Today was the first Sunday of Advent, as many of you no doubt already knew. It was also the first snowfall of the year. The snow (a dusting… and that’s even stretching it) kept a few people home this morning.

The service I lead felt a bit tedious. I was sleep deprived and missed a scripture that we had to go back and re-read, plus I think I forgot the words to every song. The reason for my sleep deprivation was the writing of articles combined with the procurement last night of a tree for the room in our church where we meet on Sundays. Before I could start on the article, the tree needed to be purchased and put up at church. I finished the first of two articles last night at almost midnight. I went to bed soon after but then woke up at 5am for no reason and laid there with my eyes shut for another hour, wishing for sleep.

Later this afternoon a bunch of people from our small congregation got together to decorate the church and have dinner. It was one of those times where people gather in an unstructured way, work together, and then share a meal. This evening’s activities felt more like worship than the worship service did.

Maybe it was just me being tired, but I don’t know. I was even more exhausted by the end of the day, having finished a second article, missing a chance for a nap in the process. Though I’m totally spent now and ready to collapse into my bed (which I will do immediately after publishing this), I caught what felt like a second wind during the decorating and dinner. It was a really nice time. Our recently departed friend, Dick Neyhard, cherished these informal times. I completely understand why.