So it's Thursday! I like Thursdays like I like Tuesdays, which is a lot. Class, what happens on Thursday? That's right! It's sermon prep day! I am really enjoying that right now, because I am collaborating with Pat A on sermon prep. That is enjoyable and it keeps me more focused. After a late morning run, I will meet him in Bloomington for lunch and to finish the sermons that we have started independently.

Last night in my class we considered Luke 2:8-20, which tells of the shepherds receiving the very first word of Christ's arrival in this world. This is really shocking! Shepherds were not mainstream folks and were not very popular with the religious types. Yet they get the birth announcement and hear the angels singing. Wow! We need to think about this, and that's basically what the sermon will be about.

The song the angels sing is pretty brief, but it is amazingly reassuring to those who wonder if God loves them. So far in the Nativity narrative, we have seen God use the too young and the too old, and now he is focusing on the outcasts. God is inclusive!

We talked last night about God's peace and goodwill. Troy talked about smiling lovingly at his daughter during a public performance where she "messed up a little." He talked about how he still loved her and her "mess up" didn't change any of that. The angels' message seems to convey this love from God. Troy's comments made me think of the wonderful book The Shack. There is a line repeated in the book, a line attributed to God that is directed toward us, you and me as individuals.

I am especially fond of you.

Isn't that the essence of the gospel? God loves us, and as is fond of us. We are his beloved children, sons and daughters, even though we may be shepherds. OK, I'll save the rest of the sermon. ha ha.

I ran 6 miles yesterday and will try to get 7 in today. I did some hill repeats yesterday. These were unofficial, since there are not on my schedule yet - ha ha! I'm getting ready for the official ones that begin next week. I've run fairly well this week. I'm concerned about the long run on Saturday. It's only going to be around 20 degrees, which makes it a little harder to run farther. We'll see.