โGood King Wenceslasโ
The unconventionally beloved โGood King Wenceslasโ dates back to 1853 when English hymnwriter John Mason Neale first penned its lyrics. Set to the tune of the 14th-century carol "๐ณ๐๐พ ๐ณ๐๐๐พ ๐จ๐ ๐ญ๐พ๐บ๐ ๐ฅ๐๐ ๐ฅ๐ ๐๐๐พ๐๐๐๐," "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 โ๐ฌ๐ช๐ฏ๐จ" 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 werenโt 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 wasnโt awe striking, it ached.
โJoy to the Worldโ
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. ๐๐ถ๐ ๐น๐๐ฟ๐ถ๐ฐ๐? ๐๐โ๐จ ๐ง๐๐๐๐ง๐ง๐๐ฃ๐ ๐ฉ๐ค ๐ฉ๐๐ ๐จ๐๐๐ค๐ฃ๐ ๐๐ค๐ข๐๐ฃ๐ ๐ค๐ ๐ ๐๐จ๐ช๐จ.
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 hereโs And hereโs the part thatโs easy to forget-Mary was human.
Flesh, bones, heart, and soul human. She couldnโt have known how difficult her yes to God was going to be.
โJingle Bellsโ
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(๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ด๐ฆ ๐ธ๐ฆ๐ณ๐ฆ ๐ด๐ต๐ช๐ญ๐ญ ๐ฑ๐ณ๐ฆ-๐ฑ๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ช๐ค๐ช๐ญ๐ญ๐ช๐ฏ ๐ฅ๐ข๐บ๐ด, ๐ข๐ฏ๐บ๐ต๐ฉ๐ช๐ฏ๐จ ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ณ๐ฆ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ข๐ฏ ๐ข ๐ด๐ช๐ฎ๐ฑ๐ญ๐ฆ ๐ค๐ฐ๐ญ๐ฅ ๐ค๐ฐ๐ถ๐ญ๐ฅ ๐ฑ๐ณ๐ฐ๐ท๐ฆ ๐ฅ๐ช๐ด๐ข๐ด๐ต๐ณ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ด).
Handbell ringing is still popular today.
One familiar Christmas carol is โJingle Bellsโโฆ
12/10/2022
There are times when the best decisions you will ever make will require you to walk some of the hardest journeys. Thatโs where we meet Mary, ๐๐๐พ ๐๐๐๐๐พ๐ ๐๐ฟ ๐ฉ๐พ๐๐๐-
Susanna Wesley, a life that preached
The earliest version of โHark the Herald Angels Singโ 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.
โO Little Town of Bethlehemโ
โO Little Town of Bethlehemโ 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 ofโฆ
โSilent Nightโ
The words of โSilent Nightโ 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.
12/7/2022
Sometimes, in the day to day bustle, we feel alone or unheard. The holiday season isnโt any different.
Youโll find upon reflection, that ๐ฝ๐บ๐ ๐๐ ๐ฝ๐บ๐ ๐๐๐๐พ๐ ๐๐๐๐พ๐(even if they are few) ๐บ๐๐พ ๐๐๐พ๐๐พ ๐๐๐โ๐ ๐ ๐ฟ๐พ๐พ๐ ๐๐๐พ ๐๐บ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ฟ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐พ๐บ๐๐๐.
โHave Yourself a Merry Little Christmasโ
โHave Yourself a Merry Little Christmasโ actually started with the musical melody ๐ง๐ช๐ณ๐ด๐ต!
Written in 1943 for the โMeet Me in St. Louisโ musical, the original lyrics to were considered gut punching-actress Judy Garland refused to even sing them on set (claiming she didnโt 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.
โLittle Drummer Boyโ
โLittle Drummer Boyโ, originally titled โ๐ข๐บ๐๐๐ ๐๐ฟ ๐๐๐พ ๐ฃ๐๐๐๐โ, is a beloved Christmas Carol throughout the world. Both titles are nods to the repeating line ๐ฑ๐ข ๐ณ๐ถ๐ฎ ๐ฑ๐ถ๐ฎ๐ฑ ๐ฑ๐ถ๐ฎ ๐ฑ๐ถ๐ฎ, alliteration to the sound imitation of a drum.
โLittle Drummer Boyโ has been attributed toโฆ
12/2/2022
A read a social media thread last year on seasons, ๐ฝ๐ฒ๐ผ๐ฝ๐น๐ฒ ๐๐ต๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐๐ต๐ฒ๐ถ๐ฟ ๐ณ๐ฎ๐๐ผ๐ฟ๐ถ๐๐ฒ ๐๐ฒ๐ฎ๐๐ผ๐ป ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐๐ต๐. 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. ๐๐๐๐ง๐ ๐ฌ๐๐ง๐ ๐ข๐๐ข๐ค๐ง๐๐๐จ ๐๐ฉ๐ฉ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐ฉ๐ค ๐ฉ๐๐๐๐ง ๐๐๐ซ๐ค๐ง๐๐ฉ๐ ๐จ๐๐๐จ๐ค๐ฃ, ๐ฅ๐ก๐๐๐๐จ ๐๐ข๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ฅ ๐๐ฃ ๐จ๐ฎ๐ฃ๐๐ฅ๐จ๐๐ ๐๐ค๐๐ค๐ค๐ฃ๐จ ๐๐๐ก๐ ๐จ๐๐๐. And yearly, as that season rolled around, the memory fired alive and ushered peace. It was neat to readโฆ
12/1/2022
๐๐ก๐ ๐ญ๐ซ๐ฎ๐๐ฌ๐ญ ๐ฌ๐๐ง๐ฌ๐ ๐จ๐ ๐๐๐ข๐ฅ๐ฎ๐ซ๐ ๐ข๐ฌ๐งโ๐ญ ๐๐๐ฅ๐ฅ๐ข๐ง๐ -โฃ
โฃ ~๐ธ๐ฆ ๐ข๐ญ๐ญ ๐ง๐ข๐ญ๐ญ~โฃ
๐ข๐ญโ๐ฌ ๐ฌ๐ญ๐๐ฒ๐ข๐ง๐ ๐๐จ๐ฐ๐ง ๐ฐ๐ก๐๐ง ๐๐จ๐ ๐ก๐๐ฌ ๐ญ๐จ๐ฅ๐ ๐ฒ๐จ๐ฎ ๐ญ๐จ ๐ฌ๐ญ๐๐ง๐ ๐ฎ๐ฉ.
11/30/2022
Winston Churchill likely wouldnโt 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-