Carol of The Bells by The Franz Family

Here's another beautiful version of "Carol of The Bells". This one from gifted/talented Franz Family!

Got to love the music of Christmas!

Enjoy!

rlk

Carol of the Bells // The Franz Family from ColdWater Media on Vimeo.

Are you missing the point of Christmas?

Hello!

It's clear that many really miss the point of Christmas.

From the craziness of Black Friday through the political correctness that people think should be observed - it's clear that people forget or want to forsake the true meaning of what we celebrate during December and on December 25th!

Recently I saw this brief video from Pastor Greg Laurie where he shares some thoughts on this very thing! Check it out below.

Let me ask you, are you missing the point of Christmas? Or, are you getting the point, the truth of Christmas? 


My prayer for you is that you celebrate and really savor the true meaning of Christmas this year and in the years to come!

Because He is The Reason for the Season,

rlk

December 1st: "I Heard The Bells On Christmas Day."

You may or may not have heard this before but here's an updated version of "I Heard The Bells On Christmas Day" by Casting Crowns....Thought it was a good one to kick the month of December off with! Some great food for thought in this song!

Thanksgiving :Day 30

I'm thankful for my Savior, my family and my friends. Thankful that my kids are walking the path they are on and that I've been blessed to be married to their mom for 18 years and have known her for 20. I'm thankful that they help make me a better man each day as I grow as a result of my relationship with them. I'm thankful for the lessons of the past - especially the ones I've learned from and for continued growth opportunities ahead in the future! I'm thankful for the life I've been given and pray that I'll always strive to live it to the fullest. Stay thankful my friends...never stopped giving thanks for what you have as many have much less than you and I do and consider themselves rich. Take time to pause daily and count your many blessings as you continue your journey in this life! 

What are you thankful for? Leave a comment here to encourage others!

Blessings,

rlk  

Thanksgiving: Day 29

 

 

So thankful for friends who have allowed us to borrow their car the last several months so I could get to work and get my son to his school shuttle!

What are you thankful for? Leave a comment here to encourage others!

Blessings,

Randy  

Thanksgiving: Day 28

Thankful for the courage & example of those who have made it through tremendous adversity & now are helping others rise above!

What are you thankful for? Leave a comment here to bless others.

Blessings,

rlk 

Thanksgiving: Day 27

Thankful that I don't have to worry about tomorrow because each day has enough trouble of it's own. #OneDayAtATime

What are you thankful for? Leave a comment here to encourage someone else.

Blessings,

rlk  

Thanksgiving: Day 26

I'm thankful for the gift of music! Especially music that soothes & uplifts my soul & that brings great enjoyment to me! 

What are you thankful for? Leave a comment here to encourage others.

Blessings,

rlk 

Thanksgiving: Day 25

I'm Thankful for my home church - a place that my entire family enjoys being a part of, is challenged, and is growing.

What are you thankful for? Share a comment here to encourage others with!

Blessings,

Randy

Celebrating Advent!

The last Sunday of November is officially the First Sunday of Advent which for many helps kick-off the Christmas Season of Celebration!

It's been my observation that other than some decorations, many churches don't incorporate Christmas, Christmas focused messages or Advent anymore into their Christmas Celebration services leading up to Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.

This is disappointing to say the least because Christmas and Easter (Resurrection Sunday) are two of the best times of year to share the love and light of our Savior Jesus through proclaiming all He did!

Unfortunately many churches today miss the opportunity to share meaningful Christ focused messages during these times either in their quest to be "relevant" (which anything more "traditional" is seemingly thrown out) or it doesn't seem to fit into “their plan” just to name a few "reasons". 

Either way it's a missed opportunity to share Christ through two amazing views: #1 through His birth and #2 through is death and resurrection!

The same may be said for how we "observe" communion today in many churches as we barely explain it - if at all - the elders don't serve it, and people partake of it without any context to the significance of it. (That’s a good topic for future blog post)

Let me share from my heart to yours that I believe Advent can help provide a meaningful context to how we celebrate Christmas!  Clearly, Advent observance isn't about some "meaningless ritual"  rather it's about the remembrance of His birth - His miraculous entry into the world as a lowly babe!

Do you know that Advent means "Coming" or "Arrival"? So, why wouldn't we focus on His coming/arrival during Christmas where we celebrate His Birthday?!

I share all of this because I wholeheartedly believe that Advent can be a fantastic way for us to: #1 remember the significance of Christmas and #2 help focus our hearts, worship, celebration on the birth of Christ - the reason we celebrate CHRISTmas in the first place!

With this in mind, if you happen to be someone who enjoys incorporating Advent into your Christmas Celebration or maybe you never have, I want to share the following link to the "Celebrating Advent Guide" I put together to share with you!  

Pick you your Free copy here: Celebrating Advent

This simple guide will help provide the basics to help you Celebrate Advent as a church, as an individual or if you have a family - celebrate it as a family!

If your church doesn't incorporate anything directly related to the message of CHRISTmas let me encourage you to consider incorporating Advent into your own home as you count down the days to CHRISTmas!

Even if you don't incorporate Advent into your Christmas Celebration this year - may this simple guide encourage you by pointing you all the more to Christ and help you prepare your heart to celebrate Him - His Coming (Advent) Birthday that we celebrate on December 25th!

No matter what, may you help fight to Keep Christ in your CHRISTmas celebration!

Have a wonderful Christmas! Feel free to share this post and guide with others!

Lastly, If you decide to use this guide, I would love to hear from you (leave a comment here or e-Mail me directly) and would love to know how it helped walk you through Advent - pointing you to Christ!

Because He is the reason for the season,

rlk

P.S. This guide is meant to be a simple tool/guide - a starting point - to guide you in your observance. As you'll see, there are suggested Scriptures and Prayers you can use or you can obviously do your own prayers. Again, this is just a tool to help guide you through your observance. 

You can use this word-for-word each year or again, create your own by adding scriptures from your own studies and of course your own prayers focused on the theme on each week of advent. No matter what, have fun, make it personal as you approach Him with a humble and thankful heart!

Thanksgiving: Day 24

I'm thankful to have the basics like food, clean water, shelter and more that we often take for granted!

So blessed!

What are you thankful for? Leave a comment here to encourage others!

Blessings,

rlk

Thanksgiving: Day 23

 

 

 

 

Thankful to have a job where my boss & the team I work for/with seems to value what I bring, what I contribute to the team & for the most part who I am. It's been a long time since I can wholeheartedly say this and I'm thankful. 

What are you thankful for? Leave a comment here to encourage others.

Blessings,

rlk