December the 26th; the Christmas holiday is over. The Christmas events are over. But, I hope the Christmas spirit isn’t over. It would be wonderful to think that the spirit of love and joy would continue to linger on and on. But, folks are back to work today because Christmas fell in the middle of the week which is going to make the rest of the week feel weird. The same thing is going to happen next week when New Years Eve and New Years Day also fall in the middle of the week. Pastor Art and I worked with Karen to get her whatever she needed in order to have her bulletins all done so she could have today off of work and we have taken today off too.

How was your Christmas? Ours was great. Julie, Jim and the fur-babies came over on Saturday and left yesterday afternoon. Ms. Kate out-did herself with cooking this weekend. We did a ham and she also did a Prime Rib. We stuffed ourselves without shame. She also made an angel-food cake. It’s sad that she had to do all of the cooking for her birthday to include making her own birthday cake but that was what she wanted to do.

Our Christmas Eve program was wonderful. We had a record number of people in attendance. The church was packed. The chancel choir, the bell choir, our guest violinist, and even I made beautiful music for the service. But —- the the premiere performance was by Diane, our organist and choir director. She played our new Kurzweil keyboard for the service prelude and it literally brought me to tears. I was so full of joy and. When I said something to Ms. Kate, she said she was the same way. I had really fought for us to get this keyboard for the church and she proved that I was right in my efforts. I predict that a lot of great music will come out of that keyboard in the coming years.

I think today is gong to be a relax day around here. Maybe we’ll take down the Christmas treeless Ms. Kate wants to keep it up through New Years. The laundry hamper is full so maybe we’ll do that and maybe not. It has been hectic long enough to warrant a day of relaxation. I sat down at my computer last night and started to look at the lectionary scriptures for my next sermon I have to write and I couldn’t begin to focus on what I might want to write. I have two and a half weeks to get it written so it isn’t like there is a rush. So, I think that coffee, music, and watching my guests at the Backyard Buffet will consume a great deal of my day.

I hope you hve the opportunity to sit and relax today too. It is almost the end of the year 2018. Maybe you can take some time and reflect on how your year has gone and be grateful for the year of God’s blessings that have come your way. But, whatever your day may hold, I hope it is full of God’s peace.