“Good King Wenceslas”
The unconventionally beloved “Good King Wenceslas” dates back to 1853 when English hymnwriter John Mason Neale first penned its lyrics. Set to the tune of the 14th-century carol "𝖳𝗁𝖾 𝖳𝗂𝗆𝖾 𝖨𝗌 𝖭𝖾𝖺𝗋 𝖥𝗈𝗋 𝖥𝗅𝗈𝗐𝖾𝗋𝗂𝗇𝗀," "Good King Wenceslas" focuses on the journey of a kind man who set out in terrible weather on post-Christmas holiday of Saint Stephen's Day to provide aid to poor neighbors.
This “𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨" was a real man, Wenceslaus I, Duke of Bohemia, who ruled from 924-935. Wenceslaus was adored by his subjects. His great acts of charity led to him posthumously being declared a king, and eventually declared sainthood. He is now the patron saint to the Czech Republic.
12/15/2022
This may be one of the most sobering thoughts-Are your children a reflection of you or a reflection of Jesus? -sit with that a minute.
12/14/2022
One day I saw it-the same people weren’t in the boat every time with Jesus. Some people stayed, some people stayed on the shore, some went back to their daily lives. When I saw it, it wasn’t awe striking, it ached.
“Joy to the World”
The most-published Christmas hymn on the continent, "Joy to the World" is yet another song that was not intended to be a Christmas song.
English hymnist Isaac Watts intended the song to be sung for Easter. 𝗛𝗶𝘀 𝗹𝘆𝗿𝗶𝗰𝘀? 𝙃𝙚’𝙨 𝙧𝙚𝙛𝙚𝙧𝙧𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙩𝙤 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙨𝙚𝙘𝙤𝙣𝙙 𝙘𝙤𝙢𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙤𝙛 𝙅𝙚𝙨𝙪𝙨.
So, maybe, this Christmas? Save this post and revisit before Easter. Bring the lyrics out this coming spring and surprise the kiddos, remind them Jesus is the eternal gift, not just in December.
12/12/2022
And here’s And here’s the part that’s easy to forget-Mary was human.
Flesh, bones, heart, and soul human. She couldn’t have known how difficult her yes to God was going to be.
“Jingle Bells”
In Victorian times, it was fashionable to go carol singing with small handbells to chime carol tunes. At times, only the bells would be used to carry the tune, especially on colder days(𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘴𝘦 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘱𝘳𝘦-𝘱𝘦𝘯𝘪𝘤𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘪𝘯 𝘥𝘢𝘺𝘴, 𝘢𝘯𝘺𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘯 𝘢 𝘴𝘪𝘮𝘱𝘭𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘭𝘥 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘥𝘪𝘴𝘢𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘴).
Handbell ringing is still popular today.
One familiar Christmas carol is “Jingle Bells”…
12/10/2022
There are times when the best decisions you will ever make will require you to walk some of the hardest journeys. That’s where we meet Mary, 𝗍𝗁𝖾 𝗆𝗈𝗍𝗁𝖾𝗋 𝗈𝖿 𝖩𝖾𝗌𝗎𝗌-
Susanna Wesley, a life that preached
The earliest version of “Hark the Herald Angels Sing” was a poem written in 1739 by Charles Wesley, brother of John Wesley(father of Methodism). I could share the glorious accomplishments of these two men, but without sharing the strength of their mother none of it would make sense.
“O Little Town of Bethlehem”
“O Little Town of Bethlehem” tells of the birth of Jesus. It was inspired by a traveler's Christmas Eve experience in the Holy Lands.
Phillip Brooks was a distinguished, intellectual man of…
“Silent Night”
The words of “Silent Night” were written by Austrian priest Joseph Mohr in 1816. Music was added in 1818 by his friend Franz Xaver Gruber for the Christmas service at St. Nicholas Church in Oberndorf, Austria. At Midnight Mass, Mohr and Gruber sang the six verses with the church choir repeating the last two lines of each verse.
“Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas”
“Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas” actually started with the musical melody 𝘧𝘪𝘳𝘴𝘵!
Written in 1943 for the “Meet Me in St. Louis” musical, the original lyrics to were considered gut punching-actress Judy Garland refused to even sing them on set (claiming she didn’t want to make the young actress playing her younger to cry).
At a time when horrors of World War II were unfolding, bringing more heartache felt inappropriate.
“Little Drummer Boy”
“Little Drummer Boy”, originally titled “𝖢𝖺𝗋𝗈𝗅 𝗈𝖿 𝗍𝗁𝖾 𝖣𝗋𝗎𝗆𝗌”, is a beloved Christmas Carol throughout the world. Both titles are nods to the repeating line 𝘱𝘢 𝘳𝘶𝘮 𝘱𝘶𝘮𝘱 𝘱𝘶𝘮 𝘱𝘶𝘮, alliteration to the sound imitation of a drum.
“Little Drummer Boy” has been attributed to…
12/2/2022
A read a social media thread last year on seasons, 𝗽𝗲𝗼𝗽𝗹𝗲 𝘀𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗶𝗿 𝗳𝗮𝘃𝗼𝗿𝗶𝘁𝗲 𝘀𝗲𝗮𝘀𝗼𝗻 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘄𝗵𝘆. Most responders had definitive reasons why spring/summer/winter/autumn was a personal favorite. Most reasons had nothing to do with leaves or flowers or snowflakes or ocean swell. 𝙏𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙚 𝙬𝙚𝙧𝙚 𝙢𝙚𝙢𝙤𝙧𝙞𝙚𝙨 𝙖𝙩𝙩𝙖𝙘𝙝𝙚𝙙 𝙩𝙤 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙞𝙧 𝙛𝙖𝙫𝙤𝙧𝙞𝙩𝙚 𝙨𝙚𝙖𝙨𝙤𝙣, 𝙥𝙡𝙖𝙘𝙚𝙨 𝙚𝙢𝙗𝙚𝙙𝙙𝙚𝙙 𝙙𝙚𝙚𝙥 𝙞𝙣 𝙨𝙮𝙣𝙖𝙥𝙨𝙚𝙙 𝙘𝙤𝙘𝙤𝙤𝙣𝙨 𝙝𝙚𝙡𝙙 𝙨𝙖𝙛𝙚. And yearly, as that season rolled around, the memory fired alive and ushered peace. It was neat to read…
11/30/2022
Winston Churchill likely wouldn’t be called a sentimentalist. He leaned more straightforward curt. But on his desk? A picture of his childhood nanny. The person who believed in him is the one he honored.
11/29/2022
When our identity is rooted anywhere other than the cross, branches can get tangled in unhealthy ways. Unnourished roots cannot grow-