This isn’t exactly a Christmas hymn, and I don’t know who’s performing it–but it will serve to wash some of the nooze out of my head. And anyhow, we all know why we so gladly celebrate Christmas–don’t we? Without the birth of Jesus Christ, it’s nothing much: so He is the source of the joy expressed in this carol. It is from God that all blessings flow.
First, a word about our Christmas Carol Contest.
With four days left to go, Magnificat leads with 27 views the day it was posted. Days of Elijah has 28, but it’s hard for me to stretch that into a Christmas carol.
Due to circumstances beyond our control, Patty and I will be here Christmas Day, no Garden State Parkway this year, and I hope some of you drop in, in a manner of speaking: we appreciate your company.
Between you and me, I think this poor fallen world needs this Christmas as badly as it’s ever needed any Christmas. Pray God the Father endows this Christmas of 2018 with great power to draw our hearts to Jesus Christ, our rightful Lord and only Savior. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
Joshua asked for this one: How Great Our Joy, by Steve Green.
I was going to update the Christmas Carol Contest here, but something tells me I’d better do it in a separate post.
Requested by Erlene: O Come, O Come, Emmanuel is a Latin hymn from way back in the 12th century.
If you’re wondering what good it does to post hymns, think about this comment I found on the Youtube page: “I’m an atheist. After listening to this I realize how it feels like to believe in him.”
Give God the glory for that.
If you went over to my aunts’ house anytime around Christmas, Andre Rieu was on their TV. They couldn’t get enough of his Christmas specials. I like to remember this.
Anyhow, here he is with his Johann Strauss orchestra–Andre Rieu, O Holy Night: dedicated to Gertie, Millie, and Joan.
Oh, for a hatchback! That’d make this job an awful lot easier.
For many years we got our Christmas tree at a local nursery where my family had always bought our tree, going back to when I was a baby. But the town got rid of it, and now we have to go to Home Depot. We loaded most of the tree into the trunk and tied the trunk down. Happily, this time it didn’t pop open again.
Along the way, we acquired a fresh duck for Christmas dinner–so we are almost all ready. All I’ve got left to do is wrap presents. Then it’s just a matter of vacuuming the floor and setting up the tree. We’ll trim it on Christmas Eve. We have a string of tree lights originally from my Grandpa’s store in the 1930s: they all still work. Every one of our ornaments has a story and a history. We use them all.
Christmas and Easter, Christ’s birth, His death and resurrection, are the fulfillment of the most profound hope of the human race. It’s fitting that we celebrate these holy days. They ought to be the high spots of the year, to be remembered and cherished all throughout the year, in all twelve months.
Special from our chess buddy from Down Under, “Optimal Play”–The Three Drovers, performed by the Sydney Philharmonic Motet Choir. And “drover” is Australian for “cowboy.”
I wonder how surprised he’ll be if he wins the carol contest.
I’ve tried to program this wonderful hymn to be posted tomorrow, while we’re out scrambling around to buy a Christmas tree and Christmas dinner before we get the torrential rains that are in the forecast for the next day.
Requested by Phoebe, the Christendom College Choir with Angels We Have Heard on High. I think you’ll be glad if you turn up the volume!
Oops. If I’ve done this right, “tomorrow” is “today.”
Turn up the volume for this–and watch out that your furniture doesn’t start dancing.
This is the Idaho Falls Symphony Orchestra, with the combined Idaho Falls high school choirs, belting out Ding-Dong Gloria on High–complete with strings, glorious drums (oh, the drums!) and, joy of joys, a harpsichord. Really, I am quite overcome–tears in my eyes. But wit you well (as old Tom Malory would say) they are but tears of joy: for Jesus Christ is come in the flesh.
Ah! More Christmas hymn requests!
This from Joshua: Ding-Dong Merrily on High, sung by the King’s College Choir at Cambridge.
O Holy Night still leads the Christmas Carol Contest with 25 views on the day it was posted.