Come Home for Christmas

Download MP3.

Ho, Ho, Ho!!! Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays. I rerecorded a Christmas Song I wrote a few Christmases back called “Come Home.” I had the first line “For a Few Moments at a Time…” for several years. I actually worked on that song during my lunch breaks at this day job I had in Cambridge, MA (iXL if you wondered). Olivia and I had moved up to Boston to go to grad school in 1999 and needed to make some $$$ in the meantime. I really didn’t know how to write songs yet (My first Berklee songwriting course was a few months away) but I was determined. So I’d bring my guitar to the office and go down by the Charles River and write. The song never went very far, but when I was looking to write a tune for a Christmas Production in 2007 that line’s lyric and melody seemed to fit.

Christmas is about home. It’s about family, friends, reflecting, and all that stuff. But it’s also about how our Father sent His Son to rescue us. That’s the ultimate family restoration. For a few moments at a time, come home.

On a fun side note another version of this song with Olivia and me singing it at church is  my most popular video on YouTube. When O was on the show that was the one that pulled up when people searched for her. I’ve included it below…we are MUCH bigger…ha.

Come Home – Written by Ben Ward

For a few moments at a time
I see so clearly
For a few moments at a time
All the world is right
Christmas trees and Angels
Bows and ribbons tangled
For a few moments I’ve come home tonight

For a few moments at a time
No one is angry
For a few moments at a time
No one says goodbye
All my friends and family
Gathered round the fire
For a few moments I’ve come home tonight

I’ve come home
I belong
Sing those old familiar songs
About peace on earth
And Jesus’ birth
And healing all the hurts

In this moment here tonight
I stand forgiven
In this moment here tonight
Love has brought me light
I’m so tired, I’m not running
I’ve found rest on Christmas Day
In this moment I’ve come home to stay
In this moment I’ve come home on Christmas Day

let:joy

I was in line at Starbucks yesterday and it was a Christmas extravaganza everywhere. Red, green, gold, gingerbread, peppermint, etc, etc. A canister of tea caught my attention the most, though. The name was simply “Joy.” Couple with that something my father-in-law said recently that has been bouncing around my heart: “The Scriptures say ‘let’ all the time – we have to get out of the way, relinquish control, and let.”

So I headed to my computer and began putting this together. A simple little treat for the eyes, ears, and heart to remind us to let this holiday (holy dayseason.

Music by Holley Maher via The Music Bed, Photos by David Heinlein.