Anticlimactic

Every year before opening gifts, my dad reads part of Luke 2, the Christmas story.  We had a Christmasy pandora station playing this morning, as we woke up and finished getting breakfast into the oven.

Every once in a while, this station plays movie scores. A dramatic score started up just as my dad found the right page in the huge white Bible. We tried to just ignore the music as dad read, but that didn't work out so well. The music swelled and built up, and in the movie you knew something important would be happening, that you wouldn't be able to peel your eyes away from the screen.

But, in the story we were reading, it seemed anticlimactic. At the point in the movie where the villain would sweep in and attack-- a governor orders a census. When the hero would be sweeping in-- a baby is born. During the huge fight scene-- the baby is put in a manger. When the hero is recuperating, getting ready to attack at just the right time-- shepherds show up.

For the first time, it struck me how particularly odd God's plan was.

And just because the music didn't seem to match up, this was pretty important. There is a subtle difference between 'anticlimactic' and 'a sneak attack'.

Don't Get Distracted

especially when you know better.
you never know what will happen.

Timewasters

There are so many things that I do that don't really need done. Even while I'm doing them, I'm rolling my eyes wishing I'd just stop, and do something that actually needs to get done. Because there is a lot that needs to get done- in a week and a half all classes and finals for the semester are over, and its time to careen into Christmas break, my short trip to England (!), and then back for school again. Too much to do.

And yet, here I am, tapping my fingers all annoyed with myself.

Creating new playlists in iTunes, and renaming old ones
Changing the artwork for the music in iTunes to paintings by Renoir and Monet
Making sweet iced tea (ok, this one isn't a timewaster at all. This is perfectly acceptable)
Learning about copyright laws, and the presidents, and whatever else seems interesting at the time
Rewriting everything I have left to do for the semester- over and over and over in different places
Trying to keep five different book lists updated. They are all the same books, just in different places.
And, well, blogging about how I keep wasting my time.

I'd like to say I'm off to do some homework, but in all likelyhood I'll keep changing the artwork on iTunes...

I've just put in six interlibrary loan requests, and there are only two weeks left until school is out until mid-January.

Now, that wasn't very well planned out, was it?


What are your reading goals for the last month of 2011?