Favorite Christmas Songs

My youngest daughter has a favorite saying—music is life. She sings, and plays the guitar, drums, and piano. She’s also a songwriter. God has blessed her with many talents.

My husband and I love music too. There’s no other time of the year we enjoy singing together as much as we do during the Christmas season. One of my favorites is Steven Curtis Chapman’s “Christmas Kiss.” But it’s only my favorite when my husband sings it to me.

Songs I enjoy that declare the reason for this season include, “O Holy Night,” “Joy to the World,” although I prefer the contemporary version made popular by Chris Tomlin, and a song I recently discovered—Michael W. Smith’s “All is Well.” Whether Carrie Underwood and Michael sing together or Jordan Smith sings alone, the song is amazing and becoming one of my favorites. These songs depict the glory of our Savior’s birth—that holy night when joy entered the world through a baby and brought the message that all is well if we make Him our Lord.

Other Christmas favs include the classics with a swing band feel. I listened to these songs growing up. My dad loved big band music and passed his enjoyment along to me. Songs like “Winter Wonderland,” “Let it Snow,” “It’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas,” and “It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year” bring fond memories to my heart. I’m a little partial to “Tennessee Christmas” by Amy Grant too, because my two older children and three grandchildren live in Tennessee.

What are your favorite Christmas songs?

Special Gifts

A year ago, I joined a ladies Bible study group at my church. We read the book, Lead Me, Holy Spirit, by Stormie Omartian.

She shared a story in her book that I’ve been reminded of often. On a snowy morning outside her window, there were thirty to forty redbirds perched in a tree. She compared the scene to a Christmas tree decorated with red ornaments. She tried to discover what God was revealing to her through the beauty of the moment but couldn’t quite grasp the meaning. When a pastor friend stopped by, she asked him what he thought God was showing her. The pastor said, “It was a gift to show His love for you.”

How often does the Lord give us gifts to show His love for us? Happens more than we realize. I’d like to share one He gave me.

A lover of worship music, I was looking for songs to download and came across a worship CD from my alma mater, Lee University in Cleveland, Tennessee. I purchased the entire album and listened often. There was one song that became my favorite—“Hope Is Rising.” For some reason, I wanted to know who sang this song. I checked the website for LeeU Worship but couldn’t find anything about the featured singers.

Eight months later my husband and I took a trip to Ohio where I grew up. We visited our home church while there and met the worship pastor. He was also the singer of “Hope Is Rising.”

There was no reason for me to know who sang this song, but God knew it was important to me. God gave me a name and allowed me to meet the singer.

God’s gifts are everywhere. How has He recently shown His love for you?