My Christmas Music Soapbox

Hello.

Well suddenly I have so much more energy to write.  Maybe it's because I'm not trying to hold in a secret and I feel like I can actually write now without spoiling it.

I've been scouring the radio stations in my car for a station that plays all Christmas music during December, but the only one I can find plays 99% commercial Christmas music.  You know what I mean?  I love them, but I can only listen to Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree and Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer so many times, even if they are in three different renditions.  I just don't understand the need for three different renditions of the same five songs when there's a whole pack of Christmas songs they're leaving untouched.

Then they play these clips of people saying what Christmas is all about.  "Family, bringing people together, caring for those less fortunate, looking back on memories..."  I'm getting tired of my inner monologue of disagreement every time I their answers.

Yes, those are all wonderful things that we pay extra attention to at Christmastime.  It is good that we take the time to appreciate our families, that we take stock of our lives and all we have.  It is good to think outside of ourselves and care for those who don't have as much.  It is good to remember the lovely times and traditions we've had.

But come on!  Even Charlie Brown and Linus knew what Christmas was really about.  (If all goes well, clicking on that photo will take you to a video clip.)



And I've been totally guilty of getting more excited, or at least caught up thinking about family, buying the perfect gifts, putting up the tree, and all the great activities and feelings we experience during the Christmas season.  It is after all, the most wonderful time of year.

I wonder if God used my love of Christmas music to help me see what was missing.  So this year, my desire is to take the time to, not remember because I haven't forgotten, but to meditate on what the holiday truly celebrates.

I read a great post over HERE that has stayed with me.  Maybe because for the first time I'm truly starting to understand some of what must have gone through Mary's head.  My prayer is that this year as I feel our baby grow inside me and next year as I hold that baby in my arms, that God will reveal more and more about Mary, Christmas, and Himself to me.

(Side note: pregnancy hormones are ridiculous, I'm about to cry right now.)

At work, I had to specifically create a Pandora station called Christmas Hymns to find any of the Christmas Carols we grew up singing.  Angels We Have Heard On High and What Child is This for me, thank you!  (It's a great station by the way- if you still use Pandora, I would highly recommend it.)

I also read a post HERE that I found quite convicting.  I'm hoping that as Jered and I, in the next few years, have the ability to mold a young mind about the true meaning of Christmas, we can make this a reality in our lives.

It all comes back to that baby in the manger.  A baby so precious that shepherds and wise men sought him out to worship him.  A baby whose sole purpose was to become a sacrifice for you and me. 

Wishing you a merry few weeks before Christmas.

Aim