{"id":21310,"date":"2024-12-18T05:00:00","date_gmt":"2024-12-18T11:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mypeacezone.com\/?p=21310"},"modified":"2024-12-18T05:06:43","modified_gmt":"2024-12-18T11:06:43","slug":"visions-of-sugar-plums","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mypeacezone.com\/?p=21310","title":{"rendered":"Visions of Sugar Plums"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

\u201cTwas the night before Christmas\u201d poem goes on to say, \u201cThe children were nestled all snug in their beds; While visions of sugar plums danced in their heads.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But let\u2019s pause for a moment. What is a sugar plum, anyway?

I did a little digging and discovered three possibilities. First, it\u2019s a candied plum — a delightful summer treat. Second, it\u2019s a holiday confection made of dried fruits, nuts, and spices. And third? Well, it\u2019s ME, with my Southern twang, calling out to my grands: \u201cOh, my Sugar Plum, I love you so much!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And we can\u2019t forget the Sugar Plum Fairy from \u201cThe Nutcracker\u201d, ruling the Land of Sweets with a twirl and a smile.<\/p>\n\n\n

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All this talk of sugar plums has me dreaming of sweetness and joy. But let\u2019s be real — what\u2019s often dancing around in my head isn\u2019t quite so dreamy. It\u2019s the weariness, the expectations, the to-do lists, the lack of peace, the hustle and \u201cwhat can I possibly give them that they don\u2019t already have\u201d moments, and those pesky thoughts that need to be swept right out the door.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Instead of letting the \u201cstinkin\u2019 thinkin\u2019\u201d take over, what if we let sugarplums (or something better) fill our minds? What if we listened to that soft, loving inside voice \u2013 THE ONE who is whispering peace, joy, and hope?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Proverbs 3:5-6 gives us a sweet recipe for peace: \u201cTrust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways, acknowledge Him, and He will direct your paths.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And if that\u2019s not enough to settle our minds, how about this reminder from John 14:27: \u201cPeace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So, let\u2019s take a cue from those sugar plums. Clear out the clutter, embrace God\u2019s promises, and remember: He\u2019s got this. He\u2019s got us. And that, my dear sugar plums, is the sweetest thought and gift of all. He’s the gift that keeps on giving. Merry Christmas!!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u201cTwas the night before Christmas\u201d poem goes on to say, \u201cThe children were nestled all snug in their beds; While visions of sugar plums danced in their heads.\u201d But let\u2019s pause for a moment. What is a sugar plum, anyway? I did a little digging and discovered three possibilities. First, it\u2019s a candied plum —…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":21312,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_coblocks_attr":"","_coblocks_dimensions":"","_coblocks_responsive_height":"","_coblocks_accordion_ie_support":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[1210,756,1769,4182,19822,1392,19295,40,1012,30986,19371,8478,29,19374,19377,30984,30985,30987,31,29387],"class_list":["post-21310","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-blog","tag-children","tag-christian","tag-christmas-eve","tag-expectations","tag-facebook","tag-gods-promises","tag-inspiration","tag-john-1427","tag-land-of-sweets","tag-night-before-christmas","tag-peace-i-leave-you","tag-proverbs-35-6","tag-sugar-plum","tag-sugar-plum-fairy","tag-sugar-plums","tag-the-nutcracker","tag-to-do-lists","tag-trust-in-the-lord","tag-weariness"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mypeacezone.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21310","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mypeacezone.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mypeacezone.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mypeacezone.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mypeacezone.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=21310"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/mypeacezone.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21310\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":21322,"href":"https:\/\/mypeacezone.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21310\/revisions\/21322"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mypeacezone.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/21312"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mypeacezone.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=21310"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mypeacezone.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=21310"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mypeacezone.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=21310"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}