Monday Before the Monday Before Christmas

Spent a good part of Friday writing an editorial (blog post) that may never see the light of Wordpress. It's about the similar experience of Zechariah, Mary, and the shepherds--they all saw an angel. But each of them reacted a little differently, and each of them compares to a situation or challenge or life stage people today can identify with. Each of them was afraid when confronted with God's work and God's will--and sometimes we are too.
It was going to be my big pre-Christmas editorial. But I decided instead today to write something about the tragic shooting at Newtown, Connecticut last Friday, not quite two weeks before Christmas. Ben Cachiaras wrote a good blog post Friday afternoon, and coincidentally Paul Williams's column that goes live this week is about how God identifies with us and our suffering, because he came as a frail infant. Even though I was quoting from both of them, it took me the better part of the day--in between interruptions and e-mails and a productive meeting with the marketing folks this afternoon--to get it written. I'll read it one more time before giving it to Jim to post tomorrow.

Paid bills this evening and worked with Evelyn to get some pictures framed. Now I'm writing this brief diary entry while we watch a Hallmark Christmas movie, "November Christmas," we recorded yesterday.
We realized after it started that we've seen it before, but we're probably going to finish it anyway.