A Blessed Little Christmas with Sylvia Lange (and a Christmassy giveaway!)
Oh girlfriends….I have been so excited to introduce to you one of my all-time favorite people in the world! I first met her about 8 years ago when she and her group Crimson Bridge were the musical guests at a Hearts at Home conference. She won my heart instantly with her passion for God, genuine interest in people, love of leading (and ability to model) true worship and most of all her quirky, witty way.
Oh yeah….and she has a rich, gorgeous singing voice. I could listen to her music for hours– and sometimes do! I even had the honor of singing back-up for her once at one of her concerts a few years back when she was in my neck of the woods. One of her regular gals couldn’t make the trip so she gave little ‘ole me the chance to join her. I nearly needed a Depends, I was so excited!!!! And she asked my then preteen daughter to sign one of her songs in sign language at the close of the concert. In fact, Sylvia often served as a godly role model/mentor for Kenz during her junior and senior high years and still holds a special place in her heart. Yep, in a day and age of fakes and frauds in the entertainment and music industries, Sylvia Lange is the real deal.
Living in San Diego, California with her husband Wolf (yes—she really is married to a man named “Wolf”! How cool is that?) and their brood of animals, Sylvia is a step-mom of one grown daughter. She leads a women’s Bible study and serves in the worship ministry of her own home church, The Rock. (Oh…and is it just me, but doesn’t she kinda-sorta look like that female CNN anchor that I see while on my treadmill sometimes in the morning…Heidi somebody??)
Enough rambling… meet my fantabulous friend, who is offering some cool give-aways today! And she has a fantastic Christmas story about a famous Christmas song and her connection to it…read on….
Sylvia, tell us a little bit about what life is like at your house these days.
Well, life’s a little nutty at the moment because we’ve just started our holiday tour season and I’m gone a whole lot right now. Although I really do miss my husband when I’m gone, I love it and appreciate God for letting me do this in this season of my life.
Music is such a huge part of your life and ministry, how did you first start singing? Music has always been a big part of me from as far back as I remember as I came from a very musical family. My dad taught me how to hear harmonies at a very young age and always encouraged me in my singing.
You have a story about a special person in your life that wrote a very famous Christmas song. Tell us about it. A man I call “Uncle” Hugh wrote one of the most popular Christmas songs of all time. Uncle Hugh lives not far from me and is currently 95 years young and is still writing music! In his heyday, he was a very prolific Broadway songwriter in the 1940’s and 50’s who wrote many shows, the most popular of which was “Meet Me In St. Louis”, starring Judy Garland. In that show was a little song that went on to be a big hit for him. The song is Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas.
Now, that song has a new, updated version that focuses on Christ, right?
Yes, much later in his life Uncle Hugh made a decision to believe in Christ and he says his life was turned upside down from then on. Many years later, he rewrote his own popular Christmas song, this time with new sacred lyrics which described the real Reason for the Season: Jesus Christ. That song is called Have Yourself A Blessed Little Christmas.
I understand since I saw you last you’ve come out with a Christmas CD. What is it like?
I released a new full-length Christmas CD last year that I am very proud of. Not only is the new sacred version of Uncle Hugh’s song on it (with him at the piano!), but it also includes some traditional Christmas songs done in a non-traditional way, many of which have a Celtic flair. I like to listen to it all year long! If you’d like to take a listen, you can hear clips here. It is also available on iTunes.
You are offering a few awesome giveaways to our cyber sisters today, what are they? Well, I am giving away one copy of the Pure Christmas album to one winner and then a second winner will get a single of the song Have Yourself a Blessed Little Christmas packaged together with a 25 day “preparing for Christmas” advent devotional designed to get your heart in the right place and focused on the essence of Christmas- Christ!
Thanks for visiting with us today, Sylvia!
You are so welcome!
Okay ladies—here’s the deal: If you’d like to be entered into a random drawing to win either the Pure Christmas CD or the devotional package, leave a comment by midnight EST Tuesday night. The winners will be chosen and the gifts shipped out right away, especially so the devotional winner can begin using the book on December 1st! And the CD winner certainly will want to listen to those beautiful tunes while wrapping gifts and sipping hot cocoa!
You may leave a comment telling us how you focus on Jesus during this hectic time leading up to Christmas or, since I know you all are busy with Thanksgiving preparations, simply leave a comment saying “I’m in!” and list whether you’d prefer to win the Christmas CD, the devo package or both! :-)
Monday Blessings,
I’m in! I would love to win either prize. Have a great day!
I love this time of year–the excitement over the birth of a new baby, the songs, music, tradition! Yeah! I am not perfect at it, but we do try to be intentional about Christmas. We do a bday cake on christmas morning–I used to think sugar in the AM was great….guess I’m getting old–the boys love it though! We do the 3 gifts ,
One of our favorite traditions is to buy a new Christmas book each year (I try to make it advent or Christ centered), then all who are with us on Christmas write their name in it (so we have ones that have scribbles, drawings, etc) and then each year this special collection gets set out. Then during December we read and reread these special stories. They each have a story, like we found a Go tell it on the Mountain book, basically the song words with pictures. Sam has loved this song since he was little, so we reread it over and over each season! Its a nice way to settle down for an evening and focus on Christ.
I just might start a new tradition with the Christmas CD you are giving away.
I’m in! Thanks for the chance to win!
I would love a wonderful Christmas CD for the van, for my trips to and from school. This is always my and kids time to read, do devotions, and start and end our day with God. I think it is difficult during this time of the year to truly give my kids the true vision of Christmas and not have them be affected by the worldliness and busyness!
We bought a cool family devotional from our church bookstore last year. It also has a recipe for each day. Not so good for the waistline.
I also love Christmas CD’s.
I would love either!
I would love either or both! :-) This time of year gets crazy and I make sure I schedule my time with the Lord just like I do everything else. It keeps me grounded!
Hi Karen,
I’m “in”. Would love to be entered in drawing for both.
It doesn’t really take much for me to focus on Jesus during Christmas time. It’s just I really don’t get all sucked into the madness of shopping and my family is small. I just get excited knowing that the day will arrive when we celebrate the greatest gift of all. And that’s what I think I’ve always felt about Christman, even before I really knew, that giving and sharing with those around you represents His gift to us. It’s really easy for me now with a 3 yr old to just tell him that Christmas is Jesus birthday. It feels right. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not denying my son “santa” but you’ll hear me say Jesus far more. And that’s how it should be.
Happy Thanksgiving and Merry Christmas!
Traditionally, we have done the three gifts for our kids. We tell them, “If three gifts were good enough for Jesus, it’s good enough for you.”
We also wait until the kids are asleep and place our family bible in front of all the presents under the tree opened to Luke 2 and we place the baby Jesus figurine from our nativity set on top of the bible. It’s the first thing the kids look for on Christmas morning! Now that our kids are old enough to read they have begun bringing their bibles with them when they wake up and run to the tree so they can help read the Nativity story.
We will be away from home for Christmas this year, so I recently asked my children what was the one Christmas tradition that they want to remember. They all said, “The Bible with baby Jesus!” I’ll definately be making room for that in my suitcase!
Either prize would be put to good use at our house! Thanks for hosting this giveaway.
Happy Thanksgiving!
During this busy time I try to listen to christian Christmas music so I can focus on the reason we celebrate. I would love to win either prize. Thank you.
Deb V