It’s a potent time of year isn’t it? A time of endings and beginnings as begin a fresh new year. Many of us are thinking about New Year’s resolutions.  But how many of those resolutions are just ‘self’ improvement projects rather than ways to actually embrace the life we already have right here and now?

I recently read an article about presence over productivity and it really struck a chord with me. Since we’re coming up to New Year’s Eve I found it to be a timely reminder that a life well lived is not about getting, doing or having. It’s about being true to who we are and living our moments and our daily life fully.

As Annie Dillard says, “How we spend our days is how we spend our lives.” If we’re always trying to get somewhere else, what happens to the moment we’re actually living now? To live a full life, we need to be here for it. To live a present life is to live a happy life.

We gather around the Lord’s Table as we wrap up our sermon series “The Songs of Christmas.” We will look at “As With Gladness Those of Old”  whose first verse says, “So, true Morning Star, may we evermore your splendor see.”  May we see the splendor of each moment as we open a fresh calendar together.

May 2020 be filled with peace, presence and adventure.