My Heavenly Father,
You know my life, inside and out, from beginning to end.
You see what my purpose will be, and what my failings are now.
You understand my joys and griefs.
Thank You for Your comforting presence in this time of heartache.
My pain was sharp; my sorrow overwhelmed me.
The enemy of my soul came, tempting me to despair and to blame.
I did not know how I was going to survive this separation.
But You whispered to me in my agony.
When I fell to my knees, sobbing, I cried out to You.
I called for light in my darkness.
I begged for forgiveness - for placing another above You.
You, in Your everlasting Love, comforted me.
You let me know that Your desire for me will never fade; Your affection is eternal.
You held me in Your arms, and told me I was Yours.
Thank You, My God, for opening my eyes to You again.
My pain remains, but You transfigure it into a yearning for Your Will.
Whatever my future is, You know.
You hold my heart in Your hands.
I trust my life to You, once again.
I love You!
Saturday, January 07, 2006
Wednesday, January 04, 2006
Hail!
Light of the Stable
By Elizabeth & Steve Rhymer (Performed by Selah)
Hail, hail to the newborn King,
Let our voices sing Him our praises!
Hail, hail, to the guiding Light,
That brought us tonight to our Savior!
Alle-Alleluia!
Alle-Alleluia!
Alle-Alleluia!
Alle-Alleluia!
Come, now, there it shines so bright
To the knowing light of the stable
Kneel close to the Child so dear!
Cast aside your fear and be thankful!
Hail, hail to the newborn King,
Let our voices sing Him our praises!
Hail, hail, to the guiding Light,
That brought us tonight to our Savior!
Alle-Alleluia!
Alle-Alleluia!
Alle-Alleluia!
Alle-Alleluia!
Hail, hail to the newborn King,
Let our voices sing Him our praises!
Hail, hail, to the guiding Light,
That brought us tonight to our Savior!
Alle-Alleluia!
Alle-Alleluia!
Alle-Alleluia!
Alle-Alleluia!
By Elizabeth & Steve Rhymer (Performed by Selah)
Hail, hail to the newborn King,
Let our voices sing Him our praises!
Hail, hail, to the guiding Light,
That brought us tonight to our Savior!
Alle-Alleluia!
Alle-Alleluia!
Alle-Alleluia!
Alle-Alleluia!
Come, now, there it shines so bright
To the knowing light of the stable
Kneel close to the Child so dear!
Cast aside your fear and be thankful!
Hail, hail to the newborn King,
Let our voices sing Him our praises!
Hail, hail, to the guiding Light,
That brought us tonight to our Savior!
Alle-Alleluia!
Alle-Alleluia!
Alle-Alleluia!
Alle-Alleluia!
Hail, hail to the newborn King,
Let our voices sing Him our praises!
Hail, hail, to the guiding Light,
That brought us tonight to our Savior!
Alle-Alleluia!
Alle-Alleluia!
Alle-Alleluia!
Alle-Alleluia!
Meddling
Christmas was wonderful this year. We spent it up in Oakland, with my Mom's family; it was cold and raining (not quite a "White" Christmas, but it was serviceable). On Christmas Eve, after our traditional waffle dinner and present-opening (we open stockings Christmas Day), we packed into Aunt and Uncle's car and headed to their church for a Candlelight carol service.
Something must be stated first: My Aunt and Uncle are Unitarian-Universalists (yes, that's the name of the denomination). This particular church is very welcoming to everyone - that's a good thing. But the main problem is the fact that their philosophy is one of "all roads lead to Rome." In otherwords, be you Buddhist, Satanist, Protestant, New-age, or whatever, you're just fine, and you're going to heaven anyway (or is it Nirvana?)
Unfortunately, this infiltrated the Carols we sang. Oh, they were traditional, all right: Angels we have heard on high, Silent Night, Away in a Manger, Joy to the World, etc. HOWEVER, more than once, I noticed that the lyrics had been altered. So, instead of "Good Christian men, rejoice!" it was "Good people, all rejoice!" I suppose that isn't all that objectional, but when they messed with the lyrics so as to diminish the divinity of Christ - now that got to me. Excuse me, but I have a problem with saying: "Joy to the world, the Lord is come, let love the people bring! Let every heart prepare IT room..." That made me twitch. Or "Silent Night, holy night, CHILD of God..." Whenever there was the word "King" or "Son" or "Savior", it was almost always replaced with a more "gender-friendly", non-spiritually-threatening alternative. Now, I did notice that they left "Hark! the Herald Angels Sing" intact. As with "Away in a Manger" (of course, we only sang the first verse of that one).
It was a beautiful service. The candles gave an enchanting glow to the room. And I was relieved that they stuck with real carols, rather than inserting hymns to the celtic sun god or something. But that may have at least been more honest. In slightly changing the words to these beautiful songs, they strip them of their power. Throughout the service, the ministers told the Christmas story...but left out the part about Christ being the only Son of God who came, not just as a child to deliver messages of hope and peace and love, but as a King calling His people to Salvation from eternal darkness. Without that, what is the point of this celebration? One may as well be singing praises to Ghandi. Take away the Reason for His coming, and you strip the day of its Reason for celebrating.
Something must be stated first: My Aunt and Uncle are Unitarian-Universalists (yes, that's the name of the denomination). This particular church is very welcoming to everyone - that's a good thing. But the main problem is the fact that their philosophy is one of "all roads lead to Rome." In otherwords, be you Buddhist, Satanist, Protestant, New-age, or whatever, you're just fine, and you're going to heaven anyway (or is it Nirvana?)
Unfortunately, this infiltrated the Carols we sang. Oh, they were traditional, all right: Angels we have heard on high, Silent Night, Away in a Manger, Joy to the World, etc. HOWEVER, more than once, I noticed that the lyrics had been altered. So, instead of "Good Christian men, rejoice!" it was "Good people, all rejoice!" I suppose that isn't all that objectional, but when they messed with the lyrics so as to diminish the divinity of Christ - now that got to me. Excuse me, but I have a problem with saying: "Joy to the world, the Lord is come, let love the people bring! Let every heart prepare IT room..." That made me twitch. Or "Silent Night, holy night, CHILD of God..." Whenever there was the word "King" or "Son" or "Savior", it was almost always replaced with a more "gender-friendly", non-spiritually-threatening alternative. Now, I did notice that they left "Hark! the Herald Angels Sing" intact. As with "Away in a Manger" (of course, we only sang the first verse of that one).
It was a beautiful service. The candles gave an enchanting glow to the room. And I was relieved that they stuck with real carols, rather than inserting hymns to the celtic sun god or something. But that may have at least been more honest. In slightly changing the words to these beautiful songs, they strip them of their power. Throughout the service, the ministers told the Christmas story...but left out the part about Christ being the only Son of God who came, not just as a child to deliver messages of hope and peace and love, but as a King calling His people to Salvation from eternal darkness. Without that, what is the point of this celebration? One may as well be singing praises to Ghandi. Take away the Reason for His coming, and you strip the day of its Reason for celebrating.
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