We are now in the final week of Advent and as we should be more calm, the pace is actually getting more frenetic. At this point many of us are obsessing about what still needs to be done and what is still left undone.
The papers are piling up in the front hallway because I simply haven’t had the time to go through them. I keep telling myself, it’s good Christmas Day comes on a Sunday because on Monday maybe I’ll get around to reading them. Like some others I know, I can’t bring myself to put the papers in for recycling until at least I’ve looked at them.
I keep trying to figure out how to squeeze 48 hours into a 24-hour day, and it’s not working. Difficult as it is for me to admit, I get tired more easily. But, then I consider how others in the world are living, and I stop my internal complaining. The task this week is to show love and care. Let’s pray we all can do that.
Prayer for the Day
The early morning is quiet – we can catch our breath for the day, O God,
For as the day moves on, we will be trying to catch up with our lives;
You, O God, are a bulwark of calm in this busy season,
And we know we just need to center ourselves on you.
Hold us fast as we go through our days thinking ahead to Christmas,
And let us show your love and care to all around us.
In the name of the One who is the center of our lives,
Even Christ Jesus our Lord, Amen.
Thoughts for the Day
Unless we make Christmas an occasion to share our blessings, all the snow in Alaska won’t make it white.
- Bing Crosby, American singer (1903-1977)
Christmas, children is not a date. It is a state of mind.
- Mary Ellen Chase, American educator, scholar, author (1897-1977)
It is good to give thanks to the Lord, to sing praises to your name, O Most High;
To declare your steadfast love in the morning, and your faithfulness at night,
To the music of the lute and the harp, to the melody of the lyre.
For you, O Lord, have made me glad by your work;
At the works of your hands, I sing for joy.
Psalm 92: 1-4