Words have power, don’t they? I bet if I asked, you could tell me something kind someone said to you when you were a child. You can probably also repeat something unkind. Words stick with us. Amazing how much impact they have—to inspire, to encourage, to comfort, to praise, to…
My face betrays me. A lot. Whatever I’m thinking, it’s all over my face. And sometimes I’m not thinking about what’s going on around me—I’m somewhere else in my head—but people think my facial expression is connected to what they just said or did. My face gets me in a…
“Stand Up, Stand Up For Jesus” by George C. Webb is a marching song! It’s also a challenge for each of us to be bold in our faith. Stand up, stand up for Jesus, Ye soldiers of the cross; Lift high his royal banner, It must not suffer loss. From…
I read an article about a person who handed some Chick-fil-A money-takers $400 and instructed them to keep paying for people’s food until the money ran out. The manager of the store said this was a blessing to many, many people who came through the drive-through line, but it was…
It’s been awhile since we were in James! But I’m picking up where we left off three weeks ago. James is a fairly short book, but it has so much wisdom. I know we’ve seen other scripture that support the “don’t just talk the talk, walk the walk” idea. This…
MERRY CHRISTMAS! In 1739, Charles Wesley’s poem beginning “Hark! how all the welkin rings/Glory to the King of Kings” appeared in Hymns and Sacred Poems. Initially the words were paired with a slow, solemn tune. A co-worker changed the opening to “Hark! the herald angels sing…” A hundred years after…
Authorship is uncertain for this traditional German carol, although the first two verses have been credited to Theodore Baker. This happens to be one of my favorites. Jesus Christ came to bring us joy! German carol: “How Great Our Joy” While by the sheep we watched at night, Glad tidings…
My guess is you’re familiar with this carol, but I wonder if you’ve sung all five verses. Edmund Sears penned the five-stanza poem in 1849 at the encouragement of his friend, who was the parish priest. The words were put to a Mendelssohn tune a year later and became a…
Originally written in Latin as Adeste Fideles, this CHRISTmas carol has been attributed to various authors, including John Francis Wade (with the earliest copies of the hymn all bearing his signature), John Reading, and King John IV of Portugal. The original four verses of the hymn were extended to a…
This “Twelfth Night” German carol combines the story of Luke 1-2 and Matthew 2 with Isaiah’s prophecies about the “rose” from the “stem of Jesse.” Stanzas 1 and 2 combine folklore (“amid the colds of winter” and Christological interpretation of Isaiah 11:1 and 35:1-2. Stanza 3 introduces imagery from John…
