Things and the One thing

A week from today is Christmas.

Most all my gifts are bought.

My house is mostly clean because I had a dinner party here tonight. The student pastors will be coming next Tuesday night.

I have been to the Plaza Lighting, four Christmas parties.

Cana and I will attend The Nutcracker tomorrow night at the Music Hall.

I will probably attend at least two Christmas Eve Services.

My family is gathering money to give to the Baby Grace programs across the district.

I will have time tomorrow to clean my bedroom, where much accumulated today (actually we hid today) because of the dinner party. A toaster oven in is my closet and the vacuum cleaner is next to my bed.

I have blogged every day of Advent so far.

And has there been joy in all these things? Well, yes, there has been. Somehow this Advent, I have had, with a few major exceptions, good days of glad joy. I am afraid I have not always stopped long enough, though, to intentionally pray thanksgiving to God for all of the gifts I have received.

Yesterday, I received some potentially great news about my finances. I called a friend of mine to tell the good news, and that friend said (actually I don't remember exactly what he said) but he did say something about this being a gift from God. Of course, this is all sort of tentative. But even the possibility of it is a gift from God. That somehow really wasn't my first thought. My first thought was unbelief, then next to tell myself not to get my hopes up. My friend immediately thought as I should have thought.

I would just invite you to think with me about how you have prepared till now for the Good News of Christmas. We church-types get mighty busy about those many things, while, in all of the stuff going on, it is easy to lose sight of the Giver of it all. Thank God that our remembering is not what makes Christmas happen--it has already happened and God will not take that gift away. I want to take some more time these few days before the 25th to simply and quietly get my priorities right. The things I have done and will do are for the most part wonderful and filled with opportunity to watch for the coming of Christ. I just want to keep my eyes not on how well someone sung, or what pretty the able decorations were at that last party, or or even what a neat sermon that was last week. I want to spend time with the One who makes all of this possible. And to walk in his light.