wow, can you believe it?  only one week till christmas!!  how are you celebrating?  My brother will be flying up here on Christmas Eve and will be here until Tuesday.  Is your house ready for guests?  mine isn’t yet.  is your christmas tree up?  mine is.  is your tree decorated?  mine has lights and my one ornament.  that’s right, ONE ornament.  is your house decorated on the outside?  mine isn’t.  and it won’t be either.  There are so many things to think about at this time of year, we get so caught up with everything, we need to stop and reflect sometimes.  we need to stop and think about what’s important.  not the turkey, the lights, the trees, the clean house, but the dark, dirty stable.  We celebrate the humble coming of our Lord.  is your house clean?  his stable was dirty.  is your house decorated?  his stable probably had tools of the trade around and about.  we like glitz and glamour, his beginning was dark, damp and not glamorous.  So, I ask, are you ready?  I am not ready for human guests at my house yet, but I am ready for the heavenly guest, Christ.  I am always ready for him.  are you ready for Christ?