I have not seen children this excited about Christmas in all of my days. My kids are REALLY looking forward to tomorrow. Since my wife and I have had a tremendous flurry of extracurricular activities to deal with this month, we just got around to decorating the outside of our home yesterday (I may post pictures later if I get the energy). Our six-year old daughter kept asking us to decorate the front door with lights this year, and since I am wrapped around her little finger, her wish became my command. As we were working on the lights, I had to replace three fuses (old strings of lights) and two or three of our "net" lights for the bushes were simply not working at all.
Even though I was ambivalent about doing exterior decorating on the 23rd of December, I got much more interested when I saw my three children and their joyful reactions to the lights. We had to make a trip to Target to get some new lights, and we ended up getting several new items as well. Overall, it looks really nice now, thanks to a team effort.
My mom came down today and we will be going to our church's annual candlelight Christmas Eve service tonight in a couple of hours. I always look forward to this service, and singing "Silent Night" as they darken the room, then the light spreads throughout the room as they begin to light the candles. I pretty much always cry when I think of the significance of this song and what it means to us. I suppose Easter is an incredibly important time of observance for us as Christians, too, but there would be no Easter without Christmas.
For those of you familiar with the Bible (or even with "A Charlie Brown Christmas"), you may know these words already, from Luke 2:8-14:
And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger."
Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests."
Please take two minutes and 10 seconds to enjoy this video of the great Andy Williams singing "Silent Night" (the lyrics are below it):
Silent night, holy night All is calm, all is bright Round yon Virgin Mother and Child Holy Infant so tender and mild Sleep in heavenly peace Sleep in heavenly peace
Silent night, holy night! Shepherds quake at the sight Glories stream from heaven afar Heavenly hosts sing Alleluia! Christ, the Saviour is born Christ, the Saviour is born
Silent night, holy night Son of God, love's pure light Radiant beams from Thy holy face With the dawn of redeeming grace Jesus, Lord, at Thy birth Jesus, Lord, at Thy birth "
MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL OF MY FRIENDS HERE AT ACTIVE RAIN!
25 Comments on Christmas Time is Finally Here!
Love to hear how excited your kids are. I remember those days very well. Merry Christmas to you all.
Merry Christmas buddy. I hope that you and your family enjoy your service, and then the fun tomorrow. The Silent Night singing with just candles sounds like something to behold.
ADAM - Merry Christmas to you and your whole family! That moment singing "Silent Night" is actually very powerful and I look forward to it each year. As I mentioned, I always cry a little bit. Everyone is given a small candle when we get there, and we sing the song until all of them are lit. This is the final part of the service, and it brings the focus where it belongs.
Merry Christmas Jason, just resting my feet from being on them all day baking our traditional Latvian baked goodies and cleaning. The kids helped us wrap all the gifts. We usually open our gifts on Christmas eve but this year my sons are working tonight so we are doing it all tomorrow afternoon. Sunday we had a beautiful Christmas program. Have a very merry Christmas! Katerina
Just stopped by to wish you a Merry Christmas Jason. Thanks for submitting this Post to Fraiche Aire. It is Featured in the Special Holiday Edition. We appreciate your contributions this year.
Jason - being in Florida I have two little areas that I do - one has my reindeer and snowman and the other has a palm tree and Flamingos wearing Santa hats! A couple of years ago someone stole the Flamingos - BUT - our fine police department recovered them (I am not joking!) and so now they adorn my front yard still wearing the evidence tags that I got them back with!
Loved your story and thought I'd share mine. Oh and one word about the six year old... She will be 16 before you know it (like mine is) so please enjoy every second of this time with her. Don't get me wrong - i love my teenagers - they just create a lot of gray hair!
Jason, I remember how excited my kids used to be on Christmas. Even though it is hectic and a lot of work, enjoy it now while they are young. Stop by my blog and have a Christmas cookie. Christmas Cookies for All of My AR Friends Merry Christmas to you and your family!
Christmas is a fun time of the year....BUT Christmas should be the way everyone who says they are His should be acting every single day of thier lives....
Jason, I hadn't heard that in years, but my mom and dad use to play it. Thank you for the memories. Merry Christmas to you and your family. I wish my kids were still small, they are still sleeping. LOL
Merry Christmas - I am up early and ready for the fun to begin. No little kids here by ages but we still behave like children in many ways. Last night was our candlelight service as well . My youngest, home from Fort Myers Master's Commission sang "Oh Come Emmanuel", along with many other groups and soloists - what a blessing.
Jason, that's awesome! Thanks for the nice post, including the kids as well as our Savior! We, too, enjoyed a candlelight service last night. I was in the balcony running sound & it looked great! Merry Christmas from Idaho & God bless you and your family!
Jason-what a beautiful post. When my kids were growing up we had a birthday cake for Jesus every year! It was the reminder they all needed...we all needed! May the miracle of Christmas fill your heart with warmth and love. Happy Holidays to you and yours!
FAINA - I hope you and your family also had a great Christmas, and I wish you a wonderful 2008! Thanks!
KATERINA - We had a whirlwind of activity over the past couple of days, so I am just now catching up on comments. I hope you had a great Christmas this year - happy new year (a little early)!
LOLA - Thanks so much for including this post in your Holiday Edition for the group! Merry Christmas and I hope you have a wonderful 2008!
SIMON - The prospect of having a 16-year old girl in our home makes my hair turn gray just thinking about it. I have two beautiful daughters - do I need to buy a gun?
DANNY - Thanks so much for your Christmas and new year's wishes. Right back at ya!
ROBERTA - Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to you and your family! I think I ate too many Christmas cookies from your blog, and now I need a nap.
ALEX - You make a great point. Thanks for stopping by - God bless you!
GAIL - Thanks for your incredibly kind words. I wish the same for you and your family. I was frustrated reading about the broken video games that you described in your blog. Hopefully, both boys will get systems that work properly. Happy 2008!
DAN - This is an excellent point, and I intend to do that. Thanks! Happy 2008!
JEFF - You are absolutely right. Merry Christmas (a bit late) and Happy New Year, buddy.
HUGH - I trust that you had a wonderful Christmas, and may God bless you in 2008!
JAMES - Santa brought me a nice new camera that I am learning to use now. I hope to put up some photos soon. I hope you have a terrific 2008!
MISSY - Andy Williams is exceptionally talented, and still actively performing, according to what I saw recently. Glad you liked it. Jesus truly is the reason that we celebrate, too!
KATHLEEN - That sounds terrific. I love "O Come Emmanuel". I think the candlelight service is one of my favorite things at Christmas.
DON - The candlelight service is so special and holy, and it really brings the focus onto Jesus, where it belongs. Merry Christmas and have a great 2008! Thanks so much for your comments!
MIDORI - We have a somewhat recent tradition of sitting around on Christmas Eve before bed and sharing what we are giving to Jesus for his birthday. That is really the reason that we celebrate! Thanks for stopping by to comment on this one!
NICHOLAS - First of all, can I call you Saint Nicholas? Merry Christmas to you, too!
LISA - I was also not really looking forward to it, until the kids got excited. Things got delayed for us, but it turned out really well.
Jason: What would Christmas be without Andy? He is still going strong in his Moon River Theatre in Branson at 80 years old. I love candlelight services. Happy Birthday Jesus.
DONNA - Exactly! I read about him recently - I wasn't sure if he was still performing, but I'm happy to hear that he is. I think the candlelight service brings it all home for me at Christmas time. We have a recent Christmas tradition of sitting around as a family and sharing what we are giving Jesus for his birthday each year. This year, I decided to give him my worries and fears about finances.
Jason Crouch, Broker - Austin Texas Real Estate
Love to hear how excited your kids are. I remember those days very well. Merry Christmas to you all.