It’s Friday Five time over at RevGals and the week before Christmas Day it’s all about lists! What kinds of lists do we make at this time of year?

I used to keep my church and personal ‘to do’ lists separate, but as church and personal so often merge and mesh in other ways, I stopped doing that a few years ago. Why make two stops at the grocery store when I need communion bread for the nursing home and milk for home?

So, here are the lists I am making right now:

1. Christmas Gifts – I still have a couple to pick up, although for the last number of years, I have been giving people ‘experiences’ such as my youngest granddaughter will receive a family membership to the Discovery Centre. (She doesn’t read my blog yet, so the secret is safe!)
2. Grocery list – and always appreciative that my husband does most of the grocery shopping.
3. Packing lists! I am leaving my current congregation after a 1 year appointment to take up an Interim Ministry position with another pastoral charge. In the midst of Advent craziness I am also making decisions about what books to take with me to the new place and what books to bring home.
4. Headaches! – It’s not really a list, more of noting the date on my calendar of when my migraines are happening. After some success with preventative medication, they have returned with a vengeance.
5. A mental list of all the things for which I am grateful, including, but not limited to, and in no particular order: food, shelter, clothing, meaningful work, financial resources to share, good relationships with my son and his family, a partner who supports me. Books!