Merry Christmas! It's Christmas morning and we've opened our various presents. I think everyone's happy. We've gotten old enough and we're comfortable enough with life that we're happy just to be together, though nice things were given and recieved.

As I walked out this morning to get the paper, I saw my neighbor doing the same and we wished each other a Merry Christmas. I mentioned that this was the first Christmas morning that we got up before the kids. Time passes.

Went to church a couple of times yesterday. At the 7:00 PM service, my wife and I sat in the congregation and our kids were in the choir. The preacher had a good sermon that basically said that if Jesus came back today, he might visit a truckstop first. But that after a short while he'd get around to all of us.

We came home, built a fire in the fireplace and read the "Night before Christmas," did the Advent Calendar and sat around feeling warm and fuzzy. Then I left to sing at the 11:00 PM service. It was a more subdued service with fewer people and communion but the sermon was the same. That's OK, it was a good sermon. Afterwards, everybody wished everybody else "Merry Christmas" and I came home and helped my wife wrap the last of the kid's presents. Then I sent her off to bed and wrapped her gifts. I got to bed around 1:00 AM on Christmas morning.

Basically, like every other Christmas morning for all of time, the world is a mixture of hope and despair. Here's praying for the people in the messes in Iraq and Darfur and Palestine and all the other not very happy places on the earth to find some measure of peace in the coming year.

Time to go fix breakfast.

God bless you, each and every one.