I find it hard to do the things that I want to do. Why is that?

First of all, what do I want to do? I want to read more. I want to write more. Those two seem preeminent. But I also want to spend more time with friends and family. I want to excersize (really). I want to travel. I want to spend time enriching myself and my life.

But there seems so little opportunity for those things. Just finding an hour a day to read is challenging enough. Work gets in the way. Especially when you have as many evening commitments as we pastors tend to have. And other things suck up my time – How many times have I plopped down in front of the television just to space out for a few minutes only to find the energy to turn the television off a few hours later?

The point is that I have the time I need. But I find it hard to use it the way I want.

I read a book called the Now Habit once. It had an intriguing premise. The basic idea was that you should discern what you really want to do, and then schedule the time to do those things on your calendar BEFORE you schedule anything else. In other words, really pirortize what is really important to you. I think that is a great idea! Maybe I’ll spend some time this week doing just that before Advent comes and the year ends without me even realizing it!

For the first time in my adult life, this truly is a historic election.

Every four years they tell us how “historic” the election will be. And they always seem to tell us that the “young people” will be “rocking” the vote. And every four years I think “what a bunch of hooey.”

But this year is different. We really do have a historic moment on our hands. We could elect the first black man to the highest office in the land and the most powerful position in the world. That is truly amazing. Barack in the White House will truly transform the way our nation perceives “black people” in a way that nothing else could. Young black boys and girls today will live in a world where they can honestly believe that anything is possible for them.

That’s not to say that racism is going away. Far from it. But it is to say that today, our nation could model for the world what it really means to be a pluralistic democratic society. Considering the last two elections that is quite an accomplishment.

Today is not only a great day for ethnic and racial minorities. It’s a great day for the idea of the American Dream. The dream is worth preserving, but it is also worth amending. Obama does both for us, in one pull of the voting booth lever. He reminds us that here, unlike most other places in the world, people can rise from anywhere to achieve greatness. And he also reminds us that all of us are in this thing together. Obama will be our president – my president – as much as he is anyone else’s – because he exemlifies what it means to dream that dream. And the dream is not about a big house or a new car. It is about acheiving greatness through the bountiful opportunity our nation has always tried to provide. Greatness will mean more than making money or becoming famous. With Obama in the White House, we can hope that the American dream will be about making our nation great again – with liberty and justice for all.