I just cannot chance Christmas going by without putting out another plug for buying a new home. 

If Joseph and Mary had been in Middle Tennessee instead of Bethlehem, they wouldn’t have had to look any further than Ole South for a brand new, warm place to stay.  And as first time buyers, with THDA financing through Ole South Financial, they wouldn’t have needed any cash to put down.  The Three Wise Men, which might have been women, could have brought housewarming gifts instead of the herbs and ointments that were on sale that night at the local Walgreens.

 Being a church organist for most of the past 30 years, I’ve had the pleasure of serving Congregations of a variety of denominations –  Presbyterian, Baptist, United Methodist, Episcopal, and Lutheran.   I never have played at a Church of Christ.  They don’t have organs, remember?  Although each have differences, they all have one thing in common… the Christmas hymns.

I used to dislike the release of  new hymnals.  The ministers just could not wait to pick hymns that no one knew – including me.   Some in the congregation would bitch about the new hymns, and then the selections would be back to the more familiar hymns, except for one glitch…in the new hymnals, some of the words had been changed!  As the hymnals get newer, the verbage used  becomes more “inclusive.”   In other words, more liberal.   The Christmas hymns have fortunately escaped these revisions, for the most part.

As a child, I always pictured God as an old man, similar to Santa Claus, with a Charlton Heston voice.  After all, it does say in Genesis that man was made in the image of God.    Now we have that “inclusion” thing that brings that image into question.  The modern translations say man AND woman are made in the image of God.  Does this mean the first woman looked like Santa?

Could God actually be a woman?   Yes, God could be a woman.  Women get great pleasure in saying “I told you so” when you don’t believe them and they are proven right.    But we have to be realistic here.  God is more likely a man.   A woman God simply wouldn’t keep putting up with everything that goes on down here on earth!    So lets not split hairs.  What about God being a Spirit that can only be seen and felt through others?   That works. 

This past year has been difficult for Beth and I, along with many of our friends.  We have lost dear friends, family, and loved ones.  Others have been diagnosed with not-so-good news.   But at the same time, it has been a good year.   New friendships have been created, old friendships have grown stronger, and we are much more thankful for the simple things in life that we had been taking for granted.  

To fully appreciate being happy, you have to experience being sad.  To fully appreciate comfort, you have to experience pain.  To fully appreciate life, you have to experience death.  Sometimes, we simply have to sacrifice for everything to work out in the grand scheme of things.   God proved that, with Jesus. 

In the early 80’s, The Presbyterian Church released a new hymnal that included a simple hymn that has become one of my favorites for Christmas Eve.   Here are the words to this beautiful hymn:

Born in the night, Mary’s Child, a long way from Your home:
Coming in need, Mary’s Child, Born in a borrowed room.

Clear shining light, Mary’s Child, Your face lights up our way:
Light of the world, Mary’s Child, Dawn on our darkened day.

Truth of our life, Mary’s Child, you tell us God is good:
Prove it is true, Mary’s Child, Go to your cross of wood.

Hope of the world, Mary’s Child, You’re coming soon to reign:
King of the earth, Mary’s Child, Walk in our streets again.
 

May this year be your best Christmas ever!

Trey Lewis is a licensed Real Estate Broker in the State of Tennessee with Ole South Realty, 615.896.0019  direct 615.593.6340.  Specializing in new home sales in the Greater Nashville area to include Nashville, Murfreesboro, Smyrna, and Spring Hill, Tennessee