Category Archives: Christmas Carols

Merry Christmas to All!

Christmas Carol

Hallelujah! hark! from above
Angels come on their wings of love;
Loud hosannas welcome the morn;
Christ our Redeemer’s born.

Refrain

Glory to God the choral strain;
Glory to God the sweet refrain;
Glory, glory, glory to God!
Christ our Redeemer’s born.

Chiming, chiming, hark! ’tis the bells;
Joy to all now their music tells;
Floating onward, greeting the morn;
Christ our Redeemer’s born.

Refrain

Hallelujah! joyful we sing,
While we praise our exalted king;
Let our carol welcome the morn;
Christ our Redeemer’s born.

Refrain

Words: Fanny Crosby

Hallelujah tis done, I believe on the son, I’ve been saved by the blood of the crucified one.

Listening and Sipping Tea Hodgepodge

With gratitude to Joyce From This Side of the Pond for our last Hodgepodge questions of the year.

1. Did you do more talking or more listening yesterday? Was it by choice or by necessity? 

I’m happy to say that I did more listening than talking yesterday. Our grands were here in the afternoon for a few hours and it was fun listening to their banter. JJ had several stories to give us the details on. He talked about his dad’s work on the hot water tank, in detail. Addy filled in anything he missed. He chuckled while calling me, Baa bush Kah, in three separate syllables instead of Baba. Addy read out the instructions on the cookie recipe we made. During dinner together JJ had many things to share. I made the comment that he was quite the conversationalist!

2. Are you a tea drinker? Hot, cold, or both? Flavored? What do you like in your tea? Do you make Christmas tea this time of year? What time of day do you like to sip your tea?
I grew up in a tea drinking household where tea was served regularly and we enjoyed our tea with a sweet cherry syrup or lemon syrup that our mom made and canned in quantity.
At the church we grew up in we’d have meals where tea was served. My friends and I enjoyed making bridges of sugar cubes across the top of our tea glasses before we poured the hot water in. We broke the sugar bridge with the hot water. No tea bags, loose tea steeped. The glasses were hot so the tea was poured into the bowl and we drank the tea from the bowl. At our Russian wedding receptions, Чай не сладкий  (the tea is not sweet) ‘Chai nye slatki’ was a chant that was made while gently tapping our tea glasses with a spoon so the newly married couple could stand and give each other a kiss to sweeten our tea.
I think we mostly had tea in the afternoon or evening.
After I was married I transitioned to coffee and enjoyed tea as an event rather than daily consumption. When I drink tea I enjoy Earl Grey or English Breakfast Tea. No green tea for me. I do not make Christmas tea but I do remember having some in the past.
3. What’s an activity you won’t try, an event you won’t attend, or an athletic challenge you won’t take part in not even for ‘all the tea in China’? 
I will not try bungee jumping. I will not attend a Monster Trucks Show. I will not take part in a marathon.

4. What’s something most people seem to love but is not ‘your cup of tea‘? 

Owning pets.

5. How does your family celebrate New Year’s Eve? 

Hmmm. It has changed over the years and we do not have any set traditions for this eve. Lately we are in bed by 9pm and will hear the fireworks go off at midnight. I used to watch at least one of the countdowns (New York) that were 3 hours ahead of us. Here in Colville the Fourth of July is not a good time to shoot off fireworks because of the fire danger so many folks save their fireworks for New Year’s Eve.

6. Insert your own random thought here. 

I’m still relishing our Children’s Christmas Musical that was on this past Sunday and this song that the Children sang.

You can have my room, Jesus.
You’re always welcome here, Jesus.
I won’t turn you away to a cattle stall.
You can have my room, Jesus.
You can have it all.
Come in, Come in,
Come into my heart, Lord Jesus.
You can have it all.

A Very Merry Christmas to Jo and all of my Wednesday Hodgepodge Friends!

The First Leon ~ A Children’s Christmas Musical

Here are the parents, who had their part of getting Addy to play practices on Sunday evenings starting well before Thanksgiving. JJ was part of the younger crew and their practices started after Thanksgiving. Hats off to them for being faithful to this responsibility and helping Addy learn all the songs for the performance. Since they had to have Addy and JJ at church early on performance day they were able to save us all some good seats and have some down time before the show began.

An exciting start to the Christmas musical which was so well done.

After the first choir number Addy and her duet partner got ready for their song. ‘If you want to be a Star.’

Addy sang her heart out on her duet. She never missed a beat throughout the many songs that the Children’s choir performed during the play. She was diligent and engaged and learned all her parts early.

An addition to the duet, JJ and several other younger ones came on stage dressed as stars. They had to walk and bob in these cute costumes. They entered at the beginning of the duet and exited just before the duet was over.

 

 

 

This was a hilarious part of the musical when the choir turned their backs on us and then turned around again with their shades on and sang an upbeat version of While Shepherds Watched Their Flocks By Night.

The stars became manger animals backstage and re-entered right on cue, nonchalantly.

 

Time for the animals to exit stage left…

 

One of my favorite songs during the musical was, ‘You can have my room, Jesus.’ It was so tender and touched my heart and I shed a few tears.

You can have my room, Jesus.
You’re always welcome here, Jesus.
I won’t turn you away to a cattle stall.
You can have my room, Jesus.
You can have it all.
Come in, Come in,
Come into my heart, Lord Jesus.
You can have it all.

 

And just like that, after months of hard work, the Children’s Christmas Musical was over for another year. It was a program that shed good light on the Christmas Story and honored our Lord Jesus Christ. We are thankful for the directors of the play and all their helpers that put in so much time and energy for the musical.

Our Pastor closed out the play with a short gospel message explaining Hebrews 2:9.

But we see him who for a little while was made lower than the angels, namely Jesus, crowned with glory and honor because of the suffering of death, so that by the grace of God he might taste death for everyone.

A fitting conclusion to the Christ honoring musical.

On Monday our grands spent a few hours here and we baked cookies and enjoyed time together.

Only 6 more days until Christmas!

Once In Royal David’s City

Once In Royal David’s City

Once in royal David’s city
Stood a lowly cattle shed,
Where a mother laid her Baby
In a manger for His bed:
Mary was that mother mild,
Jesus Christ her little Child.

He came down to earth from Heav­en,
Who is God and Lord of all,
And His shelter was a stable,
And His cradle was a stall;
With the poor, and mean, and lowly,
Lived on earth our Savior holy.

And, through all His wondrous childhood,
He would honor and obey,
Love and watch the lowly maiden,
In whose gentle arms He lay:
Christian children all must be
Mild, obedient, good as He.

For He is our childhood’s pattern;
Day by day, like us He grew;
He was little, weak and helpless,
Tears and smiles like us He knew;
And He feeleth for our sadness,
And He shareth in our gladness.

And our eyes at last shall see Him,
Through His own redeeming love,
For that Child so dear and gentle
Is our Lord in Heav’n above,
And He leads His children on
To the place where He is gone.

Not in that poor lowly stable,
With the oxen standing by,
We shall see Him; but in Heav­en,
Set at God’s right hand on high;
Where like stars His children crowned
All in white shall wait around.

Words: Cecil F. Alexander, 1848.

Preparing Our Homes and Hearts

While I was decorating our home and listening to our Christmas CD’s it was fun to get texts and messages about what our kids here and there have been up to so far this Christmas season.

Our oldest were able to fly down to Southern California for a quick trip to enjoy the annual ‘Cousin Christmas’ party and they fit in a day at Disney with several of their cousins, too. Our local kids had their annual Christmas tree hike on their own property and found this year’s tree.

Our youngest and hubby have been trying to keep their cat and kitty out of trouble. The curiosity and skills of the newer kitty have necessitated safety locks on all their cupboards. That sneaky kitty can open the cabinet doors and has even figured out how to work around the basic child proof locks!

We’ve been pondering again the passages about our Emmanuel and the wonder of it all.

In the midst, Greg and I finished this eye straining puzzle of a historic Story Map of Ireland. Thankfully it was only a 500 piece puzzle. It was actually easier than the tea cup puzzle we finished last week. We did have to get out our magnifying glasses for parts of it. Taking the time to put this together while listening to Christmas music is relaxing for us as we ignore other distractions.

I’ll add posts next week of our tree and the rest of the decorations at Our Country Bungalow.

Less Stress More Peace Hodgepodge

Time for another Wednesday Hodgepodge. Thank you to Joyce From This Side of the Pond for the questions!

1. Oxford’s Word of the Year for 2023 is ‘rizz’. Hmmm…before today had you ever heard the word? Do you know what it means? (Apparently it’s short for charisma) Have you ever used the word? If you were in charge of the world, what word would you declare word of the year for 2023?

I have not ever heard that word before today and I did not know what it meant. It sounded more like a nickname for a person to me.

The first word that came to my mind to declare to the world is REPENT! Our world is in a mess.

2. What’s one word you tend to abbreviate in your writing or speech? (as in rizz for charisma)

I’m drawing a blank here except for FYI. It probably will become clearer when I read your answers to this question.

3. Are you a Hallmark movie watcher this time of year? What’s your favorite character from a holiday- themed movie, book, or TV special? 

We do watch some Hallmark movies. Because I’ve had to think so hard and long to come up with a favorite, I don’t think I have a favorite. 🙂 I enjoy the Christmas specials in ongoing series like Call the Midwife or All Creatures Great and Small.

4. Something you look forward to eating this month? 
Our Christmas dinner, all the things on the plate together, prime rib, Yorkshire pudding, creamed corn, roasted vegetables.

5. What’s the most stressful part of the holiday season for you? 

Over the years the stress has decreased because I’m learning to adjust my expectations. Those adjustments have made things less stressful. Sometimes it is hard to admit that I am the one causing the undo stress and I’m the one who needs to adjust. I need to remember to let the peace of Christ rule in my heart.

Getting the Christmas letter/photo/cards out probably has the most time/deadline stress.

6. Insert your own random thought here. 

I’m reading a Christmas Advent Devotional these days leading up to the 25th of December. The writer is covering several Christmas Carols/Hymns/Songs, some very familiar ones and some not so familiar. On Day 12 this was the song that was covered, written by Jester Hairston in 1956.

Mary’s Boy Child

Long time ago in Bethlehem so the Holy Bible say, Mary’s Boy Child, Jesus Christ was born on Christmas Day!

Hark! Now hear the angels sing: “A New King born today, And man will live forevermore because of Christmas Day!

Trumpets sound and angels sing, listen to what they say, That man will live forevermore because of Christmas Day!

While angels watched their flocks by night They saw a bright new shining star, And heard a choir from heaven sing the music came from afar.

Now Joseph and his wife Mary came to Bethlehem that night. They found no place to bear her Child, not a single room was in sight.

Hark! Now hear the angels sing: “A New King born today, And man will live forevermore because of Christmas Day!”

By and by they found a little nook in a stable all forlorn. And in a manger cold and dark Mary’s little Boy Child was born.

Hark! Now hear the angels sing: “A New King born today, And man will live forevermore because of Christmas Day!”

From the devotional:

A memorable line, repeated four times, is this: Man will live forevermore, because of Christmas Day.” It seems rare for a carol to emphasize eternal life, but this line is ‘spot on’. If it weren’t for Jesus’ birth, life, death and resurrection, there would be no eternal life for any man, woman, or child. Among the many things that Christmas means, this is not the least–Christmas means we can have eternal life! 

Romans 6:23: For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Monday Catch-Up

Reading up on the weather forecasts we decided that last Friday would be a good day to do our last Christmas shopping in Spokane. The roads were clear and sun was shining. We went to our usual stores, Home Depot, TJ Maxx, HomeGoods, Hobby Lobby, Trader Joe’s and Costco. After we got done with most of the stores we decided to enjoy an Anniversary lunch at Clinkerdagger. It was fun for us to read that Clinkerdagger was established in 1974 so they celebrate the same anniversary year as us. When we were done we made our last stop at Costco and headed home.

A dear friend of ours with whom we enjoyed card nights with was called up to heaven on Monday the 4th of December.  Her memorial service was at our church on Saturday. Greg and I along with other helpers managed the reception for the family. The service was lovely and her love for Jesus was testified to by her children, grandchildren and husband. We will miss her.

On Saturday Evening, Dear and I finished this difficult jigsaw puzzle that my sister Lana and I started when she was here over Thanksgiving.

Our Colville kids enjoyed Bethlehem Revisited at Colville Community church and our Grands got to enjoy animals and crafts.

Sunday we woke up to 6 inches of snow.

I tried to get artsy…

We drove to church slowly and carefully. Our adult Sunday School sessions are on the topic of forgiveness. Sunday sermon was from Isaiah and all about our Lord Jesus Christ. ‘We must worship the Babe in the Manger.’

After church we enjoyed lunch up at our Colville kids’ home. We got to see the lassos and dreidels and mallets our grands enjoyed making at Bethlehem Revisited. Here’s a shot of the views from their driveway as we drove home.

The fog had settled down on us. Thankful that our son had plowed his driveway before they left for church.

Our Christmas Cards are all addressed and sent, always a good feeling of relief.

This new week I’m hoping to deck the halls and share the decked halls soon.

O Come let us adore him…

Hark! The Herald Angels Sing

Hark! The Herald Angels Sing

Hark! The herald an­gels sing,
Glory to the new­born King;
Peace on earth, and mer­cy mild,
God and sin­ners re­con­ciled!
Joyful, all ye na­tions rise,
Join the tri­umph of the skies;
With th’an­gel­ic host pro­claim,
Christ is born in Beth­le­hem!

Refrain

Hark! the her­ald an­gels sing,
Glory to the new­born King!

Christ, by high­est Heav’n adored;
Christ the ev­er­last­ing Lord;
Late in time, be­hold Him come,
Offspring of a vir­gin’s womb.
Veiled in flesh the God­head see;
Hail th’in­car­nate De­i­ty,
Pleased with us in flesh to dwell,
Jesus our Em­ma-nu­el.

Refrain

Hail the heav’n­ly Prince of Peace!
Hail the Sun of Right­eous­ness!
Light and life to all He brings,
Ris’n with heal­ing in His wings.
Mild He lays His glo­ry by,
Born that man no more may die.
Born to raise the sons of earth,
Born to give them se­cond birth.

Refrain

Come, De­sire of na­tions, come,
Fix in us Thy hum­ble home;
Rise, the wo­man’s con­qu’ring Seed,
Bruise in us the ser­pent’s head.
Now display Thy sav­ing pow­er,
Ruined na­ture now re­store;
Now in mys­tic un­ion join
Thine to ours, and ours to Thine.

Refrain

Adam’s like­ness, Lord, ef­face,
Stamp Thine im­age in its place:
Second Ad­am from above,
Reinstate us in Thy love.
Let us Thee, though lost, re­gain,
Thee, the Life, the in­ner man:
O, to all Thy­self im­part,
Formed in each be­liev­ing heart.

Refrain

Words: Charles Wesley, 1739.

Wesley’s Original version:

Hark, how all the wel­kin rings,
Glory to the King of kings;
Peace on earth, and mer­cy mild,
God and sin­ners re­con­ciled!

Joyful, all ye na­tions, rise,
Join the tri­umph of the skies;
Universal na­ture say,
Christ the Lord is born to-day!

Christ, by highe­st heav’n ador’d,
Christ, the ev­er­last­ing Lord:
Late in time be­hold him come,
Offspring of a vir­gin’s womb!

Veil’d in flesh, the God­head see,
Hail th’in­car­nate de­i­ty!
Pleas’d as man with men t’ap­pear,
Jesus, our Im­ma-nu­el here!

Hail, the heav’n­ly Prince of Peace!
Hail, the Sun of right­eous­ness!
Light and life to all he brings,
Ris’n with heal­ing in his wings.

Mild He lays his glo­ry by,
Born—that man no more may die;
Born— to raise the sons of earth;
Born—to give them se­cond birth.

Come, de­sire of na­tions, come,
Fix in us thy hum­ble home;
Rise, the wo­man’s con­qu’ring seed,
Bruise in us the ser­pent’s head.

Now dis­play thy sav­ing pow’r,
Ruin’d na­ture now re­store;
Now in mys­tic un­ion join
Thine to ours, and ours to thine.

Ah, Dearest Jesus ~ Hymn

 

Ah, Dearest Jesus

Ah, dear­est Jesus, ho­ly Child,
Make Thee a bed, soft, un­de­filed
Within my heart, that it may be
A qui­et cham­ber kept for Thee.

My heart for ve­ry joy doth leap,
My lips no more can si­lence keep;
I, too, must sing with joy­ful tongue
That sweet­est an­cient cra­dle song.

Glory to God in high­est Heav­en,
Who un­to man His Son hath giv­en;
While an­gels sing with ten­der mirth,
A glad new year to all the earth.

Words: Martin Luther, 1535.