I’ve always loved the holidays. Christmas, especially, thrills me.
Besides the obvious reason—the celebration of our Savior’s birth—I adore the beautiful Christmas carols and pretty Christmas lights, the heavenly scent of cookies baking in the oven, and all the wonderful old movies, however many times I’ve watched them.
There’s something in the air, too, we don’t sense at other times.
It’s that nameless something that causes hearts to stir and wills to bend. It is, I believe, what we know as Christmas spirit.
No other time of year do I sense this more than I do at Christmas.
Folks are kinder. More welcoming. More likely to extend a hand up than a casual, dismissive nod.
This week as I observed strangers coming and going at various markets, malls, and convenience stores, the notion that we somehow get it right during this season makes me hopeful for better things to come.
Perhaps, this will be the Christmas that naysayers and humbugs make a new memory—something hopeful and God-ordained they can draw from in future years. Something that will encourage them to seek goodness and opportunity and not alternatives.
Today, as we approach Christmas 2016, I pray you’ll reach toward hope and grab it with both hands.
I pray you’ll hold it close on those sunless days that surely will come.
I pray, also, you’ll give thanks knowing those days won’t last forever because you’ve harnessed hope and you realize the power of that gift.
I pray you’ll make new memories with friends and loved ones.
And I pray if you see a wandering soul without the pleasure of a good memory, you’ll invite them into your sphere of influence where new and better memories are yet to unfold.
Last weekend, our family made a new and treasured memory as we attended College of the Ozarks’ Christmas Card to the Community event. It was a joyous time of worship and fellowship, and a tradition we hope to continue.
Enjoy these shots from Williams Memorial Chapel on the gorgeous campus of my alma mater ~
See you back next week!
College of the Ozarks’ Christmas Card to the Community at Williams Memorial Chapel, Point Lookout, MO
A full house at College of the Ozarks’ Christmas Card to the Community, Williams Memorial Chapel, Point Lookout, MO
It was a time of reverence and celebration as the Chapel Choir, orchestra, and congregation concluded with “Silent Night.”
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Original Image Credit: Pexels/Pixabay
What Christmas memories are you making this year?
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Much Love and Many Blessings,
