Friday Freestyle - 003
A lesser known verse from a Christmas carol, an encouragement for a discouraging work week, and He Came from the GLORY!!!
Joyous greetings, friends, at the close of this second week of Advent!
This past week has been full of music. On Saturday night, I had a chance to attend a small Christmas show in our hometown, which featured local singer songwriters performing versions of favorite holiday hits, as well as an original or two. There was a lot of camaraderie between the artists–many of them have known each other for decades–so it felt more like I was sitting in on a Christmastime family reunion. Then, on Sunday afternoon, I had the pleasure of attending the annual Classic Christmas concert put on by my alma mater, which also happens to be the school where our daughter is pursuing her degree. She was in the choir, which made it a special treat.
I particularly love the old Christmas hymns during this time of the year. They are not only beautiful and enjoyable to sing, they promote orthodoxy, which is why it's so important that we sing all the verses whenever possible! Here's a favorite verse of mine from “Joy to the World” by Isaac Watts, a verse that, unfortunately, often gets skipped over during congregational sing-along's:
No more let sins and sorrows grow,
Nor thorns infest the ground;
He comes to make his blessings flow
Far as the curse is found.
The thorns infesting the ground is an allusion to the curse proclaimed over Adam and his descendants by God after he and Eve sinned. God said:
Cursed is the ground because of you;
through painful toil you will eat food from it
all the days of your life.
It will produce thorns and thistles for you,
and you will eat the plants of the field.
One of the things God was saying was, “You are never going to find any true satisfaction or fulfillment in the work you do. I gave the gift of joyous work to you when I placed you in the garden, and you walked away from that to pursue your own path. Everything you and your descendants put your hand to will frustrate you from here on out.”
But we are not without hope! The time is coming when his blessings will flow so swiftly and fully that they will overtake the curse completely, and thorns will no longer infest the ground. I like to encourage myself with this thought whenever I find my day job particularly frustrating. I hope you'll be able to do the same.
Recommended reading…
You may have missed…
He Comes When Souls In Silence Lie
Whatever You're Expecting, Expect a Surprise
I’m reading, watching, listening to…
A Week in Winter1, by Maeve Binchy - This is my current audiobook listen, and the narrator is wonderful. This book makes me miss Ireland more than I already, always do. “Stoneybridge is a small town on the west coast of Ireland where all the families know one another. When Chicky Starr decides to take an old, decaying mansion set high on the cliffs overlooking the windswept Atlantic Ocean and turn it into a restful place for a holiday by the sea, everyone thinks she is crazy.”
Waiting on the Word: A Poem a Day for Advent, Christmas and Epiphany, by Malcom Guite - I’m continuing to read a poem each day, and the reflections supplied by Guite, during this lovely Advent season. It’s also available for Kindle, so it’s not too late to start reading!
Old issues of The Amazing Spider-Man - I've been a fan of good old Peter Parker for decades, but there are a lot of stories I never had a chance to read. So, I've started at the beginning and have been working my way through the fun (and sometimes cheesy) first few years of the web-slingers adventures. Excelsior!
Avatar: The Last Airbender on Netflix - This is a live action remake of the Nickelodeon cartoon series my daughter and I have enjoyed since she was small. (I even took her to see a live performance of the music from the show by an orchestra this past summer–a wonderful memory!)
Culinary Class Wars on Netflix - Our family loves cooking competition shows. After Cara and I were first married, some of the first TV we watched together was the Japanese series Iron Chef, and Master Chef has been a staple in our household since it first came out. This show is quite a departure from any of the other cooking shows I've seen, however. It pits veteran chefs, at the top of their game, against upstart young chefs and restaurant owners. But the format of the show, how the competition is organized and structured, has been the real surprise. Super fun!
I will be taking a break from publishing anything new here at Letters from Candies Creek during the 12 days of Christmas (coinciding with a much needed vacation) to spend more time with my family and with my Lord. Between now and then, however, you can expect a couple of new posts next week, including one I am very excited about, which will showcase my favorite photos I've taken during 2024. And, of course, next week’s “Friday Freestyle,” the last one of 2024!
Let me leave you with one of the funniest things I've ever seen. If it's new to you, you're welcome. If you've seen it 100 times like I have, you are also welcome. The Lord be with you!
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