Sunday's Song

Yes, this is late, again.  But thanks to my niece, Megan, I have a video from yesterday which I wouldn't have had if I had posted on time.  Good things come to those who wait!

First, a bit of background.

It started with this group of seven kids, born over the span of 10 years.  Can you guess which one is me?  Here's a clue:  I'm the poster child for middle children!

We have a long history with music.  Having music in our family history, growing up in a church denomination with a strong singing heritage and attending schools with a reputation for musical excellence, it was inevitable that music would become a major part of our lives.

So, let's fast forward from these pictures taken in the '60s.  The seven became . . .

. . . 30 and counting.  This picture was taken at one of our annual Christmas Concerts, 1999 I believe.  I think this may have been the last concert, after more than ten years.   The recording from Sunday's Song two weeks ago was from one of the earliest concerts.



The reason for all this reminiscing?   Yesterday, at the end of our family's Christmas gathering (there are over 40 of us now), nineteen of us piled into cars and went caroling.  Each stop was meaningful for different reasons, but the last stop was extra special.  We went to our childhood home, the one in the photos above, which is now a home for assisted living.  I couldn't help but think of how we were singing in the very room where we first started singing over 50 years ago.  For me, it was one of the highlights of the day.

From our family to you.  May you realize daily the "wonders of His love."

A Flurry of Flakes

Okay, so four flakes don't qualify as a flurry.

And technically speaking, snowflakes are made of more than one snow crystal stuck together.  That was something I learned a few years ago when I came across the work of Wilson A. Bentley, also known as Snowflake Bentley.  He pioneered the technique of photomicrography, and is recorded as the first to photograph a single snow crystal.  Quite a challenge, considering the equipment needed and conditions required.

Sunday's Song

Most people have heard the carol I Heard The Bells On Christmas Day.  Many may even know that the lyrics are by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow.  But I wonder how many know that it was first a poem he wrote  in response to the Civil War and during a time of his own personal loss.

Christmas Bells

I heard the bells on Christmas Day
Their old, familiar carols play,
   And wild and sweet
   The words repeat
Of peace on earth, good-will to men!

And thought how, as the day had come,
The belfries of all Christendom
    Had rolled along
    The unbroken song
Of peace on earth, good-will to men!

Till ringing, singing on its way,
The world revolved from night to day,
    A voice, a chime,
    A chant sublime
Of peace on earth, good-will to men!

Then from each black, accursed mouth
The cannon thundered in the South,
    And with the sound
    The carols drowned
Of peace on earth, good-will to men!

It was as if an earthquake rent
The hearth-stones of a continent,
    And made forlorn
    The households born
Of peace on earth, good-will to men!

And in despair I bowed my head;
"There is no peace on earth," I said;
    "For hate is strong,
    And mocks the song
Of peace on earth, good-will to men!"

Then pealed the bells more loud and deep:
"God is not dead, nor doth He sleep;
    The wrong shall fail,
    The right prevail,
With peace on earth, good-will to men."

This is an old recording of Dean Wilder singing an arrangement that uses the two most familiar tunes written for the lyrics.  For me, it beautifully captures the emotions behind the words.

I Heard The Bells On Christmas Day by queenodella

Sunday's Song . . .

. . . is late.  I could say it's because yesterday was a full and tiring day.  But here it is nearly 1:30  2:00 on Monday afternoon and I'm still trying to decide on a song.  Too many choices!  While the Second Sunday of Advent could be summed up in the word Prepare, that doesn't necessarily narrow down the choices.

When I think of preparing, I think of having some expectations of what's coming.  I mean, really, how can one prepare for something if you don't know what it is?  But expectations are tricky things.  Sometimes the cause of great disappointment; sometimes ending in surprised delight.  And the expectations connected with Christmas run the gamut: all the way from expecting the Messiah to be a great warrior or honored king instead of a poor little baby, to expecting the sight of the baby in a manger, the sound of angels singing and all the other traditions of the season to produce sentimental warm fuzzies.  So maybe preparing for Jesus requires allowing God to defy our expectations.  No easy feat.

Okay, enough rambling!  Let's get to the song.  This is from a recording of our Family Christmas Concert, presented in 1983.  While the quality is quite poor, it is still something I treasure.  The reading was done by my dad.

Once In Royal David's City (with reading) by queenodella
Once in Royal David's City
Stood a lowly cattle shed.
Where a mother laid her baby
In a manger for his bed.
Mary was that mother mild,
Jesus Christ, her little child.

He came down to earth from heaven,
Who is God, and Lord of all.
And His shelter was a stable,
And His cradle was a stall.
With the poor, and mean and lowly
Lived on earth, our Savior holy.

Not in that poor lowly stable
With the oxen standing by;
We shall see Him, but in heaven
Set at God's right hand on high.
When like stars His children rise
Singing praises in the skies.

A Mantra

I learn so much writing this blog!

Here's how that happens:  I want to use a word or phrase to impress you with my cleverness for a catchy title;  I'm not very original, so I go for something I've heard before;  I second-guess whether I really know what it means or how to use it properly;  I head to the online dictionaries (so convenient);  I get totally sidetracked with definitions, pronunciations, origins, forms, usage . . .sidetracked, but learning.

Learning that I only had a vague sense of what a mantra is.  However, I think a mantra is exactly what I need in the midst of this renovation.

So, you want to know what my mantra has been lately?

Sunday's Song

For the first Sunday of Advent - Hope

O Come, O Come Emmanuel

O come, O come, Emmanuel,

And ransom captive Israel,

That mourns in lonely exile here

Until the Son of God appear.

Refrain

Rejoice! Rejoice!

Emmanuel shall come to thee, O Israel.

O come, Thou Wisdom from on high,

Who orderest all things mightily;

To us the path of knowledge show,

And teach us in her ways to go.

Refrain

O come, Thou Rod of Jesse, free

Thine own from Satan's tyranny;

From depths of hell Thy people save,

And give them victory over the grave.

Refrain

O come, Thou Day-spring, come and cheer

Our spirits by Thine advent here;

Disperse the gloomy clouds of night,

And death's dark shadows put to flight.

Refrain

O come, Thou Key of David, come,

And open wide our heavenly home;

Make safe the way that leads on high,

And close the path to misery.

Refrain

O come, O come, great Lord of might,

Who to Thy tribes on Sinai's height

In ancient times once gave the law

In cloud and majesty and awe.

Refrain

O come, Thou Root of Jesse's tree,

An ensign of Thy people be;

Before Thee rulers silent fall;

All peoples on Thy mercy call.

Refrain

O come, Desire of nations, bind

In one the hearts of all mankind;

Bid Thou our sad divisions cease,

And be Thyself our King of Peace.

Refrain

O come, O come Emmanuel from MBC Tysons Campus on Vimeo.