Cleanup is not my favorite Christmas ritual. Twenty-five big and little people make lots of messes, so I cleaned the kitchen six times on Christmas. Tom took the last shift. He also bagged wrinkled wrapping paper and vacuumed before I tided up the house.
I decided this year to approach the obvious with an attitude of ritual. The seasons, patterns, and decor of holidays vary, but the ritual of cleanup remains. Recognizing it as part of the holy in the “holyday” creates a place for honoring Christ in the mundane part of the celebration.
A. W. Tozer once said, “It is not what a man does that determines whether his work is sacred or secular, but why he does it.” Approaching the kitchen sink as holy ground cradles my work in a positive perspective. Sitting to rest my back every so often also helps.
I don’t know what my job assignment will be in the new heaven or new earth, but my resume will definitely list: “Exceptional Maid, Cook, and Bottle Washer.” I hope it also notes, “Works with a positive attitude.”
In Him together, Susan Gaddis
Father, who sent the Son,
Birth promise in my heart.
Spirit, who guided the magi,
Direct my wanderings.
Word, who became flesh,
Engrave your script within.
Father, Spirit, Word,
Be forming Christ in me.
Have you ever felt a twinge of loneliness slip in at Christmas? I have, and not for lack of family or holiday spirit—both abound at my house. 
Christmas is unwrapped in Holy disorder. It is God’s fault. Life escalates the excitement, stress, and extra activities during this season.
Contrary to popular religious thought, man does not evolve into godness over the course of several, rightly-lived lifetimes. This fable was securely put to rest when the reverse happened—God became a man.
House decorated—check!
Praying the hours, or fixed-hour prayer, is a corporate melody of prayer from believers to the Holy. This shared dialogue of worship is offered to God and for God as a type of communal prayer presented to the One who calls us by His name. In an 
Advent comes from the Latin. It means “coming” and is the time of waiting and preparation before Christmas that helps us focus on the three comings of Christ.
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