Frederick Buechner’s words leave me wonderstruck today. Maybe they will do the same for you:
At Christmas time it is hard even for the unbeliever not to believe in something, if not in everything.
Peace on earth, good will to men; a dream of innocence that is good to hold onto even if it is only a dream; the mystery of being a child; the possibility of hope—not even canned carols piped out over the shopping center parking plaza from Thanksgiving on can drown it out entirely.
For a moment or two, the darkness of disenchantment, cynicism, doubt, draw back at least a little, and all the usual worldly witcheries lose something of their power to charm. Maybe we cannot manage to believe the Christmas story with all our hearts.
But as long as the moment lasts, we can at least believe that it is of all things the one most worth believing. And that may not be as far as it sounds from what belief is.
For as long as the moment lasts, that hallowed, gracious time.
-Frederick Buechner, The Faces of Jesus
Friend, will you join us in preparing our hearts this Advent season? It’s not too late. I have a free gift just for you:
Download your copy of the Unwrapping Advent 4-Week Devotional for FREE by subscribing, here.
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This week, I’m giving away THREE downloads of Paul Baloche‘s new Christmas Worship album. Featuring new songs of celebration along with unique arrangements of much-loved traditional Christmas carols seamlessly blended with modern worship choruses, the album is packed with accessible Christmas songs that help create a worship environment familiar to congregants and first time visitors alike.
Check out Hark the Herald Angels Sing/King of Heaven from Christmas Worship by Paul Baloche:
(RSS Subscribers, click here to view.)
To win ONE of THREE downloads of Christmas Worship, enter a comment on this original post at MargaretFeinberg.com. Winners will be selected and announced on Friday.
Congratulations to the winners: Laura Hufford, Tony Graham, Jo Evans
What is your favorite Christmas song?
Beautiful post. So true
Silent night. Sighed as I typed the title…heavenly peace!
Beautiful words
Awesome, thanks for the opportunity! God bless! 🙂
I”ve always wanted to put that feeling into words. It’s done so beautifully here. Thank you for sharing it.
I believe…….
Christmas is the time that reawakens our belief…
Always love finding new renditions of the Christmas favorites. Thank you for introducing Paul to me.
Can’t choose between O come all ye faithful and joy to the world.
I love, love love them all. But my favorite is “Come Thou Long Expected Jesus.” The words and the way the melody moves along is so fabulous.
I love Paul Baloche! Would love to have some new Christmas music!
I love this and it’s so true… even the strongest unbelievers seem to waver during the Christmas season. Our church holds 5 Christmas Eve services every year for exactly this reason… people who normally don’t come to church are most likely to attend on Christmas Eve.
Silent Night is definitely my favourite Christmas carol. I tear up every time I hear it.
I am loving your Christmas devotional! It is so well done and has left me with some wonderstruck moments.
Blessings to you.
xoxo
Great Christmas worship songs. Thanks.
Love the sentence that said “it is of all things the one most worth believing”! That God would become a man to redeem us never ceases to amaze me – really that is the thing most worth believing.
Of all stories, the birth of God in such a humble place to common people for love of the whole world truly is the one most worth believing. Thanks for sharing this thought from Buechner. A current favorite song is “You’re Here” by Francesca Battistelli.
Thanks for the opportunity to win. My favorite Christmas song right now is Sarah Macintosh’s There is a star.
Peace on earth good will to men! The only hope for the world to receive this at Christmas is through Christ!
I love “I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day” version by Casting Crowns. The story of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, after losing his wife in a terrible house fire in 1861 and his son severely wounded in the Civil War and becoming depressed for a number of years with little mention of Christmas, but then writing the inspiring poem at Christmas 1864 that is the basis of this song. He also grew his long beard after this terrible event to cover the burns on his face as he had tried to save his wife unsuccessfully. The poem “Christmas Bells” and the subsequent musical version speaks to those of us who are struggling with pain, darkness, fear during the season. Even in the midst of the daily evils we see in our world, we know that “God is not dead, nor doth He sleep, the wrong shall fail, the right prevail” through our experience of the sacrifice of Christ, the Holy Spirit and Wonderful Comforter even in our most dark days. God Bless you, Margaret for your inspiration and gifts!! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iefLrutIZDk
I Celebrate the Day by Relient K is my favorite. If you’ve never heard it, head over to YouTube. Amazing songwriting!
Picking my absolute favorite Christmas song is nearly impossible, but ONE of my MANY favorites is “Hallelujah (Light has Come)” by Barlowgirl. Here’s the link…Take a listen! 😉 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8B4AvIbRnGA
My all-time favorite is Joy to the World!
Mary Did You Know … I love the part where it says “you kiss the face of God.”
So many wonderful new Christmas songs out there – but my favorite is still “Oh, Holy Night.”
Loved Paul’s the Hark the “Herald Angels / King of Heaven” track. If not a winner I will most likely be a buyer.
Oh Holy Night, especially when Martina McBride sings it!
O Come All Ye Faithful has been my favorite since I was little. More recently I’ve come to Love “Mary Did You Know”, as another favorite. Another newer favorite is “One King”.
Happy Birthday, Jesus.
Well.. I have two!! It’s hard to pick just one. The First Noel. ( only because my oldest child has said this is her favorite since she was three) and Oh Holy Night ( because my 4 yr. old says… This is my favorite Christmas song). And I love hearing my kids sing along to their favorite Christmas songs!!! Ohhh be still my heart…… Listening to my kids sing such powerful Christmas songs. :0)
Joy to the World, “…no more let sins and sorrows grow, nor thorns infest the ground.” Praying for YOU!!!
Thanks for the give away! I love Paul Baloche!
It Came Upon a Midnight Clear is one of my favorites. I remember as a child having a glorious vision in my head of “angels bending near the earth to touch their harps of gold”.
Joy to the World….I have been thinking about this Word a lot as I have walked a lot of sorrowful times this year.
I love “O Come, O Come, Emmanuel.”
My favorite is a toss up between “God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen” and “O Holy Night”. Both songs remind me that no matter how hard the year has been, Christmas represents the truth that God took care of what was most important through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus.