There are some songs this time of year that I cannot stand. The Christmas Shoes, Last Christmas, Santa Baby. BUT I really do love Christmas music. For your listening pleasure, here are my cross-genre, classic and remixed, favorite songs of the season. Some are distinctly Advent- related. Some are simply songs for the winter. But each song comes together for a fun and festive celebration of this Christmas season. In no particular order, here are some of my favorite songs this year!
I've Got My Love to Keep Me Warm STUHR Remix by Kay Starr
Oh Come All Ye Faithful by Johnny Cash
Let it Snow, Let it Snow, Let it Snow by Dean Martin
Christmas Tonight by Dave Barnes with Hilary Scott
I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day by The Civil Wars
You're a Mean One Mr. Grinch by CeeLo Green ft Straight No Chaser
Wonderful Christmastime by The Shins
Winter Song by Sara Bareilles and Ingrid Michaelson
Rockin Around the Christmas Tree by She & Him
All I Want For Christmas is You by Mariah Carey
Do You Hear What I Hear by Carrie Underwood
White Christmas by Michael Buble with Shania Twain
It Came Upon A Midnight Clear by Frank Sinatra
Sleigh Ride by Relient K
The Christmas Song by Nat King Cole
Christmas Eve/Sarajevo by Trans-Siberian Orchestra
The First Noel by Josh Groban with Faith Hill
I Saw Three Ships by Sufjan Stevens
Santa Claus is Coming to Town by the Jackson 5
God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen by the Glee Cast (don't hate.)
What are your favorite songs this season? Which ones drive you crazy? You can check out my complete Christmas playlist here
I gotta be honest, y'all. I am struggling to figure out how, financially, these next few years are going to work. More specifically, this next month. Because of rules limiting loans and a very limited number of scholarships available to first year students, I have not received a lot of financial aid (outside of the cooperative program, which halved my tuition. THANK YOU). I'm between jobs and did not have a lot saved before now. I am literally broke. Rice and beans, thermostat at 85, cut my own bangs broke. I understand that I am blessed beyond measure. I am immensely wealthy in comparison to the rest of the world. I have an iPhone, a Wii, a laptop, a KitchenAid stand mixer and a nice point and shoot camera (all of which were gifts, except the phone). I have a lot and I understand it. But those things can't pay my bills or buy groceries, and I am working hard to figure out how to do that before I am officially on a payroll and working (which should be really soon.) I have prayed over this and asked God for guidance and wisdom and opportunities to make money now... and I've gotten a little frustrated since this has yet to happened. Frustrated and anxious. Losing sleep. Today I was driving when one of my newest favorite songs came on- I Will Wait by Mumford and Sons. I turned up the volume and began to sing along. The song is pure worship, despite its popularity in the "secular" realm. And as I sang, God asked me- Do you mean it? And I came home Like a stone And I fell heavy into your arms These days of dust Which we've known Will blow away with this new sun
And I'll kneel down Wait for now And I'll kneel down Know my ground
And I will wait, I will wait for you And I will wait, I will wait for you
So break my step And relent You forgave and I won't forget Know what we've seen And him with less Now in some way Shake the excess
But I will wait, I will wait for you And I will wait, I will wait for you And I will wait, I will wait for you And I will wait, I will wait for you
So I'll be bold As well as strong And use my head alongside my heart So take my flesh And fix my eyes That tethered mind free from the lies
But I'll kneel down Wait for now I'll kneel down Know my ground
Raise my hands Paint my spirit gold And bow my head Keep my heart slow
Cause I will wait, I will wait for you And I will wait, I will wait for you And I will wait, I will wait for you And I will wait, I will wait for you And right there, in my car, singing along with a band that uses the F word in a song or two, I told God yes. I will wait for you. I will kneel down and acknowledge that you are in control. Shake my excess, God. God is bigger than a genre or a category in music. He is bigger than money or tuition or rent. He is bigger than job interviews. And I will wait for Him.
