Merry Christmas Eve!

More special to me than perhaps any other day of celebration during the holiday season is Christmas Eve. I love getting to celebrate it with my family, of course, but it's our chance to remember the reason for the season by attending Christmas Eve service at the church I grew up in. I really did - Sunday school, vacation bible school, choirs from the age of about nine, my wedding to The Big Guy thirty years ago, and the baptisms of all three of my children. Sitting in the special place, surrounded by my family, I fall into the message of the season. My very favorite part of the service is always the singing of "Silent Night." It is first sung by a gentleman who sings it in the original Germany and then the entire family sings it as we light candles. A calm washes over me. Last year I missed it because I didn't feel well. You can be sure I'll be there tonight!