A couple of weeks ago was rough on my physically…headaches and a general yucky feeling for about a week. This is partly due from stress headaches but in the last year or so, more from my cycle. Sundays I usually start feeling better, although I had yet another headache and tight muscles in my back. My husband had been massaging my back for a week and that can be brutal. Last Sunday morning, our church played a lot of contemporary music and the headaches came back. I can be okay with contemporary music, and I try to be open minded, but when the beat takes over the melody, my spirit feels awful. Our church does a lot of contemporary music throughout the year, so this year we decided to look for something very traditional, to sort of counterbalance all the contemporary stuff we hear year round. After a lot of searching on the internet, I found one church who offered what we were looking for, and boy did that bring back memories.

This large, old church is filled with memories…some sweet, some sad. This is the place where my high school graduation took place and where my husband and I first met. There was also a huge church split; I was thankful to see signs of healing in the church from this! This is a large downtown church and it’s been years since I’ve been here. In fact, we parked right across from the Victorian Blue House that was used by the singles back then. That is the building dh and I first met, at a singles prayer and praise night…that had only guitars! I love stringed instruments! Lol That conjured up tons of memories….

After finding a seat and the music began, my stressed soul was soothed with strains of peaceful Christmas music. It opened with a candlelight processional of the choir while the orchestra played "Still, Still, Still." I could feel the tension disappear. We specifically chose this church to attend because we were hungry for a traditional, classical Christmas program. We were not disappointed! There was congregational singing of traditional Christmas hymns. Being the night after our attendance at the Nutcracker Ballet, dd was enthralled by the angels…young teenage girls who did some ballet. There were some purple and blue spotlights that featured the angels during the song, "Gloria in Excelsis Deo!" which had a beat. This type of beat I liked and it was getting us excited that Jesus’ birth was announced! The children’s choir joined the teens and adults and it was simple yet extremely well done…beautiful. There was a gorgeous male solo for "O Holy Night." Then the choir drove us to our feet with the jubilant "Hallelujah!" Chorus from the Messiah. We left full of peace and reflective of the Reason for the Season.

This weekend we had a choice of two churches with living Bethlehems to tour. The one is done by a church that I used to attend and I also graduated from their Christian school. The children and I toured their Christmas City when dh was in Korea and that was too cool! We were given tax money, walked among the vendors of Bethlehem, went to Herod’s Palace, saw the shepherds tending their flocks and visited by a choir of angels, saw the young couple with a tiny baby….as we left our tour group was told the Gospel story. After the tour was over, the tour guide finally came out of his role to chit chat with me….he had been my high school teacher at the Christian school!

This year we decided to try a different Bethlehem tour. A friend of my daughter’s was in this one, called The Birthplace of a King: A Drive Thru Christmas Story. We had a long wait in a line of cars, but it was worth it. While waiting, some church members came to us and gave us a CD to listen to that explained the presentation and the story of the birth of the Christ. As we entered the gates, we were met by a Hebrew lady who wished us "Shalom" and gave us tax money, one coin for each passenger. These would be needed later. Throughout the parking lot, surrounded by oak trees at the foot of the beautiful hill country, were vignettes of the Christmas story. Each scene had a large sign with Bible verses from the story to explain the scene. We saw the Virgin Mary, contemplating the news she had just received from the angel. Luke 1:26-38 We drove by real animals and Roman soldiers riding around on their horses. If we dared to roll down our windows (it was a bitter 40 degrees) we heard strains of music. Light shows enhanced some of the stories of the vignettes. Fires were roaring, filling the air with those wonderful hill country smells of oak and mesquite. We drove by Herod’s Palace, where Herod was trying to get information from the scribes and pharisees. Matthew 2:1-6 While waiting in line for the next vignette, dh was excited about the nearby horses (rode by Roman soldiers) and opened his window to talk to the soldiers. One of the soldiers came to us and let dh pet the horse, while I sat horrified. Didn’t dh know the reputation of those Roman soldiers? When we drove to the next vignette, the children and I told him to be more careful next time, since one never knows what a soldier might do! ;) We saw the very, very pregnant Mary, patting her big belly and anticipating the birth of her baby. =) We drove by the shepherds in the field, tending sheep, when suddenly an angelic choir started praising God and telling the good news! Luke 2:8-14 We approached the city gates of Bethlehem, guarded by several Roman soldiers; my heart was petrified! Would they let us go through? Would something terrible happen to us? (Can you tell we studied the Roman Empire last spring and read tons of history and literature books about them?) They were collecting the tax money. Oh dear, did I drop any of them? Oh good, all were there! This reminded me of going through our gates on base, needing a military policeman to grant me entry. But that is usually a piece of cake compared to this! Whew! We got a friendly soldier who chatted with the children for a minute and yelled to the guard ahead…"This coach has paid the tax! Let this coach through! " Whew! We entered Bethlehem and there were many Hebrews…selling fabric, bread, and chickens! DS asked if they were living or dead chickens. They looked alive to me! Then we drove past the Wise Men, who had set up their tent and were pouring over their scrolls and looking at the star ahead. Matthew 2:1 Then we came to a humble manger scene, a young man and lady and a baby…there was a large star shining over top and an angel praising God. Luke 2:1-7 I’m sure I forgot a scene. This was speaking to our soul and seemed so real! Here is a link to a slide show. Scroll to the bottom of the page and view. There’s also music! www.trinitychurch.com/pages/bok.php

Christmas pageants such as these remind me of the Prince of Peace who wants to invade my soul. "For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on His shoulders. And He will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace." Isaiah 9:6 May your lives be filled with the Prince of Peace…