"It's Christmas time in the city."

Once again, it is that time of year when the fresh snow falls to cover the drab earthen brown, bringing with it a sparkling beauty that ushers in this magical season! There is a special joy that surrounds this season as people show more kindness than any other time of the year - they greet each other with smiles, hold doors open for strangers, and are oft times more chatty than ever.

And with all of that comes music that is both uplifting and comforting, like coming home to a warm world of hope and love! Music that speaks to the heart of hope and new beginnings, happiness and cheer, and reminds us of the most wonderful time of the year.

So, I coerced the family into going out once more to spread a bit of Christmas cheer at the Hotel Conneaut where they are once again presenting their annual Festival of Lights. We spent the evening amidst the Christmas tree display singing, reminiscing and laughing together as families strolled through. We even had one little girl stop and join the band. You know me, I couldn't resist the opportunity to talk to her and invite her to play along on a couple of songs! She added the jingle bells to, "Jingle Bells". Try as I may, she simply would not sing into the mic for us. Oh well, maybe next time : )
Adam joined us on bass. He is an incredible musician and always a blessing to have in my ensembles. As this cold snap has moved into our area, I'm reminded of what a great service Adam provides for people. Heat during this time of year becomes critical and he is doing very well as he learns the ropes in the programming side of the HVAC field. In fact, he is doing so well that his company wants to send him to Minneapolis for some specialized advanced training on some do-hicky thing-a-ma-bob! [you would have to get the other name of it from him - it's kind of Greek to me] Only problem is, as he advances in the field of programming HVAC systems he forgets how to feed our old-fashioned firebox with wood! He is quick to point out that there are more modern systems available for us... go figure! : )

Jackie came home on Thursday after finishing her last final exam for the semester. She has once again done very well as she prepares to enter the nursing field and will, no doubt be a fantastic nurse as she enters the field. But last night, she was our lead voice - and ohhhh what a golden voice she has! If you have never heard an angel sing, you could have heard one last night!Joining us for the evening was my other "son", Terry and his wife Joy (guess that makes her my daughter in law, ho-ho-ho!) At least, that is what they became last night.

Terry is the worship leader in our church, the Linesville First Baptist Church, and is a remarkable keys player and singer. More than that though is his tremendous good nature and joyful spirit. Add to that Joy's contagious smile and optimism and you have a couple that spread good cheer throughout the year! [Hey, didn't know I was a poet did ya?!]

Although we are pictured around Santa, we embrace this season as the celebration of the entrance of the long awaited Messiah into our bleak world. He has transformed the face of the world by deeply impacting one heart at a time. How do we know that? Well, we are witnesses to the fact that He is still at work because He dwells within our hearts, daily shaping and forming us into vessels that can be used to carry His love into our homes and communities!

May God bless you with the incredible love of this season through His Glorious Son!

Merry Christmas all!