Considering the name of my blog, it wouldn’t seem right to allow Christmas to pass without a word from me. After all, Jesus IS the ultimate gift. In the wee hours of Christmas morning, I’m feeling too exhausted to write, yet too wound up to remain silent.
From One Extreme to the Other
What a difference a year makes. This time last year, I was in bed recovering from my initial cervical spine surgery. It was the quietest Christmas that I ever recall. I watched enough Christmas movies to exceed my life’s quota all in one month! This year I felt like I couldn’t have possibly packed another thing into December. Thankfully there were precious celebrations of the season with friends and family to break up that lengthy list of tasks that come with preparing for Christmas.
Singing and Ringing
Music played a big role in making this a December to remember. It was an honor to play a beautiful Christmas medley with the handbell choir early in the month. The following week, my church presented a Christmas cantata for the first time since 2019. What a joy it was to sing in that again after the lengthy layoff!
Words are Powerful
The Christmas Eve service last night felt like the grand finale. I recently admitted that I do not pay a whole lot of attention to the words I’m singing. Songs in my digital library are generally there because I like the tune. And just when I admitted that publicly, the words in the choir music suddenly started jumping off the page. They have moved me to the point that I get too choked up to sing at times. It happened again last night when the choir sang a beautiful anthem titled “Behold Our God.”
To cap it off, my pastor delivered a powerful message that everyone needs to hear, using a ladder as a prop. We strive to be closer to God, to reach the top of the ladder. But life happens, and no matter how hard we try, we can’t earn our way to the top. Good news—God knew that from the start and had the perfect solution. His name is Jesus. Love came down to us at Christmas. There is no greater gift!
“The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel” (which means “God with us”).
Matthew 1:23 NIV
Merry Christmas!
Christmas Cantata ’24
What a wonderful message to read Christmas morning .Thankyou my very talented daughter-in-law a true blessing in our lives.
Merry Christmas my dear, sweet, beautiful cousin! What a Beautiful message! Thanks for your gift of words through this Ultimate Gift series. I so enjoy EVERY One!
Merry Christmas, my dear friend!🎁🎄