Category: Gratitude

encouragement, Gratitude, healing, Uncategorized

An Anchored Christmas: Why I’m Making a 2025 Christmas Bucket List (And Why You Might Want To, Too)

The Kedge Anchor

I’ll be honest… I’ve never been a “bucket list” girl.
I’m more of a go-with-the-flow, follow-God’s-nudge, keep-it-simple kind of person.

But the past few Christmases have felt different. Losing loved ones has a way of shifting the whole season. The lights still shine… but they shine through a different lens. Some days the glow feels comforting, and other days it feels like too much. Grief is funny like that—it doesn’t run on a holiday schedule.

So this year, I decided I needed something gentle to help guide me back into the heartbeat of Christmas.

Not pressure.
Not perfection.
Just intention.

That’s how my 2025 Christmas Bucket List was born.

Not a “do all the things” list.
Not a “pack your calendar” list.
Just a simple collection of moments—quiet, meaningful, joy-anchoring moments.

Little things that help me stay connected to hope.
Little things that remind me that simple can still be sacred.

Mid-century charm meets grounded faith.
Soft glow. Simple lines. Gentle reminders.

What’s on My List This Year?

A mix of cozy, nostalgic, and intentional—like:

🌟 Drive around to see lights like it’s the 1960s again.
☕ Make hot cocoa and actually enjoy drinking it (not chugging it while multitasking).
🎁 Bless someone anonymously—an Anchor Angel moment.
🎄 Attend one festive event—play, concert, choir—just one.
❄️ Do something slow and cozy on purpose.
🍪 Bake a batch of cookies with zero expectation of Pinterest perfection.
🕯️ Light a candle and pray for the loved ones I miss living far away… letting that moment be holy, not heavy.

These aren’t tasks.
They’re touchpoints.
Little anchors dropped into the season to steady my soul.

Why a Christmas Bucket List Helps (Even If You’re Not a Bucket List Person)

Because when we’re grieving, stretched thin, or simply tired from carrying life…
we need reminders of what brings us back to joy.

We need something to look forward to, something small enough to manage and meaningful enough to matter.

This isn’t about doing more.
It’s about noticing more.
Being present on purpose.
Letting yourself delight again—slowly, gently.

A Christmas Bucket List is permission to enjoy the season your way… with grace for the days that feel light and grace for the days that don’t.

Create Your Own 2025 Christmas Bucket List

I made a free printable you can download—clean design, mid-century modern feel, and space to make it your own. You can download this printable and hand write or hand letter your own ideas or use Pages or Word to type in your ideas. Make it fun with color and doodles. You can do 12 days of Christmas or make it even simpler to just a few, as many as you like.

Whether you use my prompts or your own, let it guide you back to what matters.

Let it keep you anchored.

Let it help you rediscover small joys—the kinds that slip in quietly through twinkle lights, warm mugs, scripture whispered over a morning, or an unexpected moment of peace.

✨ [Download the 2025 Christmas Bucket List] ✨

2025 Christmas Bucket List✨ Download the 2025 Christmas Bucket List ✨


Here’s to a simple Christmas.
A gentle Christmas.
An anchored Christmas—
rooted in hope, wrapped in grace, and glowing with just enough light for the next step.

Need some inspiration? Here are twelve ideas to inspire you. You don’t have to do twelve, you don’t have to do six. Do what your schedule allows and what’s comfortable for you.

!2 Ideas Christmas 2025Download My Christms Bucket list
Gratitude

Celebrating National No More Dirty Dishes Day: A New Perspective on Cleaning and Gratitude

The Kedge Anchor
Photo by Kelly on Pexels.com (btw, not my sink)

It National No More Dirty Dishes Day! So many of you want to celebrate this. Aaaahhh, to never wash another dish or load or unload the dishwasher. An empty sink, a clean kitchen photo shoot ready. Some households you will never see a sink with dirty dishes, others you may find one or two and some it’s never empty. I know that frustrates some to have anything in the sink. I get it.

I hope that I can give you a different perspective on dirty dishes. For me a sink full of dirty dishes means we ate. Our stomachs are full and satisfied. To me it’s a glorious thing. My mom used to have a poem taped to the side cabinet by the sink, you may have heard it;

Thank God for dirty dishes;
They have a tale to tell.
While others may go hungry,
We’re eating very well
With home, health, and happiness,
I shouldn’t want to fuss;
By the stack of evidence,
God’s been very good to us.

(side note here, I would like to credit whomever penned this poem. I searched and found two different authors and one unknown)

Growing up I remember some of my friend’s mom would just lose it if there were dirty dishes in the sink. Now I am not saying we let them sit, let the sink smell and ants start crawling around, that’s not what I am saying. And for me dishes in sink is a good thing. My husband and I lived in Seminole County Florida where there is a hunger issue. Many children go to school without breakfast or a packed lunch. No matter where we have lived there has been an area where families lack food. Google where you live and search for areas that have a food deficit. I am willing to bet those homes have empty sinks.

I just don’t get upset about dirty dishes in the sink. I do keep a clean house. Many times the sink is full of dishes the next morning because we have been out living a life, or one of us was sick and in my house if one of is sick… I’m no thinking about the sink. I don’t freak out when I when wake up and dishes from the night before are there, it means we ate. I may be a little off beat here, but for me taking the time to clean the sink in the morning gives me time to clear my head and focus. I may put on some worship music or listen to a podcast or sermon whilst I clean. Sometimes it just before I make dinner I get to it. It’s ok to have a sink full of dirty dishes. It’s ok to have an empty sink. It’s just where on the priority list is it? I am very thankful for those dirty dishes. It means we ate. It means God has been good to us.
So the next time you see your sink overflowing take a moment to breathe and thank God for dirty dishes.

Gratitude

Happy Thanksgiving!!!

The Kedge Anchor

Photo by Sasha Prasastika on Pexels.com

Happy Thanksgiving !

Praying everyone has a safe, healthy and blessed holiday! The past few years have been challenging to say the least. Praying that as we gather we can put differences aside and enjoy those gathered around us.

So who is putting up the tree today? 🙂

Give thanks to the Lord for He is good…

Pslam 107:1

Gratitude

30 Day Gratitude Challenge

The Kedge Anchor
Photo by cottonbro studio on Pexels.com

It’s not too late to join the Gratitude Challenge on our NEW Facebook page! It’s never too late to be thankful and express our gratitude to God.

Recently I came across a book by Dustin Crowe – The Grumbler’s Guide to Giving Thanks. It’s been an eye opener for me in giving thanks and having a heart of gratitude. Apparently I have been doing wrong. There’s a question that Dustin asks; Am I offering thanks as a tax or a gift to God? Ouch. It made me stop and evaluate how I give, why I give and to whom am I giving thanks.

I highly recommend getting a copy. You can purchase on Amazon or through Truth for Life (where I heard about the book) and it’s free when you make a donation in any amount and I do believe shipping is free as well.

So please join us 30 Days of Gratitude!

Gratitude

Can We Know God’s Mind?

The Kedge Anchor
Photo by Anna Tarazevich on Pexels.com

Can we know God’s mind?

“Things which eye has not seen and ear has not heard, and which have not entered the heart of man, all that God has prepared for those who love Him.” For to us God revealed them through the Spirit; for the Spirit searches all things, even the depths of God. For who among men knows the thoughts of a man except the spirit of the man which is in him? Even so the thoughts of God no one knows except the Spirit of God. Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, so that we may know the things freely given to us by God, which things we also speak, not in words taught by human wisdom, but in those taught by the Spirit, combining spiritual thoughts with spiritual words.

But a natural man does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually appraised. But he who is spiritual appraises all things, yet he himself is appraised by no one. For “who has known the mind of the Lord, that he will instruct Him?” But we have the mind of Christ.” (1 Corinthians 2:9-16 NASB).

Romans 11:34 “For who can know the LORD’s thoughts? Who knows enough to give him advice?”

For me, as I see it, in our humanness we are limited. Especially when it comes to understanding ALL that God has for us, i.e. His plan for us, how He works ALL things together for our good and His glory. We will never know and understand everything in the Bible this side of Heaven. John 21:25 “Jesus also did many other things. If they were all written down, I suppose the whole world could not contain the books that would be written.” (NLT). I believe ALL that He IS the whole world could not contain the books that would be written (not to add to scripture). Y’know that saying separate your who from your do? What you do isn’t who you are. I think God is the only one who is what He does. God is love. He loves everyone, but not everyone will accept Him. His who is is His do. No?

https://youtube.com/watch?v=3m9fL8iJAoU%3Fclip%3DUgkxu5K6avT-XMAtIU31V6paCl4DaRBMe49h%26clipt%3DENzKaBi3nmo

We may not know or understand God’s mind fully or how He operates. But we can know what pleases Him. And knowing what pleases Him, we can have some understanding about Him. If we are in Christ, verse 14 -16 of 1 Corinthians says, “But a natural man does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually appraised. But he who is spiritual appraises all things, yet he himself is appraised by no one. For “who has known the mind of the Lord, that he will instruct Him?” But we have the mind of Christ.” “Mind of” being the operative words. We can have Christ like thoughts.

“Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.” 1 Thessalonians 5:18. Not only do we learn that we are given the instruction to give thanks it also God’s will for us. So if you’re wondering what God’s will is for your life, start with giving thanks to God. Finding God’s will for us, for our lives, is a journey, it can take time, so here’s a good place to start just by giving thanks.

With the month of November being noted for Thanksgiving, we can take the opportunity to grow our minds like Christ by giving thanks and we are doing His will. Sounds so simple and it is and there is more to this with offering sacrifices and being obedient. Perhaps that’s another post.

Join us on the new Facebook page for a 30 day gratitude challenge. It’s not too late, it’s always a good time to give thanks.

Coloring Page, Gratitude

November 7, 2022 – Psalm 136:1

The Kedge Anchor

Happy Monday! The New FaceBook Page is up and running. Please join us in a 30 Day Gratitude Challenge for the month of November. It’s not too late to be thankful.

Be sure to like and share the FB page and add what you’re thankful for in the comments.

November-7-2022