God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen

God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen

God rest ye merry, gentlemen, let nothing you dismay,
Remember Christ our Savior was born on Christmas Day;
To save us all from Satan’s power when we were gone astray.

Refrain

O tidings of comfort and joy, comfort and joy;
O tidings of comfort and joy.

In Bethlehem, in Israel, this blessèd Babe was born,
And laid within a manger upon this blessèd morn;
The which His mother Mary did nothing take in scorn.

Refrain

From God our heavenly Father a blessèd angel came;
And unto certain shepherds brought tidings of the same;
How that in Bethlehem was born the Son of God by name.

Refrain

Fear not, then, said the angel, Let nothing you affright
This day is born a Savior of a pure Virgin bright,
To free all those who trust in Him from Satan’s power and might.

Refrain

The shepherds at those tidings rejoiced much in mind,
And left their flocks a-feeding in tempest, storm and wind,
And went to Bethl’em straightaway this blessèd Babe to find.

Refrain

But when to Bethlehem they came where our dear Savior lay,
They found Him in a manger where oxen feed on hay;
His mother Mary kneeling unto the Lord did pray.

Refrain

Now to the Lord sing praises all you within this place,
And with true love and brotherhood each other now embrace;
This holy tide of Christmas all others doth deface.

Refrain

God bless the ruler of this house, and send him long to reign,
And many a merry Christmas may live to see again;
Among your friends and kindred that live both far and near—

That God send you a happy new year, happy new year,
And God send you a happy new year.

Last hymn/carol for the last Sunday in 2019. May God send you a happy New Year!

Boxing Day…

Christmas Eve and Christmas day were such wonderful days. They started slow and ended in a whirlwind of paper and glitter. So fabulous. Today I feel like I was boxing all night so it will be a few days till I can recap the wonder of it all.

“Oh that the Lord would come! He is coming! He is on the road and travelling quickly. The sound of his approach should be as music to our hearts! Ring out, ye bells of hope! ~ Spurgeon

This made me think about how I was anticipating the arrival of our kids for our celebration. I kept looking out the window to see if they were turning into our driveway. So thankful they were on the road headed our way. So thankful when they arrived. So thankful our Lord is coming, too.

Merry Christmas to All…

For Unto Us A Child…

С Рождеством Христовым (S Roždestvom Khristovym)

John 1:14 (ESV)

And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.

I’ll see you all after Christmas! Hope all will be merry and bright for you!

The Heavens Declare

Psalm 19

The heavens declare the glory of God,
    and the sky above proclaims his handiwork.

Day to day pours out speech,
    and night to night reveals knowledge.
There is no speech, nor are there words,
    whose voice is not heard.

Their voice goes out through all the earth,
 and their words to the end of the world.
In them he has set a tent for the sun,
 which comes out like a bridegroom leaving his chamber,
    and, like a strong man, runs its course with joy.

Its rising is from the end of the heavens,
    and its circuit to the end of them,
    and there is nothing hidden from its heat.

The law of the Lord is perfect,
    reviving the soul;
the testimony of the Lord is sure,
    making wise the simple;
 the precepts of the Lord are right,
    rejoicing the heart;
the commandment of the Lord is pure,
    enlightening the eyes;
 the fear of the Lord is clean,
    enduring forever;
the rules of the Lord are true,
    and righteous altogether.

More to be desired are they than gold,
    even much fine gold;
sweeter also than honey
    and drippings of the honeycomb.
 Moreover, by them is your servant warned;
    in keeping them there is great reward.

Who can discern his errors?
    Declare me innocent from hidden faults.
 Keep back your servant also from presumptuous sins;
    let them not have dominion over me!
Then I shall be blameless,
    and innocent of great transgression.

 Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart
    be acceptable in your sight,
    O Lord, my rock and my redeemer.

We have spent some time this month memorizing Psalm 19: 7-9. Verses 10-11 were easy to add on because of a popular worship song in the early 70’s that has stuck in our memory. Time will tell if we end up memorizing the whole Psalm.

I’ll leave you with this photo from Christmas past, 1958. I’m on the left at seven years old. Our little brother Tim was 11 months old. Our parents added three more siblings after Tim was born. There’s a reason I’m the only one who isn’t dressed in their Christmas clothes in this photo. I had some medical problems that I can only remember as some kind of kidney infection that I was hospitalized for. I ended up having to have a home teacher come to our home for a couple months in the new year, (1959). I know I missed Valentine’s Day because I remember that my home school teacher brought me Valentine’s Day cards from my classmates.

We are ready for our Christmas celebrations and for our daughter’s birthday party on the 27th. It always feels good to be ready. We will relax and not worry about any little thing we might have forgotten and just roll on…

All is calm, all is bright…

Once He Came in Blessing~ Hymn

Once He Came in Blessing

Once He came in blessing,
All our ills redressing,
Came in likeness lowly,
Son of God most holy;
Bore the cross to save us,
Hope and freedom gave us.

Still He comes within us,
Still His voice would win us
From the sins that hurt us;
Would to truth convert us
From our foolish errors,
Ere He comes in terrors.

Thus if Thou hast known Him,
Not ashamed to own Him,
Nor dost love Him coldly,
But will trust Him boldly,
He will now receive thee,
Heal thee, and forgive thee.

He who well endureth,
Bright reward secureth;
Come, then, O Lord Jesus,
From our sins release us;
Let us here confess Thee,
Till in Heav’n we bless Thee.

Words: Johann Roh, 1544.

Snow and Slush

Happy First Day of Winter! Four more days till Christmas! Get your jolly on!

On Wednesday into Thursday we had a good little snowfall. Here’s Dear taking out the trash. It’s good to have knee high muck boots!

On Friday the weather warmed up and now all the beautiful white snow is turning into muddy slush. A Pineapple Express is pushing through our area. We’ve gone from below freezing temps to upwards of almost fifty degrees! I have my car back repaired and looking brand new again. It will soon be covered in mud from the slushy roads.

What a treat to compose a blog post listening to some of our favorite Christmas music. Love this song from the Carpenters album (1977).

Preparing for Winter…

This covey of quail were in our backyard before our latest snow.

Looks like this one is ready for winter for sure.

It is always a treat to see a covey of quail in our back yard. Right now our yard is covered with a few inches of snow so finding treats will be a little tougher.

Winter is upon us with it’s official arrival on Saturday. We had about four inches of snow on Thursday. We have warmer days coming, into the forties predicted with rain, so our snow will soon be a slushy mess. It is snowing while I type so we’ll probably have over five inches by Friday morning.

Addy came for a short visit this morning so her mommy could finish up some shopping. She helped me wrap some gifts and played. All my wrapping is done except for a few gifts still ordered and on their way. Living in the country we end up doing more shopping online with deliveries to our door. On our road we have a rural mail carrier. They deliver the mail in their own vehicles. We do not see U.S. Postal vehicles on our road.

Hope you all have a peaceful joyful last weekend before Christmas.

Come, Thou long expected Jesus
Born to set Thy people free;
From our fears and sins release us,
Let us find our rest in Thee.
Israel’s strength and consolation,
Hope of all the earth Thou art;
Dear desire of every nation,
Joy of every longing heart.

Charles Wesley