"On the tenth day of Christmas, my true love gave to me - 10 lords a-leaping ... "

10 days - when they lie ahead of you, they seem to stretch on forever, especially when spent in anticipation. But, when they lie behind you, they passed too quickly. Observing Christmas every day for 12 days has served to both expand and compress time around me. Don't you wish you could have just pressed "Pause" on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day?

Count to 10.

What went through your mind in those few seconds it took to count to 10? We often use this device to insert a pause in a situation - either to calm us or to strengthen us. I drifted back to Christmas morning - getting up, preparing breakfast and waiting for the children to join us. Then, we all packed up and made the trip out to my sister's to spend the day with more family, After that, back home to make sure we were packed and ready to leave for a few days on a family Christmas vacation.

Can you name all 10 gifts, so far? Not going from 10 lords to 1 partridge, as you would sing them, but the other way around? How many items would you receive on the 10th day, according to the carol? One of our pastors just wrote of the challenge he received from his wife - name all the gifts you received for Christmas. Most of us, as he did, would be able to list all the things he was given. But, those aren't the only gifts we receive.

Try to name 10 things you received as gifts this Christmas that were not wrapped or boxed. Every one of those is 2 gifts - 1 you can see and feel and touch, and 1 you can only feel.

Here's some thinking music - Gesu, Bambino