holiday spirit

OK. I'll admit it. I'm listening to my Christmas music RIGHT NOW!!!! I get in the Christmas spirit in about October. It's been different this year, what with it being 9,000 degrees, but my trip up north changed all that! One day it was in the 20's! Yay! It TOTALLY got me in the spirit. I'm going to start decorating this week, mainly because it will take me awhile to go through all of our Christmas decorations and assess any damage from the move. Also, many of my Rubbermaid bins containing decorations were damaged in the move, so I'll have to replace those. AND, we're going to be in SC for Thanksgiving this year, and Thanksgiving weekend is when I usually decorate. And I go ALL OUT! I usually have anywhere between 3 and 7 trees! I bought a new one last year for Brian's Star Wars ornaments, so this year I'll have even more! And all of this will take even longer since it's our first Christmas in this house, so I'll have to find places for everything. I'm SO EXCITED!

My Christmas cards, all NINETY of them, are finished and just need to be put in envelopes, addressed, and stamped. I'm heading to the PO in a few minutes to get holiday stamps. I've also been doing lots of Christmas shopping! I had planned to shop some today, but the day has gotten away from me, so I believe I'll go tomorrow after my haircut at 11:30. My hair hasn't been cut since like AUGUST, which is unheard of for me, so I'm way past due.

Every year when I get out my Christmas CD's, I have a little personal celebration. Christmas music has special meaning to me. Some of my Christmas CD's remind me of certain times in my life, and when I listen to them, I'm taken back to those times. Others are just so beautiful, they bring me to tears--like Michael W. Smith's "Christmas"--the first time I play it each year I am moved by how exquisite the music is.

I want to finish with the words to a favorite Christmas song. These words capture what I'm feeling right now, and what my prayer is at Christmastime and all year through.


"Welcome to Our World"
written by Chris Rice

Tears are falling, hearts are breaking,
How we need to hear from God.
You’ve been promised, we’ve been waiting,
Welcome, Holy Child--
Welcome, Holy Child.

Hope that You don’t mind our manger,
How I wish we would have known--
But, long-awaited Holy Stranger,
Make Yourself at home,
Please, make Yourself at home.

Bring Your peace into our violence,
Bid our hungry souls be filled,
World now breaking Heaven’s silence,
Welcome to our world--
Welcome to our world.

Fragile fingers sent to heal us,
Tender brow prepared for thorn,
Tiny heart whose blood will save us--
Unto us is born,
Unto us is born.

So wrap our injured flesh around You,
Breathe our air and walk our sod.
Rob our sin and make us holy,
Perfect Son of God--
Perfect Son of God,
Welcome to our world.