25 Days of CHRISTMAS Awesome!

Day 1

My niece, Tawnya wrote a blog series called "30 Days of Awesome" where she shared something interesting that she experienced for 30 days.  She is an adventuresome young woman and is doing what she loves.  She is one of the editors of Snowboard magazine and gets to live out her life writing about it, experiencing it throughout the world and she looks for fun all the time!!  She decided to write about her 25 days of Christmas Awesome and I am stealing her idea.  So here goes!


I, like Tawnya love Christmas!  I like the lights, the food, the decorations, the presents (just NOT shopping for them~it stresses me out to HAVE to find the right gift), times with family, our church Christmas program, the Mission Inn at Christmas, pictures of snow and the music!  Especially the LIGHTS!!  

My first Awesome find is this little book called Christmas Classics, The Story Behind 40 Favorite Carols.  We all know the carol, Joy to the World but did you know that it was written in 1719 by Isaac Watts who is known as the father of English hymnody.  He was the first prolific hymn writer.  He wrote over 750 hymns.  Watts was punished for speaking in verse as a child.  He loved to write songs of "Christian Experience" and this is what Joy to the World was to him.  It tells of the experience that Christians everywhere eagerly anticipate.  This song is about the second coming of Christ NOT his birth like most of us think it is.  


The world should be a joyful place at Christmas, but it isn't always so.  When Jesus comes back, though, as Isaac Watts points out, the joy of the whole world will be unrestrained.  Even the rocks will sing!  Something for all of us to think about this Christmas when we sing this beautiful song!  Now isn't that Awesome??


  
Thanks to Tawnya for a great idea!  24 more days to go!!