Veiled in flesh the Godhead see

Hark, the Herald Angels Sing

by Charles Wesley

Music adapted from a Mendelssohn cantata

Hark the herald angels sing

"Glory to the newborn King!

Peace on earth and mercy mild

God and sinners reconciled"

Joyful, all ye nations rise

Join the triumph of the skies

With the angelic host proclaim:

"Christ is born in Bethlehem"

Hark! The herald angels sing

"Glory to the newborn King!"

~

Christ by highest heav'n adored

Christ the everlasting Lord!

Late in time behold Him come

Offspring of a Virgin's womb

Veiled in flesh the Godhead see

Hail the incarnate Deity

Pleased as man with man to dwell

Jesus, our Emmanuel

Hark! The herald angels sing

"Glory to the newborn King!"

~

Hail the heav'n-born Prince of Peace!

Hail the Son of Righteousness!

Light and life to all He brings

Ris'n with healing in His wings

Mild He lays His glory by

Born that man no more may die

Born to raise the sons of earth

Born to give them second birth

Hark! The herald angels sing

"Glory to the newborn King!"

But now in Christ Jesus ye who sometimes were far off are made nigh by the blood of Christ.
For he is our peace, who hath made both one, and hath broken down the middle wall of partition between us;
Having abolished in his flesh the enmity, even the law of commandments contained in ordinances; for to make in himself of twain one new man, so making peace;
And that he might reconcile both unto God in one body by the cross, having slain the enmity thereby:
And came and preached peace to you which were afar off, and to them that were nigh.
Ephesians 2: 13-17

Lyrics from http://www.carols.org.uk/hark_the_herald_angels_sing.htm

"Gentle Joys": some of my favorite Christmas books

1. A Woman's Christmas: Returning to the Gentle Joys of the Season by Arlene Hamilton Stewart (Victoria magazine). This is my favorite "scenario" Christmas book... I would love to have the kind of lovely, classic, feminine, perfect Christmas season that it describes.

2. Simply SenseSational Christmas by Terry Willits. A beautiful Christ-centered, home-centered book.

3. The Twelve Teas of Christmas by Emilie Barnes, illustrated by Sandy Lyman Clough. A book full of charming ideas to celebrate "friendship," "family," "warmth," "peace," "dreams," and "stillness," to name a few.

4. Christ in the Carols by Christopher and Melodie Lane. A small treasure, full of the lyrics to some of the most inspired music of our age, along with Scripture, and often, the stories behind the songs.

Peace on earth, good will to men...

I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day

By Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

I heard the bells on Christmas day
Their old familiar carols play,
And mild and sweet the words repeat
Of peace on earth, good will to men.

And thought how, as the day had come,
The belfries of all Christendom
Had rolled along the unbroken song
Of peace on earth, good will to men.

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 from each black, accursed mouth
The cannon thundered in the South,
And with the sound the carols drowned
Of peace on earth, good will to men.

It was as if an earthquake rent
The hearth-stones of a continent,
And made forlorn, the households born
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.”

Till ringing, singing on its way
The world revolved from night to day,
A voice, a chime, a chant sublime
Of peace on earth, good will to men.

Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.

Luke 2:14

Lyrics courtesy of http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/I_Heard_the_Bells_on_Christmas_Day

Image courtesy of antiqueclipart.com

Small joys

This Christmas season, we've made an effort to enjoy some of the small joys of the season.





One recent evening, I took a shower with a special holiday scent, then joined a purring cat in my dressed-for-Christmas bed to read a special Christmas book.








(I've been reading the Nativity Trilogy by Bodie & Brock Thoene... currently on the middle story, Fifth Seal.)