I love Christmas and almost everything about it.
I can’t wait until November 1 when I can “legally” start listening to the four different Christmas music channels I’ve curated on my Pandora subscription.
Long ago I shifted my Christmas music preferences from the “White Christmas” category of seasonal songs to the music celebrating Christ’s birth and never looked back.
One Christmas Eve many years ago after a crazy day of activity, we decided to go to the 10:00 pm candlelight service at our church. I was not in the best frame of mind to be going to worship as the cares of the day and season seemed to be weighing heavy on my mind and mood.
Twenty-five or more years later, I can still hear the music begin and a singer at our church, who was quite accomplished, singing “O Holy Night.”
She completely nailed it. Every note, important lyric and line, every emotion in the song was perfect; and it saved my Christmas that year.
I recall another Christmas when the season was saved by the reading of the biblical story by a grade school young man at the front of the church while standing near the Advent candle display.
And every year my perspective is reset by candles lit while singing “Silent Night” on Christmas Eve.
Of course, the biblical narratives from Isaiah to the Gospels never get old. As someone who has spent the better part of his life around words and stories, I appreciate a good story, especially when it is true and changes everything.
Christian writers are not involved with mere words. They write about Logos, the Word of God, eternal truth, saving faith, power that changes, love that forgives, mercy, grace, and a hope of eternal life.
“Baby, It’s Cold Outside” just doesn’t cut it.
Have a great Christmas remembering what it is all about. And as the final chorus of “O Holy Night” exclaims:
Christ is the Lord, then ever! ever praise we!
His pow’r and glory, evermore proclaim!
His pow’r and glory, evermore proclaim!
Have Yourself a Query Little Christmas
You speak of songs with strength to save
the feeling born of Christmas,
that gift that the Almighty gave,
the Baby who would save us.
O Holy Night sure fills the bill
(when sung by A. Bocelli!),
and In The Bleak Midwinter will
just turn my knees to jelly,
while Rudolph with his red-nosed pride
elicits smile and yawn,
and baby, though it’s cold outside
I’ll go stand upon the lawn,
breath clouding in the stars’ soft light,
to hear angels singing Silent Night.
I love traditional Christmas carols and watching the children at church do their plays. And you can always count on children to make you laugh because there’s always one, usually a little boy, who, when the church play is over and they’re commanded to tell the congregation Merry Christmas, that one little boy has to shout out louder than everyone else, MERRY CHRISTMAS to make sure you know he was there. LOL!!!!!! So precious.
Merry Christmas to all. So thankful to the Lord, on Christmas and every day of the year.
The music and and the lights drew me long before I had any idea what Christmas was about. Now, in church, when I sing the line “If I were a Wise man, I would do my part” I think of all the writers, editors, agents, and all of us who struggle to do our part in bringing the glory of His Kingdom to this troubled world. God bless all and Merry Christmas.
Year of Christmas caroling as a teen to shut-ins and nursing homes still fill me with the scent of hay in the back of a pickup truck, teens snuggled under warm blankets, singing joyfully as we travel to the next home and waving at cars and trucks as we pass. Music evokes all the senses. Even the taste of hot chocolate and homemade cookies that our retired organist gave us as we crowded, frozen and happy, into her tiny living room dwarfed by a small pipe organ as our last stop. She played and we sang. Pure joy.
Lovely thoughts and true.
I read Luke chapter 1 last night for my evening devotions. There are THREE songs of magnificent praise in that chapter! And they’ll all about praising God for Jesus! It made me wonder why we don’t read them in our Christmas Eve service, and *BAM*, I knew the theme for next year’s Christmas Eve service. This year is all about seeking Him.
God is good and He loves us!
Happy, blessed Christmas!
Amen! Jesus Christ is the Beginning, the End, and Everything-in-Between! Glory to His Holy Name forevermore!
Have a peaceful Christmas, Dan!
Do you ever get those, “duh, why didn’t I think of that” moments? I just had one.
Thanks so much for the post and for the idea. A few days ago, after hearing “It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year” for the 53rd time, I asked a friend, “if it’s the most wonderful time of the year, why do I feel so terrible?”
This morning, I have my answer: I’ve been focused on the grief of loss—every Christmas song reminds me of people I’m missing due either to death or broken relationships. I know “the reason for the season” is overused, but thanks for the reminder of the real reason.
Here’s the ironic part: in my non-Christmas music choices, I rarely listen to anything except Christian music, because secular music makes me anxious or depressed. But I’ve never applied that rule to Christmas music. Not sure why this never occurred to me, other than tradition.
I appreciate you more than you know!
Amen. All I want for Christmas is the beautiful music that honors the Reason for the season. Shared.
Our Christmas Eve church service remains my favorite part of Christmas.
AMEN to that Dan. Well said, or should I say written:-)!!
HIS Story is true, and changes things and us eternally. So grateful for the gift of Jesus!!