The meaning of Christmas can be found in some of the songs that people sing each year. If only they realized what they were singing, if only they found it true! Read through these lyrics... they really are Christmas songs that speak salvation, & I love the words, the truth & beauty they speak. THIS is the meaning of Christmas. Not family, not presents, not children, not happiness or memories. Those things are good but... JESUS is the meaning of Christmas. His coming saved us who choose Him; THAT is what we celebrate each year.
O Holy Night!
The stars are brightly shining,
It is the night of the 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 wisemen from out of the Orient land.
The King of kings lay thus 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 he shall break, for the slave is our brother.
And in his name all oppression shall cease.
Sweet hymns of joy in grateful chorus raise we,
With all our hearts we 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!
I really love this one....
O come, O come, Emmanuel
And ransom captive Israel
That mourns in lonely exile here
Until the Son of God appear
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
Shall come to thee, O Israel.
O come, Thou Rod of Jesse, free
Thine own from Satan's tyranny
From depths of Hell Thy people save
And give them victory o'er the grave
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
Shall come to thee, O Israel.
O come, Thou Day-Spring, come and cheer
Our spirits by Thine advent here
Disperse the gloomy clouds of night
And death's dark shadows put to flight.
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
Shall come to thee, O Israel.
O come, Thou Key of David, come,
And open wide our heavenly home;
Make safe the way that leads on high,
And close the path to misery.
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
Shall come to thee, O Israel.
O come, O come, Thou Lord of might,
Who to Thy tribes, on Sinai's height,
In ancient times did'st give the Law,
In cloud, and majesty and awe.
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
Shall come to thee, O Israel.
Tuesday, December 9, 2008
Thursday, December 4, 2008
Wednesday, December 3, 2008
Marriage Conference
Two weekends ago, Josh & I went to a marriage conference here in San Antonio, at the Hill Country Hyatt, called "Weekend to Remember." We are so glad we did, & plan on going back every couple of years. The three-day conference discussed things like communication, conflict resolution, roles of husbands & wives, etc. I know it sounds like some kind of book you could read... so why go to a conference? They have projects that you do based on a couple of the topics, & throughout each session there are questions that force you to make it personal - Josh & I became aware of things that we weren't before, & now we can focus on them (like remembering who our enemy is - not each other! & how to communicate about differing opinions without anger). Saturday evening is a date night, so you get to talk about the things you've been learning, & enjoy spending time together. We really enjoyed it, & learned a lot. Our marriage has already benefitted from it. As the pastor I work for said, "Of all the ways to invest your time & money, this is worth it."
(Oh ya... Friday night of the conference, we quickly had to make sure our attitude was not one of, "Wow I hope my husband is hearing this!" or "Gosh if my wife would get that down that would be GREAT!" No elbowing allowed!)
At the end of the conference, we heard a few testimonies of some of the people there (there were 1000 people in attendance) - they all said something they had learned, or how their marriage had changed. One woman said that she had filed for divorce the week before the conference, & throughout Friday & Saturday at the Conference, she still wanted a divorce, but Sunday morning, she realized there was hope for her marriage, so she was going to rip up the divorce papers. People & their marriages are transformed at this conference.
That's why it's worth it to us to go back every couple years - jobs, friends, church, eventually kids make life busy & it's so easy to get distracted from your marriage, & all of a sudden issues pop up, bitterness is harbored, intimacy is gone. We don't want that. We want to do everything we can to keep our marriage based on Jesus, & to love each other more than ourselves. It's much easier said than done.
We encourage you married couples to go to the conference as well. You can go to http://www.familylife.com/ & check out the dates, cities, & schedule of the conferences. You can go to one in a city near you, or you can go to a "destination" conference & really go all out! Next time we go to one, I'll let you all know - you can sign up under a group coordinator (which I was this year) & pay less for the conference.
Whether you're having some issues, or you have a great marriage & want to keep it that way, I can guarantee you will benefit from it!
No I was not paid to write this... we just believe in it that much. :-)
(Oh ya... Friday night of the conference, we quickly had to make sure our attitude was not one of, "Wow I hope my husband is hearing this!" or "Gosh if my wife would get that down that would be GREAT!" No elbowing allowed!)
At the end of the conference, we heard a few testimonies of some of the people there (there were 1000 people in attendance) - they all said something they had learned, or how their marriage had changed. One woman said that she had filed for divorce the week before the conference, & throughout Friday & Saturday at the Conference, she still wanted a divorce, but Sunday morning, she realized there was hope for her marriage, so she was going to rip up the divorce papers. People & their marriages are transformed at this conference.
That's why it's worth it to us to go back every couple years - jobs, friends, church, eventually kids make life busy & it's so easy to get distracted from your marriage, & all of a sudden issues pop up, bitterness is harbored, intimacy is gone. We don't want that. We want to do everything we can to keep our marriage based on Jesus, & to love each other more than ourselves. It's much easier said than done.
We encourage you married couples to go to the conference as well. You can go to http://www.familylife.com/ & check out the dates, cities, & schedule of the conferences. You can go to one in a city near you, or you can go to a "destination" conference & really go all out! Next time we go to one, I'll let you all know - you can sign up under a group coordinator (which I was this year) & pay less for the conference.
Whether you're having some issues, or you have a great marriage & want to keep it that way, I can guarantee you will benefit from it!
No I was not paid to write this... we just believe in it that much. :-)
Wednesday, November 19, 2008
Tuesday, November 18, 2008
Book Review: Same Kind of Different as Me by Ron Hall & Denver Moore
This book is amazing. You need to read it. That's really all I need to say, but just for grins I'll do the usual.
The plot: This book is a true story about a very wealthy art dealer (Ron), his wife, & a black homeless man (Denver). Most of the story takes place in Fort Worth (they still live there; I would love to meet them). Ron's wife, Debbie, starts working with the homeless, so Ron goes with her out of obligation, but ends up becoming best friends with Denver. The story is about their lives & how God works through them (in some really cool ways).
What we talked about in book club: Everyone there loved the book. We talked about our views/convictions about the homeless (we should all be like Debbie), our favorite parts of the book, & we went over some critiques found online. One critic didn't believe some of the things in the book happened, or didn't believe they were of the Lord (when you read the book you will probably know what I am talking about), but it's so easy to get stuck in our "American" view of Christianity... spiritual warfare exists, & even though here in America we are so distracted by materialism & our own reputation that we don't see the spiritual side of this world (the world that is Satan's playground), it is real. There were even some similar experiences shared by people at book club.
Recommendation: You probably realize by now... I completely recommend the book, 100%. It is funny, sad, convicting, & encouraging.
I would love to hear your thoughts after you read it.
Thursday, November 13, 2008
Those little green guys are in my face
I have a sinus infection. Poooooo.
How did I know, you ask? Well half my face hurt. The left side of my throat hurt, my left eye, ear, eyebrow, scalp hurt. Oh & the gums on the left side of my mouth were swollen. It's so bizarre. Apparently I have very impressive post-nasal drip.
I have also become a fan of Mucinex. The Walgreens version of course.
For those of you who have been reading my blog for a long time, & remember when I got sick my senior year & put up a picture of an infected throat, you should be glad I am not putting up a lovely mucus visual. :-)
Oh yes, there is a new book review coming soon. You're going to need to read this book, I don't care who you are! It will come most likely next week.
I'm going to go continue to let my mucus drain!
tmi??
How did I know, you ask? Well half my face hurt. The left side of my throat hurt, my left eye, ear, eyebrow, scalp hurt. Oh & the gums on the left side of my mouth were swollen. It's so bizarre. Apparently I have very impressive post-nasal drip.
I have also become a fan of Mucinex. The Walgreens version of course.
For those of you who have been reading my blog for a long time, & remember when I got sick my senior year & put up a picture of an infected throat, you should be glad I am not putting up a lovely mucus visual. :-)
Oh yes, there is a new book review coming soon. You're going to need to read this book, I don't care who you are! It will come most likely next week.
I'm going to go continue to let my mucus drain!
tmi??
Wednesday, November 5, 2008
Just ONE more thing...
It's hard being an opinionated person but trying to let my words be encouraging & glorifying to the Lord. However that is more important than letting my opinion be known. I also desire unity rather than dissention (Rom. 14:19, Col. 3:14).
I want to challenge people... those of you that love the Lord but did not have your candidate win the election... do not speak ill of our new president (Eph. 4:29-30). As people who love the Lord & desire to do what He asks, we must not bash Obama, or complain about him (same as for Bush, Clinton, etc), but only pray for him & respect the authority he has over us (Romans 13). Whether you agree with his policies & what he stands for or not, we are called to treat him with respect. As long as he does not call us to do anything that goes against the commands of our God, we must obey him.
Do not shame God's name by claiming to be a Christian then talking badly about our president (2 Corin. 5:9-10, Col. 3:12, 1 Peter 1:15-16).
"Love does no wrong to a neighbor, therefore love is the fulfillment of the law. Do this, knowing the time, that it is already the hour for you to awaken from sleep; for now, salvation is nearer to us than when we believed." Romans 13:10-11
I want to challenge people... those of you that love the Lord but did not have your candidate win the election... do not speak ill of our new president (Eph. 4:29-30). As people who love the Lord & desire to do what He asks, we must not bash Obama, or complain about him (same as for Bush, Clinton, etc), but only pray for him & respect the authority he has over us (Romans 13). Whether you agree with his policies & what he stands for or not, we are called to treat him with respect. As long as he does not call us to do anything that goes against the commands of our God, we must obey him.
Do not shame God's name by claiming to be a Christian then talking badly about our president (2 Corin. 5:9-10, Col. 3:12, 1 Peter 1:15-16).
"Love does no wrong to a neighbor, therefore love is the fulfillment of the law. Do this, knowing the time, that it is already the hour for you to awaken from sleep; for now, salvation is nearer to us than when we believed." Romans 13:10-11
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