“Joy Has Dawned”
23rd December 2012 | uncategorized | 4 comments
Earlier this year, I was listening to this song and it hit me: This is a Christmas song if I’ve ever heard a Christmas song. Mary, angels in the sky, stable, shepherds, gold incense and myrrh, Bethlehem… it’s got it all. I was able to sing this song for the Camp Arnold Christmas concert and also for offertory at the corps, but I figured I wasn’t done sharing it until I made it possible for all of my friends to hear it.
Joy has dawned upon the world, promised from creation
God’s salvation now unfurled, hope for every nation
Not with fanfares from above, not with scene of glory
But a humble gift of love, Jesus born of Mary.
Sounds of wonder fill the sky with the songs of angels
as the mighty Prince of Life shelters in a stable.
Hands that set each star in place, shaped the earth in darkness
cling now to a mother’s breast, vulnerable and helpless.
Shepherds bow before the Lamb, gazing at the glory
gifts of men from distant lands prophesy the story.
Gold, a King is born today. Incense, God is with us.
Myrrh, his death will make a way and by his blood he’ll win us.
Son of Adam, Son of Heaven given as a ransom
reconciling God and man, Christ the mighty champion
What a savior, what a friend! What a glorious mystery;
once a babe in Bethlehem, now the Lord of history.
an extraordinary merry christmas.
27th December 2011 | everyday life | 2 comments
i want to show you what i got for christmas; not because i got any huge, mind-blowing surprises. instead, i want to show you what i got for christmas because at the end of the day, i laid in my bed and thought “people know me.” my friends, my family.. they KNOW me. not just because we identify each other by first name, but because they have spent time with me and learned who i am. and so i want to show you, in a few different pictures, how much people know me.
first, from my mom. the glee concert movie, trader joe’s hot cocoa, vs pink & target gift card, a perfume/lotion set from vs & a pair of my recent favorite fit of jeans {rockstar, from old navy}
and finally! megan always participates in blog swaps and i was like “i want to do one!” which lead me to a blog swap on faison’s blog. and my partner was faison herself! which was so cool because i’ve done my fair share of trolling on her blog. no shame. this is what faison got me! a pink monkey that sings “only girl in the world,” a starbucks tumbler, peanut butter cup hot chocolate {it is declicious} and pink sparkly nail polish.
sometimes in life it is glamorous to be misunderstood and angry and scarred and alone. there is a certain kind of victory in living life like that, but i think there is also a quiet victory in actively choosing instead to be surrounded by love and stability and security. last night i crawled in to bed and wrapped my arms around patronus and pinkilis and drifted quickly to sleep with the knowledge that people know me well enough to get me hot chocolate or glitter pens or a justin bieber toothbrush that sings.
one of the most influential christmas songs in my life is sung by sandi patty. my dad got out of jail at the beginning of december many years ago and clung to christian radio to keep his spirit encouraged. we listened to this song over and over and over. i remember listening to it as i stacked piles of boxes on each other and built robots. it says this:
{and the gift goes on}
the Father gave the Son
the Son gave the Spirit
the Spirit gives us life
so we can give the gift of love.
that is what i have received this Christmas.
the Father, the Son, the Spirit, life, and love.
i saw a rainbow on Christmas. most people would’ve preferred snow, but i was quite pleased with sneaking glances at a rainbow in my rear view mirror as mercy me sang on the radio, “to save us all from Satan’s power when we were gone astray.”
what a Christmas. what a gift. what a love.
Christmas is coming…
27th November 2011 | uncategorized | 1 comment
But today marked an extra special beginning: the first Sunday of Advent. Advent meaning “coming.” A period of waiting and anticipating.
I want to write a lot about waiting for Jesus, but I want mostly to share with you part of my favorite passage of Scripture.
“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has not been made. In him was life, and that life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it. There came a man who was sent from God; his name was John. He came as a witness to testify concerning that light, so that through him all men might believe. He himself was not the light; he came only as a witness to the light. The true light that gives light to every man was coming into the world.“
Like I said, I want to write a lot about waiting for Jesus, but my thoughts are scattered and I’m not very controlled at picking my words well. So I will just encourage you to examine your hearts and think about what it looks like to wait and find ways to eliminate things that distract you from waiting on the Lord.
I got a new camera. Finally. I also got a pair of hooded and footed pajamas. Finally. Here is a picture of both.
Wait for the LORD; be strong and take heart and wait for the LORD {Psalm 24:17}
