Sometimes even when we're sure we are failing we should still press on; we may be on the verge of our greatest moments.

It’s hard to believe, but as I write this we’re just an hour away from December 23rd. Christmas Eve Eve, as it’s always been called in this family. When we were kids this was where the excitement hit fever pitch, but for adults this is where many of us most feel the stress. Still lots of shopping and baking left to do, some decorating left to finish, some cleaning to get done, and a whole lot of wrapping waiting for us in some hidden, guarded chamber. It’s right about now that it becomes perfectly obvious whether or not we still have the magic of Christmas in our hearts, or have slipped toward some Grinchiness.

I realize we’re all different, and the things that spark Christmas joy in one of us may well be the most glaring example of crass commercialism to another, but I still feel led to offer a few of the greatest Christmas moments that have lit up our lives in the past 40 or 50 years, just in case they light a candle in your world too. [Read more...]