over-sung and under-thought

as an adult, i've over-sung every single christmas song out there. from rockin' around the christmas tree to away in a manger, every christmas season brings repetitive christmas songs that have entirely lost their meaning. at least in my head. (please note: i'm not super disappointed that christmas shoes has lost it's meaning because it is entirely overplayed.) of course, each year there are a few new ones here and there. but as far as the awesome songs that tell of Christ's birth and the real reason why we pause to celebrate? not many new ones. however, last year we found our new favorite christmas music to listen to - Savior. the true meaning of christmas was revived in our hearts, and that album continues to teach us and minister to us year-round.

since jed has been out of town this weekend, my sister and i went to our church's christmas concert together last night. i'm rarely disappointed with our worship pastor's music choices, and last night was no exception. it was a traditional christmas celebration service with singing and scripture reading mixed together, but it was so very powerful! just a few phrases from traditional songs that really spoke to me....

• who laid aside His rightful reign to take away our sin and shame
• darkness is ended, sinners befriended
• a thrill of hope
• the King of Kings lay in a lowly manger....born to be our God
• God and sinners reconciled
• veiled in flesh
• mild He lays His glory by
• born to raise the sons of earth...(and)...give them second birth
• King and God and Sacrifice
• He comes to make His blessings flow far as the curse is found

what a wonderful time of year, and what an awesome reason to pause and praise God!

christmas

well folks, it's officially december. (i know i'm a day late, but yesterday was such a funky day coming off of thanksgiving that i'm just not going to count it as a day) december is one of the most nostalgic, memorable, and meaningful months for me because we celebrate a holiday that mandates being with those we love and stopping our craziness to enjoy a moment of life. at no other time of year do we have so many reminders everywhere we go! i love it.

on my way to work this morning they were playing "sleigh bells" on the radio. it took me immediately back to our living room as a kid where we would wake up to christmas music almost every saturday and sunday during december. dad always had (and still has) this sparkle in his eye at christmastime, because as we all know "it's the most wonderful time of the year!" for some reason, "sleigh bells" is the christmas song that reminds me the most about him. he loved to talk about his trombone playing skills in high school because it mesmerized us, and he would tell us about the trombone neigh at the end and we could never believe that it wasn't indeed a horse. that's where i was on the way to work this morning - in my red fleece pj's that smelled like syrup listening to my dad get so pumped for christmas.

even a hot oven reminds me of christmas. well, i should rephrase that. a hot oven when it's cold outside reminds me of christmas. a hot oven when it's hot outside reminds me of being HOT and then i remember that it's summer and i should turn the stupid oven off. but back to the hot oven. only good things come from ovens. my mom was (is) an oven fiend. the christmas cookies she can whip up are continually amazing and she is never so excited about baking as she is at christmas! after she baked, she would leave the door open and we would crowd around and try to warm up. not exactly the perfect "open fire" that the song talks about i'm sure, but we loved an open oven.

aaaaaaaaaaa......christmas. ya gotta love it!