By now I’ve listened to and posted four Christmas hymn requests this morning, and my heart is stirred. I can’t listen to Pavarotti sing Christmas without my eyes filling up. It’s OK; it’s a tribute paid to the Lord.
Requested by “SlimJim”–I hope you don’t mind that he sings this French carol in the original French: besides which, he was in Montreal at the time.
Phoebe asked for Adeste Fideles–and there were so many lovely renditions to choose from (pardon the dangling preposition), no way to go wrong. So I hope you all enjoy this one, sung by Andrea Bocelli.
I love the fact that Our Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, was born in a stable and laid in a manger. But we should also remember that His is a truly royal birth–King of Kings, and Lord of Lords. His humility and His glory are both part of who He is.
Requested by “Thewhiterabbit,” O, Come All Ye Faithful, sung by the King’s College Choir at Cambridge.
Okay, we’re back in the Christmas Carol Contest, and we’ll start with this song requested by Erlene: Christmas is Believing, by Carroll Roberson. Beautiful!
I do get tired of reporting the boiling idiocy that passes for current events these days. Had to write a Newswithviews column today, too. And our floor lamp has conked out, so it’s kind of dark in here. The new lamp won’t arrive till Friday.
So far today, nobody’s playing in our Christmas Carol Contest. C’mon, now–let’s get festive! Let’s defy this evil age and proclaim the birth of Jesus Christ.
Has the nooze got you down? Me, too. But let’s be like Paul, “[W]e are perplexed, but not in despair” (2 Corinthians 4:8). We may be weak, but our defender is strong!
If you visit this blog often, but have yet to request a hymn or Christmas carol–come on, grab a bat and march up to the plate! Do your bit!
And to those of you who have been requesting Christmas hymns: win or lose, we all thank you! Because all this glorious music is pure profit to us all.
I just realized some of you already have all my books and so winning one in the contest wouldn’t do much for you. But not to worry–
If you should win the contest, but you already have all ten Bell Mountain books, you can have No. 11, The Temptation, when it’s published. I don’t know when that’ll be, maybe a few months from now; but I’m good for it.
Yesterday What Child Is This? shot into the lead with 22 views. The Christmas Shoes had more, but as it was dedicated to Linda, I’m putting it into a special category of its own. It’s already the winner in that category.
Today so far–no entries. Come on, some of you readers who never request a hymn: we’re counting on you to liven up this morning.
Isn’t this funny? I was just thinking of this hymn; then I turned on my computer and found “Janowrite” had just requested it–Once in Royal David’s City, sung by the King’s College Choir at Cambridge University Chapel, England.
Wow, look at all the candles! There’s something to be said for High Church.
This is a special request by our dear friend Linda’s daughter, Lyn–The Christmas Shoes. Dedicated to Lyn’s mother, Linda Sorci, who recently left us for a mansion in Our Father’s house.
We willingly pay the tribute of our tears.
Requested by Phoebe, Joy to the World, sung by the Libera boys’ choir. Words by Isaac Watts: published in 1719.
You might want to turn up the volume on this one.
Wow! Just what I needed to stir up my heart, and loosen up the ol’ tear ducts–
Requested by Joshua, sung by Josh Groban, What Child Is This?
One of my very earliest memories is of a picture, showing the stable at a distance, and the Baby lying in the manger: and you were just close enough to see the smile on the Baby Jesus’ face. How I loved that! And I am sure I couldn’t have been more than four years old, and very likely yes. How I loved that baby!
Good instincts, I guess.
Now… do I really want to cover any nooze this morning?