MERRY CHRISTMAS, EVERYBODY!!!
One of my favourite carols is “O Holy NIght”. There are variations on the lyrics, but here’s one version…
O Holy Night! The stars are brightly shining,
It is the night of our dear Saviour’s birth.
Long lay the world in sin and error pining.
Till He appeared and the Soul felt its worth.
A thrill of hope the weary world rejoices,
For yonder breaks a new and glorious morn.
Fall on your knees! Oh, hear the angel voices!
O night divine, the night when Christ was born;
O night, O Holy Night , O night divine!
O night, O Holy Night , O night divine!
Led by the light of faith serenely beaming,
With glowing hearts by His cradle we stand.
O’er the world a star is sweetly gleaming,
Now come the wise men from out of the Orient land.
The King of kings lay thus in lowly manger;
In all our trials born to be our friend.
He knows our need, our weakness is no stranger,
Behold your King! Before him lowly bend!
Behold your King! Before him lowly bend!
Truly He taught us to love one another,
His law is love and His gospel is peace.
Chains shall He break, for the slave is our brother.
And in his name all oppression shall cease.
Sweet hymns of joy in grateful chorus raise we,
Let all within us praise His holy name.
Christ is the Lord! Then ever, ever praise we,
His power and glory ever more proclaim!
His power and glory ever more proclaim!
Of course, there’s prophecies that speak of the coming Hope. Just the thing to meditate on if your year has been less than wonderful…
For to us a child is born,
to us a son is given,
and the government will be on his shoulders.
And he will be called
Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
7 Of the greatness of his government and peace
there will be no end.
He will reign on David’s throne
and over his kingdom,
establishing and upholding it
with justice and righteousness
from that time on and forever.
The zeal of the Lord Almighty
will accomplish this.
(Isaiah 9:6-7)
We may not feel that “thrill of hope”, certainly not every day… Hope still exists, and He is always available!
We have had a sweet, joyous Christmas Day so far 🙂 We still do the stocking presents on our bed first thing in the morning, even though we have two teenagers in the house now. They’re still excited… Then it’s breakfast time and the opening of the tree presents after.
My primary love language is gifts – so is Littlest Bean’s, I believe. That means we love receiving gifts 😉 , but also giving them. It’s just as much fun watching everyone else opening their gifts and seeing their reactions!
I had a bad day, health-wise, yesterday (had to miss the Christmas Eve service) and today was shaping up to be similar. Thankfully, I’ve been able to take it a bit easy. There’s something a bit decadent about reading in bed, with chocolate and coffee at my side!
I have many gifts – not just the tangible ones. I am truly blessed. Today is another opportunity to look again at where my blessing comes from, and meditate on Hope. ❤
1000 Fields of Roses 