sunday inspiration - christmas music.

This Sunday, I thought I'd share some of my favorite Christmas music. There are a lot of different songs in all kinds of different categories that I like (seriously, I should never be allowed to even walk by the Christmas music display at Target), but these are the whole CDs I find myself going back to over and over again.

-- 1 --

Behold The Lamb Of God, Andrew Peterson

Hands down, this is my favorite Christmas CD of all time (I've written about it twice before). Its the whole story of Jesus, from the time of Moses all the way through to Christ's birth. Its unlike any other Christmas CD I've ever heard before, and it never gets old. I can't even pick a favorite song - the only thing is seriously incredible. And the only thing better than listening to the CD is seeing it live in concert - its one of the highlights of Advent for me (there's a great review here).

-- 2 --

Peace On Earth, Casting Crowns

I love Christmas CDs that mix traditional songs with new ones, and this one does a great job of that. My favorite song is "I Heard The Bells On Christmas Day." This is one of those songs I've heard so many times, but it wasn't until I heard Mark Hall talk about it that I actually listened to the words and really understood them. It reminds me of a poem by Anne Bradstreet, "Upon The Burning Of Our House," I read for a college lit class.

-- 3 --

Bring Us Peace, Ginny Owens

This is another CD that has a wonderful mix of old and new songs. The very first song, "Christmas All The Time," is about dreaming as a child that Christmas would last all year long - I was hooked from that point.

Oh to celebrate our Savior's birth

By giving to the world from the fullness of our lives

God's good gifts to me taught me how to see

It can be Christmas all the time

-- 4 --

The Polar Express soundtrack

The first half of this CD contains songs from the movie, all of which never fail to make me sing along in the car because they're just fun. The second half is full of secular classics, like "White Christmas" (nobody sings that song like Bing Crosby).

-- 5 --

Victoria Secret

This is an odd choice, I know, and I don't like the cover - but I love the mix of songs of this two-disc set (notice a theme here?). Tyler Hilton does my absolute favorite rendition of "Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas," and Brian Setzer's "The Man With The Bag" and The Beach Boys' "Little Saint Nick" are just fun songs to sing along to. But my favorite song has to be "I Want An Alien For Christmas" by Fountains of Wayne:

-- 6 (a bonus) --

Christmas, Andy Gullahorn and Jill Phillips

This is a CD - I just picked it up at the Behold The Lamb Of God concert two days ago, but its rapidly becoming a favorite. Like the others on this list, there's a great mix of old and new songs, and their take on "Baby It's Cold Outside" (with new lyrics) is absolutely hilarious.