Another sleepless night. The 4:00 wakeup call came with blaring regularity, calling me to prayer. This time I couldn't fall back asleep and so I did what one does: After praying though the immediate issue on my mind, which involves an intercessory petition for a loved one, I began reviewing my life and all of the mistakes, missteps, missed opportunities, misdirected energies, and other untold miseries that I brought upon myself over the years.

Today we continue to celebrate the first week of Advent. Advent is our four-week season of preparation for the nativity of Emmanuel, God-with-us. The first week is always spent talking about the prophecies that foretold Jesus’ coming, and today’s passage is one of those prophecies that leads us straight to Jesus. We begin with a word of warning from John the Baptizer:

We have finally landed in Advent, the season of preparation for the birth of our Lord. Preachers all said the same thing yesterday on the first Sunday of Advent: "As you are preparing your homes, presents, baking chores, and social events, be sure to be preparing your hearts and souls this season." I bet if we took a survey of those of you who went to church yesterday, you heard something similar.

I’m guessing you’re probably stuffed today. I certainly am! Yesterday it was the turkey that was stuffed, today it’s us! Thanksgiving is a day to indulge and over-indulge with the nation’s approval and permission. As you sat down to feast, what was your favorite dish? I bet it was some form of bread. Crescent rolls, yeast rolls, cornbread stuffing, green bean casserole with breaded crispy onions on top, pumpkin pie in a lovely crust … bread is the star at many dining room tables at Thanksgiving.

I hate running. But I love the way running makes me feel when it’s over. I hated practicing my bassoon. But I loved being able to play the right notes in a concert. I hate math. OK, that’s where it breaks down. I still hate math. I think Paul may have had a bit of a love/hate relationship with his church in Corinth.

Have you ever had an argument with someone that took on a life of its own? Has a disagreement fractured your relationship to the point where you don't know how to repair it? Do conflicts with others cause you to be distant, avoiding any contact? We've all been there. Sometimes arguments can last years, even to the point where we don't remember exactly what it was about.

Different faith systems have varying opinions on when the time is right for a young person to receive their first communion. In United Methodism, we believe that the table is open to all, and so we serve all people of all ages. There is no prerequisite for receiving communion in our church. We pay very close attention to educating and training our children in Sunday School and eventually confirmation classes about what communion means, but the table is a shared opportunity to receive the sacrament even if you don't fully understand the sacrament.

I have a beef with the manufacturer of the moisturizer I use. When the container is still half full, the pump stops working. No matter how hard I pound, pump, tilt, and cajole, a good portion of the product remains in the heavy glass container, completely unusable. Eventually I am forced to break the neck of the pump and try to scrape the sides of the container until the lotion is gone.

This is the time of year when the sun is fickle about making an appearance. It acts like a self-conscious teenager deciding on whether or not to go to the school dance. She shows up too early in the morning and peeks through our bedroom blinds like she needs to see who else is there before she commits. Then she ducks behind clouds for the rest of day, avoiding the scrutiny of the rest of the kids.

Over the last two days, many people in the United States were treated to a stunning display of an aurora borealis. Known as the Northern Lights, this is a phenomenon caused by  "the interaction between the Earth's magnetic field and charged particles from the sun's atmosphere that enter the earth's atmosphere. A solar flare (energetic particles from the sun) floats through space on the solar wind, eventually penetrating the Earth's magnetic field.

Last week our lectionary passage offered a taste of heaven, specifically in regard to marriage. (You can read it here if you missed that one.) Today we delve further into what a new heaven and a new earth will be like according to Isaiah. In Isaiah's words, a new earth is promised that will be a state of being where the children of God can look forward to living together in complete peace and harmony.

Stuff happens. Then more stuff happens. And before you know it, stuff has taken over, and you find yourself spending much more time than is reasonable just managing your stuff. Our family has just enjoyed a week camping together. We started with two of us, added three more, then added two, then added five more. By the time the last ones had arrived, it became a challenge to find places to put everyone’s stuff.

Back when I was a very young mother, a church matriarch named Betty Brown gave me some of the best advice I have ever received. We were attending a program on prayer and she leaned over to me and said, “Betsy, do you pray for your children?” I had a two-year old at the time and was eight months pregnant with the second one.

Did you know that over 40 million people a year struggle with some type of anxiety disorder? From Generalized Anxiety Disorder to PTSD, there are many types of anxiety disorders, and it is the most common mental illness. And for the most part, it is treatable. While most of us probably don’t fit in to an anxiety disorder category, it can be said of all of us that we worry.

How many of you insist on trying to carry every single grocery bag from your car to your kitchen in one trip? I don't know why we do this. I seem to think that it it somehow against the law to make multiple trips up and down the stairs, so I slide the handles of every single bag down my arms and stagger up 13 steps to deposit them on the kitchen counters and then collapse.

Here are handy links to my four books if you're interested! They make great Christmas presents for under $14.00.

For some reason, my five-year-old grandson is in love with my broccoli. Like most five-year-olds, he can be a little picky when it comes to food, so I am delighted that we found something he likes. And it is akin to a fabulous Julia Child recipe: steam fresh broccoli in the microwave, add butter and salt. Voila! Bon Appetit! We had all six grandchildren together last week and I served the aforementioned broccoli.

Few things in life bother me more than ingratitude. It boggles my mind when someone extends themself with generosity and thoughtfulness only to be met with silence or worse, to be taken for granted. When I receive any expression of gratitude it means the world to me. A text, a well written thank you note, a gift card to a favorite restaurant ...

When do your Christmas decorations go up? I feel as though people decorate earlier and earlier. In the past, it seemed as though decorations started to appear the weekend after Thanksgiving, beginning with outdoor decorations. A tree might go up somewhere around the middle of December, especially if you use a live tree with a short shelf life. There is nothing worse than having your tree die before Christmas!

William is a sweet little goat who recently traveled the Seine River with a group of adventurers. I was blessed to meet William one afternoon after spotting him peeking out of his friend Duncan's backpack as we hiked cliffs and visited cathedrals. I noticed that Duncan, who otherwise was traveling alone, would remove William and seat him at the table for cheese and macaron tastings, etc.

I got a phone call from my oldest daughter last night asking if I was in a hurricane. The question surprised me, as yesterday's weather was stunning, It was perfect example of how gorgeous fall is on the Outer Banks. The temperatures were in the 70's, the sun shone brightly but wasn't scorching, there was a gentle breeze all day, etc.

Today's devotional is a follow up to the previous one where I discussed bringing my rusty French speaking skills out of the dull chambers of my high school mind and tried to communicate in France. Some of my attempts worked, but others ... well, you be the judge. We were in a small chocolatier watching a demonstration of how chocolate is made.