It has been all too easy for me to fall into a habit that I don't like. I have let myself become "too busy" to sit and write my blog in the mornings far too often. And, while that act of writing might not be crucial to anyone's life, --- it does carry with it a bigger price. It means that I also am letting myself become too busy to stop and connect with God. Considering all of the things that God has done for me and considering all of the blessings God continually heaps on me; I should never neglect a day of stopping all of the minutia of a daily schedule and sitting down in meditation and gratitude. And so, my first prayer of the day is a prayer of asking God for forgiveness.

It has been a busy and hectic time around this house since well before Christmas. As you may recall, we did a renovation of the family room a month ago. That required moving furniture out of the family room and into what ever space we could fit it. Well, we got the renovation done and moved stuff back into the family room, but then we had to move stuff around to put up the Christmas tree. In the meantime, Ms. Kate's aunt Aleen suffered two strokes. So there have been daily or every other day trips to sit with her. Added into this we did extra church services, and wonderful four day visit with my sister and brother in law, and a four day visit with Julie and Jim. Then last week, we began the process of emptying out Aleen's apartment which included bringing much of her stuff to our home. So, we called youngest daughter, Lisa, and offered them our current dining room set so we could downsize to Aleen's set. So, -- they made a quick 750 mile trip up here from North Carolina, loaded up their enclosed trailer, spent the night here and took off the next day in a downpour and, praise the Lord, safely made the 750 mile trip back home. Ms. Kate, in addition to visiting with Aleen, has been busy washing and trying to find a place for all of her beautiful glassware and china, now that we have changed out furniture. Yesterday included a shopping trip to purchase a new curio cabinet. Which only proves that we don't downsize, we redistribute and re-purchase.

I think the saddest part of all of this is that we missed Christmas. Oh, we "did Christmas" for sure. I got the tree up, Ms. Kate put a minimal amount of decorations on it. We had Christmas company and we exchanged gifts with one another. We had extra Christmas Eve services and we said all the right things and sang the approprate songs; but that is just "doing Christmas". We squeezed in the birth of the Savior of our very soul, ---somewhere between doing moving furniture and doing other human stuff. Jesus Christ and the glory of God should never be allowed to become an after thought. And so, while I'm not one for New Year's "resolutions"; it is certainly my resolve to never get that busy again. God deserves better from me.

I pray you have an uncluttered and blessed day.