I Wept

I sing in the choir at my church. I love music, I love singing, I love playing the piano, I love writing music, I love everything about music. Its wonderful! During Christmas its even more magical. We get to sing a Cantata with a live orchestra! A rare treat, we ususally just have a pianist and a keyboardist.

Yesterday we practiced for the first time with the orchestra for our Cantata. During one of the songs I wept. I couldn't help it. The tears just kept coming and wouldn't stop! My lip was quivering so badly that I couldn't sing! Thankfully this wasn't the performance, I was a mess. The song we were singing is called, "Mary Did You Know." After having a baby recently the words to this song hit home even more than they had before. The song was originally popular in the 90's and I thought it was beautiful then. But as I sang words like, "When you kiss your little baby you kiss the face of God" and "This child that you delivered will soon deliver you" I imagined my own sweet baby and the 1,000's of times I have kissed her little face and the pain of delivery, and the joy I had in my heart over this little child in my arms the day she was born. What pain and suffering and sorrow Mary had to endure when her son died on the cross! She knew him in such a personal way, in a way only a Mother can know her child. She was so priviledged, yet she had to see this perfect child die in such a terrible manner.

This Christmas its wonderful to be reminded of the birth of Christ, and how amazing that event was, and still is. I hope that all attending the services today heard the words of every song and that those that don't know Jesus as their personal Savior will be changed forever. I am honored to be a part of that moment that changed them, if they did accept Christ into their heart today. Just thought I share this moment of my life with everyone. Have a very Merry Christmas! God bless!

Thanksgiving

With Thanksgiving just behind us and Christmas on the horizon I thought it would be appropriate to stop for a moment and say a word of thanks.

I am thankful to God for my family, still alive and recently passed. I am thankful that they have always loved me unconditionally. I am thankful for friends who do the same. And I am thankful for my wonderful husband who has been allowing me to sleep in for the past few weeks now and taking care of the baby in the morning. I am thankful that I am an American, that I have the freedom to practice my religion and openly express my thoughts without fear of being thrown in jail or killed.

And as I await Christmas day I want to remind us all that it is Jesus Christ who is the reason we have the season. It saddens my heart to hear stories about Wal-Mart stampedes and people being killed by hoards of shoppers trying to get a deal and people fighting over the last toy on the shelf. That is so much the opposite direction of where the true meaning of Christmas is that its sick. How have so many people allowed materialism take the place of the Christmas Spirit of love and kindness? At least if you don't believe in Jesus virgin birth and what that all means, you can at least agree that this is the season to spread love and joy and kindness to all mankind. Of course I do believe in the virgin birth of Jesus and I am joyful for the gift of Christ, God in the flesh... Emmanuel. For without him I would be forever separated from God and would not know the blessing it is to be one of His children.

God bless you all during the Holidays, and I hope you all stay focused on the true reason for the season.