As school ends (last exam was today!), I have more room in my head to focus on the more enjoyable things... like Christmas! And reading, and music, and photography, and crocheting, and selling Christmas trees, and family... all those things, too. Christmas... it's been in stores since October, and in full swing for a couple weeks now. Normally, by the time December 25 rolls around, I'm really kind of ready for the whole Christmas season to be done, especially the commercialized part of it. This year... not so much. I found myself singing carols before Thanksgiving (something I make a rule of not doing) and I haven't stopped yet. I'm enjoying the lights and the cheer and everything. We still haven't put up our tree, but I think that's happening this weekend. The Christmas concert is this weekend, the culmination of months of handbell practice. I decided a while ago what my presents would be, so I don't have to worry about that. I still don't like the whole presents vibe... gift giving is not my love language. What to get, will they like it, what if they don't, what should I ask for, what if there's nothing I want, pretending I like it when I really don't... ugh. And that's self-centered in a way, but it's also not. I still give gifts. I would simply be okay if Christmas were less about boxes under the tree and more about family and Christ. But! Back on topic! Christmas will be here before I know it! Before I know it... part of the reason I'm enjoying this season so much is because it's my kind of last. In nine months, I'll be in college. Sure, I'll come back to visit for the holidays, but there will be a different feel in the house. This is my last year for really belonging to the traditions. Childhood... is slipping away. Hence the hesitation in my thoughts. I've been mulling over memories the past couple weeks, pulling out old journals and family photo books, remembering the years and experiences I've gone through. I have not had a perfect life - far from it, with adoption and moving halfway around the world - but I have a had a good life, full of wonderful memories. I slowly turn the pages of the picture books, watching my documented years slip before my eyes. Even amidst pain, I have had a life of laughter and love. I have been given a perspective on life where I can know that struggles pass and contentment is possible as we suffer. And a lot of those memories are coming, not to the end, but to an end. To a beginning as well, but to an end, where my past shifts further into my past.
I have just a few more months living in this household. A few more months of late night conversations with Teresa, a few more more months of building deep relationships with my siblings, a few more months of being part of this family's day-to-day life. I have to make the most of it. When Jonathon asks for help finding a tree or putting up lights, I need to drop what I'm doing and participate. Even when I should be studying for chemistry. What is an hour of chemistry to an hour of relationship? I want my siblings to look to me as their big sister, ready to talk to when needed, who loves them always. I want to build relationships that will last through years of both pleasant and tough times. So I participate whole-heartedly. I take them shopping when they need to buy gifts. I help blow tinsel on the tree. I bake chocolate peppermint cookies. I join them in singing random Christmas carols. When school starts again, I'll again be occupied by other things, but I hope I can do enough now and then to last through my leaving for college. I'll be back next year, but it'll be different. None of my siblings want me to leave. They're all excited for me, but sorrowful, too. When I come home for any holiday, I'm going to brace myself before I knock on the door. It will be necessary.
Life. Memories. Cheer. Happiness. Sorrow. Christmas.
The ninth lesson: John unfolds the mystery of the Incarnation
In the beginning the Word already existed. The Word was with God, and the Word was God. He existed in the beginning with God. God created everything through him, and nothing was created except through him. The Word gave life to everything that was created, and his life brought light to everyone. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness can never extinguish it. God sent a man, John the Baptist, to tell about the light so that everyone might believe because of his testimony. John himself was not the light; he was simply a witness to tell about the light. The one who is the true light, who gives light to everyone, was coming into the world. He came into the very world he created, but the world didn’t recognize him. He came to his own people, and even they rejected him. But to all who believed him and accepted him, he gave the right to become children of God. They are reborn—not with a physical birth resulting from human passion or plan, but a birth that comes from God. So the Word became human and made his home among us. He was full of unfailing love and faithfulness. And we have seen his glory, the glory of the Father’s one and only Son.
(John 1:1-14, NLT)
An Unfinished Story
Phillip Godfrey
It was a night in December, cold December when a light came into our world,
A light sent from up above us, one night Bethlehem beheld.
But is that night in December all we remember of the light heaven chose to send?
An unfinished story is what we are hearing, but we can determine its end.
For he was sent to protect us, he was meant to direct us like a star shining overhead.
He pointed the way to heaven so clearly with what he said.
But will the world ever hear him, gather near him as a guide, guardian, and friend?
An unfinished story is what we are hearing, but we can determine its end.
Rejoice, all the angels sang, rejoice, as the church bells rang.
Would we hear them say were they here today?
This is an unfinished story, filled with glory such as we cannot comprehend.
A wonderful story is what we are hearing but we can determine its end
Rejoice, all the angels sang, rejoice, as the church bells rang.
Would we hear them say were they here today?
This is an unfinished story, filled with glory such as we cannot comprehend.
A wonderful story and we have been given the chance to complete it,
A chance that we must not suspend.
The chance to complete it the way we would like it to end.
Rejoice!
I Got Proof
Kareem Manuel feat. Lecrae
If you go through the Bible consisteAnnotatently (that means read it)
Realize there’s no inconsistencies, start looking at things differently
When a soldier in his infantry looks at Genesis 3
God said it was him, the messiah that crushed the head
Of the serpent as I read, saw it all come to a head
Told of the suffering at Judas’ hand
The promise seen through Abraham
Prophecies Isaiah said, all fulfilled through Christ who bled
The Da Vinci code or Zeitgeist film
Couldn’t convince me not to die for him
Without their fame and prominence
Their arguments don’t make no sense
How you gon’ convince me that I’m simply a product of chance?
That the Big Bang came, and made a monkey that done made a man?
If you want to follow theory or die you got...?
Then there’s clearly nothing left to be said
Cus Christ is alive, rose to the sky
While all your truths are surely dead
[Hook]
I got proof, I got proof, I got proof
That he’s still living
I got proof, I got proof, I got proof
That he is risen
And this is why I die, why I live my life
For the sake of Jesus Christ, cus I believe that he’s alive
[Lecrae]
Witness not based on what I witness
But due to the word of an eye witness
But get this I don’t wanna wanna miss this
Business is serious like sickness
Arguments get me weary, man
They don’t use any history
All they have is a theory mayne
Why they tryin’ to Da Vinci me?
I spit a couple flows, did a couple shows
Met a couple bros who was all into doin’ no-nos
That and they into reading pros off of Dead Sea scrolls
Come on bro tell me that don’t sound loco
Cus Jesus died, took our sins into the sky
And a hundred times five seen him in the flesh alive
And the light in Paul’s eyes got him on his knees cryin’
Mention Jesus died tonight, runnin for his very life
They think that’s a lie, but Paul really died
Like millions other Christians who gave their life up for Christ
Hook
They wanna know why I’d die for him
Confused on why I ride with him
Got questions about Christian living
He’ll answer like Iverson
Heard me say Christ in all my songs
Dude run up on me like what if I’m wrong
I said I’m not then I saw his jaw
Stretch out and lay on the floor
He asked me how so I told him more
Christ in the clouds, and people saw him
Witnesses told them their report
Got them killed still they held on
To what they knew was no mistake
Got crucified, burned at the stake
If this wasn’t true, then dude I say
Would you die for what you knew was fake?
So I hope this hitting home, I ain’t reached this on my own
But why I preach him in every song
If he ain’t rise then find his bones
Been looking in the tombs, still looking in the ground
Keep searching bro, no where to be found
I ain’t Sherlock, but homes I’m found
So believe he ain’t no where around
"An Unfinished Story" is based off of a bulletin from a church service I attended in South Africa. I will give credit to individuals throughout the series, but the bulletin is from St. Thomas' Anglican Church, Linden, from the 18th of December 2011 at 6:30 pm. I edited to make it more modern.
The Eighth Lesson: the wise men are led by the star to Jesus
Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the reign of King Herod. About that time some wise men from eastern lands arrived in Jerusalem, asking, “Where is the newborn king of the Jews? We saw his star as it rose, and we have come to worship him.” King Herod was deeply disturbed when he heard this, as was everyone in Jerusalem. He called a meeting of the leading priests and teachers of religious law and asked, “Where is the Messiah supposed to be born?” “In Bethlehem in Judea,” they said, “for this is what the prophet wrote: ‘And you, O Bethlehem in the land of Judah,
are not least among the ruling cities[c] of Judah, for a ruler will come from you who will be the shepherd for my people Israel.’” Then Herod called for a private meeting with the wise men, and he learned from them the time when the star first appeared. Then he told them, “Go to Bethlehem and search carefully for the child. And when you find him, come back and tell me so that I can go and worship him, too!” After this interview the wise men went their way. And the star they had seen in the east guided them to Bethlehem. It went ahead of them and stopped over the place where the child was. When they saw the star, they were filled with joy! They entered the house and saw the child with his mother, Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasure chests and gave him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. When it was time to leave, they returned to their own country by another route, for God had warned them in a dream not to return to Herod.
(Matthew 2:1-9, NLT)
On this Feast of Epiphany, the day following the twelfth day of Christmas, I want to share two songs: a traditional rendition of We Three Kings and a less traditional version of Little Drummer Boy, the second being sung by a group making their way into the spotlight.
We Three Kings
Sung by Jennifer Avalon
Little Drummer Boy
Sung by Pentatonix
"An Unfinished Story" is based off of a bulletin from a church service I attended in South Africa. I will give credit to individuals throughout the series, but the bulletin is from St. Thomas' Anglican Church, Linden, from the 18th of December 2011 at 6:30 pm. I edited to make it more modern.
The seventh lesson: the shepherds go to the manger
That night there were shepherds staying in the fields nearby, guarding their flocks of sheep. Suddenly, an angel of the Lord appeared among them, and the radiance of the Lord’s glory surrounded them. They were terrified, but the angel reassured them. “Don’t be afraid!” he said. “I bring you good news that will bring great joy to all people. The Savior—yes, the Messiah, the Lord—has been born today in Bethlehem, the city of David! And you will recognize him by this sign: You will find a baby wrapped snugly in strips of cloth, lying in a manger.” Suddenly, the angel was joined by a vast host of others—the armies of heaven—praising God and saying, “Glory to God in highest heaven, and peace on earth to those with whom God is pleased.” When the angels had returned to heaven, the shepherds said to each other, “Let’s go to Bethlehem! Let’s see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.” They hurried to the village and found Mary and Joseph. And there was the baby, lying in the manger. After seeing him, the shepherds told everyone what had happened and what the angel had said to them about this child. All who heard the shepherds’ story were astonished, but Mary kept all these things in her heart and thought about them often. The shepherds went back to their flocks, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen. It was just as the angel had told them. (Luke 2:8-20, NLT)
Angels We Have Heard on High
The Piano Guys
(This is one of my favorite groups - not traditional, but definitely beautiful)
Angels we have on heard high
Sweetly singing ore the plains
And the mountains in reply
Echoing their joyous strains
Gloria in excelsis Deo
Gloria in excelsis Deo
Come to Bethlehem and see
Christ whose birth the angels sing
Come adore on bended knee
Christ the Lord the newborn King
Gloria in excelsis Deo
Gloria in excelsis Deo
See him in a manger laid
Whom the choirs of angels praise
Mary, Joseph, lend your aid
While our hearts in love we raise
Gloria in excelsis Deo
Gloria, in excelsis Deo
Gloria in excelsis Deo
"An Unfinished Story" is based off of a bulletin from a church service I attended in South Africa. I will give credit to individuals throughout the series, but the bulletin is from St. Thomas' Anglican Church, Linden, from the 18th of December 2011 at 6:30 pm. I edited to make it more modern.
And now, after a brief interlude of family and food, I will continue with the unfinished story. It seems to me appropriate to continue this after Christmas, after the commercialism has reached it's peak, after our attention moves away from lights! sweets! gifts! Although it is still the same story that has been broadcasted for the last six weeks, year after year, don't allow yourself to become tired of it. It is so important, no matter what time of year we tell it! The sixth lesson: Luke tells of the birth of Jesus
"An Unfinished Story" is based off of a bulletin from a church service I attended in South Africa. I will give credit to individuals throughout the series, but the bulletin is from St. Thomas' Anglican Church, Linden, from the 18th of December 2011 at 6:30 pm. I edited to make it more modern.
In the sixth month of Elizabeth’s pregnancy, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a village in Galilee, to a virgin named Mary. She was engaged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of King David. Gabriel appeared to her and said, “Greetings, favored woman! The Lord is with you!” Confused and disturbed, Mary tried to think what the angel could mean. “Don’t be afraid, Mary,” the angel told her, “for you have found favor with God! You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you will name him Jesus. He will be very great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his ancestor David. And he will reign over Israel forever; his Kingdom will never end!” Mary asked the angel, “But how can this happen? I am a virgin.” The angel replied, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the baby to be born will be holy, and he will be called the Son of God. What’s more, your relative Elizabeth has become pregnant in her old age! People used to say she was barren, but she has conceived a son and is now in her sixth month. For nothing is impossible with God.” Mary responded, “I am the Lord’s servant. May everything you have said about me come true.” And then the angel left her. (Luke 1:26-38, NLT)
A Baby Changes Everything
Faith Hill
Teenage girl, much too young
Unprepared for what's to come
A baby changes everything
Not a ring on her hand
All her dreams and all her plans
A baby changes everything
A baby changes everything
The man she loves she's never touched
How will she keep his trust?
A baby changes everything
A baby changes everything
And she cries!
Ooh, she cries
Ooh, oh
She has to leave, go far away
Heaven knows she can't stay
A baby changes everything
She can feel He's coming soon
There's no place, there's no room
A baby changes everything
A baby changes everything
And she cries!
And she cries!
Oh, she cries
Shepherds all gather 'round
Up above the star shines down
A baby changes everything
Choir of angels sing
Glory to the newborn King
A baby changes everything
A baby changes everything
Everything, everything, everything
Hallelujah
Hallelujah
Hallelujah
Hallelujah
My whole life has turned around
I was lost but now I'm found
A baby changes everything, yeah
A baby changes everything
"An Unfinished Story" is based off of a bulletin from a church service I attended in South Africa. I will give credit to individuals throughout the series, but the bulletin is from St. Thomas' Anglican Church, Linden, from the 18th of December 2011 at 6:30 pm. I edited to make it more modern.
The fourth lesson: The prophet Micah foretells the glory of little Bethlehem
But you, O Bethlehem Ephrathah, are only a small village among all the people of Judah. Yet a ruler of Israel will come from you, one whose origins are from the distant past. The people of Israel will be abandoned to their enemies until the woman in labor gives birth. Then at last his fellow countrymen will return from exile to their own land. And he will stand to lead his flock with the Lord’s strength, in the majesty of the name of the Lord his God. Then his people will live there undisturbed, for he will be highly honored around the world.
O Little Town of Bethlehem
Phillip Brooks, 1867
O little town of Bethlehem
How still we see thee lie
Above thy deep and dreamless sleep
The silent stars go by
Yet in thy dark streets shineth
The everlasting light
The hopes and fears of all the years
Are met in thee tonight.
O morning stars together
Proclaim the holy birth
And praises sing to God the King
And peace to men on Earth
For Christ is born of Mary
And gathered all above
While mortals sleep, the angels keep
Their watch of wond'ring love.
How silently, how silently
The wondrous gift is given
So God imparts to human hearts
The blessings of his heav'n
No ear may hear his coming
But in this world of sin
Where meek souls will receive him still
The dear Christ enters in.
O holy Child of Bethlehem
Descend to us, we pray
Cast out our sin, and enter in
Be born in us today
We hear the Christmas angels
The great glad tidings tell
O come to us, abide with us
Our Lord Emmanuel!
"An Unfinished Story" is based off of a bulletin from a church service I attended in South Africa. I will give credit to individuals throughout the series, but the bulletin is from St. Thomas' Anglican Church, Linden, from the 18th of December 2011 at 6:30 pm. I edited to make it more modern.
The third lesson: The prophet Isaiah foretells the coming of the Savior
The people who walk in darkness
will see a great light.
For those who live in a land of deep darkness,
a light will shine.
You will enlarge the nation of Israel,
and its people will rejoice.
They will rejoice before you
as people rejoice at the harvest
and like warriors dividing the plunder.
For you will break the yoke of their slavery
and lift the heavy burden from their shoulders.
You will break the oppressor’s rod,
just as you did when you destroyed the army of Midian.
The boots of the warrior
and the uniforms bloodstained by war
will all be burned.
They will be fuel for the fire.
For a child is born to us,
a son is given to us.
The government will rest on his shoulders.
And he will be called:
Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
His government and its peace
will never end.
He will rule with fairness and justice from the throne of his ancestor David
for all eternity.
The passionate commitment of the Lord of Heaven’s Armies
will make this happen!
(Isaiah 9:2-7, NLT)
Messiah (For Unto Us a Child is Born)
Handel, London Symphony Orchestra, Sir Colin Davis
"An Unfinished Story" is based off of a bulletin from a church service I attended in South Africa. I will give credit to individuals throughout the series, but the bulletin is from St. Thomas' Anglican Church, Linden, from the 18th of December 2011 at 6:30 pm. I edited to make it more modern.
The Second Lesson: God promises to faithful Abraham that in his seed shall all the nations of the Earth be blessed.
Then the angel of the Lord called again to Abraham from heaven. "This is what the Lord says: Because you have obeyed me and have not withheld even your son, your only son, I swear by my own name thatI will certainly bless you. I will multiply your descendantsbeyond number, like the stars in the sky and the sand on the seashore. Your descendants will conquer the cities of their enemies. And through your descendants all the nations of the earth will be blessed—all because you have obeyed me.”
(Genesis 22:15-18, NLT)
Who But You (Abraham & Sarah)
Various Artists http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UEmnjRKitFA
Too little too late, his time has come and gone
Is that what they say when I walk by?
I've got a little more grey, my steps are slow and long
And the promise you've made fades in the moonlight
I see a star; You see the Milky Way
I see one man counting sand
But you see generations
Who, but You, would ever choose
To dream Your dream in me?
Tell me who, but You, would dare me to
Believe what I can't see
Who, but You?
You'd think by now, it wouldn't bother me
The hush from the crowd when I walk by
And you'd think somehow, I'd let my heart believe
It's time to let go of lullabies
I see a star; You see a galaxy
There's just one hope, just one way
These arms will not stay empty
Who, but You, would ever choose
To dream Your dream in me?
Tell me who, but You, would dare me to
Believe what I can't see
Who, but You?
So call me crazy, call me a fool
You alone can do the things You promised to
You are Yahweh, I'm just a man
I'm counting tiny grains of sand
Placing every promise in Your hand
Who, but You, would ever choose
To dream Your dream in me?
Tell me who, but You, would dare me to
Believe what I can't see
Who, but You?
Great and mighty God, I believe, I believe You
Keeper of the stars, I believe, I believe You
"An Unfinished Story" is based off of a bulletin from a church service I attended in South Africa. I will give credit to individuals throughout the series, but the bulletin is from St. Thomas' Anglican Church, Linden, from the 18th of December 2011 at 6:30 pm. I edited to make it more modern.
I must first start with a disclaimer: this was not an original idea of mine. "An Unfinished Story" is based off of a bulletin from a church service I attended in South Africa. I will give credit to individuals throughout the series, but the bulletin is from St. Thomas' Anglican Church, Linden, from the 18th of December 2011 at 6:30 pm. I edited to make it more modern.
The First Lesson: Humankind rebels and is separated from God
When the cool evening breezes were blowing, the man and his wife heard the Lord God walking about in the garden. So they hid from the Lord God among the trees. Then the Lord God called to the man, “Where are you?” He replied, “I heard you walking in the garden, so I hid. I was afraid because I was naked.” “Who told you that you were naked?” the Lord God asked. “Have you eaten from the tree whose fruit I commanded you not to eat?” The man replied, “It was the woman you gave me who gave me the fruit, and I ate it.” Then the Lord God asked the woman, “What have you done?” “The serpent deceived me,” she replied. “That’s why I ate it.” Then the Lord God said to the serpent, “Because you have done this, you are cursed more than all animals, domestic and wild. You will crawl on your belly, groveling in the dust as long as you live. And I will cause hostility between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring. He will strike your head, and you will strike his heel." Then he said to the woman, “I will sharpen the pain of your pregnancy, and in pain you will give birth. And you will desire to control your husband, but he will rule over you.” And to the man he said, “Since you listened to your wife and ate from the tree whose fruit I commanded you not to eat, the ground is cursed because of you. All your life you will struggle to scratch a living from it. It will grow thorns and thistles for you, though you will eat of its grains. By the sweat of your brow will you have food to eat until you return to the ground from which you were made. For you were made from dust, and to dust you will return.”
(Genesis 3:8-19, New Living Translation (NLT))
This hymn has just been running through my head these last couple of days. I look around me and I see so much beauty. I'm driving along and I think OH I wish I had my camera. So here's a couple instances when I did.
Lamppost silhouetted by the sunrise
Frost over the water at sunrise
Sun shining through the forest along a undeveloped road
Green moss on a tree in the forest
Frost on a rosebud with a lamppost behind
Frost on the roses in the gray dawn
Frosty grass in my lawn
Water from snowmelt trickling over a cliff
Icicles and hanging moss
This is my last reflective post until after the holidays. I'll be posting a series called "An Unfinished Story" in preparation for Christmas, so keep an eye out!
Before I know it... part of the reason I'm enjoying this season so much is because it's my kind of last. In nine months, I'll be in college. Sure, I'll come back to visit for the holidays, but there will be a different feel in the house. This is my last year for really belonging to the traditions. Childhood... is slipping away. Hence the hesitation in my thoughts. I've been mulling over memories the past couple weeks, pulling out old journals and family photo books, remembering the years and experiences I've gone through. I have not had a perfect life - far from it, with adoption and moving halfway around the world - but I have a had a good life, full of wonderful memories. I slowly turn the pages of the picture books, watching my documented years slip before my eyes. Even amidst pain, I have had a life of laughter and love. I have been given a perspective on life where I can know that struggles pass and contentment is possible as we suffer. And a lot of those memories are coming, not to the end, but to an end. To a beginning as well, but to an end, where my past shifts further into my past.
So I participate whole-heartedly. I take them shopping when they need to buy gifts. I help blow tinsel on the tree. I bake chocolate peppermint cookies. I join them in singing random Christmas carols. When school starts again, I'll again be occupied by other things, but I hope I can do enough now and then to last through my leaving for college. I'll be back next year, but it'll be different. None of my siblings want me to leave. They're all excited for me, but sorrowful, too. When I come home for any holiday, I'm going to brace myself before I knock on the door. It will be necessary.
