The first week of Advent is about finding signs of hope in our world, my world. I want to make room for the message of God in this season and attempt to keep from trying to do too much. Too much means I will cause me to disconnect from the world, so I want to stay engaged, and still find time to let my soul catch up with all the activities I am doing. This means I can say no to some activities. So I need the guidance of God to see which ones are important, which ones I need to let go. This past weekend as I decorated the house, I let go of trying to do as much as I have done in the past, to keep the decorating simple, and throwing out or recycling old decorations and lights. The past week was very busy and so this week I have intentionally scheduled less to allow time to follow through on projects I had put on hold, as well as give some thought to the weeks ahead. Today, the hope I see is this less busy schedule where I can be a bit more relaxed about my schedule and allow the Spirit to refresh my soul with hope!