It sure is easy for what is urgent to crowd out what is important. That’s never truer than this time of year. Even as we urgently get ready for Christmas, we also want to make sure we are prepared for what is important: Christ's second coming. This week, we thank God that he gives us plenty of warnings and signs that remind us that the end is near. Those signs raise our sights to a life after this one and keep us from getting caught up in the sins and stresses of this present age. May his loving reminders always keep us ready for his return.