Music has always played an important role in my life. I truly cannot remember a time when there was not music playing. My parents loved to listen to records when I was a little kid, and I can remember sitting and listening to them. My dad played the guitar, and we would all sit and listen to him. Music was everywhere. As I got older, my brother and I would listen to music all the time. We would listen to it throughout the day, and it always seemed to be playing as we would go to sleep at night. As an adult, I would listen to music and eventually met and married a wonderful piano player, insuring that music would always be a part of my life.

I think music is one of the most powerful mediums there is. Music can make us happy. It can make us sad. It can bring back long forgotten memories. Music is the ideal time traveler. It can truly transport us in time. When we listen to music, we often feel a sense of peace that sometimes eludes us during our everyday lives. Everyone of us has a soundtrack that accompanies our life. Each of our soundtracks is different, yet each makes us feel the same way.

I think that one of the most thought provoking genres of music is Christmas music. Christmas music is a common thread that holds all of us together. It is almost impossible not to feel a sense of warmth and happiness when we listen to Christmas music. When we listen to Christmas music, we are inundated with the emotions that God wants us to feel as we live our lives on this earth. When we listen to Christmas music, we feel hope, peace, and thankfulness. Christmas music inspires us to have goodwill toward our fellow man. It encourages us to be generous to others, and above all it instructs us to love. The way I see it, it doesn't get any better than that.

So, as my Christmas present to you, I want to share three Christmas songs that have always meant a lot to me. I think when you listen to them, you will see why. There are so many more Christmas songs that I could have shared with you, but these three seem to fit the message of the blog perfectly. I hope you enjoy them.

The first song is “Where are You Christmas.” This song was written for the motion picture, How the Grinch Stole Christmas. It is performed by Faith Hill. This song talks about not having the Christmas spirit, but then finding it when we realize that Christmas is in our hearts. As the song ends we all realize that love is the best way to have the Christmas feeling all year long. My favorite line of the song is, “If there is love, in your heart and your mind, you will feel like Christmas all the time.” This song truly evokes the true meaning of Christmas.

The second song is “Little Drummer Boy/Peace on Earth.” This song is performed by Bing Crosby and David Bowie and was part of Bing Crosby’s holiday special entitled Bing Crosby’s Merrie Olde Christmas, which aired on November 30,1977 shortly after Bing passed away in October of the same year. This song talks about having peace on earth and weaves in the story of the little boy who had nothing to give the baby Jesus except his gift of song. My favorite line from the song is, “Every child must be made aware. Every child must be made to care, care enough for his fellow man to give all the love that he can.” This song truly inspires us to find peace on earth and to instill that belief in the generations that will follow us.

The third song is “The Christmas Guest.” This is a spoken song, but it is very powerful. It is performed by Reba McEntire. This song is about an old man who has received a message from God that He will be visiting him at his home on Christmas Day. The old man is so happy to be able to entertain God on Christmas, but encounters other guests that detain him from waiting on God to arrive. At the end of the song we learn that the old man has indeed been entertaining God, but in a much different way than he anticipated. My favorite line from this song is, “Of all the gifts, love in the best, and I was honored to be your Christmas Guest.” This song truly inspires us to be generous to others and to show compassion and love to everyone. It encourages us to always do what we can for a fellowman and reminds us that when we do for them, we are doing for God Himself.

I truly hope you enjoyed this post as much as I enjoyed getting it together for all of you. It has caused me to listen to these songs over and over, and each time I did I was filled with so much joy and that wonderful Christmas spirit, and I hope that it does the same for you.

I have so many wonderful memories of Christmas, and they stay in my heart all year long and I know that they will never fade away. As I was preparing this blog post, I was reminded of a Christmas when I was an early teenager. After we would open presents at home, we would all go to my grandma and grandpa’s house to have breakfast and open presents there. My grandma loved Christmas, and she worked so hard preparing for it. There was a time in my life when my family did not have much money, and my parents struggled to provide the necessities of life for us, but it was even harder at Christmas. They wanted to give us the best Christmas possible, but finances stood in their way. My grandma would always give my parents extra money at Christmas to make sure that my brothers and I had the best Christmas possible. You all have gotten to know my grandma through this blog, so I am sure her generosity does not come as a surprise to you. That is just the type of person she was.

However, that is not the Christmas memory that I am going to tell you about. As I said before, this memory took place when I was an early teenager. Before we opened our presents at my grandparents house, my grandma said that she wanted each of us to tell something that we were thankful for. She started and then we went around the room. I am embarrassed to say that this used to make me very uncomfortable. It was not that I didn't have anything to be thankful for, but saying it out loud made me uncomfortable. However, my grandma was asking me to do it, so I did. Looking back on it now, I realize that my grandma understood how important it was to be thankful for our many blessings. She did this until she drew her last breath, and she encouraged others to do the same. Now I try to encourage others to express their gratitude through this blog.

It amazes me how the circle of life works. It was as if my grandma knew all those years ago that I needed to get in the habit of being thankful so that I could write the things I do for this blog which will hopefully encourage others to be thankful for all they have. Leave it to my grandma to be preparing me for my life without me even knowing. So I am so thankful that she did have us go around that room and tell what we are thankful for, because now it makes it easier for me to have a thankful attitude. She knew that an attitude of gratitude would sustain me during the difficult times, and that is a gift that is worth so much.

I wish all of you a very Merry Christmas. I truly pray that this Christmas will be one of the best you have had and that it will be filled with memories that will last a lifetime. I hope that you will all remember the true meaning of Christmas and that you will go out of your way to help your fellowman. I hope that you will hold the Christmas spirit in your heart all year long and that you will show compassion, acceptance, and most of all love to everyone you encounter in your daily walk. When we give the gift of love, it always comes back to us. When we show love to everyone, the world will truly be a better place full of more peace than we can even imagine and PEACE MATTERS!

~Dan~