Matthew Kelly
Blue Sparrow Publishing
Dynamic Catholic
ISBN 9781635825312
eISBN 9781635825435
ASIN B0CQYTTH82
I have read many volumes by Mathew Kelly over 36 times. I have also listened to a number of audio talks and attended 2 virtual conferences. And I can state this is an excellent volume. It released last year in 2023 but the eBook edition did not show up in time for me to read it during Advent. I picked it up in the middle of 2024 and planned on reading it during Advent in 2024. But when I started it, I also found out it is the video series Matthew is doing for Dynamic Catholic’s ‘Best Advent Ever’. So, I decided to read ahead and then watch the videos each day as a review of the material. The description of this volume states:
“Are you ready to have your best Christmas EVER? That sounds easy, right? Having a great Christmas is harder than you might think, and it's much easier to ruin your Christmas instead. We often get caught up in the hustle and bustle of the holiday season, spending time on things that aren't a priority. Before we know it, our high expectations aren't reached and we think to ourselves, "Maybe next year." Don't let this year end that way! Learn how to prioritize what actually matters with Best Christmas Ever. Read the book in one direction and you will discover 28 practical ways to avoid the WORST CHRISTMAS EVER and to overcome common obstacles that can prevent a great Christmas. Simply flip it over and read it in the other direction, and you will discover 28 proven tips for making this your BEST CHRISTMAS EVER! It's time to recognize the things that can either make or break the holidays, such as: Technology Fasting Attending to Your Spiritual Illness Hosting Movie Nights Rediscovering Your Childhood Being Presented Not Preoccupied Taking Things Personally That Are Not Personal Lack of Reflection Spending More Money than You Can Afford Unholy Moments Perfectionism This book may be one of the greatest gifts you can give yourself and anyone else who may need it this year. It will change how you approach Christmas forever. Let it entertain you, energize you, and lead you to the best Christmas of your life!”
Another online description continues with:
“It's time to recognize the things that can either make or break the holidays, such as:
• Technology Fasting
• Attending to Your Spiritual Illness
• Hosting Movie Nights
• Rediscovering Your Childhood
• Being Presented Not Preoccupied
• Taking Things Personally That Are Not Personal
• Lack of Reflection
• Spending More Money than You Can Afford
• Unholy Moments
• Perfectionism
This book may be one of the greatest gifts you can give yourself and anyone else who may need it this year. It will change how you approach Christmas forever. Let it entertain you, energize you, and lead you to the best Christmas of your life!”
The physical edition of this book is double sided, One side is the 28 chapters of the Best Christmas Ever and if you flip the book and read from the other side it is the Worst Christmas Ever. Both sides look like a front of the book and you read from each side to the centre. However, the eBook just has all the best followed by all the worst. Also the Best is about 75% of the volume and the worst is only about 25% of the book. But it is a cool design and layout.
The chapters by each is:
Best Christmas Ever:
28 Practical Ways to Make This the Best Christmas of Your Life!
1. Fail on Purpose
2. Begin with Purpose
3. Life is Short!
4. The Main Thing
5. Temper Your Expectations
6. Create Memories
7. The Power of Anticipation
8. Rediscover Childhood
9. Learn to Do Nothing
10. The Santa Question
11. Be a Pilgrim, Not a Tourist!
12. Getting to Know Yourself
13. That Difficult Conversation
14. Escape the Joyless Urgency
15. Listen to Music
16. Stop Trying to Hack Life
17. Learn to Deep Think
18. Pay Attention
19. Be Present Not Preoccupied
20. Locate Your Heart
21. Amazing Sundays
22. Attend to Your Spiritual Illness
23. Technology Fasting
24. The Importance of Christmas PJs
25. The Sights, Smells, and Sounds of Christmas
26. Movie Night
27. Acceptance and Surrender
28. Everyone Knows that Love is the Only Way
29. Holy Moments
Worst Christmas Ever:
28 Things That Will Prevent You from Having Your Best Christmas Ever!
Table of Contents
1. Fear of Missing Out
2. Lack of Purpose
3. No Plan
4. The Wrong Content
5. Taking Things Personally That are Not Personal
6. Technology
7. Superficiality
8. Non-essentials
9. Lack of Reflection
10. Head Trash
11. Materialism
12. All the Rushing Around
13. Not Asking for Help
14. Procrastination
15. Spending More Money than You Can Afford
16. The Inability to Say No
17. Unholy Moments
18. Distractions
19. Stagnation
20. Lack of Boundaries
21. Perfectionism
22. The Inability to Let it Be
23. Gluttony
24. Living for the Wrong Audience
25. Choosing to Be Right Rather Than Happy
26. Negativity
27. Ego
28. Fear of Being Different
A sample from the best Christmas is:
“17. Learn to Deep Think.
Are you a lover of wisdom? The future of America and indeed humanity depends on enough people answering yes to this question.
The term philosopher is the combination of two Greek words. Philos, which means lover or friend. And Sophia, which means wisdom. Philosophy is therefore love of wisdom. A philosopher is a lover of wisdom or a friend to wisdom.
Mention philosophy and many people will think or say something like: “That’s too deep for me.” Wisdom isn’t too deep for anyone. It’s just the right depth for everyone. It meets us where we are on the journey and illumines the next step.
In our own way and according to our calling we should each aspire to be philosophers. We should each strive to become lovers of wisdom.
#17. Learn to deep think.
None of the problems we face as a society can be solved by shallow thought. There is no quick fix for them. They cannot be hacked. Our biggest problem is that we lack what is essential if we are to solve all our other problems. Namely virtue, and in particular, patience.
The future of America, and indeed the future of humanity, depends on enough people becoming lovers of wisdom. If this is true, these futures depend on patience. Why patience? Because all deep thought requires patience, and all our problems will require deep thought to solve.
When was the last time you got beyond the sound bites and brief articles and really studied a topic, issue, or problem?
Pick one. Pick a topic, issue, or problem and study it deeply. This deep thought is the type of leisure Josef Pieper was talking about. It is soul-refreshing and life-altering.
The world needs wisdom. More than that it needs wise people. You can’t Google wisdom. Google has no wisdom. It has information and knowledge, but wisdom is truth lived. It cannot be transmitted by books and lectures alone. Wisdom is most potent and most transmissible when someone lives it.
Think deeply about something this Advent and Christmas season. Deep thought is a beautiful thing. It will bring you joy. The joy of getting clearer every day about what matters most and what doesn’t matter at all. That clarity will inform your decisions, and every wise decision brings with it more joy.”
And
“1. Fear of Missing Out.
It’s harder than you might think to have a great Christmas, and it’s much easier to ruin your Christmas than it is to create your Best Christmas Ever.
There are of course plenty of very obvious ways to ruin Christmas for yourself and everyone around you. Examples include:
Insist on talking about politics.
Tell your relatives what you really think about them as if it were objective fact.
Re-wrap a gift someone gave you last year and regift it to the same person who gave it to you.
Try to control everything and everyone.
Tell every kid you meet that Santa isn’t real and that their parents are lying to them.
There are the obvious ways…but we are going to explore the more subtle ways we sabotage our own Christmas experience and rob others of Christmas joy.
Obstacle #1 is: FOMO. Fear of missing out.
This is one of the greatest pieces of modern insanity. FOMO. The reality is you miss out on almost everything. The important thing is not to miss out on the things God created and intended just for you.
Focus on what matters most and don’t worry about what you may or may not miss out on. If you focus on what matters most, what you miss out on is irrelevant. So get clear about what matters most.
Find your joy. Guard your joy. Follow your joy. Not just happiness. It seems our culture has confused happiness with comfort, and following comfort will lead you to misery. Find your joy. Cherish your joy. Guard your joy. And follow your joy.”
Another Worst Christmas Ever sample is:
“13. Not Asking for Help.
It’s not easy to have a great Christmas in a world where everyone is striving for what isn’t worth having.
We are exploring twenty-eight obstacles that will prevent you from having your Best Christmas Ever.
Obstacle #13 is: Not asking for help.
The people around you cannot read your mind. Let them know you need help, and most people will help if they are able to. Pretending you have everything handled when you’re actually stressed and anxious isn’t good for you, and it robs other people of the joy that comes from helping.
Not asking for help is an obstacle to having a fabulous Christmas, so this year, get really good at asking for help.
This Christmas…Find your joy. Cherish your joy. Guard your joy. And follow your joy.”
At the end of the Best Christmas Ever side of the book is a bonus chapter Holy Moments, and at the end of that chapter is an offer to get the book free. I hope those three samples give you a feel for this wonderful volume. I look forward almost every time I hear about a new volume from the pen of Matthew Kelly. There is just often a wait for the eBook editions to show up. And with my dual form of dyslexia I really prefer the eBooks. This book was worth the wait.
This book would be a great edition to any family library, maybe even reading it together over advent. An excellent book I can easily recommend.
Books by Matthew Kelly:
I Know Jesus
The Long View
Decision Point: The Workbook
Decision Point: The Leader Guide
The Four Signs of a Dynamic Catholic
The One Thing
Off Balance: Getting Beyond the Work-Life Balance Myth to Personal and Professional Satisfaction
Why Am I Here?
Perfectly Yourself: 9 Lessons for Enduring Happiness
Perfectly Yourself Discovering God's Dream For You
Building Better Families: A Practical Guide to Raising Amazing Children
The Dream Manager
The Seven Levels of Intimacy: The Art of Loving and the Joy of Being Loved
The Rhythm of Life: Living Every Day with Passion and Purpose
Building Better Families - 5 Practical Ways to Build Family Spirituality
The Book of Courage
The Shepherd: A Modern Parable about Our Search for Happiness
Mustard Is Persecution, Matthew Kelly Foundation
A Call to Joy - Living in the Presence of God
The Rhythm of Life: An Antidote For Our Busy Age
Words from God
Resisting Happiness
The Narrow Path
Our Father
The Biggest Lie in the History of Christianity
Why I Love Being Catholic
Good Night, Jesus
In a world where you can be anything ...
Beautiful ... Series:
...
Rediscover Books by Matthew Kelly:
Rediscover Catholicism: A Spiritual Guide to Living with Passion & Purpose
Rediscover Advent
Rediscover Lent
Rediscover Jesus: An Invitation
Rediscover the Rosary: The Modern Power of an Ancient Prayer
Rediscover the Saints
...
Becoming The Best Version Of Yourself
The Best Way To Live
Don't Just Try, Train
Faith At Work & The Holy Moment
The Four Signs Of A Dynamic Catholic - Excerpt
The Jesus Question
My Spiritual Journey
Our Lives Change When Our Habits Change
Raising Amazing Children
The Seven Levels Of Intimacy
The Seven Pillars Of Catholic Spirituality
...
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