A Touch of Christmas for Easter

Easter is fast approaching—the time to celebrate our risen Lord and our hope of heaven in him. My heart cries out, “Joy to the World!”, and my voice soon follows. That’s right. A little Christmas for Easter fits right in.

After all, “the Lord is come”, “the Savior reigns”,  and “He rules the world with truth and grace”! Why shouldn’t we sing and pray “Let earth receive her King”, “every heart prepare Him room”, and “heav’n and nature sing”? If our hearts want to carol when we remember his resurrection, let’s add a touch of Christmas to our Easter worship. “O come let us adore Him” in every way!

Just think about it. We wouldn’t be celebrating Easter if Christmas hadn’t come first. On the other hand, the birth of Christ would be nothing to celebrate if he had not become our Savior, if he had not paid for our sins with his very life and gained victory over death by his resurrection. The fact is when we worship our Lord, we celebrate both holidays.

So as you celebrate our risen Lord over the next few days, I encourage you to add a little Christmas to your Easter worship. “Repeat the sounding joy”!

“Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.” Luke 2:14 KJV

*Who can you share the Christmas/Easter message with this year?

*The next issue of Life Notes, my quarterly inspirational newsletter with a giveaway in every regularly scheduled issue, will come out in early May. Sign-up is FREE! *Temporary problem with Life Notes sign-up. To sign up, just contact me.

*For info about my book Mother of the Bride and also my Wedding Inspiration cards, check out my Books/My Work page.

*“Joy to the World!” lyrics by Isaac Watts

*Flickr photo by jurvetson, Creative Commons License

Undone by the Gift of Our Savior

4161935408_9b02a46dd9_zLast year at this time, my husband Don was enduring a season of pain like he’d never known before. On November 15, 2014, he fell roof-high from a ladder and fractured his spine in eight places. He was laid up at home for almost two months before he could attempt a return to a modified work schedule. He needed pain medication on a regular basis for a while. It was rough.

One day during December while I had a favorite Christmas cd playing and “Joy to the World” was wafting through the air, I went in to check on Don and he was crying. He was completely undone by the gift of our Savior.

He said, “He could have come down from the cross. He could have come down. But he stayed. He suffered. For me.” Because of the pain Don had been enduring, the fact that Jesus came to earth to die a painful death to pay for our sins took on a whole new level of meaning for him. Our “Joy to the World” came at a great cost. A cost Jesus was willing to pay.

As we listen to and sing the carols of Christmas this year, let’s listen and sing as if it’s the first time we’ve heard or sung them. Let’s be touched afresh by them. Let’s come undone by the gift of our Savior.

Why not start with “Joy to the World”? I’ll print the words below. Let’s glory in its message together today!

“Joy to the world , the Lord is come!
Let earth receive her King;
Let every heart prepare Him room,
And heaven and nature sing,
And heaven and nature sing,
And heaven, and heaven, and nature sing.

Joy to the world, the Savior reigns!
Let men their songs employ;
While fields and floods, rocks, hills and plains
Repeat the sounding joy,
Repeat the sounding joy,
Repeat, repeat, the sounding joy.

No more let sins and sorrows grow,
Nor thorns infest the ground;
He comes to make His blessings flow
Far as the curse is found,
Far as the curse is found,
Far as, far as, the curse is found.

He rules the world with truth and grace,
And makes the nations prove
The glories of His righteousness,
And wonders of His love,
And wonders of His love,
And wonders, wonders, of His love.”
*lyrics by Isaac Watts

*Has a carol of Christmas ever taken on special meaning for you?

*Flickr photo by jeffweese, Creative Commons License