That's What Christmas is All About, Terri Moore

Last night, Christmas Eve, I had an incredible opportunity. The funny thing is I would never have had the opportunity if something bad had not happened. That seems to be a running theme for my life, good from bad. It all started many weeks ago back in November. A very dear friend of mine who is pastor of his own church asked if it would be possible for me and my daughters to come and sing "O Holy Night" at the Christmas Eve service. We accepted and plans were made. It is no secret to those that know me, and now, to any reader of this blog that I love music. I love to sing, and luckily have been able to do it professionally and for fun for most all of my life. Music and singing have been a part of me since joining the Cherub Choir at Westhampton Church when I was three. I love singing at anytime, but I especially love singing at Christmas. I love Christmas music, secular and religious alike. I often joke and say that the first album I release will be a Christmas album. "O Holy Night" happens to be one of my favorites, and I have really only sung it once as a solo for a Christmas Eve service. I was excited to have the chance to share this year, and having both my daughters singing with me was a bonus. Well, God had other plans. About the second week of December, I got a terrible cold, and by the end of that week, I lost my singing voice and most of my speaking voice, just in time, coincidentally, for our big Christmas Music Program at our Church. I didn't get to sing any of them. I was very disappointed, but I thought surely I'd have my voice back by Christmas Eve. When the week before Christmas rolled around, I knew there was no way I would have my voice back to be able to squeak out a note. What to do? My oldest and I discussed it. "O Holy Night" is really a solo. We decided that my youngest daughter would sing the solo, and we would sign. I called my pastor friend, and he loved the idea. I stood there last night and listened to this heavenly sound fill the sanctuary. That was my baby girl, truly the voice of an angel. Her sister and I backed her up with our gifts of being expressive and bringing a visual blessing to go along with the words that were being sung so beautifully. I would not have been touched so deeply last night if I had been able to sing, and the congregation would not have had the chance to experience the "holy moment" that they did.

As I drove home from the service I was in awe as I thought about the amazing way God has blessed me. Now, this is going to sound like bragging, and I don't want it to be that way. I am extremely honest. If my kids did not have talent, I would not say they did. I see no reason for that. Parents who tell their children that they are amazingly gifted at something when they are not do that child a disservice because one day someone will tell them they have no talent, and it will be a crushing blow. It amazes me that God has blessed me with not one but TWO daughters with more than average talent. My oldest has an incredible acting gift, and my youngest has a voice to rival any professional. THEY HAVE IT! It hasn't been taught, not to say they couldn't  hone their gifts with training, but what they were born with, blows my mind. So today, as I sit here waiting for them to come home from their father's, I had to write that this Christmas, for me, wasn't about bows and ribbons and gifts, it was about the humble realization that I have been given two amazing gifts in my daughters and that they are such a blessing to me, and they will bless everyone they come in contact with as they share the incredible gifts God has given them.

Strange Way to Save the World

Tradition # 7: CHRISTMAS EVE AT THE CARILLON
From the time I was very small, I can remember my grandparents taking us down to the carillon in Byrd Park right after Christmas Eve service. No matter what the weather, we would bundle up and sit in front of the beautiful historic tower and watch the story of the birth of the baby Jesus acted out. There was no fancy dialogue, no grandiose orchestra, no light show. The only voice heard was the narrator. The only script was the birth narrative from the book of Luke in the Bible. The only music was a volunteer choir singing Christmas carols accompanied by a piano . It was so simple, but so beautiful.
I imagine that's what the first Christmas was like. He didn't come with trumpets sounding his arrival. He wasn't born in a palace with 1000's of attendants. A stable, a manger, no comforts, surrounded by animals and lowly shepherds. It doesn't sound very glamorous, does it? But when I see that scene on a Christmas card or in a painting, it's always beautiful, and it moves me. The group 4Him sing a song called "Strange Way to Save the World". The words of the chorus fit beautifully with this post. 
                            Why me, I’m just a simple man of trade
                            Why Him with all the rulers in the world
                            Why here inside this stable filled with hay
                            Why her, she’s just an ordinary girl
                            Now I’m not one to second guess
                            What angels have to say
                            But this is such a strange way to save the
                            World
Merry Christmas!