But it’s true
Kingdoms and crowns
The God who came down
To find you

It’s true
Angels on high
Sing through the night
Hallelujah

You’ve heard it told
You think it’s odd
The whole thing fraught with complication
The play begins with baby God
And all his blessed implications
~It’s True by Sara Groves (from her new Christmas album O Holy Night)

But the baby in her womb
He was the maker of the moon
He was the Author of the faith
That could make the mountains move
~Labor of Love by Andrew Peterson

A little Child will lead them, the prophets said of old
In storm and tempest heed Him until the bell is tolled
~Cradle in Bethlehem by Sara Groves

So it came to pass that Joseph was the noblest of men
With a woman on a donkey on their way to Bethlehem
And I wonder whether either was aware enough that day
To know the child would bring a Kingdom
and the old would come to pass away
~It Came to Pass by Andrew Peterson

Will he be a king on a throne
Full of power with a sword in his fist?
Prophet, tell us will there be another king like this?
Full of wisdom, full of strength,
The hearts of the people are his
Prophet, tell us will there be
another king like this?

‘He’ll bear no beauty or glory
Rejected, despised
A man of such sorrow
We’ll cover our eyes

He’ll take up our sickness
Carry our tears
For his people
He will be pierced

He’ll be crushed for our evils
Our punishment feel
By his wounds
We will be healed.’

‘From you, O Bethlehem
Small among Judah
A ruler will come
Ancient and strong.’
~So Long, Moses by Andrew Peterson

He is Mercy’s incarnation
Marvel at this miracle!
For the Virgin gently holds
the Glorious Impossible.

Praise the wisdom of the Father
Who has spoken through his Son.
Speaking still, He calls us to
the Glorious Impossible.
~Glorious Impossible by Gaither Vocal Band

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.”
~In the Bleak Midwinter modified from Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Merry Christmas to you all!

I will do a real update soon, but in the meantime, I wanted to let anybody who is still reading this about a fun new website called NoiseTrade. It’s a website where musicians can get the word out about their music, and you can get cheap (or even free) music downloads! I’ve gotten lots of new music to try out, and found some artists that I really like already. It’s a great way to try out some new artists, and get the word out to your friends about musicians you already like. Check it out!

https://www.noisetrade.com/index.aspx

The trumpet child will blow his horn
Will blast the sky till it’s reborn
With Gabriel’s power and Satchmo’s grace
He will surprise the human race

The trumpet he will use to blow
Is being fashioned out of fire
The mouthpiece is a glowing coal
The bell a burst of wild desire

The trumpet child will riff on love
Thelonious notes from up above
He’ll improvise a kingdom come
Accompanied by a different drum

The trumpet child will banquet here
Until the lost are truly found
A thousand days, a thousand years
Nobody knows for sure how long

The rich forget about their gold
The meek and mild are strangely bold
A lion lies beside a lamb
And licks a murderer’s outstretched hand

The trumpet child will lift a glass
His bride now leaning in at last
His final aim to fill with joy
The earth that man all but destroyed

~ My college sorority had a reunion a couple weekends ago in the mountains of Pigeon Forge (which, incidentally, is like Myrtle Beach in the mountains – and if you don’t already know how I feel about Myrtle Beach, I should tell you that I HATE it.). We ate a lot, reminisced, looked at oooold pictures and went to Dixie Stampede – a lot of fun, but very little sleep was had with that many girls in one house.

~ We are now looking seriously at a December graduation, largely dependent on my productivity over the next couple months, as well as my committee’s mood at the time of our meeting. But I’m looking into job possibilities and have some good ones so far, though nothing is definite yet. I will almost certainly have to leave the area, which makes me sad, but there will hopefully be a chance for me to return sometime soon. We’ll see…

~ The brother is working at Sony pictures right now – he’s been making some good contacts with people in the industry and helping with some indy productions (is that right?) – he’s looking for a place to rent, possibly with a couple friends he’s got who are currently or soon will be out in LA, so that’s exciting. Maybe they will find a place big enough that I can come out and visit after I have a real job. (please?)

~ I got to spend some time with some girlfriends this part weekend – it was a really nice, relaxing weekend, nothing super-structured or formal, and I had a really good time – drinking wine, talking, playing with the new bunnies (!) and watching movies.

~ My friend Dawn and I are going to try to run a 5K in the fall, so I really have to get back to training – I haven’t really run since the early spring, so I’m way not ready right now – and I pulled a muscle in my lower back a couple weeks ago, but that’s almost completely resolved now, so I have no excuses. I even bought new running shoes, since I’d worn through the backs of my previous ones.

~ I’ve slipped back into my habit of reading several books at once, so that has changed my reading pattern a bit – it takes me longer to finish an individual book with several going together, but then I finish a bunch all together. It’s largely because of book clubs and when the library happens to get certain books to me, but I should really go back to my original rule of one at a time. Anyway, after finishing the Harry Potter series (finally!!!), I’ve moved into Phillip Pullman’s His Dark Materials trilogy, mourning over the completion of my beloved HP children’s series. I’ve gotten really sucked into them (I’m almost finished with #2), though I don’t think they compare all that well with the complexity of Harry Potter or some other children’s series – they are quite enthralling on a plot-level, and the major children characters are precocious but sympathetic. (Plus, I’m listening to them on CD in the car, and one of the major characters is voiced by this guy who sounds EXactly like Colin Firth!!! Awesomeness!) I’m also reading Bel Canto for a book club, and I’m constantly struck by the beauty of the writing – and I have to admit, I’m rarely focused on the writing over the plot, but I’ve definitely stopped reading several times and sat there stunned by the incredible way in which things have been described. I’m about halfway through, and I’m looking forward to our eventual discussion.

OK, that’s enough for now – this fall is shaping up to be a very busy time for me, but I will try to keep this more up-to-date than it’s been the past couple months. Even if it’s just what I’d reading or what I’m doing.

Here are some pictures of the new one, as well as big sister Aria:

O Love that will not let me go,
I rest my weary soul in thee;
I give thee back the life I owe,
That in thine ocean depths its flow
May richer, fuller be.

O light that followest all my way,
I yield my flickering torch to thee;
My heart restores its borrowed ray,
That in thy sunshine’s blaze its day
May brighter, fairer be.

O Joy that seekest me through pain,
I cannot close my heart to thee;
I trace the rainbow through the rain,
And feel the promise is not vain,
That morn shall tearless be.

O Cross that liftest up my head,
I dare not ask to fly from thee;
I lay in dust life’s glory dead,
And from the ground there blossoms red
Life that shall endless be.

Lo, how a Rose e’er blooming from tender stem hath sprung!
Of Jesse’s lineage coming, as men of old have sung.
It came, a floweret bright, amid the cold of winter,
When half spent was the night.

Isaiah ’twas foretold it, the Rose I have in mind;
With Mary we behold it, the Virgin Mother kind.
To show God’s love aright, she bore to us a Savior,
When half spent was the night.

The shepherds heard the story proclaimed by angels bright,
How Christ, the Lord of glory was born on earth this night.
To Bethlehem they sped and in the manger they found Him,
As angel heralds said.

This Flower, whose fragrance tender with sweetness fills the air,
Dispels with glorious splendor the darkness everywhere;
True man, yet very God, from sin and death He saves us,
And lightens every load.

In the space of the beginning
Was the living word of light
When this word was clearly spoken
All that came to be was right
All creation had a language
Words to say what must be said
All day long the heavens whispered
Signing words in scarlet red

Some had failed to understand it
So God spoke his final word
On a silent night in Judah’s hills
a baby’s cry was heard

Glory! sang the angel chorus
Glory! echoed back the night
Love has come to walk among us
Christ the lord is born this night

All creation sing his praises
Earth and heaven praise his name
All who live come join the chorus
Find the words his love proclaim