Son of God

The child who came to heal the brokenhearted
A baby born to reconcile the world
He came to die that we might know the Father
The arm of the Lord has been revealed

His sheep He came to rescue from the slaughter
And humbled Himself a Man that knew no sin
Mary's heart was pierced with deepest sorrow
As her baby Son was stretched upon the tree

Son of God
Has come to earth
Glory to the Father
The baby lies
Asleep in the manger
Born to die
Prince of Peace and Savior

We knew Him not, despised and forsaken
What good could come from Nazareth
From Galilee a King has risen
Born as a Man, Lord of all

At His name every knee will bow
Glory to God in the Highest
Every tongue confess the name of Jesus
Christ is the Lord, Christ is the Lord

Son of God
Has come to earth
Glory to the Father
The baby lies
Asleep in the manger
Born to die
Prince of Peace and Savior


You can hear the music that goes along with this poem and other Christmas songs at our Bandcamp page, http://timandabby.bandcamp.com.

I hope you have a blessed Christmas celebrating our Savior's birth with your loved ones.  Merry Christmas!

Christmas: Our darkness meets the Light

I was listening to Christmas music on the way home from work today, and found myself selecting melancholy songs about winter and songs about the birth of Christ in minor keys.   And I wondered, why do I feel bad every Christmas?  Why does Christmas fill me with joy, and yet such sadness at the same time?

I feel like I end the Advent season every year feeling like, "Great, I missed it again."   I feel like Christmas is such a great opportunity to celebrate Jesus' birth and instead I'm confronted by many failures.

All it takes is a couple Christmas parties where I feel like my words could have been kinder, better chosen.  Recognition of my deep bitterness about cold weather and a complaining spirit.  And, don't get me started on my own personal materialism.  Walking through the malls I find gifts for others and a thousand desires for things I didn't even know I wanted.  My heart gets smaller with each shopping trip and my will to make donations gets weaker.

These things crowd out Baby Jesus so easily.  Christmas Day arrives and I wonder, is there room for Him in my heart?

As I continued driving down the expressway, slowly albeit with millions of red lights guiding me home, I wondered.  Maybe it's good.  Maybe this season reveals the darkest parts of my character because they contrast so starkly to the light that was born to redeem them.  Maybe it's important for me to realize all the Herod, Grinch and Scrooge-like qualities that fight in my heart and remind myself just how much I need Jesus.

Maybe a reminder of my weakness will help me remember just how important Christmas is.  Remember that Jesus came to earth to save a wretch like me.  A time to reflect on the purity of that sinless, newborn baby born into a world of sin and suffering.  A God who did not leave us helpless, but came to save.  That gives me hope and fills my soul with joy.

"For unto us a Child is born, to us a Son is given; and the government shall be upon His shoulder, and His name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace."  Isaiah 9:6

The Child was born to ransom our sinful hearts.  In our weakness we can rejoice that One came to rescue us, Jesus our Emmanuel, God with us.

"The people who have walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who dwelt in a land of deep darkness, on them a light has shined."  Isaiah 9:2

May the light of Jesus fill your heart and soul with joy and comfort this Christmas and every day this year.

christmas eve

starry sky swirls and glimmers overhead
we slip quickly to the van
humming underneath the evening heavens
stamp our feet and watch our breath freeze

pull into the parking lot crunching last week's snow
we fall, we jump out each door
running, sliding to our well-lit church
shake the cold and thaw by candles

our family squeezes into the upper pew
we share the hymnals
singing ancient advent carols
"Christ is born," all my sisters sing

the message raised, the faithful smile
my sister sleeps upon my lap
the altos cry, sopranos soar
"and He shall reign forever and ever"

snowy day

What an incredibly beautiful Christmas we had! I'm glad I have a little brother who helped me enjoy the snow on Christmas Eve by throwing snowballs with Tim and I at a tree. If I was eight again, forts upon forts would have been made and stocked for snowball fights that never came.

The above photo was taken with my Diana F+. I got an Instant Back for Christmas and can now take polaroid shots with it. Looks like the photo was taken in the 60's... I love it.

God with us...

I wept during our Christmas Eve service on Friday.

I had been worrying all month about missing Jesus. At the beginning of this week my husband wisely told me I should just focus on growing closer to Him, whether I truly understood Christmas or not this year. So I spent time in prayer and study, and just focused on being with Jesus.

Then God gave me a gift on Christmas Eve. We took communion, and as I sat with the bread and grape juice... I pondered the body and the blood. The body and blood of Jesus, the baby, the man, the Messiah. Joy and sorrow together washed over my soul. I know that I can't express this completely, but Jesus was there.

And Jesus is always here. He is Emmanuel, God with us. And I get to be with Him everyday, all year, all my life, for eternity.

Christmas.

christmas is coming!

Tree is up. First snowfall. Lights are glowing. Christmas music. Chocolate. Hats, scarves, boots, and mittens. Friends. Family.

Jesus. Still trying to rethink, realize, understand, feel what it means that He came to earth as a baby 2000 years ago. Grace and Love in a manger, no crib for a bed. I love Thee, Lord Jesus. Be near me this day.

new in the shop

I added a few new cards to the etsy shop today. A couple for Christmas and one birthday card. I'm hoping to work on a few more tomorrow. If you have any design requests, send me a message!

I hope you all are having a lovely Sunday afternoon!

pre-christmas thoughts

This post suddenly seems a bit ridiculous on a beautiful sixty degree day in November. Still, it is one thing that has been on my mind lately. Christmas.

I'm indulging this year in early Christmas planning. I'm hoping this will make me a bit more organized in December and allow me to make more things by hand (gifts, cookies, cards, etc). December budgets are tight and I need to be careful and wise.

More importantly though I want to prepare myself for Christmas this year so that I don't miss Jesus.

I don't know what it is about December, part of it could be having my birthday and Christmas in the same month makes me self-centered. Maybe its all the parties that create organized wrapping paper/cookie chaos. Maybe it's Santa.

Whatever it is, I struggle to focus on Jesus. I experience sadness on December 25th too often. I realize that day that I have once again wasted an advent season and missed the Christ Child.

I worry that this is a symptom of my everyday, all year. Missing Jesus.

In church the other day I was thinking about all the awesome names that Jesus has. King of Kings, the Good Shepherd, Water of Life, Emmanuel, Lamb of God, Lion of Judah. I want to know this Jesus.

Jesus. His name is filled with power, grace, and love... and I pass over it daily, tacking onto my prayers "In Jesus' name, Amen" hardly giving a thought to what it means. We pray, "In Jesus' name" because Jesus became our High Priest, our Mediator between us and the Father through His sacrifice on the cross. And it all started in the stable. The Kings of Kings in a manger. And I forget that all too often.

I want to focus the next couple months on Jesus... learning more about Him. Learning about His attributes, His names. Falling in the love with Him. Getting ready to celebrate His birthday with joy and love.

This next Christmas I may experience some sadness. Sadness because Christmas changes each year as our families get older, traditions vary and change. Even though I may feel down, I don't want to be sad because I missed Jesus this year.

Jesus, please meet me, not just at Christmas, but every day of the year. Teach me Your ways, You are Truth, You are Life, You are the Way. You are amazing, and I love You.