Day 18: The Songs of Christmas

Christmas music is one of my all the time favorite traditions. I love pulling out my Christmas music and just letting it fill the house all season long. My favorites include A City on A Hill: Christmas edition, The Nutcracker, Frank and Bing's Christmas (as in Sinatra and Crosby), The Promise by Michael Card, and The Ultimate Carol Collection from King's College Cambridge, England. Swedish Christmas is also very beautiful and I've come to greatly enjoy the favorite hymns of Advent and Christmas here as well. I am not a great singer, but I love to sing and when the song is in my range, and I know it well, I can make a fairly joyful noise that others around me don't mind hearing! My husband has a beautiful voice and I love, love, love to hear him sing. He doesn't think so however so he's a bit more reserved when it comes to just breaking out into song!
The songs of Christmas. We all have our favorites. Most truly love to crank it up during the holidays. Perhaps our songs of Christmas have been inspired by the original songs of Christmas, the ones that Mary and Zachariah and Simeon sang. Their songs were in response to the amazing, miraculous events surrounding the birth of Christ. Their songs were filled with praise to God for not only for what He was doing in the world, but also for the way in which God was choosing each of them to fulfill an aspect of His divine purpose in this world. Take a moment and read the songs of Christmas from the scriptures. Mary's Song, the Magnificat is located at Luke 1:46-55, Zachariah's at Luke 1:68-79, and Simeon's at Luke 2:29-32. As you read their responses to God's amazing work in the world in and in their lives, consider what your own song would look like. Why not take a moment and write out a few lines, thanking God for who He in your life and in our world and then praising Him for wanting to use you to accomplish His divine purpose. Are you ready to sing a song of availability? Mary and Zachariah and Simeon show us that while challenging, great blessing follows as well. Joy to theWorld!