My Favorite Things

I’m not really sure when, why, or how “My Favorite Things” became a Christmas song, but inexplicably it has. If you need a refresher, this is a song from the classic film The Sound of Music. The movie follows a young Maria as she serves as governess to the seven von Trapp children in Austria during 1938. The Sound of Music is both a historical drama and a sweeping love story, set to the music of Broadway heavy-hitters Rodgers and Hammerstein. And, despite the picturesque landscapes and sprawling timeframe of this movie, there are actually no scenes in this movie that take place during Christmas. “My Favorite Things” is a song sung to calm the von Trapp children in the midst of a raging thunderstorm. Despite the references to snowflakes and brown paper packages tied up in string, it’s not actually anywhere close to Christmas during this scene. But somehow, this cinematic lullaby has become a Christmas classic. 

Even though we are a week into January, Julie Andrews’ crystalline voice remains stuck in my head with tales of whiskers on kittens, bright woolen mittens, and flying geese. There are worse songs to carry over from Christmas. It’s not a bad thing to focus on our favorite things or the little pockets of good in our day. It's just a sung-through gratitude list. I’m not sure that I appreciate geese as much as the von Trapps (a goose once ate my belt loop off when I was a kid), but there are plenty of things that I love and could list off in my own lullaby. 

Luckily for me, this Sunday we're having one of my favorite things: the all-church breakfast. There are few things I love as much as moments when our community can gather together. The Great Room will be filled with the noise of our church family catching up after the holidays and sharing a meal together. It is a bonus that we have so many wonderful cooks and bakers among us that bring yummy breakfast goodies to enjoy. The breakfast just becomes an added benefit, but the real joy for me is time spent together.

Starting at 9:45 a.m. this Sunday, we will eat, laugh, and look ahead to all the exciting things happening in 2026. I’m looking forward to it, almost enough to sing. I hope you’ll be there!