Blue Christmas

Good morning Trinity Tribe,

Our family has spent a lot of time listening to Christmas music on the radio in the last month. It has been a lot of fun. However, one of our jokes is that there are just some artists that have no business making a Christmas album, at least in our humble opinion. Prince and Bon Jovi really have no business in the Christmas genre.

One of my favorite musical groups in college were the Indigo Girls, folksy melodic due out of the Atlanta area. They have great lyrics and a smokey vocal quality that I just love. It turns out that one of the Indigo Girls has a father who is a professor at a United Methodist Seminary (Candler Theological at Emory University). I offer this video to you as one artist's take on turning the struggles we face at Christmas with loss into something beautiful.

http://youtu.be/qGLA3QNEyVA

This can be a very difficult time for people. Christmas is all about family and cuteness and presents. What if people you love have died? That hole in your heart gets bigger this time of year. What if you are fighting with your family or friends or spouse? Having to put on a happy face could be a huge punishment and area of stress. Just imagine what the loss of a child feels like at Christmas…that might be almost too much pain to bear.

I invite us all to take a moment from our shopping and wrapping and decorating to spend time in prayer for people who are hurting this Christmas. Do you know anyone who is hurting? This might be the perfect opportunity to reach out to them and let them know that you care and that you are willing to listen to their pain. You could be that one friend that they don't have to hide what they feel around you. What a blessing that would be.

Added bonus:

One of my new favorite TV shows is Glee. It is an odd-ball show chronicling the lives of the high school glee club in Lima, OH. This YouTube video doesn't do justice to the song, but there weren't a lot of other options.

http://youtu.be/YilUKDhBxjE --