This is how I spend Black Friday. Well, it would be nice but truth be told I am pretty much no longer capable of sleeping in. I’m in bed most nights by 8:30 or 9 and up at 5 or 6 AM whether there is a reason to be or not. A few years ago we were at my brother’s house for Thanksgiving. The meal was over, things were winding down, people were starting to leave. He knew that our coffee maker had gone out and I would be looking for one. He showed me the Walmart Black Friday circular, which had new items coming out onto the floor in phases. The sale actually started that evening, Thursday at 6 PM, at which time I could get a Black & Decker drip coffee maker with automatic timer for the low price of $11. I fell for it. My first clue was that no parking spaces were available. Before 6 every space was filled and cars were parked at the fuel center, on the sidewalks, on the grass… I didn’t even know our local Walmart had any grass until that moment. I got in and found my item in about 15 minutes. It then took another 1 hr. 45 min. to check out. EVERY… REGISTER… WAS… OPEN… but a sea of moving people looked more like boats unloading at Ellis Island in the 1920’s than the Walmart checkout lines I was used to. Never again my friends, never again. There is nothing in there I need or want that badly.

Black Friday may someday be a thing of the past. The sales start weeks ahead of time even though they are still called “Black Friday” sales events. Online shopping has taken a chunk out of physical retail sales and this year they suggested shopping early or you might not get anything. It seems the Black Friday shoppers had something to hope for because they were out there… or at least that’s what I heard.

I’ve been busy this week. The week off was not just good for traveling to see family and eating too much, I also had time to write. iMonk Radio Podcast #161 was published on Thursday, which you may have missed in lieu of Thanksgiving Day. I also posted The Revelation and Created to be Creative. Hats off to those that post every day. I wish.

I for one am glad to see Cincinnati in the top 4. Btw, these are not the AP Poll rankings, the coaches poll, or any poll whatsoever. The College Football Playoff Committee makes these decisions about who goes on the postseason in NCAA football. It is better than the old BCS system they used to use but a lot of fans would like to the number of teams expanded to at least eight instead of four.

Georgia will probably beat Georgia Tech today and Alabama will probably beat Auburn in what’s known as the Iron Bowl. Ohio State (10-1) is playing Michigan (10-1) so that could shake things up in the Playoff rankings. Georgia will play Alabama in the SEC Championship game so one of those teams will probably come down… but there’s no guarantee.

Tomorrow is the beginning of Advent. If Advent is not a part of your faith tradition, this is an introduction that I wrote a few years ago for the local paper. Tomorrow’s theme is Hope and we will light the Prophet’s candle on our Advent wreath. I usually go to one of the Isaiah passages in chapter 7 or 9, perhaps Jeremiah 33, and remind everyone that God is faithful and just concerning his promises. A few months ago, possible back in the spring, I heard a sermon on the John the Baptist. I wondered then why I had never preached John the Baptist for the first Sunday of Advent. If I don’t write things down it’s like they never happened. So I flipped my one year planner to November and left myself a reminder. All four Gospels record the ministry of John the Baptist, each quoting from Isaiah in describing his role. I’m ready to go with a sermon from Mark 1. Sermons from Unity Baptist appear at the top of the left-hand sidebar so by Sunday afternoon or Monday morning that should be available for your consideration.