Pastor Craig - December

 Confession, I have been listening to Christmas music since the Hallmark Christmas Radio was activated on Sirius on November 1st. There is something about it that draws a person into the Spirit and memories of Christmas past.

 I was around 6 years old when Mom got gas, went into pay, and came out with a Christmas Album. It had a blue cover with a big red bow printed on the cover. I came to know that it was put out by Firestone. Perhaps some of you have one in your collection. I thought it was funny to get a record at the gas station. We went home, and I realized that it was filled with Christmas songs some of which I had never heard as many of them were not “church” hymns.

 This time of year, I think about the impact that singers like, Nat King Cole, Andy Williams, Gene Autry, Tony Bennet, Perry Como, and yes Bing Crosby singing White Christmas have made on my feelings of Christmas. They are the sound track that makes up the Christmas season. Can you image Christmas without Burl Ives singing Rudolf the Red Nosed Reindeer or Eartha Kitt belting out Santa Baby?

 Christmas music whether it is “religious” or “secular” inspire us and give us that warm toasty feeling that I believe that the birth of Christ represents at this time of year. Even Manheim Steamroller and Trans-Siberian Orchestra evoke the joy as the heavens opened to hear the angels sing with hearts filled with joy about the new birth.

 During the Mid-week Advent services, the messages of the evening are focusing on what you need to have happen in this Christmas season to make your “joy” complete. Who knows what it is that makes Christmas for you? I am guessing that some will say things like Christmas trees, lights, special food preparation, a drive in the car with Hot Chocolate to see the Christmas lights of Winterhaven, or even just to place the angel on the top of the tree. I hope that whatever it is that you are able to do it.

 This Christmas will be a difficult one for Suzanne and me. Suzanne’s mom Alma died on November 13th. Like many of you, that first Christmas without your Mom or Dad is a hard one. Her 97th birthday would have been December 18th. I want to thank all of you that have kept us in your prayers during this time.

 Like the singers mentioned before, their legacy and their singing of these timeless songs remind us all that the love and meaning of Christmas can never ever go away. It is everlasting! Because, yes, we celebrate God’s amazing love for us in sending us his Son.

 Joy to the Word!!!

 Pastor Craig