practicing them now, making sure that their minimum baselines now.
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when it's not… doesn't feel crazy outside of you.
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do them now, get in a good habit of doing those so that.
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when the holidays hit, you are already. in a good habit of doing these things.
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get really good at practicing the minimum baselines now.
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So, identify them. Write them down, remind yourself these are non-negotiable, no matter what.
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No matter what. Last year, I practiced the thought, travel is part of my life, and I take my habits with me wherever I go.
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And my minimum baselines were drinking water, moving my body.
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and planning, I believe, for the things that I really focused on.
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So, I take my habits with me wherever I go.
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what is… what can you remind yourself of? What is your thought that you can practice to remind yourself of your.
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minimum baselines that you want to make sure that you do.
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No matter what. And it, like, it keeps you in a routine. It keeps you practicing what matters to you.
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So what are the three to five things that you do for yourself to steward your body well, to steward your resources well?
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self-care is not selfish, it's not indulgent. It is stewarding well what God has given you. It's taking care.
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of the temple. Where the Holy Spirit dwells.
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So, some of, like I said, water, sleep. morning devotion time.
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I really value time in the morning before everybody else gets up.
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So, maybe it's morning time. Um, moving your body.
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And you want to phrase these things in a way that entices you, that makes you want to do them, reminding you why it matters.
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why you care about doing this, why… It is important that you do these things no matter what. You want to be reminding yourself of those things.
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So, you're… you want to anticipate the stressors. You want to decide.
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on your minimum baselines. And focus on your relationships.
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why… what… what really matters in life? It is relationship. Restoring relationships.
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creating connection in relationships. And… and because relationships, because other people.
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are… that is an area where we can lose our peace.
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Because other people, right? They rub us the wrong way, they do things, they say things, and we're like, eh, and we get annoyed, whatever it is.
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There they go again. So people are a great opportunity.
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to help you to practice managing your mind, managing your emotions, staying regulated.
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responding rather than reacting. showing up as the person that God created you to be.
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No matter what. all of those other people are doing.
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We're saying. So… people are our opportunity to practice being who we want to be.
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So before you go into the event or the environment.
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of being surrounded by other people, whether it's outside your house or at your house.
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Ask yourself, who do I want to be in this situation?
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how do I want to show up regardless of what anybody else says or does?
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You cannot control what happens around you. You cannot control.
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how other people act, what they say, what they don't say, what they do, what they don't do.
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You can only control. how you respond, how you show up.
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You can control what comes out of your mouth.
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And as much as it pains me to say this.
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You can control the look on your face, your facial expressions, and this is something that I… Definitely need to practice.
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But I know that it can be done. I'm sure of it.
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So, this is where… with people, this is where… Relationship restoration happens.
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In those relationships that might be fragile, that might have had some fracture… fraction… fraction… fraction… something, you know, you know what I mean.
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Fractures, fractures. Relationships that have some fractures, that might be fragile. This is where we can restore relationships. Who do I want to be?
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I want to be a person that has restored relationships. This is where connection happens, where we can connect to people.
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and have more connected relationships. Who am I? Who do I show up as? What matters most to me?
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you get to choose. You get to choose what kind of relationship you have with other people.
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You can choose to be calm. Rather than… engaging in chaos.
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You can choose to be compassionate. Rather than being critical.
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You can choose to be loving. over feeling resentment.
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over feeling offended. And I… I say this to myself and to my clients, and to anybody within my voice, a lot.
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throughout the holiday season, reset your expectations. What are you expecting of other people, of yourself, of situations?
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And reset them. Be realistic. We'll be talking more about that.
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When you manage your mind, you manage your expectations, you manage your emotions, you protect your peace.
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So, as you prepare for the holidays, remember that the goal is not to make everything perfect.
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it's to show up. with… what… who you want to be, and I would imagine something to the effect of.
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peacefully, peace inside your own heart and body. grace for yourself and others.
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piece, like I said, love. So, grace, peace.
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Love… what better way is there to show up?
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And we want to finish the year nourished. We want to finish the year having taken care of ourselves so that we're not burnt out, burning the candles at both ends.
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busy, busy, busy. I have so much to do.
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Those are not the mantras that we want to practice and live by and proclaim.
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What if we decided. To finish the year nourished.
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rested, restored. with energy to go into 2026.
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Just imagine how great would that be? So, I want to encourage you, do this work. I'm going to have.
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the journal prompts. in the show notes, so go get.
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copy and paste those journal prompts, write them down.
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So that you can… go into this season feeling rested, restored, with peace.
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With energy, with love, with joy. Rather than feeling depleted.
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go into the show notes, get those journal prompts, you can get my book, Self-Care as Stewardship, a 31-Day Devotional. The link to that is also.
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in the show notes. And if you want help with this.
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If you want help where the rubber meets the road in your own life, in your own situation.
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Schedule a RightFit call, the link for that is also in the show notes.
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And that is a free 30-minute call where we can talk about how life coaching can help you.
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right where you're at, um, one-on-one calls. And I would love to talk with you there about life coaching in your own situation.
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Thank you so much for being here. Remember that life coaching.
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is life changing, one renewed thought at a time.
