Sometimes I wonder if the singers covering a Christmas Hymn really understand (or care about) what they're actually singing about, or if it is just pretty words put to a catchy tune that they know people would like to hear. As I was in the car the other night, Celine Dion's version of "O Holy Night" came on the radio and I was unusually intrigued by not only her beautiful voice, but also the words of the hymn. I listened more closely than usual and really thought about each line of the song as it came through the speakers. Here is what I heard...
O, Holy Night, the stars are brightly shining. It is the night of our dear Savior's birth.
Imagine a quiet, crisp, simple night when everything seems to be at peace and all is right. The stars are shining so brightly and we all know what a beautiful scene that is! This is some sort of special night when God is looking down with a smile on his face. For this is the night that His Son, Jesus, the Savior of the world is going to be born on this earth. What more of a perfect way to begin painting the picture of this awesome night?!
Long lay the world in sin and error pining, 'till He appeared and the soul felt it's worth.
The world and the people in it have become such a disgrace to what God originally planned for it to be, but something awesome is about to happen. Jesus is about to be born and the people of earth will finally feel some sort of worth and reason...to follow Him and glorify His name. (That comes in a couple more lines...)
A thrill of hope, the weary world rejoices. For yonder, breaks a new and glorious morn.
Continuing the thought of "the soul felt it's worth", we are finally finding hope. The world which was once weary and without any hope is now rejoicing in Jesus, the Savior, being born. Tomorrow surely is a NEW and GLORIOUS morn! We can see the light at the end of the tunnel! ("He who was seated on the throne said, "I am making everything new!" Then he said, "Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true." Revelation 21:5 NIV)
Fall on your knees! O, hear the angel voices!
How can we not fall down in worship and praise God who gave us His only Son to save us from sin and death and the fire of Hell?? (John 3:16) Listen to the huge choir of angels who are here at this stable in Bethlehem and how beautifully they sing! All praising this baby Jesus and rejoicing in His birth! I think about any big Tabernacle Choir and how angelic their voices all sound...but REAL, HEAVENLY angels?! Just imagine how AWESOME that must have sounded!!!
O, night divine! O, night when Christ was born!
Christ is born tonight! It surely was a divine night. Something that is so great like the divine taste of chocolate chess pie with homemade whipped cream! (Except WAY better.)
Truly, He taught us to love one another. His Law is love and His Gospel is peace.
Jesus did teach us to love one another and this IS His Law of Love. This wasn't a suggestion, it is a command.
Chains shall He break, for the slave is our brother. And in His Name all oppression shall cease.
Through Jesus's birth, we are able to be set free from eternal damnation if we so choose (John 14:6). Simply in the Name of Jesus, all of the terrible things (oppression) that Satan tries to put on us through our own guilt and sin can be stopped. This is really good news, guys!
Sweet hymns of joy in grateful chorus raise we. Let all within us praise His holy Name!
Once again, how can we not lift up our voices in praise and songs of happiness because of this holy night that took place over 2000 years ago? Here is what we should say/sing/yell (whatever you wanna do)...
"Christ is the Lord!" Let ever, ever praise we.
Let's say this everyday, forever.
Noel. Noel. O, night divine.
"Noel" = "Birthday" in Latin. This is the ULTIMATE birthday! It's a pretty cool thought to think that this little baby's birthday was a "night divine". (Remember, better than the chocolate chess....well, you get it.)
Anyways, I hope that my thoughts make some sort of sense to you and that over this upcoming Christmas weekend, you can remember how great and glorious was the night that started out as a simple, silent night. I challenge you to not only listen to the song now, but to listen to the words from now on. See if you can paint a picture and get an idea of what the original songwriter was trying to tell us many years ago.
MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!
Friday, December 23, 2011
Sunday, December 11, 2011
SO. MANY. BRIDAL. SHOWERS!!
PHEW!!! It has definitely been a month PACKED full of wedding, wedding and more wedding! For those of you who don't know, my sister Hadley is getting married in a month (34 days, but who's counting?) and the past 2 weekends have been none stop wedding showers. We are all so thankful for all of our gracious family members and Hadley's & Bennett's friends who have hosted showers, given gifts, and been there to support them these past several months! Last weekend, Mary Clyde (sister) and I -- along with lots of Mom's help and Mama's beautiful home and decorations -- hosted a Christmas themed shower for Hadley. It was so great to see lots of friends and family and catch up with everyone again.
This weekend we were in for a double dose! On top of the 2 bridal showers we had (and I say "we" because I have attended and performed my "MOH duties" at all of them) a King family reunion in Durham at The Cotton Room. It was beautiful! The room was gorgeous and the food was outstanding. Hadley initially wanted to have her reception there but our parents said that we could only invite immediate family if that were the case! So Had decided that she would go for somewhere that she could have all of she and Bennett's friends and our families. Anyways, right after the family reunion, we headed straight to my cousin Kathryn's house in Raleigh for a "Something You Can't Live Without" shower which she and another cousin Amy hosted. Let me tell you about that snack spread....wow! These were the types of handmade snacks that you only see in the magazines and think to yourself "oooh, I wanna make that!" but of course it never actually happens. There were bite sized chicken & waffles (Amy is from Savannah, GA...), a cheese ring w/ strawberry preserves, homemade cheese stars, pumpkin dip w/ gingerbread cookies and some sort of minty mouse in tiny chocolate cups (YUMMMM!!!). I honestly don't even want to try to describe it all because I can't do it justice. But we had a great time and stayed there until our eyes were about to shut tight.
So now we come to today's shower in Wilson. This morning, Mom and I left Goldsboro a little early and went to The Johnson's house to eat some Parker's BBQ for lunch before heading over to Bennett's Aunt Vickie's house where several Wilson ladies hosted Hadley's final shower. It was so nice to meet more of The Johnson's friends and get to hang out with Bennett's aunts and cousins a little bit more. After the shower we came back to the Johnson's house for a little while (somehow my dad ended up over there too, he just couldn't stay away from the party) and ordered a pizza. It's so good to spend time with them!
I told Hadley she better start writing her Thank You notes soon because we are about to fill up that little book of her's! Mom is rearranging the dining room right now to display more of their gifts.
Although it has been a tiring process, it has been so much fun and the real fun is still yet to come! The Lord has really blessed us with a great family and some awesome friends and continues to bless us every day. He is awesome! Once again, thank you so much to everyone who has come and supported Hadley & Bennett and our families, it really means a lot to us and to them!! WE LOVE YOU!
Now I've got to finish up my last week of exams/work and I'll be home again before I know it. Good luck to everybody with the rest of school before Christmas Break can officially start! :)
This weekend we were in for a double dose! On top of the 2 bridal showers we had (and I say "we" because I have attended and performed my "MOH duties" at all of them) a King family reunion in Durham at The Cotton Room. It was beautiful! The room was gorgeous and the food was outstanding. Hadley initially wanted to have her reception there but our parents said that we could only invite immediate family if that were the case! So Had decided that she would go for somewhere that she could have all of she and Bennett's friends and our families. Anyways, right after the family reunion, we headed straight to my cousin Kathryn's house in Raleigh for a "Something You Can't Live Without" shower which she and another cousin Amy hosted. Let me tell you about that snack spread....wow! These were the types of handmade snacks that you only see in the magazines and think to yourself "oooh, I wanna make that!" but of course it never actually happens. There were bite sized chicken & waffles (Amy is from Savannah, GA...), a cheese ring w/ strawberry preserves, homemade cheese stars, pumpkin dip w/ gingerbread cookies and some sort of minty mouse in tiny chocolate cups (YUMMMM!!!). I honestly don't even want to try to describe it all because I can't do it justice. But we had a great time and stayed there until our eyes were about to shut tight.
So now we come to today's shower in Wilson. This morning, Mom and I left Goldsboro a little early and went to The Johnson's house to eat some Parker's BBQ for lunch before heading over to Bennett's Aunt Vickie's house where several Wilson ladies hosted Hadley's final shower. It was so nice to meet more of The Johnson's friends and get to hang out with Bennett's aunts and cousins a little bit more. After the shower we came back to the Johnson's house for a little while (somehow my dad ended up over there too, he just couldn't stay away from the party) and ordered a pizza. It's so good to spend time with them!
I told Hadley she better start writing her Thank You notes soon because we are about to fill up that little book of her's! Mom is rearranging the dining room right now to display more of their gifts.
Although it has been a tiring process, it has been so much fun and the real fun is still yet to come! The Lord has really blessed us with a great family and some awesome friends and continues to bless us every day. He is awesome! Once again, thank you so much to everyone who has come and supported Hadley & Bennett and our families, it really means a lot to us and to them!! WE LOVE YOU!
Now I've got to finish up my last week of exams/work and I'll be home again before I know it. Good luck to everybody with the rest of school before Christmas Break can officially start! :)
Sunday, December 4, 2011
You're probably Stevie Wondering why I made ANOTHER blog.
Alright, so I realize that I don't have a very good reputation for keeping up with a blog once I start one, but I thought about this one for a while (about 5 minutes) tonight on my drive back to Wrightsville Beach. I want to have somewhere to keep track of my thoughts and weekly happenings for myself, and also to share with you.
The "Signed, Sealed, DELIVERED." title came from the fact that over the past year or so I have been intrigued by this thought of God having delivered us out of the slavery of sin and death. It started with my liking for the song "Deliver Us" from The Prince of Egypt and then a couple of other things just came up since then. Most recently, I was listening to the song "Raised Me Up" by Aaron Keyes that says "You have delivered me 'cause you delight in me......" and from then I just thought , Wow, I really should think more about this and what it means that Christ has really delivered us out of captivity from Satan.
We can also read about this in 2 Samuel 22:20 and again in Psalms 18:19 which both read: "He led me to a place of safety; He rescued me because He delights in me." This is such a huge action of Christ's love for US -- yes US...not just me or Billy Graham or whomever other individual, but EVERYONE...yes, that includes YOU and EVERYONE YOU CAN THINK OF -- to realize and accept. When I think of deliverance, sometimes I think of Nelson Mandela or Abraham Lincoln or some other historical figure/happening that made a huge impact on some large part of the world. How about Jesus?? Jesus dying for ALL OF THE WORLD is a pretty huge historical happening, too, and we should not forget His deliverance of all mankind. WE have been delivered and that is awesome!
The "Signed, Sealed, DELIVERED." title came from the fact that over the past year or so I have been intrigued by this thought of God having delivered us out of the slavery of sin and death. It started with my liking for the song "Deliver Us" from The Prince of Egypt and then a couple of other things just came up since then. Most recently, I was listening to the song "Raised Me Up" by Aaron Keyes that says "You have delivered me 'cause you delight in me......" and from then I just thought , Wow, I really should think more about this and what it means that Christ has really delivered us out of captivity from Satan.
We can also read about this in 2 Samuel 22:20 and again in Psalms 18:19 which both read: "He led me to a place of safety; He rescued me because He delights in me." This is such a huge action of Christ's love for US -- yes US...not just me or Billy Graham or whomever other individual, but EVERYONE...yes, that includes YOU and EVERYONE YOU CAN THINK OF -- to realize and accept. When I think of deliverance, sometimes I think of Nelson Mandela or Abraham Lincoln or some other historical figure/happening that made a huge impact on some large part of the world. How about Jesus?? Jesus dying for ALL OF THE WORLD is a pretty huge historical happening, too, and we should not forget His deliverance of all mankind. WE have been delivered and that is awesome!
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