Singing With Joy

                         

I love Christmas music.  As soon as the stations begin playing it (usually on Thanksgiving Day) I have it on in every room of the house and in my car.  I've been known to embarrass my kids while shopping by singing along with whatever is playing over the store's loud speakers.  I love all the classic and more modern Chistmas songs but I especially love the carols.  Oh Little Town of Bethlehem, Silent Night, Away In A Manger, The First Noel ... all of them.  My husband, Dave has a beautiful deep bass voice and no one can sing Oh Holy Night like he does.  But my favorite of all is Joy To The World.  I have it listed as one of the songs I want played at my funeral.

A little known fact about this carol is that it was not written as a Christmas song.  Isaac Watts wrote it as a paraphrase of Psalm 98 and, instead of celebrating the birth of Christ, he was actually rejoicing over His soon return.  The opening line is sometimes sung incorrectly as "Joy to the world! The Lord has come." What Watts actually wrote is "The Lord is come."  He was not looking back but toward the future. The main point of Psalm 98 was not about the first coming of Jesus, but rather His Second Coming .. when our Savior reigns and "rules the world with truth and grace." 

Having discovered the background of my favorite Christmas carol just makes me love it even more.  The birth of our Saviour and the promise of His return are, indeed, sources of "great joy that will be for all people."  

Joy to the world!

The Lord IS come!

The Thanksgiving Christmas Mashup

Have you noticed that the Christmas season begins earlier every year?  It seems that Christmas items compete with Halloween decorations on the store shelves and Thanksgiving is often sandwiched in between, nearly overlooked and losing it's place as a very special day in its own right.  Before the Thanksgiving dishes were even done the stores were filling up with early "Black Friday" shoppers.  I must admit that although I didn't join that crowd I did settle back on the couch (after the dishes were done) and did nearly all of my Christmas shopping online.

And, yes, we all know it's marketing .. the Christmas shopping season is where retailers make the most money so it only stands to reason that the earlier those sales begin the more lucrative it is for business owners.

    But let's set all that aside for a minute.  

My friends and family know I can celebrate Christmas all year long.  I can barely contain my enthusiasm until the kids start school in the fall.  But on the first day of school ... all bets are off!  So often I hear it said we should hold off all things Christmas at least until after the Thanksgiving leftovers have been fed to the dog.  But I have no trouble incorporating my love for Christmas into my Thanksgiving holiday.  My tree usually goes up the day after Thanksgiving but this year I had grandkids here so they helped me get it set up the day before. My living room had a beautifully decorated Christmas tree surrounded by baskets of fall florals, pumpkins and plaques bearing Thanksgiving blessings.  And now it's officially the Christmas season and my halls are decked.   But amidst the groupings of angels and holly, a stray yellow or gold leaf can be found, or that stack of leftover Thanksgiving napkins and paper dessert plates we're trying to use up.  And that's okay with me.

We've just spent last weekend being thankful for the many gifts and blessings God has bestowed on us ... what do we have to be more thankful for than the greatest gift of all ... God's precious Son.  The gifts of grace, mercy and salvation.  God's promise of peace on earth, good will toward men.   If we truly believe that "Jesus is the Reason for the Season" then I believe it's okay to let our thankfulness flow into and blend with our Christmas spirit ... singing Joy to the world! The Lord is come!

Sing A Song Of Thanks

It's early morning here and the warm aroma of the turkey that has been slow roasting all night is joining forces with the smell of fresh coffee, bombarding my senses and bringing back memories of so many Thanksgiving mornings when I was a little girl. I have a few moments of quiet time before finishing up the desserts and getting dressed.  Soon the kids and grandkids will begin arriving for our family Thanksgiving dinner and before long the house will be filled with happy voices, giggling (and sometimes arguing) children, and the sounds of football games both in the yard and on the TV.


As I sip my coffee and count off the many things I have to be thankful for today I find myself humming an old hymn we used to sing in church when I was a little girl.

"Count your blessings.

Name them one by one.

Count your blessings.

See what God has done.

Count your blessings.

Name them one by one.

Count your many blessings

See what God has done."

This morning I have too many blessings to count.  I have been blessed beyond measure .. wonderful friends, loving family, and innumerable  answered prayers.

I hope you have a wonderful Thanksgiving and, whatever your day brings, remember to take time out to sing a song of thanks!
                                     

Just One Thing

It's already the week before Thanksgiving 2017.  This year sure flew by! But I'm ready and excited.  My home is decorated with fall florals, scented pine cones fill containers throughout the house and I've already got most of my Thanksgiving dinner prepped and in the freezer.  Everyone who knows me knows just how much I love Christmas and tease me about playing Christmas music and counting the days until Dave (my sweet hubby of 45+ years) will let me put up our tree. But just because my Christmas spirit can be a little over the top, make no mistake ...

I love Thanksgiving!!

This has been a particularly difficult year.  I've struggled with some serious health issues, surgeries and mounting medical bills.  But I'm on the road to recovery with doctors and therapists telling me I'm progressing faster and better than expected and we've not missed a payment on any of our financial obligations.  We even bought a new car!  So when a friend asked if I had something to be thankful for I was happy to tell her I did, indeed.  However, as I began to mull over how blessed I was in spite of the many difficulties of this past year, I thought of so many who may be feeling that they have nothing to be thankful for.  Those facing loss, illness, or broken relationships sometimes cannot seem to muster up the thankfulness that seems to be expected of us during this season.  I have found myself feeling that way too. So I try to come up with just one thing.  Just one. Have I ever had an answer to prayer?  Oh boy ... that sets off a chain reaction and now my list is endless.

• I'm thankful that God is faithful ... even when I'm not.
• I'm thankful for the heritage of faith passed down from generations that gets me through the hard times.
• I'm thankful for friends and family who love and support me through good times and bad.
• I'm thankful for lasting friendships that span the miles and the decades of life.

That's just to start. Then I add the many times I've needed someone to talk to and a friend called out of the blue, the times the figures in our checkbook were in single digits but all the bills were paid and the pantry was full, and the list goes on. 

What's on your list today?  Start with just one thing and watch it grow!