What's your favorite Christmas song?

About a week ago, our immediate family had an early Christmas gathering where we exchanged a few gifts and enjoyed some really great food/hospitality together. It was such a fun time and a real blessing for me personally! Towards the end of that wonderful evening, all eight of us (plus Peter and Kristen's cute little puppy!) piled into the minivan and traveled a short distance to look at a fantastic Christmas lights display (complete with synchronized music on the radio!) together. It was wonderful!

In the midst of listening to the great music on the radio and looking at the incredible lighting display, we started asking one another, "What's your favorite Christmas song?"

One by one we offered our favorites. Mine was Joy to the World, Ellen's was O Come All Ye Faithful, Peter and Annie's was O Holy Night, Kristen said Away in a Manger , and now I am forgetting the others that got mentioned (but I think Andy may have said Hark the Herald Angels Sing ). Sorry, Katie and Nathan!

Anyway, I am wondering, what's your favorite Christmas song?

I remember so vividly the first Christmas after I became a Christian many years ago. All of a sudden, the words of the Christmas carols that I had sung all of my life meant so much more to me! The theology contained in Christmas songs is so fantastic, especially if you are a believer in Jesus Christ! Wow. What a blessing!

And to think that during this great time of year, millions (if not billions?) of people all around the world sing songs about my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, and the celebration/remembrance of His birth at Christmas time! I love that!

Well, fast forward to the other morning as I was driving nonchalantly to my office. On the radio station I was listening to came my new favorite Christmas song! It touched me in such a special way! I had forgotten about this song when we were sharing our favorite Christmas songs in the minivan that night. How could I have forgotten this one?

The song I am referring to is Mark Lowery's Mary, Did You Know? and the lyrics go like this:

Mary, did you know
that your Baby Boy would one day walk on water?
Mary, did you know
that your Baby Boy would save our sons and daughters?
Did you know
that your Baby Boy has come to make you new?
This Child that you delivered
will soon deliver you.

Mary, did you know
that your Baby Boy will give sight to a blind man?
Mary, did you know
that your Baby Boy will calm the storm with His hand?
Did you know
that your Baby Boy has walked where angels trod?
When you kiss your little Baby
you kissed the face of God?

Mary, did you know...

The blind will see.
The deaf will hear.
The dead will live again.
The lame will leap.
The dumb will speak,
the praises of The Lamb!

Mary, did you know
that your Baby Boy is Lord of all creation?
Mary, did you know
that your Baby Boy will one day rule the nations?
Did you know
that your Baby Boy is heaven's perfect Lamb?
That sleeping Child you're holding
is the Great, I AM.

Wow.

Aren't those words powerful?

Don't these lyrics just give you goose bumps and cause you to want to fall on your knees and praise God for Christ's coming?

Or is it just me?

What's your favorite Christmas song?

Don't miss the spiritual importance of Christmas this year! Listen to the Christmas songs and think deeply about the theology contained within them. It's fantastic!

Christmas Time - He, He, He, He versus Ho, Ho, Ho...

It's Christmas time and I really love this time of year!

I love all the preparations for it - taking a photo of our children/family for the annual Christmas card; writing the annual Christmas card letter; planning all the extra events that happen with our family and friends during this time of year; making lists of people I want to buy gifts for and/or send special greetings to; determining how much time to take off from my job in order to help make it a special time for others; and reading in Matthew and Luke about how the very first Christmas took place, so long ago on a cold, winter night in a Bethlehem stable.

I also love all the activities of it - singing favorite Christmas carols throughout the month, not just in church, but also in all the stores while shopping; attending multiple Christmas parties and gift exchanges with family/friends, focusing on delighting others with "presence" versus just the presents; bringing my sweet mother-in-law (and other family members and friends) into our home to celebrate this holiday with us, sharing the joy and blessings that we are experiencing because of this incredibly important time of year; adapting to a slower pace at work, putting that phase of my life into a much lower gear for awhile so that I can focus on what is really important; observing my incredible wife Ellen working harder than normal, filling our house with an abundance of delicious foods/goodies to share with family/neighbors/friends (and unfortunately eating way too many of them myself!); giving gifts to the really special people in my life after doing some relaxed shopping for family members, friends, neighbors and co-workers; and spending time in prayer thanking God for His special gift to the world so many long years ago.

I love all the extras you can do because of it - saying "Merry Christmas!" to everyone because after all, everyone knows it's Christmas time; purposefully smiling at people who appear to be all together way too grumpy during this time of year, telling them with your smile that it's Christmas time and they shouldn't let their current burdens (or even their sometimes self-imposed problems?) keep others from experiencing the incredible joy of the season; surprising people with small, unexpected gifts, telling them with your gift that you value them and wanted to let them know that; exhibiting peace in the midst of a world that has way too much turmoil, just because you know that Christmas means a lot more than just Santa Claus and Black Friday shopping for bargains/deals; and asking God to make this Christmas even more special to you because it's so easy to forget why we celebrate and who this "holy-day" is really all about.

Yes, Christmas is a glorious time of the year! One that I really love.

Several years ago, I shared with my family a way I was taught to speak the truth of the Gospel in 10 words or less. It's a way for us all to understand the true meaning of Christmas (which is all about faith in the revelation of God's Son, Jesus Christ, who was born at Christmas). It's based on some words in I Corinthians 15:1-8, and can easily be remembered by the catchy phrase He, He, He, He. The "He" is Jesus. It goes like this:

He came.
He died.
He rose.
He lives.

It's just that simple! And that's what Christmas time is really all about. That's why I love this time of year so much!

So, this year, I am trying to focus on the He, He, He, He of Christmas versus the Ho, Ho, Ho.

How about you? What are you focused on? Don't miss the real reason for this blessed season...

To whom much is given, much will be expected...

This year at Christmas, I have been thinking a lot about a very familiar expression. Perhaps you've heard it, too. "To whom much is given, much will be expected." You see, it has been made very apparent to me over the past several months that I have been given a wonderful life! My family has been blessed beyond imagination! Sometimes we can have a tendency to take blessings somewhat for granted, even forgeting where they are coming from. Sometimes we need a "holiday" like Christmas to remind us how truly blessed we really are.

Throughout 2008, we have been offered numerous opportunities to give. We have been prompted to share what we have been given with many along our path (family, friends, neighbors, people in our community, etc.). I am happy to report that we have responded to several of those promptings, and with JOY and hopefully a very generous spirit. However, I am sad to report that we have not responded to all of the requests that have come our way. Maybe it is unrealistic to think that we could respond to all the requests that are out there; there will always be more "need" than resources to satisfy the need it seems. But, I've had to ask myself this very penetrating question: "Why have we balked at some of the requests, but responded to several others?" I don't really have a hard and fast answer to my own question. I can only ascertain that God prompts us to respond to some needs, but potentially tells us to take a pass on others?

Each Christmas Eve, I have a special tradition of calling some dear friends of mine, Herrick and Mary Smith, in Florida. They are still a wonderful model and example to me of incredible "giving." I try to emulate their totally selfless generosity whenever possible, but especially at Christmas. You see, back in December of 1979, I found myself alone (and away from any family or friends) in Gainesville, Florida, at Christmas time. I was about to begin a "temporary" job of teaching Landscape Architecture at the University of Florida. After only meeting me once or twice, and knowing me for just two or three days, they still chose to invite me to attend Christmas Eve services at their church. They also invited me back to their home to share Christmas dinner with their family and friends. Amazing! It wasn't like they were extremely wealthy or the food/gifts were anything special. They had a very modest home and it really wasn't fancy at all. But, the way they were so willing to give whatever they had to someone like me who had a need is still an incredible witness to me of the expression "to whom much is given, much will be expected." Out of hearts filled with the love of Christ, they gave. And they gave willingly and abundantly. Wow! Thanks Herrick and Mary for being such great examples to me of "to whom much is given, much will be expected."

Therefore, I try to model Herrick and Mary's generosity to my family also and live by the overall intent of this expression - especially the second half of it. Not in a legalistic or "payback" sort of way (God really doesn't operate like that). It's not like we have to give because we have been given to. No, rather it is because there is a basic responsibility that goes along with abundant blessings. We have the privilege of sharing the abundance we have been given. I am so very grateful for that privilege.

God help me to have a pure heart to share, and the willingness to see the needs You have placed in my path...

It's a Wonderful Life

Each year about this time (if you are a traditionalist like me), you probably sit down in front of the TV with a bowl of popcorn and watch one of the most well-known, well-loved movies ever - It's a Wonderful Life. Starring Jimmy Stewart and Donna Reed (as well as several others), this movie is one of my all-time favorites! To my continued amazement, when I watch it each year, I give it my full attention (even though I've probably seen it several dozen times!). And even though I know the complete story by heart and obviously remember from year to year how it ends, I still get red in the face and tears start automatically flowing down my cheeks at certain scenes. Amazing! I'm such a sap! It's just a movie, for goodness sake! But, an incredible one with a terrific message...

This week I had my annual It's a Wonderful Life - "George Bailey" moment. I usually have one of these leading up to the Christmas holiday, and this year it came one week before Christmas. No, I haven't watched the movie yet. Rather, my "moment" came when I watched my wonderful "angel" sing in the Southwest Airlines choir. It caught me completely off-guard. Didn't see it coming at all...

You see, in some respects, this has been one of the best years of my life! But, in other respects, the past three months have been a real bummer... As with George Bailey, I guess I had kind of lost perspective. I started seeing the "bad" and the "problems" with everything. That was all I could think about. It was starting to consume me. For example, there was that someone who had dreamed big and moved on to become a huge success elsewhere (similar to George's brother Harry, and his friend Sam Wainwright) while I stayed in one place with the same job seemingly forever. There were those people in my life that needed help in the past, and now needed even more help from me while I was weary of giving it (similar to how George may have felt about Uncle Billy, old Mr. Gower and/or Violet). There was that painfully antagonistic person in my life who seemed to do things contrary to what I considered good values and sound thinking and still got away with it (similar to old man Potter). Finally, there was my sweet family who loved me greatly and tried so hard to make everything in my life special, but all I could see was their occasional slip-ups and selfishly harp on their actions/behaviors (similar to how George reacted to Mary and his children when his problems and the pressure they created consumed him on Christmas Eve).

Then it happened. Seeing my wonderful daughter Katie sing with the Southwest Airlines choir, seeing the smile on her face and the obvious JOY she was experiencing started me on the way to much needed repentence and tears - tears of confession and tears of gratefulness over how much the Lord has forgiven me and blessed me beyond my imagination. I was really caught up short. It climaxed when a young man in the choir sang "O Holy Night" magnificently! Read some of the incredible lyrics to this song below.

O Holy Night! The stars are brightly shining,
It is the night of the dear Saviour's birth.
Long lay the world in sin and error pining.
Till He appeared and the Spirit felt its worth.
A thrill of hope the weary world rejoices,
For yonder breaks a new and glorious morn.
Fall on your knees! Oh, hear the angel voices!
O night divine, the night when Christ was born;
O night, O Holy Night, O night divine!

Led by the light of faith serenely beaming,
With glowing hearts by His cradle we stand.
O'er the world a star is sweetly gleaming,
Now come the wisemen from out of the Orient land.
The King of Kings lay thus in lowly manger;
In all our trials born to be our friends.
He knows our need, our weakness is no stranger,
Behold your King! Before him lowly bend!
Behold your King! Before him lowly bend!

Truly He taught us to love one another,
His law is love and His gospel is peace.
Chains He shall break, for the slave is our brother.
And in His name all oppression shall cease.
Sweet hymns of joy in grateful chorus raise we,
With all our hearts we praise His holy name.
Christ is the Lord! Then ever, ever praise we,
His power and glory ever more proclaim!
His power and glory ever more proclaim!

Thanks, Katie (my Clarence), and the Southwest Airlines choir for ministering to me in such a powerful way! Despite all of our problems, despite the fact that we may have sacrificed dreams on behalf of others, we still can say "It's a Wonderful Life" because of what the Lord has done! Joy to the World and Merry Christmas!