Advent 2021

Well, in just a few months it will be a full two years since the pandemic began. I must confess that with the pandemic and moving to Texas, I have not yet found a new church home. So, today on this first day of Advent 2021 I will practice “Forgiveness” on myself. Not attending a brick-and-mortar building does not mean I have moved away from my faith, on the contrary I still remain faithful in my beliefs but I do not yet have a faith community to share that with.

I have decided to use this Advent season to return to daily reflection and prayer. In my life music is very important for me so I will blog each day a seasonal song to share with you.

Today, the first Sunday of advent I have chosen the hymn “O Come, O come Emmanuel”. The term advent in Latin means “coming or arrival”. How appropriate those words are as we have spent almost the last two years waiting on an end to this pandemic and if you are like me feeling not at all in control of what is happening in the world.

Advent is a time of waiting and a time of preparation for the celebration of the birth of Christ. Before the birth of Jesus, the Israelites were waiting for a Savior to arrive! The arrival of this Savior was a child and that was not what they were expecting. The Son of God became a man like you and me. God did not have to do this – but He did. Those words strike a chord for me – He did not have to do it but He did! He did it for us so He could also become the sacrifice for our sins.

It took me listening to quite a few versions of this song to decide which one I would share. I wanted the pure sound of the lonely melody and the feeling of mourning and longing as we wait for the coming of a Savior to rescue us from all the ills of the world. Maybe this Advent we can remember that God saw our situation and sent the Christ Child. What we can learn from His birth and life is to wait patiently and know that God is in charge.

Is there a Perfect Christmas?

Merry Christmas!

It is December 23^rd and I have been out and about today. Aerobics class was fun we exercised to Christmas music. As I ran a few errands after the gym I got the feeling that everyone was stressed out. The drivers were aggressive and speeding to get to their destination, the checkout people were not as friendly as usual, the people shopping were not as polite as usual and I wondered why today was so different from the last few weeks where people were smiling and saying Happy Holidays. I came home after completing my errands, glad to be home out of the traffic and ready to relax for the holiday but thoughts about the lyrics of this some came to my head.

On this night of hope and salvation
One child lies embraced in a dream
Where each man regardless of station
On this night can now be redeemed

Where every man regardless of his nation
Ancestral relations
On this night the past can fly away

And that dream we’ve dreamed most
That every child is held close
On this night that dream won’t be betrayed

All as one
Raise your voices
Raise your voices
All as one on this Christmas day

All rejoice
Raise your voices
Raise your voices
All rejoice, Anno Domine

On this night when no child’s forgotten
No dream sleeps where he cannot see
No man here is misbegotten
And this night’s dreams are still yet to be

Where every man regardless of his nation
Ancestral relations
On this night the past can fly away

And that dream we’ve dreamed most
That every child is held close
On this night that dream won’t be betrayed

All as one
Raise your voices
Raise your voices
All as one on this Christmas day

All rejoice
Raise your voices
Raise your voices
All rejoice, Anno Domine

This song stresses to me how the Holiday is about the Savior who cams as man to save us from the imperfect life we live now.

Getting closer to the holiday I believe puts stress on those who are wishing for the “perfect” holiday. Well, if there is one thing I have learned in this life so far is that “perfect” holiday does not exist. The decorations do not matter, the food does not matter, the gifts do not matter – the perfection in Christmas comes from within – from the absolute KNOWING without a doubt Jesus Christ was born and became man for me – He is the Savior of the World. That is my perfection and how I choose to live as a Blessed Child of God.

I love the song I have shared with you – the melody, the voices but mostly the words. As a public school teacher I have encountered far too many children who will not have a Merry Christmas. On this night of Hope and Salvation…. the dream of every child is to be held close – there will be children out there who are not held close, they are ignored or even hurt by the hands of their own parents. That is what this song means to me that one day – one day when Jesus comes back each and every child will finally be held close and taken care of. Jesus came on Christmas to redeem each and every one of us. That dream we have dreamed most every child is held close that dream won’t be betrayed.

My heart breaks as I remember just a few of the children I have had in my classroom these past 36 years. One child who had finger marks on his wrist and arm from being held too closely by a father. One child who had a bruise and scratches on her cheek., When I asked her, she told me “Mom did it” I wanted to cry. Even closer to home a, 3 year old child left alone in an apartment for 2 days because Mom is involved in the drug world. This Christmas will not be perfect – nothing will ever be perfect – until………..

Mary, did you know?

Happy 9^th Day of Christmas! I don’t have ladies dancing today but I have two of my favorite Christmas songs to share with you.

The first is a popular song and I will share the version sung by Pentatonix. There is something about acapella singing I adore, it goes straight to my heart.

Mary, did you Know? https://binged.it/2R3TqvN

I have always had a special place in my heart for Mary, the Mother of God. Maybe because I have her name, maybe it got stronger while I was pregnant. To have new life inside of you and to know that you are a part of God’s plan to CREATE life. Pretty spectacular feeling! I can be certain that Mary felt the same things all pregnant mothers feel, but on top of that she had the Angel of God tell her this was the Savior, the Lamb of God, the Son of God. What might she have been feeling with those added pressures?

The song looks at our perspective – did she know all the details of her Son’s life? Well, no she didn’t but she had the same hopeful feelings during her pregnancy that all mothers do. What will my child look like? What will he or she become or do in the world? Don’t all Mothers aspire to leave the world a better place and hope that our offspring are part of making it a better place? Mary had one more thing to rely on and that was her faith that these promises told to her by the Angel and to Joseph in a dream were in fact the voice of God telling her who this child really was – the Son of God!

This next song is not as well know but really speaks to my heart and is probably one of my all time favorite songs. This is a song more from the perspective of what Mary was thinking and helps me connect with what she might have been feeling and how she got through hard times of doubt and pain.

Breath of Heaven (Mary’s Song) https://youtu.be/TOQRtYYERGo

Again, it connects me to Mary – Even after the message from the Angel, even after the dream Joseph had, surely she had her doubts about this baby? I can believe it was her faith that kept her going. Well, her faith along with the occasional visits from strangers (the king bearing gifts) and the words from strangers (Simeon).

“Lord, now let your servant depart in peace, according to your word; for my eyes have seen your salvation which you have prepared in the presence of all peoples, a light for revelation to the Gentiles, and for glory to your people Israel.” And his father and his mother marveled at what was said about him; 34 and Simeon blessed them and said to Mary his mother, “Behold, this child is set for the fall and rising of many in Israel, and for a sign that is spoken against (and a sword will pierce through your own soul also),that thoughts out of many hearts may be revealed.” – Luke 2:25, RSV-2CE

Those encounters must have kept her and Joseph going every single time they doubted. And in those times of doubt Mary’s faith led her to pray and ask for that light Breath of Heaven to be with her. I have sung this song and said this prayer through hard times of my own and asked that God just send a small breath of heaven to push me through the hard time and remind me of His love and promise to take care of me always. Maybe that is what Mary prayed for – the breath of God to help her through the task of raising the Son of God.