A Sketch of 2019

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A Sketch of 2019

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         Dear Friends,             What am I to say about the year? What can I say?             I believe I'll call this year a year of God's faithful love. He has shown me, above all else that no matter how much I doubt, no matter how often I attempt sanctification on my own,

The Twelfth Carol of Christmas

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The Twelfth Carol of Christmas

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           I love Christmas Eve service. My favorite part is the candlelight portion.            I love it when they turn off all the lights and our only illumination emanates from the candles held by each person. One small candle each for about three-hundred people equals a great deal of light.           The beautiful thing about fire is that

The Eleventh Carol of Christmas

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The Eleventh Carol of Christmas

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           If you're wondering why I've been somewhat spotty, a little bit vague, and rather loose with grammar in my posts this year, I have an excuse. The picture above is what I've been waiting for.            My older brother lives in Florida, and very recently came up to visit for Christmas. There have been several late nights(or

The Tenth Carol of Christmas

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The Tenth Carol of Christmas

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           One of the largest elements of Christmas is gift giving. Our celebration revolves about it. I start thinking about Christmas presents in August and by late October I've usually acquired most of them. The excitement of receiving secret packages that you hustle up to your special hidehout with many sneaky looks and misleading hints if necesary. If

The Ninth Carol of Christmas

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The Ninth Carol of Christmas

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            My friends, I will now proceed to plagiarize from a friend's Christmas theme this year. It was so good I'm going to borrow it and hope he doesn't mind.              I had the great blessing to attend, nearly out of the blue, a magnificent concert in the boon-docks of Morrisville(it's no more boon-dockish than Rolesville but because

The Eighth Carol of Christmas

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The Eighth Carol of Christmas

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            There have been moments where I've been so excited about something that I've wanted to tell everybody about it. I want the random stranger passing me in the supermarket, the lady at the checkout, the gentleman walking his dog, and the child heading home from school to share my joy and rejoice with me.              Isaiah had

The Seventh Carol of Christmas

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The Seventh Carol of Christmas

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           Why do the psalms call us to come before the Lord with Timbrel and Dancing; to come before Him with joyful singing?             Perhaps because all joy ultimately comes from Him, and joyful demonstrations such as dance and instrumentation is one of the best ways to bring Him glory.              Like prisms or glass mirrors we, in

The Sixth Carol of Christmas

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The Sixth Carol of Christmas

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           "Wise Men Still Seek Him." goes the oft repeated line, proud of the pun that so cleverly encapsulates a serious message.             When the wise men came to find Jesus, they had obviously already made up their minds about who they were coming to find. "Where is He that is born King of the Jews?" They asked

The Fifth Carol of Christmas

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The Fifth Carol of Christmas

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            Why in the world does everybody go through all the trouble of decorating his house each Christmas? Stringing lights, making wreaths(in my case), purchasing a great big tree and hauling it into his house, hanging ornaments which never appear at any other time of year?             Well, I can't speak for the whole world but I'll tell

The Fourth Carol of Christmas

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The Fourth Carol of Christmas

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           Whenever I wished myself somewhere in the Christmas story as a child I never wished to be Mary. Oh no. No little girl in her right mind wants to be Mary. I certainly knew better. No, I wanted to be one of the shepherds.  I wanted to be present when the herald angel visited and startled the

The Third Carol of Christmas

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The Third Carol of Christmas

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              My brother Jedidiah has the cutest Christmas ornaments in the house, I think. The squirrel above is a specimen. I'm not quite sure how he managed to end up with all the furry, fluffy, creatures on the Christmas tree. Perhaps the same way I ended up with most of the elegant, lacy, blown  grass decorations. Anyhow, back

The Second Carol of Christmas

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The Second Carol of Christmas

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            Any of you who have spent any length of time with me know that I have an obtrusive obsession with John Rutter's music. There is very little written by him which I don't like. And generally, if that happens, it's the words not the music which I object to.           The current