Welcome to the 1st Tuesday of December! It's time for the Nostalgia Notes! The time of the month where we revisit/rework a Tuesday's Musical Note that came out as an email to friends and family, but has never breathed the blogosphere. I hope you are enjoying the redo...or is it redeux? Anyway, welcome to Tuesday...Here's the Notes!!
All over the country we have seen record setting snowfall. In fact, some professional football teams with outside venues have had to relocate due to the amount of snowfall on their home field. (Let's leave the global warming/climate change debate for another time shall we?) This time of the year is met with a plethora of differing emotions. I confess, seeing the first snow of the year is always a source of excitement around our house. As I have gotten "wiser" (code word for older), my excitement level at seeing snow floating to the ground has not changed, however the motivations for that excitement certainly have. Now, as the snowy season approaches, I get excited to see the beauty and the way snow makes everything look clean and new. When I was in school however, my motivations for snow excitement centered around one thing. Perhaps yours did as well? Many mornings I would wait in uneasy anticipation for some of the best words in radio....."The following schools are closed due to the weather....." Certainly you have experienced the emotional extremes of exhilaration or disappointment while you awaited your school day fate. In Arkansas, we handle snow and ice significantly different than our friends in the West or Northeast. There seems to be a sense of panic to get food in the house, and make sure that you have enough candles in case you lose power. It seems everyone gets ready at the mere mention of the possibility of falling temperatures and moisture. Schools seem to be the last ones to panic. The administrators who make the "call" on a snow day have a daunting task. Cancel and go longer in the summer or modify the school day to be able to make the best of it while maintaining the safety of all involved. We applaud these brave souls who have to make these decisions and respect and admire the job they do.
As we noted there are a variety of options for school administrators who have to make the call on wintery weather days. Sometimes schools let out early because the weather moves in faster than forecast.
I'll never forget trying to get from Bald Knob (school) to Denmark (home) one snowy afternoon. We made it through lunch so school would count for the day and then got the news we would be letting out early. Mom was the Food Service Director for the school district and so my brother, Wade, and I headed to the cafeteria to ride home with her. What a trip!! Highway 167 between Bald Knob and Denmark is some of the prettiest country you would ever want to drive...unless there is frozen precipitation on the road. It then becomes a Winter Olympic event...the 12 mile car slide. On this particular day Mom was doing a great job but it was somewhat treacherous, as snow was beginning to accumulate and 167 was becoming more inclined for sleds that for a 1976 Olds '98 Regency.
Even in this tank of a car, the going was slow. Just about the time we came out of the curve going into Glaze hill, Paul Simon's "Slip, Slidin' Away" came on the radio. To make matters worse, Wade and I thought that was the best song ever for a snow day and began to sing along...at the top of our lungs! Mom, who was usually very encouraging when we sang, didn't appreciate our vocal talents for some reason that day. Even after she turned the radio off, we continued singing because while the snow was causing a longer than normal trip home, it always helped to usher in "The Most Wonderful Time Of The Year"
Written and recorded in 1963, "The Most Wonderful Time Of The Year" is unlike many of the songs that celebrate the Christmas season in that it became popular by the person who first recorded it, Andy Williams. Williams never charted with what has become his trademark seasonal hit as Columbia records didn't release it as a single when the album was produced. With any seasonal record, the label usually opts to release only 1 single as opposed to 3-5 with any non seasonal recording. Columbia opted for the cover of Irving Berlin's "White Christmas" to be released as the single for The Andy Williams Christmas Album. But eventually, "The Most Wonderful Time Of The Year" caught on and became a Christmas time favorite. Garth Brooks was the first to have chart success with the song, but Harry Connick Jr. took it the highest on the charts. Connick would see his cover go to #9 on Billboards Hot Adult Contemporary Chart, the highest of any of the myriad of recordings thus far. For many of us, it has become the signature song for advertising the city of Branson, Missouri during Christmastime. It is a song that details the relationships that the Christmas season seems to reinforce. Friendships, relatives, and children all have a place in this musical painting of the celebrations that occur to commemorate Christ's birth. With a "Moon River" intro, here is Andy Williams......
"The Most Wonderful Time Of The Year" - Andy Williams from the 1963's The Andy Williams Christmas Album
As we come into the time of the year where Christians celebrate the miracle birth of our Savior, it is easy to get distracted by Black Friday, Cyber Monday, the economy, who's going to run for President, and what seems to be a commercial trapping of our time and resources. In fact, I was reading about the television coverage of last year's Christmas in the most recent American Family Association Journal. The article was detailing how advertising at many media and print outlets had decided to skip the reason for Christmas. It bemoaned the political correctness of news articles and how some school districts were even turning the season into a meaningless time of treats for school children. But what I found the most startling was television news coverage of Christmas. The article detailed the number of "mentions" of the Christian tradition as the reason for Christmas. Less than 2% of the "Christmas" stories had anything to do with the birth of Jesus. In fact, only 312 words were used to talk about Jesus as opposed to 320 words being used to detail the debate regarding whether table tennis would be included as an Olympic Sport. (American Family Association Journal, December 2011, Volume 35 #11) However in the 1st chapter of the Gospel of John we find 277 words that can change our perspective about Christmas:
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
The same was in the beginning with God.
All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made.
In him was life; and the life was the light of men.
And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not.
There was a man sent from God, whose name was John.
The same came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light, that all men through him might believe.
He was not that Light, but was sent to bear witness of that Light.
That was the true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world.
He was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not.
He came unto his own, and his own received him not.
But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name:
"And The World Knew Him Not." The reality of this is sad. Not only for the time in which it was written but for our time as well. For you see...our world knows Him not...too. As
we go through the beginnings of the Christmas season, let's use this
passage as our challenge. This time of the world's history is our
responsibility to evangelize. As Keith Green so aptly put it, "This
generation of believers is responsible for this generation of souls".
We are Christ's ambassadors to the world at this time. There should be
an urgency to our message.
Let's represent, so others can know why it's "The Most Wonderful Time Of
The Year!"
One
of the most amazing groups I have ever witnessed in concert is the
Vocal only band Pentatonix. They have 2 Christmas albums available: 2012's PTXmas and this year's That's Christmas To Me. Here is a sampling of their newest release and a cover of our featured song...enjoy!
'Til Tuesday,
Serving HIM by serving you,
Randy
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