Ring out the Christmas Bells (Just Not Till After Thanksgiving!)

I have a very strict "No Christmas Music Until After Thanksgiving" rule. Years ago I even wrote a letter to the Christian radio station in our town expressing my disappointment that they had started playing Christmas music on October 1! Although I have been called so, I don't think that my desire to hold off on the Christmas music makes me a Scrooge or a Grinch. I love Christmas music! I just think that having to wait for something makes it better! Some things are worth waiting until the right time for. And in my experience, a lot of people who start their Christmas music in October are the same ones who are complaining about how sick of it they are by the week before Christmas!

So I wait. But once Thanksgiving is past, I say "Bring it on!" When I was a kid, we always started our Christmas music listening with Linda McKechnie's "Deck the Halls" from A Hymnworks Christmas. It's a joyful, festive song that seems to capture the excitement of Christmas for me. I have over 14 hours of Christmas music on my iTunes playlist, and those are just my top rated songs! I love the classics like Bing Crosby and the Andrews Sisters singing "Juh-juh-juh Jingle Bells" and Nat King Cole's wish for "kids from one to ninety-two." Michael Crawford's version of "Mary Did You Know?" always gives me chills. And of course, you have to have a little Josh Groban. I can't get through his "I'll be Home for Christmas" without tearing up. Throw in a little Beach Boys ("Little Saint Nick") and Mariah Carey ("Santa Clause is Coming to Town") to liven up the playlist. And I love it when artists revisit old Christmas hymns. Casting Crowns version of "I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day" really brings out the truth of the song: "God is not dead, nor does he sleep."

So there are a few, and just a few of my favorites. As I said, I have 14 hours worth!

What's on your essential Christmas playlist?

Thanksgiving Challenge, Final Day!

Day #30: I'm thankful that I can't fully comprehend God.

When I chose the topic of God's attributes in response to my blogger friend's challenge to pick one topic for which to be thankful for throughout the month of December, I knew it was going to be difficult one. Although I've been a Christian for almost 30 years and even went to Bible college to study theology, my knowledge of God is so small! Sure enough, about nine days into the month, I was reduced to Googling "attributes of God" to come up with ideas of things to be thankful for! But as tempting as it might be to think I have God all figured out since I've come up with a whole thirty things about him, I have really only just scratched the surface. "Great is the Lord and most worthy of praise; his greatness no one can fathom" (Psalm 145:3). I'm reminded of the song, The Greatness of Our God, that we often sing in church.

And no words can say, or song convey all You are,
the greatness of our God
I'll spend my life to know
but I'm far from close to all You are,
the greatness of our God.

And no sky contains,
no doubt restrains all You are,
the Greatness of Our God
I'll spend my life to know 

and I'm far from close to all You are, 

the greatness of our God.

by Jason Ingram, Stuart Garrard, Ruben Morgan © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC

Sovereign Over Us by Aaron Keyes

We recently started singing this song in church, and each time we sing it, the lyrics speak powerfully to me. I remember a friend in college pointing out the difference between our God and the one the Muslim world worships. They, too, believe in a god who is sovereign, but their god doesn't love them. He is arbitrary in his decisions. Our God is "faithful forever, perfect in love." So we may not understand why he is bringing something into our lives, but we can trust that it is the best thing for us.