Barefoot Bellringing

There’s always just one more thing…to buy, to bake, to eat, to send, to make, to write, to mail.

I remember being a student minister in a very challenging multi-point parish and my supervisor piling more and more on my plate. About a month into the summer I pushed back, saying I couldn’t do any more than I was doing. And for the first time all summer he smiled. He said he had been pushing me because he wanted to teach me a lesson…you will never get it all done.

I struggle with the separation of Advent and Christmas. With Christmas and Epiphany. It seems every year, no matter how well organised I am, the Seasonal letter doesn’t get out until Advent III. It should be out Advent II. I’m working on the letter this week, getting them printed, folded, envelopes addressed, etc. Sunday is Advent III “Joy”.

I’m looking at magazines and websites for healthier Christmas baking alternatives. And I have to say, my heart isn’t in it. That may also be because I’ve been struggling with a chest cold for nearly a week. I don’t handle being sick very well. I’m incredibly impatient with what I want to do, and what I need to do. Then there’s what I feel I have time to do, etc.

My Beloved and I made a decision a few months ago to give up our lines of credit and credit cards. We both know the tendency we share to overspend this time of year. We simply cannot afford it. Recently I was invited to partake in a Mission Trip in April 2014 to Haiti to visit our Parish Prayer Partner. I would love to go, the experience would be life changing, but the reality of it, is that we cannot afford it.

We are on a repayment plan through a consolidation loan so that we are actively paying down debt without incurring any new debt. Bottom line. If we don’t have the money, we can’t buy it. Simple solution, eh?

We have a Visa Debit card, so if we need to make a purchase on-line for something i.e train tickets, we can do that with our Visa Debit card. Yay! A good friend of mine got rid of her credit card years ago and it was the best thing she ever did. All purchases are made from what is available in her bank account. If there isn’t enough money, she simply cannot buy it. IMAGINE!

I’ve done some decorating and I’m pleased with what has been done. I still need to finish up outside, but it’s been too cold to do much of anything. Hopefully Thursday the weather will be a bit milder so I can finish hanging the green. I don’t put up lights because I don’t think it’s environmentally responsible for us to do so. And with the age of the house its a fire hazard as well.

We burn lots of candles this time of year, celebrating Advent and the shorter days. By the end of this week I plan to have our Christmas cards made and mailed. It’s a very short list this year. Most people will be receiving Christmas cards via email. Some folks get a physical card. It’s not fair, but that’s simply the way it is.

I plan to have the dining room table, once again used as a dining room table, by the end of this week.

Slowly but surely, I’m seeing the changes in myself as we move through the season of Advent, a season of anticipation, of waiting, of wonder and of awe.

There will always be pressures of the season, with every season. But I don’t have to succumb to them.