When I think about Christmas — and especially its tunes — I tend to love the ones that have a special meaning more than any others. Perhaps it’s the time of year and what the season truly means, or perhaps it’s because I write for a living and words mean a lot to me.

One of my favorite songs to listen to during the holidays is “I Come with Love” by Harry Connick Jr. (surprise, surprise to anyone who knows me).

In a world that’s seemingly full of tragedies and evil at every turn, this song reminds me that there is something bigger at work. It reminds me that God had a purpose for sending His Son here — and it was to bring love to those who needed it most.

I can’t say it is easy to narrow down a Christmas song that inspires me during the Christmas season. Yet, the song that pricks my heart every time is “Mary Did You Know.” Perhaps it is because Mary has always intrigued me. As scriptures reveal, she was very special and chosen by God to bear His Son, Jesus. The lyrics of this song pose many questions to Mary that portray the life of Christ, such as miracles of healing, walking on water, calming the storm, etc.

I believe that Mary knew Christ was no ordinary child, and she took her calling very seriously. Like most mothers, she loved and nurtured her child and watched him grow. The scripture points out two occasions where she pondered things in her heart. The first mention of this is in Luke 2:19. This scripture depicts the manger scene and the amazement of all witnesses. Verse 19 says, “But Mary kept all these things, and pondered them in her heart.”

Have you ever realized you have no clue as to the meaning of a song you’ve been listening to for years? Or a scripture you’ve read over and over that never actually clicked until the 100th time? That was me with “Hark! The Herald Angels Sing,” a 279-year-old Christmas song I’ve always loved for its uplifting, celebratory, and classic Christmas-y feel, but never understood. Till now.

One would think, me, a Christmas Eve baby, a.k.a. that annoying person playing Christmas music way before Thanksgiving, would know all the season’s carols like the back of my hand. Turns out, not so much when it comes to the oldies. As a kid, I thought Herald was the name of one of the angels or something. To be fair, the song was written in super Old English that no one under the age of 279 could understand. And while beautifully poetic, it’s just plain confusing. But now that I’m an “adult,” I’ve realized there’s a big wonderful message about light, hope, and life I’ve been missing all along.

Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours on this day when we celebrate everything God has done for us!

To continue with our Christmas Playlist series that we kicked off earlier this week, Brother P. is sharing why he thinks that "O Come All Ye Faithful" fits the bill today.

Actually, it's not quite fa la la la la time just yet. Thanksgiving Day is the traditional start of the holiday season. Many of you have been anxiously awaiting Thanksgiving Day for one very specific reason. You're not exactly anticipating the turkey dinner or even the pie. You're not pining away for a football-watching marathon.

What you've been looking forward to is the nonstop Christmas music on the radio. (We all know who you are.)

To celebrate the start of the (early) holiday season — and 24/7 caroling on the airwaves — we're kicking off our 2018 Christmas Playlist series. Over the next few weeks leading up to Christmas, you'll read about the Christmas songs, traditional and contemporary, that our columnists hold dear to their hearts.

Rich,

Greetings from 25 years into the future. Typically time capsules are letters to yourself with future predictions, stored for a specific amount of time (like 25 years), and then opened to see what came true or did not. In this case, we'll look back from the future to provide some support and guidance.

First things first. God has a plan for you. The best thing you can do is lean on Him for guidance and direction. There are going to be challenges that you must face over the next 25 years in high school, college, your career, and your marriage — yes, you do get married, but I won't give you any spoilers. Some of those challenges are going to be because life is life, while others, unfortunately, will be self-inflicted.

Dear Younger Self,

First, let me tell you your life has been blessed! God is never going to let you down, and He’s going to perform miracles for you that you didn’t even know were possible.

Let’s start with the basics:

In middle and high school, don’t worry about who is going to be your friend — you’re actually not going to want to hang out with some of those kids after you get baptized! — and don’t pretend to be less smart just because you think you need to “fit in.” Embrace the way you were made. Your freckles are actually cute; your nose isn’t too small; and you don’t need self-tanner — you actually need sunscreen, daily! (You’ll be at peace with your glow-in-the-dark light skin soon enough.) Also, God will lead you to your career — He knows best!

Dear Natalie,

It’s Future Natalie writing to say hello. Strange to receive a letter from yourself I’m sure, but hopefully also helpful and insightful in a way. So, here goes…

I’m writing to you as a new mom and almost 34-year-old. If you’re reading this, you’re probably curled up somewhere with a cozy cup of tea (newsflash: not much has changed on your beverage of choice), excited to receive a message (though handwritten would have been even better).

Hey little girl. It’s me. The future you. The 26-year-old you, to be exact (stop saying “ew,” I’m not THAT old). And I’m here to let you in on a few things. No, not like a lecture, relax. More like a cheat sheet—a few insider tips that’ll help you on the road ahead. Yes, you need it. Trust me.

Dear Gospel Blog Readers,

We have some exciting news for you. While playing around on social media, we discovered a digital time warp that allows us to send typewritten messages to ourselves back in time. So, Older Me can write a letter to Younger Me. Pretty neat, huh? We're publishing our letters here on the blog in hopes that you can also benefit from our hindsight, as we explain some of the things we wish we'd known or that we'd learned earlier in life.

We call this series of articles "Letter to My Younger Self," and you'll be seeing them sprinkled around the blog over the next three weeks.

Following is the first of these letters. Enjoy!

Today's Topic

Strength

Today's Scripture

Philippians 4:13: I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.

A Different Kind of Weather Forecast

On Wednesday, several souls came to Christ and requested baptism! We will have full details for you tomorrow, but we'd like to share one remarkable testimony with you right now.

Early Wednesday morning, around 4 a.m., some campers — the lighter sleepers, maybe —awoke to loud peals of thunder and several cracks of lightning. This wasn't the soft thunder you hear on those "relaxing atmosphere" CDs. This was enough to wake me, Sister Michelle, the writer, from sleep. Now, if you've been paying attention to the weather report the last few days, it's been super hot with no rain. There's been some cloud cover, but summer monsoons aren't really a thing in this part of California.

Today's Topic

Peace

Today's Scripture

Philippians 4:7: And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.

Memorable Quotes

"We're in the Peace Family."

In his chapel address, Brother Jerry Valenti explained that we're in the Peace Family. The head of the family is God and His Son Jesus Christ, the Prince of Peace. If we are peacemakers, as God teaches us to be, then we will be called the children of God, as it says in the Beattitudes (Matt. 5:9). When we're angry with our brothers or sisters and the other people in our lives — or even when we get angry due to trivial matters and inconveniences — that robs our peace. Let's not open our hearts to anger but instead focus wholly on God and experience the peace He wants for us.

Today's article comes to you from GMBA Camp at the University of Redlands, California. The theme for the week is "Peace, Joy, and Strength in Righteousness."

The whole week is geared toward unpacking the overall theme, but each day has a specific focus within the theme. The seminars and speakers all tie things back to that day's topic.

We're going to give you a snapshot of what each day held for the campers, from the daily topic to inspirational quotes from the speakers to some fun facts and photos. We hope this helps you feel like you're here experiecing it with us to some degree!

Today's article is another installment in Brother P.'s column, "Lessons From the Nursing Home."

So, this very friendly, well-meaning but clueless resident of the nursing home where I work comes into our office saying that she felt bad for the man who did not go to the dining room for meals with all the other residents — the man is fed via a tube placed directly into his stomach.

I love to hike. The definition of hiking, according to dictionary.com, means "to walk or march a great distance, especially through rural areas, for pleasure, exercise, military training, or the like."

While visiting with family last weekend, a cousin told me I was crazy for enjoying hiking. She asked me what was the point of hiking since you don't actually go anywhere. A few days after that conversation, I went on a hike by myself. This hike didn't take me to the top of a mountain. Rather, it was an 8-mile loop through a variety of terrain, going down, then back up, then down, and ending with an incline. Because it's still early in the summer, everything is lush and green here, which will not last long. There were wildflowers starting to bloom. It was beautiful!