| | |

Day 11 of 12 Days of Christmas Giveaways (with Nicki Koziarz)

Winners announced here! Congratulations!

*Give Away has Ended*

It’s Day 11 of 12 Days of Christmas Giveaways!

If you’re just joining in, start at Day One here.

11th Annual 12 Days of Christmas Giveaways (2018) December 4-15 at karenehman.com.

My guest is my friend and Proverbs 31 ministry partner Nicki Koziarz. She is an author, speaker, and fixer-upper farm dweller. She is giving us a clever holiday and winter-time decorating idea I think you are going to love. Here’s Nicki…

*********************

Pinterest. The breeding ground of all Christmas comparisons.

From tree decorations, to the perfect wrapping ideas for gift, it’s easy to look at all this perfection on Pinterest and suddenly feel like we don’t measure up in some kind of Christmas way.

But, I want to show you that just because you can’t make a Pinterest picture transfer to real life, you can still create something beautiful.

You can let the Pinterest’s success of others encourage, not discourage you.

Recently, I was searching on Pinterest for ways to decorate my table for Christmas. This was my inspiration picture (from Tuesday Morning).

Day 11 of 12 Days of Christmas Giveaways (2018) with Nicki Koziarz at karenehman.com. Photo: Tuesday Morning.

I knew I could either look at this picture and become discouraged or I could give this my best shot and see what I COULD do. Here’s three things that helped:

1. Get honest about what you do have.

Comparison loves to convince us to see everything we don’t have. And we begin to write that “if only …” dialogue in our minds. So, I looked at that inspiration picture and realized I had almost NOTHING in it. But, I took a look around my house and realized I didn’t have everything that inspiration picture had, but I had plenty of beautiful things that still fit the vibe the inspiration picture had. So I grabbed this and I grabbed that, and before I knew it, my table was full.

Day 11 of 12 Days of Christmas Giveaways (2018) with Nicki Koziarz at karenehman.com.

2. See things as enough.

Comparison loves to make us miss what’s right in front of us.

I knew those plain white candles didn’t look as lovely as the ones in the inspirational picture, but I thought about what I could do instead of what I couldn’t. And then it came to me. I went out to my yard, cut a few rosemary stems and tied them around the candle. The simplicity was beautiful to me and I saw it as more than enough. Sometimes we just need to look right in front of us, beauty is there.

Day 11 of 12 Days of Christmas Giveaways (2018) with Nicki Koziarz at karenehman.com.

Day 11 of 12 Days of Christmas Giveaways (2018) with Nicki Koziarz at karenehman.com.

3. Perfection is overrated.

Comparison also loves to convince us that if it can’t be perfect, why even try?

Well, if you look closely you’ll see that in the inspirational picture the table runner has no wrinkles. In mine? Well, there’s a few! (smile) And I’m okay with it. Because someone once said, “Finished is better than perfect.” I agree. And hey, I’m sure my guests this Christmas won’t even notice the wrinkles.

Day 11 of 12 Days of Christmas Giveaways (2018) with Nicki Koziarz at karenehman.com.

Day 11 of 12 Days of Christmas Giveaways (2018) with Nicki Koziarz at karenehman.com.

Day 11 of 12 Days of Christmas Giveaways (2018) with Nicki Koziarz at karenehman.com.

What ideas do you have for decorating for the holidays? What are some simple items you put out to make your place festive? Let us know in the comment thread.

Happy decorating,

Nicki

Day 11 Giveaway

To help you keep you filled up with confidence this Christmas season and not let comparison compromise you, Nicki is giving away a copy of her newest book, Why Her?, her Rachel & Leah Bible study book, and a special signed copy of The Fixer Upper Farm Co. Journal! A combined $50 value.

Day 11 of 12 Days of Christmas Giveaways (2018) with Nicki Koziarz at karenehman.com.

Day 11 of 12 Days of Christmas Giveaways (2018) with Nicki Koziarz at karenehman.com.

Day 11 of 12 Days of Christmas Giveaways (2018) with Nicki Koziarz at karenehman.com.

Day 11 of 12 Days of Christmas Giveaways (with Nicki Koziarz) at karenehman.com.

*********************

Nicki Koziarz is a wife, mom, two-time best selling author and speaker. She and her husband own a farm they affectionately call, “The Fixer Upper Farm”. They are first generation farmers, which is just a fancy way of saying they have no idea what they are really doing. Nicki has been featured on Life Today and contributes to the First 5 writing team at Proverbs 31 Ministries.

*********************
12 Days of Christmas Giveaways Rules
  1. U.S. Addresses only please.
  2. You can comment on all 12 days (once per person) up until midnight Pacific time, Sunday, December 16. Start with Day One here.
  3. Share the giveaway with your friends and followers. You can use the share buttons below or repost and share on Instagram (my fave) and tag me @karenehman.
  4. One daily winner will be chosen from each day’s comments.
  5. To enter to win the Grand Prize (below), comment on all 12 posts and share on social media. 
  6. All winners (including Grand Prize) will be announced here on the blog on Tuesday, December 18, and contacted via email. Please allow 4-6 weeks to receive your prizes.
  7. If you’re not already subscribed, click HERE and you’ll receive an email notification each day of our series.

11th Annual 12 Days of Christmas Giveaways (2018) December 4-15 at karenehman.com.

*********************
NOTE: affiliate links may be included. I only recommend products I know my readers will love!

Similar Posts

247 Comments

  1. Great reminder that you do not need to be perfect! Also that making comparisons often make us feel less and we need to remind ourselves that we are enough!

  2. I love your bio!
    Love your attitude and creativity. Finished is better than perfect will become a new phrase in my vocabulary and self-talk.
    I will clean the floor and table and make them enjoyable and festive!

    I am SO glad I read this post!!! Thank you for sharing yourself with us.

  3. I love decorating and have collected items through the years! I found this year garland that looks like Santa’s clothes on a clothesline. Added them for a fun touch on my stairs

  4. You are so right comparison can lead to us feeling unhappy. I do the same as you. I google some images on decorating and with what I have I try to create similar things.

  5. Thank you for this! I get so frustrated because I can’t make my decorations look like the inspiration piece. I needed this reminder that comparison is a joy stealer and what I have is enough.

  6. I enjoy displaying pinecones that my family has collected in our travels, greenery, and fresh fruit in my Christmas decorating. I also incorporate candles and lights. They feel cozy and remind me of the light of the world whose birth we celebrate on Christmas day. ?

  7. I’ve felt the Pinterest comparison before…but I’ve learned to try my best instead of getting discouraged too! I like to put out lots of candles in festive scents and holders, lots of lights and greenery!

  8. I out out various things throughout the house to add touches of the holidays in most rooms. My favorites are snowmen. I put a blanket of “snow” on the mantle over the fireplace and nestle the snowmen into it. Some years I add a string or two of white lights looping through and around the snowmen.

  9. This was a great devotional. I use to compare myself to my younger sister,but now I realize that I have just the life I want to have.

  10. My main focus is always the tree. This year I got the idea to make new ornaments from an idea on Pinterest! I am making them the tags for gifts!

  11. We do our Christmas tree, hang stockings, a Christmas wreath on our front door, 2 light up trees on the front porch and lights around our front door.

  12. I have pinecones galore in my yard from the trees so we use those in decorating all the time. A little white paint on the tips mixed with some greenery and red berries and they are perfect for filling bowls, vases or even a painted flower pot.

  13. Comparisons …ugh! The feeling of being less than is a tactic Satan utilizes well to keep me from living my life as one made for a reason by the ONLY One that truly matters!!

  14. Such a much needed lesson to leaen, not measuring myself against others so called prrfection. It’s hard enough to be a perfectionist, but when you meet another one just like you and they seem to have it all together, it’s too much. Awesome bundle!

  15. My adult daughter and I have started decorating wreaths each year as a together project. We generally decide on a theme early in the year and keep watch for thrift store type finds that we can use on the wreath(s). This year we made a combined total of six wreaths ; ours and some for family or friends.

  16. My mother gave me a Christmas cactus several years ago. I put it outside under a shade tree during summer and forget. I bring it in first of November after first frost and the nights are getting in the 30s. It usually is loaded with blooms. I only water once every other week. And usually by mid December it is in full bloom. It is easy, festive and reminds me of my mother who since giving me this gift has gone to heaven.

  17. Pinterest boggles my mind so I just enjoy looking at what other people post and do my own thing… or not. I’m a recycler of all things related to gift wrapping, adding new purchases when on sale CHEAP. My kids and grandkids know that their gifts are wrapped with stuff they’ve seen before, but they never look the same from year to year. They toss everything back to me after they unwrap. I LOVE wrapping gifts beautifully and my family loves tearing in to see what’s under the wrappings. It’s also an alone time for singing and talking to the Lord while I wrap.

  18. We were moving and had downsized and realized I didn’t have as much Christmas stuff. I used the simple things and as long as there are lights I am good. I love what you did with your table. I think I can hunt down some of those same things.

Leave a Reply to Jeana Rayfield Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *