As we approach Christmas, what would a post here be without a bit of music 🎶 to inspire us and pay tribute to the influence my dad’s love and appreciation for music  played in the life of his children and family.

Greg Lake, of the progressive rock super group, Emerson, Lake and Palmer, had a 1975 hit with his song “I Believe in Father Christmas”, which he wrote not as a Christmas song, but rather in protest over the commercialization of Christmas.  

It’s a beautiful song that takes a bit of classical influence from a Soviet piece called “Troika" by Sergei Prokofiev written for a 1934 movie.  

https://youtu.be/yfY4b1NszpY?feature=shared

Lyrics:

“They said there'll be snow at Christmas

They said there'll be peace on earth

But instead it just kept on raining

A veil of tears for the virgin birth

I remember one Christmas morning

A winter's light and a distant choir

And the peal of a bell and that Christmas tree smell

And their eyes full of tinsel and fire

They sold me a dream of Christmas

They sold me a silent night

And they told me a fairy story

'Til I believed in the Israelite

And I believed in father Christmas

I looked to the sky with excited eyes

That I woke with a yawn in the first light of dawn

And I saw him and through his disguise

I wish you a hopeful Christmas

I wish you a brave new year

All anguish, pain and sadness

Leave your heart and let your road be clear

They said there'd be snow at Christmas

They said there'll be peace on earth

Hallelujah, Noel be it heaven or hell

The Christmas we get we deserve”

To anyone who has lost a loved one and is approaching a first Christmas or just struggling, the third verse of the song is where I’m focused right now…

I wish you a hopeful Christmas

We should all have hope this Christmas…losing someone we love doesn’t take away our hope, it just reshapes how and what we need to hope for….

I wish you a brave new year

Some days it may feel like you need to be brave, so just continue taking it one step at a time, one day at a time, and realize that you need to give yourself some grace and realize some deep breaths may be necessary…

All anguish, pain and sadness

Leave your heart and let your road be clear

This will take time and doesn’t happen immediately, but we can’t and don’t stop living.  So our road actually is clear, we go on by carrying the cherished memories and the love with us and in our hearts - forever.

They said there'd be snow at Christmas

They said there'll be peace on earth

Hallelujah, Noel be it heaven or hell

The Christmas we get we deserve

I hope (there it is again) that we all deserve a beautiful and peaceful Christmas.  It is never going to be the same when we lose someone we love…but that is OK.  We change and adjust because our lives have changed.  Regardless of our sadness, we never have cause to lose hope because we received a precious gift from God in the birth of His son, our Savior at Christmas.  There is always hope!

Let us all keep our hearts and minds focused on Him this Christmas so that we may have peace…and know that we will one day be reunited with our loved ones in the death and sacrifice of our most precious Christmas gift. 

And the Word became flesh and lived among us, and we have seen his glory, the glory as of a father’s only son, full of grace and truth.  John 1:14

Blessings and Love to you all this Christmas, and thank you all for your love, prayers, kind words and support over the last two years.  We were humbled and blessed by the massive outpouring of love, and the many hundreds of people that showed up for the visitation and funeral.  We truly felt the love ❤️ everyone had for my dad and our family!