The End is Near!!

No, I am not talking about the end of the world, I am talking about the end of the year, after Labor Day the retail industry starts they're marketing campaigns to help us spend our money for Halloween-Thanksgiving-Christmas. So I am thinking now about how to manage my finances and time in what is traditionally a very busy time of year for pastors. I can imagine this Halloween-Thanksgiving-Christmas spending season is very busy for you too. So what can we do now to help us prepare? I am going to start by thinking about what my priorities are, what really needs to be done, and what do I need to do to prepare for these events? What is my budget for these holidays? And what can I do to make sure I do not miss the meaning of each event, to remember the Saints, to give Thanks for the blessings of my life, and prepare my heart and soul for a new birth of faith? Maybe asking the questions of those who I share these days with is the best starting point, what do we want to happen, what do want to give, what do we want to receive? I know if I wait too much longer to start asking these questions, setting the priorities, before I know it I will be stressed out, tired, and broke by the end of the year! How about you?

Starting back

Starting back to work after a vacation week I feel energetic, omptomistic even, the mail is light, the emails are abundant the sermon needs to be worked, the worship crafted. I want to continue this feeling of being a part of creation, and am afraid I will submit to the conflicting demands of life and lose the peace now reestablished after a time of rest.
I wonder what causes me to fall down the pit of chaos when I am so firmly determined not to be? I would guess not being aware of the forces of doubt, despair, violence, that cause me to lose my connection to the Creator.
So to activily create, to create space, to create art, to create quiet, to create worship, to create, to create, to create is the force that helps me stay sane.