holiday stress

“When You Don’t Want to Invite Them”

Posted on by Kerri Elizabeth

 “Protecting your peace is not cruelty, it’s clarity.”

There are times you know someone will bring chaos, criticism, tension, or emotional labor you can’t carry right now. Not inviting them isn’t cruelty. It’s honesty. It’s acknowledging that your home is a sacred container, and not every energy belongs inside it.

But the question to ask is this:
Am I keeping them out to punish them… or to protect myself?
Only one of those choices leads to peace.

Let your boundaries be clean,
not sharp with revenge,
but clear with truth.

Gentle Practice:
Before making holiday decisions, ask:
“Does this choice come from wisdom or woundedness?”
Let the answer guide you.

-Kerri-Elizabeth-
Tomorrow, we dive into the emotional pressure of “family obligation” and how to untangle from it with grace.

“Where Distance Becomes Gentle”

Posted on by Kerri Elizabeth

“Not all distance is punishment; sometimes it’s the safest place to breathe.”

There are seasons when families fracture into separate rooms, separate holidays, separate traditions. It hurts. It confuses. It questions your worth. You wonder if you did something unforgivable or if love simply misplaced itself along the years. But sometimes distance isn’t rejection, it’s growth unfolding unevenly. Some people aren’t ready to sit together yet, and that truth doesn’t have to harden your heart.

Healing rarely begins in the middle of chaos. Sometimes it happens in quiet kitchens, long walks, RVs parked outside the noise, or in the hands of those who learned to love from afar. You can grieve the closeness you imagined while honoring the peace you’ve found. Both truths can live in the same breath.

Distance can soften edges
where closeness once cut deep.
Let the space become a kindness,
a place for hearts to sleep.

Gentle practice:
Take a few minutes today to bless the space, not the separation.
Say: “May every heart grow at its own pace.”

-Kerri-Elizabeth-
Tomorrow we’ll explore the rooms we cannot share, and why that is sometimes holy.
(This piece begins a two-week series on navigating holidays with truth, energy, boundaries, finances, and heart.)