Every year, I wait for the Christmas song that I hear as if for the first time.  It was officially past Christmas day when I heard this year’s. 

At church I picked up the hymnal and randomly opened to It Came Upon a Midnight Clear.  Reading the full text of the song, I realized I’d never heard all four verses:

It came upon the midnight clear,
That glorious song of old,
From angels bending near the earth,
To touch their harps of gold:
“Peace on the earth, goodwill to men
From heavens all gracious King!”
The world in solemn stillness lay
To hear the angels sing.

Still through the cloven skies they come,
With peaceful wings unfurled;
And still their heavenly music floats
O’er all the weary world:
Above its sad and lowly plains
They bend on hovering wing,
And ever o’er its Babel sounds
The blessed angels sing.

O ye beneath life’s crushing load,
Whose forms are bending low,
Who toil along the climbing way
With painful steps and slow;
Look now, for glad and golden hours
Come swiftly on the wing;
Oh rest beside the weary road
And hear the angels sing.

For lo! the days are hastening on,
By prophets seen of old,
When with the ever-circling years
Shall come the time foretold,
When the new heaven and earth shall own
The Prince of Peace, their King,
And the whole world send back the song
Which now the angels sing.

The song spoke to me on many levels, and the one most profoundly was the last verse’s vision of the days to come when a new earth and heaven will proclaim the song the angels sing to us this day. 

A little web research revealed that It Came Upon a Midnight Clear was written by Edmund Hamilton Sears in 1849. The carol started life as a poem written by its author who was a minister living in Massachusetts at the time. The music for It Came Upon A Midnight Clear was composed by American musician Richard Storrs Willis in 1859 who was inspired by the words of the poem.
 

Ladies!

Get ready, get set and go for a great 2009 with the Joy of Goals workshop!  I attended two years ago and got so much out of it.  You can, too!

Joy of Goals is a system designed to help you Celebrate, Dream, Design, Connect and Visualize your goals. The system is presented in a workshop format and is available to individuals, small business owners and large corporations to help their employees set and achieve their goals. 

Hi, Friends!

I took the last few days off from blogging to devote time to my family and our Christmas celebration.  I have so much to be thankful for.  We had a wonderful Christmas day with our little family in the morning and then my extended family in the afternoon and evening.  Today and tomorrow will include time with Steve’s family.

I was delighted to hear Christmas tunes continuing on the radio!  In years past, the songs have stopped on the 26th.  Prepare Your Heart for a Great Christmas doesn’t stop on the 25th, either.  There are wonderful reflections to continue throughout the holidays and some great visioning and planning suggestions to get you started on a great 2009.

Stay tuned as I add to my Hidden Christmas Tracks list and continue to podcast.  To listen to today’s or past podcasts, scroll down the left side of the website to find a green box, click “play” and there you are!  Click “posts” to see a list of past podcasts.

Thanks and Happy Christmas-ing!

Prepare Your Heart for a Great Christmas helps remind us to be grateful everyday for the beauty around us.  Children know how to do this instinctively!
Last Friday night we took a break from holiday preparations and cuddled on the couch with our youngest daughter.  With her head on my lap and her feet on her dad’s, she was the picture of contentment. 
As she gazed at our Christmas tree, she sighed, “Sometimes, I just want to hug the tree.  It is so beautiful!” 
The warmth and love I felt in that moment has carried me for several days now.  I am so grateful for daughters and the delightful Christmas Moments we’ve shared this season.

May your days be merry and bright, and may all your Christmases be…light! 

Kari Joys of Journey to Light-Heartedness has Seven Tips for Managing Holiday Stress:

Holidays can be very stressful! There are so many things to get done, so much pressure and so many expectations. Often we forget to take care of ourselves in the process and that’s when the stress becomes overwhelming.
Here are some tips to keep you emotionally balanced during the holidays:
1. Breathe deeply throughout the day. Breathing helps you stay in the moment and release any stress that’s accumulated.
2. Stay in touch with what you are feeling and cry when you need to cry. Remember that no one is to blame for your feelings; crying just helps you release anything that is painful.
3. Use positive self-talk to counteract anxiety and stress, for example, you could say, “This doesn’t have to be perfect — it’s the love that matters!”
4. Ask a friend to share a listening half hour with you. One of you listens while the other talks for 15 minutes each; and the listener says only “Thank-you for sharing.” By doing this, you will both feel more loved and supported. (Remember not to give unasked-for advice.)
5. Take time to go for a walk in nature. While you’re walking, say positive affirmations to yourself or focus on what you are thankful for in your life.
6. Make a list of what needs to be done and cross things off your list when they’re completed. Congratulate yourself for everything that gets done, even if it doesn’t go the way you planned!
7. Keep your sense of humor. When things don’t work out perfectly, look at the funny side of it all! Ask yourself, in ten years when you look back, what will you be laughing about?

In Prepare Your Heart for a Great Christmas we read:

What are the miracles you’ve experienced in your life?  How did they change you?  Is your heart open for a miracle this season?

My husband and I are reviewing the miracles in our life together lately, and just last night committed to ramping up our gratitude practice by sharing our individual lists every evening.  We’re facing a lot of unknowns this season, and by expressing gratitude for the blessings we have received we’ll be more open to the miracles that are undoubtedly on the way.  You see, we’ve experienced miracles before, so we trust that they’ll continue our way.  We don’t know how it will all work out, but we know it will.  That, for now, is enough.

While the standards are playing on the radio, here’s a great Christmas song you won’t hear all the time.

The Root’s Stephen A.  Crockett, Jr. has compiled “an irreverent guide to some Christmas classics.” 

NPR has selected their list of Hidden Christmas Tracks for 2008 at Holiday Music from All Songs Considered.

Maria’s Hidden Christmas Tracks:

As we finished trimming the tree this weekend, it reminded me of last year’s delightful surprise when my then-7-year-old daughter took it upon herself to decorate our tree.  (Praying Big, December 2007)

Today’s scripture reminds us:

Truly I tell you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God as a little child will never enter it.  Mark 10:15

It’s almost a cliche to say the Christmas season is for children.  I’d like to say this season is for the child in all of us–the sense of wonder and delight at the richness of life, and the ability to live in the present moment without distraction or preoccupation.  The children around us are a great reminder to live life this way.  If you encounter a child today, do your best not to brush past them on to the next “important task.”  Praise God for their blessed reminder to draw closer to God’s kingdom by living life with the delight of a child.

USA Today offers a wonderful guide to gift selection–gifts of good health, and gifts from the heart.  There are gift suggestions for aging relatives, for those trying to lose weight and get fit, and others.  It’ll inspire you to give a thoughtful gift and skip the easy route of the gift card!

Still searching for the right format for daily prayer?  Try this wonderful process designed by Jesuit priests in Ireland.  You can pray at your computer, and be connected to the daily readings Christians around the world are praying.