Thursday, December 23, 2010

I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day


Christmas time is here! YAY!


We have been so incredibly busy. I know I've started my last three or four posts like that, but it's true! We have been traveling, painting, shopping, *eating* and getting these two married:

Seriously, the most beautiful wedding I've ever been to. Congratulations, Jayla and Dustin! So proud to be your best friend! I wish many years of happiness and blessings for you both! We will make so many "4 Ps" memories!!!!

So much goes on during the month of December. Although Christmas is about the birth of our Savior, most of the time we forget about the true meaning in between the mall and the dinners and the gifts...Christmas is a time to reflect on the blessings we've been given, and the most ultimate blessing of all, Jesus.

It clicked with me this year while standing in church one Sunday just how worshipful Christmas can be. If you know me, you know I love some Praise and Worship music. I love my home church and my Birmingham church mostly because of the amazing worship services. There is nothing better than praising my Savior through song.

I get so used to Christmas music by the time Christmas rolls around. We play it constantly at work from Thanksgiving to Christmas. I get numb to it. For instance, Rihanna is singing some version of "Silent Night" that has a Jamaican beat to it. Really? Then there's "Dominic the Donkey" and the dogs barking Jingle Bells, usually followed by Jessica Simpson singing "Santa Baby."

What does this have to do with our Savior? Absolutely nothing, I tell you.

We stand in church services all through the month of December singing Christian carols, but with no emphasis. How many times have we sung "Angels We Have Heard On High" or "O Come All Ye Faithful?" We are so numb to what these songs MEAN.

Some of my new favorite worship songs are Christmas songs. They are applicable to daily life. Take "O Come, O Come, Emmanuel" for example. Emmanuel means GOD IS WITH US. God is with us daily. Read the words below:

O Come, O Come, Emmanuel,

And ransom captive Israel,

That mourns in lonely exile here

Until the Son of God appears.

REJOICE! REJOICE!

Emmanuel shall come to thee, O Israel.

We are Israel, in a figurative sense. Have you seen the world around you lately? We are captive to the world. Emmanuel will return to save us from ourselves. Rejoice!

Or "Hark! The Herald Angels Sing." The third verse is my favorite.

Hail the Heav'n Born Prince of Peace!

Hail the Son 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!

Hark! The herald angels sing,

Glory to the newborn King!

We are saved because of the life and death of the Son of Righteousness! Hallelujah!

"I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day" written by poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow.

And in despair I bowed my head,

"There is no peace on Earth," I said.

"For hate is strong and mocks the song,

Of peace on Earth, good will to men."

Then pealed the bells more loud and deep,

"GOD IS NOT DEAD NOR DOES HE SLEEP!

The wrong shall fail, the right prevail

With peace on Earth, good will to men!"

How blessed are we with a God who is not dead and is not blind to our troubles! God knows the depths of our hearts and is over everything, even when we feel like He has forsaken us. In the end, God will prevail over the enemy!

There are countless others. I've found myself standing quietly in church, just listening to those beautiful words of triumph and redemption and hope. We worship the One who deserves to be praised, even in the busiest or uncertain of times.

Jesus Christ is the reason for the season. May we never forget why we are here.

Random Trivia Fact: Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, one of the great American poets, only penned this one hymn. It was written amidst the Civil War, after the news of his son being killed in battle, and then losing his wife in a fire. There are two verses usually omitted from the hymn version about the war. He wrote this great hymn in the depth of despair. Yet, he knew our God lives!

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