30 Days of Thankfulness: November 26

Can you believe we're getting so close to the end of the month?!

Today I am thankful for God's gift of music.  I'm thankful that my parents sacrificed from the time I was 5 years old to allow me to take piano lessons, so that now I can just sit down and play whenever I feel like it . . . and I can also teach our children to play (although to my shame, I haven't made that a priority yet).  I'm thankful that even though I will never be proficient in other instruments, I still get to enjoy listening to others' proficiency. :)  And I'm thankful for the "psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs" that God uses to bless us and touch our hearts with His truth.  Here are the lyrics to one such song that I love: 

Come ye sinners, poor and needy
Come ye wounded, weak and worn
There’s a harbor for the broken
Where the hopeless are reborn.

Come ye lost, afraid, forgotten
Let your wondering souls find rest
At your hearts door He is knocking
For you His precious blood was shed.

He is able, He is able
Christ is able, still to save,
Come ye sinners, poor and needy
Sing to Him our songs of praise!

Come ye ransomed and forgiven
Come ye rescued from the grave
Rise and worship Christ our Savior
For the glory of His Name!

And in the stillness of the morning
In the quiet of the dawn
Praise will rise as darkness scatters
And our song goes on and on!


He is able, He is able
Christ is able, still to save,
Come ye sinners, poor and needy
Sing to Him our songs of praise!

--from the hymn "Christ is Able to Save" by Tommy Walker & Mike Harland

A post a day--Dec. 16: "Savior of the World"

Here's another hymn that's not really a Christmas carol, but the words trace Christ's life from birth to future reign.  I have loved the words of this hymn for many years, and my favorite version to listen to is on Stephen Eager's recording, Breath of Life.  Absolutely beautiful.

"Savior of the World"

I cannot tell why He whom angels worship

should set His love upon the sons of men,

or, why, as Shepherd, He should seek the wanderers,

to bring them back, they know not how or when:

But this I know, that He was born of Mary,

when Bethlehem's manger was His only home,

and that He lived at Nazareth and labored,

and so the Savior, Savior of the world is come.

I cannot tell how silently He suffered,

as with His peace He graced this place of tears,

or how upon the cross His heart was broken,

the crown of pain to three and thirty years:

But this I know, He heals the broken-hearted,

and stays our sin, and calms our lurking fear,

and lifts the burden from the heavy laden,

and so the Savior, Savior of the world is here.

I cannot tell how all the lands will worship,

when, at His bidding, every storm is stilled,

or who can say how great the jubilation

when all the hearts of men with love are filled:

But this I know, the skies will fill with gladness,

and myriad myriad human voices ring,

and earth to heaven, and heaven to earth, will answer,

at last the Savior, Savior of the world is King.

~words by W.Y. Fullerton

~sung to the tune of "Londonderry Air"

A post a day--Dec. 9: "Holy Child"

Lately I've been dwelling on the words of this beautiful song by the Gettys.  I wish I could post the tune as well as the lyrics, because it is beautiful!  But hopefully just the words alone will be a blessing to you, as they have been to me. 

Holy Child

Holy Child who chose the hearts of men to be His favored home, 

Leaving Heaven's gates for Bethlehem, God came to call His own.

Now to us the highest King is born--behold, the royal Son.

Glory kneels to bind up all that's torn; the promised One has come.

Joy and pain, as man, He knew on earth, no place to lay His head.

As a servant He embraced this world, and on a cross He bled.

Having borne the deepest grief of man, He rose to Heaven's throne.

Now I'm sheltered in the Father's hand until He calls me home.

May the gift of God amaze us still--the triumph of all time.

As His child, I kneel to Heaven's will and make His purpose mine.

Though this road be scarred with trial and pain, it's paved with lavish grace.

Knowing Him will be my greatest gain, His throne my resting place.

--Keith & Kristyn Getty

**By the way, I wanted some clipart for this post and thought the above picture was lovely.  But somehow I just don't expect that Mary, the manger, or the stable looked as pristine as they do in paintings. :)  

A post a day--Dec. 8: Favorite Christmas Music

**Today's post is a repost from 2 years ago, with a couple more CD favorites added to it for this year! :)

I thought for today's post it would be fun to compile a list of some of our favorite Christmas music! I love playing Christmas music as soon as December gets here. I won't play any till after Thanksgiving--it bugs me when stores start playing it as soon as Halloween is over! ;) I hope to expand our collection of Christmas CDs eventually--it's fairly small, but still fun. These are a few of our favorites that we enjoy listening to year after year:

Dream a Dream by Charlotte Church. We've had this CD for something like 10 years and I still love it.  The only song I don't love is the title song, actually. Too much beat for me, and it seems to have nothing to do with Christmas. So I always just skip over that one. But otherwise, a very beautiful recording!

Christmas Memories by John McDermott. Jim first "discovered" John McDermott while riding to work with our friend Ed, who was of Scottish descent and enjoyed Celtic style music. I especially love this recording--John's voice is a smooth, relaxing tenor, and he sings these Christmas songs (some familiar, some not so much) so beautifully.

White Christmas by Bing Crosby & the Andrews Sisters. Ahhh . . . the Christmas season doesn't feel "official" until I've heard Bing crooning these old favorites. :) This recording is an oldie for sure, but has been one of my favorites for 20+ years!

The Best of Christmas by various artists. A dear friend gave me this CD with cover art by Thomas Kinkade several years ago. This is a lovely instrumental recording--so nice to listen to as background music during the day or when having guests over for a visit.

Christmas Treasures: The Beautiful Sounds of the Panflute and the Regency Orchestra. I don't remember where I got this CD . . . it might have been a gift from a friend or family member. It's another favorite instrumental recording with a slightly Celtic feel. I love the panflute! So beautiful.

Christmas with Johnny Cash.  I bought this for Jim last year for day 1 of the 12 Days that I posted about yesterday.  It was $5 at Walmart and I figured we'd give it a try because we enjoy some of Johnny Cash's older music.  We really like this one!  It has some traditional favorites as well as several songs and readings we'd not heard before.  



A Charlie Brown Christmas.  A dear friend gave me this recording a few years back, and we love listening to it every year.  It's mostly instrumental and just plain fun. :)

So, those are just a few of our favorites! What do you like to listen to at Christmastime? Please share--I'd love to have some new recommendations to add to our Christmas CD collection!!

Before the Throne

This was sung as a duet in church yesterday, and I was really blessed by it! I wanted to share the lyrics to hopefully bless and encourage others also.

Before the throne of God above
I have a strong and perfect plea.
A great high Priest whose Name is Love
Who ever lives and pleads for me.
My name is graven on His hands,
My name is written on His heart.
I know that while in Heaven He stands
No tongue can bid me thence depart.

When Satan tempts me to despair
And tells me of the guilt within,
Upward I look and see Him there
Who made an end of all my sin.
Because the sinless Savior died
My sinful soul is counted free.
For God the just is satisfied
To look on Him and pardon me.

Behold Him there the risen Lamb,
My perfect spotless righteousness,
The great unchangeable I AM,
The King of glory and of grace,
One in Himself I cannot die.
My soul is purchased by His blood,
My life is hid with Christ on high,
With Christ my Savior and my God!

lyrics by Charitie L. Bancroft