A musical treat!

A beautiful rendition of the Wexford Carol by Allison Krauss and Yo Yo Ma.

Good people all, this Christmas time,

Consider well and bear in mind

What our good God for us has done

In sending his beloved son

With Mary holy we should pray,

To God with love this Christmas Day

In Bethlehem upon that morn,

There was a blessed Messiah born

The night before that happy tide

The noble Virgin and her guide

Were long time seeking up and down

To find a lodging in the town

But mark right well what came to pass

From every door repelled, alas

As was foretold, their refuge all

Was but a humble ox’s stall

Near Bethlehem did shepherds keep

Their flocks of lambs and feeding sheep

To whom God’s angel did appear

Which put the shepherds in great fear

Arise and go, the angels said

To Bethlehem, be not afraid

For there you’ll find, this happy morn

A princely babe, sweet Jesus, born

With thankful heart and joyful mind

The shepherds went the babe to find

And as God’s angel had foretold

They did our Saviour Christ behold

Within a manger he was laid

And by his side a virgin maid

Attending on the Lord of Life

Who came on earth to end all strife

There were three wise men from afar

Directed by a glorious star

And on they wandered night and day

Until they came where Jesus lay

And when they came unto that place

Where our beloved Messiah lay

They humbly cast them at his feet

With gifts of gold and incense sweet.

Just what I needed.

The day had been long. And draining.
All I had been listening to, it seemed, was negativity and frustration. I spent most of the day looking at the clock, willing it to go just a bit faster, until the time that coworkers would leave, so that there could be peace and quiet.

All I wanted to do was to go home, alone, and veg out...watch a movie, read a book...relax and unwind.
But I had already committed myself for the evening.
I had agreed to go to a concert with my sister and I no longer wanted to go.
But the concert ended up being just what I needed!

The group we saw was Gungor.
Their songs and lyrics took me on a journey from focusing on self to God.
Below are some of the lyrics that spoke to me (from a variety of songs):

Jesus, You’re the one who saves us

Constantly creates us into something new

Jesus You’re the one who finds us

Surely our Messiah will make all things new

I'm looking for a place
that I can plant my faith
one thing I know for sure
 
please be my strength
please be my strength
I don't have anymore
I don't have anymore

My faith was torn to shreds

heart in the balance

but you were there

always faithful

always good

you still have me

you still have my heart

who is like the lord
the maker of the heavens
lover of my soul
who takes me from the ashes
who heals me of my blindness
who is like the Lord

You make beautiful things

You make beautiful things out of the dust

You make beautiful things

You make beautiful things out of us

Holy, Holy

Holy, Holy Lord the earth is Yours and singing

Holy, Holy

Holy, Holy Lord

The earth is Yours

The earth is Yours

All the above songs are from their new CD: Beautiful Things.

A little folkish, a little rockish, a whole lot good!

Anyhow, I have one extra copy, if anyone would like to have it.

Just leave me a note...and I'll connect with you about shipment.

You won't be disappointed if you get this CD (through my little give-away or otherwise)...but I suppose if you don't like it, you could probably find someone else who would be blessed by it.

Leave a note if you're interested in the CD.

Enjoy your day!

Back in the day...

My brother, two sisters and myself were all bequeathed a 9-year-long Lutheran education by our parents. This education left me many useful tools.

I can say the Apostle's Creed in eight different languages.
I can recite the Lord's Prayer backwards and forwards.
And songs...many, many songs.

My siblings and I still talk about the songs that's we've learned, which then makes the four of us burst into laughter, bonding us for those few moments. We suffered together (although at different times) and survived.

Now, don't get me wrong. Going to the Lutheran school wasn't all that bad. It was just a unique experience. As someone with a bit more perspective, I sometimes wonder what my parent's thought process was in choosing a Christian education and then particularly that school. As for the choice of school, it was probably the only option that was close and available.

But back to the songs. I so wish there was a voice recording thing I could link on here so I could just sing you some of the songs...there probably is a way but no matter. You'll have to endure not getting the pleasure of my musical interpretations.

My song recollection starts back in 2nd grade. My teacher played the guitar and taught us bunches of fun songs aimed to teach us something about Jesus and to drain the energy from our 7 year old bodies.

There's the Bubble, Bubblin' song (which sadly I could not find on the internet); It Only Takes a Spark; I am a C; If I Were a Butterfly, and last but not least my school's attempt to reach back to the Lutheran's German roots:

Mein hand on myself
Und vas ist das hier?
Das ist mein Tinkerboxer*
mein Mama dear!

Tinkerboxer, tinkerboxer
rinky dinky do
dat's vat I learned in der Schul!
Ja vohl!

*(pointing to various parts on your body) substitute Hornblower, Meatgrinder, Rubbernecker, Breadbasket, Hitchhiker, Sitter-downer, Seat-kicker!

Then at some point another teacher joined the school and lead the singing in our weekly chapel sessions. From him, we learned Pharaoh, Pharaoh (a song designed to teach us something I'm sure), Shut de' Door (an attempt to be Jamaican while promoting keeping the devil away), The Coloring Song (our tribute to Petra), and the ever somber benediction, Go Now in Peace, which must ALWAYS be sung in a round.

Ahh...good times. Good times.

(If you don't want to watch all the videos, at least watch Pharaoh, Pharoah...totally amusing!)

A Memory From Germany

At some point during my first few months in Germany, I came across this video, which was shown to the kids. I must have sung along because somehow this became a regular "tucking-into-bed" song for a couple of my girls, throughout my two years. Why this song? Who knows! You'd have to ask them.



Good times!

What Grabs My Heart

I love it when God "re-grabs" my heart for certain things.

I spent the weekend at a middle-school (6-8th grade) event with about 20 of our church's youth. I never want to go to these weekend things because they are exhausting and I normally dislike being gone all weekend. However, I'm always amazed after weekend events when I come home tired but refreshed and refocused on God, as was this weekend. But I am digressing.

I l.o.v.e. middle school students. Love, love, love! They are at such a good age. They are funny, quirky, genuine, innocent, smart, and accepting. They are easy to get to know and love back easily. They can act mature and reflective one moment and then turn and be entertaining and exuberant the next. They can make me laugh one moment and then make me cry the next.

It was reiterated to me this weekend that middle school students have some deep thoughts. They are so young and yet this is the age when they start wrestling with God, their identity, and their purpose in life. Their thoughts excites me. And the burdens that some of these youth carry around on their shoulders, makes my heart break. Lord, whatever you have in store for my future is fine but please let it include middle-school students somehow!

Another thing that grabs my heart is missions. Our speaker this weekend challenged the youth to be a part of sharing the gospel to those who have never heard. Then he had an alphabetic list of people groups (and the countries they are in) who have minimally heard the gospel or not at all, running on a big screen. We were seriously in the "A's" for at least 4 minutes alone. It broke my heart. I'm willing to go wherever the Lord wants me to go. Here am I, send me!

Lastly, I learned a new song this week that I love: "You're Beautiful" by Phil Wickham. Enjoy.

Fun Find

If you like the Christian music group Delirious?, then you should go to their webpage (www.delirious.co.uk) where you can stream their entire music collection. You can choose a favorite CD of theirs and hear the entire thing while going about your day.

I regularly stream their music while at work and I love it! It has been a blessing.

Holiday Needed

Working with some people can be rather difficult. Its the personality differences that can be like a pebble in the shoe. Little things are made into big things or negative things. When you work on a smaller team, those differences are noticed even faster...this has been confirmed to me at a few different places I've worked.

Regardless if the person has a relationship with God or not, I try to be a kind, gracious person who shows the love of Christ. Usually I can handle the complaints well, trying to show a positive spin on the negative perspectives or graciously listen to what is said. However I am not perfect and usually after a cyclical amount of time, I get to a "breaking point." I get to the point where I feel snappy, short-fused, and desperate for coffee breaks away from anyone. At these moments, I know I need a vacation or at least a weekend. Two days away from normality for me to refresh and rest so that I can be a better person upon my return.

The song below reminds me to love. It also reminds me that "loving me the way I am" is no small thing either...I too am far from perfect.

"Loving a person just the way they are
it's no small thing
It takes some time to see things through
Sometimes things change
sometimes we're waiting
We need grace either way

Hold on to me I'll hold on to you
Let's find out the beauty of seeing things through

There's a lot of pain in reaching out and trying
It's a vulnerable place to be
Love and pride can't occupy the same spaces baby
Only one makes you free

Hold on to me I'll hold on to you
Let's find out the beauty of seeing things through

If we go looking for offense
We're going to find it
If we go looking for real love
We're going to find it"

By Sara Groves and Gordon Kennedy

No Sweeter Name

The following song has been playing over and over in my head the last couple days as I have been feeling heavy-hearted and tired. Christ has encouraged me through little blessings, like last night when an extra activity was cancelled from my schedule! The Lord is taking care of me and I'm thankful for the reminder.


No sweeter name than the Name of Jesus, no sweeter name have I ever known
No sweeter name than the Name of Jesus
No sweeter name than the Name of Jesus, no sweeter name have I ever known
No sweeter name than the Name of Jesus

You are the life to my heart and my soul
You are the light to the darkness around me
You are the hope to the hopeless and broken
You are the only truth and the way

by Kari Jobe

7 Days To Go

Since my boss has told me not to come in due to the snow, I'm hanging out here at home doing some reading and cleaning. And since it is 7 days until Christmas, I thought I'd share my 7 favorite Christmas songs for 2008, not particularly in order of preference.

1. Twelve Days of Christmas by Straight No Chaser. This always makes me laugh when I hear it on the radio! Funny!

2.White Christmas by Clyde McPhatter and the Drifters. Cheesy video...it's the song I like!

3. White Christmas by Bing Crosby. Classic and beautiful...also from my favorite Christmas movie!

4. Peace On Earth by Casting Crowns. Love LOVE this song! This might be my favorite!

5. Carol of the Bells. This version is by the Barrington Children's Choir...it's pretty good.

6. A Baby Changes Everything by Faith Hill. Okay, I think this song is a bit cheesy but I love the song starting about half-way through...it becomes a worship song!

7. Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas by Judy Garland, Diana Krall, or Sarah McLachlan. All these versions make me want a cup of coffee while sitting snug inside!