Do You Hear What I Hear? ~14 Days Away

 Do You Hear What I Hear?

14 Days Away

"Do You Hear What I Hear" and a countdown. One might be more than a little perplexed by how this is beginning. My holiday season has started the way it always does: hustle and bustle. I hear the line "It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas" and my mind immediately clicks into overdrive with "Deck the halls with boughs of holly," and the chaos of this crazy season is anything but jolly. 

This year is going to be different. We are going to make every effort to gather our attention and garner our peace in an attempt to truly enjoy the Christmas season. Over the next two weeks--14 days--we are going to silence the craziness of our world in order to appreciate this holy season. 

My plan is for us to explore the season through meditation and music, and while I enjoy a wide variety of tunes, we will focus most on the traditional carols of the season. So, my challenge for you before we begin is for you to make a list of your favorite Christmas carols. Don't just think about it, actually make a list of your favorites. I have made a list, and we will see how much our lists overlap. I am also interested in which ones I might have overlooked. 

While this isn't a tradition like elf on a shelf or opening a door to a gift on an Advent calendar, may this new tradition be rewarding to each of us. While this isn't going to cost us financially, we will need to spend something that is very important to us, and yet something each of us probably squander all too easily--our time. 

Each day I will provide a meditation and a link to a version of one of the Christmas songs that made it on my list. I would hope that this time would be savored in front of a cozy fire, a Christmas tree, or at least, a candle. We need to provide ourselves time to truly reflect on the glory of the season rather than the chaos.

Speaking of chaos, let's start with a little chaos and fun so we can get it out of our system. I have two songs for us today as we get started: 

Christmas in Nebraska by Mulberry Lane 

My Grown-up Christmas List (Kelly Clarkson version)

Let's take a moment and reflect on our goals for this Christmas season. May we make the main goal to be the time we set aside for love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Let us set aside time with our Creator. God the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit would appreciate the gift of our time and attention this Christmas season. 

Our first actual song to reflect on is part of our title: "Do You Hear What I Hear?"

What strikes me about this song is how it is centered on questions and unbelief. Is what we are seeing, hearing, witnessing really happening?

The answer: Yes, it really happened. Do we believe? Do we really believe? Let us act like it this holy season. 

Almighty God, this Christmas season we want to know You better. The book of James declares that if we lack wisdom, we should ask You because You give readily without finding fault. We want to know You. Help us each to set aside the craziness for calm. Let us enjoy music and Your Word. Let us truly get to know You and also give You the gift of our time, our attention, and our gratitude as an inadequate exchange compared to the gift of our Savior, Jesus Christ. In Jesus' precious name. Amen.