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Little Drummer Boy

for KING & COUNTRY 'Little Drummer Boy' video goes viral

I know this song is an annual hit for me. On this Christmas Eve, I want you to know how important this song is to me. Every year for Christmas I listen to this song over and over and this version of it just takes it to a whole new level.

The song Little Drummer Boy is pretty simple and there’s not a lot to it to be honest. It started out as a song that was a little boy playing a drum and singing his simple song because that’s all he had to offer. Over time this song has been filled with a lot of extra fun stuff but the gist remains. It’s about a simple song with a crude instrument that some find annoying.

The joke in my family whenever someone has a child is that we’re going to buy that child a drum set just because you can’t turn a drum volume down and getting started it’s just a lot of pounding that makes very little sense.

But the song Little Drummer Boy reminds me a lot of who we are at Christmas time. We decorate our homes and turn on the extra lights. We make a mess while we make cookies and wrap our presents. But all of that, no matter how great you are at baking or wrapping or any of it. All of it is nothing if we don’t just play our drum.

Playing our drum means that we use the gifts God has given us to the best of our ability. We lead. We sing. We dance. We preach. We work on cars. We play sports. We paint. We love on people. Whatever it is use it. Play the drum. It may not sound like much but it’s your song. It’s the song He wants to hear from you!

So turn up the volume. Crank up the bass. And listen as these guys play with everything they have the song God gave them to play.

Breath of Heaven

Amy Grant - Breath of Heaven: The Christmas Collection - Amazon.com Music

There are some songs that just push you over the edge. Songs without which you would have a hard time seeing the season of Christmas in its fullest. This song is probably one of my favorite songs for Christmas. But not just any version of this song. Every year on Christmas Eve at the church I serve we are gifted with this song by one of our members.

Now, you have to understand most churches can’t get Amy Grant to sing for them every Christmas. And we are one of those churches that can’t have this pop Christian singer songwriter with us in person. But what we do have is far better in my book. Susan has been with Living Word for longer than I have been here. She’s been gifted with the ability to sing like no one I’ve met. She’s one of those talented people that drive you nuts because she doesn’t need to practice and still sounds better than most people who practice all the time! I only wish I had her recorded singing this so you could enjoy it as much as I do! But if you join us for our Christmas Eve services, you will get to hear her sing. And if you’re lucky she’ll sing this song.

The song Breath of Heaven is sung from the perspective of Mary as she travels to give birth to the baby Jesus. She is in awe of her chosen status. She’s terrified to be a mom. She’s fearful of being the earthly mother to the Son of God. She needs the breath of God to breathe into and for her so that she can have peace on the very first Christmas.

I pray this very Breath of Heaven falls upon you and fills you as you prepare to celebrate the birth of Jesus. May you offer to God all that you are as He fills you with all that He is.

Let It Be Christmas

Alan Jackson - Let It Be Christmas - Amazon.com Music

Every day this week I’m going to highlight a Christmas song that is either a favorite of mine or one that’s been suggested. Today’s song is really outside of my genre of choice, but it was suggested so here you go. Let it be Christmas! Who wouldn’t want the magic of Christmas to last all year!

I mean really if you think about it something happens in most people at Christmas time. They get happier. People are more kind. We show our love more intentionally. We’re generous. We’re more together. Who wouldn’t want that?

Now before some of my Jesus following friends go too far with the whole magic of Christmas idea. No I’m not saying the magic of reindeer and jolly old Saint Nick. I’m not talking about some weird form of sacrilegious magical incantations. I’m talking about the magical way that Christmas makes us feel! So let it be Christmas!

Let is be Christmas in your home and all around the world. Let the magic of Christmas transform your sadness to joy, loneliness to the company of all the family and friends. Let it be Christmas wherever you are!

Forever Amen

Forever Amen (Glory To God) by Michael Neale | Loop Community

Have you ever experienced one of those moments that you didn’t want to end? We call those forever moments. They happen once in a lifetime, or if you’re lucky you’ll get a few of these. They start off simple and yet something about those moments make you never want to let go. What’s your most recent forever moment?

This year as we make our final push toward Christmas, we know that things in our lives have been different to say the least. Even Christmas this year is sure to be something different than in every year past. But what would it take for this Christmas to be one of your forever moments? What would it take for you to see past the disturbing events of this year, beyond the disruption to your Christmas normal to find something truly worth holding onto this year?

Today’s MusicMonday is a new song to me but the message is important enough that we need to hear it today. Forever Amen. Christmas was God’s forever amen moment. It was the moment when everything he had promised throughout the Bible came to fulfillment. Christmas was never just about Christmas. The point of Christmas wasn’t just about a baby’s birth. It was so much bigger! It was the start of a forever moment that would be God’s gift to you and me.

Prepare With Prayer

As we make our way toward Christmas, we spend lots of time getting things ready. From the lights to the tree to the Christmas meal and all the trimmings of the season there is a lot to do to prepare for Christmas. And that doesn’t have anything to do with the presents that need purchased and boxed and wrapped!

In the same way we have to prepare for Christmas externally with all of the to-do list items needing done, we also need to make sure we’re in the right place spiritually and emotionally for Christmas. This kind of preparation might seem unimportant but honestly getting our heart and mind ready for Christmas is the most important thing we can do.

Whether we’re planning a large family gathering like we have in years past or a smaller more intimate setting in light of the current situation, there will be things that need done to prepare our heart and mind for Christmas. Last week we looked at getting ready by pondering the message of Christmas. Reading the Christmas story or doing your Christmas devotion is a great way to do this.

But moving beyond just reading and thinking about it, this week we focus on praying for the things God promises. The more we know the story, the more we’ll know what it’s all about and why we celebrate to begin with. As we move through this week of Christmas preparation, we spend time in prayer.

What do you need to ask God for? What do you need from him? Take time this season to pray and then watch what God will do in your life.

O Come, All Ye Faithful

As I stand at my desk in my office and look out the window at the snow falling on this last day of November in 2020, I decided it’s time to start the journey toward Christmas. We’re in a time of year in the church known as Advent. It pretty much means waiting, preparing, anticipating what’s coming. And how fitting is that this year!

This year has been a doozie to say the least. We all need a little to look forward to don’t we? So we’re going to go full out in our push toward Christmas this year. It’s the season of life and light and joy and hope and peace and love. These things are needed more this year than ever before.

On this first Music Monday of the 2020 Advent season, we highlight an old familiar song. There’s something about groups that remake old songs and liven them up a little. I enjoy sitting in my office with my cup of coffee and just being taken to younger days when we’d sing this song in church on Christmas.

What are some of your favorite Christmas memories?

As we move toward Christmas, I want to be totally honest and tell you the only way Christmas can make a difference in our lives is if we realize it’s real meaning. It’s not about the packages and presents and decorations. Christmas is about the birth of Jesus. The packages will be unwrapped. The presents will eventually grow useless. But Jesus, born for you will never grow old and will never be out of style.

So have a happy Advent season. Keep your eyes on the real meaning of Christmas. And find joy in the everyday moments this season!

Starting Now

I don’t know about you but it seems the more I know the more I realize I really don’t know all that much after all! I learn one thing and it has a tendency to undo something else I learned at another point in my life. Especially in today’s world when I learn about the things going on in our world and then the message changes, it’s just a swirling mess of noise anymore. So where do we start? How do we know what’s real and what’s not?

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Let me explain something…

In a world with so many options which one is the right one? Which door do you pick? This week we have had yet another round of recommendations and requirements given by the government on how to handle the virus situation. In our lives we cling to opinions we respect like they’re life preservers. But which of these opinions are the right ones? Where do we turn? Everything seems so unknown!

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My Weapon

It seems like everything in life is a tad darker, everyone is a little crankier, and judgement is all around us. I walk into a store without a mask on and people glare like I’m the devil. Add to that the constant change in information flooding our media feeds and it’s hard to know who to trust and what information is truth and what information is a lie. How do we fight this barrage of darkness all around us?

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