Catching Up!

Now is the time to catch up on the miscellaneous events from the Grice household. Nothing really exciting has been happening, so there hasn't been a need to post. :) Life is always exciting at our house, but nothing noteworthy has happened.

Researching Christmas carols took up a good bit of my blogging time, usually leaving me drained and ready to be done blogging. I really did enjoy all of that research, though! The history on some of those carols was rather shocking! :) For example: I never knew that O, Holy Night was written by an atheist and Good Christian Men, Rejoice was penned by a German mystic. Our God can use the most interesting tools to accomplish His will!

Anyway, to get back to my original post, I've got a bunch of pictures (well, ok, there aren't a lot) from various happenings in our home and elsewhere...

On the 2nd, we watched the younger Zook children. Here, Tanya and Abi are making bread.

Abi gave Tanya a small lump of dough to make her own bread with.

Mom had gotten these gingerbread kits on sale after Christmas last year. The little girls really enjoyed putting the stickers all over! The stickers were covered in glitter, which in turn covered the little girls, the table, floor and us in glitter! :)

Tanya kneaded her lump too much, making it flat, but she loved it!

Fresh hot bread with Irish butter... Yummy!

On the 3rd, Mabel asked us to make a "Dirt Dessert" for Valeria's birthday. We were to bring it to church for a mini surprise birthday party after service. It was a lot of fun to make!

Sam and KK worked on crushing the cookies up. We had to sample a few as compensation for making it for Mabel. :)

All finished!

Hunting is still all the rage here!

Sunday the 7th, we all had fun playing Bible Pictionary. Even the adults played!

Leon had us all stumped on this picture. See if you can figure it out. :)

The exhausted hunter

Lynna loves to help with the dishes!

Naughty Dawson (that's Watson's newest nickname)

Sweet Bo Boy

And more hunting...

Goof

Last, but not least, our church's Christmas caroling. We only got a couple pictures of the visiting afterward. We went two nights, the 15th and the 19th. Everywhere we went, the people were very blessed!

Stay tuned for the next post- Christmas Caroling in Axtell, NE!

Joy to the World

Isaac Watts penned this hymn, based on the second half of Psalm 98. It was first published in 1719 in Watts' collection; The Psalms of David: limited in the language of the New Testament, and applied to the Christian state and worship. He wrote the words of Joy to the World as a hymn, glorifying Christ's triumphant return.

You know, this hymn is just right for today. God sent Jesus down to die for us, ultimately bringing glory to His name. Jesus died, then rose from the dead, eventually ascending to His Father in heaven. We know that we will see Him again!

Joy to the world, the Lord is come!

Let earth receive her King;

Let every heart prepare Him room,

And Heaven and nature sing,

And Heaven and nature sing,

And Heaven, and Heaven, and nature sing.

Joy to the earth, the Savior reigns!

Let men their songs employ;

While fields and floods, rocks, hills and plains

Repeat the sounding joy,

Repeat the sounding joy,

Repeat, repeat, the sounding joy.

No more let sins and sorrows grow,

Nor thorns infest the ground;

He comes to make His blessings flow

Far as the curse is found,

Far as the curse is found,

Far as, far as, the curse is found.

He rules the world with truth and grace,

And makes the nations prove

The glories of His righteousness,

And wonders of His love,

And wonders of His love,

And wonders, wonders, of His love.

Mary Did You Know

This was for yesterday, Christmas Eve, but, yet again, I forgot to post it...

Mark Lowry and Buddy Greene wrote the lyrics and music to this Christmas carol in the 80s. It has since become a modern Christmas classic.

Out of all the carols, this has to be my favorite... The lyrics paint pictures in your mind of Mary as she brooded over her miracle baby. These are some of my favorite lines, "This child you've delivered, will soon deliver you." "... your baby boy has walked where angels trod..." "...you have kissed the face of God..." "This sleeping Child you're holding is the great I AM."

It just gives me shivers whenever I hear those lines. I wonder just how much Mary did know, or guessed...

Mary did you know that your baby boy will one day walk on water?
Mary did you know that your baby boy will save our sons and daughters?
Did you know that your baby boy has come to make you new?
This child that you've delivered, will soon deliver you.

Mary did you know that your baby boy will make a blind man see?
Mary did you know that your baby boy will calm a storm with his hand?
Did you know that your baby boy has walked where angels trod?
And when you kiss your little baby, you have kissed the face of God.

The blind will see, the deaf will hear and the dead will live again.
The lame will leap, the mute will speak, the praises of the lamb.

Mary did you know that your baby boy is Lord of all creation?
Mary did you know that your baby boy will one day rule the nations?
Did you know that your baby boy is heaven's perfect Lamb?
This sleeping child you're holding is the great I am.

I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day

This Christmas carol is based on a poem that American poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow wrote in 1863 called "Christmas Bells." It tells of his despair upon hearing Christmas bells, "hate is strong and mocks the song of peace on earth, good will to men."

Longfellow's oldest son, Charles Appleton Longfellow joined the Union during the American Civil War without his father's blessing. Charles was appointed as a lieutenant, but in November of 1863 he was severely wounded in the Battle of New Hope Church in Virginia during the Mine Run Campaign. He had been shot through the left shoulder, with the bullet exiting under his right shoulder blade. It travelled across his back and skimmed his spine, narrowly avoiding paralyzing him by less than an inch.

Less than two years earlier, Longfellow's wife, Fannie, had died in a tragic accident involving fire. Longfellow was awakened from his nap to discover his wife's dress on fire. He tried to extinguish the flames, first with a rug, then with his own body, but it was too late. Fannie died the next morning. Longfellow's facial burns were so bad that he wasn't even able to attend his own wife's funeral.

On Christmas Day, 1863, Longfellow, then a 57 year old widower and father of six children, wrote the poem "Christmas Day" hoping to capture the turmoil in his own heart and the world around him. The theme of listening comes up throughout the poem, leading to a settledness of confident hope even in the midst of despair.

Source: thegospelcoalition.org and of course, Wikipedia.

I heard the bells on Christmas Day

Their old, familiar carols play,

and wild and sweet

The words repeat

Of peace on earth, good-will to men!

And thought how, as the day had come,

The belfries of all Christendom

Had rolled along

The unbroken song

Of peace on earth, good-will to men!

Till ringing, singing on its way,

The world revolved from night to day,

A voice, a chime,

A chant sublime

Of peace on earth, good-will to men!

Then from each black, accursed mouth

The cannon thundered in the South,

And with the sound

The carols drowned

Of peace on earth, good-will to men!

It was as if an earthquake rent

The hearth-stones of a continent,

And made forlorn

The households born

Of peace on earth, good-will to men!

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 doth He sleep;

The Wrong shall fail,

The Right prevail,

With peace on earth, good-will to men."

Gaudete

Gaudete is a sacred Christmas carol thought to have been composed in the 16th century, but could easily have been from the late medieval period.

The Latin text is a typical medieval song of praise. It follows the standard pattern for the time- a uniform series of four-line stanzas, each preceded by a two line refrain.

Sorry, I didn't have time to write this in my own words, so it's pretty much straight out of Wikipedia...

I love the upbeat music to this song! I've only ever heard it in Latin, but I love how the lyrics and music complement each other so well. Look it up sometime. You'll enjoy it (especially Libera's version)!

The first page of the original version.

The Latin lyrics are on the left (obviously) and English is on the right.

Gaudete, gaudete! Christus est natus Ex Maria virgine, gaudete!	Rejoice, rejoice! Christ is born (Out) Of the Virgin Mary – rejoice!
Tempus adest gratiæ Hoc quod optabamus, Carmina lætitiæ Devote reddamus.	The time of grace has come— what we have wished for, songs of joy Let us give back faithfully.
Deus homo factus est Natura mirante, Mundus renovatus est A Christo regnante.	God has become man, (With) nature marvelling, The world has been renewed By Christ (who is) reigning.
Ezechielis porta Clausa pertransitur, Unde lux est orta Salus invenitur.	The closed gate of Ezekiel Is passed through, Whence the light is raised, Salvation is found.
Ergo nostra contio Psallat iam in lustro; Benedicat Domino: Salus Regi nostro.	Therefore let our gathering Now sing in brightness Let it give praise to the Lord: Greeting to our King.

O Come, All Ye Faithful

This song is yesterday's. Since I didn't really have internet access till now, I wasn't able to get it posted.

O Come, All Ye Faithful was originally written in Latin as Adeste Fideles. It has been credited to various authors including John Francis Wade, the earliest copies of the carol bearing his signature, John Reading, and King John IV of Portugal. There's also confusion as to who wrote the music.

I'm sure grateful to the man that did write the song! The lyrics are so good!

O come, all ye faithful, joyful and triumphant,

O come ye, O come ye, to Bethlehem.

Come and behold Him, born the King of angels;

Refrain

O come, let us adore Him,

O come, let us adore Him,

O come, let us adore Him,Christ the Lord.

True God of true God, Light from Light Eternal,

Lo, He shuns not the Virgin’s womb;

Son of the Father, begotten, not created;

Refrain

Sing, choirs of angels, sing in exultation;

O sing, all ye citizens of heaven above!

Glory to God, all glory in the highest;

Refrain

See how the shepherds, summoned to His cradle,

Leaving their flocks, draw nigh to gaze;

We too will thither bend our joyful footsteps;

Refrain

Lo! star led chieftains, Magi, Christ adoring,

Offer Him incense, gold, and myrrh;

We to the Christ Child bring our hearts’ oblations.

Refrain

Child, for us sinners poor and in the manger,

We would embrace Thee, with love and awe;

Who would not love Thee, loving us so dearly?

Refrain

Yea, Lord, we greet Thee, born this happy morning;

Jesus, to Thee be glory given;

Word of the Father, now in flesh appearing.

Refrain

O Holy Night

Adolphe Adam composed O Holy Night in 1847 to the French poem Midnight Christians written by a wine merchant and poet, Placide Cappeau.

In a small town in southern France at the end of the year 1843, the church organ had been recently renovated, so, to celebrate the special event, the parish priest asked Cappeau to write a Christmas poem. Cappeau obliged, even though he was a professed anticlerical and atheist.

Shortly thereafter, Adam wrote the music. The song premiered in Roquemaure in 1847 by the opera singer Emily Laurey.

John Sullivan Dwight, a unitarian minister, created a singing addition based on Cappeau's French text in 1855. In both the original French poem and the two English versions of the carol, the text reflects on the birth of Jesus and of humanity's redemption.

I really enjoyed the literal English translation from the original carol. Sorry about the funny column, I've been having a deal of trouble getting copied songs to do what I want them to do. :-/

Midnight, Christians, is the solemn hour, When God as man descended unto us To erase the stain of original sin And to end the wrath of His Father. The entire world thrills with hope On this night that gives it a Saviour. People, kneel down, await your deliverance. Christmas, Christmas, here is the Redeemer, Christmas, Christmas, here is the Redeemer! May the ardent light of our Faith Guide us all to the cradle of the infant, As in ancient times a brilliant star Guided the Oriental kings there. The King of Kings was born in a humble manger; O mighty ones of today, proud of your greatness, It is to your pride that God preaches. Bow your heads before the Redeemer! Bow your heads before the Redeemer! The Redeemer has broken every bond: The Earth is free, and Heaven is open. He sees a brother where there was only a slave, Love unites those that iron had chained. Who will tell Him of our gratitude, For all of us He is born, He suffers and dies. People, stand up! Sing of your deliverance, Christmas, Christmas, sing of the Redeemer, Christmas, Christmas, sing of the Redeemer!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

This is the most common translation.

O holy night, the stars are brightly shining;
It is the night of the dear Savior’s birth!
Long lay the world in sin and error pining,
Till He appeared and the soul felt its worth.
A thrill of hope, the weary soul rejoices,
For yonder breaks a new and glorious morn.
Fall on your knees, O hear the angel voices!
O night divine, O night when Christ was born!
O night, O holy night, O night divine!

Led by the light of faith serenely beaming,
With glowing hearts by His cradle we stand.
So led by light of a star sweetly gleaming,
Here came the wise men from Orient land.
The King of kings lay thus in lowly manger,
In all our trials born to be our Friend!
He knows our need—to our weakness is no stranger.
Behold your King; before Him lowly bend!
Behold your King; before Him lowly bend!

Truly He taught us to love one another;
His law is love and His Gospel is peace.
Chains shall He break for the slave is our brother
And in His Name all oppression shall cease.
Sweet hymns of joy in grateful chorus raise we,
Let all within us praise His holy Name!
Christ is the Lord! O praise His name forever!
His pow’r and glory evermore proclaim!
His pow’r and glory evermore proclaim!