wild melody

Breaking tradition...I'm not posting O Come O Come Emmanuel this year. It's still one of my favorites. But there are other Christmas hymns that also resound with gospel truth and hope. This year I discovered the original translation to "Minuit chretiens" the poem from which our "O Holy Night" came from. It began as a French poem written in 1847 by Placide Cappeau. The English carol as we know it came from John Sullivan Dwight in 1855. It is a very loose translation. It's good, but I love the orginial French poem. (that is, i love the original french poem translated directly into english. as i cannot read french well.) Midnight, Christians is the solemn hour When God as Man descended unto us To erase the original stain (sin) And end the wrath of his Father. The entire world trembles with expectation In this night that gives to us a Savior. Fall on your knees, await your deliverance. Noel, Noel, here is the Redeemer, Noel, Noel, here is the Redeemer! The a...

credit: rebecca g whilst we were in wales. I hope that under the circumstances I'll be forgiven this repost. The fact that Christmas is all about the gospel is more precious than ever. So here is my first {hopefully only} repost. "Can't anybody tell me what Christmas really means?!" " In the same region there were shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with fear. The angel said to them, "Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of a great joy that will be for all the people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. This will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger." Suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying, "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with...

I suppose I can't stay in October any longer. December has arrived, and with it the Christmas season. Don't worry, I'm not the grinch! I love Christmas. It's my favorite holiday. But I'm just getting excited about fall. Around here the leaves are finally falling, and it's in the 40s & 50s around 6am. (even if it's 89 at work in the heart of orlando. it's all good). I'll say Christmasy things next week. Anyway the "real" post begins in the next paragraph. profuse \ pruh-FYOOS; proh- \, adj : 1. Pouring forth with fullness or exuberance ; giving or given liberally and abundantly; extravagant... This word captured my attention today. I love the definition because when I read it, I think of Paul. (the bible paul). It describes his attitude of thanks to God so well. How often in his New Testament letters does he break forth into praise? It's as if he is overcome by God's goodness "Thanks be to God!" Paul is profuse when i...

{ isreal. by rachel.} "In the same region there were shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with fear. And the angel said to them, "Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of a great joy that will be for all the people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. This will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger." Suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying, "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!" When the angels went away from them into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, "Let us go over to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has made known to us." They went with haste and found Mary and Joseph, an...

Tommorrow is Christmas Eve. It's one of my most favorite parts. Mum's side--aka Benjamin Clan--goes to her parent's house. There will be lots of food, laughter, and teasing. And a beautiful big christmas tree. (i love christmas trees) At some point, Lori and the boys will call from VA and we'll put them on speakerphone. And all talk at once. Yet understand each other. Haha. We'll talk about Christ's birth and such, and one of the guys will pray a looooong but good prayer while we all try not to think of the food. This year we have even more reason to be grateful: Grandma is alive and well enough to have us over, despite the ravages of chemotherapy. Thank God, I'M NOT SICK! So I can go, with the rest of my family. :) Many times I've prayed that she'd be well enough to see us. I'm so glad she has God to rely on. Indeed, I don't know how anybody can go through cancer and not utterly despair without Christ to rest in....off track. Meant to talk a...