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As a young adult, I had very mixed feelings about New Year's celebrations. There didn't seem to be much redeeming value in the wild celebration of the end of the year and then a grim, ascetic commitment to New Year's resolutions that never seemed to last long. As is our family's wont, though, we started…
From time to time it's helpful to ask, and try to answer, the question of just what is a "real man." I recently saw a book criticizing the commercialization of boyhood. The cover artwork showed a hapless young man about ten or twelve years old. He was wearing a football helmet, shoulder pads, and Superman…
Last night at 3am there wasn't a flake to be seen, but by 6am snow was absolutely everywhere. No big deal if you live in Maine, but in eastern North Carolina, it's a very rare occurrence. The biggest snow we'd had was the snow-icaine of 2000. We got 11 inches, which is about 5 times…
Yesterday's stanza was the voice of shepherds who heard the angels. Today's verse is the question of those who only heard the shepherds: [caption id="attachment_2541" align="aligncenter" width="340" caption="Adoration of the Shepherds, Matthias Stomer, 1635-40, NC Museum of Art"][/caption] Shepherds, why this jubilee? Why your joyous strains prolong? What the gladsome tidings be Which inspire…
This week before Christmas, we thought it would be fun to have a hymn that was really triumphant and joyful. What is more joyful than the angels who announced the arrival of the long-promised Messiah? [caption id="attachment_2533" align="aligncenter" width="388" caption="Adoration of the Shepherds, Fray Juan Bautista Maino, 1612"][/caption] Angels We Have Heard On High Words:…
O Come All Ye Faithful [caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="319" caption="Simeon and Anna Recognize the Lord in Jesus, Rembrandt, 1627"][/caption] Yea, Lord, we greet Thee, born this happy morning; Jesus, to Thee be all glory given; Word of the Father, now in flesh appearing. What a happy day indeed that saw the promises fulfilled - a Savior…
[caption id="attachment_2484" align="aligncenter" width="255" caption="Rembrandt, "The Angel Appearing to the Shepherds," etching, 1634"][/caption] Sing, choirs of angels, sing in exultation; O sing, all ye citizens of heaven above! Glory to God, all glory in the highest; Angels are God's messengers, and they appear all through the story of Christ's birth -- the angel Gabriel explained…
O Come All Ye Faithful Have you ever repeated a creed in church? Many of us have at least heard before The Apostle's Creed, "I believe in God the Father, Maker of Heaven and Earth," is how it begins. Why do churches do that? In the early years of the church, just like today, the church was…
O Come All Ye Faithful [caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="393" caption="The Adoration of the Magi, Botticelli, 1475"][/caption] O come, all ye faithful, joyful and triumphant, O come ye, O come ye, to Bethlehem. Come and behold Him, born the King of angels; Refrain O come, let us adore Him, O come, let us adore Him, O come,…
For many years, we've taught our children the hymns of the faith through what we call the Hymn of the Week. Each day we sing all the verses of the song we're learning and explain one of the verses. By the end of the week, even the young children have learned to sing the hymn and…
