Merry Christmas!

It's hard to believe, but Christmas day is almost here. I love this time of year! It gives me a good excuse to buy all my friends and family special gifts, listen to Christmas music, bake cookies and all kinds of Holiday goodies, and (best of all) to wear jingle bells! The song is right when it says that Christmas is the most wonderful time of the year!

It is also the time of year to remember the night of Christ's birth. Jesus, born of the virgin Mary, came down to earth so that He could die and rise again to save us from our sins. I love talk to the kids I babysit about it--it's so sweet to hear them talk about "baby Jesus." I wish all of us could believe in Jesus as easily as small children do.

Something my family has done for as long as I can remember in order to remind us what Christmas is reallyabout is bake a sweet breakfast treat, stick a candle in it, and sing happy birthday to Jesus. We also read the Christmas story on the evening of Christmas Eve. It's probably one of my favorite passages in the Bible, right up there with Psalm 23 and Christ's resurrection.

This particular Christmas Eve, I find myself thinking about a lot of presences that are missing from our lives. Do Papa, Grandma Faye, and Uncle Michael hear me when I wish them a Merry Christmas? I like to think that they can. They even get to celebrate Christmas with Jesus in person. Imagine that! I wonder if they sing Christmas carols in Heaven?

On that note, I'll leave you with the lyrics of my favorite Christmas carol. It's "O Holy Night," and my favorite renditions of it are done by Celtic Woman and Josh Groban. Just so you know.

O holy night, the stars are brightly shining. It is the night of our dear Savior's birth!
Long lay the world in sin and error pining, 'til He appeared and the soul felt it's worth.
A thrill of hope, the weary world rejoices for yonder breaks a new and glorious morn!
Fall on your knees. O hear the angel voices! O night divine! O night when Christ was born!
O night divine!

Merry Christmas, everyone!