This weekend, we’re about to Dig In to Emotionally Healthy Spirituality in a big way at SPL. We’re on the edge of a new year, and it’s a good time to do some serious renovation in our emotional and spiritual lives.

So, with EHS on the horizon and in the spirit of Christmas and its “twelve days”, we’re sharing with you a unique blog post from Pete and Geri Scazzero, the authors of EHS. Originally shared in 2015, this will expose you to some of the initial areas we’ll be exploring in message and study time in the weeks ahead.

Here is an excerpt from “The Twelve Days of an EHS Christmas” by Pete Scazzero:

The song, “The Twelve Days of Christmas” is an English Christmas carol. From 1558 until 1829, Roman Catholics in England were not permitted to practice their faith openly. Someone then wrote this carol as a catechism song for young Catholics. It had two levels of meaning: first, the surface meaning of being a fun song and secondly, a hidden meaning known only to members of the Church. The “True Love” in the song, for example, is not a smitten boy or girlfriend, but Jesus, because truly Love was born on Christmas Day.

Geri wrote this for our small group that meets in our home for greater integration of EHS in their own lives. I hope you enjoy it.

On the First Day of EHS…My True Love Sent to Me

One Gift to Explore My Iceberg

Journal or share with a trusted companion today:

– What are you mad about?
– What are you sad about?
– What are you anxious about?
– What are you glad about?

On the Second Day of EHS…My True Love Sent to Me the

Two Most Important Skills

– Listening for feelings – yours and theirs.
– Speaking honestly and respectfully.
– The return will be out of this world.

On the Third Day of EHS…My True Love Sent to Me

Three Generations That Live Inside of Me

Living your life without understanding your family’s impact on you is like driving a car forward by using only a rearview mirror. Jesus may be in your heart but grandpa is in your bones.

On the Fourth Day of EHS….My True Love Sent to Me

Four Ways to Exit My Stress Style

– Don’t appease, declare yourself.
– Don’t blame and don’t attack, assert yourself.
– Don’t avoid the issue, face it.
– Don’t just look at the problem, take all parties feelings into consideration.

On the Fifth Day of EHS…My True Love Sent to Me The

Five Freedoms

Freedom…

…to see and hear what is here instead of what should be, was, or will be.
…to say what one feels and thinks instead of what one should.
…to feel what one feels, instead of what one ought to.
…to ask for what one wants, instead of always waiting for permission.
…to take risks in one’s own behalf, instead of choosing to be only “secure” and not rocking the boat.
— Virginia Satir’s Five Freedoms

If you’d like to see the rest of this article, visit The Twelve Days of an EHS Christmas on the EHS blog site.