Mondays

My friend Mark wrote on Facebook, "I like Mondays. TGIM!"

I agree. I love Mondays.

I know for Christians, Sunday is supposed to be the beginning of the week. It's not for me. It's the end. The culmination. The crescendo of my week.

Monday is the beginning.

I know many pastors take Monday off. It makes sense. After an exhausting day, it helps to have a day of rest. And since most of the time I'm not fully prepared for worship until right before it happens (and sometimes after it happens), you'd think I'd prefer my sabbath to be the day I'm not thinking about what's ahead.

But I love working on Mondays. Of course, I start slowly. I wake up when my body tells me to. I drink coffee and read in bed for a while. Then I straighten the house (it's usually a mess from the weekend). And I go through the piles on my desk.

And I start thinking about the week to come. The scripture and the sermon. They hymns and prayers for worship. Sunday school. Pastoral care visits and meetings and nursing home services. I can think and dream and plan and brainstorm.

One of my favorite characters, Anne Shirley, from Anne of Green Gables, says, "Isn't it nice to think that tomorrow is a new day with no mistakes in it yet?"

That's how I see Mondays:  a new week, fresh and clean and full of possibilities, with no mistakes in it yet.

Christmas Values

I’ve been thinking about Christmas lately. Our church's Advent Planning Team just met. I found the perfect quote for my Christmas cards (from our Sunday school curriculum!). And I’ve started to think about gifts.

So I’ve pulled out my favorite book about Christmas, Unplug the Christmas Machine, by Jo Robinson & Jean Coppock Staeheli. They talk about rethinking how we celebrate Christmas, taking some of the stress and materialism out and putting love and joy back in.

The authors have gone around the country doing workshops. In the workshops, they ask people to imagine what their perfect Christmas would be like.

What would the celebration be like if [you] could throw out all [your] old ideas and habits and start anew with only [your] personal tastes and preferences to take into account. The only requirement is that [you] imagine the Christmas that makes [you] feel most fulfilled.

I did the exercise a few years ago. I imagined being in a log cabin in the woods, with snow falling outside and a fire crackling inside, being with a few close family members, and enjoying a relaxing Christmas. What would your perfect Christmas look like?

Another exercise is to read through ten value statements. Cross off the ones that don’t mean anything to you. Add others that are important to you that aren’t included. Then rank the remaining items.

• Christmas is a time to be a peacemaker, within my family and the world at large.
• Christmas is a time to enjoy being with my immediate family.
• Christmas is a time to create a beautiful home environment.
• Christmas is a time to celebrate the birth of Christ.
• Christmas is a time to exchange gifts with my family and friends.
• Christmas is a time for parties, entertaining, and visits with friends.
• Christmas is a time to help those who are less fortunate.
• Christmas is a time to strengthen bonds with my relatives.
• Christmas is a time to strengthen my church community.
• Christmas is a time to be relaxed and renewed.

What are your top values for Christmas? There are no right or wrong answers. There are only the right answers for you.

I pray that this Christmas will be all that you want it to be.

Staying in Touch

Several years ago I did a funeral for a woman who had died of breast cancer. It made me really sad. Not because she died of breast cancer, or because she was so young (in her 40s), although that was tragic.

She was very good at staying in touch with her friends, even a friend from kindergarten. At her funeral, all those friends and family members gathered to honor her and support one another. What made me sad is that I am not very good at staying in touch with people.

How many people have I lost track of because I didn't write?

My elementary school friend Barb. She doesn't live very far from me. We connected again after years of not seeing one another, but I've let that slip away once again.

My college friends Kara and Zoe, and Andrew and Marjorie, Julia and Todd. Luckily Facebook has helped me re-connect with them.

My friend Sirkka, from Finland. She was my best friend when I spent my junior year abroad in Athens, Greece.

My birth mom. I'm adopted, and I met my birth mom for the first time eight years ago. But I don't write very often.

My friend Victoria, from Malawi, Africa. After her husband died, I even bought a sympathy card. But it never got mailed.

I always wanted to be better at staying in touch with people. Facebook has helped. But I've also found another way to stay in touch. Now I can send out a paper greeting card in about five minutes.

I'm hoping this will help me stay connected to the people who matter to me. Who knows? Perhaps I'll even start sending out Christmas cards every year!